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

by C.R. Jane

“You’re so innocent,” he murmured. “How have you seen so much and you’re still so innocent?” “I’m not.” “Liar.” His hand glided up my thigh, and I pressed my knees closed, a throb of lust sparking between my legs that I tried to ignore. His touch felt good on my skin. “How did I find the one good girl on this whole depraved campus?” “How did you find me? You practically kidnapped me to make me live with you,” I answered drily.

His gaze boldly met the eyes of anyone who dared look at us, and everyone turned away, busying themselves with something else. “You like making them scared of you,” I said softly. “No, that’s more Cain’s department,” he said. “I just like giving you what you want.” “I don’t want this.”

“You’ve got an exhibitionist streak,” he murmured into my ear. “Ohh, we’re going to have so much fun together, Aurora.”

“Come on. Let’s go use the library at the society house.” I bolted off his lap, my clit still sore and aching from that orgasm as I fastened my jeans again. “Why did you bring me here, then?” He gave me a sunny smile that was all innocence before he stood and took my hand. “My own amusement.” Remington was a terrible person. But the ache between my thighs suggested that my body didn’t agree with my mind.

I noticed that Stellan never came around, which was a blessing. I’d loved the boy once, so seeing him act cruel was devastating.

“You know, normal men offer a lady their arm.” “I’m not a normal man.” His voice was a growl in my ear, and just like his touch, I felt it all down my spine, felt the heat of his words pooling low in my stomach. “And you’re not a lady.”

“What are you two up to?” The deep voice was deceptively casual, and I turned to find my ex-boyfriend staring at us with his arms crossed over his powerful chest. The only thing that could make my bizarre night even more… interesting. Stellan.

I would’ve liked to have been a part of it, actually a part of it, for tonight. It seemed like I always belonged on the edges, pretending to be normal but never fitting in.

It was so strong, so detailed, that it felt like a memory. It jolted me, and I swallowed cold water, coming up spitting and sputtering. Had that happened? Had I just blocked it from my mind? There was water in my lungs again, and I kept trying to spit it out, but then I couldn’t manage anymore. The warm glow blurred things, even the panic that maybe I was the reason The Demon had hurt her. I was slipping under the waves.

He rested his hands on my shoulders, his big body towering over mine, and leaned down and sniffed me. “You are so weird. But then, I knew that from the time you had a girl gyrate on your lap in between bites of your steak.” My words came out off-handed, even though the truth was no matter how glib both of us sounded, something dark and dangerous seemed to float in the air between us. “You smell like the lake bottom. A little more dead-fish than I’m used to from girls who are sleeping in my bed.”

“You like having someone take care of you. You like being told what to do,” he said. “Even if you pretend you don’t like to obey.”

I turned my face, almost brushing my lips against his, but he pulled back faintly, his gaze smoldering. Whatever he was going to say next was lost as the door flew open. Stellan stood there, his face cold and beautiful as a statue’s, only a flicker of rage lighting his eyes. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“I know you’re not talking to me,” Cain said, his tone ice. “Because I love you like a brother, Stellan, but I’d still bury you.”

“I wasn’t trying to murder you. I was trying to shock the truth from your lying lips for once.” He stalked toward me, cocked his head as he studied me. There was a glimmer in his gaze that I couldn’t read. “Somehow you’re bringing even our resident psychopath under your spell.”

“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.”

“Stellan, you can’t.” The Demon would’ve killed him for touching me. The Demon had always had people who worshipped him. What if his reach was so long that even from prison, he could hurt anyone who dared to love me? “I can,” Stellan breathed against my lips. “Say you’re not mine, Delilah.” “I don’t want you to get hurt… that’s why I ran.” “I’d say my chances of not getting hurt went to zero the moment you walked into my life anyway.”

“The Demon would never let me…” I shook my head, trying to push him away even as I wanted to pull him closer. “Let go of me, Stellan.” “He took that away from me too,” he said. “And I’m taking it back. You were always supposed to be mine, and I was supposed to be your first. Not fucking Cain.”

“Stop,” I begged, a flicker of uncertainty strumming through me. He would stop, right? “Mine,” he murmured, as if to himself. His head dipped between my thighs. He licked down my pussy, sensation flooding my core, and my thighs shuddered around his head. He settled in, his tongue thrusting inside me, his mouth working against my clit.

“Some of your clothes are in the closet,” Pax said. In disbelief, I stood and went to the closet. A few of the new things the guys had bought me were hanging there, including a frilly pair of lace underwear and a bra that was not substantial enough to be much help. “What were you guys planning tonight?” I asked, but there was no answer from the other side of the door. I wasn’t sure how much they were scheming or how much they were winging it, just like me.

