brought the object up, and my thighs clenched in visceral memory. He regarded the vibrator, peered into the room—toward the bed, if I pegged the direction right—and then looked straight at the camera. Raising a brow, he smirked, wiggled the vibe and proceeded to slip it into the pocket of his pants. He patted it for good measure. The video shut off.
I gaped at the screen. Oh, no, he didn’t.
Heat flooded my face. Was he really walking around with my vibe in his pocket? My well-used vibe, which undoubtedly still had enough of my happy scent on it to be noticeable among sensitive demon noses?
I narrowed my eyes. Talk about a cheeky, possessive alpha male. He might as well be wearing my panties as a necklace. Staking his claim.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about that claim. On one hand, wasn’t this what I’d wanted? His genuine attention, and him acting like my goddamn husband?
While, yes, a part of me preened at his obvious interest and the way he showed it, I hadn’t forgotten that ours was a complicated situation. Neither of us had chosen to be here, with each other. He hadn’t chosen me. Not really.
And I couldn’t help thinking...if he did have the choice—no obligations to care for me, no punishment by contract if he didn’t comply—would he walk away?
Would I?
If I had the chance to turn it all back and render this contract null and void, go back to Earth and my old life, wouldn’t I take it?
A heavy feeling settled in my gut, spreading prickling unease through my body until I felt twitchy. Throwing back the blanket, I swung my legs over the side of the bed—ugh, my sore muscles—and stood up, wobbling precariously.
Jesus, I’d never been this “hungover” after sex. Then again, I never had this much sex in one night. Even my most eager boyfriend didn’t have the stamina necessary for half a dozen rounds, not even counting the times in between when Azazel made me come in other ways.
I had no idea it was physically possible to have that many orgasms in a few hours.
One thing was clear, our sexual chemistry was off-the-charts, and the way we collided bordered on cosmic. I didn’t regret taking that step with him, even with the situation being more complex than a casual hookup. It would be fine. I would be fine. I could totally do this. I could take advantage of what he offered, have my sexual needs met, and enjoy myself.
I didn’t hold any delusions about there being more. I’d never wanted a grand romance anyway.
We were simply making the best of a weird turn of events. There. That was all I needed to contemplate right now.
I was hobbling toward the door when one of the armchairs in the corner caught fire. I didn’t even have time to jerk back before a click sounded, and a spray of water showered down from the ceiling, precisely targeted at the isolated piece of furniture in flames. Nothing else in the room got doused in water.
I blinked in shock at the thoroughly calibrated sprinkler and watched the fire hissing its last breaths as it got extinguished.
He—he’d installed a sprinkler system.
Such a waste. A feline voice filled my mind, accompanied by a scratching sound coming from the gloom-shrouded rafters.
I glanced up and spied a long black tail elegantly swishing back and forth.
“Mephistopheles?” I grabbed the blanket from the bed and wrapped it around my body. Not that I thought a hellcat had any interest in human nudity, but still.
Why even bother laying all these pipes? More scratching, the distinct sounds of claws on metal. Takes up so much space here. Not to mention completely unnecessary. You’d think a demon of his intelligence wouldn’t waste a resource like this.
“What do you mean?”
Water is scarce. It’s true they don’t need to drink it to survive, but they need it to groom themselves. And their hounds slobber it up. A delicate sniff. Spilling more than they drink, of course, graceless as they are. A flash of light as his eyes reflected the flames of the torches. Still, there is so little water here that they use it as a status symbol. Have you been to Lucifer’s palace?
I gulped. “No.” And I had no intention to ever go there.
He has a water garden. Swish, swish went his tail. It’s preposterous. As pretentious as the human kings of old. To have so much, and waste it on decoration. All for show and reputation. His