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“Have you lost your freaking mind?!” he hissed under his breath, glancing around to see if anyone had overheard their conversation.

“Nope,” Victor said cheerfully. “Now, eat.” He pointed at Cassius’s plate.

Cassius opened his mouth to argue, stopped, and blew out a heavy sigh. He picked up his cutlery and dug into his meal, Victor’s confession ringing in his ears.

To his surprise, the next few hours passed in a flash. Victor’s charm was magnetic and his voice mesmerizing. Cassius couldn’t help but fall under his spell as they wiled away the time over more drinks and spoke about the past. Talking with the demon was as easy as breathing and Cassius felt utterly comfortable in his company.

It wasn’t long before he returned to the subject that had been preoccupying him all evening.

“Were you serious? About what you said before?”

The pub had grown noisy in the last hour, people coming in to have a drink and catch a meal with friends after work. Despite the brouhaha around them, Victor’s attention remained steadfastly focused on Cassius.

“Do you mean about asking you out?”

Cassius hesitated before nodding, his stomach twisting at the thought of Victor laughing and telling him it had all been a joke. For some reason, Cassius didn’t want that to happen. He stiffened when Victor reached across the table and tipped his chin up gently with his fingers.

“What are you?—?”

The rest of Cassius’s words died in his throat as Victor leaned over and pressed his mouth to his. The world faded around him.

This kiss was heat. It was electric. It sparked and sizzled and set him alight from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. It was everything Cassius hadn’t realized he’d been missing and more.

Victor’s eyes darkened to azure as he explored Cassius’s lips, gently molding and brushing their mouths together, learning the shape of Cassius. Cassius found himself unconsciously chasing his touch, his head angling to make the most of Victor’s sensual kiss, his body leaning in to maintain contact.

Cassius didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath until Victor lifted his mouth off his. He stared dazedly at the demon before touching his lips with his fingers, wondering if he’d imagined it all. The hotness of his flesh told him otherwise.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Victor groaned.

Cassius blinked, the clamor around them finally registering as awareness returned.

“Don’t look at you like what?”

Victor’s voice dropped an octave. “Like you want more.”

Cassius flushed, conscious of the fullness in his crotch. A single kiss from the demon had gotten him hard.

Victor’s expression turned serious. “And the answer is yes, just in case you still had doubts.”

Cassius sobered. “Why?”

Victor covered Cassius’s fisted hand with his own. “Why not?”

Cassius frowned, unable to mask his frustration any longer.

“I’m the last person you should be hanging around with, Victor,” he said bitterly. “You should stay away from me if you want to become the head of Cabalista.”

The demon arched an eyebrow. “Why can’t I do both?”

Cassius sucked in air. It was the first time he was hearing Victor admit he aspired to the position currently held by Gilmore. He swallowed at the other man’s unruffled expression.

Damn. How the hell is he so confident?

“I want you.” Victor’s touch and gaze burned into Cassius. “And I know you want me too. Go out with me.”

Dusk was falling when Cassius pulled up in front of a pair of towering, black, cast-iron gates. The cream-gravel driveway beyond them curved to the left, the foliage from the thick trees lining it obscuring the property at the end.

A wry half smile stretched his mouth as he looked along the secluded lane he’d just driven down. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised Victor’s home was in Highgate. The epitome of wealth for those who wanted to work in London while still enjoying country style living, the former Victorian village boasted some of the most expensive zip codes in the country.

It suited the demon.

The gates opened with a faint electronic whirr before he had a chance to press the call button on the intercom. Cassius glanced at the camera atop the wall to his left.

Guess he’s expecting me.

Butterflies swarmed his stomach as he rode his motorbike up Victor’s drive.

It had been two weeks since Victor had asked him out. They’d been on several dates since then, mostly in the City of London. Though they’d shared many a torrid kiss during that time, Victor never made a move to take him to bed. Cassius knew the demon was biding his time, stoking the desire that ignited between them whenever they touched.

Tonight was the first time Victor had invited him over to his home. Even though he hadn’t made his intentions explicit, Cassius was conscious the demon intended to have sex with him.

Cassius would be lying through his teeth if he said he wasn’t looking forward to it. Victor was always calm and composed. Cassius’s instincts told him this attitude wouldn’t extend to the bedroom; the way Victor sometimes looked at him was so carnal he couldn’t help but shiver and yearn for the promise in the demon’s eyes.

He was dying to see Victor lose control.

An impressive, gray stone Neo-Gothic Victorian mansion loomed into view. Cassius parked next to Victor’s Jaguar and switched the motorbike engine off. He was admiring the pretty facade with its crenelated parapets and tall, leaded windows when the front door opened.

Victor appeared on the porch.

Cassius’s mouth went dry.

The demon was wearing a long-sleeved, open neck black silk shirt that highlighted his broad shoulders and champagne-colored trousers that made his legs look like they went on for miles. The familiar citrus scent of his aftershave teased Cassius’s nostrils, the fragrance masking the faintest hint of sulfur emanating from his soul core.

