Page 48 of I Accidentally Summoned a Demon Boyfriend

“Where is this coming from?” I asked. “You were so against even knowing me before.”

“I told you. I missed you,” he said.

“It’s more than that. Maybe you don’t want to tell me, and that’s okay, because I can’t date you, Metice. I can’t do that to myself.”

“I understand. It was a long shot.” His shoulders dropped. “Can you at least let me visit?”

“Metice.”

“I’m not asking for much. I just,” he pulled my hand into his, “Rayna, I want to know the person I’m tied to. I still haven’t found a solution to this. It doesn’t seem like you can feel me, but I feel you, every emotion you’ve gone through. Do you know how hard it was to stay away in the beginning? I felt your sadness, your confusion, even your anger. I wanted to fix that, but I couldn’t. So excuse me, but I want to know you. I don’t want you to feel those things again.”

“Do you think this is a good idea?” I couldn’t deny that little spark of excitement that started in my stomach. Could I have him in my life? Would it work? I knew damn well it wasn’t smart, but did that matter? I missed him. The only way I’d been able to deal with those feelings was to tell myself he hadn’t existed at all, but I knew it wasn’t true.

“Do you want me to lie so you’ll agree?” He grunted. “I’ll do it.”

“That’s not helpful.”

“Look, it won’t be easy, but this is what I want.” He paused. “If you don’t, I’ll respect that.”

“Will you leave my dates alone?” I raised a brow at him.

“I cannot promise that.” He shook his head. “If you’re going to date a human, they need to be worthy of you.”

“Damn it, Metice.” I slapped his shoulder, and he grabbed my wrist, then pulled me into him.

“Yes, Rayna?” He looked into my eyes, and when I didn’t answer, he kissed me.

Those full lips pressed against mine and erased all sense left in my head. Any doubt I had about his existence melted, disappeared, and I felt myself falling into the abyss of poor decisions. I let the fall happen.

My lips moved against his as I accepted the taste of his lips. He pulled me into his lap and held me while we continued kissing.

“Does that mean you want me to come back?”

“You better.” I nodded. “This is such a bad idea.”

“Yeah, it is.” Metice stood with me still in his arms and carried me to the bedroom.

11

Commitment?

When he left, my brain went into hyperdrive, worrying I wouldn’t see him again. Would it be another four months before the demon made an appearance in my life? Of course, I busied myself with work and other hobbies and even made some progress on the painting I’d been slowly working on for months. It was a strange landscape I didn’t recognize, but the image came to me clear as day.

Three days later, when the overthinking started, I felt it: that familiar tension in the air announcing his return. He popped in as I was searching for something to watch to distract myself from work. He’d clearly made a detour, because he stood in front of me, a frown on his face, holding bags full of groceries.

“What is this?” I placed the remote control on the couch beside me.

“This is me making sure you have proper food in your home,” he fussed. “Do you know how difficult it was to make those tacos? You shop like a child.”

“Well, damn. Welcome back.” I stood. “You could appear with a friendly greeting, you know.”

“I could, but then that wouldn’t be me, now would it?” He winked. “You want to help me with these?”

I tossed his response back in his face. “I’m sure you remember where everything is.”

And that’s how it went. He stayed away for no longer than a week at a time. Then, Metice would show up fussing about something. We’d have our witty banter, and he would reward me by cooking enough food to last while he was away. It was nice, pretending like we were a normal couple. We talked about everything, learning more and more about each other.

We didn’t have actual dates, but we had activities. I had him doing everything from painting to watching movies and playing card games.

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