“Can a demon be good?”

“Before I met Kellan, I would’ve said no. But even as I say that, there’s darkness in him, too. Complete darkness that only the most evil have in them. Your demon is more demon than you know, less human than you think.”

I frowned, wondering what she meant by that, but then my aunt stood again. With a final squeeze to my hand and another soft kiss on my forehead, she went to the door. “I have to leave for some things. I will be back soon, in a few days.”

“Where are you going?” My heart picked up a beat, feeling panic. Was she coming back?

“Just to get some items that will help you guys. I promise. I’ll be back in no time. You won’t even miss me.” Then she shut the door quietly, and I was left sitting in bed, wondering why I felt a part of myself had just left me. Was my connection to her so strong already that I needed her with me? Was I comfortable with that connection, the feeling of needing her so much? I sighed, finishing my tea. A part of me didn’t want to need anyone, miss anyone, even love anyone. It’d always been me against the world, and I didn’t altogether enjoy that I was starting to lose that feeling. It usually meant that something awful was going to happen.

I’d been home alone for twenty-four hours when Kellan finally showed. He found me in the kitchen, making some food and brewing coffee. My head was bent over the stove, thinking when his voice broke my concentration. “Your powers have increased.”

“What?” I looked up with my hands braced on the counter. He looked so good…too good. I swallowed tightly and kept myself from throwing my body against him, hugging him or doing something worse.

He grinned crookedly, a small smirk, and placed three paper bags on the table. He nodded toward the stove. “You’re not using your hands when you stir that thing. And you’re putting stuff away without even looking. You’re starting to control your power. That’s good.”

Shocked, I looked around and then realized I had been putting away pans, condiments, anything that I’d taken out. I’d been doing it in the back of my mind, without even thinking about it.

“You’re doing it naturally now. You don’t even have to think about it, and it’s already done. You’re becoming a force.”

“What do you mean?” What did he mean? It was only flour and a few mixing bowls.

“Nothing, just that it’s natural to you now. You’ve become stronger since she’s merged with you. You look at me differently, too. Did you notice that?”

“I do? How did I look at you before? How do I now?”

“You haven’t always trusted me, but you’ve softened to me a bit, since finding out we’re soulmates. Now distrust is there again, but it’s more. There’s a part of you that won’t ever trust me, not fully. I think it’s from her. She’ll never trust me.”

He spoke so candidly, as if we were discussing the weather. I hated that. I hated how casual this seemed to him and I turned, hissing, “How dare you talk like that—as if it’s okay that I don’t trust you. I should trust you. It should bother you that I don’t trust you—” My words were cut off as Kellan lunged at me, growling. He pinned my arms against the counter behind me, pushing his body against mine, his eyes peering down into mine.

He wanted to dominate me, and a part of me wanted him to. I bit back what I’d been about to spew at him when I saw the fury in his eyes, brimming just under the surface. Then he leaned closer, nipping at my lips with his. I gasped, arching against him and felt him between my legs.

He whispered against my skin, tilting my head up with a hand beneath my jaw, on my neck, “It doesn’t bother me that you don’t trust me. I’m a demon, Shay. You’re not supposed to trust me, but you should love me. It would bother me if you didn’t love me.” Then he licked my neck, lingering at the corner of my mouth and sweeping in, taking everything from me as he savored the kiss. “But I know you love me. You love me so much that you can’t handle it. You’re terrified of what you feel for me and that’s why you’re scared about not trusting me. You belong to me, and you know it. A part of you has already succumbed to me. Stop fighting it. Stop fighting us.” His hand smoothed down my arm and curved around my waist, pulling me closer against him. Then he lifted one of my legs so it entwined around his, positioning him, ready for entry. Our clothes were the only barrier stopping him from entering me.

One of his hands gripped my neck, lifting my chin again, and his eyes watched me all the while. Peering inside of me, judging, waiting.

“What do you want?”

He smirked. “What do you think? I want you, all of you.”

My hands were helpless as they clung to his arms, holding myself upward. “Why? You knew about my family. You kept me from them. Why would you do that?”

His thumb inched upward and dipped into my mouth, hooking on the inside of my lip. His smirk looked almost cruel. “Why do you think? You’re mine, Shay. If I handed you over to your family before you knew this, what would you have done? You would’ve left me.”

“What are you saying?” My eyes glazed over, feeling him between my legs. He wanted to pierce me, shifting even harder against me, into me. I felt my desire there and knew my wetness had soaked my clothes. I wondered if he could smell it. I did. It was intoxicating and embarrassing at the same time. I bit my lip, wishing my body wouldn’t betray me while it did anyway.