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"Idon't know how to be any other way," she whispers, and something in my chest tightens at the raw honesty in her voice.
Her mask has fallen completely now, and without the practiced seduction, the calculated smiles, she's even more beautiful. Fierce. Real. I find myself wanting to see more of this Trinity—the one who isn't performing for her own survival.
The memory of finding her with Drez'kor earlier burns through me again. His hands on her waist, her body pressed against his. The practiced smile on her face that didn't reach her eyes.
I hadn't planned to return to the gardens tonight. After our brief encounter at Asmodeus's gathering, I told myself I'd satisfied my curiosity about the human woman who'd caught my attention. But three days later, here I am, stalking through shadows, drawn back to her like a predator to prey.
Except she isn't prey. Not to me.
When I spotted Drez'kor pawing at her, something primal and possessive roared to life inside me. Before I could think it through, I'd paid a messenger an exorbitant sum to deliver an"urgent" message to the captain. Watching the fool scramble away, promising to return and finish what he'd started with Trinity, had taken every ounce of my self-control not to rip his head from his shoulders.
"You still haven't told me why you're here." Trinity's voice pulls me from the violent fantasy. She's watching me with those guarded green eyes, her arms still wrapped protectively around herself.
"I find myself... interested in you." The admission costs me something, though I'm not sure what.
A humorless smile curves her lips. "I've noticed demons tend to be 'interested' in me. Usually in very specific ways."
"Not like that." The denial comes quick—too quick. Because it's not entirely true, is it? I do want her. The physical pull between us is undeniable. But it's not just lust that's drawn me back to her side.
"No?" She raises an eyebrow, disbelieving. "Then how, exactly, are you 'interested' in me?"
I study her face—the wariness, the exhaustion behind her eyes, the stubborn set of her jaw. She's survived pure torment, this human. Survived and protected others while doing it.
"I have a proposition for you." The words come out before I've fully formed the thought, but as soon as I speak them, I know this is why I returned tonight.
She laughs bitterly. "Of course you do."
"Not what you're thinking." I take a step closer, close enough to catch her scent—something clean beneath the cloying perfume Drez'kor obviously prefers. "I'm offering you freedom. I can get you off this rock before the captain even comes back." Otherwise I might have to kill him, too. There's no way he's touching her again.
Her body tenses, hope and suspicion warring in her expression. "What's the catch?"
I admire her instincts. No demon offers something for nothing.
"I need an heir."
Her face shutters instantly, walls slamming back into place. "So you are just like the others. You want a broodmare."
"No." I growl the word, offended despite myself. "If I wanted that, I'd have taken one of my mother's arranged matches with a demon noblewoman. I'm offering you a contract. A transaction that benefits us both."
I don't add that I've never taken her deals because I can't stomach the idea of letting any of those women around me long enough to wait for a child. Fucking them? Sure. But letting them attach themselves to me for the pregnancy—or longer—has always sent disgust roiling through me.
With Trinity though…
She crosses her arms, skepticism radiating from every line of her body. "I'm listening."
"Bear me an heir, and in exchange, I'll set you up with a new life on Aerasak. Permanently." I hold her gaze, letting her see the truth in my eyes. "You'll have my protection. No one—not Drez'kor, not any demon—will touch you again without facing my blade. You'll want for nothing."
Trinity goes perfectly still, her expression unreadable. "Why me?"
It's a good question. One I've been avoiding asking myself. The obvious answer is physical attraction—she's beautiful, with a strength that calls to something in me. But there are beautiful women everywhere. Why am I standing here, offering this specific human a way out?
"You're resilient. Intelligent." I find myself gesturing to the space around us. "You've survived in a place designed to break humans. You've protected others at cost to yourself. Those are traits worth passing on."
Her eyes narrow. "And what happens after I give you this heir? You throw me back to the dungeons?"
"No." The very thought makes my blood boil. "The contract would be permanent. You remain under my protection for life."
"As what? Your slave? Concubine?"