Page 14

FOURTEEN

damien

Y ou’re beautiful. The words I should have said to Willow earlier, when I saw her standing in her bathroom, the black dress showing off the creamy smooth skin of her back. Instead, I’d practically forced her to bring me along tonight.

Dammit. How hard was it to say the words?

All week, I’d had them on the tip of my tongue.

But everything faded away whenever she was around.

The light brown strands of her hair caught the light as she danced with Luna, and I scowled at the thought of someone else touching her. I shouldn’t have been this possessive, but watching her sway her hips, thinking about anyone else having what was mine…

It was enough to make my lips curl over my teeth.

“Fuck,” I muttered to myself as I watched the two of them dance.

“Can I get you another one, sir?” The bartender asked me, and I shook my head.

I’d been nursing the same one all night, and I had no plans of getting drunk. There was no way I’d risk something happening to Willow—or her sister.

I took another sip as the two girls danced. They’d been playing popular Halloween songs all night. Some I recognized, and others I had never heard before. While I wasn’t well versed in a lot of human culture—especially with their holidays—I’d spent my fair share of time while on this mission in bars. That, at least, wasn’t all that different from the demon realm.

And it was the reason I didn’t take my eyes off of them. Not for a second.

Part of me had hoped to find the girl I was looking for in one, but that had only led to me being cursed. The damn witch who took one look at me, talking to her sister, and decided I was bad news. Well, I deserved that.

Especially when the girl I’d been searching for was currently by Willow’s side. She’d been here all along, like destiny was just waiting for me to find both of them.

Gods. Her sister.

How was I going to explain everything to her? I rubbed my thumb over the top of my glass. I’d been doing so good all week, trying to build a relationship with her. Getting to know her .

I watched her human movies and then she told me about her past. What growing up here was like. About her relationship with her coven and her sister. How she’d thought about moving somewhere else after college. I couldn’t listen to her talk about the human boys she’dbeen with, not without my veins filling with rage. The jealousy was almost suffocating, the way it hit me out of nowhere.

There was no prying my eyes away from her.

The redheaded boy from the library was moving closer to my witch, making my hair practically stand up on my arms. My body sang for me to defend her, to claim her publicly.

To make it known that she was mine.

I was out of my chair before I knew what I was doing, pulling Willow’s body into mine. Covering her in my scent.

Her head tilted back to look at me, and I watched as her cheeks pinked. Fuck, I liked that. How had I gone this whole week without touching her? Without taking her lips in mine again?

“She’s here with me,” I repeated, as the young wizard looked between the two of us.

“I’m sorry, Willow.” He looked embarrassed. “I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.”

“We’re just…” My witch looked up at me as she said, “It’s still new.” She offered him a small shrug.

“Hey, no worries.” He gave a sad smile before turning around, going to the other side of the packed dance floor.

“Do you want to get a drink?” I murmured into her ear, my lips brushing against her neck as I pulled away.

She nodded, mumbling, “Mhm,” in response. Even the tips of her ears were a little pink as she slipped her hand into mine and led me back across the room.

Willow slid onto a barstool, her hand staying intertwined in mine even as I took the one next to her. Watching her, my eyes traced her flushed cheeks, her eyes twinkling as she ordered another drink. If only I could commit it to memory, so I’d never have to forget this moment. Or her.

Once she had the cocktail in her hands, she spun around to look at me, her eyes bright. “Hi.”

“Hey,” I practically grunted back.

I was still struggling with the possession I’d felt earlier, the need to claim her as mine in front of everyone. Her smell was in my nostrils, and I wanted it deeper. In my lungs, maybe. Burrowed underneath my skin. My innate nature was hard to deny.

“Sorry if this is boring for you,” my witch frowned.

It wasn’t. Not when I’d been unable to take my eyes off of her all fucking night.

“You could never bore me,” I said. Fuck it all. I didn’t like the distance we’d had in the past week, so maybe it was time for honesty. “Besides, this is... enlightening.”

Watching her. Seeing how she let loose.

“Hm? Can demons get drunk, anyway?” Willow wondered out loud, sucking on the straw of her drink, her eyes wide as she watched me.

“Of course we can.” I looked around the room. Luckily, no one was paying attention to us or her words, or else we could be in trouble.