Hunger stirred inside Cassius.

Victor looked and smelled good enough to eat.

The demon’s lips curved in a smile that made Cassius’s stomach flip-flop.

“I’m glad you found the place okay.”

“I’d be hard pressed to miss it,” Cassius said, masking his nerves behind a steady tone. “It’s the only property on this road.”

He climbed off the motorbike and took out the bottle of wine he’d brought from the storage compartment, conscious of Victor’s gaze roaming his body. He’d opted for a dark blue shirt and cream chinos for their dinner date tonight.

Victor pressed a light kiss to his mouth when Cassius joined him on the porch.

“You look great.”

Cassius tried hard not to swallow convulsively when he met the demon’s smoldering gaze. “So do you.”

“Come on in.”

The proprietary hand Victor laid on Cassius’s lower back as he guided him inside his home had Cassius’s pulse quickening. He relished the subtle ways Victor laid claim to him since they started dating. Cassius wasn’t a clingy lover by any means. It had just been a damn long time since he’d experienced the kind of attention Victor so readily showed him.

The inside of Victor’s home was even more impressive than the exterior. The color tones were vivid blues, dark grays, and gold, the elegant furnishings and soft lighting providing a sophisticated contrast to the moody hues. It was a masculine decor that oozed good taste and money.

Cassius’s heart fluttered when he observed the ornate, winding staircase dominating the main foyer. Victor’s bedroom was undoubtedly upstairs. He wondered if he would finally get to see what it looked like tonight.

“Let’s eat,” Victor murmured with a smile that told Cassius he’d guessed his filthy thoughts. “I’ll show you around later.”

Cassius followed Victor down a hallway to the left, his cheeks warm. Victor led him into a beautiful sun room that overlooked the extensive, terraced gardens at the rear of the property. Movement down on the lawn drew Cassius’s gaze. He didn’t have to squint to see the two creatures walking daintily across the immaculate grass, his otherworldly vision piercing the gloom easily.

“Are those peacocks?”

“Yes.” Victor chuckled at Cassius’s expression. “Before you let your imagination run wild about my extravagant habits, they came with the property.”

Cassius pursed his lips. “I wasn’t going to say anything.”

Victor guided Cassius to his seat and drew the chair back. “You didn’t have to.”

Cassius hesitated before sitting down. Victor’s attentiveness was something he was still getting used to. He stiffened when he felt Victor draw close.

“You’re right,” the demon murmured into his ear from behind, his breath dancing hotly across Cassius’s skin. “My bed is upstairs. And I fully intend to have you in it tonight.”

Cassius shivered, his dick thickening at the scorching promise.

Victor straightened. “But first, dinner.”

He took the bottle of wine Cassius had brought and disappeared from the room, only to return with a butler’s tray holding several serving dishes covered with silver cloches and a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket.

“I hope you like venison.”

“I do.” Cassius’s eyes widened when Victor removed the domes. “Did you make this?” He stared at the immaculately presented food the demon had uncovered.

The meal looked good enough to be served in a Michelin-starred restaurant.

“I did. I like cooking.”

Cassius bit his lip.

Victor smiled faintly. “Are you laughing at me?”

“I’m struggling to imagine you in an apron,” Cassius confessed.

Victor chuckled. “I look pretty good in it if I say so myself.”

“I bet you do.”

They gazed at each other, awareness rippling between them. Cassius’s breathing accelerated as the air grew charged with sexual tension. Victor broke eye contact first and turned to open the bottle of champagne.

Cassius didn’t remember much about the meal. By the time Victor tidied the dishes away and showed him to the library for dessert and coffee, his body was so wired he knew a single touch from Victor might make him explode.

He was standing at the bay windows and staring out into the night to calm his nerves when Victor came inside the room. The demon put their servings of cheesecake down on the desk and brought the coffees over.

“Here.”

“Thanks,” Cassius murmured, accepting the drink.

A sigh left him when he took his first sip. Victor had made the coffee just the way he liked it, black and sweet. They stood in silence for a while, their gazes on the dark landscape outside.

“This place is beautiful,” Cassius finally said.

“I was lucky,” Victor admitted with a wry half smile. “I knew the previous owner. When he told me he was contemplating selling it and moving to the States, I secured the property before he could put it on the market.” The demon grimaced. “I paid him way more than it was worth at the time, but I really wanted to live here.”

“I can see why.”

Cassius finished his drink and turned to set the empty cup down on the desk. He tensed when he sensed Victor’s presence at his back. Victor’s breath ruffled his hair and tickled his skin. Cassius shivered and sighed when he felt Victor’s lips brush his nape.

Still, Victor didn’t lay his hands on him.

What’s he waiting for?

Victor stilled. Cassius flushed when he realized he’d said the words out loud. He froze when Victor pressed his face in his hair.

“I’m afraid to touch you.”

The demon’s tortured confession made Cassius tremble.

“Why?” he mumbled.