Falling in love with a demon is the last thing I need right now.
CHAPTER20
CASSANDRA
Zaki tells me some naughty stories of his past. I tell some of my own, but it just gets the two of us worked up. By the time I’m sure his cock will drill a hole through his pants, I see the silhouette of a mansion rise on top of a nearby hill.
“What’s that?” I ask, trying to dampen the mood. My panties are nasty, and I might have to ditch them. With the hundred orgasms he gave me at the party, and the teasing while we rode the horse, I can’t bear another second wearing these wet garments.
Zaki’s hand is back to drawing lazy circles on my exposed thigh. “Náli’s house. We’re making a stop there. Just to stretch our legs.”
“Another fancy lord?”
Zaki buries his face into my hair, his hand curling around my hip bone. “I pray he’s not having a party of his own. I’d have to kill someone if they dared to touch you again.”
I press my lips together, electricity racing down my body. This is ridiculous. He’s threatening to kill people, and I find it hot. What the hell is wrong with me?
“You know,” I start, forcing my voice into an amiable tone. “Where I come from, killing people is wrong.”
“We’re not in the human realm, and we’re not bound by your rules.” He chuckles, something like madness in the way he does that. “And I find it much more fun this way.”
I can’t say I don’t agree, so I keep my mouth shut. The mansion rises in my sight, growing bigger and somehow more threatening. I never thought a house could look menacing—I was never one to fear castles and pointy towers. There’s something about this one, though. Maybe it’s the windows that look like eyes, glaring at us. Maybe the several columns making it look like teeth. A shiver races down my spine, something like a warning buzzing along my skin.
Shaking my head, I dispel the thought. There’s no need to be afraid here. I mean, nothing different from any other place in the Abyss. Zaki has clout. Accidentally, the one demon that came after me was also the one who had the power to get me out of this place. I’ve come to trust him, and I know he’ll keep me safe, even if that doesn’t sound exactly sane.
The horse takes a path out of the road, Zaki’s hand guiding it. We pass purple trees and orange birds, then follow a gravel road around a fountain that spills a black, gurgling liquid. I don’t even want to know. An aide waits for us at the top of the marble steps—a woman with hair so white it almost shines in the dim light. She’s dressed in a smart black dress, and she keeps her hands behind her, the perfect image of a butler.
Zaki alights first, then curls his fingers around my waist, helping me down. My feet touch the ground and my knees buckle. I hiss from between clenched teeth, reaching out to grip at the saddle. My legs tingle from lack of use, and I grunt with the pain of it.
“What’s the point of being dead if I still suffer this shit?” I complain, every step a new torture.
Zaki chuckles. “You haven’t been dead for long. Your spirit is still used to some things your body experienced. Or so I’ve heard. Didn’t your reaper tell you about this?”
“She might have.” I try another step away from the horse and pain shoots up my legs. “Now I get why you wanted to stop here.”
He makes a sound in his throat, then bends. One arm folding around my waist, the other beneath my knees, Zaki picks me up in a bridal carry, as if I weigh nothing. I gasp, throwing my arms around his neck. He’s careful enough to hold the hem of my dress in his fingers, so I don’t flash the aide when we climb the front steps.
“Your Majesty,” the aide greets, bending at the waist. “It is such an honor to have you with us. Please, come with me. I shall have a room prepared.”
“We won’t stay long,” says Zaki. My mind goes fuzzy when I notice my hand sprawled on his naked chest, the muscles moving beneath my fingers. “I have to meet my father.”
“We are aware,” says the aide, whirling about and starting into the mansion. “The king is back at the palace, I imagine?” Before Zaki says anything, she goes on. “My master is waiting for you in his office. When you’re ready to see him, all you have to do is call for me.”
Zaki makes a sound of acquiescence. His brows have dropped over his nose in a deep frown. Is he worried about something? Things seem to be going well. His clout makes it easy to get inside places. The aide didn’t even question what we’re doing here or why he’s carrying a human soul. No questions asked for the prince of demons.
The woman shows us into a room and closes the door behind us. I glance around the room as Zaki puts me down on a loveseat. No one could say this isn’t on earth. Dark wood walls, shelves crowded with books, a small desk near the windows. Easy chairs, lounge chairs, loveseats. It’s a place to rest and stretch oneself, grab a book, drink some tea. There’s a second door near a bookshelf, but it’s closed.
Zaki strides to the windows and looks out. It faces some sort of garden, the red skies bleeding into the red trees. Zaki leans forward, studying the outside, looking for something he doesn’t describe. He stays in quiet search for some minutes until my legs stop tingling and I can stand up. For the first time, I see his naked back. It’s as muscular as the rest of him, but his tattoos have changed. Here, they are something I never expected.
I close the space between us, reaching up to touch the ink there. Zaki tenses when my fingers brush his skin.
“Wings?” I whisper, gaping at the drawing. Not the wings of a bat or a monster, but the feathery ones of a bird. Of an angel. “Is this ironic? Because you’re a demon?”
Zaki breathes out a laugh, then turns around to face me. He captures my outstretched hand in his. “Usually, I’d agree, but to you I can tell the truth.” His eyes grow soft, and he brings my hand up to his chest. “No. It’s because of my wish.”
“Freedom?” I whisper, the word fragile in a place like this, full of slaves and oaths and deals.
Zaki nods. We’re locked together in a bubble of quietude, and I want to tell him his secret is safe with me. Beneath my palm, I feel his heart beating, calling to mine. Why is this attraction so strong? Why is it so easy to be with him? I part my lips, ready to tell him I want him—I truly want him, more than I thought possible, more than I thought sane...