Wicked Game (9 page)

             
Kaden sat silently by Hazelle in the back of the car, not a word crossing his lips, though she noted he didn't let go of her hand. She gave it a gentle, encouraging squeeze and offered him a small smile, letting him know she had forgiven him for the quarrel and was willing to make amends. He gave her no smile but blinked, something softening slightly in his eyes. That, and the flowers, were enough of an apology for her.

             
Kaden didn't release her hand until they were shown to their table by the waitress, who was swinging her hips seductively and eyeing Kaden up like he was a prized piece of meat. Kaden ignored her existence completely, much to the woman's disappointment. He was strictly off the menu tonight. Hazelle glowered at her. She never thought she'd be territorial over a man, let alone a demon. She didn't know if it was the clothes, or his scent, or the atmosphere but something about Kaden was making her feel very agreeable towards him tonight.

             
Their table was the best in the restaurant, according to the waitress, right beside a wall length, ceiling high fish tank. Light and shadow rippled across Kaden's enchanting face, accentuating his ethereal beauty as he slid a chair back for her and she accepted it, him pushing in the chair behind her like a gentleman. She was hypnotised by a school of colourful fish darting around the tank, trying not to look at Kaden who sat by her side or impose on mom and David across the table. They were already very friendly and over familiar with each other, which was an encouraging early indication, though it made Hazelle feel a little uncomfortable.

             
David was in his element, ordering the most expensive bottle of champaign on the list as simply as she ordered a soda. Hazelle knew he was trying to impress her mother, just as she knew that money was one of the keys to her mom's heart, and much else besides that.

             
The waiter poured the champaign into iced crystal glasses and David lifted his with a flourish.

             
“To new friends,” he toasted, gesturing towards Hazelle's mom with a wide grin.

             
“To new friends,” Hazelle and mom repeated, taking a sip from their glasses. The champaign was cool and sharp, too bubbly for Hazelle's palate. She would have preferred a coke.

             
Kaden gestured to Hazelle with his glass, his eyes so rich, so piercing that she completely forgot about the fish.

             
“To new friends,” he murmured, but instead of taking a sip from his glass he lent over and kissed Hazelle's cheek so gently, so tenderly she couldn't breath. She could feel herself flushing, a mixture of embarrassment and longing, and she found that she couldn't reprimand him for it.

             
Mom was smiling, looking on approvingly. David made no comment; too busy gawking at Hazelle's mom.

             
The waiter brought the menus, bound in velvet, and Hazelle pursued hers avidly, peering over it at Kaden, determined not to let him deceive her. He was behaving like a human, like a gentleman, being kind and sounding sincere, but she couldn't allow herself to forget what he truly was, what he would always be. A demon. A wicked, sinful, sex starved demon whose sole purpose in this world was to get under her skin, both mentally and physically.

             
“This is all very expensive, David,” Mom said in a low, disapproving voice. Hazelle knew it was an act. Could nobody show their true colours tonight? She knew her mother liked rich men, especially those who knew how to splash their cash.

             
“Please feel free to order anything you like, all of you,” David said generously, giving exactly the right response, “Your daughter knows I can more than afford it.”

             
Hazelle didn't confirm this. Instead she read the menu again, keeping her head down, trying to avoid unwanted attention. It was so posh that it gave the French names first, with the English translations underneath. It all sounded too fancy for her so she ordered the closest thing to burger and fries, knowing her mother was likely to do the complete opposite and choose the most garish, most expensive thing on the menu. She didn't disappoint. To Hazelle's surprise Kaden ordered the same thing as she did.

             
They ate quietly to the sound of classical music, a man with a violin meandering between tables, taking requests. It was all very civilised, all very human, a little too much, even for Hazelle. Humans were always trying to distance themselves from their animal cousins, hiding behind the mask of evolution, though when it came down to it they all fucked and died the same way.

             
Hazelle was disgusted by her own thoughts. Some of Kaden's crudeness must be rubbing off on her. In a way it made sense. Maybe humans and demons were no so different.

             
Hazelle kept her thoughts to herself. There was polite chit-chat, compliments and more champaign. Kaden spoke only when spoken to, asking no questions of his own, oddly reserved. When a waiter came with roses David bought for two, one each for Hazelle and her mother. Mom, now quite drunk on wine, kissed David fully on the mouth to thank him. Kaden was more subtle, taking Hazelle's hand, unfurling her fingers and slipping her the rose, closing her fingers around it and holding his hand on hers for a moment longer than necessary. She inhaled the scent, pressing the petals to her lips, enjoying the soft, silky sensation against her skin, making her think of his skin on hers, so slick with arousal in the dream as he tasted her deepest, darkest secret...

