Desire for you - ALPHA ILAY

ILAY

Damn, Delilah looked exactly like Catherine. That couldn't be a coincidence, could it? Did Catherine have a twin sister that I didn't know about? No, did she? Surely she would have told me ...

I was now sitting in my office and thinking about what had happened today.

"Delilah," I whispered softly and finally sighed.

Achira stormed into my office without knocking and looked at me, stunned.

"You're not serious, are you?" she asked me, making me frown "What exactly do you mean, dearest cousin?" I asked her, raising my eyebrows.

"Don't be so stupid, Ilay. We both know she looks just like Catherine. What's that all about? I thought you were trying to forget her and now you're bringing in a copy of her and making her work as a cleaner?" Achira crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at me angrily.

I shook my head with a laugh, "You're wrong, my dear, she doesn't look like Catherine," I insisted, hoping that Achira would let go and leave. But she didn't.

"Who are you trying to fool here, Ilay? I sent you to the black market because you had a bloody job. You missed even that and set the whole black market on fire and took her with you. Are you aware of what you're doing right now? Or are you just acting on a whim?" Her stern look didn't let up and, frankly, I didn't know what to say to her, because she was actually right.

Delilah was a version of Catherine. The long black hair, the ice-blue eyes, the height, her facial features ... Everything about her looked a hell of a lot like Catherine.

As selfish as I was in this situation, I still decided to play hard to get. "I'm not interested in any cleaner, if that's what you're thinking, Achira. The only thing I want is my peace and quiet, and I mean that. Please leave now," I demanded of her, glancing at my mobile phone again and trying to ignore Achira as best I could.

She rolled her eyes, "You don't need to play me Ilay, we'll see where this leads," she muttered to herself, annoyed, and walked out the door again.

I sighed softly and reached for my bottle of bourbon again.

"You're the only thing that's still talking me down," I muttered to myself and filled my glass, which I finished on ex.

Achira was right ... I see Catherine in Delilah. She was the spitting image of her, and the moment I'd seen her up there on that stage, the only thought I'd had was to get her down from there and get her to safety.

I knew Catherine's past. It was traumatic and had left her with many scars. I didn't want Delilah to suffer the same fate. Who knows what kind of pervert she would have fallen in with? Just the thought of it horrified me, and I was no better. I also killed every demoness who didn't leave my room on the count of three.

Most of the women felt that if they slept with me, they could rule with me by their side. However, that was not the case.

It was clear to me that there was no woman in this world except Catherine ...

I poured myself another glass of bourbon and leant back in my chair.

Damn.

Had I shot myself in the foot with Delilah? Was Achira right about that? Was I trying to bring Catherine to life through her?

No ... I would prove Achira wrong. I hadn't been the empathetic Ilay for a long time, even if Achira wanted me to be. Especially not with a copy of Catherine.

DELILAH

After I got to know Achira, she quickly disappeared from the kitchen and I set to work with May. She showed me everything I had to do once and then let me do it myself.

May had told me that Ilay was in the office at that moment and would probably not be returning to the bedroom. I took this opportunity to fix up his bedroom in the hope that I wouldn't have to face him.

I had already got used to these heels and they looked uncomfortable but were very pleasant to walk in. May had called them ergonomic heels.

There weren't many servants in this house, which explained the long working hours. Once a week I would have time off and be allowed to rest. Visiting the city was only allowed with Achira's or Ilay's permission, otherwise we had to stay here in the house. May had explained to me that Achira and Ilay were relatively relaxed about it.

I walked to Ilay's bedroom and knocked on the door to be on the safe side before entering. I had taken all the fresh bed linen and cleaning materials I needed to tidy his room.

I entered the room and realised that he really wasn't here.

I looked around his room and was amazed at the king-size bed, which was in the centre and had a four-poster bed. The whole interior looked really expensive and everything was decorated in gold. The four-poster bed was made of red satin and attached to the four bedposts.

I couldn't waste much time because I didn't want to meet him.

He was mysterious in a way. All his tattoos, which stretched right up to his neck, gave him the look of a bad boy who was not to be messed with.

May had emphasised his current mood and instructed me to be careful with my words and not to make him white-hot.

I had clearly understood her instruction and as often as she had told me that, I even felt scared if you ask me honestly.

