At Starbucks.
By herself.
And my world simply stopped, my breathing never returned to normal, and I was reminded yet again that I had thirty days.
And I was on day twenty-nine.
I’d lost one day.
Irritated that I’d let myself get so distracted, I followed her to the house, and followed her again when she left.
Each time a stupid human hit on her I laughed—until a little voice inside my head reminded me that I was just as bad, just as low on the totem pole.
I wasn’t sure who the hell had sent Steph out to speak to the Demons, but they were going to have to answer to me. She was as defenseless as a weak little lamb out in a thunderstorm.
She had no idea what she was capable of and was oblivious to the scent she gave off to every male and female she walked by.
I still smelled it.
Maybe that was Sariel’s cruelty coming to the forefront. He would turn me to a human, allow me to win the woman I loved, only to remind me yet again that I wasn’t on an even playing field.
I was not her equal.
Maybe I’d never been.
“Cassius?” Stephanie reached up and cupped my face. It felt nice. It felt… warm. “What happened to you?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” At least that was the truth.
Her eyes narrowed. “Were you punished? For what happened?”
“No.”
“Then…” She shook her head. “Care to explain why your eyes aren’t white but blue, why you smell like… rain—weird, you smell like rain? And, and—”
I gripped her hands in mine. “Later… for now we should return to the house before the Demons bring back friends to take you down.”
“Well, I have you…” She shrugged. “They couldn’t touch me.”
As if realizing what she’d just said her face fell.
“I’m human.” I said it again; it felt funny on my lips. As if my eyes had ideas of their own, I focused in on her mouth. Damn, it was pretty. I wondered if I’d ever really taken the time to appreciate her beauty.
Or maybe I knew that the minute I did—I’d be lost.
“Cassius?” She gripped my arm. I stared at that hand far longer than was necessary. “You’re right… we should go.”
I followed her out of the bar, pulling my hands into tight fists to keep from reaching for her body.
It was hard to focus on anything except for the outline of her hips. Damn, being human was sending me into madness fast. I was hypnotized by her every movement, following her like she was my reason for existing.
We weaved in and out of the crowd and finally made it outside. The silence wasn’t awkward, but her stares were.
I’d never been insecure about anything.
But I came to realize that being human meant I was feeling emotions I wasn’t used to feeling. Like insecurity.
Why the hell was she staring at me so hard?