Page 5 of When I Accidentally Summoned a Demon

I hurry to put the box back and close the closet door, my demon heart pounding against my ribs. I step back out into the room just as the bathroom door opens.

A raging heat screams through my being.

Vesper stands there in nothing more than a white towel, her skin still glistening with moisture. Her wet, dark hair falls in heavy, wavy locks nearly to her shoulders. Her pheromones are now a sensory assault, fresh and warm and utterly intoxicating.

The predator inside me salivates. A dark, possessive hunger claws at my insides, more intense than any fire in Hell. My pupils dilate until the room is nothing but her.

And then, the fire lances through my chest.

I stumble from the blinding, white-hot pain and clutch my hand to my heart, bowing my head and closing my nostrils, trying to regain control as my vision swims.

Vesper approaches me, her gaze sharp and concerned. “Are you okay, big guy? Does it hurt again?”

I nod, my great shadow falling over her as the words stick in my throat. “Yes…but…different.”

She heaves a sigh and shrugs, though I can see the gears turning in her mind. “Well, we need to test something.”

“Another rule?” I ask in more of a grunt.

She shakes her head, her wet hair flicking droplets of water onto her shoulders. “No, just…stay here. I want to try something.”

I oblige, grateful for even an inch of distance from the heat of her skin.

“Okay,” she says, her gaze fixed on me. “Now don’t move.”

She turns and starts to walk toward the opposite side of the room, heading toward a tall wooden chest covered in more of her glass jars. As she moves, the distance between us grows. I brace myself, waiting for the invisible hook in my chest to snag and tear at my flesh.

Ten feet. Fifteen.

Nothing. Only a dull, thrumming ache deep beneath my ribs—a persistent tug, like a taut thread vibrating in the wind, but miles away from the agonizing burn of earlier.

Vesper pauses at the far wall, turning back to eye me with mild surprise. “Not bad. Alright, new test.” She gestures toward the hallway behind me. “Take a step out of the room.”

I furrow my brow, but pivot on my heel. The moment I cross the threshold of her bedroom door, the “wire” in my chest snaps from a dull tingle to a jagged saw-blade.

I gasp, stumbling backward until I am fully inside the bedroom once more. The agony instantly recedes to that manageable, thrumming ache.

Vesper nods slowly, gnawing on her bottom lip. “So, seems you’re bound to the room I’m in. Well, that’s…interesting.”

3

Vesper

Idrop onto the edge of my mattress, adrenaline slowly leaching from my blood and leaving a jittery exhaustion.

I drag my attention all across Valefar’s massive frame. The rocking chair is hilariously out of the question. He’s the size of a mountain. He’d break it instantly.

I glance back at the towering, horned demon standing awkwardly near my door. I wonder what my landlord would say about a spawn from hell.

He’ll either have to share this bed—which is big enough, but the thought alone makes my pulse jump. Or I’ll have him drag the heavy futon from my office in here. Given all his slabbed muscles, he could probably lift it with one hand.

But as I watch him, the thought of furniture evaporates.

Valefar is doubled over, his massive hands braced on his thighs as a violent shudder rips through his frame. His brow furrows deeply, teeth gritted in obvious agony. It looks like he’s suffering from the worst stomach cramps known to mankind—or demon-kind. He looks like he’s dying.

“Hey,” I say softly, pushing off the mattress.

I cross the floor and reach out, laying a gentle hand on his broad, scorched-bronze shoulder.