Black Lace (Complete)

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓

Chapter Twenty-Eight

AZIEL

"Aziel?"

I turned to face a hesitant Romina at my door. Her cheeks were tear stained, and her eyes swollen. Her voice was weak and feeble. I truly took this moment to take her in: her weakness, her submissive nature, the slight quiver of her bottom lip. There, right there, cowered before me in the doorframe, it became so very easy to remind myself of exactly what she was.

Prey.

"Romina, baby, what's wrong?" Curving my lips downwards, I walked towards her. When I neared her, she seemed to flinch, tightening her hands around her arm.

"I'm going to ask something of you, Aziel," she closed her eyes as she spoke, as if looking at me would make it all worse. "You need to promise you'll tell no one."

"I promise." Demons lie, we all lie. My words mean nothing, not even to myself.

"Okay. I, uh..." I noticed how she was shaking. I noticed how her eyes were begging with a silent question. "I need you to take me somewhere."

"Where?" Now I was truly curious. Spritely little Romina had grown much since I'd first met her. It fueled the icy fires deep within me to see such abrupt change—my power, my control.

"Away." Her voice was a broken whisper. Tears spilled from her eyes. I realized now that she had been holding them back.

"Come here, baby." I held my arms out. At the simple invitation, she dove into my arms, sobbing into my vest. I held her, stroked her hair, patted her back. It was like consoling a sad puppy.

A beast and a puppy, quite the pair.

I looked down at the small princess in my arms. My eyes darkened. The shadows of my empty soul flickered, threatening to escape and ravish her. They could wait.

"I'm sorry." I didn't know what the words meant, but they clearly meant something to Romina. Her sobs stifled and she pulled back, looking up at me with teary eyes. I grabbed her chin and stroked it lightly, looking down at her with a fond expression. She was so beautiful, so fun to play with. I had learned much from my thousands of years on Earth. One, that there was nothing as powerful as lust, and two—

The end was nothing if not for the chase.

ROMINA

"The horses are to the left, Aziel—wait!" I rushed after the towering man. Daylight was fading behind the treetops, casting spiderwebs of translucent light over the courtyard. Foolish, foolish Romina! This was all a very bad idea. You've barely left the house and Aziel was already off course!

"Horses?" Aziel offered a derisive snort. He shrugged and continued on walking down the path leading to the gates.

My mouth gaped open. Worry spread like fire down my chest. We were going to get caught. It was all his fault. My only chance at escape, ruined.

"You're going the wrong way!" I picked up my skirts and lugged my bag alongside myself, uncomfortable with the bare, nude feeling of the corset gone from my waist. "We're not walking, are we? You're mad, Aziel! Mad!"

He let out a bellowing chuckle, shoulders shaking lightly. "Romina, no, we are not walking. But we're not riding a horse either. I have a car."

"A what?"

He cast a look over his shoulder. "A car, dear."

"What in the world is a car?" I raced up beside him, tripping over myself. He was carrying his own bag; it, noticeably lighter than my own, mine, bulky and weighing more than I did myself. Quite the gentleman, yes, Aziel was one for the Gods.

"A box of metal and plastic that goes fast." He looked over at me, smiling. "Vroom-vroom."

My lips turned down at his patronizing words. "You're acting like this is common knowledge."

The man remained silent and pushed the gates aside. I expected huge alarms to start blaring—or an electric barb to shoot out and stab one of us at least, but nothing happened. My heart leapt in my chest. Was freedom this close all along? Was it so easy to just...leave?

"Ladies first." Aziel placed a hand on my lower back and led me through the gates. As we stepped through, the trees creaked in the distance. Monsters. I shivered. It's dangerous outside.

"Will you protect me from the monsters, Aziel?" I asked quietly.

He paused, unsure. Wasn't it an easy answer? Yes, Romina. I will protect you.

"I will protect you."

I tried to take his words as confirmation, but I couldn't help but feel that he'd left out a key part of information. The monsters, Aziel. The very monsters I'm sure you've faced. Keep me safe, Aziel. Hold me close, Aziel.

He did keep me safe on our short walk down the road. He did hold me close, hand on my hip, steady and still. But he did not mention the monsters. He did not promise to keep them away. I feared for myself, and I feared the monsters.

He stopped suddenly, directing my glazed expression towards a shapely figure in the distance. "That, my dear Romina, is a car." My eyes widened. It was shiny...shaped like...like what, exactly? I'd never seen anything like it. It looked so futuristic and...beautiful.

"Where do we go on it?" I asked, observing its sheek exterior design.

"Inside." He quirked a brow as he reached into his pocket, pressing a button. A door whizzed open. A surprised gasp escaped my lips.

As we settled ourselves inside the machine, I felt exhilarated. I'd never felt more pumped, nor been this far outside of familiar territory before. I was beside a forbidden man, at a forbidden place, and inside a forbidden machine. I was breaking all the rules to keep me safe, and I worried that this was when the monsters would attack.

The monsters Aziel refused to protect me from.

(a/n: if you're enjoying this book so far, I'm going to give you a big  consensual hug right now and squeal. ALL THE LOVE, I ATTACK YOU WITH IT AHHHH)