Devil's Plaything

Control

The steam from the shower she had just taken made the room so foggy that Mira could barely see her own hands. Her floral shampoo scent still permeated the room and made her feel a deep sense of tranquility. She ran a comb through her wet hair and it slipped through with ease. She felt for the first time in days that she could truly relax. She smoothed lotion over her arms and legs and put on her silk robe, which soft sleeves heightened her sense of comfort. When she opened the door, the steam from her bathroom drifted out into her bedroom.

She could feel her heart speed as she noticed something else in her room. Her demon sat at the foot of her bed casually, as if he had done so many times before. His long-sleeved, black shirt hugged his muscular frame and his devious dark eyes were trained on her, a satisfied and titillating grin played on his lips.

Her initial instinct was to react with fear or anger, but then she realized that, for the first time, she didn't find him intimidating. He was still as handsome and as tall as she remembered, but something about the way he held himself today made her less anxious to be in his presence. He watched her quietly, without making any movements. His eyes didn't as much as wander below hers, much to her aggravating disappointment. "I wanted to see you," his said, his voice low and intimate. His eyes followed the outline of her body then and she felt a tense excitement build up in her core. "I really want to see you."

He remained completely still and she was shocked to find herself take a step toward him. His eyes followed. She noticed that her movement caused him to sit up straighter, his gaze focus. He looked transfixed. She felt a primitive sense of satisfaction as she took the next few steps, closing the distance between them. His hands clenched into fists, but he didn't say a word or make a movement. He was so large, his body and demeanor so powerful, and yet he was looking at her as if he was waiting for her command. She really liked it.

She reached towards the knot that tied her robe together and he leaned back on his forearms to watch her. His presumption that she was doing anything more than teasing him irked her until she noticed a look in his eyes. His expression was one of provocation, not one of pleasant surprise. He knew she was playing with him, and he was letting her. It was probably why he had made no advances. Despite his evident excitement, he was still entirely in control of this situation and this was just another one of his games. Her instinct was to call him out on it, but he was certainly expecting that too. So instead, she smiled. The certainty in his gaze faded and was replaced by a deep curiosity. She had startled him. Good.

She moved onto the bed so that she was on her knees, each leg straddling him. Her body didn't make contact with his, but she was so close that she could feel the heat radiating from him. The derision he typically carried with him had been completely taken over by wonder and profound desire. She could feel that he was trying to control himself, but his resolve was breaking. Her robe had been loosened by her movements and was opening slightly, her wet hair was dripping onto his chest. She could see the reflections of an internal debate play out on his face: whether he should let his passion take over or continue to push her to her limit until her passion did.

"How does it feel to not be in control?" she whispered.

His eyes narrowed in on hers and he looked at her like she would be his undoing. "It feels good." He placed his hand gently on her waist and lowered him onto his lap. She gasped as she felt him flush against her. His breath quickened and his grip tightened on her. "Do you want to take a turn and lose control for a few hours?"

Mira gasped and shot up in her bed. She scanned her dim room frantically. There was no one there. She felt her heart rate accelerate as she pieced her situation together. The swell of desire that had built up during her dream was still there, and she wanted desperately to release it. She was startled and disturbed by her dream, but much more noticeably, she was unbelievably turned on. Except she no longer felt the calm confidence she had been feeling, she felt like she wanted—no, like she needed—to completely abandon her control and her moral standards and everything that was keeping her here alone in her bed when all she could think about was tracking him down and making him feel the desire she was feeling.

"Calm down," she whispered to herself furiously. It was difficult to take the command seriously, considering that she felt more sexual intensity now than she had ever felt before in her life. She needed desperately to distract herself. She wouldn't let him win by allowing him to be the source of her release—even a dream version of him.

She forced herself to stand, ignoring how her body was shaking slightly. She would go to class early, she decided. That would be a great distraction. She took a quick, cold shower and changed into workout clothes, figuring that if class wasn't distracting enough, some physical activity would have to be. She walked from her dorm to class, trying to focus on how successful and demon-free her weekend had been. She had witnessed no catastrophes, no underworldly encounters, she hadn't been robbed, her room hadn't been broken into, and she was texting her friends regularly. She had even planned to take a trip to the county fair with Sam and Charlie in an unsubtle attempt to make Sam feel less lonely and Charlie feel more included. She invited Marci too, who had told her very characteristically that she would think about it.

She was most excited to extend the invitation to the attractive and mysterious man she had Bio with. She had kept this a secret from the others she had invited—it would have been too embarrassing for her to have to explain why he wasn't there if he rejected her. The idea of him gave her a great sense of distraction. He was handsome and he seemed to be genuinely sweet. When she thought of him, she thought about specific moments that he smiled at her or said something that made her feel good about herself. He was the type of man she should be attracted to, not a man who had ties to Hell and had tricked her into selling her soul. The more she was starting to cool off, the more she felt ashamed of herself for having that dream.

She had of course known that she found her demon attractive, but she always refused to acknowledge just how much her body responded to him. The hyper masculine bad boy had never even been her type. She had always preferred men who had a sense of humor, who were able to share private parts of themselves with her and be supportive boyfriends. This demon was the antithesis of what she valued and what she appreciated in others, but that didn't stop her from being unable to stop thinking about him. It was infuriating. Even worse, it made her all the more transfixed by him.

As she walked into Bio, her anger and shame dwindled when she noticed her new romantic interest sitting at the front of the room. They still had fifteen minutes until class begun so there were few other people there. He didn't seem to notice her as she headed in his direction. He was glancing at his phone, looking around the room every few moments anxiously. When his eyes landed on her, he smiled and she felt herself smile in response.

"What's your name?" she asked him as she sat beside him.

"You don't remember?" He looked at her with mock disappointment.

She laughed. "No, I'm sorry. I've been meaning to ask you."

He reached his hand towards her. "My name is Aiden. It's nice to officially meet you, Mira."

She shook his hand and couldn't help but notice that there was an absence of spark that occurred when she touched him. The spark that was unmistakably there when she was merely in the presence of her demon. The thought pained her but she suppressed the implications that came along with it. "What are you doing this weekend?" He looked surprised when she asked. She could feel herself instantly regret the way she posed the question. "I'm going out with some friends to the fair," she continued quickly. "I was wondering if you would want to join us?"

His grip on her hand tightened and she realized they were still touching. "I'd love to," he told her. She breathed a sigh of relief and his laugh suggested he had picked up on it.

"I look forward to it," she said. And she meant it. Aiden seemed like he would be the perfect distraction and someone she could really learn to be close to. In his presence, she felt like she could be both safe and relaxed. That had always been enough for her and she refused to change that now.

As always, thanks for reading and supporting my stories! If you regularly vote and comment, just know that I get really happy when your name pops up in my alerts, you guys are great :) If you're new to this story, I hope you're enjoying it! I'm really excited about the next chapter which won't be so teasing (If you get where I'm going with that...) :D