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We stared at each other. I was breathing hard, as if I’d been running all fucking day, and without my say-so, my gaze dipped to her perfect lips.

They parted, and she drew in a startled breath. “Ren.”

The door opened and Rome and Relic started down the stairs, shattering the moment. I took an abrupt step back, as if Jasmine were my worst nightmare and not every one of my wildest dreams. But then my possessive instincts went haywire again as Rome drew closer, and I grabbed her arm and towed her down the hall, away from them, and into the room I kept here, where I stayed sometimes, shutting the door behind us.

She looked around, her gaze going to the bed, the small dresser with clothes I kept here as well. “What’s going on?”

What the fuck was I doing? Why had I dragged her into my room and shut her in? Because you want her to yourself. You want to shut her in here with you and never let her leave.

“Ren.” She licked her lips, and I was fucking mesmerized. “My power, when I use it like I am with you…it can be confusing, can make people feel things that aren’t—”

“Have you talked to Chaos?”

She frowned at my sudden change of subject, but I couldn’t hear her tell me what I was feeling wasn’t real. I couldn’t. Convincing her it was the truth was pointless. I couldn’t have her, no matter how much I wished otherwise, I wasn’t fit for any kind of real relationship, especially not one with her, because Jasmine deserved everything, and I had nothing to offer her.

“No, not yet. I don’t want to hassle Wills with this. I know Warrick and Chaos’s relationship isn’t the best but was hoping to catch Warrick today, see if he could put me in contact with the knight.”

“I’ll call him. Chaos is a friend. Let me set this up for you.” I stared her down, because I knew how stubborn she was, and I wasn’t taking no for an answer for this next bit. “And I’ll take you to the asylum.”

Her lips parted. “No. You don’t need to do that.”

“You need help, yes? I can help. Your familiars aren’t useful in this instance. You need protection. Plus, I owe you.” I crossed my arms so I didn’t reach for her. I wanted her arms around me again. It was agony, but I craved it. After only a few sessions with her, I craved her touch, when touch had been something I couldn’t stand, still couldn’t stand from anyone but her.

“You’re already repaying me by hunting down Agatheena’s feral.”

“And I’ll be doing this as well,” I said, making sure I left no room for argument.

“You won’t take no for an answer, will you?”

“No.” I held her gaze. “If you go alone…or with anyone else, I won’t be happy, Jasmine.”

She blinked up at me, and I could see her fighting her temper. She wasn’t a fan of my tone or what I’d just said, but she also knew I wasn’t backing down. “If you insist.” She blew out a breath and crossed her arms. “Thank you, I guess.”

Jasmine

* * *

“So, like, how safe are we here?” I asked as we walked past demon businesses, clothing shops, bars, and cafes, while passing actual demons on the street. Their gazes followed us, their eyes giving them away, something otherworldly shining through.

Ren’s hand was suddenly on my lower back as he scanned the street. “No one’s going to hurt you, Jaz, because if they try, I’ll gut them right here in the street.”

I looked up at him, and my mouth went dry. He meant it. He looked like he had in the forest when we left Agatheena’s, right before he killed all those demons. “But we have safe passage to the asylum, yes?”

“Chaos cleared it. We’ll be fine.”

This part of the city was where demons who followed the rules lived. The Knights of Hell monitored them and had a close relationship with their leader, a demon named Rune, a male chosen by Lucifer to keep all those living in this city in line.

“What do you think Rune’s like? I mean, he’s in charge of all the demons here, so he has to be kind of terrifying, right?” I rubbed my arms, goose bumps lifting all over them.

Ren ran the tips of his fingers down my spine, then back up, like he was trying to offer comfort but didn’t want to touch me fully. “It’ll be fine.”

It just made me feel even jumpier, setting my nerve endings off into little spasms and making it hard to focus. After what he said during our first session together, I knew Ren avoided touch. I’d seen females on his lap, their hands on him, but now that I thought about it, he always moved their hands away, with a forced laugh or a movement that would dislodge them, and unless he was really drunk, he kept his hands to himself.

Knowing that now, I could look back and recognize the discomfort on his face during those times. Is that why he drank so much? The fact that he’d touched me in the forest to make me feel safe and the way he was touching me now, trying to comfort me despite how uncomfortable it had to be making him, said just how much I hadn’t been hiding my fear either time.

“I’m glad you’re here,” I said, wanting him to know how much I appreciated him, despite my resistance.

He was still scanning the street. “If you came here without me, Jaz, I would’ve followed you, anyway, only I would’ve been pissed.”