Page 35 of My Demon Assistant

I blinked, then searched his face, trying to decide if he really meant it. His heartbeat was still steady, and his face showed nothing but curiosity and a hint of interest. But still...

"That thing goes both ways, right? You'll enforce your boundaries too?"

Jerry smiled, then leaned closer and pressed a chaste kiss on my lips. "I promise."

Nodding, I took a step back, then let the human illusion fall. Jerry's lips parted, and his heart picked up speed, though he didn't look scared.

I stayed where I was, not moving a muscle as Jerry stepped close again. In this form, I was almost a foot taller than him, and he had to tilt his head up to meet my eyes. My arms hung loosely at my sides, but I was so very tempted to pull him closer, to wrap him up in my arms and pull him into a kiss.

While my face was similar to a human's, there were little things about it that were clearly inhuman. My eyes were a little bigger, my nose a little farther from my eyes, and my lips were plusher, my teeth a little sharper. As much as I pretended to be every day, I wasn't human. And Jerry could see that.

Jerry reached up, and I forced myself to stay still as he placed a palm on my cheek. His thumb ran over my prominent cheekbone, and I pressed into his touch just a little because I couldn't help myself.

"You're magnificent," he murmured, and I blinked. Did he mean that?

I scanned his face, and the interest on it was clear. His eyes were bright as they roamed over me, his touch soft as his hand slid lower, cupping the side of my neck as he leaned closer.

"Please kiss me," he whispered, his gaze steady as it latched onto mine, and I swallowed hard before carefully cupping his hips with my lower hands.

Leaning forward, I gave him time to pull back, but all he did was go up on his tiptoes and tilt his head up. Humming under my breath, I pressed my lips to his, and Jerry moaned softly as his hand tightened on my neck.

I kept the kiss light because feeling Jerry's lips against mine in my true form was so much more intense than I'd expected. Kissing Jerry in my human form had been amazing, but this? I could lose myself in this feeling, forget everything except Jerry.

Pulling back, I gazed at him in wonder as he caught his breath. I'd known how strong feelings could get with a fated bond. My friends had told me about it, and I'd seen it in the way they interacted with their mates.

Yet none of it had prepared me for the way I felt about Jerry. I wanted to keep him safe, to wrap him up and hide him away from the world, to make him all mine. I wouldn't actually act on those impulses, but they were there, and they were strong.

"Eshim?"

I blinked, then realized I'd been staring at him for who knew how long.

"Yes?"

Jerry smiled, smug satisfaction rolling off him, and I loved it. What could I do to make him look like that all the time?

"Do you think we can sit on the couch?"

"Sure!"

He took my hand in his and tugged me toward the rather small couch. I used a bit of magic to make it sturdier, but didn't change the size. Why would I, when the small size allowed me to sit closer to Jerry?

"Can I ask you something?" Jerry asked once we were settled on the couch, and I resisted the urge to tell him he already had. Instead, I merely nodded, and shifted a little so I was facing him.

"Do all demons look different? I mean, I've only seen you and Lux, but the two of you look nothing alike."

Taking his hand in mine, I gave it a light squeeze, careful of my strength. "Yeah, most of us do. I don't know if I or the others told you this, but demons were once human or supernatural. Demons were created from the souls of people who'd died in the human realm. For some of us, our demon form is a reflection of what we were before. Fressia, for example, must've been a snake shifter of some kind. We don't really remember our first lives, but our demon forms are a mix of that and whatever shape the magic decided on."

"So no two demons look alike?"

I eyed Jerry for a moment, worried about overwhelming him with too much information, but he merely seemed curious.

"No, actually. There are three demons who are older than the rest of us. They look pretty alike for the most part. Mammon, the demon who went bad, is one of them."

Jerry had a thoughtful look on his face as he nodded, and he took a moment to seemingly absorb everything I'd told him.

After a minute, he sat up, then climbed into my lap, making me suck in a breath.

"Jerry?"

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