Page 20 of The Devil and His Goddess (Sinners Do It Better #2)

Harper

“WE’LL SEE WHAT MY SCHEDULE is like closer to Christmas,” I placated my parents.

“We know you’re busy,” Mom relented, her sweet smile evident from her mere voice over the phone. “If you can’t come, no worries. We’ll mail you your present.”

“You guys don’t need to get me anything,” I argued and shook my head with a grin, even though they couldn’t see me.

“You think we aren’t going to get our favorite daughter something for Christmas?” Dad exclaimed.

“I’m your only daughter,” I laughed.

“Exactly,” Mom fired back. “So let us spoil you.”

“What about us?” my youngest brother, Mitch, asked from somewhere in the background.

“Yeah,” Todd chimed in. “Spoil us, too.”

The four of them began bickering playfully about me being the favorite child since I was the oldest and only girl. I listened with an unrelenting smile. My family was boisterous and loved to nag, but we were as close as a family could be, even as distance separated us.

When our weekly phone call ended, I tossed my phone onto my bed and stood with a stretch. It was Friday night, and I had the house to myself since Aiysha was out of town for the weekend. After a long, strenuous work week, I debated what I should do on this night of endless opportunities.

I showered and debated on rotting on the couch while watching reality TV or just calling it early to get some rest. I thought about seeing what Iyla, Addie, or Eden were up to but remembered they, too, had plans tonight. Somewhere in the back of my mind, a voice urged me to reach out to Perseus to see what he was doing, but I fought to ignore that voice.

His flirtation and presence at work had been oddly miniscule this week. Sure, I was being extra evasive, but that had never stopped him from pursuing before. I wasn’t sure if that was his way of giving me space to decide if I wanted to give him a shot or something else entirely. Not knowing bugged the shit out of me. I nibbled on my thumb and stared at his contact in my phone.

To call or not to call …

Just as I scrounged up the courage to call, a knock sounded on the front door. I’d been so engrossed in my frantic thoughts that the sudden muted banging made me jump. I held my chest and made sure my t-shirt and sweatpants were in place as I jogged downstairs.

It was just past 8, so as I neared the front door, I frowned and wondered who could be here. It wasn’t uncommon for Katerina and Elijah to show up on weekends to hang out or practice, though they typically gave me a heads-up first.

While wondering who the late visitor was, I made it to the front door and slowly peeked through the glass. My eyes widened in surprise, and the trepidation receded.

Opening the door with a warm smile, I greeted, “Drake. Hi.”

Drake flashed me a nervous smile as he fidgeted his hands inside his dark hoodie pockets and shifted from foot to foot. “H-Hey, Harper.”

When he didn’t say anything else, my smile almost slipped under the weight of confusion. Keeping my friendly expression in place, I cleared the awkward feeling from my throat and asked, “Um, what can I do for you?”

His brown eyes bounced from his feet to my eyes then back to his shoes again. He chewed on his chapped lip and cleared his throat before stuttering, “I-I just wanted … I don’t understand why you …”

I leaned in closer in an effort to make out what he mumbled, but his words were lost on me. The more I watched him twitch slightly or listened to his incoherent grumbles, the more uncomfortable I grew. Something wasn’t right.

Drake was typically pretty awkward, but the way he fumbled about right now, like a man on edge, wasn’t normal, even for him. The ball of nerves in my stomach began to coil tighter, and my mouth dried as a chill ran down my spine with a rising question.

“H-How,” I began quietly, gripping the door handle harder, “did you get my address?”

His dark eyes snapped up to meet mine, and in that moment, a frigid wave of understanding washed over me. My throat closed up in panic as my eyes widened.

I leapt back across the threshold and hurried to slam the door, but Drake shot forward at an alarming speed and wedged his arm through the opening. A wizz of silver flashed across my vision as I tried to close the door, despite half of his arm and shoulder blocking it. I barely jumped out of the way as he swung his knife in my direction.

Terror seized me as I screamed and abandoned the front door to race through the house. Panic stole my breath as I realized my phone was still on my bed upstairs. Knowing running up there would trap me in here with him, I bypassed the way to call for help in favor of escape .

