Page 45 of Dancing With Demons

She nodded so hard it was amazing her head didn’t fly off. “Whatever you... say.”

“All right.” My gaze hardened. “Prove it.”

It took her a second to recall. She flicked to the audience in the hallway. “But—”

I heaved a sigh. “Talking back already? Shows how much your promises are worth.” I flapped a hand at Kazuya. “Take her.”

“No!” Moving fast, Charlotte snatched the hem of her dress and pulled it up to her chin—quickly obeying my order to disrobe.

I snapped my fingers before it was up and off, returning Lightbringer to her bed with an “oomphf,” and slamming the door in Kazuya’s, Bruno’s, and Pravat’s faces.

This show was just for me.

I give her credit for holding out longer than anyone else has against me. I stopped breathing, fist shaking as every perfect, unblemished inch of her revealed bare and lovely before my eyes.

But in the end, everyone falls the same way—

“On your knees.”

Charlotte dropped to her knees, but she was no longer crying. Fury burned in her blood-black eyes.

I grinned right back. “See? Isn’t this better? Life—after or otherwise—is so much better when we’re all in our rightful place.”

She raised her chin, fists curling on the carpet. “What do you want from me?”

My grin didn’t fade... but something did rise as I drank in every perfect, scrumptious inch of her. “You’re a smart little mortal, Charlotte Hunter.

“Guess.”

Chapter Six

Charlotte

“Guess.”

A single word, and it went through my chest like a lance.

For a long time—too long—Ronin, Ronin’s erection, and I stared at each other, letting the silence weigh heavy and heavier on us all.

“Y-you... want...” My voice was suddenly paper-dry. “You want someone to take your notes, fetch your meals, draw your baths, and be your pillow. I— I can do that,” I forced out. “Because that’s all you want. I can do it.”

His eerie smirk stood my neck hairs on end. “Do you know what you are to me, Hunter?”

It took a second for the sentence to penetrate.

I frowned. “I’m... a servant to you.”

Ronin tsked. “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re not nearly as important as that.” He leaned over me, his red eyes swallowing mine. “What you are is a toy. A pristine, beautiful, rare toy. But here’s the thing,” he whispered. “All toys start out that way, and then inevitably, we grow bored of them. We break them. We toss them out. We stopped giving even half a shit about something we once begged and pleaded for. So if you’re my toy, sweet Charlotte...”

A cool, gentle finger caressed the line of my jaw.

“What do you think is going to happen to you once I lose interest?”

I bit the inside of my cheek, not daring to let a reply slip through.

“So let’s try this again,” Ronin whispered—leaning in and tickling the shell of my ear with his lips. “What do I want from you?”

I squeezed my eyes shut, but it was no use. I still saw Dora being punched and dragged off the bed. I still heard her screams.