Page 21

TWENTY-ONE

willow

T here was a first time for everything, and mine was attending a freaking ball in Hell. Okay, the demon realm might not have exactly been what I imagined, but I’d never pictured this.

Especially not the plush giant bed with the softest pillows I’d ever laid my head on.

“I’m never leaving this bed ever again,” I groaned, laying out like a starfish and closing my eyes as I sunk into the mattress. It still smelled faintly of my demon, even if he’d been occupying my bed for the last few weeks instead of his own. I inhaled that spicy smell, loving the way it invaded my senses.

When I opened them, it was to a pair of red eyes looking down into mine. Damien had perched himself over top of me, his lips curled up into a smirk. “I’d be okay with that,” he purred.

“Hm?”

“You never leaving my bed.” He leaned down, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

I stretched my arms out, moving my hands in a grabby motion. “Come here.”

He climbed on top of me, pinning me in place with his powerful arms.

“Are you still mad at me?”

“A little.” I sighed, running my hands over the slight stubble on his jaw. I wondered what it would be like if he let it grow out. He’d kept his face and neck shaved so far, but… what about the future? “Mostly that you didn’t tell me.”

“I should have. But I didn’t know how to tell you without telling you that you were my mate, and that was why I couldn’t let you go. Couldn’t leave you.”

I leaned up to press a soft kiss against his lips. “I understand.”

“You do?”

Nodding, I closed my eyes for a moment. “I was scared, too. That if I told you how I felt, you’d still leave.”

“Never.” He kissed my cheek. “You know that now, right?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

The heat was pooling in my veins from the way he held his body over top of me, a desire for him to pin me down, to feel that delicious weight over mine.

“Damien,” I mumbled.“What are you doing?”

“Earning my forgiveness.” Kissing my neck, he worked his way up till he found my lips. “While I’d love to take my time with you—” he paused to kiss the side of my lips, “I’d need all night—” another kiss to the other side. “And we have to get ready for the party.”

“Mmm.” I pouted as he interlocked our lips once more before pulling away. “Not fair.”

Damien gave me a little smirk before getting off the bed, pulling me up into a sitting position. “Tonight,” he promised.And I knew in my heart that I’d already forgiven him. Luna was safe. He’d brought me here to give me that peace of mine. And I loved him. So much.

I heaved a sigh. “Fine.”

“Besides, don’t you want to see your dress?”

Perking up, I repeated, “My dress?”

He nodded. “Mhm.”

Quirking an eyebrow, I clambered off the bed. “When did you have time to get me a dress?”

Damien’s lips curled into a small smile as he took my hand. “I have my ways.”

He tugged me into the giant dressing rooms that adjoined his room, and the sound of the door closing behind us echoed off the walls.

My jaw dropped as I saw what was hanging on the rack.

They’d detailed the dress with hundreds of tiny diamonds, which made it sparkle like the stars in the night sky. The midnight blue color blended into a deep purple as it rippled to the floor. Even more crystals detailed the sweetheart neckline of the silky gown.

“Oh. Damien.” I gasped. “It’s beautiful.” Spinning around, I threw my arms around his neck, bringing my lips to his. “Thank you. I love it.” Giggling, I kissed him again.

I love you. The words were on the tip of my tongue. But I swallowed them down. Even if he said he wouldn’t leave, that he’d stay with me… Admitting how I felt still scared me.

What if it was still too soon? I swallowed it down, refocusing on my demon’s handsome face. I traced his jaw with my hand.

He nuzzled his nose against mine. “Do you want to take a bath before we get ready?”

My eyes lit up. “Together?”

Damien laughed. “Little witch. You’re going to kill me.” He kissed the side of my cheek. Whispered in my ear. “If we get in there together, we’re not getting out. Not until you’re covered in my scent and look freshly fucked, so everyone knows exactly whose you are.”

“Yours,” I said, burying my face in his throat. Inhaling his smell like he always did mine. “I’m yours.”

He kissed me one more time, his tongue slipping into my mouth as I let out a contented sigh. I didn’t want to let go, but Damien set me down, guiding me into the lavish bathroom.

