A Demon's Toy

It was nice not having to worry about covering my ears as we shopped from store to store for the day. For once I didn’t have to feel like I was hiding a part of myself and pretend to be something that I wasn’t. It was also nice not having to go hungry and steal any items I needed to survive. Sebastian had been true to his word, mostly, when he had said that there wouldn’t be any fittings for today. Instead, today had been a day for me. Not the “Coraline Hunt” me, but the actual me.

After what had happened the night before, it surprised me that he had decided to take me out shopping for more clothes. Although my wardrobe was mostly made up of maid outfits, I was glad to have a larger variety of outfits for my whole whopping one day off per week. If I thought about it though, I could even think of these few days as a vacation off from cleaning up after that sadistic bitch’s messes all the time. Not only that, but I had been given the rare opportunity to spend those few days alone with the demon butler I had been obsessing over for the past month.

At the moment Sebastian and I were back at the hotel resting after a long day of traveling from store to store. Even though it was barely five o’clock in the afternoon. I was sitting on the couch flipping through one of the magazines I had bought at one of the stores when the hotel phone rang. My head snapped up at the sound; my eyes swinging over towards the bathroom door where Sebastian was taking a shower.

With a grunt I stood up from the couch and picked the phone up off the hook.

“Hello?” I answered reaching for the magazine that I had left on the couch.

“Lux?” a surprised, male voice asked. My fingers were just inches away from the magazine when I jerked back at the familiar sound of Alderin’s voice.

“Oh hey, Alderin, what’s up?” I questioned popping the ‘p’ deciding to just forget about the magazine for now.

“Did Sebastian tell you anything after our conversation last night?”

“Um, he just said that you had called to ask questions on how to better care for Coraline. Why?” With his nervous question, my interest had suddenly become piqued. Especially since Sebastian had never told me the real reason Alderin had called.

“He’s lying to you,” Alderin futilely informed me.

I rolled my eyes already knowing how terrible a liar the demon could be.

“Tell me something I don’t know, Alderin,” I chuckled.

“No, Lux, he’s lying to you. Not just about what he told you yesterday about our conversation, but about this entire trip,” Alderin quietly confessed.

“Wait, what?” I hissed. My eyes lifted up to the bathroom door as my heightened sense of hearing picked up on the faint sound of the shower water still running. We were okay…for now.

There was a frustrated, impatient sigh on the other end of the line. I could almost see him scrubbing a hand down his face.

“Coraline never ordered for him to take you out with him to run errands. She doesn’t even know you’re gone. I almost got torn to pieces yesterday because I let it slip that you were with him! Please tell me you aren’t in on this plan?” Alderin angrily whispered.

My eyes widened at the realization he was accusing me of assisting Sebastian with this.

“Of course not, Alderin! Don’t you think if I would have known that then I would have given you specific notifications on not to say anything to Coraline?” I shot back. The water was still running in the bathroom thankfully. We had another couple minutes at most.

Alderin released a breathy chuckle of relief over the phone.

“I know, I know. I was just making sure. I didn’t think you knew which is why I called hoping you would pick up so I could tell you. Although I am honestly surprised he let you answer the phone.”

“He’s taking a shower,” I told him.

“That would explain it then. Anyways, you need to return NOW, Lux. Not later, but NOW. I’m not sure my brother and I can hold her off for too long. We’re trying to be as careful as we can to not mention you, but considering that you’re one of the only maids she actually took a liking to…that’s kind of hard,” he admitted.

“How in the world do you expect me to come back right now without having a good explanation for Sebastian?” I quietly snapped. My eyes widened in alarm when I no longer heard the sound of the shower water running. How long ago was the water turned off?

“I don’t know!” Alderin squeaked nervously picking up on my own tension. “Just make up something good li—”

“How do you expect me to lie to a demon?” I growled into the phone.

“If you aren’t here by tonight, I will come ge—”

“Who are you talking to, Miss Ember?” a familiar, British voice questioned. Even without glancing over my shoulder to see the look on his face, I knew his eyes were dark with irritancy.

“Gotta go,” I quietly mumbled.

“Lux, wai—”

The rest of his words were cut off as I slammed the phone back down on the receiver and pivoted on my heel to face Sebastian. Only he wasn’t standing by the doorway to the bathroom like I thought he was. Instead he stood with his hands clasping the sides of his waist as he stared straight at me with that soulless red gaze.

Except it wasn’t his gaze I had a hard time looking away from. It was the fact that he was standing in the bedroom doorway wearing his typical pair of black dress slacks and a white button-up dress shirt…except it wasn’t buttoned. Not at all. My eyes raked down the length of his toned, muscled chest that was exposed thanks to the completely open shirt. His skin was a smooth, ivory color that expanded over each rippling muscle of his abdomen. Those muscles flexed with each tiny movement he made as he inhaled a deep breath into his lungs before slowly releasing it. It was hard not to be captivated by those little ripples of muscles across his athletic chest.

Water dripped from the ends of his raven black hair to splash onto his naked collarbone where it trailed down the center of his chest. My gaze followed each and every glimmering path of water as it made its way slowly downward. What was this man trying to do to me? Kill me by setting my body internally on fire with these rare moments of flashing me his sexiness?

My eyes finally flashed up to meet his gaze which had grown even more irritated by each passing second that I didn’t answer his question.

“Um…it was just the front desk,” I nervously chuckled refusing to meet his gaze as I snatched up my magazine from the couch. I took my seat on the cushion and began flipping through pages once more. I needed to do anything that would distract me from that dripping wet sight of pure manliness.

“The front desk.” It concerned me how he didn’t even pose it as a question.

“Yepp,” I confirmed popping my ‘p’. “They called wondering if we would be interested in a complimentary bottle of champagne.” Even I could hear how terrible my lie was.

“I see,” he replied thoughtfully. My eyes stayed glued to the magazine page as I heard the softest sound of footfalls pad closer to the spot where I was sitting. Sweat broke out along my brow and across the palms of my hands as I heard the faintest flutter of his shirt fan out from his body as he leaned over the back of the couch. A few drops of water from his hair splashed onto the shoulder of my shirt. It took everything I had to keep my breathing even as I felt him lean in closer; his breath washing hot over the side of my face.

“You, Miss Ember, are also a terrible liar,” he whispered in my ear.

“I never claimed to be otherwise,” I quietly claimed trying so hard to focus on the words before me on the magazine.

“That is very true,” he breathed touching his lips to the sensitive spot on my neck just below my ear. Shivers raced down my spine at the warm contact of those lips to my flesh; the cool drops of water from his hair only made my skin feel hotter.

“Sebastian!” I abruptly shouted out as I quickly whirled off the couch and stood up. A mischievous grin spread across his face as he slowly stood up from where he had been hunched over the couch.

He cocked a brow in curiosity at my sudden outburst.

“How about we take a walk, yeah?” I anxiously asked him.

“If that is what you wish. Just allow me to finish dressing,” he smiled turning his back to me. I slowly released my breath as he walked away to head back into the bedroom. Even after he had closed the door behind him, my heart rate was still racing at a mile per minute.

Surely on this walk not only would it clear my head, but it would also help gain me some answers as well.