“No one ever really knows what the cost will be. Look, I get why you’re upset, but you’re not at all blameless here. The potion wouldn’t have backfired on you if you’d been honest with your girlfriend.”
He sighed. “You realize I’ll forever be known as the guy who once had a nipple on his face?”
“Another thing which is unfortunate,” she said, hoping her words overrode Xavier’s snicker. “In future, whether you purchase a potion like this from here or somewhere else, be upfront with the person you want the potion to work on. We said the same to a woman who was looking for a cock-lengthening brew—”
“You make cock-lengthening brews?” he asked, all his hostility slipping away.
“Me? No. But Delilah does.”
“They only work for a few hours,” Delilah told him. “It’s kind of like Viagra, only it changes the size of your dick as well as enhances your libido for a short period.”
He and his lair exchanged intrigued looks before he turned back to Delilah. “How mucharethese brews?”
Wynter inwardly snorted.Men.Figuring all was now well, she shot Delilah a ‘We’ll talk about this later’ look and then turned to Xavier. “I’ll leave you guys to handle this.”
“We got it,” he vowed, smiling. “You go see Cain.”
That was the plan. It had become a routine—she worked, she ate with her crew, and then she spent the night in Cain’s bed. Each time a voice in her head taunted that she was in danger of growing attached to the Ancient, Wynter pointedly ignored it.
Reaching the Keep, she greeted the aide at the entrance, who then escorted her upstairs to Cain’s chamber. She found him standing near the window, sipping amber liquid from a tumbler.
“Sorry, I’m late,” she said. “Had to avert a crisis.” The hairs on her neck stood on end when his eyes met hers, utterly vacant. “What’s wrong?”
He very slowly angled his head. “Why would you think something is wrong?” he asked, his voice flat.
“Because I’m not stupid.” It was easy to tell that all the shutters were down right now. Still, she raised her hands and said, “We don’t have to talk about it.” She had no right to push him to share things with her, given that she wouldn’t return the favor if he ever pushed too hard. “Just don’t insult my intelligence by expecting me to believe you’re not working through something in your head right now.”
He let out a low hum. “What was the crisis you mentioned?” he asked, though he didn’t sound particularly interested.
She plonked herself on a bulky chair. “To cut a long story short, Delilah pissed off a demon. He and a bunch of his lair turned up at the cottage looking for her. All is well, nothing happened; they were buying more potions when I left.”
His gaze returned to the window. “It must be strange for demons to have to coexist with an entity that differs from them in many ways. There would surely be a struggle to find balance.”
Her skin tingled, because there was something about the way he’d spoken … as if he was fishing for something. Testing her, even. “I guess.”
“Have you ever been around a demon when their inner entity surfaced and took control?”
“Quite a few times since coming here, yes. They’re intrigued by dark magick. They like to ask questions about runes.”
Cain’s eyes bore into hers. “And you answer? As if they are a being in their own right?”
“Of course. Theyarea being in their own right. Just because something is the epitome of inhuman doesn’t mean it should be feared or loathed or seen as ‘less.’ It’s simply different. I’ll only have a problem with such a being if it means me harm. Otherwise, I’m all about ‘live and let live.’”
There was a flicker of … something in the depths of his dark eyes, and then a warmth steadily filled them. “Come here.”
That bedroom tone made her pulse spike. “I like this chair. It’s comfortable.”
“But it can’t make you scream with pleasure.”
“You do make a good point.”
He set his glass down on the window shelf. “Come here.”
Huffing, she pushed out of the chair. “It really is a good thing for you that you’re a master orgasm deliverer,” she began as she crossed to him, “or the whole demanding routine wouldnotwork for you.”
His hands slid up her sides, over her breasts, and up to cup her neck. His eyes drifted over her face, glimmering with heat but also something else. Something she couldn’t quite name.
Once more, her skin prickled. “Is this where you tell me we’re done?” she asked.