“Thank you,” she murmured.
I leaned against the wall, crossing my arms over my chest, and openly studied her as she sat at the kitchen table. The chairs were too large for such a little human, even smaller than other human females I’d seen before. Her feet dangled a few inches above the floor even though she was perched on the edge of her seat. She looked a bit childlike, the wide frame and tall legs swamping her body.
At least until her eyes met mine. I saw ferocity in her gaze. Challenge and defiance. She might be smaller than any creature I’d seen before, but I had no doubt that her petite body held more strength and spirit than even the toughest daemon I’d ever met.
She didn’t look away. Didn’t flinch. Didn’t even blink.
The prolonged stare stirred the instincts I’d long thought I would never possess. Instincts that encouraged me to hunt her. Not as food, but as a mate. The same instincts I felt the first moment our eyes met.
Hunt. Mount. Mate.
I swallowed back the growl that built in my chest and looked away as Masu came back to the table with a cup of tea for her. When I looked at Leda again, there was no smugness in her demeanor. If anything, she seemed tired.
“You need meat,” Masu declared.
I agreed, but it was clear she needed a bath and some more sleep.
“Make her a plate with cold meat and cheese. Bread and fruit. She can eat it before she sleeps.”
Those sharp amber eyes came to me again. In the softer light of the kitchen, they were the color of the honey traders sometimes brought back from the human realm. Her gaze pierced me, suspicious and sly. Anticipation curled in my gut. She would not be easily won over by food or drink. I would needto be on my guard. This human was already scheming of ways to escape my home without realizing the danger she would be in. Much like a daemoness, I would have to earn her trust.
The instincts I was determined to ignore stirred, urging me to care for her until she not only gave me her trust, but her submission.
Leda didn’t acknowledge my intention to feed her. She just drank her tea as Masu bustled around, gathering a veritable feast for her. Instead of a plate, my housekeeper took a wide, shallow bowl and filled it with everything I’d listed, plus nuts and edible seeds. And a few pieces of soft candy she often made just for me.
Damn. She was already making a statement about this human female, one that said she viewed her as mine. It didn’t help that faint voice in the back of my head that called for a hunt.
“Which room should I prepare, Bokkan?” Masu asked.
I knew the female wouldn’t take my next words well, but it was the safest option.
“She’ll sleep in my room for now.”
Masu immediately understood that I’d announced this for the human’s protection, but Leda did not.
“I won’t be fucking you.” Her words were cold and clear, but it was her eyes that held the threat. They told me that she wouldn’t hesitate to cut my fingers off if I tried to lay them on her.
“No, you won’t. But this will keep you safe from any of my soldiers who might decide to risk my wrath by sneaking into your chambers at night.”
Her face paled at my words, and I suddenly remembered how she’d described her journey here from the human realm. She’d been taken from her bed in the middle of the night.
“Your word that you won’t touch me?”
“I vow I won’t lay a hand on you or force myself on you in any way.”
She studied me for a prolonged moment before she nodded and got to her feet, picking up the plate of food as she did. “Thank you for the tea and food, Masu.”
I tried not to let it bother me, the way her demeanor gentled for the imp but remained hard and implacable with me. I reminded myself she was smaller and weaker than me. That any sentient being in its right mind would fear a daemon my size.
It would take time and effort to show her that I was not a threat to her. I needed to remain calm and patient. Unfortunately, neither of those were strengths of my character.
“Please follow me, and I’ll show you to my chambers.”
I didn’t miss the way she rested the bowl on her left forearm, holding it in place with her left hand so that her right hand could be free to hold the knife she’d taken off Talus.
Patience. I must have patience.
Though it was difficult for me to turn my back on anyone, much less an armed human, I turned away from her and walked out of the kitchen. If I wanted her to trust me, I was going to have to show her that I was willing to do the same for her.
