BRIDE OF THE RUTHLESS DEMON

THE LATE NIGHT TALK

Chapter 17: The Late Night Talk

The war meeting lasted a long time. It was late when Damon finally ended the call with General Varrick and the other generals. Roxan had helped them fix three different supply chain problems and found a smart way to stop the Kreet forces without any fighting.

Damon turned off the big screens in the War Room. The room went dark, only the small lights on the control panels were on. He turned to Roxan.

“Your human logic is very useful,” he said. He sounded impressed. “You saved me a lot of trouble.”

“I’m full of surprises,” Roxan said, feeling proud.

''We should go back to the study room,'' Damon said. “We have more work to do on the ship’s systems.”

He held her wrist again, guiding her out of the dark War Room. He didn't pick her up this time, which Roxan was thankful for. The touch of his hand on her skin still made her heart beat faster. The memory of the kiss was very strong.

They walked in silence back to his study. The ship was very quiet now. Most of the crew were sleeping.

When they got to the study, the fake rain sounds were still playing. Damon sat down in his big chair. Roxan sat across from him in the metal chair.

Damon picked up the little box with the smiling doll. He opened it and looked at the doll for a long time.

“You care about this little boy, don’t you?” Roxan asked softly.

Damon looked up, his face serious. “He showed loyalty. He had a fresh idea about my order. He was a good example of what my Empire can bring to a world.”

“He was just a kid who liked you,” Roxan said. “Not a symbol for your Empire.”

Damon put the doll down. He looked at Roxan across the desk. The blue light from a small screen made his eyes look sharp.

“You are very different from the people in my Empire,” Damon said, his voice quiet. “They are scared of me. They follow rules without question. You yell at me, tell me to ‘chill’, and change my war plans.”

“Am I a problem for your ‘order’?” Roxan asked.

“Yes,” Damon said, but it sounded like a good thing. “You are the best problem I have had in a long time.”

He stood up and walked around the desk to stand near her chair. Roxan looked up at him. He was so close again. The air between them got thick and warm.

“I hate that you killed my mother and brother,” Roxan whispered. The memory was painful, but it had to be said. She couldn't forget that.

Damon looked down at her. His face had a flicker of something she had never seen before: regret.

“It was necessary for the deal with Desmond,” Damon said. He didn't sound cold now. He sounded sad. “I did not enjoy that part. It was simply a step toward securing my new territory.”

“People are not steps, Damon,” Roxan said.

Damon looked away for a second. “Maybe. My path is about making things safe for many worlds. Sometimes one life must end for many lives to be safe from war.”

Roxan didn't agree, but she saw he truly believed his own harsh logic.

Damon looked back at her. The regret left his eyes, replaced by the hunger from earlier.

“The ‘cultural connection test’ was good data,” Damon said, moving his hand to touch her cheek softly. His thumb gently rubbed her skin.

Roxan leaned into his touch. She knew it was wrong, but it felt so right. She wanted him to kiss her again.

“We should get more data,” she whispered.

Damon didn’t wait. He leaned down and kissed her. This time, it was slower, deeper. Not a test, but a real kiss. He used his other hand to pull her up from the chair and close to his body.

Roxan wrapped her arms around his neck again, feeling safe and in danger at the same time. The kiss went on and on. It was much softer than the first one. She felt her body melt into his hard strength.

He ran his hands down her back, then up to her hair. He pulled away just enough to look in her eyes.

“Roxan,” he said, his voice a low growl. “This is getting complicated.”

“Complicated is bad, remember?” Roxan smiled at him.

He kissed her neck softly, then looked at her again. “Yes. But I seem to like this kind of bad.”

They stood there for a long time, holding each other in the quiet study. The war and the past were still there, but for this one moment, the bride and the demon king only cared about the new, messy, wonderful feeling between them. The fight for the galaxy would have to wait until morning.