Not because I was worried about something happening to me. The last thing I wanted was for someone to confront Willow about me. The idea that I could make problems for her just because of who I was… I didn’t like that. But I was already here, being a selfish bastard, all because I couldn’t seem to walk away from her—but I didn’t want to affect her reputation.

Because it was clear, any time she was around other people, whether it was flitting around the bar or in her coffee shop, just how beloved she was.

I’d experienced nothing like this town in the demon realm. Not that there weren’t communities or towns of our own—demons, living in their true forms, free to live their lives—but my life had been cold. Emotionless. Sometimes it felt almost meaningless. I’d lost my mom at a young age. My father… Well, the Demon King had his own set of worries, and it wasn’t about me. No, that distinction went to my older brother. The Heir .

I scrubbed a hand over my face. She’d lost her parents, but she was still so kind, caring, and generous. In all my years, I’d never met a woman who enchanted me the way Willow did. I couldn’t stop. Couldn’t keep my eyes off of her, or my body from wanting to touch her. Wrap her soft brown curls around my fist and?—

Willow’s hand landed on my thigh, causing me to startle out of my thoughts.

“What?” My eyes flickered to the counter, to her finished drink. Mine was gone now too, meaning I had no more excuse to be a grumpy asshole tonight.

“Should we dance?” She held out her hand to me. The music had slowed—no longer one of those poppy hits she had been moving her hips to.

I thought about how good it had felt the other day—holding her in my arms, dancing with her. Even though I knew it was dangerous, that nothing good would come out of it, I couldn’t say no. Couldn’t bring myself to turn her down.

“Of course,” I murmured, giving her my hand. It always amazed me how much smaller hers were than mine. How I could wrap my entire hand around hers. And yet, when she laced her fingers through mine, nothing had ever fit so perfectly.

Yes, my body screamed as my hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her in closer to me.

“You look beautiful tonight,” I murmured against her ear, finally saying what I’d been dying to for hours.

“Thank you.” She bobbed her head, a pretty blush spreading over her cheeks. “You clean up pretty nicely yourself.”

I’d hardly noticed what I’d thrown on when she told me about her plans. I’d just focused on her bare back as I zipped up her dress, and the way it hugged her curves. So fucking perfect.

Begging to have my hands all over them.

A dark shadow caught my eye in the back of the bar. Some alarm bell went off inside my mind, that I should investigate—to see what was going on.

But then Willow wrapped her arms around me, and nothing else mattered.

Unlike at the festival, when I twirled and spun her around the room, in a dance of intricate steps, we just held each other, swaying to the music. I liked it too much.

Which was why I needed to come clean.

“Willow…” I sighed, opting for honesty. “I’m sorry for this week.”

She looked confused. “Why? I thought we were having a good time.” She tilted her head to the side. “Getting to know each other. You know.”

“We were. And I liked it. Watching your human movies. Listening to your stories.” Too much. I liked it way too much. “But I’ve been avoiding… this , and it’s not fair to you.” I swallowed roughly, fingers itching to dig into her skin. “To either of us.”

“No,” she agreed, “it’s not.”

“But…” I tightened my grip on her hip. Held her closer to my body. Let my breath brush against her ear, and watched the way she shuddered from it.

Her eyes were closed as she murmured a quiet, “But?”

“But I’m tired of holding back. Pretending I don’t want you. Pretending I don’t know what your mouth tastes like. Pretending I don’t want to do it again.”

Willow’s eyes flew open, her hand on my shoulder moving to grip my jacket instead. “You do?”

My lips ghosted against her neck, the faintest press of a kiss to her perfect skin. “I do.”

When I stared back down at her, there was a spellbound look in her eyes. “Oh, good.” She let loose a giggle. “Because I do as well.”

I looked into her eyes. They were big, but not overly dilated. And she didn’t seem drunk to me. Which meant…

She wanted me as badly as I wanted her.

“Should we go home?” Willow whispered, her eyes bright. “Because I really want to kiss you right now.”

“Yes.” And fuck, I liked the sound of that. Home. Her place felt more like home than anywhere I’d ever been before.

I was so close to losing control. To giving in to every thought, every desire.

What the hell were we still doing here?

“Will Luna be okay?” I asked, looking at her sister, currently chatting with another witch at the bar.

Willow nodded. “She’s a big girl. She can take care of herself.”

And before either of us could utter another word, her hand was in mine, and I was pulling her towards the door.