Chapter 4

Beatrice

Persephone was glowing when she returned to the table. “Who was the man you were talking to?” she immediately asked.

“His name’s Dev,” I replied.

“Is he coming back?” she asked, looking around for him.

“I’m not sure,” I admitted.

“He was really cute,” Persephone gushed.

Cute definitely wasn’t the right word for Dev. Raw. Sexy. Beautiful. Those words could describe him, but not cute. I never reacted this strongly to any man. My experience with men was minimal. Granted, that experience had all been with sex demons, so I was far from innocent. I’d tried an array of kinky things, few of them in a bedroom. It was no lie to say I had very little experience in bed. I suddenly found myself wondering if Dev was some sort of sex demon. That would explain my strong reaction to him.

“He’s friends with Rainer Vigil,” I told her.

“Then I guess he must be a demon,” Persephone mused. With many witches, they’d likely be writing him off as a bad choice for me, or telling me to go for it because a decent warlock wouldn’t consider tying himself to a shapeshifter. Persephone was different.

“Probably,” I agreed. “He’s not a warlock.”

“Oh!” Persephone exclaimed. “He’s coming back.”

I looked over my shoulder and watched Dev approach our table with Rainer by his side. They were a whole lot of hotness walking side by side. Rainer wasn’t handsome, but he exuded a lot of power, even with the dampening spell. I wasn’t sure how Evie managed to resist him. Then there was Dev. Holy hex! People moved out of their way as they stalked toward our table. Dev’s eyes were on me the entire time. His lips curled up ever so slightly in a knowing smirk. He knew the effect he had on me. It made me wonder if he was only looking to score, and if he was, did I mind?

“Sorry about having to leave you,” he told me as he took a seat beside me, much closer than before.

“No problem,” I told him, sounding remarkably unaffected. “This is my roommate, Persephone. Persephone, this is Dev. You’ve already met Rainer.”

“We were trying to decide if you’re a demon since you’re friends with Rainer,” Persephone began. “Now, I’m wondering if you’re a fallen angel. I already know Rainer is.”

“You do?” Rainer asked in surprise. Most witches only knew Rainer was a demon lord and a high-ranking warlock.

Persephone nodded. “Evie told me.”

“Did she now?” Rainer asked softly. “What else has Evangalina said about me?”

“I couldn’t tell you that,” she insisted with a shake of her head.

“Why not?” Rainer asked her.

“I don’t want to insult someone who helped save the lives of my friends, even if I am just repeating what someone else said,” she explained.

Dev laughed, a sound that startled those around us. “Your witch is still less than pleased with you.”

“It would seem so,” Rainer grumbled.

“It always seems like she’s trying too hard to convince others she’s not interested in you,” I interrupted. “Not that I know her well, but that’s the impression I get.”

“I agree,” Persephone said with a nod.

“Listen to these ladies, Rainer,” Dev told him. “Evangalina may not like it, but she cares a great deal for you.” His eyes moved to me. “Dance with me, Beatrice.”

I shook my head and said, “I’m not much of a dancer.”

“All you need is a strong lead,” he assured me with an outstretched hand.

I only hesitated for a heartbeat before smiling and placing my hand in his. Why not dance with him?

Dev led me to the dance floor, wrapping an arm around my waist to pull me close.

“This isn’t a slow song,” I pointed out with a nervous laugh, my hand landing on Dev’s chest. I felt incredibly small this close to Dev’s large frame.

“You seem like a woman who dances to her own tune,” was his reply.

Being in Dev’s arms was doing insane things to my body. Based on his knowing smirk, he was well aware of the impact he had on me. His incredible scent wrapped around me.

“Is that your polite way of saying I’m a loner?” I asked.

“A rebel,” he corrected. “I like that about you. You’re the first woman I’ve been interested in for a very long time.”

The natural skeptic in me wanted to scoff at his words, to insist it was some stupid line he was feeding me.

“You don’t believe me,” he stated.

I shook my head in response. “Oddly enough, I do believe you. This is crazy. I’m not used to trusting people, and I barely know you.”

“A matter I hope to remedy soon,” he said, drawing me even closer.

Despite the club music around us, dancing like this with Dev didn’t seem strange. Allowing my head to rest against his chest, I breathed in deeply and shuddered. “You smell like sin.”

I’d said those words softly enough that I didn’t expect he’d hear them, so his response surprised me. “How does sin smell?”

“Wonderful,” I admitted. “Are you trying to seduce me?”

He stopped dancing and walked me to a less noisy corner of the club. One hand reached out to cradle the side of my face as he leaned in until his lips hovered close to mine. I could see the struggle in his eyes.

“It’s okay,” I assured him. “I want you to kiss me. I want you.”

A shudder ran through his body, and his eyes shut tightly. For several breaths, he simply stood in front of me with his lips so close I could feel his ragged breaths against my mouth. With obvious effort, he pulled away.

“I’d like to see you again,” he told me. “After tonight.”

I blinked twice. My body was throbbing with need, and he hadn’t even kissed me yet. I was already so turned on, I wanted to beg him to take me.

“Beatrice?” he prompted. “Do you want to see me again?”

I nodded, my tongue darting out to wet my lower lip.

Dev groaned. “You’re going to kill me.”

“I don’t understand,” I admitted.

“I want very much to take you back to my place and make you come a dozen different ways,” he confessed in a ragged voice. “I want to make you scream and beg me for more.”

“Oh,” I replied lamely. “That sounds nice.”

Nice? Did I really just say it sounded nice?

He chuckled. “I was hoping for a different word, but nice will do for now.”

“Are you inviting me back to your place?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Not tonight.”

“Why?” I asked.

“I want much more than that from you, Beatrice,” he explained. “Can I see you again tomorrow?”

“Are you saying you want to date me?” I asked.

“Yes,” he replied.

“Okay,” I agreed. This wasn’t how I’d expected my evening to go. I’d gone from annoyed with Persephone for dragging me out, to expecting to have a one-night stand with a hot guy. Now, I’d just agreed to go on a date with Dev.

“You look confused,” he remarked with amusement.

“I didn’t expect my evening to go this way,” I confessed.

“I’d hoped mine would,” he admitted. “Now, I think I should go before I forget all the reasons I need to take things slow with you.”

“You don’t need to take things slow,” I assured him.

It seemed he was going to change his mind on waiting. His eyes met mine before drifting down to my mouth. His desire was unmistakable.

“No,” he finally said. “There’s too much at stake.” Before I could comment on those strange words, he continued. “We should exchange numbers. That way I can arrange when and where to pick you up.”

“I can meet you,” I offered.

“We can discuss that when I call you later,” he stated arrogantly. Again, it surprised me how much I liked his arrogance.

We exchanged numbers, the tension still thick between us. Much to my disappointment, he left. No kiss. No hot sweaty sex. My vibrator was going to get a workout when I got home.