“And there is more yet?” he asked.
“Yep. After we got back home there was another summoning attempt,” I told him. “Eilahn saved my ass—threw me through the wards of the house.”
An eyebrow lifted. “Threw you?”
“Pretty much,” I said with a smile. “Luckily she’s been teaching me how to fall.”
“Good that she foresaw the need.” He ran his hands lightly from my shoulders down my back. Tingling warmth followed his touch along with a decidedly pleasant cessation of aches and pains. “You suffered no serious injury,” he stated.
I obligingly pressed closer to make it easier for him to examine me. “Just bruises.” I tipped my head back to look up at him. “Pretty sure I have a few lower down.”
Amusement shimmered in his eyes as he slid his hands down to cup my ass. “I would not wish for you to be suffering in any way.” Then he lowered his head to nuzzle my neck. “Unless I’m the one making you suffer…and scream,” he murmured against my skin.
I laughed breathlessly as heat flashed through me, but I forced myself to temper my ardor. He was still utterly beautiful, with a body like a Greek god, and he still had that demonic lord presence. But now I could actually picture him going out in public without drawing any more attention than any other incredibly gorgeous man would. And I realized with an abrupt shock that it was oddly unsettling. Here I’d finally wrapped my head around the idea that I didn’t need to feel guilt or angst about enjoying sex with him. I felt that Rhyzkahl and I had settled into an understanding of our relationship. He was my fantasy fuck-buddy, and since there was no chance that it would ever spill over into the “real” world, I didn’t have to worry about strings attached—other than the ones binding me to him as his sworn summoner.
But now…This shit just got real. Sure, I was a grown-up and I was allowed to have sex with anyone I wanted. But that also meant I didn’t have to be ruled by my hormones.
“You have questions,” he stated, a slight smile on his face as he eyed me. Could he tell how off-balance I was? “I would not wish to succumb to distraction and not give you the full measure of our agreement,” he added.
I took a breath and did my best to clear my thoughts. Okay, so the goalposts had been moved. I knew these changes were important, but unfortunately I had other stuff to deal with that was a lot more pressing. “Will questions about threats to me originating in the demon realm count against my two questions?”
A sparkle of amusement flashed in his eyes, and before he could open his mouth I jabbed a forefinger at him and narrowed my own eyes. “And don’t you dare count that against me, either,” I added.
He inclined his head slightly. “And now you seek to rework the terms of the agreement. Shameful.”
Normally I’d have been deeply frightened at the insinuation that I was being less than honorable, but he still looked amused. Or so I hoped. “Merely seeking to clarify what might be seen as a loophole,” I replied. “Since it is our very agreement that puts me in jeopardy, it seems to me that questions concerning matters that might affect it negatively—like me dying or some such thing—go beyond the scope of the usual boundaries where I ask questions merely to further my own education or base of knowledge.”
“You are becoming skilled in the manipulation of words and meaning,” he said, and this time he actually gave a slight smile.
I gave a soft snort. “Yeah, well, spending so much time with a demon will do that to you.” Living with Eilahn was like a verbal chess match sometimes.
“Among other things,” he said cryptically. “I trust that all is well between you and the syraza? She is proving to be suitable to the task I set her?”
It was my turn to incline my head in a nod. “All is well. In fact she’s a very considerate roommate and is currently attempting to train me in self-defense.” I couldn’t quite hide the grimace. I wasn’t exactly a future ninja chick. We’d finally agreed that I’d simply do my best in order to buy her time to do whatever she needed to do. Then again, I realized, I didn’t do too badly against the graa. Maybe there was hope for me yet?
“Most excellent.” He gave a satisfied nod. “You need not risk wasting your questions regarding your safety, dearest,” he said. “I am presently dealing with the matter.”
I scowled, even though I’d half-expected a bullshit answer like that. A don’t-you-worry-your-pretty-head-about-this kind of thing.
“It is quite complicated,” he added in a low voice, stroking a thumb over my cheek. “I know this answer does not satisfy you.”
“No, it doesn’t,” I replied. “I really hate being kept in the dark.”
“You are a detective. A seeker of knowledge. This lack of information chafes at your very nature. But some matters cannot be directly explained or revealed, lest the peril to you increase.” He moved away from me and draped himself elegantly into the armchair by the fireplace.
An odd flush of anger swept over me. “That’s bullshit,” I said. “Oh, great, it’s for my own good that you can’t tell me anything! I’m so goddamn sick of this shit!” His eyes narrowed, and I knew I needed to shut the hell up, but I couldn’t seem to stop the words pouring out of my mouth. “I never know what the fuck is going on. I summon you, and we fuck. I’m just some kind of sextoy or something to you. Then you sneak upstairs and use my computer—” I had to take a breath then, and somehow I regained enough control of myself to clamp down on the bizarre fury. What the hell was I thinking going off on him like that?
My gut clenched as Rhyzkahl regarded me from where he sat. The leaping flames in the fireplace cast stark shadows across his beautiful features, giving him an even more dangerous and menacing appearance. Not that he needed shadows for that. He was a demonic lord, one of the most powerful creatures that I knew of and certainly the most powerful that I’d ever encountered.
So why the hell had I gone off like that?
“I…I’m sorry,” I said. I shook my head, frowned. “I didn’t mean all that.”
“I did not sneak,” he finally said.
I blinked in confusion. This wasn’t the retaliation I’d expected. “Huh?”
The demonic lord’s lips twitched ever so slightly. “Your computer. I did not sneak upstairs.”