Page 74 of Demon Heart: The Complete Series

ROMAN

C rossword time.

Finally! A moment to spend on one of my favorite activities.

Twelve across. Six letters. Clue: An expression of grief or sorrow .

“Lament,” I said, adding the word to the half-complete grid in a crossword book a butler gave me.

That same butler, Reginald, stopped by to take some food orders. Nice guy, his mustache trimmed to symmetrical perfection.

Xavier asked for bacon, Darcy good with his plethora of snacks. I just wanted some toast and a cup of chamomile tea, not really in the mood for anything else. After he delivered the food, Reginald told us to call for him by pushing the button below the suite’s main light switch.

I really didn’t like that idea, but I guess that was royal living for you.

After eating my buttered toast—posh bread, amazingly creamy butter—I finished my tea and finally made my way to the bathroom.

Darcy watched the news, mumbling away at the screen now and again, while Xavier stayed by the window watching the night, having said no more than two words to me.

Was he having second thoughts about us? I mean, I came with a lot of baggage, probably not worth the effort. Good fuck, but let’s leave it at that.

Stripping off my clothes, I opened the taps to fill the pool/bath. Hot water gushed out of the pearly faucet, quickly filling the room with steam. An extractor fan kicked in, silently sucking away enough steam for only wisps of it to remain.

Nice.

I poured in a bottle of bubble bath that smelled of strawberry, then fussed with the towels. So fluffy, not one rough edge.

Double nice.

After adding some cold water to the bath, I dipped a toe in to test it. Hot enough to hug my muscles, the perfect temperature.

I got in, immediately dipping under to wet the whole of me. Whoa. The water was liquid silk wrapped in a strawberry scent, my skin overjoyed to be submerged in it.

I sat myself on a low step, the water up to my shoulders. I tilted my head back, steam wafting over my face on its way to the fan.

Bliss. Finally, I could relax. The sensation would soon pass, but for now I enjoyed it. As uneasy as this house made me, at least we were safe for a little while.

Tanith might not be dealt with yet, but Butterfly was.

As long as I kept this mark tainted and never went back in time, the fucker wouldn’t get his hands on me again.

What that meant for the device in my chest, I didn’t know.

I guess I had to be careful to never give into its power, keep it locked away pumping my blood.

Hmmm. Too easy? Maybe I should get it checked out at some point. But who the hell could check it out?

“Can I enjoy this bath, pretty fucking please?” I scolded myself.

Talk about a busy brain.

“Of course.”

I shot up, the water sloshing over the edge. Xavier stood at the edge of the bath, carrying white bathrobes.

“What… How did you get in here?”

“The door was unlocked.”

“And you didn’t think to knock?”

“I apologize. I’ll leave and knock.”

“Why bother now?” I like you being here.

He put the robes with the towels on the rack. “Can I join you?”

Not one part of me felt bashful. We’d been inside each other, so no need for playing coy.

“Come in. The water’s great.”

He cocked a smile, removing his dirty robe, discarding it with a flourish.

My God, his body. That pale skin, the scar across his chest, the abs and defined muscles sculpted by an artist with lust in their heart.

The demon was built for speed and strength as much as for eye candy.

And that cock. Yum. Girthy and curved at the end, designed to strike the prostate with expert ease.

It belonged between my arse cheeks.

Xavier released a delicious sigh as he made contact with the heavenly water. “Amazing.”

“Right?”

He went under.

“Absolutely,” he answered as he resurfaced, water sluicing down his body.

I went straight in with a question, settling back onto my step. “Did you mean what you said about staying by my side? Because you know you don’t have to. You can run like you always planned on doing. Get out of here and live a drama-free life.”

He stood in the center of the pool, raking a hand through his silver hair. “I did mean it.”

“Don’t you want to be free?”

“Don’t you?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“You guess so?”

“I don’t…I don’t know what to do.”

He moved closer, fingers dancing through the water, sending ripples at me. “There is nothing to do now but live your life. If you want me out of it, I will step away. I won’t like stepping away, but this is your choice.”

“Is this too good to be true?” I asked.

“Possibly.”

“I don’t know.”

“I understand.”

“Not about you. I mean, I do know I want something more with you. I’d love to do things.”

A dangerous smile spread his lips. “Things, Roman?”

A flutter between my legs. “You know what I mean.”

“Tell me.”

“Things other than that . Go on a date, spend time together, those nice, normal things.”

“Normal is such weak word.”

“But you know what I mean.”

“I do. Time spent outside of the bubble of chaos we met within.”

