And I’d given it freely in every way.
I woke early each morning to make her breakfast—which I still managed to burn more often than not, though I was learning—then tidied the house, walked the perimeter to note where the wards needed patching, and took care of whatever else needed doing.
And I did it gladly.
I hadn’t thought it possible, but Isadora seemed to be exactly what I needed to loosen my fixation on Blaise.
That first night, when she asked whether I had a mate, the words had spilled out of me before I’d quite decided to say them. It felt good to finally give voice to something I’d carried for so long—to admit what I’d felt for him.
She listened without judgment.
And somehow, gently, she helped me see it differently. Helped me understand that what I’d mistaken for love wasn’t love at all. Just habit. Proximity. Too much time spent orbiting someone who had never truly needed me.
Her words stayed with me, settling deep, as though they’d always been waiting there.
“You’re not in love with him, Ambrose,”she’d said softly.“You simply spent too much time with him. You’re a caretaker by nature, and he never valued you for it. I would appreciate you. Take care of me and my house, and when I’m feeling better... perhaps you could take care of me in other ways.”
It was an unspoken invitation that had consumed my thoughts for days.
I would take care of her. Of course I would. I would tend the house, anticipate her needs before she ever had to voice them, and stand between her and the hob, so she never had to exhaust herself again the way she had before I arrived.
The thought that she’d borne all of that alone—the strain of the wards, the hostility of the hob, the upkeep of the house—satheavy on my chest. If I’d been there sooner, she wouldn’t have had to push herself so far.
I would be patient. I would give her the time she needed to recover, to feel safe again. And when she was finally ready, I would take care of her in the other ways she’d hinted at.
My stomach gave a loud, traitorous grumble at the thought. Gods, I was hungry. It had been weeks since I’d last fed, yet the idea of feeding from anyone other than Isadora turned my stomach.
“Ambrose!” Isadora called from somewhere deeper in the house.
Smiling, I crossed the threshold, eager to tell her how I’d protected her once again. I’d always considered myself a humble demon, but with Isadora, there was a persistent, gnawing need to prove myself—to show her just how indispensable I could be.
Since that first night, she hadn’t hinted at anything physical. On the rare occasion my hunger pangs outweighed my better judgment and I reminded her that I was on the cusp of starvation...
Well, I guessed I just wasn’t meeting her expectations. That was why she wasn’t ready to ask me for that kind of care yet.
I simply needed to try harder.
I found her in the kitchen, seated at the table, her legs crossed and bouncing with irritation so violent that I half expected one of her red heels to go skittering across the tiles.
“Is everything alright?” I asked, keeping my voice low and soothing.
Isadora lifted a lacquered finger and pointed to the clock on the wall. I followed the gesture, my stomach dropping as I registered the time. Five minutes past twelve. She’d asked for lunch to be ready at twelve on the dot.
“I’m sorry, Isadora,” I said, grabbing the food I’d prepared earlier from the fridge and sliding the dish into the oven, alreadyscrambling for a way to distract her from my mistake. “I was dealing with the hob. It’s found a weakness in the wards, right where the fence meets the gate.”
Isadora let out a low, irritated hiss, pinching the bridge of her nose.
“This is becoming more bother than it’s worth,” she muttered, slamming her fist against the table.
Shit.
If Isadora gave up now and left, she wouldn’t need me anymore.
I reached for her instinctively, but she drew her hand away from my outstretched fingers.
“No touching, Ambrose,” she snapped.
I ignored the sharp ache her words left behind. I had to convince her to stay at least long enough for her to fall for me as hard as I had fallen for her.
