Page 35 of Demon's Prey
“I actually am going to head to bed. Is that okay with you? That took a hell of a lot out of me.” Faith winked, causing Kurse to chuckle.
“You can say that again!” Kurse said, and then both folded over with laughter. She gave him a kiss before she departed for bed, hoping that her lack of invite wasn’t going to hurt him. He seemed fine, though, closing his eyes and beginning to snore as she stepped away.
Faith couldn’t help but feel herself smiling as she lay in bed, thinking about him. Initially, he was the most frustrating being she had ever come into contact with. She wanted to abandon him and let him deal with his own problems. She assumed he was misogynistic, like most of the men she had met.
But over time, he had shown how dedicated he was to her. It could still have something to do with being his ‘fated mate,' but she had noticed that he had let that phrase go. He was simply trying to treat her well, and that wasn’t something to get too angry about, was it?
Faith rolled over, curling the sheets up to her face. She thought about inviting him to her bed, but what would that do? She was hoping that they could have sex again, but what if that meant more to him than it did to her?
What did it mean to her?
She shook when she thought about him inside her. There was absolutely nothing like it, and it wasn’t just because of the orgasm.
No, it must be something else.
There was a feeling evolving in her chest when she looked at his oddly hunky demon, who had entered her life out of nowhere. It was something that could turn into love if she allowed it.
But then there was her job, which used to be her everything. She didn’t want to be one of those women who lived and breathed whoever they were dating, so she decided to fall in love with her work. It turned out that it became more about helping people than actually reporting, but that wasn’t so bad.
Faith sat up in bed, unable to relax due to her ruminating. What is she going to do? Continue investigating this story while dating a demon? Did dating even exist in hell?
Faith stepped out of bed and thought about going to wake Kurse up. She was drawn to him and wanted to be around him more than anything. They had already developed a secret language when they had met their parents—looks exchanged without words.
She had never had that with anyone.
Faith decided she would rise from bed and see where a conversation with him took her. If he was fast asleep, she’d return to bed.
She tip-toed out of her bedroom and scurried through the hallway. She didn’t want to wake him, but she felt excited to see him. Faith turned the corner, and her heart sank when she found the couch was completely empty.
Perhaps he couldn’t sleep either? The couch wasn’t exactly luxurious. Or maybe he even went for a walk. Demons and men could do that in the middle of the night.
But as Faith walked into the kitchen, she noticed a piece of paper with scribbles sitting on the counter. Her heart pounded as she picked it up, the sheet shaking in her hands.
She read to herself:
“Dearest Faith,
I know that this is not what you had planned. I am not like earth men, and I can accept that. I thought you were my fated mate—a term I know that makes you recoil. But it is a legitimate state in the land of Kortanth. Someone called the Oracle told me that it was you. I came here to find you, and honestly still cannot believe that we were able to have so few of the beautiful moments we had together.
Whether or not you are my fated mate is irrelevant. I am nothing but a nuisance in your life, an extra source of stress that you don’t need to deal with. You are a smart, focused woman. You don’t need to worry about me breaking more things in your apartment. And most of all, I would never want to break your heart.
I love you, Faith. But I understand that you cannot accept me as your beloved. So long.”
Tears streamed down Faith’s cheeks as she finished reading. She felt like she might faint, retch, or perhaps both. She collapsed onto the floor, smacking her knees hard. This caused her to fold into herself, allowing rough and violent sobs to envelop her body.
It was within that moment that she knew she already loved Kurse. Losing him made her physically ill. She had never felt that way about anyone. Not a human or a demon.
She crumpled up the piece of paper in her hands, tossing it aside. She should have been kinder to him and told him how she felt. Now all hell's breaking loose in her heart.
19
KURSE
Kurse was able to find a bush with a bench just outside Faith’s apartment. He’d left not long after Faith went to bed. He’d laid there for a few minutes, ruminating about everything he had done wrong so far, which he felt was a lot.
He couldn’t take much, so he arose, doing his best to be quiet, and went into the kitchen. He rummaged briefly for some sheets of paper and a pen. He wrote with the pen looking like a minuscule branch between his fingers.
He felt something swelling in his chest, then his throat, as he wrote. It was that lovesick feeling again. It was the feeling that he couldn’t be with her as much as he wanted to. He left the note where it would be discovered and silently departed from the apartment.
