Page 41 of How Not to Date a Demon

“What? No! Don’t ruin the moment! The proposal is going to be so special you won’t even know it’s coming.” Galen was messing this all up. None of this was going how it was supposed to!

“Oh really?” she asked, crossing her arms.

He nodded confidently. Of course it was going to be special. It was a proposal—

“Like my surprise party from last year?”

His confidence plummeted at the mention of the disaster he’d created on her previous birthday. “I said I was sorry, okay? I got too excited.”

The soft smile that slowly grew on her cheeks made his heart flutter. He was a goddamned devil, and he’d been brought to his knees by this simply stunning, beautiful human.

But then her smile slipped away, and he wished he could bring it back to life.

She groaned and stood, stepping around him and threading her fingers through her hair. He watched as she paced away from him. “This is so…”

He wanted that smile back, turned to follow her with his gaze, still on his knees. “I’m still Galen, Maeve. I’m still me.”

“But you’re… How can I joke around with a—a demon?”

Galen drew in a deep breath. “You’re thinking of a demon how you’ve always been taught. Evil enemies of the angels and God and out to destroy the world. But it’s not… we’re not like that. That’s not our purpose.”

She turned to him. “What is a demon’s purpose then?”

Galen rose to his feet, but let Maeve keep her comfortable distance from him. “Please let me show you. I promise, nothing and no one will harm you. Afterwards, if you still don’t…” He trailed off, clearing his throat. “If you still think we’re all evil, you won’t ever have to see me again.”

“Because you’re going to kill me?” she asked in a small voice.

With a sigh, Galen lowered his head. “No, you stubborn woman. I’d bring you back here and we’d part ways like normal people do during… when they split up.”

“I can come back here even after I go there? I won’t be stuck? Do I have to die?”

Galen pinched the bridge of his nose. This was all new to her. He needed patience. “Yes, you can leave whenever you want. No dying required. I can bring you back in the blink of an eye, Maeve.”

He waited until she met his gaze before he spoke. “I will not hurt you in any way. I want to protect you.”

Her usual spring green gaze was dark with a storm of emotions. Concern clashed with anger, and hurt battled with disbelief.

But Galen had to make her see.

“So?” he prompted, holding his hand out for her. “You gonna go to Hell with me?”

Maeve

Maeve had always been a little… weird. She could admit it now, as an adult looking back on her experiences. Hell, she worked as tech support for customers at a fucking dildo manufacturer. Couldn’t get weirder than that.

But weird was… weird was refusing to match your socks because you liked the randomization. Weird was liking sugar on your cornflakes even though it made them way too sweet.

She wasn’t ready for my boyfriend’s a devil weird!

But she didn’t say no. She thought about it. Staring at Galen, she read the sincerity in his expression. Maeve had seen it with her own eyes.

“What does it feel like?” she asked.

Galen tilted his head to the side. “What?”

“Going to Hell. Are we getting there the same way you did in the alley? In a puff of smoke?” Maeve couldn’t stop seeing it. Did it hurt? Getting zapped or whatever to wherever Hell was.

“Oh, yeah, but it doesn’t hurt. It just… happens. Though I can’t go there looking like this,” he said, motioning to himself.