Tears clouded my eyes as I ran for the back door. Drake’s footsteps were right on my heels. Without thinking, I looked behind me to see how close he was and caught him reaching out to grab my hair.

With a startled yelp, I darted to the side, nearly tripping over my own frantic feet. Drake slammed into the kitchen counter, unable to stop his own momentum, which bought me enough time to put the island between us. He righted himself too fast and stared at me with bitter eyes. His hand clenched and unclenched the knife as he stood opposite me with only the island between us, cornering me against the cabinets.

My breath came out hard and desperate as I realized with a desolate whimper that the knife block was on his half of the kitchen. If I ran for my own blade, he’d beat me there before I could even take two steps. Around me were cups, plates, and glassware. With shaky hands, I fumbled behind me for something I could throw at him.

He spotted my movement and seemingly realized my intentions, which made his furious scowl deepen. He jabbed his knife in the air toward me and screamed, “Why? Why do you want to fight me? Do you think I wanted to do it this way, huh? I don’t want to hurt you, even though you hurt me .”

He raked his hands, knife and all, through his greasy hair and shook his head adamantly. “I’ve been faithful to you all this time. Why do you want to resist? Why do you pretend you haven’t felt the same about me? I know you have.”

“Drake,” I pleaded, holding a shaking hand out as if that could ward him off. “Please don’t hurt me. I—I’m your friend, remember? Please—”

“Friend?” he roared, his knuckles turning white around the knife while his face grew red with rage. “You love me! The way you look at me. The way you smile at me or talk to me. We—We had something special until that fucker came. He ruined everything! How could you do that to me?” He panted heavily, and he pounded his free fist on the counter as he screamed, “ How could you! ”

Fear shot through me, and I grabbed the glass bowls behind me and threw them at him. He ducked to avoid the hit as adrenaline pushed me around the island and back toward the front door.

“Bitch!” he fumed, his voice closing in on me.

I pumped my arms and legs with all I had, but before I could even exit the kitchen, he grabbed my hair and yanked me sideways. I screamed as I fell into the hallway, but I ignored any flare of pain that tried to sprout as I backed away from him along the floor.

“Drake! Don’t do this!” I cried, too afraid to reason with him. All I could do was beg for my life.

“I gave you flowers after your shows,” Drake heaved as he swiped the air above me with his knife, driving me farther and farther down the hall. “I came to every single performance you did. I called and texted you all the time. I showered you with love and attention, so why wasn’t that enough? Why did you have to be with him?”

I shook my head as if that would make his words and his approach stop. But he only closed in as my back hit the closed door of the home ballet studio. I was still on the ground, so I reached up for the handle, hoping to rush in, lock the door, and climb out the window. Drake spotted my movement and made to slash my outstretched arm. I managed to pull it back with a frightened yelp before the blade found its mark.

He towered above me with crazed eyes and shaking shoulders. “You’re mine. Do you hear me? Mine !”

His anger morphed in the blink of an eye as a deranged smile stretched across his face. He reached toward me with his free hand, and I turned my head away with tears slipping down my cheeks as the tips of his fingers traced my cheek. “You can make this right, though. I’ll forgive you. I will. I don’t want to hurt you. You know that. So sleep with me, yeah? You can show me how sorry you are.”

My chest heaved as I hiccuped and shook my head. “No. I won’t!”

He reared back as if I’d hit him. His face went completely blank for a moment before contorting with fury. He lunged toward me with the knife.

Reflexively, I recoiled and squeezed my eyes shut. I threw my arms up to shield myself, but before any pain or impact came, a muffled struggle sounded above me. My hands continued to shake as I dared to peel my eyes open. The sight made my heart lurch.

My masked demon stood there, his clawed hand wrapped firmly around Drake’s throat. Drake fought to break the hold on his neck, which held him high off the ground. His lips opened and closed in futile efforts to suck in air, and he kicked his feet wildly. The masked figure stood unperturbed, his black fingers digging in harder.

“How dare you?” my demon growled low and dangerous. “How fucking dare you come anywhere near her?”

Drake gritted his teeth and swung his knife.

