Page 23 of The Demon Prince

And now here she was, pressed against Gluttony’s door while he glared down at her, feral and angry and... Well, it wasn’t all that bad, she supposed.

She’d never had any man get angry if he could sense that something was off. She’d been surrounded by men her entire life who ignored her injury, or if they noticed it, they just shrugged it off as something she had to deal with. They didn’t want to help her, even if she was injured again.

Now, this man was supposed to be a terrifying beast who harmed women left and right. Yet, he was standing in front of her, practically foaming at the mouth the moment he thought someone might have injured her.

Perhaps he wouldn’t mind injuring her himself. She couldn’t forget that. But there was still the chance that he just didn’t want to see her hurt or in pain. And that made something glow deep in her chest.

“You don’t need to hurt anyone,” she said, trying her best to sound unaffected by his anger. “Unless you want to hunt down the kelpie that attacked the traders who were coming here from the other village.”

Gluttony searched her gaze, and she had the off thought that he might not believe her. Was that what his look said? Was he really pondering if she would tell him the truth?

He reached forward, wrapping one of her curls around his finger over and over until he reached her temple and gave it a slight tug. “And this wasn’t your... Jackson, was it?”

He was worried another man had done this? Katherine refused to let that settle in her heart. The damned organ was already trying to beat its way out of her chest, reaching out for him like the pathetic, puppy love stricken thing it was.

She knew that her heart wanted someone to see her. Just to see her. Not as the seamstress who might stitch their wounds shut. Not as the neighbor who would show up in the middle of the night if trouble had arisen. And certainly not as the woman with the limp who had lived in their town her entire life. The one person they all looked at with pity. How many times had she heard them whisper, “Poor thing, everyone gone and only the memory of fire to replace them?”

This demon saw her, though. He was looking right at her with so much heat in his eyes, it was hard to think. She swallowed hard and his gaze tracked the movement of her throat. Perhaps the gulp was a mistake. Because even if this man looked at her like a woman—something no one had done for a very long time—he was still a bloodthirsty demon who consumed blood regularly.

Hissing out a breath, she spun toward the door and tried to open it. “I came here to talk, just as you said.”

“Indeed you did.” He leaned forward, and she felt him inhale at the side of her neck. “You kept your promise, pet. I will gladly reward you for that.”

Oh, she didn’t want a reward, but her body certainly thought she did. It wanted to melt, drift toward him, and let him take her weight. Ease the ache in her hip even as he wrapped his arms around her front and breathed onto that aching column of her neck.

Still, she couldn’t do this. These feelings were madness.

Grappling with the door, she let out a little frustrated hiss again. “Did you lock this? I will not have this conversation outside.”

He leaned ever closer, and she could feel the warm press of his muscles against her back. His hand slid down her arm and over the fine bones of her hand, lacing their fingers together in a weaving pattern of flesh. Then he pressed down on the handle and suddenly she was staring into darkness.

So much black. Oh, his home was so dark even though the sunlight had filtered through the mist. Just enough for her to see the first few feet into his castle, and then there was nothing she could see at all.

Was she really doing this? Was she going to walk into the home of a demon without hesitation or fear?

He didn’t give her a choice. Gluttony moved her with his body, step by step, into the home and then the door closed behind her with a sudden thud. She jumped, terror streaking through her bloodstream as she frantically tried to find him as he slipped away. Then he disappeared into the shadows.

No. She wasn’t this person. She wouldn’t faint with fear at the very first sign of difficulty. Katherine had a plan. That was why she was here. A plan that bolstered her courage and would fix so many issues in her life. His life. And… the town’s.

She straightened her shoulders and bit out, “Is this how you greet guests? A blackened home with only shadows for you to hide in?”

He snorted. “I should have expected you would be snippy.”

“Snippy?” There it was. The anger that always strengthened her and gave her courage. “I’m not snippy. I cannot see, demon.”

There was a long pause before he said, “Ah.”

And then she could hear him move. Just the shuffling of feet on the floor, gliding until the sound suddenly stopped. She couldn’t see him, hear him, couldn’t even sense him until a warm gust of air trailed down her neck and disappeared between her breasts.

“I forget,” he said against her throat, “that humans are so weak.”

Oh, he had to be an ass about it, didn’t he?

She was ready to spit fire at him, to yell and scream as she should have done the very first time he let himself into her room. This was the ravings of a man who had clearly lost his mind. And here she was, standing in his living room like all the other fools who had been tempted by his pretty face and promises of riches.

She opened her mouth to berate him, but then froze. Warm light bloomed in the darkness, illuminating his concentrated expression as he stared down at the many candles on the candelabra before him.

And she wasn’t frozen because he had somehow changed her mind. He was still a monster, and she wouldn’t forget that, but...

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