Ruby Shadows (Born to Darkness #3)(54)

But that is for another time…another circle, I told myself sternly. I didn’t want to push Gwendolyn too hard or fast. I had only just earned her trust—I didn’t want to frighten her away again.

And what of the end of her quest? What will happen after we succeed in shutting the door and she wants to return to the Mortal Realm? a small voice asked inside me. Will she still want anything to do with a demon? Will you really be able to let her go so easily?

I pushed my doubts away. Of course I would let her go—I had no choice. And as to whether my little witch wanted to continue our relationship, such as it was, only time would tell.

But though I tried to be calm and rational about it, the thought of losing her stabbed my heart like a cruel blade. I wished I knew why she affected me so but I was no closer to figuring it out than I had been before. I only knew that I wanted her—wanted to keep her safe, wanted to cherish and care for her always.

I frowned. Such emotions were foreign to me. Though I did not revel in cruelty and pain as so many of my associates did, neither did I allow myself to indulge in tenderness or caring. Lust was my wheelhouse and I knew from long experience that the more tender emotions did not have to be connected to it in any way.

Yet, when I held Gwendolyn in my arms and brought her to the peak, it wasn’t only her desire that I enjoyed. It was the feeling of her giving herself to me—trusting me. It made me want to pleasure her again and again…to hold her close and never let her go. Holding her stirred emotions in my cold heart I had not felt for an eternity. Not since…

But I did not allow myself to dwell on the past—there was no point in reliving old pains and sorrows. Instead, I decided to simply enjoy holding my little witch while I could. Who knew what the morrow might bring? I had the uneasy feeling that our journey through Hell would not offer many idyllic moments like this one. Best to enjoy it while I could.

The night, as I said, was too short. Before I knew it, a shaft of dull green light that signals morning in Baator was sliding through the windows—it was time to be getting up.

Despite knowing that we ought to be on our way, I wished to hold Gwendolyn just a little longer. To savor the sweet feeling of her lush body pressed against me, relaxed in sleep. But a sharp rapping sounded at the door of the suite, ruining my plans.


The knocking woke Gwendolyn out of a sound sleep. She opened her eyes and seemed to realize all at once that she was naked and pressed against me, her lush body draped over my side. She sat up with a start. “What’s going on? Why am I naked?”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “Do you not remember last night? The pleasure of having your first orgasm…and then your second?”

“Oh, um…” Her cheeks flushed and she ran a hand through her tousled hair. “I guess I forgot.”

I gave her a little smile. “You wound me, ma petit chat. I had hoped the experience would be unforgettable.”

I could tell by the flow of emotions that ran over her face—embarrassment…lust…shame…fear—that she remembered well enough now. I wanted to gather her in my arms and reassure her but I sensed I would not be welcome. Clearly she needed a little time to process what we had done together the night before.

“You’d best get up and take a shower if you want one,” I told her, sliding out of bed myself. “We need to get on the road but before we can, we have that tiresome breakfast with Druaga to get through.”

Her lush mouth twisted into a grimace of distaste.

“Ugh! Do we have to see him again? I mean, I know he saved me from the devilkins but we’re pretty sure he set that up himself, right?”

“Almost one hundred percent certain,” I said grimly. “But as I cannot prove it, we must honor the verbal contract we made. Such agreements are binding in the Infernal Realm.”

“I just don’t want to have to sit through a meal with him leering at me,” Gwendolyn protested, covering her breasts with her arms. “It makes me sick.”

I didn’t like the idea very much myself which was perhaps why the dress I conjured her to wear was considerably less revealing than the red silk one she’d had on the day before. It was lightweight material but it would cover her from neck to ankles and it didn’t cling to her curves the way the red one had.

“Here,” I said, handing it to her.

“What about you?” She gestured at the black silk sleeping trousers I still wore. “When will you get dressed?”

“Now.” I snapped my fingers and immediately I was clothed in a dark grey pinstripe suit with a deep red tie—one of my favorite outfits from the human world.

“How do you do that?” Her eyes widened. “Just make things appear like that?”

“They are things I already own. They are back at my estate in Hades and I am simply calling them to me,” I explained. “I cannot summon things from the human world, however—not while we are here. Thankfully, my resources here are not insubstantial.”

“I guess not.” She frowned at me. “What about those panties you poofed onto me last night?”

“The small white silk ones?” It made my shaft hard just to remember how wet and open her sweet little * had looked spread out under the white triangle of silk.

“Yeah, those.” She was glaring at me now. “You expect me to believe you just had those lying around, ready to hand?”