“Yeah.”

“We can.”

“Can we?”

“Yes. I want those same things. I’m determined to see where we go.”

Man, he said all the right words. “I’ve never really had the chance to date properly.”

He nodded. “Why don’t we have one today? A breakfast date. It’s almost dawn.”

“Where? We can’t rock up to a restaurant.”

“This house is more than big enough for us to find something to do. How about leaving it to me?”

“Seriously?”

He nodded. “Allow yourself to be surprised.”

“You’re sliding into this new reality pretty easily.”

I expected a naughty response. Instead, he said, “This is anything but easy, Roman. I’m a demon within the heart of witch power. This is a royal residence. I’m surrounded by demon towers, staff that probably hate me but will respect me out of respect for their new queen.”

“Good point. Sorry. I’m a prick.”

“You’re not.”

“I know this isn’t easy for you.”

“Or you. Everything you’ve known is gone.”

A surreal dream, for sure. “I don’t know how to be anything but the Shadow. That’s been my whole life. How do I become a new man?”

“You’re more than Queen Margarite’s weapon.”

“Not really.”

“You’re a living, breathing human who loves, who laughs, who grieves.”

The last bit hit me in the feels. “Fuck.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Just…hurts.”

“Your grandmother?”

“Yeah. I… I don’t…” I really didn’t want to cry again.

“You don’t have to be lonely anymore.”

He once told me he smelled my loneliness. Said it smelled like a blend of chocolate and sorrow.

“Neither of us have to be,” he added.

I wasn’t lonely with Darcy in my life, per se. But my grandma left a huge hole, as did the lack of having a guy around to, you know, make me feel something extra.

Loneliness is such a complicated thing.

Xavier had suffered his own losses, drifted through life with the same kind of empty feeling inside for a lot longer than me. Two thousand years of it, to be exact. I related to him in some respects, but there was also a massive gulf between us.

Still, he was right. My pain was my pain, his was his. They weren’t in competition. One crown of pain did not exist. Many did.

“How about I help you discover the new Roman Gold?”

The fact he stood here in this bath, not insisting on being back in time with the love of his life spoke volumes. He could’ve thrown me to the side, lost to the agony of seeing Ismael again, trying to make things different for the prince’s future.

“Thank you for being here,” I whispered. “Thank you so much.”

He waded closer, more ripples coming to kiss me. “Thank you for not pushing me away.”

My eyes grew hot. Was this real? Was I really giving into this possibility of a life without Queen Margarite, of dating a demon?

What would my grandma say?

“I lost my parents to witches.”

He shocked me into standing up, my heart performing a few leaps—or however that worked in my case.

“Oh my God,” I responded. “Oh. My. God.”

A scenario played out in my head—him declaring his true hatred for witches, surging through the water to break my neck.

“They weren’t particularly pleasant spider demons, if a spider demon can be truly pleasant.”

“I think you’re pleasant.” Was this really the moment to chime in with that?

He smiled. “Thank you.” His serious face returned seconds later. “They developed a craving for human flesh over the years, particularly after I turned three hundred.”

Whoa.

“They were responsible for many killings across the world. Building their webs to ensnare prey. They particularly enjoyed leaving humans silenced and alone in dark places to panic, returning after one or two nights to shift into the large spider. The scent of fear whetted their appetites, the delayed feeding making every bone taste better.”

I shuddered. “Bones? Don’t spiders suck out the insides?” Man, did I want to puke.

“Not us,” he said. “Everything is consumed.”

“Right.”

“Can you tolerate hearing this?”

“Yeah.” I wanted to hear more about his past, who he was.

“I know this is disgusting. My parents were disgusting in my eyes. The age of a human did not matter to them. They sampled all flesh.”

I took a deep breath.

“I begged them to stop, even tried locking them away. Succeeded for a week, burying them in the basement of my Level 707 mansion.”

“You have a mansion?” I interrupted. “Sorry.”

“I do. I wish I could show it to you.” He didn’t elaborate further so I let him carry on.

“My mother broke out first, beating me to a pulp. When she freed my father, he set me on fire.”

“What the fuck?”

“I know.”

I moved closer to him this time. “Your lovely skin…”

“Healed. The scar on my chest is from Arcana, remember?”

“Yeah. Carry on.”

“They disappeared for a year. I tried to find them here and in the demon realm, unable to catch their trail. Eventually, they set up a feeding operation in Europe. A group of spellcasters, I’m not sure if they were witches or warlocks, found them before me. Killed them with Arcana.”

“That’s horrible. The whole thing.”