Page 51 of Demon's Desire

When I said that, he shifted. I immediately felt guilty and stood to my feet. Before I could say anything, he turned away so his back was to me, and I saw the muscles in his shoulders tense.

“Suldeargan?” I said softly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. I was frustrated and… I shouldn’t have said that.”

“It’s… fine,” he said through clearly gritted teeth.

I frowned. “Are you all right?” Had I upset him that much?

“I’m fine,” he insisted, leaning against the door frame.

He stayed there for a moment, so I raised my hand and put it on his shoulder. “I’m really sorry.”

“I said it’s fine!” he huffed, stepping forward and turning to the side. He pressed one of his palms against the wall in the hallway and closed his eyes.

I immediately moved in front of him. “Hey, what’s going on?” Something looked seriously wrong. He didn’t look like his feelings had been hurt, he looked like he was in pain. “Suldeargan, what happened?”

I touched his arm again, and he jerked it away. It almost looked like he winced when I touched him.

“Dammit…” he muttered. “Tell me to relax.”

“What?” I blinked.

“Tell me to relax, Mia,” he ordered.

“Okay!” I nodded quickly. “Relax!”

When I said that, he immediately calmed down. His muscles released their tension, and he took a deep breath and leaned against the wall.

“What the hell was that?” I exclaimed, touching his arm. This time, he didn’t pull away.

He sighed and rubbed his face. “There’s… another side effect of the bond that I didn’t mention.”

“What… is it?” I asked tentatively.

He dropped his hand and looked away from me down the hall. “If you command me to do something, I’m supposed to do it. I can disobey, but it fucking hurts.”

“You… Wait, what?” I was more confused than ever. “What does that mean?”

“It means when you told me to leave you alone, and I didn’t want to leave you alone, it fucking hurt,” he said simply.

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me that before?” I glared at him.

“Why do you think?” Suldeargan rolled his eyes. “You think I want to have to follow orders from you? Or anyone? I don’t like being told what to do, and I don’t like being forced to do it.”

“You should have told me!” I scolded. “That’s a big fucking deal!”

“You wanted me to tell you that I’m basically your damned lap dog?” he scoffed and started walking toward the living room.

I followed him. “I don’t know! But this bond curse thing is freaking me out, and I’d like to know as much about it as possible!”

“I don’t need a fucking lecture.” He grabbed the latch on the window in the living room and unlocked it, then yanked the window open.

“What are you doing?” I frowned, taking another step toward him.

Suddenly, black feathers clouded my vision. I jumped back as two massive black wings shot out of Suldeargan’s back. He tucked them in tight against himself, then jumped through the window. The second he was out in the open, he spread the wings and started flying like a hellishly large bird.

I rushed to the window and stuck my head out, frowning. Panic set in suddenly, and I looked down, scanning the street. I relaxed when I didn’t see Jackson or his van anywhere. At least Suldeargan was safe from that.

I wasn’t even sure if I should follow him. It wasn’t as if I could follow him, really. He was already a few blocks away, and I watched him disappear behind a taller building. Besides, it wasn’t as if I knew this area well enough to guess where he was going.