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

by C.R. Jane

"It's all right," the man whispered. "I'm sorry it took me so long to find you. But nobody's ever going to get the chance to hurt you again." He reached out his hand to me. I wasn't sure what to do, but his eyes were kind. "Who are you?" I whispered. "They call me The Demon," he whispered back. "But you can call me Dad, if you want."

I took his hand. He frowned at the sight of the bruises on my body and said, "Why don't you pack a bag while I go have a talk with that woman who pretended to be your mom?" "Okay," I answered in a trembling, but hope filled voice.

"You were always only pretending to be sweet and helpless, Gabriela," he whispered in my ear. "I was?" "You forgot who you really were, sweet child, because you had to forget. That was the only way for us to keep you safe. But you've always been something more than anyone could realize. You've always been fierce."

“Everyone loves them,” Jenna added. “Probably not as much as they love themselves.” Jenna laughed, but I meant it.

The girl gave me a side glance before she ran back to the safety of her friend’s side. I watched as she tapped out a rhythm on her pants, and then she pulled on her hair three times in a nervous tic. And with that little move, there was no denying it. Somehow, Delilah Kane was standing in this cafeteria. A ghost from my past. A devil disguised in a beautiful package. And the only person who could tell me exactly what happened to my sister all those years ago.

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

“What’s your name?” he asked, taking a step back, his shoulders against the door. As he pushed it open, the sun illuminated his hair with light. Funny, because I knew Stellan Bishop was no angel. “Aurora,” I said. “Pretty name,” he responded, but I could’ve sworn the faintest disappointment flashed across his face. “For a pretty girl.”

"I'm not feeling that good," I told her, trying to sound at least a little bit pathetic. But like I said, I wasn't a good actress. Jenna froze and then turned around to stare at me, a determined gleam in her eyes. "You are going to get your cute butt into a hot dress, and you are going to this party. I don't care if you need your appendix out, you can get it out afterwards."

"Your name," he repeated, sounding amused. I forced myself to look him in the eye. I wanted him to know I wasn't prey. His pretty face was distracting me, that's all. Why was being a normal girl so fucking hard? Maybe I should challenge him to a knife fight or something. I could be normal then.

It wasn't easy for me to let go, but something about Cain made me want to just give in, let him take the lead. I'd have to examine that particular personality trait at a later date.

#BDE indeed. It felt enormous, more like an elephant trunk than something that could be attached to a college guy. He chuckled, and I realized I must have spoken out loud. Fuck.

The darkness seemed to only enhance his beauty. The dim lighting showcasing his perfect features. He was staring up at me, what looked like confusion in his gaze as his eyes met mine. I was confused too. I'd barely talked to this guy, but there was energy threaded between us, a feeling that there was something to this moment...something more.

Cain came to the doorway behind her. His big body filling the entryway, one of his hands braced on either side of the doorway. He was watching her with a bemused expression on his face. He’d just fucked her. The thought shot through me, accompanied with white hot rage. How dare he fuck the girl who held all the secrets about what had happened to my sister. I was instantly furious, but I held onto a shred of common sense.

“Delilah!” When I reached her, she pretended that she didn't even see me or hear me and just kept marching through the rain. I grabbed her arm and spun her around. She looked up at me with her violet eyes blazing. I grabbed her around the waist and kissed her hard. My lips seared against hers in a claiming kiss, and for a moment, even the rattle of the rain around us faded.

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.

She kissed me back, because she knew who I was, because I felt familiar, like an old friend to her. Even though I definitely wasn't her fucking friend. I'd save that for a fun surprise later though.

Those kinds of coarse words didn't come easily to my lips. Cain would have been more the expert on how to degrade a girl, but it had the right effect. She staggered back just a stutter step, as if I had physically struck her, her eyes widening. Yeah, that blow wouldn't have landed so hard if she didn't remember me, either. If I weren't her first fucking love, for all the good she'd repaid me with.

“By the way she fucking kisses?” Cain was looking at me as if it were the most asinine thing that I had ever said, in a history of many asinine things. “Not just by kissing her,” I said, irritated, “but it definitely is one more tip off.” “You used to date The Demon’s daughter?” “I didn't know she was the fucking child of a serial killer at the time.” I said, “but I think he's the one that took my sister and I think maybe she knows something about it.”

I had to figure out a way to stay away from Stellan, because seeing the boy I used to love as a monster was soul-destroying.

