Page 23 of The Music Demon

He used his skillful mouth to draw her into a kiss before she had a chance to form a protest in her mind, much less mount resistance in earnest. When he added just the right amount of tongue that was just the right temperature, just the right wetness, and just the right manipulation, she concluded that the demon was indeed right. Without a doubt she would’ve been standing exactly where she was, doing exactly what she was doing, even if he’d given her advanced warning that he was even older than terra firma.

The truth was that she liked Lyric. But it also nagged at her that they could never be equals in a relationship.

Shivaun hadn’t done any study on power dynamics in relationships. She just knew instinctively that she didn’t want to feel like her contribution was somehow less because she had ‘eons’ less experience. And she knew intellectually that it would be easy to dim her light if the default between them became deference.

All this and other things warred in her mind at the same time she was being seduced by the demon’s kiss, which had quickly shot to the top of her list of favorite things in creation.

She pulled back to draw in a breath. When her brain resumed function, she managed a retort. “Would I now?”

The fact that she mounted any challenge, no matter how lame, was a testament to the depth of her independent spirit. So, when Lyric leaned in for a second helping of dizzying kisses, she gingerly stepped back.

He inhaled and exhaled deeply, but made no physical or verbal protest.

“Will you give me a chance to persuade you that our age difference is irrelevant?”

Shivaun didn’t miss the tiny hint of vulnerability in the question and that melted her heart even more. “Persuade? What do you have in mind?”

“We spend time together. Get to know each other better. See how it goes.”

With a slight nod, she said, “’Tis reasonable enough. In theory.”

With a satisfied smile, he turned and began ambling in the direction they’d been walking. She was pulled along by an invisible, but magnetic leash.

“So. Let’s begin again. Tell me about your life as a human.”

She brushed hair behind her ear, sniffed, and began. “Well, the New Forest is a place like no other.”

Shivaun was enchanted by the demon’s insistence on hearing her biography. He listened intently, asked occasional questions, and laughed at anecdotes. She hadn’t expected to enjoy that sort of concentrated interest, but found that the time flew by.

“How long have we been here?” she asked at length.

“Depends on your measurement. Time operates differently in spaces between dimensions. Such as this one.”

“Spaces?”

“Hmmm. You could say it’s like an air pocket.”

She suddenly seemed a little alarmed. “Communication would still find me here though, right? If I was bein’ summoned by work. Or family?”

Lyric pulled up short. “I don’t know. I didn’t think about that. I’ve never had to worry about whether or not I could be reached. So I didn’t consider it.”

“Demon!” She slapped at his bicep. “You could get me in trouble with my boss.”

“Shivaun.” He laughed. “You’re a demon. The idea of having abossis ludicrous.”

“You know what I mean. I’m on call! No’ to mention that my sister would show the world what ‘freak’ means if I could no’ be reached. Get me to a place where I can find out if I’ve missed something.”

“As you wish.”

He took her hand and opened an entrance to the passes like unzipping a hanging suit bag.

They arrived at one of Lyric’s go-to hangouts; a club in Cyrius Dimension that was a crossroads for travelers, but not a demon favorite. After all, Lyric’s goal was to win Shivaun for himself before other demons had the chance to compete for her affection.

The idea of other male demons pursuing Shivaun caused a muscle to tick under his eye. Thrice. Because he knew there would be those who’d seek an attachment to Shivaun not for affection, respect, or admiration, but purely for power. It seemed obvious that The Order of the Black Swan was still laboring under the misimpression that males and females are counterparts in the demon world.

They are not.

And apparently Deliverance, a known informant, had not offered that intel. The Council of Legions would have to intervene if the practice of indiscriminately turning human females to demon wasn’t curtailed.