"You'd be surprised at how few have done just that."
He could see the doubt in those pretty brown eyes of hers the moment the words left his lips.
So, she's not easily swooned. Interesting...
Asmodeus smirked to himself, glancing down at her with sincerity, because she had no idea how right the words that left his lips were. No one intrigued him as much as she had. They had never sparked an interest like she had.
Even with accursed necklace around her neck that he itched to rip from her neck.
"You still doubt me? I'm wounded, physically-" he removed his hand from her waist and brought it to his chest, right over where he knew a heart should be- "right here."
Savannah's head lowered toward his chest, hearing a small snort escape her nose. The sound was unlike what he expected to hear from someone like her, making a low chuckle came from deep within his chest.
His hand returned to her waist, loving the way he felt the shiver underneath the tips of his fingers.
The corner of his lips curved into a small smile when her head leaned closer, resting against his chest and he made no move to press her even closer. For some reason, he felt that even this small gesture was a win.
In what? He wasn't sure.
There was no reason to have even asked her to dance, other than the small impulse when she fiddled with that cross necklace. The same necklace that he could practically feel radiate coldness against the fabric of his shirt.
By the fiery pits of Abaddon, he wanted to rip that thing from her delicate neck and watch those brown eyes widen as he crushed the thing.
But he couldn't.
Those brown eyes already seemed fragile, raw with grief that he felt any mishandling would make her crumble before-before what? The question alone startled him into wondering what he was even doing. Use her against their father? Corrupt her for the sake of it?
Fall for her?
The thought almost made him stop in his tracks, but he kept the rhythm to that absurd piece that his brother, Belphegor, would always play like some anthem.
Savannah's gaze flicked back up to him, forever grateful for having a calm demeanor as his gaze met hers. It was the small smile that was spread across her face that made him question all over again what he intended to do.
"See? There's that carefree smile," Asmodeus stated softly.
"I was beginning to think you hated dancing with me."
Asmodeus laughed, grasping her hand slightly tighter in his. He held back the smirk when he felt her fingers twitch against his shoulder, wondering what was going on in that mind of hers.
It was a wonder where she even got her thoughts from, but he wasn't going to question them. Not yet.
"Do you get enjoyment out of seeing women swoon under you with those lines?"
Asmodeus glanced down at her, seeing the slight redness on her lips where she most likely had the bit of skin between her teeth. "I didn't lie when I said only those that catch my attention. You, darlin, are worth all the words in the world that could describe the beauty of a sunrise cascading on the water, or the soft glow that passes through the top of the trees, lighting up a dreary night."
Her eyes widened. "Did you... did you just sound poetic?"
"A guy can't be a lover of all kinds of art?"
"No," she quickly replied, shaking her head. "I just didn't- that came out wrong too. I'm sorry."
Asmodeus chuckled, watching a frown take place when he removed his hand from her waist. The back of his hands brushed against her cheek, gliding along her skin lightly. Everything about her was war, soft, and innocent. Everything he shouldn't be touching, yet that simple gesture had already seemed to pull him under like many other's he had done too.
And now he couldn't get enough.
He brushed strands of her hair behind her ear, the corner of his lips curving upward as he watched her skin prickle and travel down where her the vein in her neck pulsed. It took every shred of control to not rest his hand against her neck to feel it against his thumb.
His gaze met those delicate brown eyes. "Darlin. There's no need to apologize. I hadn't thought you'd be as interesting; for that, I apologize. You're a natural dancer, whether you think so or not."
Asmodeus watched as her eyes danced between his, seeming lost for words.
"I didn't-"
"I can't blame you," he cut her off. "Earlier wasn't the greatest introduction. I'd like to start again if that's okay with you?"
Savannah smirked up at him and he wasn't sure what way he preferred her lips to curve up into. "I thought dancing with you was your redemption?"
Asmodeus's eyes gleamed down at her, the corner of his mouth twitching upward.
He raised their conjoined hands, twisting his wrist, and watched as she followed through the slow spin. He pulled her back toward him, leaving the little space between them. Never any closer. No matter how much he wanted to feel her body flush against his.
"As much as I've enjoyed this. I'd love to get to know you more over coffee or tea. Whatever your preference is."
His grip didn't change the grip he had on her waist or hand, yet his fingers twitched at the mere thought of asking for something as simple as drinks and conversation.
Those brown eyes stared back up at him, and he could see the way they wavered, as if even that simple gesture was enough to make her run from his arms. "I... I'm not sure if I should do that."
