Zaki climbs behind me. He takes one look at me and releases a sigh. “Thank the Devil they burned them.”
I start to curse him, but his powerful arms snake around me and he grips the reins. With soft kicks to the sides of the horse, we’re off. I grip even harder onto the saddle, the weird up-and-down motion of the muscular body making me tense. I was never a girl for fear of heights, but the strangeness of it all is uncanny. Locking my knees around the barrel body, I force my eyes ahead.
Zaki spreads a hand over my stomach. His breath curls around my ear. “Relax,” he says in that voice that reaches to the deepest confines of my soul. “He feels it when the rider is nervous and gets nervous, too. Take a deep breath. I won’t let you fall.”
Whether I want it or not, I can’t help but trust him. He hasn’t let me down to this point. I force a couple of breaths in then out, relaxing my grip. The horse seems to relax, too, the up and down growing smoother, longer. Zaki’s thumb strokes circles on my stomach, and I press my back against his chest. We’re skin to skin again, his warmth seeping into me. Soothing. Relaxing me almost to slumber. My mind grows hazy, hazier…
I force my eyes open, then scratch them. “Did I doze off?” I ask.
“Mhm,” he purrs against my ear. “Understandable after that much fun at the party.”
I frown, trying to remember. My brain takes a moment to turn on. Then it dawns on me like an atomic bomb. I remember his hands on me, his lips searing into my skin, and how hard he made me come with his power. I shake my head, looking into the distance. “That was awful. I hated it.”
“You hated it?” he asks, voice coated with humor. His hand ventures down my stomach to the exposed skin of my thigh. My panties grow slick so fast I have to clench my teeth not to moan. “It didn’t look like that.”
“Not the first part. I hated it when you used your power on me without asking first.”
His hand stops, then he squeezes my leg. “Duly noted. I’ll let you know in advance.”
He doesn’t say he won’t touch me again. A dark part of me is glad he didn’t. My gaze roams over the scenery, the red sky turning burgundy, the vegetation changing into bushes and tiny purple flowers. The place is not ugly, and not completely scary, but the way Zaki’s fingers trace up and down my leg distract me from further exploration. My breath grows labored, and I lean back against him. Into him. A hard length twitches against my backside. His pointy tail swishes near my right foot before coiling around my ankle.
“Are you using your powers?” I ask, desire coiling inside me, everywhere. Shit, this is unstoppable. Heat pools between my thighs, in my stomach, in my chest. Air becomes a thick thing, hard to swallow. My nipples tighten painfully. I miss his touch against my skin, even when he’s touching me.
Zaki brushes his lips against the shell of my ear. “No,” he says. But is it the truth? I can’t tell. I can’t be sure if this is me, if it’s his powers, creating a connection that’s not really here. Back at the party, I felt the magic, which I don’t here. But what if there are different levels, or different kinds of demonic magic?
And if he isn’t using his powers, why is it so easy for my body to respond to his?
“Why do you want to go up?” I ask in a whisper.
His hand pauses. Warm breath touches my neck for quiet moments. “The Abyss has a few kings. My father is one of them. The one thing he and the other kings care about is maintaining their positions. It hasn’t been about violence for many years now, but political power. Clout. My father always sold this image of me being the obedient, dedicated son. He hardly gave me freedom within the Abyss. I’ve never been allowed into the human realm.”
“Why?”
“He deems the human realm to be inferior. Only crossroads demons go there. We’re too good to mingle with your species.” His voice goes down into a hoarse whisper, something full of old hatred. “I despise that. There’s nothing I detest more than this ridiculous sense of superiority he has.”
I turn my head, cheek brushing his upper chest, his chin against my forehead. “So, you don’t agree? You don’t think demons are better?”
A painful chuckle escapes his lips. “We’re all made for the amusement of the gods. There’s no point in hating the others when we’re all doomed for the same things.”
This chat suddenly took a depressing turn. I straighten my spine, looking ahead once more. “As soon as I have my body back, I have to make sure my mates are safe. We have to deal with Kayn, whatever it is he’s doing now. Once that’s done, I promise we’ll all take a long road trip.”
“Road trip?” Zaki asks, curiosity on his voice. “What’s that?”
“We rent a car, a big-ass car, something the six of us could fit. And then we’ll drive around the country. Maybe even more. We could drive across Canada, too. See the bears, moose.”
“What for?”
I balance on the saddle, turning to glance into his eyes. He’s open, eyes watchful, interested. “For fun, Zaki. We’ll drive around to see places. To eat different food, to have experiences. We don’t have to have a purpose.”
He cocks his head, studying my face with his lips pursed. “And you think your mates would gladly take a demon in? Just like that?”
I shrug. “They will if I ask nicely.” It would take some convincing, of course, but I think they would warm up to the idea soon enough. As long as everyone respects each other, and as long as we’re keeping each other safe, I know we’re going to find a way.
“I would like that,” Zaki replies. “Very much.” And in his voice, there’s a dreamy quality. I lean into him again, and he tightens his hold around my waist, keeping me locked to his chest. Protected.
A part of me wonders what it would be like to have Zaki join my harem. Become one with the others. He would fit in well, and we could have fun together. At the same time, I know that’s not the way he works. He’s a sex demon, and he already told me he doesn’t sleep with the same person twice. Maybe we could fuck once, but that’s the limit. I can’t put my heart on the line, not when he’s been clear about his motives.
With stakes this high, I shouldn’t be thinking of adding a demon to the harem. First, I have to get my body back. See my mates, make sure Kayn won’t hurt people. Only then am I allowed to think this over, if the others agree and if Zaki changes his heart and decides to stay.