Page 47 of Cookbooks and Demons

“I…” But Helena stopped at that thought, turning it over. “Okay, I can see how that is prideful, but I didn’t summon you on purpose because of it. It was an accident. And then once you were there, I didn’t know what to do about… well, you. I mean, if I hadn’t summoned you, yeah it would have been embarrassing, but I would have sucked it up and ordered Chinese or something. Though I’m sure that wouldn’t have impressed Scarletso much.”

“And you wouldn’t be winning at life right now,” he pointed out.

“And that is the reason you, sir, are even here, being rewarded for helping me out, even though I didn’tneedit.” She bowed her head at him. “I am very grateful for your assistance.”

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “You’re welcome,” he muttered, then picked up a macaron and popped it into his mouth to cover his discomfort.

“Wait, wait,” she said and snatched up hers to join him. “Oh, these are happycookies.”

“All macarons are happy cookies,” he agreed.

“Alright then, so you usually get either the gluttonous or theprideful.”

“I’ve seen them all,” he stated, followed by a half-shrug.

Helena wrinkled her nose. “Lust?” she asked, ignoring her burning cheeks. “With food?”

“You act like you’ve never heard of such a thing?” With one finger, he slid one of the shot glasses over the plate toward her slowly to the sound of glass rubbing on glass. She looked from the dessert to him, wondering if what she thought he was implying was what he was implying or was she just reading into his human-like gestures again.

“Last one,” she declared and picked up the dessert spoon that she didn’t even know she had until Rafferty pulled them out from where they had been buried in her silverware drawer.

“Try to get all the layers onto your spoon at once if you can,” he advised, and they scoopedtogether.

“After this, I’m going to need to work out for a week,” but before she could take a bite, he took his spoon and slid it down the side of her face, spreading the creamy dessert there.

“Hey!” she squealed at the sudden cold. Her hand reacted to slap to her cheek, but Rafferty caught it before she could. “What are you—” Then his tongue slipped up the side of her face, lapping up the cream. She went still, her eyes going wide as he removed the sugary damage he had done in one long, sensual swipe. Then he leaned back,smirking.

This time she moved to touch her cheek and he let go. “You… you should have asked for permission to do that,” she said softly.

His smirk dropped away, his eyes showing concern and maybe a little confusion.

“I showed you what a Lust summoner would want with food…” He sat back then. She could see his walls coming back up, but she didn’t care.

“I didn’t ask you to demonstrate.”

They stared at each other for a very pregnant moment. Then abruptly, he stood up and backed away from the table. “I made a mistake. I apologize.” He bowed to her.

Helena picked up her napkin to wipe at her cheek, unable to meethis eyes.

“I will leave you,”he said.

“No, Rafferty. Please wait,” she said, belatedly, standing up to stop him with a hand on his arm. He did, turning back to her but keeping his gaze overher head.

She took a breath, but it was hard. “It’s not … that I didn’t like it.” She still couldn’t look up at him. “You just didn’t ask meis all.”

“It would not be unreasonable for you to be disgusted by me,” he stated. He still wouldn’t look at her, just kept his gaze up over her head, staring into the middle distance, the formality his shield.

“I’m not disgusted by you,” she said and took his hand so he could feel her touching him. “You’re justa person.”

He flinched under her touch, and she pressed her warmth into hiscoldness.

“I…” he started. They both seemed mesmerized by where their hands connected. “I didn’t give you permission to touch me,” he said, the ghost of a quip.

“Do you want me to stop?” she asked, matching hissoftness.

“I…” He cleared his throat. “You don’t need my permission to do anything. I am your demon, summoned to your will. You can do whatever you like with and to my body, make me perform any act, any degradation.”

“Is that…” She stopped. She knew human nature had a capacity for a great many terrible things. A few of them she could only imagine, but even imagining them was terrible. “That is what has happened to you.”

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