The ray of colorful lights danced across the room and lit up her features. The way her shoulders tensed, eyes became less livelier, and the clamminess he felt in her hand against his. He wasn't sure if she would run any second. And for once, he wanted them to stay. He was always the first one to leave, but the thought of it being her to leave first didn't sit well with him. As if he was losing another part of himself all over again if he didn't see through whatever this was.
Asmodeus stopped dancing and closed some of the distance between them. If he needed air like everyone else, he was sure it would match the deep ones she took in when he leaned down to whisper next to her ear. "If you walked out that door right now, would you regret it? To never know what one leap could change? The place of choice is yours, your terms. I don't mind handing you that kind of control if it means seeing you again."
"I..."
Asmodeus waited patiently, not wanting to push more than he had. But he couldn't help wanting to see those brown eyes lit up under different circumstances and what way he could make churn with life that she held back.
Her eyes darted to the side, making him want to know what had caught her attention in his arms, but whatever she had seen was voiced a second later.
"I should probably go. It looks like your other friend is here, and I don't want to take up your night with them."
Asmodeus tightened his hold on Savannah when she made a move to step away. Not enough to make her feel trapped, but enough let her know he had no intention to leave just yet.
Craning his neck slightly, he watched his brother Leviathan take the seat he had been in, lighting up a cigarette without a care in the world. They'd be kicked out before long at that rate. Not that any of them cared.
Turning his attention back to Savannah, watching her stare back up at him. She could have moved from his hold if she wanted, yet she hadn't, and relished in the thought that she didn't want to. Even if it was subconsciously. "Let's not change the topic, darlin. I see that miserable brute everyday. My brother can wait."
"Brother?"
"Yes, is that hard to believe?" He asked, the corner of his mouth twitching up.
"I mean... none of you look similar."
"Is that so? I had thought we looked quite similar before. Though I believe our brute of a brother, Leviathan, took after our mother the most."
He could see the question in her eyes. To ask more about him and his deranged, messed up family, but those lips pressed together, stopping herself from asking the lingering question he couldn't afford to answer. Even the mere thought of his mother was a sore subject for them all that made him want to rip something apart.
"The only thing I notice in common is the brown, almost black hair resemblance."
Her gaze turned to his brothers. He turned her away from them, not daring her mind to wander someplace that wasn't in that moment.
He watched his brother while they gestured toward where he was dancing with Savannah to Leviathan. His brother's green eyes found them easily, just like he always could. Just as how he had pinpointed them to this location before he had left to clean up without knowing where they went.
A warm hand against his chest brought his full attention back to Savannah. Her gaze was lowered and he knew before she gently pushed away from him that she would.
Asmodeus tightened his grip on her waist again. His voice lowered, a plea falling from his lips. "Darlin, please."
He didn't hold her tight enough to keep her in place, and just as before she could have stepped away from him, yet she didn't.
He'd take whatever win he could.
Silent strings of words echoed in his mind, willing her to meet his gaze, yet she didn't. He had to find some way to bring her back into that moment. Back to his gaze and the small bubble he tried to create to squash and mold that doubtful look in her gaze when he saw her.
"Ignore my brother. He's..."
He may have been trying to find the right words to describe his brother, yet there wasn't much redeeming qualities they had. Even for him.
Asmodeus sighed. His grip loosened slightly, afraid she would back away given the chance, but she didn't. The hand on his chest trembled slightly and he wanted to reach up and grasp it in his own but refrained from going too far. "He's very temperamental, and he wouldn't have been wrong to assume that you were a one-time thing."
"Is that-"
"No," he sternly replied, seeing the way her gaze snapped up to his. Those brown eyes widened ever so slightly with deception. Yet he wondered why it was tangled with sorrow. "There's more to you than that, and that's who I want to get to know. I can promise you that I've never dated any of the women in my past, and I can't tell you I regret it either. I won't lie to you. That would be the beginning of a disaster I couldn't fix."
The last thing he wanted to do was deceive her, even if he didn't understand himself why he was pursing her. Whether she played a part in what they were doing or because she was simply intriguing and wanted to peel underneath the layers he saw, he wouldn't start off with lies.
"This would be a mistake," she whispered, her voice barely above a whisper that he was sure he should have heard.
Maybe she was talking to herself more than she was to him at that moment, but did it matter? Some mistakes were worth making because in the end, you either learned from it to avoid something bigger in the future, or it turned into something even greater than one imagined.
Asmodeus curled a finger under her chin, gently raising her head to meet her eyes. "Some mistakes are worth making. No one can call it a mistake until they've done it and then regret it. You wouldn't know until after. I'm willing to fall again if it meant I could meet you." He let his words hand in the air for a moment, letting his finger fall from her chin. "However, everything is up to you."
