Suzie’s eyes turned from excited to concerned. She frowned. “What do you mean you’re not going? It’s the biggest bash of the year.”
I settled for a shrug. I had no idea how to tell my ex’s little sister that I couldn’t go because every time I was around her brother all I could think about was jumping his bones. “I think I’m just going to stick around here and study.”
“You love Halloween and you never study,” she said. “You’re avoiding my brother, aren’t you?”
Okay, it was a little scary how quickly she nailed it. I fiddled with the edges of the skirt, straightening it out on the bed. “I’m not avoiding him. I’m just not in the mood to go to a party that he’s at, is all.”
“Right.” She rolled her eyes. “You’re not avoiding him at all.”
I shot her a dirty look. “Jax put you up to this, didn’t he?”
“Look …” She bit her lip. “He misses you, Liv.”
My eyes were narrowing, and I could feel my whole body coiling. I didn’t want to hear it, didn’t want to think about him missing me, because if I did, I’d think about how much I missed him, too. “Right.”
“No.” She walked across my room and plopped down on my bed, eyeing the costume. “He really does miss you.”
Her statement made my heart stall, and then it raced. “He told you that?”
Frowning, Suzie eyed me peculiarly. After a long minute, she said, “Of course he didn’t, but that doesn’t mean I don’t see it. He’s a mess about the way things went down between you.”
I let out a hollow laugh and it sounded a little cracked. “You know what? I’m not buying it.”
“You know what?” she shot back. “I don’t care if you buy it or not. It’s the truth.”
She shook her head and dropped her gaze, avoiding my stare.
I stepped closer to her. “Why are you here, Suzie?”
She didn’t respond immediately, shifting her weight uncomfortably. When she finally spoke, her tone was … sad, full of heartache. “I know what you must think of him,” she whispered, “and I get why you’re mad at him. I really do. But he loves you, we all love you, and I know you still love him.”
I couldn’t say anything to that, because she was right. She nailed it again. I still loved him and I didn’t think I’d ever be able to stop. I’d tried. Tried so goddamn hard. But it was useless. The thing was, I didn’t think I could go back to how we were either. Maybe I could have, if Jaxon had have come clean sooner, but now …
When I didn’t respond, she gave me a smile, a small, broken one. “Liv, please. Just get dressed and come to the party. You don’t even have to talk to him if you don’t want to. Just come … for me … please. I miss you, miss hanging out with you.”
I walked toward my desk, bracing myself against the leather chair. I couldn’t see why this was so important to her. I knew she loved her big brother, but it really wasn’t like Suzie to get involved in his affairs. But she was doing a good job of making me feel guilty. Apparently, she knew that, because suddenly her hand was on my shoulder and she was holding the costume out for me.
“Fine, okay,” I said, taking the skirt and corset she held out to me. “I’ll go, but I’m doing it for you.”
4
Jaxon
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Dad said from where he was seated beside me. “Suzie actually got her here.”
I didn’t look up from my drink. I couldn’t. I’d felt Liv’s presence the moment she walked through the portal, and I knew if I pulled my eyes away from my rum and blood cocktail, they would fly right to her.
“Yeah,” I said flatly. “I didn’t think she’d be able to pull it off.”
“Well,” Dad said. “What are you waiting for?”
It was a good question, but I didn’t bother responding, not knowing how to answer it. I half expected her to come to me as soon as she arrived, but she didn’t. It had been thirty minutes and as far as I could tell, Liv hadn’t even glanced my way. My own relief startled me. As much as I loved her, I wasn’t entirely sure how to fix everything.
I looked at Dad. He wasn’t in costume, though he was wearing his demon skin. Twelve-inch horns protruded from either side of his head, rough reddish-brown skin. His glowing green eyes shone at me, and what I saw there, I didn’t like too much.
Pity.
I didn’t want his pity.
All I wanted was my girl back.
“When you find a good one, you keep her,” he said quietly after a moment. “Life’s too short.”
His statement made me laugh, because for a demon life wasn’t short. Not at all. My gaze turned, searching out Liv. Most of the tables had been pushed aside, and the main area of the room was being used as a dance floor. People were pressed up against each other, swaying and gyrating.
I felt as though my body had been doused in gasoline and lit on fire as my eyes fell on her. Shit, she looked good in black and lace.
She was with Suzie and her sisters, a drink in her hand, leaning against one of the fake tombstones that were sporadically placed throughout the room. There was a demon there, one that was making her laugh, although I couldn’t tell who it was. He was tall, at least six-feet, blond hair, and dressed like a pirate, his costume complete with a fake parrot on his shoulder.
My insides instinctively tensed when he leaned into her, whispering something in her ear, and then, he took her hand and …
No way.
No fucking way.
I blinked, and then blinked again.
She was here for thirty minutes and she was already dancing with some other demon.
She wouldn’t …
She was …
Gritting my teeth, I looked away, picked up my drink, and took a long sip. “She doesn’t much look like she needs another man bothering her.”
“You’re right,” he said. “She looks like she needs her man bothering her.”
“I’m not her man anymore,” I said, meeting his eyes. “I lost the upper hand in the relationship, and everything went to hell.”
