Page 68 of Demon's Desire

I grabbed my keys and opened the door as quickly as I could. Soul remained stoic. I started to get a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach. There was a chance he didn’t feel the same way. Sure, he was attracted to me, he had made that clear. But this burning desire for something primal and dangerous… There was a chance I was alone in that.

When I finally got the front door open, Soul suddenly pulled me inside and pushed me against the wall. I gasped when he did, my eyes growing wide as I watched his face change. His eyes began to glow again as he put his hand to my throat. “You know I can hear when your heart is racing, little one… I know when you’re sleeping… I know when you’re scared… and I know when you’re excited…”

I took a deep breath and nodded quickly. “Y-yes…”

He leaned down and kissed me hard. I was quick to return it, pushing my tongue into his mouth. That only lasted for a few seconds before he pulled away, smirking. “You’re going to go upstairs and unlock the door. Then you’re going to hide. I’ll give you exactly one minute. Then I’m going to come find you…”

I swallowed hard. It felt like my heart had never beat this fast in my life. But I wasn’t scared. Well, I was, but it was like the feeling you get before the drop on a roller coaster. You know you’ll survive, but there’s still a little bit of fear… And that makes it so much more exciting.

“C-can’t…” Suddenly, my throat was dry. I had to swallow again before I could speak. “Can’t you hear my heartbeat? You’ll know… That’s too easy.”

“Hm…” He cocked his head. “You’re right. That’s cheating. Then I’ll give you two minutes. Put your phone on your speaker and turn up the music. I won’t be able to hear a thing. Is that fair?”

I nodded quickly.

“Good… Then two minutes starts…” He leaned in so that his lips were an inch from my ear. I could feel his breath on my skin, and it made me shudder. I closed my eyes for a moment, the anticipation building, just like I was waiting for that roller coaster to drop…

“Now.”

He dropped his hands and moved away, giving me space to run. And I did, still holding onto my keys tightly. The teeth dug into my skin, but I hardly noticed. I was so focused on flying up the stairs to get where I needed to go. There weren’t many places to hide. Closets, but that was too easy. So was the shower, under the bed, in the pantry… Although, that did give me an idea.

I unlocked the door quickly and rushed inside. Just for good measure, I locked it behind me. I knew he could get through anyway, but it was almost like a sign. I wasn’t planning on making this easy for him.

I quickly pulled up music on my phone, but I didn’t connect it to the speaker. That would take too long. I needed just a little bit more time for what I was planning. I slipped my phone just underneath the edge of my bed, hoping that might trick him into thinking I’d hidden poorly. Once I’d put that into place, I slipped off my shoes so I could be as silent as possible.

This wouldn’t be easy. I needed to find just the right things to help. I started with a broom. That would make a good base. I didn’t have long. This would come down to a matter of seconds. Thankfully, Kelly had left one of her baseball caps right beside the front door, so I was able to grab that as I rushed into the bathroom. I grabbed a couple of towels and draped them over the top of the broom to make it look a bit bulky. When I had managed to get it around the same size as my body, at least partially, I put the cap on top and leaned it against the corner of the shower, right under the shower head.

Time was running out. I shut the bathroom lights off and slipped behind the door. There was no way this would work. This was such a stupid idea. He’d see through it immediately. But maybe he’d at least give me some credit for trying.

Through the slow, rhythmic instrumental music playing next door in my bedroom, I could hear Soul’s footsteps coming up the stairs. I closed my eyes for a second as a shiver ran down my spine. The door shook as he tried to open it and realized it was locked. After that, it was silent for a moment. Then I heard him.

I heard his footsteps as he came through the door, and he laughed. “You decided to make this fun… Good. I was hoping you would.”

I was so tempted to just blow everything and run out right there. Somehow, I managed to keep myself under control and stay put. I wasn’t moving. I was barely even breathing. I just stayed as still as possible and refused to look through the crack between the door hinge and the wall. I knew the minute I saw him that I would lose it.

I heard his footsteps moving into the bedroom. At least that was what it sounded like. If I was right, it wouldn’t take him ten seconds to find my phone under the bed and realize that I wasn’t with it.

Just as I thought, it didn’t take much longer before I heard his laugh again. “Hm… Clever girl.” I heard his footsteps again. The music got louder as well. He was carrying my phone with him.

Every second, he was getting closer and closer to the bathroom. That was good, but it was also terrifying. I had an idea in my mind of what might happen when he found me, but the truth was that I wasn’t sure. I was giving this demon a great deal of power over me, but that was exactly what I wanted. That was what made it fun.

I heard his footsteps cross the threshold into the bathroom. He flipped the switch, and the room flooded with light. Now I could see. I turned my head to look at the bathtub. Just as I wanted, there was a dark outline that was roughly in the shape of a person in the corner behind the shower curtain. Hopefully, that was enough to lure him closer.

Every time he took a step, it might as well have been a booming drum in my ear. Even though I couldn’t see him behind the door, it was like I could sense where he was. He was moving closer and closer toward the back of the bathroom. He moved past the door, and I could see him now. This was it. He was looking at the bathtub, but if he turned around even a little bit, he’d be able to see me, and my cover would be blown.

But he didn’t. Not now, anyway. He did exactly as I wanted him to do, and he moved directly in front of the bathtub.

“Cute.” He chuckled. “But I was always going to find you, little one…”

He grabbed the shower curtain and pulled it back, revealing the figure I’d created. I wished I could have seen his face at that moment, but now was my only chance. I slipped out from behind the door and darted down the hall toward the dining room as fast as I could.

“What?” I heard him say behind me. “Oh… Now, this is fun.”

I made it to the dining room, but instead of running further, I took one step to my right so that I was against the wall. If he ran through here fast enough, he wouldn’t even notice me, then I could dart the other way. Immediately, I heard his footsteps pounding down the hallway. I was suddenly very aware of how fast he was. There was no way I could outrun him. Then again, I didn’t particularly want to.

He ran into the dining room and did just as I expected. He ran directly in the middle of the room before stopping to look around. That gave me just enough time to slip behind him and dart back down the hall. Just as soon as I started running, I heard him behind me. It wasn’t as if our apartment was very large. I didn’t have many places to run, but at least none of them were very far.

I made it to my bedroom and rushed inside, but just as I turned to slam the door behind me, Soul was there, eyes glowing. He grabbed me and pushed me roughly against the wall once again, kissing me hard. I whimpered against him, completely desperate. He knew exactly what I wanted. And I knew he would give it to me.