Demon Marked

amused, too—and she could stare longer than he could. Whatever he thought that icy look would accomplish, she wasn’t capable of feeling intimidated or discomfited. She wouldn’t back down, and he’d have to eventually respond.
    What would he say? Would he tell her to go screw a stranger on the street? She would have, if the thought appealed to her even a fraction as much as the prospect of sex with him did, and even though she knew Nicholas wouldn’t climb into bed with her. Telling him what she wanted and forcing him to respond satisfied a deep-seated need that she hadn’t known existed until a few moments ago. And yes, it was a little evil, a little mean.
    Maybe she was getting the hang of this demon gig, after all.
    Finally, he set his knife and fork onto this plate, so carefully that she didn’t detect a clink. Oooooh , such restraint. She could hear his blood raging through his veins, yet he was so determined not to betray anything he felt. Simply fascinating.
    Honestly, what did he think she’d do if he did reveal his emotions?
    Perhaps she was about to find out. Nicholas rose from the table, all coiled tension and deliberation. His eyes didn’t leave hers as he crossed the room. Despite the icy threat emanating from him, Ash held her ground. The last time he’d come so close, he’d kissed her. He’d also electrocuted her, but he didn’t carry a weapon now.
    Unless that weapon was his hand—not to hit, but to hold. Her pulse leapt when he cupped her jaw, when she felt the faint rasp of calluses against her skin, the sweep of his thumbs across her cheeks. Too late, Ash remembered: She couldn’t pull away until he let go.
    She didn’t him want to, not yet. Heart pounding, she held his gaze. His eyes so cold and his expression so flat, though his blood raced, too.
    The same restraint and tension flattened his voice. “You say that you didn’t choose this body on purpose, and yet you offer it to me.”
    “I’m not ‘offering’ my body to you. It won’t be yours. I just want your penis in me, and to discover whether I’d enjoy it.”
    Almost imperceptibly, his fingers tightened. “You wouldn’t enjoy it.”
    “You’re so terrible in bed?” Ash doubted that. “Don’t worry, I’ll make the best of it.”
    The brief clenching of his jaw betrayed his frustration. Because she’d continued pushing, or because a part of him wanted to make the best of it, too? Either way, his reaction pleased her.
    Despite his frustration, his voice remained smooth as silk. “You think I don’t know, demon? You can’t want sex, let alone enjoy it.”
    “What do you mean, I can’t?” A spark of fear burned through her. “It’s against the Rules?”
    “You can’t. It’s impossible, physically.” His head lowered, mouth hovering over hers. “I could kiss you, and you’d feel my lips and tongue. You won’t feel the need that comes with it, when you don’t know if it’s your mind wanting or your body taking over.”
    Mind or body? Ash didn’t know. She tore her gaze from his and studied his mouth. She only had to lift onto her toes, and she’d taste him. She wanted to.
    She couldn’t. Not without permission. Her hands had to remain fisted at her sides instead of drawing him down to her lips.
    But no matter what Nicholas thought he knew, she felt this need. God, how she felt it.
    “Look at you, Ash. Your eyes beginning to glow, your nipples hard. Pretend all you like, but I know that’s not from wanting me. I could suck on them all day, and you wouldn’t get hot. Not really hot.” His voice roughened. “Maybe you could even make yourself wet. I don’t know.”
    As far as Ash knew, she couldn’t make herself wet. But she was now. Her muscles seemed to turn to water, all of her warm and liquid. She wanted to sway against him, feel the hardness of his chest against her breasts—and if his body had reacted like hers, to rub herself against the thrust of his erection. Nicholas obviously didn’t believe that he could do this to her, but she could feel the slick need, the delicious ache.
    Ash met his eyes again. “I am.”
    For a moment, desire flared through the cool amusement, before hardening to ice again. “So I could have you. You’d surround my cock with heat, like nothing I’ve ever had . . . and it’d be like fucking a blow-up doll. Every reaction, faked.”
    Her body didn’t agree. “Then what is it I’m feeling?”
    “Lies.” He lifted his head. “Not from your lips,