The urge to rail at him for such a huge invasion of privacy rose within her, yet Jade would be a hypocrite if she took offense. She’d more than enjoyed the fantasy, after all. Had come twice at the hands of the man standing before her, who had figuratively tossed Michael out into the cold and had replaced that hard, warm body with his own.
Didn’t that make her as twisted and demented as the Demon King?
Her heart continued to thump wildly and Jade pressed a hand to her chest, as if that would keep the organ from leaping from her body. “I don’t understand any of this.”
“In theory,” he said in a tight voice, “it’s really quite simple. I’ve wanted you for some time. Eight years, to be exact. But you’re mortal, which makes you wholly off limits. Even to me. Especially to me.”
Vexation and heat emitted from him, a combination that intrigued Jade. When she knew it shouldn’t.
He said, “Only one time before did I read your thoughts. When you were eighteen. They were so black and agonizing, I never did it again. I literally cannot stand how tortured you are. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons I feel irrationally compelled to protect you.”
He gave this further consideration.
Jade didn’t utter a word, so taken aback was she.
Apparently, though, the Demon King didn’t like the implication he’d presented, because he scowled and said, “When I sensed there was something new stirring within you, I had to find out what it was. My quest, however, has not kept me from desiring you. As we’ve both discovered.”
There it was. The whole kit-and-caboodle sprawled at her feet.
Except…
“You’re wrong about me.”
One side of his mouth quirked. “Oh, really?”
Her cheeks flushed. He likely believed she chose to deny their attraction and how desperately she’d wanted him.
But she couldn’t deny it. The inescapable truth was that she’d thrilled over the pleasure he’d given her and had the overwhelming compulsion to beg for seconds.
He was right about one thing, though: She was human and he was not. In what world could two such vastly different creatures ever be together?
Other than a dream world, that was…
Shaking her head, hoping to dislodge all of her wayward thoughts, she said, “I’m talking about my abilities. They’re not new.”
Focusing her mind on the metal rod he’d returned to the rack, she lifted the poker with her psychokinesis and nudged a log before bringing the tool to her. She gripped the cool end and then handed it over to Davian.
He placed it in the holder once more. “Impressive. Has anyone seen you do that before?”
“Not anyone who’s currently alive. Present company excluded.”
With a resolute look on his chiseled face, he asked, “What else?”
Jade debated how far she should go, but she suspected there wasn’t much she could withhold from this man. As though he’d innately know she was keeping something from him.
Reaching out a hand to him, palm up, she said, “Your dagger, please.”
He gave her a skeptical look…fringed with concern.
Jade laughed softly. “I’ll admit I’m a strong fighter, but I’m not going to attempt to stab you in the heart.”
“Are you sure about that?”
She smirked at him.
With much reticence, he said, “Actually, that’s not at all my worry.”
Regardless of his tentativeness, he unsheathed the knife at his hip and laid it in her palm. She wrapped the fingers of her other hand around the hilt and slowly drew the sharp blade over her flesh, slicing it open.