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“What, don’t you have canned soup where you’re from?” I asked.
He smirked and tilted his head to one side. “I guess not. But it smells good. You’re not trying to poison me, are you?”
I laughed. “Would I really go to all this effort to help you if I was going to poison you?”
“Maybe not…” He licked his bottom lip and stared again at the soup. “But I guess I have no choice. I’m starved.”
He took the soup and began to shovel it in his mouth, pausing only long enough for me to take the empty can and hand him another. By the time he’d finished all three cans of chicken noodle soup, I was starting to feel a bit more comfortable around him. I perched myself on the edge of his bed, far enough from his arms that he still couldn’t reach me.
I felt his eyes searching my face again. It was like he could read all of my secrets just by looking at me. With one glance, he made me feel like I was standing naked in the middle of a crowded room.
“Did I do that?” Gabe looked at me questioningly.
I frowned. “Do what?”
He nodded his head, gesturing at my cheek. It was then that I remembered Dirk’s parting gift and the throbbing pain that had died down after I took a dose of aspirin.
“Oh, no. That was some jerk in town. He attacked me.”
I turned away, clearing my throat at the unexpected amount of emotion that had entered my voice. If I thought about it too long, I would begin to imagine Dirk’s hands roaming my body again, uninvited. It made me feel cheap and dirty. I wish I could’ve done more than crush his family jewels.
“You’re not a demon?” Gabe asked, breaking my line of thought. He watched me with a careful expression.
“Uh…no,” I sputtered, offended by the very suggestion of his question. Did evil things usually save people?
“Well, you don’t have the dark demon eyes, but I couldn’t be sure,” he said with a shrug. “Demons have a thing for possessing beautiful men and women, so I thought you were one of them.”
I felt the heat rise in my cheeks. It was a strange thing, being called beautiful by a deadly creature. I didn’t know how to feel about it.
“You thought I was possessed by one because of my looks?”
“Yeah, but if you were possessed, you would’ve killed me by now. So I’m pretty sure you’re just a human.”
I’d never considered being called just a human a bad thing, but the way he said it so causally made it feel like an insult. The fire in my cheeks burned hotter, dispelling the comfortable feeling that had settled over us.
“What’s so wrong with being human? Remember, this lowly human saved you.” The bitterness in my voice came across stronger than I intended.
“There’s nothing wrong with being human…” Gabe stumbled over his words. He opened his mouth and then snapped it shut, his cheeks turning red.
So far, not off to a great start. I’d yelled at and chewed out my demon hostage. If he didn’t want to kill me before, he might now.
“How are your wounds?” I turned my attention to the claw marks across his abs and shoulder.
Most of them had begun to heal at an inhuman rate. The three marks on his belly were faded to a faint red line, and the shoulder wound had mostly closed up. If he continued healing at that rate, he’d be ready to leave by tomorrow.
“Perfect,” he said, flexing his arms to test his shoulder. He grimaced with the effort, but it looked promising.
“I suppose I’ll leave you here another night to get better, then we’ll figure out what to do with you.” I packed the empty water bottles and soup cans in my bag.
His chin snapped up. “Do with me? Aren’t you going to let me go?”
I winced. If it had been anyone else from my town who’d found him, they would’ve killed him in the woods yesterday. We all knew how dangerous demons were to humans. They raped and murdered our kind without thought. Fifty years ago, demons slaughtered forty Hanna residents who’d ventured into the southern woods for a festival. It was then that the law was put into place. No one could go into demon territory. It only brought death.
“I’m not sure yet,” I said, swinging the bag over my shoulder. “You’re dangerous. What if you hurt someone?”
He frowned like he didn’t understand what I was saying. “Dangerous? I think you’ve got the wrong idea…”
“We’ll just give it one more night,” I interrupted. Maybe by tomorrow I’d have a plan. “Just to be sure that you’re feeling better. I’d hate to come up against any of those demons in the woods without you in full strength.”
