“Just a few months ago, if someone had told me I’d fall in love with you, I would’ve told them to get their head checked,” I muttered.
“I’m not sure if that’s complimentary.”
I ignored that. “And now… I miss you when you’re not around. I had to actively fight with myself not to come to this tower every damn day.”
“Danica–”
“I want to fall asleep next to you, and fight with you, and fuck you, and complain to my friends when you’re being your usual, overly possessive self. I want to be yours. But only if you’re mine, too.”
Strong hands gripped my shoulders, turning me, and Samael’s mouth crashed down on mine. He buried his hand in my hair and the world faded away as I lost myself in the feel of him surrounding me. My demon. Mine.
“Is that a yes?” I mumbled against his mouth.
“Say it again,” he ordered, and I rolled my eyes. Bossy demon.
“I love you.”
I could feel tears dripping down my face as I stood in that cave. This was the moment we’d both admitted our feelings. The moment I’d stopped running.
Next to me, Kyla let out a sound like a whimper, and I attempted to close my eyes, but the Dearg Due refused to let me look away. I watched as Samael lifted me into his arms and carried me through his penthouse, laying me on his bed.
“This doesn’t mean you can tell me what to do all the time,” I said.
“Quiet.” He nibbled on my lower lip.
“And I’m not going to give up my career for you.”
He laughed. “Of course not.” He pulled back long enough to strip off his clothes and my mouth went dry. I forced myself to raise my gaze to his face in an attempt to get my point across.
“I’m serious, Samael.”
“I know. So many clothes in my way.”
He was stripping me, but his eyes met mine as he paused. “I want you, little witch. Not a woman who will do everything I say without question. Although that might be an interesting experience for a few days.”
I’d given him a dark look, and he laughed, unhooking my bra and nuzzling my breasts.
“I’ve had centuries of women doing as I said,” he told me. “None of them could hold my attention for more than a few weeks. You? You will be mine forever. And if you didn’t know I’m already yours, you haven’t been paying close enough attention.”
“Please,” I said aloud. “Not this one.”
“This is my price,” the Dearg Due hissed in my mind. “It isthismemory, and the chance to save him, or you keep your memory and lose him forever.”
There was no choice at all. But I vowed that if I ever got the chance, I’d make her pay for this. How many other women had she done this to over the centuries?
“Thousands,”she whispered in my mind.“And none of them have managed to kill me yet, little witch.”
“Call me that again. I fucking dare you.”
Her hands left my head, and I stared at her, my face still damp. I grasped for the memory, but there wasn’t even a whisper left.
She’d taken something precious. I didn’t know what it was, but I felt it like a hole in my chest.
“You will find a connection to the sword in the Middleground. Go to the Tengu,” she said. “You will find what you are looking for there.”
Kyla narrowed her eyes at me as we left. I swallowed around the lump in my throat.
“I had no choice.”
