A Demon's Kiss ✔️

FOURTEEN

Word Count: 1537

~Aspen

"I can't believe Kastriv is being so nice. I never expected that from a Noble," Kaia says.

I stare down at her arm, winding a bandage around it slowly. I've dressed many wounds before, although never on someone else.

Seeing the gruesome graze Kaia now sports from being pushed down by Oliver makes my stomach churn.

He did this to her because of me...

"It's because he wants me to do this job for him. Don't confuse it with anything else," I mumble distractedly.

"Consider me confused then, because I don't think that's his single motivation."

Sighing through my nose, I raise my gaze tentatively. "Don't say it..."

It's the last thing I need to hear. The more Kaia talks about it, the more she encourages my own thoughts, which have a tendency to sabotage me.

"What? I think he may feel bad that you've been abused all this time. But I'm sure he wanted to do more than just save you," Kaia muses, wincing as I accidently press upon a tender area on her arm.

"He may have wanted to save me, but that is it," I tell her firmly, stepping away to wash my hands.

"You're very pretty, Aspen. He may be-"

"Kaia...Drop it, please," I insist.

Kastriv isn't here, but he could appear at any moment, and the last thing I need atop everything is him hearing how Kaia talks about him.

I can't even imagine how embarrassing that would be, especially if he is helping me out of pity, and not for any other ulterior reason

Kaia follows me as I move from the bathroom and to the living room. "I know, I'm sorry. You're still reeling from what happened with Oliver."

"And I'm technically still married to him. Any moment now I could be forced back into his arms," I mutter.

He wants me back, Kaia's injuries being an indication of that.

"You're too strong to let that happen," Kaia sits next to me down on the couch, kicking her legs onto my lap.

"If you find Kastriv so attractive, then maybe you can pursue him." I give her a side look, gauging her reaction. Kaia is too smart to go for such a powerful man, although I'm curious to see if she will bite.

Kaia laughs. "He wouldn't give me a second glance. And even if he did, he's all yours."

"I don't want him," I grumble.

I'm currently in hiding from Oliver. The last thing I should be thinking about is crawling into bed with a Noble, even if...no, I can't.

I can feel Kaia's eyes rove over my face, reading my expression. "So you haven't even thought about it?"

"I've briefly thought about what it would be like to have a man like that's sole attention, but that is it," I concede. "But only because Noble's are fascinating to me. They have all that power..."

"You want to sleep with him, don't you?"

"Kaia!"

I shove her shoulder, careful of all her injuries. She erupts into laughter, poking my cheeks that are bright red at this point. She's never teased me like this about Oliver, and although I'm embaressed, it's kind of fun to think about being with someone who isn't my abusive husband.

"It's been years since you have had fun, and I know you had that crush on Ellard," she reminds me.

That was a dark faze. Mostly because Oliver was particularly cruel at that point, and also because he probably would have found my crush amusing had I ever admitted it to him.