Page 41 of Hunted By Fear

Goosebumps pebble my skin as he moves up my sides, the shirt moving with him. I raise my arms for him to remove it completely, holding my breath. I’ve never been beautiful like the girls in magazines or Lea, but now it’s worse. My skin is covered with cuts and bruises, dried blood, and red, raised scratches from where I tried to escape my own head.

Shame fills me as I sink my teeth into my lower lip, letting my arms drop, my hands fiddling in my lap as I fight the urge to cover myself or hide away. But not for the reason I’d thought; it has nothing to do with my nakedness and everything to do with how pathetic I must look to him.

I’m so weak that the thought of Rome is enough to make me begin to panic.

“You're so beautiful.” Bast’s words have my head snapping up; sure I’ve heard him wrong, but when I look up, I see the truth in his eyes. He looks at me like I matter; so many emotions swirl in his pink eyes that I couldn't possibly grasp each one, but fuck, I want to. I want to bottle this feeling that’s building inside of me, giving flight to butterflies I thought died long ago.

Romance wasn’t for me. Rome ruined that, and he would continue to for the rest of my life. I knew that I just wanted to get away. I didn’t dare wish for love and happiness, but looking at Bast…

I want that, with him, maybe with more than him.

Swallowing past the fear that's still choking me, I reach out, resting my hand on his cheek. He doesn’t hesitate to lean into my touch, his eyes falling closed, making my heart skip a beat.

I rub my thumb over his cheek before moving down to his lip, feeling the cool metal of his lip piercing. I feel his eyes on me even without looking back up at him.

“You're so fucking strong and brave. So unlike anyone I’ve ever met, and I’ve met so many people.”

I don’t doubt it; demons are immortal as far as I know.

My attention is divided between his words and his teeth as he talks, his fangs catching the low light of the candles, mesmerizing me.

Before I can think it through, I move my thumb from his lip to press against the sharp point of his tooth, hissing when I feel the sharp sting that lets me know they don’t just look sharp.

His growl bounces off the high walls, startling me. I pull back, an apology on the tip of my tongue.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

I just stuck my finger in his mouth. Oh, my god.

Before I can get my thoughts in order, his hand closes around my wrist. Leaning in, he runs his tongue up the length of my finger, catching the drop of blood before sucking my whole finger into his mouth with a groan.

Fuck.

I gulp audibly as I feel myself growing wet, unable to do anything about it with him between my legs. I let my other hand drop to grasp the counter.

He pulls my finger free with a pop, licking his lips as if I’m a dessert he wishes to savor.

“You taste delicious, even better than I imagined.”

Bast’s thought about what I might taste like… Why does that turn me on even more?

Reaching out, he ghosts his finger over the marks on my chest and up my neck. I can’t swallow down the hiss of pain despite trying to, and of course, he doesn’t miss it.

“The bath here is heated by the brimstone, so it’s hot, but it’s mixed with water from the River Styx, so it will help heal you. It might be a little uncomfortable at first, though,” he warns as he reaches for my hand, pulling me off the counter to stand before him.

“The River Styx is real? I thought that was only in mythology?”

He chuckles, and the sound is so deep and delicious that I feel my eyes go wide, and I’m thankful he isn’t looking directly at me.

“It’s not exactly the same, but it is the river that works as a boundary, if you will. It keeps anything else out; only demons can enter past it, and it has healing properties. For centuries, it didn’t have a name, but with its similarities, Lucifer figured it was as good a name as any.”

I nod along, trying to keep up.

Just a few weeks ago, I hadn’t even known demons and angels were real.

“I’m not a demon, though,” I say, cringing at how stupid that sounded out loud.

Of course, he knows that.