“Remember the part where he called me a slut?” I asked. “That is not a nice man.” The blonde with pink ends said, “Well, that's kind of their thing with girls. At least, Cain tends to be pretty… like, degrading, from what I’ve heard?” “Wow,” I said, “and how exactly are they still getting laid?” The brunette crinkled her nose. “I mean, have you seen them?” It was almost a valid point. But no, there was no excuse for that kind of behavior. That was their brand of toxic. “You all deserve better,” I grumbled. “And I deserve better.”

Even with my dark twisted past, I knew that I deserved better than men who were bullies and monsters

As I packed up my backpack to go study, she tumbled onto the bed and stretched out. “Our freshman year is going to be such an adventure.” She sounded so happy, and it was such a jarring contrast to my jangling nerves about Stellan. “I like your enthusiasm.”

"Come on in, killer," the guy said with a grin. I rolled my eyes. Zero points of originality for that one, obviously.

I was in a well, treading water, my arms tied together to prevent me from using them. It was cold, and I was soaked to the bone...my teeth chattering so hard I was afraid they were going to break. But it wasn't the fact that I was exhausted, or that my clothes felt like they weighed a thousand pounds because they were so drenched with water...it was the darkness. "You can't be afraid in this world," The Demon whispered from somewhere around me. His voice was everywhere at once somehow, like he'd installed speakers in this old, abandoned well he'd taken me to in the middle of nowhere. Which, I guess I couldn't put past him.

Fear shot through me at being incapacitated. Despite the fact that I knew I should try and keep a cool head, I began to struggle against the person's hold, desperate to get away. My shoulder blades pressed against the cold surface of the wall, but it was his hard body against mine that felt inescapable. “Hello, little devil,” a familiar voice whispered.

The two of us struggled, but I found myself slammed up against the wall again, this time with my face and breasts shoved into the drywall. His elbow planted in my back, digging into my skin. “That wasn't very polite,” Pax scolded, sounding far less perturbed than I'd ever heard most men about being kneed in the balls.

“Let her go, Pax,” Cain said. Even though the words were benign, there was something about his voice that was dark and domineering. There was a subtle threat in it, as if it didn't matter if they let me go. I wouldn't be able to run far enough to escape. Pax turned his head and pressed a quick kiss to my temple. I wanted to push him away, but he was already laughing and letting me go. “Thanks for the snuggles, Aurora,” he said, patting my shoulders as he released me.

“Floundered?” I shot back. “I thought she was getting hurt.” “She was. She just happens to like it. Are you some kind of prude?” I never thought I was until today, but maybe I was, maybe that was where I drew my line in the sand because the degrading way that Cain had talked to that girl, and the way she practically writhed in pleasure at every degradation he had to offer, had left me feeling a little bit uncomfortable.

“Thank you, but no,” I said. “Pax.” Cain’s voice was quiet, yet everything he said sounded like a command. Pax gave me a peck on the cheek, leaning in so fast that by the time my hands rose, he was already dancing backward. The scent of his cologne seemed to linger on my skin, or maybe that was the scent of his body.

He winked at me. “Stay alive. Aurora. I have a feeling knowing you is going to be very entertaining.” “Fantastic. I am so happy that I can entertain you.”

“If you want to have your professors read your papers, maybe even grade them, you’ll have to convince me. If you want to eat in the dining hall without anyone putting poison in your food or knocking your tray out of your hands…if you want to have a chance to pretend to be a normal student, despite what you've done, then you have to convince me.”

“You can sit in the stands,” he said. “Don’t go anywhere else.” “Like I'm your girlfriend?” I couldn't help but notice how many people had stared at me like I was the luckiest girl on earth because I was walking by Cain’s side. “Definitely not like that,” he answered.

You see one poster and you’re convinced it’s the God’s honest truth. People that gullible are going to be the death of this whole nation.” “Do you think it's wise to talk back to us?” “You just made it clear that you think that I'm dangerous, right? So I'm not understanding why you would think it's wise to talk to me to begin with unless you know that this is bullshit and you're just seeking a reason to bully a young woman, like you're any better than The Demon himself.”

But even though I was trying to keep my eyes on all three of them at once, something pulled my gaze down to the field, a sensation crawling up my spine as if someone were watching me. I looked down to find Cain staring up at all of us, his eyes blazing with fury.

“You can go,” Cain prompted impatiently. The men didn't need a second invitation. They took off, scrambling over the bleachers and jumping off, disappearing into the rest of campus. I caught a brief glimpse of the one who held the knife to my throat fleeing and realized his jeans were soaked dark with his urine.

