Four

Demetri stood on the other side of the kitchen island, watching me with his scrutinizing gaze as I tapped my fingers on the granite countertop. There was something about having his eyes on me that made everything feel like it was happening in slow motion.

I was overly aware of every move and every breath during every second that passed while his gaze was on me. It was like I had forgotten how to move naturally, and I had to second guess the movement of each muscle. His remark about keeping me around for a while, did not ease my fear. It only increased it as I now had the cloud hanging over me, wondering when he would turn on me.

The slow dripping of the coffee machine did nothing to break the tension, and I found my fingers moving from the cold surface to the mark on my inner wrist, rubbing and pressing down on it once more.

"If I accidentally let you roam free when I summoned you, why are you still here?" The words tasted bitter on my tongue as I still had a hard time processing the recent development of my alleged abilities. It was hard to doubt the discovery when I had a demon sitting in my kitchen. Yet, I was tempted to try and make something happen just to confirm, but that seemed reckless with a lack of training after my last use of magic.

"Little witch, you make it sound as if you are not pleased by my presence. I can tell you that I am very pleased with the company I was bound to." His words caused heat to blossom in my chest and up my neck. The coffee machine beeped to inform me that my brew was complete, allowing me the opportunity to turn away from Demetri and hide the obvious effect he had on me. Setting aside my eventual demise at his hands, there was something about him calling out to me.

"My name is Seraphina, not Little Witch." I moved to the fridge to pull out my creamer, setting the bottle aggressively on the countertop.

"Ah, the Burning One. Fitting." He stated. His unblinking eyes met mine for a moment before I looked away from him and added the vanilla creamer to my mug. Irritation flushed through me, replacing the attraction I had been consumed by.

"You have a habit of not answering my questions!" The hot liquid coated my tongue but did nothing to wake me or clear my mind yet.

"I was brought here before you went to sleep for the night, my trusting little firebug. Over those several hours, it was discovered that I cannot part from you. It is not physically possible to separate from you now that you have connected us. An attempt at harming you was also futile at the moment." He moved around the island, muscles in his abs flexing with each step he took, and I tried not to be obvious about my staring. "I will admit that if I could leave, you would still not be free of me. I find myself fascinated by you. There are very few who can summon one as powerful as me. You would make a strong and worthy mate."

The mug in my hand dropped down onto the countertop, and the warm, flavored coffee sloshed up and over the side. "Excuse me?"

"Yes. You will do quite nicely." The lack of emotion in his tone did not match the way he moved forward, bracing his hand on either side of me, trapping me between him and the counter. I refused to turn and face him, not wanting to encourage his behavior. My back stiffened when I felt his warm breath fanning across the back of my neck before the tip of his nose ran up the length of it.

I could hear him taking in a large inhale while my own lungs ceased movement. A low growl filled the kitchen, and I swallowed hard. He said I would be a good mate. Did that mean he wanted to fuck me and then he would make good on his word and kill me?

"Let's test that distance theory. I'm going to need you to take several steps back." I placed my hand on his forearm, pushing it away from my side and allowing me to slip away from him. My coffee was long forgotten as I made an escape to the other side of the room. "I think it's time we started searching for a way to break this bond."

My hand found my back pocket, confirming that I still had my phone on me before I took off up the stairs. Butterflies filled my stomach as my reoccurring childhood fear came to life over the next few minutes. Instead of sprinting up the stairs, scared the boogie monster was chasing me as a child, I had an actual demon following after me as an adult. It was thrilling.

I resisted the urge to cover my ass with my hands as he trailed behind me up the two stories. I was hyper-aware of the way my thigh jiggled in my jean shorts, right in his line of sight. The door to the attic was still closed, but the lack of light under the door had my eyebrows pulling together.

Everything was strewn around the room in chaos, and I turned to Demetri with an accusing glare. "When someone invites you into their home, normally you try to avoid making a mess," I grumbled as I collected the piece of white-lined paper from the floor. The book seemed to be the only thing to have stayed in its place on the podium. Everything else in the room was in disarray.

"I was not invited. I was taken against my will." He responded as he carefully stepped around the pentagram drawn on the floor. "I believe your kind calls that kidnapping."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "If that was kidnapping, then based on your actions in the kitchen, I think we need to discuss the concept of Stockholm Syndrome."