             
She felt a sudden twinge down below and jumped, knocking over her glass. Champaign stained the tablecloth and Hazelle apologised profusely as David mopped it up, ignoring the strange, almost knowing look Kaden gave her. She had to constantly remind herself that he couldn't read her mind, though he didn't need to be a mind reader when she was blushing like a beetroot.

             
When the meal was finished Hazelle thanked David for his generosity.

             
“It was my pleasure,” David told her, beaming, “Your mother and I will settle the bill. Why don't you wait in the car? Heads up, Kaden!”

             
David threw his car keys. Kaden was quick; he caught them with one hand, his reflexes more than human. Hazelle thought David wanted some time alone with her mom and was probably giving her the chance to do the same with Kaden. She started to totter off in her high heels, slightly drunk, when a hand grasped hers and Kaden was pretending to be a gentleman again, escorting her out of the restaurant and round to the carpark.

             
“Thank you for behaving like a human tonight,” she whispered, when she knew they were out of earshot. The carpark was dark and deserted but she didn't really know who or what could be lurking, watching her from the shadows. She shuddered; glad for once to have Kaden by her side.

             
When they reached the car he pressed a button and a light flashed, turning the alarm off. He propped her up against the passenger door.

             
“I didn't know anything about it. Your mother forced me into the suit of one of her dead husbands and I had to oblige. You're not mad, are you?”             

             
He sounded genuinely concerned that she might be angry with him. It was funny; she had always assumed he got off on her anger.

             
She shook her head.

             
“No, I'm not mad. I actually enjoyed tonight.”

             
“I did too,” he spoke slowly, as if not quite believing it, “It has been a while since I dined with humans. I'm usually dining on them.”

             
He winked playfully. She didn't miss his implicit meaning, and chose to ignore it.

             
“Well, you passed the test with flying colours.”

             
“Let me see if I can pass the next one,” he purred, pure lust flashing in his eyes. He had managed to keep it at bay for most of the meal and now it was looking for a release.

             
She scowled up at him.

             
“Don't push it.”

             
He tipped his head back and laughed, reconnecting with the dark humour he had been missing tonight, and despite her indignation she found herself smiling too, trying to hide it in the dark, but as he was in her thoughts, in her dreams and desires there wasn't much she could keep secret from him.

             
“You look quite pretty when you smile,” he complimented her, sounding so honest, “And I like the dress.”

             
“I thought you would.”

             
He unlocked the car door and held it open for her. She slid inside, closing her eyes, wishing the world would stop spinning. She smelt the rose again, her heart swelling.

             
“I suppose part of my wish came true. This has been the best Valentine’s Day ever. Oh, and thank you for the flowers at work today.”

             
When she opened her eyes Kaden was frowning down at her, moonlight making his hair glisten like blood, and then he uttered three words that made her heart stop beating.

             
“Flowers? What flowers?”

Chapter Six

Hazelle cut her finger while slicing red peppers. She hissed with pain and dropped the knife, blood welling at the cut and dripping from her finger, splashing on the stainless steel blade.

“
What’s wrong?”

She felt a form behind her, a body pressed against hers, a topless, well defined chest warming her back even through the material of her blouse. She froze, torn between melting into the embrace and using the knife to protect herself.

“Let me see.”

A tanned hand grasped her wrist with such delicate control, drawing her bleeding finger to soft, sensuous lips, hot breath making her fingertips tingle. She let out a harsh sigh, and began to relax when she realised that the man behind her was not a man at all but a demon, one who desired her, one
who she was afraid to admit she desired too.

His tongue flicked out, tickling her skin as he tasted her blood. She closed her eyes, forgetting the sting from the cut and feeling a
sweet ache deep down below, one that spread through her body and blood as it demanded more.

“
Do you like this?” he asked huskily, giving her throat a long lick, “Or would you prefer my tongue elsewhere?”

He didn’t release her hand as he reached round with his other one, his fingers stroking her in the most sensitive of places, making her wish there was no material between them. His hand slipped inside her pants and began teasing her, touching her intimately, his long fingers deftly moving in and out of her, increasing the longing ache down below
to the point where it was almost painful.

“
You like this, don’t you?” he purred in her ear, nibbling it with his sharp teeth, “You little minx.”

He began kissing her neck, his lips lingering on her throat, his teeth scraping her skin, sending shivers down her spine.
It distracted her from the throbbing of her injured finger, exciting her more than it should have. She wondered how sharp his teeth were, if his eyes were entirely black, if it was the demon in him pleasuring her now of if he indulged her while still wearing his human façade.

