Page 45 of Hell on Earth
“Because there was nothing frigid about you in thetunnel.”
A blush crept into her cheeks. “Maybe it’s different if I’m actuallyhavingsex and it would be mechanical with all the men I slept with, human or demon,” she continued. “But I’d have to experience it with someone elsetoknow.”
My teeth scraped together at the thought of her withanyother man. If Todd had been standing before me, I would have slaughtered him. If she tried to turn to another… The skin on the backs of my hands tingled as the tips of my talons proddedagainstit.
The more I considered it, the more certain I became she was not just any other woman to me. Whether she was my Chosen or not, I couldn’t say for sure unless we had sex, but she was special to me, and there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t doforher.
“And so you’re considering experimenting with me?” Iaskedher.
I couldn’t tell if that idea pleased me or pissed me off more. She might be curious enough to have sex with me, but I didn’t want to be an experiment she would move on fromafterward.
“No, I didn’t say I intended to experiment with you. I said I was curious. That’s all,” she replied, breaking into mythoughts.
“I am more than willing to ease your curiosity, Wren, and I can guarantee there will be nothingmechanicalaboutit.”
“You don’t know that,” shemuttered.
I stepped closer and bent over to rest my hands on either side of her hips. She leaned away from me, but she licked her lips when her eyes briefly fell to mymouth.
“I do,” I assured her. “But know this. If you decide to experiment on me, I might not let you goafterward.”
Her eyes widened onmine. “What?”
“Youheardme.”
“You can’t possibly think thatI’myour Chosen?” sheblurted.
“I don’t know if you are or not, I’m simply letting you know that I may decide tokeepyou.”
She swallowed heavily and, removing my hands from the couch, I stepped away from her. I stared down at her, hoping she’d open her arms to me, but she slid her knife back into its holster and rose toherfeet.
“I’ll take this watch. You should rest,”shesaid.
I hid my disappointment as I moved further away from her. It would be best if I got as far from Wren as possible when we returned to the others, but I trusted no one to protect her as savagely as I would. Being this close to her, and not having her though, might drive me to do something I would never do under normalcircumstances.
I’d never take her without her permission, but I may snap and kill someone else if she tried to be with them. I’d never believed such a thing would be possible, not with me. However, Wren pushed the boundaries of my control more than anyoneeverhad.
For the first time, I wished Kobal were here instead of at the wall, ruling with River as he should. Kobal would have answers for me, he would know what to do, and he would take me down if it becamenecessary.
“I’m not tired,” I told her, “and I don’t require as much rest asyoudo.”
She didn’t reply as she walked over to the window. Pulling aside a small corner of the curtain, she peered into the stormy night as the rain beat harder against the glass. A flash of lightning illuminated her lovely features and made her hair appear nearly white. She didn’t look at me again when she settled the curtain back intoplace.
“When you watched humans from Hell, was it because you enjoyed it, or was it simple curiosity?” sheasked.
“At first, because I was curious.” I perched on the end of the couch and lifted my leg to prop my foot against the side of it. “But then, I came to almost like your species. No matter what, the human race found a way to keep going against some pretty steep odds, but then, I guess demons faced some bad odds while evolvinginHell.”
“Hell would be steeper odds than Earth, but you do have that whole immortality and regenerating body parts thing going for you that wemortalslack.”
“We do have that,” I agreed with alaugh.
A loud screech outside whipped Wren’s head toward the window. Her hand fell to her knife as she stepped away from the glass. “What was that?” shewhispered.
“Not sure.” I lowered my foot to the ground and rose. I strained to hear anything beyond the deluge of rain hitting the windows and pounding off the roof. “Some Hell creature, but not one I’m familiar with. I’ve had about as much experience with the things locked behind the sealsasyou.”
“The seals of Hell falling means the apocalypse, or at least that’s what I wastaught.”
“Not the apocalypse, not unless we allow it to become that. Remember, humans twisted a lot of what they glimpsed in Hell into different mythologies. Some things they got right, others they got completely wrong, and some they made their own. Demons are not all that is evil; angels are not all that is good. Things areneverso simple. The falling of the seals left Hell a far different place than it was, but it doesn’t mean the end of theworld.”
