Page 34 of Sent To A Fantasy World and Now All the Men Want Me 7

“That’s not vague at all,” I mumbled. “You’re, like, three hundred years old. Your definition of ‘everything’ is more than most people’s.”

“Very well. Allow me to be more specific.” Onyx pressed closer and gripped the side of my neck, using his thumb to tilt my face to his. “I was thinking about a particularly bothersome little bird.”

“Oh?” Electric tingles shot through my veins. “What’s so bothersome about this little bird? Does he flutter around your personal space too much? Peck at your nerves with his little beak?”

“The fluttering and pecking are awfully vexing, I must say.” His gaze fell to my lips, and mine parted in response. “Yet, what frustrates me the most is how, despite all my attempts to do so, I cannot keep my distance from you.”

My throat went dry. “Then don’t.”

A shadow passed over his face, masking whatever emotion he didn’t want me to see. “I must.”

“Why?” My chest ached at the sudden wall he’d thrown up. Just when I thought we were making progress, he fortified the barrier around his heart. “Seriously, Onyx. What’s so bad about getting close to me? You’ve been inside me, for crying out loud.”

“Taking you to my bed was a mistake I will not make again,” he said without a lick of emotion.

“Being with me was a mistake?”

“Yes.” The shadow obscuring his expression faltered for a split second, revealing a rawness in his eyes. “A mistake and nothing more.”

I searched his face. “I don’t believe you.”

“When I took you to my bed, I only meant for it to be one night.” He averted his gaze and put distance between us. A distance that was both physical and emotional. “I see now that you’re incapable of that. You crave more than sex, and I have no desire for emotional attachments.”

A memory prickled at my brain: a conversation about the legend behind the red spider lily. To demons, the lily symbolized a fated mate.

“I see it for the curse it is,” Onyx had said. “When my mother died, my father became a shell of the person he once was. Her death destroyed him.”

I suspected it wasn’t a lack of desire that had him keeping a wall between us… but fear of falling in love and having that love torn away.

“Wanna know what I think?” I closed the gap he’d put between us. “All of this is an act. You do want more. You’re just scared.”

“Do tell, little bird.” Onyx backed me up against the counter, placing one hand on each side of me. Very reminiscent of our position on the balcony, caging me in. Heat brimmed in his ruby eyes. “What am I afraid of?”

“Me.” I swallowed hard. “You told me that I was dangerous. It’s because I’m your fated mate, isn’t it? Unlike everyone else that came before me, you can’t shove me away. Our bond won’t let you. That’s what scares you. Not being in control.”

His gaze hardened, those burning rubies losing all warmth and becoming ice-cold. “It appears you have it all figured out then.”

“I wish,” I dryly responded. “You once said I was like a puzzle, but I’m an easy one to solve compared to you and your thousand different pieces.”

He stared at me, saying nothing. His gaze lowered to my mouth as he traced my bottom lip with his thumb. There was an unsteadiness to his touch, as though he were fighting an internal battle.

“Onyx… talk to me, you insufferable demon.”

“Insufferable, am I?” Though subtle, a smile flirted on his lips before he pulled away from me and stepped over to the pantry. His voice filtered out to me from inside, muffled as he searched for something on the shelves. “I could say the same of you, Evan Clark. A pest since the day I first laid eyes on you.”

“Don’t full-name me,” I mumbled at him. “Makes it seem like I’m in trouble.”

“Perhaps you should be in trouble.” Onyx exited the pantry with a small bag of rice and carried it over to the sink. “For your lies and sneaking around. And for what you called me at dinner.”

“A butthead,” I said between my fingers as I covered my face with my hands, ashamed. “I wasn’t exactly wrong though. You’re not the friendliest person to be around sometimes.”

The edges of his eyes crinkled. “Then I suppose you should full-name me as well.”

“That would only be fair,” I responded with a light huff. “But I don’t know your full name.”

“Onyx Michaelis Ryu Blackstone,” he said as he measured out about a cup of rice and rinsed it beneath the running faucet. “Lord of Shadows and Ruler of the Realm.”

I blinked. “Quite the mouthful. But it sounds cool as hell. All regal and shit. Like something out of Game of Thrones.”