Sitting up straight, he pointed his drink at me. “Then take it back.”
I hesitated. “It’s not that easy.”
“Sure it is,” he said right away. “All you’ve got to do is walk up to her and tell her what you want and how it’s going to be. She’ll respect you for that, son, and if she doesn’t, she isn’t someone you want to be with anyway.”
Silence fell. My gaze drifted from him, and fell back on Liv. She had her back to the demon, her ass, shaking and swaying.
Goddamn it!
She was mine.
Mine.
Her ass should be rubbing up against me, not the demon in the cheap pirate suit.
Was she trying to get my attention?
If she was, it was working.
Why did I always need to make her mine, stake my claim, every time I saw her?
She looked so fucking sexy in the sheer lace skirt, the pale white of her legs looking like porcelain.
My dick twitched.
And that corset made her breasts look huge, squeezing them together perfectly.
Another twitch.
Dad chuckled, and I tore my gaze away from her, settling it back on him. “Go on, son,” he said. “If all else fails, just tell her you’re sorry. Women love a good apology.”
I stood up, grabbing and downing the last of my drink, and then walked away without saying another word to him, slowly making my way toward Liv. Everybody was dressed up, masks and make-up, the costumes ranging from the traditional zombies and vampires and ghosts, to well, some of them I didn’t have a clue what they were.
Liv didn’t hear me approach over the music, hadn’t noticed me standing right by her as she dropped down, popping her ass back up against the demon she was dancing with. She seemed at ease, happy even, as she flirted and danced, a huge smile on her face. I wondered, uneasily, if it was an act, or if she was really having fun with the demon. It wasn’t a pleasant thought.
/> “Mind if I cut in,” I said loudly, nearly shouting over the music.
Liv stopped moving instantly, stumbling a little as she tried to straighten herself. She gave me a leery look, one the twisted my gut up in knots. I hated it. She used to look at me as though I was the only one worth looking at and now … Now she looked at me as though she wanted to run.
“Um …” She glanced behind her, frowning when she noticed her dance partner had backed off, and then looked back to me, shrugging. “I guess.”
She looked a little less sure of herself, less … edgy, as I stepped toward her, though still entirely way too sexy. She stood there, awkwardly shifting her weight from foot to foot as I placed a hand on her hip, pulling her against me.
“Jax,” she said, looking up at me. She bit her bottom lip, and I was certain she was going to change her mind, but then she smiled, a sunshine bright smile, and said, “I love the pumpkin chairs.”
And then, she started moving.
It was awkward and cute, the way her hips started to jerk from side to side. I slid my hand to the small of her back, tugging her tightly against me.
“So,” I said. “Does this mean you forgive me?”
She let out a dry laugh and shook her head. “I’m here for Suzie, not you.”
Her response made me chuckle. “I don’t care why you’re here, sweetness. I’m just glad you came.”
Wordlessly, Liv stared up at me as she shimmied and shook. I felt my dick harden with every jerky hip shake of hers. She felt so good against me. So goddamn right. And she smelled good, too. Like sunshine. Sunshine and lavender and mint.
Leaning down, I dragged my cheek against hers and said, “It’s really not fair, you know.”
Her head jerked back and her eyes widened as her hand flew up to my chest, pushing me back until she could meet my eyes. “What’s not fair?”
“That you’re mad about something I can’t help,” I said, keeping a firm hand on her back. Now that I had her body pressed against mine, I wasn’t planning on letting her get away.
Her eyes widened even further, and she completely stopped moving. “I’m mad because you didn’t trust me enough to tell me that you were the Prince of Hell. That’s not really the kind of thing you hide from the person you’re dating. I’m mad because you told me you loved me, but you lied to me about who you really were.”
“You know what?” I said. “I didn’t tell you because I knew this is how you’d react. I knew you’d make a big deal out of it. Knew you’d treat me differently. I trusted my instincts and it turns out my instincts were dead on.”
The color drained from her face.
She knew I was right, but she didn’t want to admit it.
She would never have given me a chance if she’d known who I was from the start.
I stared at her, surveying her face. Her expression was guarded, serious, but her eyes … they couldn’t hide the lust brewing in her soul. I could see it behind the pain, behind the anger, burning bright.
Leaning down, I pressed my lips to hers, kissing her lightly, testing. She didn’t kiss me back, but she didn’t pull away either. It only lasted a few seconds, before I let my lips drift, kissing along her jaw until I reached her ear. “Come for a walk with me, Liv.”
“Jax …” Her breath hitched, and then came out in a quick burst. “That’s probably not a good idea.”
“Probably not,” I agreed. “But come with me anyway.”
She gave me a peculiar look, one I’d never seen on her face before, and then said, “I—”
“We need to talk, Liv,” I said, cutting off her protests. “You can’t avoid me forever.”
5
Liv
I went with him.
I shouldn’t have. My head screamed not to. But I ignored it.
The moment his lips hit mine and I felt his hard cock pressing up against me, all my caution blew away on the wind.
I wanted him.
I needed him.
He stirred up something inside me on that first day we met, and that feeling had never gone away. Never faded.
