An Eternity of Eclipse by Con Template Page B

wanting to bury this point home to subdue any other ideas I might harbor about him. “I don’t rape, Gracie. This may come as a big surprise to you, but some Demons do have some standard of integrity. The scumbag men of your race might resort to doing such revolting things, but the men of my race have too much of an inflated ego to resort to something so parasitic. We have pride. We are the more”—he tilted his head to conjure up the most appropriate word—“intelligent race and we try to uphold this notion by not doing something so demeaning and animalistic.” He passionately went on. “I never once placed any spell over you or forced you to do anything against your will—I don’t need to. I was seducing, and it’s entirely up to the will of the recipient whether they find me to be irresistible or not.” His accusatory eyes buried into mine. “This is all on you and your willpower, Gracie.”
    I scoffed, not believing the state of my life. A Demon had not only insulted me and my race, but he was also throwing a dig at my willpower. What kind of ass-backwards reality had I been thrown into?
    “Calling me weak-willed now?” I scowled at him.
    Charm suffused his face when he noted that I was becoming more and more irritated. “Don’t be too offended, Gracie. You can think of our situation as you submerging yourself in water and getting wet. You do not want to get wet, but it is not up to you to control or to defy the bylaws of nature. Water is water—if you touch it, you will get wet. It's a fact and it's something you can't escape.”
    His powerful shoulders shrugged in a prideful manner.
    “I am lust in its most powerful form. The nature of who I am is that those who are close enough to me feel it—they feel nothing but lust. I can’t control who people lust after. That’s not in my nature. My nature is to simply radiate it. The actions people take around me—and who they want to take it with—is beyond my control. This means that you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. I am, after all, one of your cardinal sins. The temptation of me is understandably hard to resist, and if you ask me, I’m the best sin there is. You shouldn't feel bad for finding me to be so enticing.”
    It took all my willpower to not roll my eyes. I was certain I was going to keel over from this guy’s big ego.
    “You have a very big head,” I commented, unable to contain my irritation . “Did you know that?”
    This made him laugh. He wasn’t offended by my comment. If anything, he was charmed by it. “Would you expect any less from the son of the prideful Lucifer?”
    From what I heard about Lucifer and his oversized pride, I imagined it would only make sense if his spawn followed that same characteristic. I didn’t expect any less from the spawn of Satan himself, but I wasn’t about to accept it or allow him to think it was okay either.
    “Do people actually like you?” I incited, wanting to hurt his feelings because I was still bitter that he insulted my willpower (or allegedly lack thereof). “Your oversized ego is a turn off.” I gulped uneasily and hastily added, “And I don’t like you.”
    His lips lifted into a grin. Intent on getting back on my good side, he said, “Then I should endeavor to change your mind, shouldn’t I?” When I didn’t return his playful smile with a favorable reaction, the Demon sighed and said, “Don’t the people of your race have a saying? ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’? Do you think it’s fair that you’re placing so much judgment on me when you don’t even know me?”
    “You’re a Demon,” I dismissed. “Human sayings are not applicable to you.”
    He made a rude noise at my dismissal.
    “Typical human,” he murmured stiffly. “The youngest of God’s creations and the most ignorant ones. The ones who deem themselves to know everything when in truth, you all know nothing.” He arched an ironic brow at me. “Who has the bigger ego now, Gracie? A Demon of