Raven of Water

Chapter 6: Tea Time with the Demon

Confused by my own desires and indecisions, I decided to leave it up to my grandfather whether I should take the demon's offer, and I flushed as I looked over at the old man. My grandfather, who was regarding me with a poisonous glare, nodded his approval, leading me to shrug.

"Alright."

Kirroz seemed pleased with something as I sat beside him, and we fell into silence as the man added one cube of sugar to a teacup, then two small pours of cream before smiling and holding it out to me.

"What?"

"It's yours."

When I didn't take it, he frowned, gaze turning adorably defensive. "Nothing's wrong with it."

"I know nothing's wrong with it. I helped make it. I'm wondering how you knew how I like my tea?"

To my question, he just winked again and waited with some visible impatience for me to finally pluck the cup from his hands, then take a tentative sip. That arrogant, know-it-all look he was giving tugged at some nerves I didn't realize I had, partly because those perfect lips and charming smile only intensified my traitorous urge to crawl in bed with a demon. This demon. This man in service of the dark lord, who was one of several evil gods who wanted to wreak havoc on our world.

Kirroz was evil, but I still wanted to see him naked. And that thought made me sick.

All this was his doing. The ceremony. Grandfather's simmering anger at me for not carrying the tray, anger I would pay for later. Emilia's vindictiveness. My confusing and overwhelming attraction to him. My imagination that was picturing all the places on my body I wanted to feel those lips...

I was tired, and the demon was using my tired delirium to get under my skin.

The demon cleared his throat, regarding me out of the corner of his eye as he then grabbed the other cup, filling it, and then began drinking his tea black, leaving my grandfather to wait for Emilia to return with a cup for him.

Affecting a false sense of congeniality, my grandfather spoke, his silken purr grating on my already raw nerve. "My lord, we have so many questions for you."

"In due time," Kirroz said, waving his hand dismissively and leaning back, then raising his arm to rest it on the back of the couch while his other hand held his tea. I felt his fingertips brush my shoulder, sending a shock wave of pleasure through me that left me breathless, but when I flinched, he pulled away. A quick glance at Kirroz showed me his arrogant, prideful smirk. He'd known what he was doing, exploiting my tiredness and weakness. How dare he touch me without my consent?

But what unsettled me most was the realization that I really, really wanted him to keep touching me.

Everywhere.

The fire crackled, and we all sat in quiet contemplation, and I was struggling to get my swirling emotions under control when Emilia finally returned. Once my grandfather had a drink in his hand, he broke the uncomfortable silence.

"What do you think of our realm, my lord? From my understanding, other realms are quite different from ours."

"Your world is confusing." The demon responded before taking a sip of his tea. The delicate tinkling china cups made me cringe. Why was everything so...intense right now?

This entire tea thing was far more uncomfortable than I'd even imagined, and I sighed, looking down at the tea swirling around in my own cup before the chime of the grandfather clock struck four am. I felt the Kirroz's demonic eyes on me as I frowned and placed my cup on the coffee table. If I drank too much of that, I wouldn't sleep, although at this point I doubted that I'd ever get the chance to sleep again.