Chapter 88 Chapter 88
As soon as she said it, a certain someone caught up to her and stopped her. He took her wrist and stole his chain back, glowering at her. “That’s mine,” he said, his patience running thin.
“But I found it, so it’s mine,” she sniffled. Her eyes became suspiciously glossy. He panicked, not wanting to deal with a crying woman.
“Fuck, why me?” he cursed. “Couldn’t this have happened to Vaughn instead?”
“You’re so mean, Maxwell,” she sobbed, furiously rubbing her eyes. “I found the chain first.”
“What the fuck, how does that make any sense?” he said in exasperation. “I wore it, you didn’t find it first.”
“You’re a liar,” she cried. “I want it.”
“I didn’t sign up for this,” he whispered harshly, unable to ignore her heart-wrenching sobs. Moving closer to her, he captured her attention by putting his hand on her chin, tilting it up. “Listen to me, sugar. If you stop crying, you’ll get it back. Do we have a deal?”
“Yes,” she hiccupped and wiped her eyes again.
“Good. And remember, I’m only handing it over for tonight.” Before she could open her mouth to protest, he put the chain on her face like he always wore it, securing the ends behind her ears. He leaned back a bit to watch her, looking pleased. “Not bad,” he mumbled. “Are you happy now?”
She seemed satisfied, touching the metal with her fingers. Her lips parted, and she looked ridiculously proud in his eyes, but he found the sight comical and somewhat endearing, his anger disappearing.
“You’re a nice demon, Maxwell,” she slurred, her body swaying. He steadied her, holding on to her waist.
“Keep insulting me, and the chain is gone.”
“Maxwell is nice,” she sighed as she fell forward, colliding with his chest. “I like…”
He stared at her with wide eyes. “What?” he urged her to go on.
She unexpectedly tugged hard on one of his braids. “I like your hair. I want this too,” she mumbled incoherently. “Give me this.”
He let out a breath. “That goes too far. Not my hair.”
“Maxwell,” she said pleadingly, and pouted.
“No.”
She sniffled, and he panicked once more, frantically thinking of a way to distract her before he chose to do the obvious. He held her head still and crashed their lips together, shutting her up. When she responded to the kiss, he tasted the alcohol on her tongue and made a mental note to be more observant around her once she started drinking. She really did need a babysitter for every insignificant little thing.
“You’re impossible, my sugar,” he whispered when they separated, keeping his gaze locked with hers.
A fair way off, Liam and Benjamin were watching them fool around, not quite as amused by the scene as the other demons. They exchanged a heavy glance, an air of sorrow surrounding them. It was a stark contrast to the cheerful atmosphere around the others.
“It seems he has finally moved on,” Benjamin commented quietly, his eyes lingering on Maxwell’s and Valerie’s connected hands.
“Maybe,” Liam answered and tilted his head. “How ironic that she’s a human. What a strange coincidence, a cruel twist of fate.”
“I’ve been thinking the same.”
Liam’s gaze moved to the dark sea, taking in the soft waves that were illuminated by the moonlight. “Perhaps it’s for the best. He’s been bitter for too long.”
\---
Valerie stood in front of the worst nightmare of her entire life. Never had she been faced with such a crushing view… it was horrifying, and the longer she had to look at it, the more terrified she became.
She took a deep breath, attempted to calm herself, but no matter what she did, she could not shake off the dread that overwhelmed her. She might even die within the next ten minutes if nobody saves her from her terrible fate.
“Maxwell.” she called desperately, and when the demon walked into the kitchen, he looked more than annoyed.
“Yes?”
“SAVE ME.”
“I won’t do the dishes for you,” he hissed. “Wash them yourself.”
“But this is a war zone. When did we use so many plates? I don’t even remember.” she whined, hating that there was a literal mountain of dirty dishes piled up on the kitchen counter. They had cooked dinner earlier, and Valerie hadn’t realized what a chaos they had left behind until now—it was absolutely terrifying. Only the idea of washing all that made her want to fall over. She refused to do it on her own. This stubborn demon would help her, and if it was the last thing he ever did for her, he WOULD do it.
“I’m not your servant. If anything, it’s the other way around,” he said snobbishly and raised his chin, crossing his arms to emphasize the point that he would not lift a finger to help her.
She gawked at him even though she should have been used to these kinds of comments by now. “Excuse me? You can’t be serious. I’m letting you live here for free, the least you can do is help me out!” she nagged, putting her hands on her hips. Her eyes were steely and filled with resolve. He would not get out of this easily.
Maxwell snorted and rolled his eyes. “Oh, please, I’m helping you enough already. I’m babysitting you 24/7; if that isn’t sufficient, then I don’t know what is,” he retorted and smirked when he saw her upset scowl.
“I don’t need a babysitter. What’s wrong with you? I’m a grown woman.”
“Yes, one that randomly falls down stairs and cuts her fingers on paper. Definitely warrants a babysitter,” he drawled, leaning closer to her. The teasing glint in his eyes revealed that he was having fun testing her nerves. Nothing out of the ordinary.
She huffed. “Maxwell. You are going to help me.”
“No.”
He laughed slowly when he saw her almost explode, face going red with anger. Particles of light formed around her body, brought to life by her annoyance, but they didn’t stay for long and faded when she got another idea. If yelling didn’t get him to help her, then she would take another approach! She knew how to deal with his stubbornness.