Chapter 260 He is irresistible

One corner of Cassian’s lips curled upward in a slow, lazy grin that was both disarming and irresistibly confident. “Just wait, Darling. In time, you will discover I have an entire bag of tricks to keep you utterly fascinated.”

His smirk hit Cixi like an open flame, sending a sudden flutter through her chest and coaxing a faint dusting of rose onto both cheeks.

She cleared her throat and averted her eyes toward the marble fireplace, desperate to gather whatever composure she had left before bringing her attention back to him. “Who was the woman I met in the parking lot?”

“An old acquaintance.” Cassian sank back against the plush cushions of the sofa, making himself comfortable. His posture looked relaxed yet authoritative, and he raised one hand, curling his index finger in a silent command that left no room for refusal. “I did mention that.”

“I know.” Cixi crossed the living room toward him, unable to ignore the pull of his presence. “But when we shook hands, she reacted as though she had seen a ghost…. Is she another demon… like you?”

She reached the sofa and took his outstretched hand.

Cassian caught her fingers in his firm grasp and tugged gently, guiding her without resistance until she landed squarely on his lap. The solid warmth of his thighs beneath her buttocks made her breath hitch. He settled his free arm securely around her waist, anchoring her against his chest while his other hand lifted to brush a wisp of baby hair away from her temple.

His dark eyes drank her in, tracking every flutter of her lashes and every nervous twitch of her jaw, studying the nuances of her face as though watching her reactions had become his favourite pastime. “She is not a demon, but a witch.”

Cixi’s grey eyes widened in disbelief as her lips parted and her jaw dropped.

Seeing Cixi’s reaction, Cassian murmured. “Did you think witches were a myth too?”

His deep voice rumbled against her collarbone as his thumb glided over the plump curve of her parted lower lip, brushing the tender skin with an exquisite slowness.

A shiver cascaded down her spine, ignited solely by the heat of his touch. Before Cixi could form a reply, Cassian leaned forward and closed the remaining distance between them.

He caught her lower lip between his own, drawing it into the heat of his mouth and sucking it with a slow, possessive hunger that made her head spin. A soft, breathless sound escaped her throat, and Cassian used the opening to deepen the kiss, slanting his mouth over hers like an expert. His tongue slid against hers to coax, command, and devour all at once, tasting her with an intensity that ignited every nerve ending in her body.

Fireworks burst behind her closed eyelids. Her thoughts dissolved into searing sparks, stripping away every remnant of logic.

Cassian’s hand slid up the curve of her spine to cup the back of her neck, tangling his fingers in her hair and tilting her head to drink even deeper from her mouth.

The intoxicating scent of dark cedar, aromatic night air, and his own masculine warmth enveloped her senses entirely, drowning out the room, the palace, and the rest of the world. She found her hands rising of their own accord, her fingers clutching at the broad expanse of his shoulders, seeking an anchor in the storm of sensations he created.

A simple kiss, and yet it liquefied every drop of resistance in her blood. She wondered how he could reduce her to nothing, how a single touch from this devil could make her feel so weak, so pliable, ready to surrender everything she had right into his waiting hands.

When their lips finally parted, Cixi kept her eyes shut, and her chest kept heaving as she fought to draw air back into her lungs. A scorching flush had claimed her entire face, painting her cheeks, her neck, and the delicate tips of her ears in vivid crimson.

Cassian watched the heat bloom across her skin with dark satisfaction. The corners of his mouth lifted as his irises lightened. The deep brown bled into a molten, predatory gold that shimmered with demon fire.

Cixi swallowed against the dryness in her throat before fluttering her eyelids open to meet his gaze. “So witches are real.”

Cassian gave a single, slow nod. His undivided attention stayed anchored to her face, radiating a raw craving so intense she felt the heat of it through the fabric of her clothes. One of his arms remained securely wrapped around her waist, keeping her anchored to his lap, while his other hand traced slow, deliberate paths along her spine. Every brush of his fingertips sent ripples of heat cascading down her back, pooling into a persistent ache between her thighs.

Yet Cixi forced herself to stay still. Her mind spun with questions as curiosity battled the heavy fog of arousal that threatened to pull her under.

The universe was incomprehensibly vast. Cixi thought. Not only did entire other realms and dimensions exist, but right here on this earth, beings walked among mortals that the rest of humanity dismissed as folklore and fairy tales.

Grim reapers, Lucifer himself, warrior demons, and now witches. What else shared this world with humans? The urge to know pushed back against the fever in her blood.

“Tell me more about your witch friend,” Cixi asked in her breathless voice.

“She is centuries old and lives in Valtham,” Cassian replied, his fingers maintaining their quiet rhythm against her back. “She is married to the Earl of Valtham, Raynor Valtham, who rules Valtham City in the absence of the Lord of Valtham.”

Cixi’s brows drew together as she processed the sentence. “You used a lot of Valthams in one breath.”

A low hum rumbled in Cassian’s chest. His hand slid from her back to the nape of her neck, his fingers curling lightly into her hair as he tilted her head, exposing the pale, vulnerable line of her throat. Before she could speak, he leaned down and pressed his mouth to the warm skin in the hollow of her neck, grazing it with hot, unhurried lips.

A sharp gasp hitched in Cixi’s throat. Her spine straightened instinctively against his chest. Every tiny hair on the back of her neck stood on end as electric warmth shot straight through her nervous system.

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