His gaze flicked between them. “Yes.”
Shadrach clapped loudly, causing Ashmedai to jerk. “I won!”
The front door opened, and Malachi charged in. “What? No!”
“It’s been four weeks! I said thirty days max! Pay up, assholes!” Shadrach crowed.
Malachi threw his head back with a groan. “Ugh! Fine. I’ll send it to you.”
Anger burned like a beacon. They’d made bets about this? Was it so common for a demon to feel this way about a human? Was this all a game to them? Why had no one warned him the surface had so many temptations?
“Okay, before the chainsaw gets any louder,” Ira said, approaching warily, and Ashmedai realized he was growling, “I think we should explain what’s happening?” He looked askance at Valac, who nodded.
“Of course.”
Ashmedai stopped growling. “Yes.”
“What you feel for this human is the same thing all of these demons felt for their human. It’s unique to that particular human, as far as we can tell. I mean, none of the demons here have ever suddenly started lusting after anyone else.” Ira’s soul was bright, almost solid white in the center with glittering gold on the outside. His calm voice and calmer demeanor made him easy to listen to.
“Meaning?” he asked.
“It means you’ll want him,” Valac said. “All the time. You’ll think you’ll never be able to have enough of him to sate you, but give it time. You must move slowly. The humans can be wary of us, especially those who work for the guild. They’re taught to hate us.”
‘This is wrong,’he’d said.‘We have to stop.’He hadn’t seemed to hate Ashmedai, but he’d certainly been wary. Not wary enough to push him away or use the knives he’d had on his belt. His body had responded to Ashmedai’s just as Ashmedai’s had responded to him. Their connection had been absolute. He’d only been able to stop when the human made it clear that he didn’t want things to continue. The last thing he wanted was to scare him away.
“What’s his name?” Julian asked, swinging his stick as he approached with Isaac.
Ashmedai shook his head. He disliked that he didn’t know.
“You just saw him from afar, then?” Valac asked.
“Sometimes that’s all it takes,” Malachi said, gazing fondly at Luke.
“No,” Ashmedai said. “Touched.”
“Touched,” Julian said, frowning. “Fought?”
“No. Tasted. Touched.”
“Oh God.” Julian looked horrified. “Did he… consent?”
“Consent?” He’d pushed Ashmedai away—at least, after a moment. It had been disappointing, but he’d listened. “No. Stopped me.”
Tension bled slowly from Ira’s shoulders. “Oh, good. You stopped when he asked you to?”
Ashmedai harrumphed. “Yes. Course. Just touched.” He raised his hand, remembering the softness of the human’s cheek.
“Oh, that kind of touch,” Julian said, smiling softly.
“He let you get that close?” Shadrach asked with surprise.
“You know what the connection is like,” Julian argued. “They were probably both overwhelmed.”
“Was that all?” Ira asked, his cheeks darkening. “That kind of touching? You didn’t, uh, do anything else with him, did you?”
Ashmedai didn’t understand why that mattered. “Why?”
He shook his head. “Just trying to determine how concerned to be.”
