Page 48 of I Summoned A Demon For A Date?!
"Of course," Jan voice was vulnerable. "Take all the time you need."
Aldaine's hand found the small of my back, steadying and warm. I leaned into his touch, grateful for the anchor.
"Would you excuse us?" I asked, already turning toward the door. "I need some air."
We made it into the hallway before my legs gave out. Aldaine caught me as I sagged, drawing me against his chest. The solid warmth of him was the only thing keeping me upright as emotions I'd bottled up for years came crashing through my carefully constructed walls.
A sound escaped me, half laugh, half sob. "Oh god," I pressed my face into his shirt, shoulders shaking. "I can't believe after all this time, they apologized."
His arms tightened around me, one hand stroking soothingly down my back. He didn't try to shush me or offer empty platitudes. He just held me, letting me fall apart in the safety of his embrace.
"They actually see me," my voice was muffled against his chest. "They finally see me."
Another watery laugh bubbled up, mixing with my tears that wouldn't stop falling. "And I don't know what to do with that. How do you trust something you stopped hoping for years ago?"
Aldaine's chest rumbled as he spoke, his voice gentle but firm. "Then we'll learn together."
I pulled back enough to look up at him, finding nothing but steady warmth in his dark eyes. No judgment, no impatience. Just quiet support and something deeper that made my heart skip.
"Together?" I echoed softly.
His thumb brushed away a tear from my cheek. "Together."
This demon. This man. He would be my undoing, and it didn't scare me.
The sun gleamed off the pool's surface, turning the water into a mesmerizing sight. I slipped off my shoes and rolled up the hem of my skirt before dipping my feet into the cool water. The sensation was grounding after the emotional whirlwind I'd just experienced.
Aldaine sat beside me, his pants rolled carefully above his ankles, our shoulders almost touching. Neither of us had spoken much since leaving the library. What was there to say after witnessing what felt like my family's complete personality transplant?
"Do you think it will last?" I finally asked my feear, breaking the companionable silence. "Jan's change of heart?"
Aldaine considered the question, his legs making slow circles in the water. "I believe she was sincere, if that's what you're asking. Whether she has the strength to maintain it when Stephany inevitably pushes back," He shrugged. "That remains to be seen."
I nodded, appreciating his honesty. False reassurance would have felt patronizing.
"She looked almost afraid when she apologized," I mused. "Like she expected me to reject her completely."
"Wouldn't you have had every right to?"
"Maybe." I trailed my fingers through the water, watching the ripples spread outward. "But that wouldn't help anyone, least of all me. Holding onto anger is exhausting." I'd felt it for too long, weighing my soul down.
Aldaine's gaze was warm when I looked up at him. "You continue to surprise me, Rosie Thompson."
Something about the way he said my name sent a pleasant shiver down my spine. It wasn't just the words, but the reverencewith which he spoke them, as if my ordinary name were something precious.
The bite mark on my neck tingled beneath the silk scarf. I resisted the urge to touch it, knowing that even the lightest brush of my fingers would send heat racing through my body.
"Can I ask you something?"
Aldaine nodded, his expression open. "Anything."
I hesitated, unsure how to put my jumbled thoughts into coherent words. "Our contract.."
His shoulders tensed almost imperceptibly, but I felt it in the slight shift of his body next to mine.
"What about it?" His voice remained steady, but something flickered in his eyes.
The words felt stuck in my throat. How did I ask what our deal meant now that everything had changed between us? Now that he'd claimed me in the most primal way possible, now that I'd invited him to.
