“In return,” he murmured into my ear, and I could feel him smile as my breath caught in my throat. “You will move into my tower.”
I spun, my mouth dropping open. His gaze fell to my mouth and his eyes darkened.
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
He shrugged and walked back to his desk as if unconcerned.
I let out a strangled sound. “Let’s negotiate.”
“Those are my terms.”
My hands were fisted so tight, my nails were cutting into my palms. “Your terms suck.”
He raised one eyebrow. His expression was the exact combination of boredom and languid amusement he knew I loathed.
“Directly after learning about the prophecy, you made me show you my memories of your mother’s body,” he said silkily.
I closed my eyes. “Stop.”
Of course the demon ignored me. He’d never been big on respecting anyone’s boundaries.
“You wanted me to hurt you. You wanted to prove to yourself that you shouldn’t trust me.”
“And I was right.”
My eyes shot open as his scent beckoned me. He was suddenly too close. I took a careful step back. “Look. I just got Evie moved into my apartment. I can’t leave her.”
“You may wait until the investigation is concluded, however as of now, your attendance at Monday dinners is mandatory.”
I scowled. Anyone bonded to Samael was expected at Monday dinners, and the idea of sitting that close to him for that long made me want to stab him with a fork. So far, I’ve only attended one. The demon knew exactly how I felt about him using words like ‘mandatory,’ and I wouldn’t give him the reaction he wanted.
He raised one eyebrow at my silence. “I promise, it won’t be as painful as you’re imagining.”
“Sure it won’t,” I muttered, barely resisting kicking out at his desk. Today was Monday, which meant I was going to have to somehow work his dinner in with everything else I had going on.
“If I move in here, I want my own room.”
He made a noncommittal sound and I let out a low growl. “Why am I always on the back foot with you?”
Surprise flickered in his eyes and he slowly raised his hand, giving me enough time to block it if I wanted to. His warm hand cupped my face.
“You missed me,” he said. His expression was hard, but his eyes glittered at me. “Say it.”
I squirmed. He simply waited me out. “Samael–”
“Give me something, Danica.”
I glowered at him, pushing his hand away.
“I missed you,” I snapped before I was aware I was speaking. “I always miss you. Even when I shouldn’t. But that doesn’t mean anything. I can’t trust you.”
I wanted to slap my hand over my mouth. To rewind time and have a redo of the last few seconds.
Triumph, victory, arrogance, it all flashed across his face.
“You will forgive me for not telling you about the prophecy,” he declared.
“I can’t do that.”