Savannah lowered her head. That bottom lip she seemed to love biting onto when she contemplated something, once again got tucked between her teeth. What he wouldn't give to pick at her thoughts until he could read her mind to know what she was thinking.
What was a reward without the wait and risk?
Grasping her hand again softly, not wanting her mind to wander too much and overthink a simple tea or coffee meeting. "Let's finish this dance; give you time to think it over. I couldn't leave you hanging halfway through this song."
Moonlight Sonata played in his mind again when Savannah didn't object, placing his hand back on her waist as he began moving to the delicate piece that played in his head.
The corner of her lip curled up, a short breath leaving her nose to hold back what he assumed was laughter.
A win was a win, no matter how small it appeared to be.
Asmodeus mindlessly chattered about anything with smooth, fluid movements in their small corner of the club. From how small and dreary the world seemed until something came along, bringing a bit of color to the scenery. No matter how mundane or boring it might have been, Savannah seemed to hang onto every word as if he painted the image right on a canvas in front of her. Paintings and art had been a form of pleasure for him, a passion and light that he rarely showed the world outside the sin they portrayed him as. Words were just another combination to layer and place right to get the essence one wanted. A different form of art he was grown accustomed to and used when he needed to.
When the last note died in his mind, Asmodeus slowed to a stop and stared down at Savannah a few short seconds before he lowered their hands. He let the other fell from her waist reluctantly and took half a step back. He didn't miss the slight disappointment in her brown eyes. Or the way they wavered with uncertainty, as if she herself didn't know what she wanted.
"This is where I would normally depart. Though, I am hoping you considered that coffee."
In his thousands of years, he could count the many times he wa nervous on two hands, yet he hadn't felt this nervous since... well, he was intrigued in dipping his fingers into the forbidden fruit of pleasure against his Father's rules. There was an allure in watching a couple come together under circumstance, their differences meaning very little in the face of passion and love. It drew him in as much as the ocean drifted ships away, except he had not once felt lost within it's depths. There was a simple calling into that echoed within him now that without it, he may very well end up stranded in the middle of nowhere. Whether their Father knew what he had given them or not, they each used it to their advantage.
He hadn't asked again if she would meet him again. Her silence seemed to be answer enough as he turned away.
A soft hand grasped his, stopping him short of two steps away.
"Wait." Savannah's voice came from behind him. "My number, if you still want it. To meet up, that is."
Asmodeus smiled softly to himself before he turned around to face her again. "You underestimate my interest, darlin. I would never turn down anything to do with you. You are worth more than all the words in the world."
His words had the desired effect he wanted, watching a slight tinge of pink flush her cheeks with a lowered gaze again.
It made him wonder how often she didn't hear compliments. Or if she didn't believe them. Something he felt he would rectify if she followed through with meeting him at some point.
Asmodeus pulled out the phone from his pocket. A sleek, modern device that he played with when they first came up here, easily getting used to the flimsy thing. The brightness of his screen lit up when he unlocked it and glanced up at Savannah. He patiently waited, staring at her when she didn't say anything for a while.
She quickly mumbled an apology, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear that he enjoyed watching her do.
Asmodeus chuckled. "No apology needed. I'm glad there's something of interest for you to stare at."
He plugged her number in as she rattled it off, adding the contact name in.
"It's Savannah."
Asmodeus glanced up, raising an eyebrow. "What?"
"My name. It's Savannah."
"Beautiful name, but I like darlin better," he stated, winking at her. "Darlin."
The redness in her cheeks deepened, making the corner of his lips curve upward.
There was a mumble of what he could assume was a goodbye before that bottom lip was tucked between her teeth again and she skirted around him and back to the two friends she had been sitting with. They hadn't moved once since he brought her over to the small corner to dance.
Savannah was skittish, innocent, and unsure of almost everything she did that he made sure that they were within her line of sights, except when they her back was to them when they danced. If there was anything he could give her, it was that.
Simple. Yet, the meaning behind it was what held the weight.
Savannah had been a cornered woman before and he didn't like it.
Making his way back to the table his brothers still sat at, he didn't bother to wait until one of them said something. "Not a word."
He picked up the drink Belphegor barely drank since they got there and down nearly half before placing it back down and ignored his brother's boredom glare.
"Couldn't get her to bring you back to her place?" Leviathan's voice asked over the music.
Turning to his brother, finding those green eyes lit up with glee only made him want to snatch that cigarette from between his lips and break the disgusting thing. If only to piss him off, but it wouldn't. Leviathan had a whole pack in that leather jacket he wore and would no doubt replace whatever he lost just as quickly.
Asmodeus barely gave his brother a glance, ignoring the jab he knew was only thrown toward him to see how he would react.