"You have two minutes," he drawled. “Probably not enough time for you to waste it on continuing to eye fuck me." He threw the clothes back at me and I let them fall to my feet. In a rush of ridiculous defiance, I dropped the blanket and slipped off the flimsy tank top that I was wearing, despite the fact that I wasn't wearing a bra underneath. He shifted against the door and my eyes flicked downward to where I could see the hardening outline of his dick. There was no hiding that monster in his jeans.

"You'll do," he commented dryly, but he couldn't hide the heat in his gaze. We both knew I looked good. Cain hitched himself off the bed effortlessly before strolling out the door without another word, apparently expecting me to follow him… like a dog.

"I'll let you touch my stick, though," Cain said, and it was almost embarrassing how long it took for me to get what he was saying. “That was bad, even for you," I told him. "You really need to work on your lines." "That wasn’t a line, Aurora. There's not a girl who's been in this car who hasn't desperately wanted to touch my stick… wanted to lick it. You can do that too, you know. Might help you feel like you were getting in with the student population."

"A little cliche, don't you think? If I really wanted to kill you, I wouldn't do something as expected as take you to a place like this. I'm offended you think so little of me. I told you what we were doing tonight," he murmured in my ear as his hand tightened around the back of my neck. I slid the knife up until it was resting right on his hardening dick. I pressed in, just enough so he could feel exactly what I was threatening him with. I had to hand it to him, the slight widening of his eyes was the only tell he gave that I had surprised him. I couldn't help but be shocked that the motherfucker's dick was getting harder. I'd have thought he'd be a shrinking violet with his appendage threatened, but the violence of the situation seemed to be turning him on. I pressed the knife in further, just so he would understand that I wasn't joking. "Forgive me if I don't trust anything that comes out of your mouth,"

Cain pulled me closer to him, pressing the edges of the knife into both of us. "You may have stumbled onto my new favorite kink," he said, before licking the side of my face. "Ugh," I hissed before pulling the knife up so it actually sliced into the skin showing between his shirt and his low-slung pants.

The guy spotted us and immediately became alert, pushing away from the wall and throwing the cigarette on the ground frantically like he was afraid that Cain was going to push it down his throat. Which was actually a good probability now that I thought of it.

"Why did you bring The Demon's daughter?" a guy named Jake, I think, called out to Cain. "Hoping she'll get annoyed at one of you assholes and stab someone," Cain responded with a blank face.

"None of them," I told her. She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Why would you even lie about that? I fucked Stellan and I'm still talking about it a year later." She laughed like she'd just told the best joke ever. But I just felt sick. Unbidden images of her perfect features wrapped around the boy I'd once loved filled my head, and suddenly, not even the perfect fried pickles on my plate held any charm. "You wish you'd fucked me," Stellan's voice interjected from behind me.

"Stellan," she responded in a breathy voice. "I'm not sure what you heard." "Chlamydia isn't my thing, Vicky. I suggest you stop telling people we've fucked," he told her in a smug voice.

shouldn't let them walk all over you," he remarked, and I gave him a hollow shrug, looking out the window to where the two fighters had started to tear into each other. "Whatever," he snapped before stalking away.

Just then, Jack announced the next fight, and I pulled away from Remington to settle into the far side of the comfy looking couch that abutted up to the open window. The couch shifted, and I looked over to see Remington settling in next to me. “Don’t you have a chick to go fuck?” I asked, gesturing to the eager girls behind me.

"Working your way through the ranks?" Stellan said coldly from beside me and I looked at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?" "He just dedicated the fight to you. Are you really that unobservant?"

They were certainly testing my self-control, or maybe at this point Stellan had said so many mean things to me that I was becoming numb to it. It was probably wishful thinking judging by the way my heart actually seemed to hurt from his cruelty.

Kaplan began to sway in place, and I watched in lust-filled fascination as Paxton reared back and took him out with one last strike right to the nose. Blood splashed out all over the place, covering Paxton and setting my insides on fire. The announcer began to count down along with the crowd, and then it was done. Paxton was the winner.

Paul holstered the metal detector in his belt and then began to personally pat me down. I winced when he brushed against my dick a few too many times. I would have killed him, but Paul was one of the many things I had to put up with to keep my little brother and sister safe. Finally, the sexual assault/strip search was done and Paul ushered me into the office.

I commented, making sure to keep eye contact and my voice steady so he couldn't tell that my pulse was beating for reasons I wasn't really sure about. I already had enough people I had to keep safe. The last thing I needed was a serial killer's daughter being added to that list. Not that Aurora was even a thought for that. It just made me sick to hear her name on his lips. Because everything about him made me sick. That was all.