With a horrified yell slipping from my lips, I watched with tear-filled eyes as the blade sank deep into the demon’s torso with a sick, wet snap. Without hesitating, Drake twisted the knife violently and drove it in harder. The veins on the back of the demon’s hand popped as he tossed Drake back down the hall like a weightless doll. Drake’s head bounced on the ground. His eyes rolled back into his head as he was rendered completely still.

The masked demon slowly looked down at his abdomen, gripped the knife still embedded there, and yanked it out with a deep grunt. Blood as red as wine gushed from the wound as he chucked the blade in Drake’s direction, probably hoping to hit him with it.

“Oh my God,” I panted, quickly getting to my unsteady feet.

I closed the small distance between us and reached my trembling fingers toward his wounded torso. “No, no, no, no! You’re hurt! Perseus, you—you need to get to the hospital!”

A sharp inhale came from beyond the mask just as his body stiffened. At his silence, I tore my eyes away from the bleeding wound and found the black eyes of the mask looking down at me. He held perfectly still, like he’d stopped breathing.

“So you do know,” he stated flatly, and while the voice was still deep and sultry, it was no longer distorted. It was his voice.

“I know,” I replied softly. “I don’t understand it all, but I know.”

He let out a heavy breath, and after a moment of silence, he reached up to pull his mask off.

Many times, I’d wondered and pictured what my demon looked like beneath the black-and-white fabric. Possibly rows of sharp teeth. Maybe wide, white eyes. Perhaps scales for flesh. I wasn’t sure what a demon was supposed to look like. The sight before me now put every fantasy I could’ve had to shame.

Perseus’s blond waves were tousled, and standing among the hair were two black horns. His eyes, typically as green as rolling grassy hills, were solid black, only broken up by a red vertical slit. The rest was … him .

Perseus.

I swallowed hard, my mouth drier than sun-soaked clay.

“When did you figure it out?” he questioned, his voice coming out softer than normal.

I shook my head and looked back down at his bleeding abdomen. “That doesn’t matter right now. We need to get you to a hosp—”

His clawed fingers intertwined with my own as his mouth collided with mine. I gasped at the unexpected kiss, and in doing so, I opened up enough for his tongue to sweep inside to tease mine.

This wasn’t my first time kissing Perseus like this, but it was the first time I’d done so while knowing it was him. The knowledge of who this man was pressed up against me, who stroked my hands with his thumbs, who sealed my lips in a hungry kiss was like flying too close to the sun—hot and dangerous, yet freeing and bright.

The sharp burst of pleasure that followed the deep and brutal kiss had the tension seeping out of my limbs. His hands squeezed mine lightly as he stepped into me, forcing me back against the wall. He didn’t release my hands, but instead, pinned them by my sides as he continued to kiss me senselessly.

When he finally pulled back with a light nip on my bottom lip, he whispered, “All better.”

I was practically delirious. I had to blink multiple times and rub my swollen lips together to finally gather my bearings. As I regained my breath, I realized what he’d said and looked at his torso. Sure enough, the tan skin beneath the torn fabric of his blood-soaked white dress shirt was sealed. Not only was there no longer a mangled open wound, but other than a slight redness to the area, there were no signs of any injury ever having been there at all.

My eyes widened. I shook my head to ensure I wasn’t imagining things from the strange mix of panic and lust still clouding my mind. “Ho—How—”

Perseus chuckled beneath his breath and gave my hand another light squeeze. “Your kiss must be magic. My own perfect medicine.”

All of the fear-driven adrenaline paired with the outrageous reality staring me in the eye piled up with his absurd reasoning. It was all too much, and I let out a disbelieving laugh despite myself.

“I want to say you’re lying, but I don’t understand a damn thing anymore.”

Perseus’s lips twitched, but that was the only sign he’d heard me. He let go of my hands to take off his ruined dress shirt, and that eye-candy wasn’t helping my sanity levels. He wiped the remaining wet blood off of his defined abs, and just as he turned to seemingly throw it at Drake’s unconscious body, he froze.

I followed his line of sight, and with a dizzying wave of alarm, I realized Drake, along with his knife, was gone.