Page 28 of Loving the Tormentor

I go to move again, but he stops me with his low voice. "I'm not going to do anything to you. I'm not as bad as the girls describe me." And by “the girls,” I'm sure he means his friends.

"I just caught you with a crying girl on her knees in front of you. I'm going to assume they weren't exaggerating." I pause, and then, unable to keep the question to myself, I ask, "Do you own a snake just so you can use it for sexual purposes?"

He throws his head back as he laughs, and it resonates all the way to my core. "I don’t own the snake. I got it because Evelyn wanted me to. I'll be bringing it back very soon."

"So…sheasked youto use something that made her cry?" I blink up at him, waiting for an answer I desperately crave. Something that tells me he's not so bad. Mainly, something thattells me there are other people out there who have very specific sexual tastes.

"Nothing happened that Evelyn didn't want." In a gesture of innocence, he lifts his hands in front of him. "Promise." He thinks for a second, then adds, "Well, I guess she didn't want anyone to see her like that, but that's kind of your fault, not mine."

Not convinced, I take a step to the side.

"Nothing will happen, Nyx." He shrugs. "Unless you're finally feeling like you want to kiss an asshole?"

A laugh escapes me as I shake my head, lying despite what I truly want. "Not really, no. Still have a boyfriend." I need that reminder more than he does.

"Then nothing will happen." He winks, and the glint in his eyes makes my legs weak. "I'm going to see you often this year. I help out in a lot of music classes, and I'm present at all full orchestra rehearsals. It could be good to get to know each other a bit."

He still catches some hesitancy, and instead of insisting, he moves to let me by. "But I get if you don't want to."

The cloudy feeling from the alcohol mixes with the effect Achilles has on me. Until tonight, I was nothing more than a fangirl constantly looking him up on the internet. Now, I'm in a room, alone with him—his room—and he's offering to spend time with me. I'm separating myself from the fans. This could be a chance to truly create a connection with him.

The door is right in front of me. I'm completely free to go.

But I don't.

And that's the first of my many mistakes.

Chapter Seven

Nyx

Caroline – Artemas

"Here." His deep voice brings my attention back to him as he passes me the bottle of champagne.

I started looking around his room while he was opening the bottle, mainly at the music sheets on his desk. None of them are from him, and I'm slightly disappointed by that. He's got a few famous concertos spread all over. They don’t seem too hard to me. Some I've practiced many times.

I look up at the snake on the shelf above.

"She really asked you to use a snake?"

"She's terrified of them," he explains simply.

"Why would anyone introduce what they're terrified of into their sex life?"

"If that's their kink." He shrugs, takes a sip from the bottle, and offers it again since I didn't take it the first time.

I grab it, still looking at the snake. "Is ityourkink?"

"Maybe we shouldn't talk about my kinks if we really want nothing to happen between us."

I can feel his burning gaze on me, so I turn to him. What I would give for something to happen between us. Realistically, I know it can't.

The silence grows too heavy with unsaid propositions. I take a few sips of champagne, and choke so hard on the concentrated bubbles that I cough it all back on his shirt.

"Oh my God," I gasp. "I'm so sorry."

He laughs softly, taking his shirt off without hesitation, and I choke all over again. Holy…fuck. Now, that's something the girls commenting on the fan accounts would die for.