Page 19 of A Cursed Heart

His head cocked to the side as he studied me.

His room lacked any of the personality the rest of his home had, with plain light grey walls and boring, yet functional, white cabinets for his clothing.

The sheets on his bed were also grey to match the walls.

The lack of color in the room disturbed me because everywhere else there were pictures or splashes of color.

Ryan’s bedroom should contain signs of his life, yet it merely looked like somewhere to rest his head, not a place he lived in.

“About?” he finally asked.

“Our bond and the need to stay close to you.”

He chuckled. “Dude, I knew you were lying the first day. It doesn’t matter. D’you want to wash up first, or will I?”

“Aren’t you angry with me?”

Ryan’s teeth flashed in a wide grin. The low light of the room had his eyes in shadow.

“Mal, I don’t care. You sleeping next to me helps us both.

Honestly, I’ve slept better the last two nights than I have in ages.

And you refill your magic faster, which is a win for us both because you had enough to stay with me and also look after Freya properly. ”

“You really aren’t angry?”

“No. Not at all. C’mon, I need some sleep.”

We settled into a routine over the next few days.

I did the majority of the childcare and household duties so that Ryan could work.

Freya had, in fact, remembered about my demon form and asked me to let my tail out when we were at home.

She liked to pet it whenever we watched TV together. I enjoyed making her happy.

In the evenings, we would spend time together as a family before Ryan was called away to work for Salvatore. If we could have a life without Salvatore looming in the background, then I would have been content to live like this forever.

Ryan wanted to take Freya to the zoo on the weekend and thought I would like it.

Truthfully, I found the need for them sad.

Those poor animals were trapped, much like I had been.

When he explained about conservation, I understood, yet I would have preferred a visit to a sanctuary, where the animals had more room to roam.

I tried not to spoil the visit because Freya enjoyed it so much.

It was good to explore more of the city.

Freya wanted a pajama day on Sunday, which Ryan, tired from the week and the zoo trip, was happy to indulge.

We ate snacks, watched movies, and played board games.

Ryan tried not to work when we were supposed to be relaxing, but the situation with Salvatore was, as Ryan would say, living rent free in his mind.

I even met the CPS lady and charmed her, using a little magic to get her off Ryan’s back completely.

Ryan was grateful, though slightly prickly, that I charmed her so effectively.

Part of me wondered if it was jealousy. The lady had flirted with me quite openly.

How unprofessional! They approved of my living with the family, though we told a lie and said we were in a relationship to explain why I was always sleeping in Ryan’s room. I wanted it to be the truth.

All my life I had been a liar and a cheat, but for this, it was the wish of my heart to live as Ryan’s partner in all things. With the way he held my hand and initiated contact between us, I wondered if perhaps there was a small part of him that wanted the same thing.

Each of his visits to Salvatore was trying.

Ryan was given permission to drive there himself and not be escorted by Anders.

As with the first day, I kept a presence in his mind, only keeping to surface thoughts though I was tempted to delve deeper to truly understand what Ryan was thinking and feeling about our relationship.

Relying on Ryan to do the digging into Salvatore instead of just using my magic to take the man down made me feel useless.

I understood that Ryan did not want me to expose myself to Salvatore and even that he wanted to do it “the right way,” as he kept repeating.

However, the strain of using my magic to be there with him, of resisting the temptation to dig further into Ryan’s mind, and letting him be in danger when I was less vulnerable than him, really chafed. I wanted to be Ryan’s hero.

“Hey, Con, yeah, I’ve got a lead on a big case you might be interested in.

” I was in the middle of preparing lunch when Ryan made a call to his contact at the FBI.

He had explained that he wanted to hand over all the information he was gathering to them in exchange for immunity against prosecution for the hacking he had done out of blackmail from Salvatore.

He had already broken into two competitors, unable to delay further.

The next one was proving to be a significant challenge.

Though I could hear the other side of the conversation, I did not pry.

Ryan would tell me the results once he was done.

He and his friend spoke for a long time.

Ryan took his phone to his computer and uploaded many of the files as an example of what he could give the FBI as long as they protected him.

I wanted to be the one protecting Ryan, though I appreciated there was much about this modern human world I did not yet understand.

Ryan looked frustrated, his dark brown hair mussed from running his fingers through it. He had not shaved before work, so a day’s worth of stubble lined his square jaw, adding to his appeal. I did not grow much facial or body hair and loved the feel of Ryan’s.

He leaned on the breakfast bar while he spoke to me. “Conrad is running it up the chain. He doesn’t think it’ll be a problem to give me immunity. It’s just going to take time.”

“Meaning you have to continue your nightly visits to Scythe’s building.”

Neither of us liked the idea. “Unfortunately. Look, I’m going to ask for a night off.

I need one for this next one. There’s an issue with it, and it needs a program I have to build at home.

” The technicalities were not as interesting to me as they were to Ryan.

“Want to take Freya to the movies with me?”

Though his daughter would be there, it sounded like a date. “I would like that very much.”