The ones who were made for this kind of thing.
Mentally, I reach for all my excuses. I reach for all the reasons I ran away from Callum in the first place, all the reasons something like this would never work out between us.
And I’ll be damned if I can grab on to them.
Still there, hanging out in the back of my mind, but quieter tonight.
Maybe that’s okay.
Maybe just for now, I can act like they don’t even exist.
We’re here, on the hunt, in this strange place where we don’t have to decide or make any promises. Just me and Callum, in this together for as long as it takes to find the heart and get our treasure.
“We should head back to the hotel,” I say, deliberately changing the subject. “We can get some rest and wait to hear from Gavin about the address.”
Callum hesitates for a moment, like he’s not quite ready to leave our conversation behind, but eventually he nods. We get rid of our empty bowls and leave the market hand in hand.
Hand in hand, because it’s a busy night here in Boston and I don’t want us to get separated.
Hand in hand, because it’s his first time in this realm, and I don’t want him to be overwhelmed.
Hand in hand, because… well, goddessdamn it, because I want to.
Because it feels nice to have his hand in mine. Because it gives me a strange, unexpected wave of calm to be here with him. To have a partner in all of this.
To not be alone for the first time in as long as I can remember.
“So much for making deals with wielders.” I fall back onto the bed with phone in hand, screen frustratingly empty of any new messages.
“Still nothing?”
“Still nothing.” Propping myself up on an elbow, I watch Callum make a slow circuit of the hotel room.
I splurged a bit on it.
Located in the heart of downtown Boston with fabulous views of the city, I could have chosen something that was a little friendlier to my non-existent budget.
But how often does a girl get to show her demon mate around her realm for the first time?
Besides, once we get that bounty and I offload some treasure for human dollars, I’ll have more than enough to pay off a few credit card bills.
We only live once, after all, and tonight we’re living in one of my favorite cities, in a beautiful hotel room after spending an entire afternoon out exploring.
It feels almost normal.
Like this is a typical trip I would take with a partner. Like Callum and I are just two people—okay, one person and one demon—free to enjoy each other and this time together.
The fantastic view isn’t the only reason I chose this place to stay.
There’s only one bed in the room.
A big, plush, king-sized mattress with plenty of room for two.
When they gave me the option to book it, I didn’t even think twice.
Last night wasn’t enough. This morning wasn’t enough. And even though this whole thing is moving fast—probablytoofast for me to fully wrap my mind around it and make smart choices—I’ve never been one to slow down.
Now the only question is whether Callum feels the same.