There was a knock on the double doors behind me, and I craned my neck to see who was there. "Come in," Cain drawled, like he was king of the castle. The door opened and the same guy who'd been such a gracious tour guide of this place peeked his head in, his gaze immediately going to me. "Don't look at her," snapped Pax abruptly, and my gaze immediately went to him. The other three were looking at him with matching frowns.

"Sit your ass back down," growled Cain, pulling the girl off his dick and onto his lap. He began to kiss down the side of her neck, and for a moment I remembered what that had been like… What that felt like. I’d been through a lot in my life, the sort of stuff that wasn't even featured in horror movies because it was so dark and twisted that the audience probably would've fainted dead at the sight of it. But this? This I had no experience with beyond what I’d done with Cain… And Stellan years ago. I didn't know what it meant, but I'd survived all of that, and being in this room was making me sick.

"Thanks,” I told her insincerely as I began to walk towards the doors. "You should leave if you know what's good for you," she hissed at my back.

They were monitoring my emails. Of course they were. Why hadn’t that thought even crossed my mind? Oh, because it was psychotic. That’s why.

"Dean Worthington, I need a new room assignment. I'll stay anywhere. There has to be somewhere on campus that's available," I begged, feeling like I'd never done anything so useless in my entire life. The Dean just looked at me with pity, but before he could say anything, Remington responded. "I'm afraid that your request is denied," he said cockily, flashing me a brilliant grin. "But please feel free to check back another time, the office is always open."

"I think you've made yourself very clear… Sir," I added, watching the glimmer of heat in his gaze at the word and wondering what it would feel like to choke it out of him. It was errant thoughts like that that kept me up at night sometimes, wondering if I was closer to The Demon than I thought.

Or I could always try transferring to a different school. As if he could read my mind, Remington's voice trailed after me. "You're not going anywhere until we say you're allowed to, Aurora," he warned, and the threat in his voice was clear. I wouldn’t be allowed to transfer, they’d make sure of that.

But all I did was drag my ass to class where I endured hours of the students whispering things about me and giving me dirty looks. It was still better than before though. I'd still escaped him. It was the silver lining that I would have to keep telling myself to survive all of this.

I locked myself in the bathroom, frowning at my appearance. When I’d started up at the school, what seemed like forever ago now, I’d looked in the mirror and seen a stranger. But at least it had been a hopeful stranger, with a whole new life in front of her. The person looking in the mirror now was still a stranger, but one that looked beat down...desperate. I hated her.

He got up from the bed abruptly and walked over to the closet, shutting off the light before closing the doors. "I need that," I told him sharply as I watched his shadow walk back to the bed. Paxton didn't ask why I needed it, and I guess the answer would've been obvious to anyone. He simply crawled into the bed and pulled me against his body. I laid stiff against him, wondering what he was going to do.

At lunch, I opened my laptop to pull up the internet forum, feeling a sense of dread. Only to receive a Page Not Found error. I tried other search terms, but nothing could bring up that website or any of the similar ones that I’d found. When I thought about how Remington had been busy on his laptop during class, I had a sneaking suspicion that he was somehow responsible, but that was ridiculous, wasn’t it? “Remington,” I said uncertainly. He tilted back into his chair, staring at me smugly. “Nobody gets to hurt you but us, baby doll. But if you run, I’ll put it all back up.”

I was pulling out my books when Remington started toward our table. He was carrying both our drinks and a paper bag, his hair falling over his high forehead in a way that made him look like a teen heartthrob out of a movie, and I bit my lower lip. I couldn’t relax around him, no matter what he said. But it was hard not to, because he was fun and flirtatious and made me feel… normal.

She slid onto his lap, and his brows rose. Danger seemed to tinge the air around him, but she didn’t notice as she smiled at him. “You know there’s no point in trying to help her. She’s going to fail out of school if she doesn’t get the hint that she’s not wanted here anyway.” He shifted, his hands rising so he wasn’t touching her, but the way he moved subtly still unseated her. She fell on her ass on the floor and looked up at him in shock. “Aurora doesn’t need my help,” he said coolly. “And anyone trying to give her any hints will answer to me.”

He nodded. “Well, you’re free to do what you want now, aren’t you?” “I don’t know.” My voice came out in a whisper. He rose suddenly and swung around the edge of the table, taking the seat beside me. He patted his thigh, his look full of challenge. I shook my head. “Really, Remington? Here?” “It’s just sitting in my lap. It’s not life or death.” Not anymore. But it had been. “I can’t,” I said in a whisper.

“You can do anything you want when we’re together, Aurora. No one will stop us.” “Must be nice,” I muttered.