Dancing With the Devil

Chapter 22

 Exams are this week, but I was able to whip this up for you guys! Enjoy! :)

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We made haste to leaves as soon as possible after we got the news. Of course we had to say goodbye to Seth and Eva and expressed our gratitude. As we gathered, all four of us knew that our farewells were a stupid sentiment, a precaution to assure the ever-present, nosy press that vampires and demons most definitely kept our good relations. Xavier and I were both impatient, and our words slurred in our rush to say them and return home.

“Thank you very much, Eva,” Xavier said, standing up. “Your help is priceless. If you need anything from the demons, don’t hesitate to ask for it.”

“Nonsense,” she scoffed, waving her hand flippantly. “This is what I do. If I can solve this mystery and keep my friend alive at the same time, then this is one puzzle that will be cracked quickly. Her being your mate has nothing to do with it. She’s human. I was human. I know how it feels to be threatened so viciously by a supernatural. It’s terrifying. I will always help her, and of course the invitation extends to the demon race, Xavier. You are our ally after all.”

She hugged him briefly, making Seth and I both tense. After a couple moments, Seth tugged her back. “Alright, enough of that,” he said gruffly. As if in a trance, I wrapped my arms around my mate snugly, possessively warning her to back off. She may be my new friend, but Xavier was…well, he was my everything: friend, lover, confidant, comforter, among many other things. I couldn’t live without him anymore. It wasn’t possible.

I waved fondly to Eva as Xavier and I both used our fires to transport us home. His hands encircled my waist suggestively as the flames swirled around us magnificently, a 360 degree tower of fire. When I looked up at him, he raised one eyebrow, grinning. Smirking was more like it, actually. His eyes were alight with mischief, as if he could tell exactly what his mere touch did to me. Heat that had nothing to do with the fire surrounding us and everything to do with the man standing in front of me churned in my belly. I smiled back into his knowing eyes as he leaned down to kiss me. I knew just as well as he did that I was powerless to deny him anything, especially his addictive affection. Anytime, anywhere, it didn’t matter. He had become my Achilles heel, as I was his.

We both also knew that our love would be our fastest, most thorough downfall if abused by our enemies. We just didn’t know that it would be used against us so soon.

* * *

I called for Willy the second I stepped into the castle. I heaved a sigh of relief when he came barreling down the hallway, catapulting himself into my arms in one, unscathed piece. I hugged him to my chest tightly, never wanting to let him out of my sight again. I was sure that if Xavier hadn’t been with me to distract me along with Eva’s help, I would have gone insane with worry.

Suddenly, I had the urge to not only hug him, but to warm him. Like a new kind of maternal instinct that no doubt resulted from my new demon body, I allowed my fire to come to the surface of my skin, not changing completely, but enough for my temperature to raise considerably. Willy snuggled closer to me, nuzzling his face into my chest like a lost infant. I held him tighter than I have every held anything before. I unconsciously pelted his face with kisses, about to start sobbing with relief.

At that moment, I knew how Xavier had felt when he first saw me. I had newfound respect for his restraint and abundant forgiveness for his possessive notes. Nothing was more important than my family—my mate, my son, and my future children—and Xavier had never seen me as anything less than his mate, his wife, and his lifelong partner. To have to stop himself from taking me was most likely similar to a smoker being instantly addicted to nicotine from the time he was born, but could never find a cigarette. And finally, finally, after waiting his entire life, he saw his cigarette, could smell the enticing smoke, but couldn’t touch it. Temptation dangled right in front of his nose, but he couldn’t snatch it up because he was so understanding. Xavier went about taking me the most compassionate way he could, letting me tie up loose ends in my life before beginning my new one with him.