Page 30 of Guarded
“Have you eaten here before?” I asked, offering him an easy out. “I’m torn between two dishes.”
“Oh, yes.” Noah seized upon it gratefully, lowering his menu and offering me a polite smile. “Which ones?”
We fell into an easy conversation about food. I let him order for me when the waiter approached, taking it on faith that if he liked it, I would do. Seemed like a safe strategy.
While we waited for our food to arrive, Noah peppered me with questions about my travels. I told him about the fresh octopus I’d eaten in Mykonos that had been dried by the sun. The sunrise in Santorini that had made all thewhite houses appear a delicate shade of pink. How the heat in Athens had almost rivalled that of Hell, especially as I climbed the steep hill to the Acropolis.
“Do you know the statues and friezes from there are in the British Museum?” Noah said darkly.
“I do.” I shook my head. “Doesn’t seem right at all. Maybe we should steal them and fly them back. It’d take us a few days to get all of them, but it’d be worth it.”
The smile Noah gave me had been worth the offer. “So, there is a little demon inside you. I was starting to wonder.”
I gave him a puzzled look. “What do you mean?”
The waiter appeared with our plates of pasta. We paused our conversation until he’d retreated. I’d put a compulsion net up so we could talk freely, but maybe Noah thought it was rude to talk in front of the staff regardless.
Or maybe he needed a second to gather his thoughts.
“You’re just not what I expected from a demon,” Noah said once we were alone. “I’m not trying to stereotype, but based on what I know of Nox, I was expecting you to be more…”
“Argumentative? Stubborn? Sarcastic?”
Noah gave a sheepish shrug. “I guess. You said yourself that you were confined to Hell more than most. I was expecting it to have had more of an influence on you.”
Now I was the one delaying. I twirled the spaghetti around my fork, trying to think how best to explain it. “Believe me, Iamall of those things you mentioned. I can be extremely stubborn, especially with those I care about. I will argue relentlessly if I believe I’m in the right. And sarcasm is practically my second language.”
Noah laughed, the sound sending goosebumps over my forearms. “That’s good. I’m also fluent in sarcasm.”
“Excellent.” I ate a mouthful of pasta before continuing.Flavour exploded on my tongue. Noah had excellent taste. “Those things aren’t what make me a demon though. Sure, most demons have those traits, but they aren’t the most important ones.”
Noah leaned his chin on his hands thoughtfully. “What are?”
“Our morals,” I said instantly. “We have a strong sense of ethics. Our understanding of judgement and punishment tends to be very black and white. Goes along with the territory, I guess. Can’t spend centuries torturing sinners without appreciating that some people deserve to be punished.”
“I don’t disagree with you,” Noah said slowly, “but wouldn’t you say there are shades of grey in there too? Reasons why humans behave the way they do? Should we not consider that when deciding on punishment?”
I gave him a tight smile. “Bold of you to assume I was in charge of deciding anything.”
“Sorry.” Noah flushed and put down his fork. “I didn’t mean—shit.”
“It’s fine.” Reaching across the table to take his hand was instinctual. We might not have been bonded, but the need to reassure him was as vital as breathing. “I know you didn’t. It’s true though, on both counts. There are shades of grey, but it didn’t matter if I saw them or not. I was to follow orders at all times, regardless of whether I thought it was justified.”
“You have a strong ethical code, but you were forced to break it?”
“How do you mean?”
“You said you like to judge people and punish them accordingly,” Noah explained, “but in reality, you weren’tdoing that. You were told they were in the wrong, and how to deal with it.”
“I guess you’re right. I’d never really thought of it like that.”
“Sorry.” Noah chuckled lightly, extracting his hand from under mine and picking up his fork. My fingers curled on the tabletop, the loss of him like a brand. “I’ve taken us completely off topic.”
I shrugged. “Isn’t that the point of these…meetups? To get to know each other?”
“It is. Didn’t think we’d go so deep quite so fast though.”
My lips twitched as I pulled my hand back to my side. “Oh, Noah, just say the word and I’ll take you as deep and fast as I can.”
