The Devil's Favourite Obsession

Ignoring his remark, Cixi continued, unwilling to let him wriggle away so easily. ”Where are you?” The question came out sharper this time, and before he could slip another smug answer between them, she added, ”And do not even think of saying in my heart!”

The driver’s eyes flicked towards her in the rear-view mirror, curious in that quiet way drivers often were when they sensed they were ferrying someone tangled in a story not meant for strangers.

From the other end came a low, throaty chuckle, rich with that private amusement of his which always seemed to curl around her nerves before she could guard them. ”Out of the city,” he drawled at last. ”I had business to attend to.”

”Oh...”

The small sound escaped before she could dress it in indifference, and the moment it did, she regretted it.

Cassian, of course, did not.

”What was that?” The laziness in his voice deepened into curiosity. ”Disappointment?” A prowling pause drifted between them. ”Were you saddened to discover I was not lurking somewhere nearby?”

Cixi turned her face slightly towards the window, though all she could see now was her own faint reflection trembling against the darkening glass. ”Do not flatter yourself.”

”My apologies,” he murmured, though the apology carried no repentance whatsoever. ”I forgot modesty was your burden, not mine.”

That only sharpened her irritation. ”You were the one talking as though I should have been pining by now.”

”And were you not?”

The question slid into her ear with such polished insolence that heat pricked the back of her neck. He was doing it again, taking her ordinary concern and dressing it in something shameless until even she began doubting how it had sounded.

Her fingers tightened around the phone. ”I only asked because I needed to tell you something.”

”Mm.” The thoughtful hum that followed felt indecently intimate. ”How cruel. For a moment, I was almost tempted to believe you called because you missed me.”

Cixi rolled her eyes, though the motion lacked its usual strength. ”You were not tempted. Rather, you were enjoying yourself.”

”At last,” he mused, ”you are learning to understand me.”

The taxi rolled past a line of shops washed in amber evening light. Then Cassian’s voice returned, smoother now, though no less unsettling.

”Here is my wise suggestion, which I rarely give to anyone. If you miss me, why don’t you not simply look in the mirror?”

That caught her so cleanly off guard that her breath hitched.

Her gaze shot at once to the rear-view mirror hanging above the driver’s head. For one absurd, dizzying second, her heart gave a startled leap at the thought of him somehow seeing her there through the mirror that always seemed to exist between them.

Can he truly see me?... Like I do?

”What do you mean by looking into the mirror?” The question came quieter than before, with caution, as if she feared his answer almost as much as she wanted it.

A smile entered his voice before the words did. ”Your lips,” he lucidly explained, ”still tended to look as though I had just left them. That pout of yours is becoming indecently familiar to me.” Cixi’s pulse stumbled. ”Imagine, Cixi, my lips will always be on yours.”

Instinctively, her gaze dropped to her own reflection again, to the shape of her mouth, and suddenly she could feel the phantom memory of his attention there, and the wicked way he had spoken about kisses made them feel as though they were already half his by divine right.

He did not stop there. ”If the mirror has not done justice to you,” he continued, his voice smooth and tantalising, ”just tilt your chin a bit and look a little closer. I bet you can still sense the softness, the tempting bite, and that flush of desire that lingered after you found yourself lost in thoughts of me.”

Her fingers nearly slipped on the phone.

”Cassian.” She forced herself to call his name.

He seemed to savour the sound of it on her tongue. ”Yes, Lousy Kisser?”

”Stop. Why are you so shameless?”

”Accurate,” he corrected. ”There is a difference.”

Her stomach turned in that maddening way it always did when he crossed some invisible line and then stood beyond it looking immaculate. The driver glanced once more into the mirror, and Cixi angled herself farther towards the window, lowering her voice.

”Could you behave like a normal person for one conversation?”

”No.” His answer arrived at once, almost silken in its certainty. ”I had built a reputation over many years. It would have been irresponsible to abandon it merely because you sounded wistful.”

”I did not sound wistful.”

”You sounded wounded that I was not near.”

There it was again. He was enjoying every flustered reaction he drew from her.

Cixi exhaled through her nose and forced herself back to the reason for the call. ”Do you think your family will let me move in?”

This time, he listened properly. She could feel the shift in him. ”Depends on what reason you gave them. Did Emily look convinced?”

”She almost refused,” Cixi admitted. ”Then I made her think about what might happen if anything happened to me and what you would do if you came back and found I was no more.” Cixi could not bring herself to explain to Cassian the reason she had used to deceive Emily. She was far too aware that he would likely tease her if she revealed the matter now, and she was not prepared to face any ridicule from him at this moment.

”You did well,” said Cassian. The praise was simple, yet something in its low gravity settled unexpectedly warmly in her chest.

A brief silence followed before Cassian spoke again. ”I never knew it was that easy to make Emily agree...” There was doubt in Cassian’s voice, and Cixi looked at her swollen fake belly.

”I threatened her with your name, so it was easy...”

And he laughed. ”Fear often succeeded where reason became decorative.” That was such a Cassian thing to say that, despite herself, Cixi almost smiled. ”I see you are learning quite a bit from me! At this rate, I would not be surprised if you joined my gang. It is only a matter of time before you start killing people!”

”I will never!” she nearly shouted, causing the driver to glance over and reminding Cixi that she was still in the taxi and speaking in front of a stranger.

”When will you be back?” Cixi asked, changing the topic.

”I have matters to handle. Not one invented to torment you. An actual one... I will return in two days.”

”Ok...” Something inside her sank a little before she could stop it.

Cassian caught it at once. ”There.” His tone softened into his elegant murmur. ”You did sound disappointed again.”

Cixi turned her face sharply towards the blackened window so that the driver would not see the expression that crossed it. ”I was not disappointed.”

”Of course not.” He let the lie pass with scandalous generosity. ”You were merely hoping I might appear, drag the evening into disorder, unsettle your pulse, and then leave you to brood over my absence.”

Her lips parted to retort. ”You are not that important. I am ending the call. Bye!”

And just like that, their jesting was over.