After two lesser demons who appeared from nowhere had cleaned and pampered me, my hair was curled and they tied me into my gown.

The soft silky fabric was smooth against my fingers, slipping through like liquid metal.

“Wow.” Damien’s voice brought me out of my trance. When I looked up, I was struck by the sight of him in a stunning tuxedo. “Just… Wow.”

I blushed.

“You look incredible, Willow.” His voice choked up, speechless.

“You look pretty great yourself, demon.” I tugged on his lapel.

He pulled away before I could kiss him, his thumb rubbing over the sparkles they’d brushed onto my cheeks. Like he knew what I wanted.

“Shall we?” He offered me an arm, and I slid mine into his.

“Yes.”

And my mate took me to the first ball of my life.

* * *

I glanced back and forth, trying to get a glimpse of my sister.

“Relax,” Damien murmured into my ear, running his hand down my spine. “I’m sure she’s okay.”

“I know, but…”

We didn’t get to talk properly earlier. Away from prying eyes and ears.

I was sure I could trust Damien, but his brother?

There were waiters making their way through the crowded ballroom, dressed in simple black suits, distracting from their innate demon-ness. Some of them had horns, or solid black eyes that felt like they could stare right through you. There were even beings with dark black feathered wings and some with barbed tails.

“They’ll want to make a grand entrance, most likely,” he said as he handed me a glass of a shimmering gold liquid.

“What is this?” I asked, swirling it around.

“Demon wine.”

I blinked at him. What?

“Just try it,” he encouraged, picking up a flute of his own. “You’ll like it. It’s sweet.”

I took a sip, and— woah. I’d never tasted anything like it. All the regular wine paled in comparison to the smooth liquid sliding down my throat. “ Oh .”

“Don’t drink too much of it. Gives you a bitch of a hangover.” He chuckled.

I giggled, taking another drink. “It’s good.” My head was already feeling light after just a few sips of the drink. It would be too easy to get drunk off of it.

Another waiter passed by us, this time with a tray of food, multiple pairs of horns curling away from his forehead. A thought popped into my head.

I looked up at Damien. “What do you really look like?”

“What do you mean?” He raised a dark eyebrow.

I squinted my eyes. “Isn’t this form of yours some sort of glamor? To look like a human?” If so, he’d accomplished it. The only feature on him that wasn’t human-like were those piercing red eyes.

“What are you expecting?” He scoffed. “Cat ears? A tail?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. You don’t have horns?” I poked at his forehead, where his dark black hair rested.

He laughed. “No. My dad does, but my mom was a regular shifter. I got her features.” Damien wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling our bodies against each other’s. “Why? Do you like the horns, baby?”

I shook my head, sliding a hand against the side of his face. “I like you just the way you are.”

But I’m not saying no to the cat ears, either.

He laughed, brushing his lips over my pulse point, the tip of his tooth brushing over my skin. “You’re cute.”

Taking another sip of my wine, I couldn’t help my smile.

“Look!” I exclaimed suddenly, catching a blur of white in the corner of my eye. “They’re here.”

The ballroom practically came to a standstill as Zain came to the top of the stairs, my sister standing at his side. The demon holding my sister’s hand was not what I expected when I thought of Damien’s brother.

Damien and him looked almost identical with their jet black hair, sharp nose, and chiseled jawline, but there was a distinct difference in his presence.

Zain was less rugged, and more… Princely . His whole demeanor screamed royalty. He was handsome, perfectly polished, and just as tall as my demon, but in the place of Damien’s blood-red eyes sat two golden ones. They were almost piercing, and though I’d always thought of gold as a warm color, his gaze felt cold.

Until it fell upon my sister, and I saw some of that cold facade melting away.

Huh.

“Now presenting, the Crown Prince and his fiancée, our Princess-to-be. Prince Zain and Lady Luna!” The room erupted into cheers as the demon finished his proclamation, stepping back into the shadows.

Luna, at his side, was wearing a ballgown that looked like hundreds of tiny stars interwoven together, and every time she caught the light, she sparkled. It was gorgeous—she was impossible to take your eyes off of. When you combined it with the tiara of crystals sitting on her head, she looked every bit the title she was about to undertake.

