Page 59 of The Demon Prince

He tilted his head to the side, watching her as he sealed them into the darkness. He flicked his wrist, lighting the candles that he’d forgotten to light before her arrival. “Tell me.”

“I was stopped on my way to the town.” She swallowed hard. “There are new men there. They wanted to ask me about you, and why I was still with you when you were slowly killing this kingdom.”

“Did they touch you?” Anger swelled. He would hunt them as Greed did, if he had to. No one would touch Katherine. No one but him.

“No.” She shuddered. “But they wanted to.”

“They would not be wrong in claiming I’ve destroyed this kingdom.” He took a step closer to her, watching her for any flinch or recoil. But she didn’t. She just stayed there, her arms firmly hugging herself, watching him. “But I will not stand by and see you harmed. I will take care of them for you and make sure they no longer bother you on your walks.”

He couldn’t stop himself. Gluttony brushed the backs of his fingers down her cheeks, his wicked claws turned in toward himself. And his heart stuttered in his chest as she tilted her face into his touch.

“There’s more,” she whispered.

“There always is.”

“A group of bodies were delivered to the almshouse today. Twelve people total, all of them injured beyond recognition. We could only save two of them.” Her troubled gaze met his. “Their throats were ripped out.”

He winced. “A sad way to die, indeed.”

“They’re blaming you.” And he saw the thought in her eyes before she took another big breath and asked, “Have you broken our deal, Gluttony?”

He dropped his hand and took a large step away from her. How could she even ask that? How could she wonder such a thing when he had practically prostrated himself before her and begged her to never leave?

Or had he?

Gluttony wracked his mind, trying to see if he’d ever really made it clear that he valued her. Perhaps he had in his actions, but never in words. What a fool he had been. She wouldn’t stay if he didn’t let her know she had become someone more than just a villager to him. So much more than any peasant who lived in that town.

Pressing the hand that had been touching her lovely face to his chest, he stared straight into her eyes as he replied. “I have not broken our vow, Kat. I never would. You offered yourself to me, and I would never, ever break that trust. You’ve come to be like a... friend. I suppose. I’d hoped that you felt the same.”

A soft, but sad, smile crossed her features. “I’d like that quite a bit. You are not what I expected, Gluttony. Not at all.”

With her words, the hunger flared bright hot again. He wanted to grab her in his arms. He wanted to taste her and wrap her up and never let her go. He wanted to hold on to her until the very world ended.

What if he never let her go? Would she complain, or would she not mind?

Katherine licked her lips, and he watched the movement with avid attention. “The people in the village believe you are a monster. The only friend I told about my time here, she said I should try to kill you in your sleep. That because I was so close to you, I should take this as the advantage the entire town has been seeking.”

“You should,” he replied, his voice guttural and low. “You really should.”

She took a step closer to him, lowering her voice as well, as though talking to a wounded animal. “Gluttony, I’m going to say this now as a friend. Are you listening to me?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

His heart raced in his chest as she came closer and closer. She was right in front of him, a temptation unlike any he’d ever suffered through. Every muscle in his body was locked tight to keep himself under control.

He wanted her.

More than he’d ever wanted anything in his life.

“I’m listening,” he said.

“Sometimes you frustrate me to no end with this self hatred.” Katherine stopped in front of him, then shifted the hair off her shoulder to bare her neck to him. “So would you tell that part of you to fuck off, sad boy? You’re a little busy with me.”

ChapterTwenty-Two

Where she had gotten all this confidence, Katherine had no idea.

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