TWENTY THREE

Azeroth

Elodie sleeps a lot of the afternoon. The aftereffects of the reaping have hit her hard. Of course. She's such an angel.

I'm restless.

I try to work, but I'm distracted. I can't get a handle on my emotions. I should be relieved to be free, but all I can feel is elated she wants to keep seeing me. She set me free from the summoning and still wants me around, even after what I had to do. I definitely don't deserve that, but I'll take it. I never claimed to be a saint.

Mostly, I feel guilty. I hated being the one to do that to her. All in the name of paying a debt I brought on myself.

I'm also a little anxious.

I couldn't bring myself to take much. Only the barest fraction of her soul. It's not enough to pay my debt. Can I convince him that's all I could take?

I keep expecting him to materialize. He usually has a sixth sense for the worst possible moment. He's been the bane of my existence for centuries. Yet all afternoon, I see no trace of him.

By evening, I've begun to relax.

I've harvested enough power to fend him off if necessary, at least for a while. Though I should conserve what I have as long as possible. I don't need to make another deal if I can avoid it, and it seems even more unethical now than it ever did to harvest from Elodie without her consent.

I'm in the kitchen rooting through the drawers when Elodie comes in, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"Why don't I have an egg shell remover?" I say, glancing up, but returning to my task. I am highly irritated at the whole process of cooking this meal, despite the fact that when I googled, the website said it was one of the most basic. I didn't realize boiling an egg would involve quite so many tedious steps. How am I supposed to impress her if I can't even find the egg shell remover?

"A what?"

The laughter in her voice makes me straighten and scowl. Is she teasing me? "The device for taking the shells off the eggs."

She laughs and I decide it's OK even if she is. Walking around the counter, she comes to stand next to me and takes an egg from the carton. "You don't need a device, silly. Watch."

She taps the egg forcefully against the edge of the large bowl I set out on the counter. It cracks. Then she peels the two sides apart and deposits the contents into the bowl. "There."

I sigh. "I may as well have just ordered dinner."

Her smile is soft when she looks up at me in a way that makes me feel pretty damn impressive, despite my apparent failure. "Aww, were you cooking? Really? For me?"

"I was. I mean, I intended to. So far you've done all the actual cooking here, though."

Elodie laughs. She gathers the soft brown waves of hair from her neck she had let loose when we lay down and twists them into a bun on the top of her head. "Why don't you let me help? I'm feeling much better now."

I keep careful watch on her as she guides me whisking the eggs and pouring them into a hot pan. She scolds me when I try to stop stirring them part way through and laughs at me when I forget to make the toast, and the eggs get cold while I wait for the damn toaster to eject the cooked toast.

Then I remember I didn't make tea and set the kettle straight to boiling with a snap of my fingers and an irritated huff.

"So impatient." She is smiling as she says this and it eases my heart that she's smiling and laughing easily.

I shoo her to a spot at the counter rather than the enormous dining table I never use and set her simple dinner in front of her, turning to make the tea. "If demons were patient and good at not getting what we want, we wouldn't be demons," I tell her. "That's how the demon economy turns."

I watch expectantly as she takes a large bit of eggs followed by a bite of buttered toast.

"How is it?"

"Delicious. You get a tick on your first cook. We'll make a chef of you yet."

I snort. "Unlikely. I might employ one, though. I'd like to do more to take care of you."

She pauses, sets down the toast, and brushes her hands over her leggings. "Azeroth, is now a good time to talk about what we're doing here? About us?"

I lean my elbows on the counter, flicking my tail. "Certainly. What's there to talk about? I want you. I want you around as often as possible. Do you need more space?"

My tail flicks harder when I think perhaps she doesn't want to hang around me constantly the way I'd like her to. Having her near me these last few days has made me happier than I've been in a long time. Strange. I wouldn't have said I was unhappy before the summoning. Perhaps happiness is a relative thing. I was happy then, but now I'm happier. I don't want to give that up.

Elodie's eyes widen. "I want that, too. I mean I should go home eventually—"

"Why?" I stalk around the counter and trail a hand up her arm, tracing the slope of her shoulder and up her neck. "Everything you need is here. Look how well I can take care of you."

I spin the stool so she's facing me and step between her thighs. I'm unsatisfied with the angle, though, which puts her face well below kissing height. When I scoop her up and deposit her on the counter, now I'm happy. But there are some things to take care of before I satisfy my own desires.

Reaching for the plate, I lift a mouthful of the eggs I spent so much concentration preparing and bring them to her mouth. She opens and lets me feed her and I take careful note of the way her pupils dilate and her legs part a little wider.

I smile.

Oh, my angel likes me to take care of her like this. I decide right then and there that I will hand-feed her every day if it makes her heart rate speed up the way it has.

I feed her until the plate is empty, then I push it aside. I'm far from done, though. With a flick of my wrist, the fridge doors open and I call the berries and yogurt we bought at the store the other day into my waiting palm.

Yes, it's shameful of me once again to exploit my illicit knowledge of her innermost desires. I do it anyway, telling myself it's only so I can give her everything she's ever dreamed of.

"What are you—?"

I bring a juicy berry to her lips and silence her by feeding it to her slowly. When she's been a good girl and accepted the food, I gently lift the hem of her t-shirt and pull it over her head, exposing those gorgeous tits, nipples already hard and begging for my mouth. "My turn," I whisper.

Lowering my head, I taste her skin, flicking my tongue around the soft curve at the underside of each breast, savoring the sweetness of her and the muffled groan of pleasure she makes around the strawberry.

When she gets restless, I feed her more fruit, continuing to feast on her nipples, on the base of her neck and the shell of her ear.

She refuses the fifth strawberry I offer her, taking it from my fingers. "Not hungry."

"Oh. I'm still hungry. In fact I'm only just getting started on my meal."

My cock jumps at the sound of her indrawn breath. With a snap of my fingers, the rest of her clothes vanish and she's naked under me. I sweep the things off the bench, not caring about the crash as they land on the floor. I'll clean up later. I'll replace whatever broke. Right now, I need nothing impeding my access to my very favorite meal of all.

"Azeroth!"

"Shhh." I lean over her, cupping the back of her neck as I lay her down on my kitchen counter ready for me to feast on. "Better. Now tell me quickly if you object to me eating the rest of my meal using you as a plate. I promise to clean up very thoroughly after myself." I can't help licking my lips as I contemplate doing just that.