Page 27 of Demon Daddy’s Nanny (Demon Daddies #3)

27

EVA

T he carriage ride back to the estate stretches into infinity, each bump and jostle amplifying the weight of Ridwan's words. She is mine. The phrase echoes in my mind, refusing to settle into any clear meaning. I steal glances at him from across the carriage, but his golden eyes remain fixed on the passing city beyond the window, his jaw set in that stern line I've come to know so well.

The feathers of his wings catch the dying sunlight filtering through the glass, turning them into molten gold. He takes up so much space in here, not just physically but with his presence alone. The air feels thick with unspoken words.

My fingers twist in my lap, the memory of his hand gripping my arm still burning against my skin. The way he stepped between me and that other xaphan, his wings flaring out... I've never seen him like that before. So fierce. So possessive.

But what did he mean? I'm just Annalise's companion. A human who happens to work in his household. Nothing more.

The carriage rolls to a stop in front of the estate's grand entrance. Ridwan moves first, his wings folding tight against his back as he steps down. I expect him to stride ahead, to leave me trailing in his wake as usual. Instead, he waits, extending his hand to help me descend.

I hesitate before placing my fingers in his palm. His skin burns hot against mine, and I can't help but notice how my entire hand disappears in his grip. He releases me the moment my feet touch the ground, but the heat lingers.

We walk side by side through the entrance hall, our footsteps echoing off the floors. The silence between us grows heavier with each step. Questions crowd my throat, fighting to break free. What happens now? What changed in that moment when he claimed me as his? Does he expect me to act differently? To be different?

But his expression remains unreadable, those golden eyes focused straight ahead. His wings twitch slightly - the only sign that he might be as unsettled as I am by what transpired in the market.

When we reach the end of the grand hallway, Ridwan turns left instead of right - away from my quarters, away from the familiar paths I've walked a hundred times. My heart stutters as he leads me down to his private wing.

The doors here are taller, wider, carved with intricate patterns that seem to move in the dim light. He stops before the largest set, placing his palm flat against the wood. Magic ripples outward, golden threads of light spreading like cracks in glass before fading. I’ve only been down here a handful of times.

But never to the room he’s pulling me toward. The doors swing open to reveal his chambers.

I freeze in the doorway, overwhelmed by the sheer size of the space. High vaulted ceilings disappear into shadow. Massive windows stretch from floor to ceiling, their dark glass reflecting the last rays of sunset. The room breathes wealth and power - from the heavy wooden furniture to the silk curtains shifting in the evening breeze.

But what catches my eye are the books. Hundreds of them line the walls, their spines a rainbow of leather and cloth. Not the carefully curated collection in his study, but personal volumes, some worn with use, others pristine and untouched.

Ridwan strides to the center of the room, his wings tight against his back. Every line of his body radiates tension. He keeps his face turned away, but I can see his reflection in the window glass - his jaw clenched, his golden eyes stormy with some internal battle.

My feet carry me forward before I can think better of it. The carpet muffles my steps as I approach him. My hand trembles as I reach out, fingers barely brushing the space between his wings.

"Thank you," I whisper, the words barely stirring the air between us. Thank you for defending me. For bringing me here. For showing me this piece of yourself.

He remains silent, but I feel the slight shudder that runs through him at my touch.

His muscles coil beneath my touch and suddenly he spins, the movement so swift it steals my breath. His wings flare wide, casting shadows across the room as his hands grip my shoulders. The golden depths of his eyes burn with an intensity that pins me in place.

"I tried." His voice comes out rough, almost broken. "Every day, I tried to keep my distance. To remember my place, your place." His fingers tighten, not enough to hurt but enough to ground us both in this moment. "You're human. Fragile. Everything I touch breaks-"

He cuts himself off, one hand sliding up to cup my face. His palm burns against my skin, and I can't help but lean into the touch I've craved for so long.

"And Annalise." Pain flashes across his features. "After her mother... after Sera... I couldn't risk hurting her again. Couldn't risk bringing someone else into her life only to-" He swallows hard. "I don't deserve this. Don't deserve you. Not after failing them both."

His wings curl forward, creating a golden cage around us. The feathers tremble with barely contained emotion. This close, I can see every detail of his face - the scar on his cheek, the flecks of darker gold in his eyes, the way his jaw clenches against words fighting to break free.

"But today, when he threatened you—" His thumb traces my cheekbone. "When I learned that you had left the estate—The thought of losing you..." Raw anguish twists his expression. "I can't. I won't . Not you too."

The confession hangs between us, heavy with years of unspoken longing. My heart pounds so hard I'm sure he must hear it. All this time, watching him from afar, thinking my feelings were one-sided... and he'd been fighting this just as hard as I had.

I part my lips, but no words come. What can I say in the face of such naked vulnerability from a man who's always been carved from stone?

I lean forward, my hands trembling as I cup his face. The rough stubble beneath my palms grounds me in reality - this isn't another dream, another fantasy. "Then don't."

My whispered words hang in the air between us. His wings shiver, the golden feathers catching the last rays of sunlight streaming through the windows. I force myself to hold still, to not push further. Every instinct screams at me to close the distance, to press my lips to his, to show him exactly how much I want this. But I've learned the hard way that pushing Ridwan only makes him retreat further into himself.

His breath catches, golden eyes searching my face. The scar on his cheek stands stark against his bronze skin, a reminder of all the battles he's fought. But this - this is different. This isn't a fight he can win with strength or strategy.

My thumbs trace his cheekbones, memorizing the sharp angles of his face. If he pulls away now, I want to remember how it feels to touch him like this, just once.

"Eva." My name comes out rough, almost broken. His hands slide from my shoulders to my waist, grip tightening as if he's afraid I'll disappear. The heat of his touch burns through my dress, sending shivers down my spine. “I’m choosing you.”

Time stretches like honey, thick and sweet and endless. Each heartbeat feels like an eternity as I wait for him to make his choice. To take this leap or step back behind his walls forever.

His wings curl closer, the feathers brushing against my arms. The golden cage around us shrinks until all I can see is him - the storm in his eyes, the tension in his jaw, the slight tremor in his hands that betrays his uncertainty.

I hold my breath, hold perfectly still, hold onto hope with everything I have.

His lips crash against mine, and the world dissolves into golden light. One arm sweeps beneath my legs while the other wraps around my waist, lifting me as if I weigh nothing. My fingers slide into his dark waves, anchoring myself as his mouth claims mine with a desperation that steals my breath.

Heat blazes everywhere we touch. His wings cocoon us, blocking out everything but the taste of him, the feel of his heart thundering against my chest. He kisses like a man starved, like he's trying to pour years of longing into a single moment.

I arch into him, matching his intensity. My nails scrape his scalp and he growls against my mouth, the sound vibrating through me. His grip tightens, crushing me closer as his tongue sweeps past my lips.

The kiss deepens, turns savage. There's nothing gentle about the way he devours me, nothing careful in how his teeth catch my bottom lip. This is Ridwan stripped of his rigid control, of the walls he's built so carefully. Raw. Primal. Mine.

His wings shudder as I tug his hair, as I press myself impossibly closer. Every brush of his tongue sends sparks dancing beneath my skin. I taste lightning on his lips, feel thunder in the way his chest heaves against mine.

But more than anything, I feel him giving in.