It was intense.
It was intoxicating.
It clouded up my brain in a fog and made my heart skip and race.
Jaxon led me out to the gardens. The music was still pounding from the party, but it wasn’t as loud out here. We moved through the rosebushes and past the gardenias, stopping at a fountain in the center.
He turned toward me once we stopped. The air was heavy with magic, and his black eyes shone bright under the crimson Hell moon.
He looked like he wanted to eat me up.
My heart hammered in my chest as he stepped toward me. “I’ve missed you, Liv,” he said, his voice low and husky. “Why didn’t you answer my calls?”
“Because you lied to me,” I said, taking a hasty step back. “I don’t have space in my life for liars.”
He stepped toward me again and cupped my chin with his hand before I could retreat, tilting my face up so I had no choice but to look him in the eyes. His thumb swept along my cheek, and I let out a shuddering breath as he leaned in closer to me. “I’ve never lied to you.”
My knees felt wobbly and so did my head. He was close. Too close. I could smell the rum on his breath, mixed with a hint of blood and mint. I couldn’t think. I loathed the fact that his nearness could still do this to me. And when he leaned in even closer, and I felt the bulge in his pants pressing against me, I couldn’t even breathe right.
Quickly, I pulled away, taking a large step back. “You did.”
“What exactly did I lie to you about then?” he asked, arching a questioning eyebrow.
I rolled my eyes and huffed, frustrated, although I wasn’t sure if it was from the conversation, or the way he had my body running hot with only a few touches. “Lying by omission is still a lie.”
He flinched at my words, recoiling slightly as his eyes hardened and narrowed. “So your problem is that I didn’t tell you that I’m going to inherit Hell someday.”
“I don’t care about what you’re going to inherit, Jax,” I said tightly. “I never did.”
There was a tense, breathless silence.
And then he stepped toward me again, crowding my space. “If you don’t care, then what’s the problem?”
“The problem is you should have told me you were the Prince of Hell,” I snapped, my eyes narrowing as I poked him in the chest. “What was your plan exactly? Claim me—mark me as yours—and then tell me? How do you think that would have played out?”
He reached out a hand, and I felt it brush against the bare skin between my corset and skirt, before he jerked my body back against him. “What does it matter?” he asked. “You loved me, still do love me. My title hasn’t change that. I don’t think there is anything that will change that, and I’m pretty sure you know it.”
I squirmed, and then stopped when, once again, I felt his erection pressing against me. It felt good. Too good, sending tingles racing between my legs. Holy Hell. How was I supposed to stay angry when all I could focus on was how good it felt to have his dick pressed against me again?
I licked my lips, trying hard not to move. “Everything has changed.”
“I can see it in your eyes, Liv,” he said, clenching his jaw. “You love me. You hate it, but you do. You’ve loved me since that first day we met.”
“Love at first sight doesn’t exist,” I scoffed, and then I lied to him. “It was lust, Jax. That’s it. It was never love.”
He didn’t believe me. Not even for a second.
“It only takes four minutes to decide whether or not you’re into someone,” he said softly, barely loud enough to be heard over the pounding beat of music coming from the party. “It’s been proven.”
“Attraction isn’t love.”
He shrugged. “Semantics.”
Silence.
His fingertips dug into my skin, holding me tighter against him. It felt so … good. The warmth of his skin pressed against me.
/>
“You could have told me, Jax.” I dropped my eyes, looking down at his chest. “I loved you. Loved you so much it hurt. It wouldn’t have mattered to me. You were the only thing that mattered.”
“Stop it with all the past tense crap,” he said, rocking his hips against me. “You still love me. I still love you. We still matter.”
I shook my head, feeling very vulnerable just standing there with him so close. Reluctantly, I pushed against his chest, stepping out of his embrace. I felt the loss of his touch instantly. He didn’t try to stop me, although the look in his eyes told me he wanted to.
“I can’t be with a man who would hide things from me,” I said. “I can’t be with a man who doesn’t trust me enough to let me into his world.” I stalled for a moment, biting my bottom lip, and then sighed. “We should really get back to the party.”
Jaxon cracked a smile, flashing a dimple, and said, “You don’t really want to go back there. I’m pretty sure what you really want is to stay right here with me.”
He was right. I did.
My skin was buzzing from his nearness, my brain was fuzzy, and my lady parts were pulsing with need. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to be back in his arms.
Involuntarily, my eyes fell and I looked down at his hard length, straining against his jeans, remembering all too well what it felt like to have him inside me.
We’d been so good together.
So, so good.
I hesitated before slowly shaking my head, and then I lied, “Get over yourself, Jax. I don’t want to stay here with you.”
“I know you want me, baby. I saw you eyeing my dick. I bet your pussy is throbbing for me right now.”
Dear Goddess. If I hadn’t been feeling needy before, hearing him say that did the trick.
He took a step toward me again, but this time I took one back.
“Liv,” he said, his voice low and husky. “Just let me have one more kiss. Please. Just one more. If you want to go after that, then fine. Go. I’ll respect your decision.”
I hesitated before slowly nodding my head. The truth was, I needed the contact just as much as he did.