Unbidden, the memory of her first meeting with Drastos unfolded in her mind. She’d been flustered and overwhelmed, and the librarian at the checkout station had pointed her to Drastos’ desk at the center of the East wing in the vast university library. She’d begun rambling to him immediately about her research, ideas, and what she needed help with, and he’d made short, scratchy notes on a pad while he listened patiently.
When she ran out of breath, he offered suggestions. That was the moment she opened her eyes and truly saw him. Freed fromthe madness of her upcoming paper—due three months from then, but she was easily stressed—she blinked and absorbed the handsome face staring at her. His soothing, strangely accented voice drifted across her ears like a refreshing mist.
She’d made it through all of her school years without developing a serious crush on anyone, but Drastos hit her like an arrow straight to the chest. He took up residence in her heart, and from that day forward, she’d become ever more enamored. After a while, it seemed mutual.
And he’d come to her tonight. It had to mean something. Even if that something was no more than a night of meaningless, mind-blowing fucking, she’d take it.
“Drastos,” she said with a heavy, languid sigh.
The demon, who remained hovering over her in the afterglow, went still. She flinched, realizing her mistake.
“What?” he asked.
She shook her head.
He gripped her chin and forced her to look straight at him. “You knew.”
Dim moonlight slid along one side of his face, scarcely illuminating his dark skin. She couldn’t read his expression, hidden as he was, and no amount of staring solved that.
“I won’t tell anyone. I won’t say anything.”
His grip on her face tightened briefly but soon released. His clawed thumb stroked her cheek. “Did you know the entire time?”
“Yes,” she admitted. “Or, I just guessed. I…”
“How?”
She imagined where the telltale patch of silver hair hid and reached up to touch it. Her fingers brushed the ridged horn curling up from his left temple. She traced past it and twirled the hidden hair forward.
He let outalow rumble. Though she sensed it wasn’t in anger, she flinched.
“Just that?” he asked. “A lock of hair?”
She almost nodded, but that wasn’t the truth. The truth was embarrassing, but his secret was out in the open. Keeping her own felt petty. “And the kiss. I remember the way you kiss.”
“You recall that?”
“Of course. That kiss was amazing,” she said somewhat defensively. “When you’ve been waiting forever for something, you savor it. Cherish it. I don’t think I could ever forget that kiss.”
“It meant that much?”
She hesitated, and then her voice came out shaky and small. “It did. So much.”
The room gradually brightened. Turning her head, she found the source was the remaining lamp on her other nightstand humming to life, twin to the one he’d smashed earlier. The warm glow flickered and grew, casting enough light to reveal to the top of his body, down to where her legs wrapped around his waist. She looked into his eyes and wanted to ask how he turned on the light without his hands, but then again, he was a demon. A demon who had slipped into a fourth-level apartment through the window. A demon who could summon a sex toy from thin air and make it vanish just as easily.
“I can keep a secret,” she said, breaking the silence.
“This doesn’t bother you?” he arched a brow and gestured to his face.
Her initial fear had long since faded. Red or not, demon or not, he was still attractive, however different.
“Would it be going out on a limb to assume that to other demons, you’re considered hot?” she asked.
He shrugged. “To other Maelificars, yes. I’ve turned a few succubi’s heads as well. Incubi, too.”
She let that slide, not wanting to get distracted. She considered him; her gaze drifting down his muscular torso. “You’re handsome in this form. As handsome as when you appear human.”
“Truly?” he asked, amused.