Princess of the Demons. I shook my head. I still had no idea what she was thinking.

They glided down the stairs, heading towards the front of the ballroom together.

Finishing my flute of wine, I turned to Damien, ready to go talk to Luna, but a voice interrupted me.

“Who’s this pretty little thing you have with you, Damien?”

My demon stiffened, his arm coming around my front. Guarding me against whatever danger he thought this male posed.

Could other demons sense a mating bond? Ours was still so new—precious, precariously settled between us. And how had I not realized it sooner? Now that I knew, it was so obvious.

With my magic, I could see the gold threads that intertwined between us. There was no doubt in my mind that they’d grow stronger—thicker—with time.

The demon gave him an evil grin, one that instantly made my stomach drop. “Did you bring us a new plaything, Prince?” He said the last word with a sneer. Unlike Damien, who appeared mostly human, this demon wore his true form—horns curving up his forehead, and a sickly gray pallor to his skin.

My jaw dropped. Even though Damien had told me about how he did Zain’s bidding, I couldn’t believe people talked about him like this.

“How dare you—” I started, but my demon tugged me tighter against him. This demon should have been terrifying, and yet—I felt perfectly safe. Because I knew he would protect me.

Damien growled, practically guarding me with his body. “She’s mine .” His lips curled up over his teeth, and I could see the exposed fangs there. “No one else will ever touch her except me.” You could hear the snarl in his voice. “And if anyone tries, they’ll find out exactly how it feels to really be in Hell.” His red eyes were smoldering, like fire inside his irises as he turned back to me.

The other demon backed away slightly, holding up his hands in surrender.

I frowned, tugging at his jacket to bring his face into view. “Why do they talk to you like that? You’re a prince too.”

He sighed. “I’m the bastard son of the King. They’ve never let me forget it.”

“Oh.” I ran my fingers through his hair. “Do you really think they’d try to hurt me?”

He shook his head. “I would never risk finding out.” I felt weightless as he scooped me up into his arms and carried me away.

“Damien,” I murmured, rubbing my hand over his jaw. “You don’t have to do this.”

“What?” He spoke through clenched teeth.

“Try to protect me.” I leaned in, nibbling on his ear. “I’m a big girl. I can protect myself.” I wiggled my fingers. “Witch, remember?” A few sparks emitted from my fingertips.

“You’re so little,” he muttered. “Fragile. I don’t… I can’t… My instincts are going crazy right now.” He sighed in frustration, setting me down in a dark corner before rubbing his face against my throat.

“What are you doing?” I laughed.

“Trying to make you smell like me.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“If you smell like me, the other demons will leave you alone. Know that you’re mine.”

“And…” I swallowed. “That’s the best way to do it?”

His eyes connected with mine, and he gave a slow shake of his head as his fangs popped out of his lips. “No.”

Heat flared in his eyes, his voice like gravel, rasping out. “There’s another way. But I don’t want to hurt you, Wil.” His thumb brushed over my cheek.

“You can’t.” I shook my head. “You won’t.” I believed in him fully. I knew that no matter what happened, he would protect me.

“You don’t understand. If I claim you, I could lose control. My demon senses would take over.”

He cupped my face, and I closed my eyes, leaning into his warm palm. “It’s okay, Damien. I trust you. I… want you to claim me.” My cheeks flushed with warmth. “Please.” My voice was a whisper in the night.

Shadows had fallen all around us, like a comfortable blanket, but I didn’t mind. I knew they were his doing. That they were keeping us wrapped up in each other, even in the middle of the busy ballroom.

“Willow, I…” His lips crashed against mine. “Fuck.”

I was lost in the moment as he kissed me, his breath mingling with mine. The kiss was rough, but I couldn't get enough as he claimed my mouth again and again.

His fangs brushed against my bottom lip, and I moaned from the sensation, even as his tongue explored every inch of my mouth.

My body was on fire, alight from every little touch. I whimpered softly as the sensation washed over me.

It was too much. It wasn’t enough.

