Demon Kissed - Katie May Page 0,67

with sweat.

Ziel turns back to me skeptically, dropping my hand. “You don’t have to say that.”

Great. I’m fucking up my confession to my dream guy. Maybe that’s better than screwing up in real life, but for some reason, it feels worse. My heart twists when I realize he might think I’m being insincere.

“You’re my best friend. My confidant. You’re the only one who knows everything about me.”

His eyes drill holes into me, and I notice that today, they’re a gorgeous milk chocolate. When his expression softens slightly, I step forward and slide my hand back into his. “I do love you, I really do. If this was real, if you were real, you’d be my perfect guy. But this is all a dream.”

He cocks his head to the side, frowning slightly. “And that means it’s not real? What if we’re in another dimension? Or an alternate reality?”

I shake my head and laugh. “Okay, I definitely know that’s coming from the science cards I studied for decathlon. Dreams are not real. Thank goodness they aren’t, or I’d really have messed up an entire planet, maybe even a universe somewhere tonight! I’d be puking with guilt.”

Ziel studies me for a long minute before he says, “You always come here for a reason. You always have something to tell me.” He tugs my hand and begins walking up a soft, slightly springy cloud hill. “Tell me,” he orders, in his low, gravelly Witcher voice.

“My parents are threatening me. But the weird thing is that I’m not as intimidated as I’d normally be.”

“Oh. Why?” he asks as we crest the hill, and I can see our familiar little cloud garden ahead.

“I’ve got these…friends now. And they’ve got my back. They’re a little crazy, but mostly good-hearted, I think.”

“You think?” Ziel stops walking and turns to give me his full attention. His gaze warms me like the sun when he asks, “Why aren’t you sure they’re good-hearted?”

I contort my face like a ventriloquist and try to talk through my teeth, because as much as I always tell Ziel everything, I can already guess how he’s going to react to this news. “It’s the demons you warned me to stay away from.” I speak so quickly that the words blend into milkshake-like mush.

“What?”

I repeat myself slowly, avoiding eye contact.

Ziel doesn’t respond, and so eventually, I’m forced to cringe and send an eye upward to scout out his emotional location.

He’s not pissed. To my shock, a slight smile is tugging at the corners of his lips.

“So, you defied your parents. You defied me. And now you’ve got yourself a gang of demons at your beck and call.”

“They aren’t a gang!” I jump in to defend them. “More like a brigade? Squad? I don’t know the word for it.”

“And I bet they’re doing their best to ‘help’ you.” Ziel shakes his head. “You should be leery of demon help.”

“What? Why?”

“Because, at their cores, demons are very selfish creatures. What they want matters more than anything else.”

“That’s not true!” I argue. “They brought a guy back to life for me. Because I wanted it.”

Ziel steps in so that his feet touch mine. His massive armored chest is right at my nose. His hand reaches down under my chin and draws my gaze up, up, like I’m climbing a mountain. At the crest, his face is a view that takes my breath away.

But his face is dark as he says, “If they did what you wanted, you know the reason for that.”

I shake my head. “No, I don’t.”

Ziel leans down until his face nearly touches mine. I can feel the vibration of his words against my cheeks as he snarls, “They want you.”

I think he meant to scare me. But instead of a shiver of fear coursing through me, a tendril of flame lights me up inside. And with a shaky voice, I say, “I might want them too.”

Ziel’s mouth opens to retort, but suddenly, I’m ripped out of the cloud meadow. I zoom through the darkness, and gasping, I find myself awake in my room with an arm on me. I jerk to the side only to realize that it’s Adam, standing next to my bed.

“Katty? Can I sleep with you?” he asks. “There was a monster in my dream.” His eyes are soft with unshed tears.

I toss open the covers and help him climb in. “Of course, big man. I’ll protect you.” I kiss the top of his head as he drifts back to sleep. “I’ll always protect