Page 58 of Of Mercury and Mist

I slammed my glass down. “What is it with this whole Keeper business—no one’s keeping me. I don’t even know what that means.”

“I think the lady protests too much,” he smirked. “I can help you forget about him, if you’d let me.”

Samuel’s hand landed on my bare thigh, and it didn’t feel bad, but then again—it didn’t feel right. Which was ridiculous because me and Micha most definitely did not have a relationship together. Ever.

Regardless, the thought of letting anyone touch me intimately other than him was repulsive.

Gently, I removed his hand, giving him a small smile. He seemed nice enough, and he was handsome, but I wasn’t ready for whatever he had in mind, and I wasn’t sure I ever would be. “Thank you for the offer, but I don’t think I can take that step right now.”

“You’re going to break my heart.”

“Do you even have one?”

He placed his hands on his chest. “What are you suggesting?” He winked.

I couldn’t stop the giggle. Either he was pretty charming, or this was some incredible wine. “You’re a demon, so...” My voice trailed off.

Samuel cleared his throat before giving me a curious look. “While our version of love is different than yours, we still have strong feelings.” He cut into his steak and lifted a juicy chunk, popping it into his mouth.

My food was almost gone, and I took the last piece and swirled it through the juice and spices on my plate. “What do you mean?”

“We don’t have a conscience; not like you’d understand it. Oh, we know right from wrong, but we don’t have the same barriers against doing something we know would hurt someone else. That means the chances of hurting someone we may say we love are quite high. But loyalty goes a long way. Empires have fallen to retain a woman that belongs to a man.”

“That sounds like selfish love.” You don’t hurt those you love, no matter what. That was my general outlook on the subject.

Andy and I had loved each other—just not the right way. At least not in a way that would keep us in a romantic relationship. The chemistry needed was missing, or something else. Neither of us could figure out what the problem was, but I knew he hadn’t wanted to let go of me at first. He’d never, ever let himself admit defeat a day in his life so the issue may have just been his pride.

Previous to Andy, I’d dated a man that I’d fallen head over heels for, but he turned out to be a serial cheater while professing undying love for me. It’d seemed like he’d loved me. He was supportive, we had tons of fun together, he was there at the drop of a hat whenever I needed him. But he just couldn’t keep it in his pants.

It’d screwed with my head so bad I didn’t date for several years after that one. Andy had felt safe, but then he’d turned out to be too safe. So much so it was easy not to get too romantically attached.

Samuel moved his plate to the side and lifted his glass. “Some women will trade the heart connection for loyalty and security. Both those attributes are useful here, in this harsh environment.”

“Harsh environment?”

“Kill or be killed. There are areas of beauty, but water can be scarce, the ground infertile. There are horrendous storms and much of this land is barren. Clans from the west raid our villages and cities and kill our children.”

“Oh. Children. I guess I never thought of demons as having kids.” A nervous laugh escaped. “I don’t know why I wouldn’t think of that, you had to have come from somewhere.”

“Children are rare, very rare. It makes them extremely valuable, and hence, targets.”

After draining my wine, I said, “That’s why loyalty is so important then, you want a partnership that ensures you survive. That makes sense.” I set my glass down. Suzy came over and cleared our dishes before giving me a smile and walking away.

I almost felt like I was making excuses for a being that’d declared he was incapable of love, but I was enjoying his company and didn’t want him to think I was put off. At the same time, shouldn’t I respect his admission? He was an entirely different species than me. I couldn’t expect him to be the same.

Samuel stood up and held his hand out to me and I grasped it, coming out from behind the table. “See? You get it,” he said.

After I straightened my skirt he said, “Do you want to get back? People might be looking for you.”

“What?” My eyes darted up to meet his.

He tilted his head and looked at me. “Time works differently here; just like in your dreams.” All my blood rushed to my feet when I realized what he was saying.

“Do you want to head back?” A shit-eating grin spread across his face.

NINETEEN

Micha

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