I pulled the duvet closer to me and began to strip off the bed linen. The scent of musk and bergamot came to my nose. Its wonderful odour was intense and all over the room. After I had made the bed, I opened the window to air the room. I had arranged all the pillows on his bed nicely and now began to dust his room.

As I was dusting his bedside table, I saw a picture of him, a woman and another man.

Ilay was grinning, he had one arm around the woman, while the other man was standing next to the woman and was also grinning at the camera.

I took a closer look at the woman and realised that she looked a lot like me, or was I imagining things?

I quickly dusted off the surface and put the picture back in its original place and sighed softly.

After I had finished tidying everything in the bedroom, I ran into the bathroom and cleaned it. Everything was actually clean. I wiped around in the clean area and ended up wasting my time with it.

After I had wiped away the last streak on the mirror, I saw a figure at the door. It was Ilay.

He was leaning against the doorframe and watching me as I cleaned everything up.

He didn't say anything, but stood there in silence.

I immediately turned round and lowered my gaze "T-sorry. I've just finished, sir," I said quietly, wanting to disappear into thin air.

He stepped aside and made room for me to walk past him.

I grabbed my belongings and hurriedly walked past him when he grabbed my wrist and forced me to stop. I stood still with my eyes downcast and didn't move. I could smell the odour of alcohol.

Was he actually drinking in broad daylight?

"If I were you, I'd be careful with your thoughts too," he whispered in my ear and finally looked me in the eye.

There it was again ... the shiver that ran down my spine at the sight of him.

Nothing pleasant ... It caused a panic in me that I couldn't describe. I was terrified that something would happen to me at that moment.

"May, was right to warn you about me and, being the clever girl you are, you'll stick to it. I rescued you from this hellhole and now you have to take care of yourself," he growled softly in my ear.

His green eyes pierced mine and my instincts told me to get out of here fast.

I didn't know what to say in response, or rather, I didn't dare say anything and stayed quiet for that reason. He finally let go of my wrist "Get out," he muttered under his breath. He didn't have to tell me twice. I ran out of his room and felt my heart pounding.

I didn't know what to do and the smartest thing I could think of was to go and find May, who was in the kitchen.

She was the only carer I had, and after that weird situation with Ilay, my brain was having a meltdown too.

I ran straight to the kitchen and saw May, who was already cooking.

"You look like you've met a ghost," she remarked, scrutinising me.

"Can you tell me what powers Ilay has?" I asked her quietly. Demons had all kinds of powers. The higher the rank, the more abilities a demon had. The influence of education also played a role in this aspect.

My powers weren't that strong yet, I had only recently got my demoness under control, so I still had to find out about my powers. It wasn't something easy to learn in a short space of time.

May frowned and finally nodded "I should have warned you about that, he can read your mind, if that's your actual question," she answered me.

"Teleportation, transforming into various creatures, fire ... Actually, he can do almost anything. He's spent centuries training his powers," May explained to me.

That gave me the confirmation I needed, because I now had to be on my guard with my own thoughts.

May switched off the hob and got everything ready. "We'll have lunch with Achira after you've put Ilay's food in the office," May finally replied and pressed a food tray into my hand.

I stood frozen, seriously wondering if I should do this after this encounter?

"Don't forget, he's just putting on a front. He won't bite," May giggled and nodded at me, "Bring him his food," she finally demanded of me again.

I had no other option but to do so.

I wondered why he was eating alone in the first place, but then I remembered how closed off he really was. He didn't want to have anything to do with anyone.

I walked down the corridor and stopped outside his office. I prayed to myself that he wasn't in there because I really didn't want to bump into him.

I knocked on the door and nothing came. I waited again to be on the safe side when I heard a "Come in".

I walked into his office and saw him sitting in his armchair with a glass of alcohol.

"I'll bring you the food..." I dared to say, whereupon he looked at me for a second and pointed to the table.

"Put it down here," he finally said and continued to watch me as I placed the tray on the table.

I didn't dare say anything else, let alone think, and moved back towards the door.

I disappeared from the room and made my way back to the kitchen. May, Achira and other employees had sat down at the table and were also waiting for me.

I joined them and we all began to eat in silence.

It all took some getting used to. So many new things were coming at me, this was a luxury for me. A table full of food wasn't something I took for granted after everything I'd been through.

While I was eating, I felt Achira's eyes on me, but she didn't say anything.

Even though May had described her as very friendly, there was something about her that worried me.