I screamed as his fist slammed against the door and he shouted,“Let me in!”
Stepping back, I stared at the quivering rectangle of wood for another second before I spun around and fled into the bathroom, closing and locking the door. Bangs pounded outside the bedroom as thethingbellowed for me to let him in. I curled into a ball in the corner and buried my hands in my hair, hiding my face against my bent knees. My chest tightened, and my shoulders rocked as I sobbed, trying to keep quiet.
I nodded off as time passed. I jerked awake as I got the sensation that I was falling.
There was a gentle knock on the bedroom door. “Sunshine,” Dimitri said.
I straightened and blinked as I stared at the doorway to the bedroom. “Dimitri?”
More soft knocks sounded outside, and I shot up. My world spun, and I righted myself with my hand on the wall. When I didn’t feel like I was about to black out, I opened the door and flung myself into Dimitri’s arms. My shoulders shook with my cries as I held on to him.
“I was so scared,” I wept. “What happened?”
He wrapped his arms around me and tucked me close to him. He stayed silent for a moment, then he sighed. “I need to tell you something, but I don’t want to scare you. Not again.”
Ihad Emma dress so I wouldn’t get distracted while I told her what I was. Sighing, I pulled on a pair of sweats, not bothering to put on a shirt. Emma sat on the bed. All the color had leached from her skin and left her a pasty white, like she’d seen a ghost. I stood across from her, arms folded over my chest. She gazed up at me with fear reflecting in her green eyes.
“What happened?” she whispered. Her voice shook as she held back from crying.
“I’ve gone over different ways to tell you this, sunshine, and none of them would be easy for you to digest.” Emma looked at me like she was seconds away from bolting out of the room. Her shoulders were tense, and her fingers dug deep into the mattress until her knuckles turned white. “I’m a demon. I have an inner demon that is his own entity, and what happened earlier was him coming out.”
Fear flashed in her eyes; if possible, her skin paled even more. “What?”
“I’m a demon, sunshine.” I tensed, readying myself to catch her if she ran. The last thing she should do around me was run. My demon was watching and enjoyed a good chase.
She stared at me without blinking, and her pulse pattered against her neck. I waited with bated breath for her to bolt. When she didn’t, I cocked my head.
Why isn’t she running?
Emma lowered her gaze and gulped. “I...I had a dream about you being a demon. We were in a swamp at night, and I...you...hetoyed with me.”
I blanched. “Pardon?”
I had to hear it again. I needed validation that she remembered something about us.
She averted her gaze and focused on a spot behind me, nibbling on her full bottom lip. I could see the wheels turning in her head as she thought about her next words. “I dreamed of someone hurting me. When I looked past him, I saw glowing red eyes coming from the shadows in his home. I screamed when I noticed it was a demon. He hurt the man who was attacking me, and when I tried to run from the demon, he choked me until I blacked out. Next thing I knew, I was waking up with him over me and...touching me.”
I let what she said digest. All this time, I’d been worried she hadn’t remembered anything about us. When I could find my voice, I said, “Those are memories.” I spoke so softly because I feared it would chase her away if I talked any louder.
Emma blinked. “It was a memory?”
“Yes, silly girl. You’re remembering.”
I’d expected her to run, and here she was, surprising me by accepting me. I knew demons still terrified her, but I must have been getting somewhere with her.
Emma’s cheeks turned pink, and she returned her gaze to my face. While hope shone in her bright emerald eyes, I still caught the fear. I thought we were making progress, but clearly, we had a lot of work ahead of us.
“Were we...” She trailed off, leaving me hanging on to what she wanted to say. She inhaled and gathered courage before she continued. “Were we together before?”
I crouched before her and cupped her cheeks, forcing her to stare into my eyes. “Yes.”
The weight of that one word hung between us. I could have told her she was my mate, but I worried she already had a lot on her plate. I was a stubborn fool who wanted her feelings to grow organically. Would I have eventually told her? Perhaps. But for now, I was happy with the progress we’d made.
“Do you remember anything else?” I said. My thumb stroked her cheek as she leaned into my touch. I didn’t think she realized she was doing it because of the hesitation in her expression.
Emma shook her head. “No. I’m sorry.”
I frowned. “Don’t apologize.” Everything that happened this evening crashed on me, and all I wanted to do was hold her before we slept.
