Page 49 of I Summoned A Demon For A Date?!
"I summoned you to pretend to be my boyfriend," I began slowly. "To make me look less pathetic at my ex's engagement. That was the deal." A weak laugh escaped me. "But this," I gestured vaguely between us, "doesn't feel like pretend anymore."
Aldaine was silent for a long moment, his gaze fixed on the rippling water. The sunlight caught the edges of his profile, gilding him in gold, and I was struck again by how beautiful he was, how otherworldly even in his human form.
"It's not," he finally spoke.
My heart stuttered in my chest. "Then what is it?"
He turned to face me then, something raw and vulnerable in his expression that stole my breath. "I don't know if I have the right words. Not ones you'd understand without context that I haven't given you yet."
"Try," I urged gently. "Please."
Aldaine ran a hand through his hair, a surprisingly humangesture of frustration. "The contract was," he paused, seeming to search for the right words. "It was my excuse to stay close to you. To be near you when every instinct told me to claim you from the moment you summoned me."
The confession sent heat rushing to my face. "Why me?"
A rueful smile curved his lips. "Why indeed? A human woman with fire in her eyes and defiance in her spine, summoning me not for power or vengeance or wealth, but to spite a girl who hurt her feelings in high school."
I opened my mouth to protest, then shut it again. Put that way, it did sound rather small and a little pathetic.
"You were like nothing I'd encountered in centuries," he continued, his voice dropping lower. "Fearless, even when you should have been terrified. Compassionate, even to a demon who could have taken everything from you."
My chest ached with emotions I couldn't name. "And the contract?"
"A piece of paper. Words and promises that meant nothing compared to what was happening between us." His fingers found mine where they rested on the pool's edge. "What is still happening."
I swallowed hard, gathering my courage. "And what exactly is that?"
Aldaine's expression grew troubled. "That's where words fail me, Rosie. What exists between us has no perfect human equivalent. It's more binding than any contract, more permanent than any human commitment."
"Because of the bite?" My free hand rose unconsciously to touch the scarf covering his mark.
"The bite sealed it, it wasn't the beginning." His fingers tightened around mine. "I should have explained before. Should have given you a choice with full knowledge of what it meant."
Fear flickered through me, not of Aldaine himself,but of the weight behind his words. "Am I different now? Because of what happened?"
His expression softened. "You're still you, Rosie. Still human, still free to make your own choices." A shadow crossed his features. "But you're also more. Connected to me in ways that transcend physical bonds."
I should have been frightened. Should have demanded clearer answers, should have pulled away until I understood exactly what I'd gotten myself into. But the remorse in his eyes, the obvious struggle as he tried to explain something beyond human understanding, touched something deep within me.
"I still don't completely understand," I admitted softly. "But I trust you, Aldaine. Whatever this is between us, whatever it means," I squeezed his hand. "I'm not sorry it happened."
The tension in his shoulders eased slightly. "You should be. You should demand explanations, should rage at me for binding you without full disclosure."
I laughed then, unable to help myself. "Maybe that would be the sensible reaction. But when has anything about this," I gestured between us again, "been sensible?"
A reluctant smile tugged at his lips. "I've existed for millennia, Rosie. I've seen empires rise and fall, witnessed the best and worst of humanity. And yet nothing has ever unsettled me quite like you."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"You should." His expression grew serious again. "I promise you'll understand everything soon. There are things about the bond, about what it means for us, that I need to explain properly. Not here, not rushed."
I nodded, satisfied for now. "Okay. I can wait."
The relief in his eyesmade my heart twist. Had he expected me to reject him? To recoil from whatever supernatural connection now existed between us?
"You're remarkable," he murmured, lifting our joined hands to press a kiss to my knuckles. "In all my existence, I've never met anyone like you."
Heat bloomed in my chest at the simple gesture. It felt more intimate, somehow, than the passionate encounter beneath the oak tree. That had been primal, instinctive. This was gentle, deliberate choice.
