Draziel's POV
Instinctively, I reached for her waist the instant I got to her, and I pulled her fast to me. I didn't know why she had screamed. What danger she was in. But once she was in my arms, nothing could ever get to her.
Her lithe and petite body pressed firmly against my bigger one. She shuddered in my arms, her eyes jerking fast to me.
They lingered on me for a moment, the warm amber shifting gently in their sockets as they roamed my face. Her throat bobbled gently—she swallowed.
Every bit of logic said I should let her go, every iota of reason residing in my mind flashing danger. Yet, I held tighter to her until our skins nearly brushed each other beneath our clothes. The heat from her body was warm against mine. That raw jasmine scent from her bombarded my senses so much, I could taste it on my tongue.
My gaze trailed lower to her lips—to the cupid-shaped pink bundle still pouting from her scream. She licked them nervously as I stared at them—they glistened, a golden strand of sunrays splitting through the slit in the window fell on her lips—giving them a golden flush that made them glisten more.
I tried to fight it—the aching need that drummed in my loins to taste her lips—the sizzling heat cooking up my blood inside of me. I trembled for the first time in my life—not from fear—but from desire.
As if strung to my eyes by invisible strings, her lips pulled me lower and lower, and I reached slowly for them with mine.
But suddenly, she swiped her face to the right, avoiding me. She shut her eyes, squeezing them tight. I could feel the strain in her body.
Damn. What was I even thinking? I leaned fast away from her. Yet, I didn't let go of her waist. I held firmly to them. I just couldn't bring myself to let go of the feel of her body so close to mine.
Her chin trembled a bit as she spoke—her eyes still shut. "I am sorry, Draziel. I just saw a cat in the room. It was so sudden. That was why I screamed." She explained slowly.
I lifted my upper lip in a gentle smirk. "Are you scared of cats?" I chuckled. Cats I knew were one of humans favorite pets—Alfred treated his like his baby.
As if to answer, a gentle meow split the air between us. She opened her eyes now, and I followed them carefully to find Alfred's cat—a cute little black thing in the shadows between two heavily stacked clothes racks.
It sat down on its hind legs, its paws in the air as if reaching for something, while it watched us carefully with its amber eyes, the dark slit between its eyes growing darker.
She chuckled now, turning her eyes to me. "No. In fact, I used to like cats. But that was until a demon shapeshifted into one to take one of my previous lives."
Shapeshifting demons. My eyes drifted slowly from her to the room as my mind drifted slowly to the past. Father had ruthlessly killed every last one of the shapeshifting demons during his reign—except one maybe—the one I had saved—Liora, the woman I had almost married. Whoever shapeshifted into a cat to kill her in the future had to be Liora.
My brows furrowed a bit as I stared down at her. My mouth loosened to speak—to ask the questions burning in my mind—why would Liora kill her in one lifetime? Was Liora and the future Zarek that she hated working together? If so, how did they meet? How many lifetimes had she even lived through? How many times had she died? How come she could remember the memories of each lifetime?
But I hesitated. I couldn't afford to be curious. It could do unimaginable damage to the timeline.
I leaned back a bit and stared down at my arm on her slim waist, my eyes slowly sweeping her from head to toe. The dress she wore now was scarlet red, with pearls studded around the elegant V-shaped neckline. The dress hugged the upper part of her body and flowed freely from her waist down, consuming all of her legs.
She looked like a princess in them—so devastatingly beautiful, my breath caught for a moment as I continued to let my gaze drift around her.
But I shouldn't even be doing this. I shouldn't be so cozy with her. I shouldn't even hold her like this—I looked down at my arm around her waist again. Every little shift in the course of the events in a time is capable of changing the entire course of the timeline.
I threw my eyes to the clothes laid over a table beside us. "Are those yours?"
She shifted her head to them. "Maybe. I haven't tried them all on yet."
"Don't worry, Alfred is the best tailor in the city. The clothes are all going to fit."
Before she could make any comment, I teleported us back to the castle—to her room.
We landed with a little gust of wind that displaced some items on the drawer behind her. They fell, clattering noisily on the stone floor behind us.
The instant she spun around to the falling items, I dropped her waist, teleporting fast from her.
I arrived at my room, sucking hard at the cold, damp air for my lungs, letting the calmness flow through me.
I slumped on my bed, bouncing atop it for a moment. I stared at the ceiling, my mind slowly drifting back to the events of the day, especially to the part where I almost kissed her again—almost tasted that alluring pink bundle that was her lips.
I grunted so hard at the memory—at my foolishness—pain jarred through the whole of my jaw, and I turned on the bed, hugging my sword. I was playing with fire—playing a dangerous game of fire that was going to leave me scalded. I had to find the damn scroll and send her back to the future, or I'll be burnt alive even before I know I was.