“I was a bitch the other day,” she said freely, surprising me. “I’m sorry, Aurora. You were nothing but nice to me, and I thought about it and… you should be treated like your own person. You are your own person. Not just The Demon’s daughter.” “Maybe I need to learn to be both.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, studying me. “Are you hurt?” “No.” The headache had already faded, healed by my adrenaline rush escaping the frat boys. “Did you hurt them?” “Yes.” “Yes, of course you did.” His thumb swept along my jawline, turning my face up to his as he studied me. “Are you going to hurt them more?” “Undecided. Right now, I’m not so sure about you, either.” “Oh, little devil. I’m disappointed in you. I’d never send anyone else to hurt you when I’m so happy to do it myself.” His gaze flickered toward the cross in the corner. “Did you want to play tonight?” “No,” I said, and as soon as I said the word, I realized maybe it was a lie.

“Always trying to figure out how real humans work, Cain?” He tilted his head to one side, his gaze intent. “You’ve got me figured out, don’t you, little devil?” “I think I’ve got some of the pieces.” “The question is, do you know if you’re a real human or not?” He was studying me, then smiled faintly at whatever he saw on my face. “No, you’re sure about me; you see something you recognize, but you don’t know about yourself yet, do you?”

“Why not both?” I kicked my legs back and forth, the strange reckless comfort I felt around Cain taking me over, making me slightly giddy. “Although I don’t know how much longer I’d like to keep that virgin title.” His gaze sharpened. “Oh?” “Help a girl out, Cain.” My voice came out in a whisper, and I wasn’t sure if it was seductive or vulnerable. But from the way heat flared in Cain’s gaze, maybe it was both. “One problem with that, little girl.” “And that is?” “You told me you didn’t want me to touch you, remember?” “Maybe I changed my mind.” “Maybe you need to show me, then.” He half-stood, sweeping the items on his desk to one side.

“I bought these for you,” with a tone of evident satisfaction. “You remember them, weirdo?” My voice came out light. “I pay attention when it comes to you, Aurora. It’s the only way to make sure you don’t knife me in the back.”

“Stay like that. I like the view.” I followed his gaze, which fell from my face to between my thighs. I squeezed my knees shut, feeling suddenly embarrassed. The Demon’s face rose in my mind, the way he would’ve punished me for this wanton display. “Stay with me, Aurora,” Cain said, and my gaze snapped to his face, wondering what he’d just seen. “No one’s ever going to hurt you again except for me.” “I don’t think you can promise that.”

Putting on a show for him made me feel powerful. I sank down, my shoulders pressed against the cool, hard wall behind me so I could roll my hips up and spread my knees, giving him a show. “That’s my girl,” Cain said, his voice tinged with pride as I opened myself up to him. “Touch yourself for me. Find your g-spot.”

He moved to the door, opening it for me. I stared at him, disappointed to be dismissed, aroused and annoyed and excited all at the same time. All the usual emotions I felt around Cain. I reached the door, but before I could leave, he grabbed my hips and spun me toward him. His lips descended on mine, and my hips ground forward against his as he gripped me tightly. Cain’s lips were soft, no matter how domineering his touch was, and my lips parted against his hungrily. He kissed me breathless, then suddenly pushed me into the hall. I stared at him, my lips bee-stung, as he gave me one of those rare angelic smiles. “Good night, little devil. Try to stay out of trouble.” Then he shut me out.

“Not tonight, Stellan,” I murmured, trying to yank my arm away from him...unsuccessfully. "Cain will destroy you, little girl," he said through gritted teeth, and I scoffed as I glared at him.

“You almost sound like you care,” I told him in a taunting voice. His face crumpled then, and his grip on my arm loosened. "I'm so tired of fighting you," he whispered. "I can't take picturing them touching you. You were mine."

"That was a long time ago, Stellan. You've made it clear that you're done with me."

A blush crept up her chest, and somehow it was one of the sexiest things I'd ever seen. Only she could seduce me in an instant. I'd never tell her this, but I'd been caught by her spell the moment our eyes met, even all those years ago. The fall had been hard and fast. She blinked her eyes slowly, the same hunger that I was sure was featured in mine reflected in those violet eyes of hers.

It only hit me now that I'd been searching for her all this time, looking for those violet eyes in every face I passed.

Her obliviousness was still the same. 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.

“This is your last chance to get away," I warned her as I slipped my hands into her hair, gently massaging her head as she moaned softly.