Yeah, and any hickeys I created would heal instantly. Meanwhile, I was stuck with his stupid gold mark on my arm.
“While your jealousy pleases me immensely, I’m not feeding from anyone right now.”
I barely refrained from hissing that Iwasn’tjealous. Anything I said now would just make the demon more amused.
“Then why aren’t you starving?”
“I am able to take sustenance from the demons bonded to me. There are enough that they barely notice the slight drain. However, I will need to feed within the next few weeks.”
He didn’t tell me that if I didn’t feed him, he’d be forced to go elsewhere. But the subtext was there.
He was playing with my hair, stroking his hand through it and occasionally brushing the shell of my ear, the sensitive skin at the base of my neck. It was incredibly distracting.
“My family would have liked you, little witch,” he murmured, and I went still. A lump formed in my throat at the memory of their deaths, at the memory of the little boy who’d been left behind.
“You think so?”
I felt him nod and gave in to a satisfied smile. “I wish I could’ve met them.”
“I wish that too. And I would have liked to have known your mother.”
I laughed at that. “She probably would’ve tried to kill you, Samael. She always warned us away from demons. I guess, knowing what I know now about my father, it made sense.”
“Why did she not take your sister with you?”
“I don’t know. I’ve wondered the same thing every day since she dragged me away. Once we were in Austin, all she would say was that it was too dangerous for Evie to leave. She said splitting us up had saved our lives.”
“Interesting.” Samael said. “And she never explained why?”
“No. Every time I got mad and demanded to know, she’d just get this sad, frustrated look on her face. I was a teenager, and I missed my sister. By the time she left me in Austin and came to Durham, we were barely speaking. I’d told her I hated her, and if she didn’t let me visit, I was coming back myself.”
“And then she was murdered.”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry.”
“So am I. The hardest part was not knowing why we had to leave. Why Evie and I were separated. And why we were never warned. That day… we were just kids, and we were suddenly told that mom and I were leaving. The coven stood by and did nothing. No, worse. They used their magic tohelpseparate us. They were our family. I trusted them.”
A tear had slipped from my eye, and it dropped onto Samael’s chest before I could stop it. His whole body tensed and then he pulled me even closer, wrapping me in his warmth.
“One day,” he promised. “You will have your answers.”
13
Danica
Samael reached for me again and again throughout the night, and my hands always reached for him too. I’d probably only had a couple of hours of sleep total.
He leaned over and kissed my forehead. I grunted, and he chuckled, the sound much too delighted for this early in the morning.
“I need to shower, little witch. Join me.”
I kept my eyes closed in an effort to avoid some of the temptation he presented. “Not on your life.” I was so sore I ached.
Samael laughed again, sounding far, far too pleased with himself. As soon as I heard the bathroom door shut, I opened my eyes, staring down at the gold mark on my arm.
I was an idiot. A stupid, horny idiot.
