Page 56 of Eat, Slay, Love

I still.

“When you tried to kill me,” he clarifies.

“Twice.”

“Thank you for keeping count.” He exhales slowly. “I told her I didn’t know.”

“You never used your magic against me.”

“I know.”

“You could have.”

“Easily,” he says, which earns him a glare. “Sorry. But yes. I could have.”

“And you never…” I trail off.

“Fed from you,” he finishes gently. “No.”

“Why?”

Jonah looks at me for a long moment. “I spent the last two weeks trying to answer that question like there had to be something supernatural behind it. Some quirk of demon magic I’d never learned about. My parents died before they could teach me much of anything. Maria knew even less about what I was than I did, and demons don’t exactly sit around comparing notes.”

His gaze drops to where my hands are still twisted in his sweatshirt.

“But there wasn’t an answer.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean there wasn’t anything stopping me from hurting you.” His eyes lift to mine. “I just didn’t want to.”

Something in my chest cracks wide open.

“Even when I was trying to kill you?”

“Especially then, apparently.” A faint smile touches his mouth. “Conveniently.”

“Jonah.”

“I know.” His expression softens. “I think some part of me understood what you were to me long before the rest of me caught up. Not destiny, not magic. Just…” He shakes his head, almost laughing at himself. “You. I wanted you safe before I wanted to admit I cared whether you stayed. I trusted you before there was any logical reason to. And feeding from you…” His face tightens slightly. “I couldn’t anyway, but even if I could, I would never be able to take anything from you that you hadn't chosen to give me.”

My eyes burn.

“I kept thinking there had to be some complicated explanation,” he says. “Turns out I was just falling in love with the woman trying to murder me.”

I huff out something between a laugh and a sob. “Twice.”

“Mayari.”

“Sorry.”

“You’re not.”

“Not remotely.”

He smiles, and I cup his face between my hands. “So there was nothing wrong with you.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t go that far.”