Page 41 of Demon's Desire

“I used to be afraid of the dark when I was little,” I admitted. “I was afraid there were monsters that would come and get me in the middle of the night.”

A grin pulled at the corner of his face that I could see. “Ironic, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” I sighed. “I guess you never had to be afraid of the dark. Since you can see.” I didn’t really know why I was talking to him. I supposed it was because I was nervous. The idea of going to sleep right now was freaking me out, especially given how I’d been woken up last time.

“That’s true.” He sighed softly. “But there are other things to be afraid of when you can see in the dark.”

I frowned when he said that. That was… cryptic. I wanted to ask what exactly he meant, but for the moment, I wasn’t brave enough.

“I think I’m gonna try to sleep,” I muttered. “Do you sleep?”

He shrugged and smiled at me. “I can. But I’d much rather stay awake and watch you.”

“That’s creepy as hell,” I pointed out to him, rolling my eyes as I laid back down, pulling the blanket up to my neck.

Suldeargan laughed. I could see his shoulders shaking in the corner. “Goodnight, little one.”

“Night…” I closed my eyes and tried not to think about what was happening. I tried not to think about the fact that there was a demon in my room, and that demon was both bound to and obsessed with me. Of course, it didn’t work. I spent at least an hour tossing and turning, trying and failing to fall asleep. All I could think of was Suldeargan in the corner, watching me, and hoping that eventually my mind would exhaust itself and pass out.

10

I fell asleep at some point. I mean, I must have because the next thing I knew, Kelly’s alarm was going off. I jolted awake, feeling like I’d been hit by a ton of bricks.

“Hey,” Kelly muttered as she shut off the music. “I’ve just gotta get ready for work. Go back to sleep.”

I rubbed my eyes and glanced around the room. At first, I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. A part of me hoped that it was over. It had been a dream. I’d woken Kelly up for a bad dream and now it was gone. I was safe.

Then the door to my room opened, and Suldeargan stepped in with a smile. “Good morning.”

Kelly frowned when she saw him. “And what the hell are you doing wandering around our apartment?”

“I live here now.” He smirked. “I’d at least like to know where things are.”

“Don’t say that like you’re some kind of roommate,” Kelly huffed, throwing the blanket off and getting up. “Jackass demon.”

“Kelly!” I hissed, grabbing her hand. “Don’t–”

“It’s fine, Mia,” he assured me. “She can insult me all she wants. I don’t care. I won’t hurt her.”

I relaxed when he said that and dropped her hand. “Thank you for that. I mean, the ‘not killing my roommate’ thing.”

“My pleasure.” He winked at me.

“Do I smell coffee?” Kelly frowned, looking around as she headed toward the door. Suldeargan stepped out into the hallway to make way for her. Whenever he passed through door frames, I became aware of just how massive he was.

“Yes.” He nodded. “I started the coffee a few minutes ago.”

“Oh… Thanks.” Kelly gave me a suspicious look as she left and headed for the kitchen.

My better judgment told me to go back to sleep, given that I was exhausted, but my better judgment didn’t always win, so I got up from the bed and stretched my arms.

“You can go back to sleep, Mia,” Suldeargan said. “Nothing will happen to you while you sleep.”

“Oh… That’s not it.” I shook my head. It was kind of it. “I’m just awake now. I’ll keep Kelly company until she leaves for work.”

“You only fell asleep three hours ago,” he pointed out.

I paused and gave him a surprised look. “How… How do you know that?”