out to check out the other door.
It led into a bedroom, dominated by a large four-poster bed piled high with cushions, an armoire, two armchairs with a table set between them, and another door in the opposite wall. I glimpsed a shower and a sink through the doorway. A bathroom, then. Alrighty.
I turned back to the demon, who leaned against the wall in the sitting room, his arms crossed over his chest. As with every time I looked at him, I was jolted by his ethereal beauty, so unfair considering what he was. And I didn’t mean demon. Jerks just shouldn’t be this pretty.
Still, my accommodations were miles better than I’d feared. My stomach settled, the panic abating with the realization that, hey, this wasn’t so bad. There were no torture instruments strung about, no fire pit to roast over, no monstrous hellhound ready to devour me. A knot loosened in my chest, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
Maybe this would be okay. I could deal with a surly husband as long as I wasn’t going to be locked in an Iron Maiden.
“These are your rooms,” the demon said. “Your meals will be brought here. If you require anything else, lay your hand on the plaque next to the door, and someone will come to take your order.”
Well, that sounded reasonable. And having my own rooms was a boon, a place where I could retreat and be alone. Heaven knew with a brooding ass like him for a husband, I’d need lots of me time.
“You are not to leave these rooms.”
Wait, what? I opened my mouth, closed it again. Squinting at him, I modulated my tone in an effort not to show the spark of irritation inside me. “Then...you will come here?”
The demon’s eyes glittered hard. “No.”
My thoughts raced, same as my heart. Skin prickling, I tried to slow my breathing. “You just expect me to stay put here. Alone?”
Like a package he deposited in a storage unit.
The demon raised a brow, an arrogant gesture of confirmation without him having to utter a single word.
“Will I meet anyone else?”
“No.”
I exhaled roughly, trying to stifle the bitter laugh scratching my throat. “So I am not allowed to leave, you won’t come to see me, and I’ll be locked in these rooms for all eternity without visitors? No one to talk to or interact with?”
“That’s the plan.”
Oh, that motherfucker.
What was this, some fucked up version of Jane Eyre?
Scratch trying to appease. Forget about being agreeable. My good intentions of surviving this hellscape of a marriage went up in flames as indignation burned through me.
“You pop up in my living room,” I growled, “you pluck me from my life, drag me down to Hell, and then you just want to park me here out of sight and out of mind, not even making an effort to engage with me?”
He pushed off the wall, his eyes flashing like lightning, black shadows writhing around him. Two steps and he was right in front of me, towering with all the intimidation of a panther cornering a mouse. I had to crane my neck to even look at his face, but I refused to back away.
“Do you want me to engage with you?”
I shivered. The gecko part of my brain—you know, the one looking out for my survival, preferably in one piece—screamed at me that no, no, no, engaging with this dangerous hunk of a demon was a bad idea. As in, on a scale of one to Pandora opening that box, this was off the charts.
And yet…the anger boiling inside me burned away this more rational part of myself until what was left was a feral creature with bared teeth. I would take fighting with him over an eternity alone.
“I want,” I snapped, “to not spend the rest of my days locked up by myself like some caged animal. I’ll go mad!”
His dark power whispered behind him, forming a shadow outline of his magnificent wings. “This might be a good moment to mention that I also have a dungeon.” He bared his teeth as well. “Perhaps you’ll be more appreciative of your current lodging if I show you the alternative.”
Threats, threats, and more threats. I’d about had it. “You married me,” I shot back. “You agreed to this farce, you took a vow to be my husband, and now you’ll just shove me aside? You’ve known about this contract for twelve years, and this is the best you can do? If you couldn’t find a