Make Me Lie (Rich Demons of Darkwood, #1)

by C.R. Jane

Don’t call him “sir” until he earns it.

Stellan, my childhood crush who lost his sister to the Demon. Cain, the boy with the face of an angel to who manipulation comes as easy as breathing; Remington, the playboy soccer star full of secrets. Pax, the dark psycho who hides behind his fists.

"The only way anyone will ever see you as a victim again is if you want them to. And at any time, you can pull the blindfold from their eyes and show them you're always the one with the knife."

My whole life had been a cover story; why was this so tiring now?

“Pax and Remington kill it on the soccer field together,” she said. “And Stellan is the captain of the hockey team.”

And the girl that I was seeing now was not in the mix. Wide, fucking gorgeous, familiar eyes stared around the room.

There weren't a lot of people with violet fucking eyes. Elizabeth Taylor. And Delilah Kane. There was something strange about that girl. Something almost...familiar.

No. No fucking way. This girl looked nothing like Delilah. People grew up, but their features didn't fundamentally change.

I was definitely crossing into the territory of really fucking creepy right now.

The blonde hair was all wrong. So were the cheekbones. The lips were a little too pouty.

Somehow, Delilah Kane was standing in this cafeteria. A ghost from my past. A devil disguised in a beautiful package.

I would run. I wouldn’t hurt him. I’d done that once before after all. I’d run to protect him from The Demon.

I’d once gone six days without eating as part of The Demon’s ‘training’. Skipping breakfast and lunch didn’t faze me much.

The Demon and I had moved half a dozen times in the years between when he rescued me and when he destroyed me. He’d denied me a lot of things over the years with the goal of molding me into someone just as cold and cruel and dangerous as he was.

He flashed me a grin. “I saw you on the stairs and thought it was my lucky day.” Funny, because I saw him on the stairs and thought that I was fucked.

That was why he was testing me. If he knew for sure who I was, he wouldn’t bother. I needed to lean into the role he expected me to play. Dumb bimbo who hung on his every word.

I waited for The Demon to tell me what the man’s sin was, like usual, but this time, he never said...

Jenna had already given up on me. I'd already spent most of my life feeling that way, and it was an unwelcome emotion.

Jenna had almost thrown a fit when I'd pulled them on with my little black party dress, but I couldn't run away from a murderer in high heels.

"You lost?" the pretty, dark haired one drawled. I doubted he would like being called pretty, but honestly, that was the best word to describe him. He was so pretty it was ridiculous. Remington.

And Paxton Jones was the epitome of unhinged.

Because I'd just identified the leader of the kings, and I didn't think Pax would try anything now that I was snarled in Cain's sights.

Cain's grip tightened on my hips, like he didn't want me to forget that he was there.

Cain pulled away suddenly, heat in his gaze like he wanted to rip my clothes off. His breathing was heavy like he'd actually been...affected by our kiss.

Because I regretted it like I regretted nothing else in my life. She was the only woman I ever loved, and she was the devil I regretted.

“I like it better when you call me sir.” “Then I guess you’d better earn the title.”

“You have to calm yourself, Delilah. It’s only death. You and I walk with death all the time. Why are you so afraid when it’s your own?”

“Why’d you leave without saying goodbye?” “I thought I was protecting you.” “You weren’t.” I bit my lower lip, right before he leaned over and kissed the corner of my mouth. His fingers gripped my chin as he pulled away, his gaze burning into mine. “You’re mine,” he said. “Not Cain’s. Mine.”

The Demon had said, you can't trust anyone but family. The truth was you couldn't trust anyone.

Even with her father and the cloud of suspicion that followed her everywhere, every man wanted her. Even my brothers. They all hadn’t realized yet that she was mine.

”What have you done to me? I can't decide whether you're an angel or a devil. All I know is that I want you with every piece of my soul."

Judging from the way Cain looked at her, we were in trouble. Every single one of us… especially Aurora.

"Out of the darkness and into the light, to all that is good and all that is bright,"

And wasn’t it a shame that I’d once thought maybe I could love them. Because all that was left was hate.