Page 43 of I Summoned A Demon For A Date?!
"Lead the way," I rose from my seat and offered her my hand.
She hesitated only briefly before placing her palm against mine. The simple contact sent a jolt of electricity up my arm, the mating bond humming with approval. I curled my fingers around hers, savoring the softness of her skin, the delicate bones beneath.
We slipped out through a side door onto a stone terrace bathed in late morning sunlight. The air was crisp with autumn's approach, carrying the scent of fallen leaves and distant woodsmoke. Rosie guided me down a set of shallow steps to a gravel path bordered by late-blooming roses and carefully pruned hedges.
"I used to hide out here as a teenager," her voice soft with remembrance. "The gardener, Mr. Finch, would pretend not to notice me curled up with a book in one of the alcoves when Jan was on the warpath."
I tried to picture her younger self, seeking refuge among the flowers, and found my chest tightening with an unfamiliar ache.
"It sounds like you found allies where you could," I squeezed her hand.
She nodded, a small smile playing at her lips. "Mr. Finch and Cook. The staff saw more than my father ever did. Or at least, they saw and weren't afraid to acknowledge it."
The path wound deeper into the gardens, through an arbor heavy with purple wisteria, past a small ornamental pond. I could feel Rosie gradually relaxing beside me, some of the tension from the breakfast confrontation easing from her shoulders.
Finally, the manicured gardens gave way to a wilder space. A small clearing at the forest's edge where a bench had been placed beneath the spreading branches of an ancient oak. Thebench faced away from the house, offering a view of the woods and the rolling hills beyond.
Rosie led me to it, dropping my hand as she settled onto the weathered wood. I sat beside her, careful to maintain a sliver of space between us despite every instinct screaming to pull her closer.
For several minutes, we sat in silence. I could sense her gathering her thoughts, working up to whatever it was she needed to say, and I waited, forcing myself to be patient despite the restless energy coursing through me.
"Why did you really run last night?"
The question, when it finally came, was direct but gentle. Without accusation. Just a simple query that deserved an honest answer I wasn't sure I could give.
I stared out at the tree line, watching a red-tailed hawk circle lazily overhead.
"It's complicated," I finally answered.
"Try me."
I turned to look at her then, really look at her. The morning light filtered through the oak leaves, dappled her skin with shifting patterns of gold. Her green eyes were clear and direct, holding mine without fear or artifice. In that moment, she was so beautiful it was almost painful to behold her.
"There are things about me, about what I am, that you don't know," I carefully chose my words. "Things that might change how you see me."
She laughed, a soft, rueful sound. "Aldaine, you're a demon I summoned from a book I bought at a old bookstore. I don't think there's much that could shock me at this point."
If only she knew.
"It's not that simple." I ran a hand through my hair, frustration mounting. "What happened between us, what's happening, it's not just the contract."
Her expression sobered. "I know that."
"Do you?" I was suddenly desperate for her to understand, even if I couldn't bring myself to speak the full truth. "Do you understand what it means to be involved with someone like me? The danger of it? The permanence?"
She shifted toward me on the bench, eliminating the careful space I'd maintained between us. Her knee pressed against mine, and she reached out, her warm fingers coming to rest on my forearm.
"I don't," she admitted quietly. "Not completely. But I want to."
The simple honesty in her voice threatened to undo me.
"Last night," I began, the words feeling torn from somewhere deep within me, "I almost told you everything. Almost showed you what you truly are to me. But I was afraid."
Her eyebrows rose in genuine surprise. "You? Afraid?"
"Even demons know fear, Rosie." I covered her hand with mine, unable to resist the contact any longer. "Especially when we stand to lose something precious."
Her pulse jumped under my fingers, her breath catching audibly. "And what would that be?"
