Page 47 of Demon's Mate

Ash’s chest tightened and he cleared his throat, trying to dislodge the discomfort. He shouldn’t have given Dante such a hard time for hoping all these years. “No, I’m not. Who knows how fate works. We can’t ignore our gut feelings.”

“No, we can’t.” Dante frowned. “And I think the dead birds are a bad sign.”

18

HARPER

Ash:

Good morning. Hope you slept well.

Harper stared at his phone,still in bed, curled under his blankets. He hadn’t slept well. He’d lain awake most of the night and had nightmares when he’d finally fallen asleep.

Was it weird that Ash texted? It was sweet but a bit much, right? The kind of thing a boyfriend would send, not a guy he barely knew.

Harper smiled anyway.

He might not know Ash, but there was something between them, something that went deeper than a hookup or merely looking for a repeat. Harper still couldn’t believe Ash had saved him. Not that he doubted Ash’s story. He just felt strangely lucky.

He replied:

Good morning.

Harper was drawn to Ash like he never had been to anyoneelse. He wanted to see him again, be in his arms, and feel that warm, content feeling. In comparison, Harper was cold in his bed and more aware of his loneliness than he’d been in a while.

Everything in his new life was falling apart. He hadn’t gotten any more stone and didn’t think he could bring himself to try again. He didn’t even want to leave the apartment to go to The Herb Emporium.

Just getting out of bed seemed like too much. What was the point? The apartment was empty, and getting up would mean he had to do things, figure out how to fix this mess.

He wished Ash were here.

Which was silly. He couldn’t lean on Ash. He couldn’t lean on anyone. He was stronger than this and needed to pull himself together.

Harper tugged the blanket over his head and pressed his face into his pillow.

His phone buzzed and his heart skipped.

Was this overattachment because Ash was Harper’s first crush in a long time or because Ash was the first man to touch him with any real affection?

The vampire side of Ash had to be subconsciously drawn to the magic in Harper’s blood, whether Ash realized it or not, so Harper couldn’t even be sure all that affection was really for him.

He still smiled at the new message, doubts fading away.

Ash:

Got any exciting breakfast plans?

Was Ash going to ask him to breakfast? A zing tingled down Harper’s spine.

Harper:

No, I haven’t even gotten out of bed yet.

Ash:

I hope I didn’t wake you.

Harper: