A Demon's Toy

“Ugh, finally! I can sit down and rest,” I sighed in relief as we sat down at a table outside a small café. I inched my fingers beneath the fedora on my head and scratched at my ears. They had been itchy all day, but I hadn’t had the time to actually take my time and scratch them afraid that someone might notice my ears. We had been walking nonstop from fitting to fitting so that I could be squeezed and sowed into various outfits. None of them really looked the type of style that Coraline would wear though. They looked more of my style of clothing, but—hey—who was I to judge?

“You realize that you don’t have to wear a hat, correct?” Sebastian mentioned pulling out a chair beside me and gracefully relaxed himself down into the seat. He rested his hands on his lap; his back remaining perfectly straight against the back of the chair.

“What?!” I snapped catching the attention of a couple sitting nearby. It was then that I noticed one of them had fox ears blatantly exposed on the top of their head. Yet no one was yelling at them to cover up their monstrosity nor were they being thrown into the back of a police car.

My eyes met with Sebastian’s. “But how? Where we live…looking like THAT…and showing any sort of our animal selves…it’s completely forbidden. You’ll get shot or worse, you’ll become an experiment,” I explained.

Sebastian nodded in agreement. “Yes, but where we reside, Miss Ember, is also a smaller town that is more set in their traditional ways. Humans are all they have ever known and seen since not many creatures like us tend to settle down in such a small area. So when they see something different, something they aren’t willing to comprehend…they go on the defensive and attack.

“However, bigger cities such as this one tend to be more open-minded to the changes in society such as shifters. Bigger cities see it as a better opportunity to gain more profit from a larger variety of customers, therefore the company they work for succeeds and grows larger to spread worldwide. I’m sure eventually smaller towns will begin to adapt to the changes of the world, but for now it is just safer for everyone to remain hidden when in such rural areas,” the head butler explained in a calm, thoughtful British tone.

I blinked a few times in utter amazement. Not because I didn’t understand his long drawn out clarification, but mostly because that was the most I had ever heard him speak at one time.

“You could have told me that earlier before I suffered through fitting on all those outfits,” I grumbled testily as I noticed our waitress approaching.

“Hello, sorry for your wait, my name is Lucy and I’ll be your server for today. What can I get you folks to drink?” she routinely spouted off as she glanced back and forth between Sebastian and me with a warm, surprisingly real smile. Most waitresses wore a fake, tight smile on their face, but she looked genuinely happy to be here. That’s when I noticed the way she was staring at Sebastian.

I rolled my eyes. Of course she would be happy to serve a man who looked like him. Who wouldn’t be? I cleared my throat drawing her attention back to me.

“Yeah, can I get an iced coffee please? Make it French vanilla with just a shot of mocha. Thanks,” I bit out making sure to hold her gaze. She scribbled down in her notepad before turning to Sebastian.

“Might I get a cup of your fine Earl Grey tea, please, Miss Lucy?” Sebastian inquired politely. The waitress’s cheeks flushed pink before she shyly nodded. Lucy pivoted on her heel and quickly rushed inside the café to retrieve our drinks.

My eyes met Sebastian’s as I suddenly realized something he had said during his little speech.

“Earlier when you were telling me why my ears are acceptable here, but not at home…you said ‘creatures like us’. You obviously know I’m a neko, so what does that make you, Mister Michaelis?” I questioned propping my elbows up on the small round table and gazing over at him innocently.

“It is not proper etiquette to have your elbows resting on the table,” Sebastian smoothly deflected my question. I wasn’t going to back down so easily.

“Seriously, Sebastian, what are you? Why won’t you just tell me?” I prodded refusing to remove my elbows off the table even though he kept glaring at them.

“I’ll answer your question as soon as you start showing me that you have some sense of table manners,” he answered irritably. I rolled my eyes and slid my arms off the table to fold them across my chest. I crossed my knee over the other and sent him a meaningful stare.

“If you must know, I am a demon,” he answered rather quietly. Those ruby red orbs bore deep into my own pale green irises.

“Honestly…I can’t say that surprises me,” I sighed glancing away from those soul searching eyes. I think I would have been more shocked had he answered with something else. Everything he had said and done over the best month suddenly began making a hell of a lot of sense. It made me ashamed that I hadn’t figured it out before now. I had to seriously refrain myself from slapping a palm against my forehead in frustrated stupidity.

“Here’s your coffee,” Lucy interrupted placing the tall glass of caffeine on the coaster in front of me before turning to Sebastian.

“And here is your Earl Grey,” she blushed setting a steaming hot teapot down in the center of the table before placing a small, round cup on a saucer in front of him.

“Would you like any sugar or milk for your tea?” she asked, childish hope laced within her words.

“No, thank you,” he rejected with a light smile.

“Well, can I get you two anything to eat perhaps?” she pushed, her voice turning into a slight whine.

“No,” I snapped causing her to look at me in surprise. Even I was slightly shocked at the anger in my voice, but I kept with it. “That will be all, Lucy. Thank you.” I bit out those last words with a meaning that said she either left now or things were about to get ugly.

Catching the finalization of my words, her eyes glazed over with sadness as she turned away to attend to some other customers.

My eyes flickered over to Sebastian when I heard him snort a quiet chuckle as he poured himself some tea. The steam rose from the small cup to dance in the wind before being carried away with the breeze.

“Is something funny?” I asked quirking a dark brow. I could feel my ears beginning to grow hot beneath the fedora, so I snatched it off my head and placed it on the table beside my iced coffee. The instant breeze across the tips of my ears caused a chill to sweep down my spine from pure bliss. Still slightly paranoid I might get thrown into the back of a van I lowered my ears to tuck them safely against my black hair.

“It appeared to me that you were jealous of the young girl,” Sebastian carefully noted gently sipping the hot tea.

I rolled my eyes at his statement. Placing the tall glass to my lips, I swallowed a large swig before responding to his outlandish proclamation.

“I was NOT jealous,” I huffed. “She was just lingering around not doing her job and tending to her other customers. I merely gave her the push she needed since it was clear we no longer required her presence.”

A black, cleanly plucked eyebrow arched high over a ruby red eye.

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Why in the hell would I be jealous in the first place?” I grumbled taking another long swig of my coffee. The ice clinked against the glass as I set the drink back down on the coaster.

“I believe that is a question I should be inquiring of you since the same sort of incident happened earlier with the hostess at the hotel,” he pointed out finishing off his first cup of Earl Grey.

“I am not JEALOUS,” I growled crossing my arms defiantly over my chest. The simple gesture caused the mounds of my breasts to be pushed together; some of the soft, rounded flesh becoming exposed from underneath the steampunk vest I was wearing.

It was because of that, which these two men who were walking by the café decided to holler and whistle. Mumbling expletives under my breath at their idiocy, I uncrossed my arms and went to take a drink of my coffee when I noticed that the chair beside me was empty.

“Sebastian?” I quietly called out glancing around the café. I nearly choked on my own oxygen when I saw he had those two men pinned against the side wall of the building next to the café in the alley. I quickly jumped out of my seat causing it to topple over as I ran to help the two men from being murdered at the hands of a demon butler.

“Miss, wait you need to—”

“Not now, Lucy!” I barked at her as I reached Sebastian. He held the large, muscled men against the brick wall in either hand; there was not a hint of strain on the butler’s face. He may as well have had a balloon in each hand for as much lack of stress was on his face. I mean honestly. The two idiots clawed at Sebastian’s hands hoping to wear the demon down. No such luck. He only lifted them higher off the ground.

“Sebastian, what are you doing?” I hissed at him ignoring the men’s pleas for help.

“These gentleman need to apologize for their rude conduct in public towards a lady such as yourself,” he simply stated slamming the men back against the wall causing their weak cries for help to cease.

I rolled my eyes. “I think you’re overreacting, Sebastian. They’re just being typical, horny guys that drool and grow excited over seeing a glimpse of boobs for the first time like some premature teenagers. Will you please put them down?” I huffed irritably resting my hands on the curve of my hips. The sunlight gleamed off my belly button ring causing Sebastian’s eyes to momentarily focus away from the men and down to my exposed abdomen.

That ruby gaze slowly trailed up my stomach, over my breasts, and landed straight on my lips. My mouth grew dry when I saw those eyes darken with hunger. Not the hunger for souls, but a different kind of hunger. A deeper, passionate hunger of desire. His eyes followed the quick movement of my tongue as I licked my lips of their dryness. That was the gaze I had wanted to see when I first came out in this outfit back in the room.

“Apologize to Miss Ember,” Sebastian ordered of the men. His gaze lifted to meet mine as he spoke the words.

“S-so-sorry, Miss Ember,” they synchronized in fear. Sebastian wrenched his eyes away from mine as he released his iron grip on the men’s throats. As soon as their legs touched ground, they scrambled out of the alleyway. I released a sigh of relief stepping in time with Sebastian as we made our way back to the table.

He straightened his tailcoat before relaxing back in his seat to pour another glass of tea. All I could do was smile like a loon as I took my seat beside him. He took one sip of his brewed drink before noticing my lopsided grin.

“What is that look for?” he asked, those eyes flicking over the features of my face.

“Looks like I’m not the only one jealous,” I teased nudging his shoulder with my hand.

“Hardly,” he scoffed taking another drink of tea. “I found it quite rude that they would behave like such children in front of a lady.”

“Admit it. You were angry knowing that they were hitting on me like you wish you could.”

“Bold choice of words, Miss Ember, to assume I would wish to ‘hit on you’ as you say,” he smirked in amusement.

“It’s only bold if I’m guessing, but I’m not. I KNOW it’s true,” I brashly declared with a cocky grin.

Sebastian calmly placed his cup back on the saucer before leaning into me. His white gloved hands cupped my chin and pulled me in close to his handsome face. His breath, smelling lightly of mint, heated my face as Sebastian brushed a fiery trail with his lips along my cheekbone. My body trembled beneath that simple gesture as he placed his mouth near my ear.

“There’s one thing you don’t seem to understand, Miss Kensington,” he whispered once more calling me by my last name. It was rare for him to do so which only caused me to be even more intrigued.

“I do not need to flirt with you in order to gain your favor like those men because, you see, I have already made you mine.”

He pulled away, smiling at my wide eyed gaze. He slipped a couple of bills from the inside pocket of his coat and tossed them on the table before standing.

“Come. It’s getting late and we both need our rest for tomorrow,” Sebastian ordered as he waited patiently for me to snap out of my daze and hurriedly stand. I snatched my fedora off the table and flipped it back onto my head to cover my ears.

“What’s tomorrow? More fittings?” I sighed doing everything I could to drown out his words from moments ago. I have already made you mine.

“All in due time, Miss Ember. All in due time.”