I stared at him. He met my gaze, expression inscrutable. Maybe he could be reasoned with.
“Samael–”
“And I am bigger than you, older than you, and more powerful than you. You have no choice but to accept my wishes in this.”
Forget reasoning with him. I had to kill him at my first opportunity. There was no other option unless I wanted to go insane.
I ground my teeth. Samael needed a lot of education when it came to things like personal freedom, autonomy, and privacy. Unfortunately, I was no longer amused, and having someone witness the way I’d fallen to pieces today… unacceptable.
“I appreciate the thought, truly I do,” I said sweetly. “But the next time I see a demon following me around, I’ll throw my knives first and ask questions later.”
His eyes turned to silver ice, and I sighed, holding up a hand. Threats didn’t work with Samael. Unlesshewas the one making them. I cleared my throat, shifting on my feet. “From the time my mom took me on the run, I was taught to take care of myself. I’ve worked hard to be independent, Samael, and I’m perfectly capable of keeping myself safe. When you have demons follow me around, it undermines my credibility, steals my privacy, and damages my reputation.”
“Your precious reputation,” he ground out. “Half of the people in this city believe you’re a traitor.”
Low blow. The gloves were coming off. “Yes. And the other half know damn well what would’ve happened if those witches managed to take your power. They know I’m bonded to you, and I still chose to save innocent lives over regaining my freedom. They know I’m fair. That’s the reason why Mariam asked me to work for her. And when you have demons following me around, it impacts my ability to do my job effectively.”
He heaved a frustrated sigh and his expression turned calculating. “If I do this for you, you will do something for me.”
How was this my life? How was I being blackmailed with my own freedom?
“What do you want?” I attempted to keep my voice neutral, but it came out as a growl.
“You will allow me to take you on adate.”
I blinked at him. He’d said the word ‘date’ as if it was a foreign language and he wasn’t quite sure of the pronunciation.
I angled my head. “Would you like to repeat that?”
His low snarl communicated that no, he wouldn’t like to repeat it at all.
“You heard me.”
“We don’t date.”
“We do now.”
I raised one eyebrow. Someone had told him that this was a good idea. That this was what humans did. “What kind of date?”
His expression hardened and he stayed stubbornly silent.
I studied his face. “I go on a date with you, and you promise to stop sending your demons to follow me around?”
“Yes.”
This seemed strangely out of character after the way he’d insisted they were there for my safety. But I wasn’t about to look a gift demon in the mouth.
“Deal.”
He smiled. I smiled back. I had no doubt that he’d make me wear an exquisite, yet much too expensive dress, shoes that made me want to cut off my feet, and make up. He’d take me somewhere public, so he could demonstrate to everyone that he had a pet bounty hunter under his control. I’d resent him even more than I did now, and he’d be confused by the fact that I somehow still didn’t want him in my life.
Lies,a little voice said in my head, and I scowled. Fine. There were certain aspects of Samael that I didn’t hate, but they were always overshadowed by the things he did to make me wish I’d never met him.
“Our date starts now.”
“Excuse me?” Every time I thought I had a handle on the demon, he blindsided me. The satisfied expression on his face told me he knew very well that I’d expected him to trot me out in public and make me wish I was anywhere else on our ‘date.’
“Are you reneging on our deal?”
