Page 104 of Hellbound

“Come here.”

Despite the reflex to dig in her heels and refuse, Marian made up her mind not to die on this particular hill.

That’s how she found herself standing precariously close to him, his hands working behind her neck as he deftly guided the fabric under her collar. Marian realized in the middle of his hypnotic murmuring that he was explaining what a Windsor knot was, but she was too busy staring up at his unusually sharp features, and the way his eyes hooded as he tied the satin with practiced ease.

“Why did you give me a suit?” Marian blurted out during a long silence.

Vale’s eyes darkened as they locked with hers.

“Because I know you better than you think.”

Marian frowned. “It’s tailored.” Like Tori’s dress.

Vale smoothed a hand across her lapel. “Clothing should always be tailored. Human bodies vary so widely in shape and are prone to change.”

“And you had time to do all this when?” Marian asked.

The corner of Vale’s mouth tugged upward.

“I have tailors I pay well to work very quickly and not ask questions.”

She blinked down at the long fingers straightening the fabric around her neck, perilously close to the skin of her throat.

“A personal shopper found the dress,” Vale continued, unprompted. “I purchased the suit years ago for a paramour who I thought might appreciate it. Unfortunately, he didn’t.”

Marian was about to board a train of thought headed for “what it must be like to afford a personal shopper” when it derailed on the word “paramour.” “Your what?”

Vale arched a brow. “I refuse to believe you don’t know the meaning of the word.”

“I know what it means,” Marian replied quickly. “You dated a human?”

“I wouldn’t call what he and I did ‘dating,’ ” Vale murmured with a dark gleam in his eye. “But I do enjoy physical intimacy with humans of many persuasions.”

“Huh. Good for you,” Marian muttered as she stared at the hardwood floor while a single stupid thought ran amok in her head.

Vale fucks.

And why was that such a shocking revelation? All this time, Marian understood that the veneers demons wore still worked like human bodies; they ate and imbibed, though not for sustenance. She’d never seen Vale drunk even after putting away a ton of whiskey. Why wouldn’t they fuck, too?

Maybe because every demon you ever met looked at you like you were a talking rat.

But even as she thought it, she realized it wasn’t entirely true; the Argent made her feel that way. Vale didn’t. He’d looked for excuses to touch her. But she’d never interpreted any of his gestures as sexual. Probably because they weren’t—two dubious and confusing kisses aside.

Even before she’d unwittingly marked herself as his future tool.

That reminder helped her fend off the wave of compromising, intimate thoughts threatening to invade her mind. And one especially problematic dream.

Tangent. Now. “What you did to Tori was fucked-up, and you need to fix it.”

Vale’s hands stilled, broad end of the tie in his hand. “I don’t think our definitions of ‘fucked-up’ are aligned, so you’ll have to be more specific.”

“Do not tell someone’s parents that their child is dead when they’re not. I don’t care what your reasoning was; that’s sociopath behavior. Her mom’s sick, for fuck’s sake.”

Vale shot her the most condescending of looks.

“Sociopathy is a human condition that I am incapable of. And I did know about her mother.”

Marian leaned away from him as she vacillated between confusion and anger.