“
You want more?” he growled, a mixture of man and beast. She nodded fervently, wondering if he was going to devour her, wishing that he would.

He removed his fingers from her sex and released her. He looked so calm, so tame, before he swept everything from the island counter, salad falling to the floor, a bowl shattering, the bloody knife clattering on concrete. She watched him with bated breath, extremely aroused, even more so when he demonstrated his desire to have her, to bury his long lust between her legs.

He stalked her as she retreated from him, all of this part of their wicked game, his eyes glittering maleficent black, void of humanity, empty of emotion. It would have frightened her, if she didn’t know that he did feel,
could
feel under that cruel countenance. His fingernails had grown into black talons and he used them to rip open her blouse, exposing her bare breasts, the nipples pert, begging for his attention. He kissed them both, devoting his time between them equally, and then slid down her pants with such subtle skill, so that she was naked without realising it before he picked her up, his claws pricking her ass as she wrapped her arms around his muscle-corded neck. His hot, sultry breath was on her breasts as he buried his face in them, making her sweat and pound with yearning, with a craving for the savage beast that planned to ravage her.

And she planned to let him.

He threw her onto the counter, her skin pressed against the cold tiles but heated by his touch, by the fire in his eyes as he kissed her, his tongue curling around hers, demanding more from her, maybe more than she could give.

“
Relax. I won’t hurt you…unless you beg me to,” he said, his voice coarse with craving.

She believed him, her body responding instinctively, and she realised then that they were about to go the whole way.
They were about to fulfil his purpose for coming here, what she’d had in mind when she'd summoned him from the depths of hell. Her body burnt for him, and she obeyed.

“
Do it,” she gasped breathlessly, desperate to feel him inside of her.

She
closed her eyes and heard him growl as he slid into her, all the way to the hilt, filling her completely. She moaned, opening up further to him, welcoming him and all the joy he could give her. She rocked against him and he moved in and out of her, with no steady rhythm, always keeping her surprised and satisfied. Growls vibrated in his chest as her eyelids fluttered with pure bliss. It almost sounded like a cat purring…or a tiger.

“
Scream for me,” he demanded, his voice hoarse.

She writhed, body arching towards his, panting and moaning, crying out his name
in the moment of ecstasy.

“
No. I said scream…for…
me.
”

Her eyes flew open and with a
whimper of panic she saw she wasn’t looking into Kaden’s enchanting, endlessly black eyes, instead the eyes that looked back at her were vicious, violent, with less compassion in them than the eyes of a demon.

“
Chris?
”

“
Who else baby? Happy to see me, I see,” he sneered as he moved inside of her.

She tried to shove him away, her hands slipping on his skin, both of them slick with the sweat of their arousal. He was laughing at her, his laughter resonating around them, and she
lashed out at him. He blocked it, gripping her wrist and squeezing hard enough to make her wince, he much stronger than her. The feel of him inside her, in her most precious and protected place made her feel sick.

He eventually gave her a reprieve and pulled out roughly, leaving her naked, humiliated, bruised and bleeding on the counter, tears streaming down her burning cheeks. There was no sign of Kaden. She had been abandoned, left alone with this monster.

With a sudden gesture Chris pushed her from the counter. She fell fast and hard, bashing her head on the concrete, landing amongst the peppers she had been chopping. Dizzy, her ears ringing, she heard his chuckling but all she saw was the bloody knife and she reached for it, determined not to be a victim again. She grasped the knife like a lifeline, holding it out in front of her, point first.

“
Don’t come any closer,” she warned him darkly.

His lips peeled back from his teeth in a harsh, mocking grin, transforming the handsome features that had once charmed her to the mask of horror that haunted her dreams. He didn’t think she was brave enough to use the knife. She knew better. She was desperate, disorientated, naked, sore, violated and all she could focus on was defending herself. Kaden wasn’t there to do it for her. She had to do this on her own.

Chris took a defiant step forwards, before sauntering towards her, naked and confident, his swollen member smeared with her blood and juices, ready for sex again. She wanted to chop it off.

“
I’m warning you!” her voice trembled and she slashed the knife in an arc, demonstrating that she was deadly serious.

He smiled
again before lunging at her. She reacted on instinct, aiming the knife at his neck, slitting open his throat.

*~*~*

“Hazelle!”

Her eyes shot open and she sat bolt upright, almost head-butting the demon that had been leaning over her, shaking her gently. She shuddered, so cold despite the sheen of sweat that coated her
skin, making her sticky pyjamas cling to her, her throat as dry as a desert. Sickness swirled in her stomach and she had to swallow sour bile, her head spinning.

