Page 22 of The Teddy Bear's Prize

Why does he have to return to the demon realm again?

After we get out, I dress in my regular pajamas while he puts on his boxer briefs. I turn down my covers and look to see him walking towards the living room. He’s going to sleep on the couch.

“You can sleep in here with me,” I say, my heart hammering in my chest, “if you want.”

This holds more weight than what we just did in the shower.

If he kissed me, I bet I could still taste myself on his lips. I’m used to the quick exit, not the lingering touch. I’malready thinking up excuses why it wouldn’t work, reminding myself why I shouldn’t get attached, waiting for him to refuse, but he just turns and smiles, the look of relief clear on his features.

“Please.”

TWELVE

Tobias

I understand it now.

The half-formed dreams filled with longing, with nothing but an obscured face, a body without a soul. They used to confuse me. Why would so much emotion be tethered to a thought, an ideal?

Now, waking with Mia using my chest as a pillow, it all makes perfect sense. This is what they are dreaming of, the memory that has been long eroded until it is not much more than a suggestion.

So, this is what humans call affection, attachment, fondness, this might even be what they describe as love. I am excited, but I cannot deny that I am also terrified. This feels fragile, like a mortal life. Not much more than a blink of an eye to a demon. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

“Morning,” she mutters, looking up at me, her cheeks pink.

It reminds me of the first morning.

“Good morning, little doe.”

She sits up, looking down at me, her black hair fallingover her shoulders and curtaining her face. I let my fingertips graze her cheeks as I tuck her hair behind her ear. She doesn’t flinch at my touch or shy away, she just looks at me like this is natural, expected.

I can’t say I have ever experienced this. My demon form is usually a thing of nightmares, I send mortals screaming if they aren’t shocked awake when they see me. Mia has never looked at me with anything other than surprise and sometimes concern.

“You aren’t afraid of me.” I tilt my head.

Mia’s eyes search my face, “Do you want me to be?”

There’s a teasing, breathy quality to her voice that makes my cock twitch. I sit up in bed to hide the evidence with the covers. She sits back on her feet.

“I meant my full demon form.”

“I was a little surprised. I thought this was it,” she says, placing her hand on my chest, I quickly cover it with my own, letting her warmth seep through.

“If you want, I could glamour myself so that you see me as a human like most others do.”

“No,” her hair bounces with a shake of her head, “I like you this way.”

Something beyond the warmth of her touch spreads across my chest. I could become addicted to moments like this.

“Is that why you like those scary movies?” I smirk, “You have a thing for monsters.”

Mia stammers, “No, at least not all of them. I kind of have this thing.” She looks away, “It’s stupid.”

“Tell me, little doe.”

“I’ve never told anyone this,” she pauses, “but I have always had this fantasy of playing psycho killer, you know, being chased by someone wearing a mask. Letting themhave their way—” She laughs, “it sounds so wrong when I say it out loud.”

I let my powers brush against her thoughts without breaking through. I see flashes of dark clothes, a white mask, the haze of lust and without weight of choice, fully consenting to her desire until it is a pliable thing against my fingertips, bending, but never breaking.

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