Page 26 of The Demon Prince

Normally, he would bristle with anger. How dare she glare at him? He was a demon king, far superior to her in every way. She had no right to think ill of him when he could so easily rip out her throat.

Strangely enough, he enjoyed her glare. He liked it that she saw flaws in him. She poked at them, prodded them, made him realize he was being an ass.

Not that he intended to stop being an ass. In fact, he rather enjoyed the little angry blush that spread across her face.

Katherine huffed, her feet shifting on the floor as she tried to control her anger. “Well?” she asked. “Don’t you have anything to say?”

Not really. He was enjoying watching her, seeing the blush spread up her chest, neck, and into her cheeks. Even the very tips of her ears turned red, like her hair.

But he supposed he should be at least some semblance of a gentleman. “I’m thinking.”

“About what?” she scoffed. “I haven’t told you my deal yet.”

“Do you realize you’re rather entitled?” Gluttony sat on top of his desk and watched her struggle to find the words to respond.

She clearly didn’t think of herself as entitled. None of the humans did, but they all were in some way. They came here. They thought he couldn’t turn down their offer, and that he had to give them what he wanted.

A few times, he’d accused the women of entitlement just as he had her. And they would all splutter, grow angry, threaten to take away their blood, when he could take it whenever he wished.

But this one… she surprised him. Instead of growing even more angry, Katherine stopped for a moment and actually thought about what he had said.

Finally, she tilted her head to the side and asked, “How so?”

“You walked into my home with a plan. A plan that involved offering me something that I already can have whenever I wish. You think that wandering into my castle and offering your blood is a deal I cannot turn down? But I can live without blood. It’s not a necessity. I am not a vampire. I enjoy the taste, but I do not require it to live.” He could feel his eyes flashing, but passion had always made them glow. “I’ll admit, I long to feel it dripping down my throat, and to have my lips wrapped around the heady thud of your vein. I love to listen to your heart rate speed up, and then slow down as you realize you might actually enjoy what I’m doing to you. But more than anything else, I enjoy consuming what makes you human. It is sublime.”

“Why?” she asked, her eyes narrowing on him.

“Why what?”

“Why is it sublime?” His brave little pet wandered all the way to his desk and sat down in a chair right in front of him. She eyed him as though he were a specimen underneath a jar. “I wish to understand. If you do not need blood to survive, you certainly pay an awful lot for it. And as you so willingly suggested, you could take it if you wished.”

“Ah, but then I would be a murderer.”

“We already think you’re a murderer. Taking it when it’s not freely offered does not change anyone’s opinion of you. Why not just do it?”

He couldn’t stop himself. Gluttony leaned forward and caught one of her curls again. It bounced against his palm, already warmed by her overheated skin. “I have accepted long ago that I am a monster for my desires. I enjoy blood and pain and everything that makes you human. Feasting upon the flesh of my subjects does not give any comfort to my brothers.”

“So you hold yourself accountable for the opinions of other courts?” She arched a brow. “I’m afraid I don’t believe that.”

Neither did he. But he was surprised she picked up on it so quickly.

He hesitated before responding, “You may believe what you wish. I am the monster who haunts the nightmares of so many of my people. I have accepted that fate, and find there is no need to change it.”

“And if you could?”

He released her curl, a bitter smile stretching across his face before he could catch it. “Ah, pet, you seek an impossible fate.”

“If you knew me, then you would know I do not take any task that I will fail at.” Her spine somehow straightened even more. So much determination radiated out of her body that he almost believed her. “This is why I came to you. I believe that I can be more help to you than anyone else you have ever drank from.”

She would be his greatest addiction, she meant. Was this woman aware of how much he wanted her blood? Certainly she’d gotten the hint of it, considering he’d shown up at her doorstep night after night, just to watch her.

What would she ask of him if she was aware of how deeply his desire went?

Shifting on the desk, he tried to get ahold of himself and the situation. “What deal would you make, then? You clearly are aware I want your blood, and that I am willing to pay a high price for it.”

That made her restless. He watched her shoulders shift back, ever so slightly. As if the idea of giving him her blood was disgusting, but she didn’t know how to tell him no.

“Right,” she replied, looking down at her lap and twisting her hands together. “Perhaps you can help me understand why you are so interested in blood?”

---