Page 75 of Demons in My Bed
I was going to say no, that I needed to get back to my dorm and study for finals, but that wasn’t what came out of my mouth.
“I’m starving.”
***
Slade started taking me out to dinner after every training session. Hunter was off with his girlfriend, so he was never suspicious of anything going on. It was nice. Slade listened to me when I talked about my fears and plans for the future. How I wanted revenge for the deaths of my family. How my affinity was problematic since the spirits weren’t always friendly.
He was always interested in hearing more about that, because his power was similar in a way. He had a mind control ability. It was rare as hell and pretty scary, to be honest. He’d done a little demonstration for me one time after I pushed hard, wanting to see what he could do.
Slade was incredibly powerful. All he had to do was touch your skin and he could control your mind. It was more effective if the person didn’t see it coming, so it would be harder for them to get their mental shields up to fight against his invasion. Though I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t difficult to keep him out even when I knew it was coming. It didn’t surprise me; Asrael only recruited the best to work for Montague.
We were seated together in a booth at an Italian restaurant in the next town over. “My body is killing me,” I whined after the server walked away.
“You’ve been working really hard. I saw you last night…”
“What? You spying on me now?” I joked, taking a sip of my Diet Dr. Pepper.
Slade leaned back in his seat, keeping his eyes on me. “For your information, I was walking back home after a date and saw you through the windows of the gym.”
“A date? You went on a date?” I asked skeptically, not sure I believed him. In all the months he’d been at Montague, he’d never shown interest in anyone... and there had been plenty shown to him.
“Yes. I do have a social life outside of our sparring.” He didn’t sound offended, but there was something to his tone that was off.
The server brought our salads, and we sat in silence as we started chowing down. After a few minutes, I took a break. “Well, who was it?”
He paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. “Who was what?”
“Your date.”
“Nobody of importance. I won’t be going out with her again.”
I laughed and stabbed a tomato with my fork. “Yikes. That doesn’t sound good.”
“Eat your salad, Vale.”
Our conversation turned to other things after that. The techniques I’d been working on, the ones I’d mastered, things Slade thought I could improve on. Before I knew it, the restaurant was closing. We’d sat and talked for hours.
That was my favorite thing about Slade—how easy it was for me to open up to him. It was different from how I felt around Hunter. Something new. There was a freedom to the way Slade made me feel. He never judged me, just encouraged me.
As we walked to his SUV, his phone started vibrating, and I saw him glance at the screen and then silence it. Frowning, I wondered if it was his date from last night.
So what, Palmer? He’s a grown ass man, he can date if he wants.
Slade opened my door and I slid into my seat, swinging my legs in so he could close it behind me. As he walked past the front of the vehicle, I saw him look at his phone again and then he brought it to his ear.
I watched him pace back and forth for a moment, before running his hand down his face. Then he pocketed the phone and got into the car.
“Everything okay?” I asked, feeling kind of awkward.
“Yeah. Uh, is it okay if I drop you off at your building tonight?”
My brow furrowed. Usually, he’d park at his building and then insist on walking me back to mine.
“Sure thing,” I bit out in a clipped tone, reaching for my seat belt. Was he going to see her again, whoever she was? Were they going to fuck? Suddenly, the food I’d eaten wasn’t sitting so well in my belly.
Slade reached down and rested his hand on the gear shift, the veins in his forearms shifting beneath his skin as he drummed his fingers against the leather. His thumb began stroking back and forth, back and forth over the smooth surface, and I stared, transfixed. Is that how he would touch her? Did he fuck her last night?
Oh fuck. Am I jealous?