Kaden sat on his haunches, watching her, his dark eyes troubled, almost concerned. His fingers stroked her arm softly, not seductively, and she knew that she had been screaming in her sleep. Her throat ached and there was a horrible sense of dread and a nasty twinge between her legs that was anything but pleasurable, reminding her of the brutal dream. 

“What did I do?” Kaden asked quietly, refusing to meet her gaze when she was staring up at him, confused.

He must have thought she had been dreaming about him again. She had been at first,
and it had been good,
really
good, before the dream had been hijacked. She supposed in a lot of ways he and Chris were very similar, not physically, but they both stalked and tormented women, they both wouldn’t take no for an answer and they had such a disturbing, uncompromising, inhuman gleam in their eyes when she defied them.               The difference was that as much as Kaden had threatened her, as much as he had warned her, he hadn’t actually hurt her or forced her into doing anything she didn’t want to do. Whether that was due to the limitations of the summoning spell or because he was biding his time, she didn’t know.

She was about to leave the bed when he gripped her arm just above the elbow. She tensed impulsively, recalling the antique letter opener still under her pillow. When she looked over her shoulder she saw his eyes were tender, almost sympathetic, and more honest than she had ever seen human eyes be.

“Whatever it was it wasn’t real. I wouldn’t hurt you,” he murmured, and she believed him, deep down in her heart. The spell book had indicated how dangerous he could be, how devious, but also how devoted. He must have realised by now that the way to woo her was not to threaten or intimidate her.

“
I know,” she replied quietly, not wanting to elaborate on the dream. She didn’t want to talk about Chris, afraid she might provoke Kaden. She’d made the excuse that the flowers had probably been sent to the wrong person, though she knew without doubt that they were meant for her and they had been sent by Chris.

Hazelle
fled to the bathroom, locking the door behind her, turning just in time to vomit into the toilet. She was sick, again and again, until her stomach aching with emptiness, still heaving, dry retching as her head pounding and her eyes streamed. Eventually she collapsed against the wall, pressing her head against the cool tiles, waiting for the world to stop spinning.

There was a knock on the door. Thinking it was Kaden she called out weakly, “Go away.”

“Hazelle? Is that you? Are you ill?” the sound of her mother’s concerned voice came through the door. Hazelle groaned and closed her eyes, still woozy.

Mom knocked again.

              “Hazelle, open the door.”

Hazelle climbed unsteadily to her feet, swaying, wiping her mouth. She flushed the toilet and took a sip of water before unlocking the door and opening it, leaning against it for support.

Mom was still in her nightgown, hair knotted from sleep and face free from make-up. She must have been worried, for she usually didn’t leave her bed without her face fully made up, especially when there was a hot-blooded male in the house. Her eyes softened when she saw the sorry state of her daughter.

“
You look awful…do you want me to take you to the doctors?”

“
No, I’m okay…now.”

“
You don’t look okay,” mom's voice was disapproving as she narrowed her eyes in suspicion, “Did something happen between you and Kaden?”

“
No, Kaden didn’t do anything mom. He wouldn’t,” Hazelle tried to reassure her, knowing in her gut it was true, as queasy as it currently was. Kaden couldn’t possibly make her feel as wretched as she did now. “It might be a stomach bug, or maybe something from the restaurant upset my stomach.”

“
It was rather rich food,” Mom admitted, patting her stomach, “Gave me quite a bit of gas last night.”

“
Good morning, Mrs Bryce.”

Hazelle could see Kaden over her mother’s shoulder,
leaning casually against the door-frame, his underpants fortunately in place but his chest bare and buff for all the world to see and admire. Hazelle’s mother actually blushed, something her daughter rarely saw her do, and she looked flustered as she turned, combing her fingers through her tangled hair.

“
I didn’t see you there, Kaden. Hazelle isn’t feeling too well. I think its best she takes the day off work.”

Hazelle opened her mouth to argue.
Mom held up a hand, silencing her.

“
No. You don’t look well. I can’t let you leave the house looking like that.”

Hazelle closed her mouth. She must look as terrible as she felt. Kaden wasn’t looking at her; instead he was inspecting a photograph of Hazelle on the wall from her fourth birthday party, looking mildly intrigued. Was she too disgusting to look at? She figured he hadn’t spent much time around women who smelt like
sweat and vomit.

A
clock downstairs chimed the hour of eight, making her mother jump.

“
I’m going to be late for work,” she said hastily, “Watch her won’t you Kaden, and call me if she gets any worse?”

Kaden gave a sober nod and Hazelle opened her mouth to disagree again.

“No arguments young lady. I will call David and tell him you’re ill. Its fortunate Kaden is here to take care of you.”