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“I know.” I pretended to fluff my hair, and his chuckle made me smile.
Everything felteasierbetween us.
I decided that was probably because of our conversation the night before, when we’d decided how we were going to handle things.
His declaration that we were at the beginning of a permanent relationship changed my perspective, I supposed.
“Are you going to tell me why you’re flustered? I asked, leaning against the wall while he resumed putting my stuff away. The man took frequent breaks to sip coffee and take bites of candy, which made me smile a little.
“I woke up feeling like I was back in prison. I saw the empty room around me when I opened my eyes, and realized I wasn’t. When I closed them again, I still felt like I was there, so I got up.”
I grimaced. “I can imagine being free again is a hard adjustment.”
He made a noise of agreement, and we both grew quiet as he continued.
I didn’t expect him to say anything else, but after a few minutes, he spoke again.
“It put things into perspective—being in prison. Starving. Losing control. I had never felt so helpless or hopeless. I clung to the idea of you, to the image of you. I’d never considered that I could die alone, and the thought was terrifying.”
“You didn’t know what I looked like, did you?”
“I did. Shortly before they locked me up, I followed the pull to your coffee shop and spent a few minutes sitting at a table, watching you. You seemed very at ease, and I admired that.”
My throat swelled. “You’re way more at ease with yourself than I am.”
“A supernatural has to take a mate to experience true contentment. Those of us who stay alone do so because it’s easier, not because it’s more enjoyable.” He took another sip of his drink. “It’s nice to be free again, and not to be alone anymore, but it’ll take us both time to get used to it.”
“We’re up for the challenge,” I said.
He flashed me a small grin. “Of course we are.”
I mirrored his expression, and helped him finish putting everything away.
And when we went to his bed so I could feed him, I even considered letting him touch me. I decided against it, of course—but I considered it.
ten
RAFAEL
We spentthe morning atCoffee & Toffeewhile Tatum talked to Sophie about a promotion, then stopped for ingredients for her candy tests on the way back to our apartment. I noticed August, the dragon shifter, tailing us. That was expected. The rules he’d mentioned required him to follow us for six months after my escape, just to make sure I wasn’t falling back into my wicked ways.
It was an annoyance, but it gave me an excuse to stay close to Tatum, so I didn’t mind.
When we made it home, we spent twenty minutes in my bed while she fed me—still without letting me touch her. Then, I tackled lunch while she got started on her newest attempt at peppermint truffles.
Music played from a speaker she’d brought while we worked separately, and her presence put me at ease in a way little else ever had. She seemed to think everything came simply to me because I was a demon, and didn’t understand the depths of an immortal being’s struggle with loneliness.
Eternity was a damn long time to be on your own.
Supernaturals kept busy to distract ourselves, and resisted the urge to drag another person into an endless life with us. Mating with someone simply for the sake of having a companion was certainly frowned upon, so it was rare for someone to dare trying it. There was much too high of a risk that the mated pair could despise each other. Even couples who had previously been in love could fall apart in enough time. Love was a choice—and it was one that people got tired of making, at times.
Taking Tatum as my companion the way I had meant I would have to be the certain one. I would hold us together, with grit, willpower, and whatever the hell else I had to.
I made her mine; I would make her enjoy being mine, even if I had to work at it every day for the rest of our lives.
We ate in the kitchen when the food was done, and then shortly afterward, tested her truffles. They were incredible, but she wasn’t satisfied, so she made a few notes on her recipe card and made another batch.
When those ones weren’t perfect, we cleaned the kitchen together, then picked her friends up. I dropped the three of them off at the dress boutique, then met Zander at a restaurant a few doors down.