“Gonna take you here, so they all know that you’re mine.” His lips connected with my neck, kissing a line down to my chest. “Claim my pretty mate in public, hm?”

I whimpered. “Damien…”

I knew the dark surrounded us, but even the idea that someone could see us—even in a place like this, full of demons—shouldn’t have turned me on more, but somehow, it did. When his fingers trailed over my slit, I knew exactly what he’d find. I was soaking wet. Thank the Goddess there was a slit in my ballgown, giving him access.

“My little witch. So good for me,” he murmured against my neck as he pushed my lace panties aside. “So wet.”

I moaned, baring my neck to him further.

He sank his teeth into me, those fangs piercing the skin of my throat. I’d expected pain, but pure pleasure exploded across the bite, and I moaned deeply from the sensation.

“Fuck, Willow,” he groaned. “You taste so good.” He didn’t drink from me, but the claiming bite tingled, ripples of ecstasy flowing through my body.

“Damien. Please.” I mewled, needing more. “I need?—”

He dipped his fingers inside of me, working me higher while his tongue gently brushed against my bite. With each stroke of his tongue over the teeth marks, my body trembled with pleasure.

“I’ve got you, baby,” he soothed. “My mate. My beautiful mate.”

The moment his thumb connected with my clit, I slumped against him, my knees going weak.

“You need to come, hm?”

“Y-yes.” I buried my face in his neck, inhaling his spicy scent.

“What do you want?” He asked, crooking his fingers inside of me. “My fingers or my cock?”

Inside me, I begged, hardly coherent enough to know if I’d said the words out loud or not. I didn’t care that we were up against a wall, with the only thing keeping anyone from seeing us being Damien’s shadows.

I longed for him, knowing that only his presence could ease the burning sensation inside of me. Damien’s playful fingers kept teasing me while my dress remained bunched up around my waist, and I clung to him.

“You’re going to have to be quiet, little witch.” He rumbled against my ear, his breath tickling my skin. “My shadows will keep anyone from seeing us, but I can’t say the same thing about them hearing us.”

Were we about to fuck in the middle of the crowded ballroom? Yes.

I nodded in agreement as Damien unzipped his pants, pulling himself out, revealing his hardening length to me. If we were somewhere else, I would have dropped to my knees right there and begged to taste him.

But this fire in me, this burning, maddening emptiness, wasn’t going away without help. Only his touch could soothe it. Was that the mating bond? Did demons feel this too?

Fisting his cock, he roughly tugged on it a few times before bringing his tip to my entrance, running it through my wetness.

Teasing me, over and over, without letting the tip slip inside.

Please.

Are you gonna be quiet, baby?

Yes. I nodded into his jacket. Now fuck me.

I didn’t care about anything else as he finally pushed inside of me, burying himself to the hilt. Neither of us said a word as he braced us against a wall, giving it to me with everything he had. Damien wrapped his free hand—the one not currently holding me in place against him—over my mouth, keeping me from making a sound.

We both lost ourselves in the sensation as he drove us higher and higher. His shadows joined in, a cool press against my skin, and I was gone.

Exploding, just like that.

He wasn’t far behind me, and I squeezed my insides around him, feeling him growing even harder inside.

“Willow,” he groaned as he came, spilling rope after rope of cum inside of me.

Every warring emotion inside me calmed as the warmth spread through my insides, leaving me feeling peaceful and content. It was like a balm to my soul, and I felt the beast within me finally relax and let go. Damien placed a kiss on my lips before pulling out, re-situating my underwear in place before letting my dress fall back down to the ground.

“Damien,” I whispered as I took a step, fully aware of the way the shadows were dissipating from around us.

“What, baby?”

Grabbing my hand, he interlaced our fingers, giving me a guilty smile.

“Your cum is dripping out of me.”

He flashed me a devilish smile as his shadows danced up my thighs before pushing it back inside of me. “I know.” Leaning into my ear, he said to me, “At least you smell like me now.”

I hummed in response, still not having enough words for what we’d just done.

And how much I’d liked it.

Loved it, even.

Like I loved him.