“Crossing the room, he stopped infront of me. "I'm not going to bite.""That's good.""Unless you want me to," He said with a devilish grin.”

“Fuck," he said, sliding his hands down to my thighs. "You're making this very hard to be the good guy you said I was last night.""I'm not drunk."He pressed his forehead to mine, chuckling softly. "Yeah, I can see that and while the idea of taking you right now, against the wall, is enough to make me lose control, I want you to know that I'm serious. You're not a hook up. You're not a friend with benefits. You're more than that to me."I closed my eyes, breathing heavily. "Well, that was...really sort of perfect.”

“You are a terrible liar. You do want this. Just as badly as I do.”My mouth opened, but no words came out. “You want this as badly as you want to go to ALA this winter.”Now my jaw was on the floor. “You don’t even know what ALA is!”“American Library Association midwinter event,” he said, grinning proudly. “Saw you obsessing over it on your blog before you got sick. I’m pretty sure you said you’d give up your firstborn child to go.”Yeah, I kind of did say that.Daemon eyes flashed. “Anyway, back to the whole you wanting me part.”I shook my head, dumbfounded.“You do want me.”Taking a deep breath, I struggled with my temper… and my amusement. “You are way too confident.”“I’m confident enough to wager a bet.”“You can’t be serious.”He grinned. “I bet that by New Year’s Day, you will have admitted that you’re madly, deeply, and irrevocably—”“Wow. Want to throw another adverb out there?” My cheeks were burning.“How about irresistibly?”I rolled my eyes and muttered, “I’m surprised you know what an adverb is.”“Stop distracting me, Kitten. Back to my bet—by New Year’s Day, you’ll have admitted that you’re madly, deeply, irrevocably, and irresistibly in love with me.”Stunned, I choked on my laugh.“And that you dream about me.” He released my arm and folded his, cocking an eyebrow. “I bet you’ll even admit that. Probably even show me your notebook with my name circled in hearts—”“Oh, for the love of God…”Daemon winked. “It’s on.”

“We’re still going to be seeing each other,” he murmured. “And don’t even lie. I know that makes you happy, You told me you wanted me.”Hold your horses. “When?”“At the lake.” He slanted his headm and I should’ve pulled back. His lips curved knowingly against mine, and he let go of my wrist. “You said you wanted me.”Both of my hand were on his chest. They had a mind of their own. I claimed no responsibility for them. “I had a fever. Lost my mind.”“Whatever, Kitten.” Daemon gripped my hips, lifting me onto the edge of he desk with an ease that was disturbing. “I know better.”

“I'll accept your apology on one condition." He folded his arms across his chest."Anything?""You trust me."I cocked my head to the side. "I trust you, Cam.""No, you don't." He walked over to my small table and pulled out a chair. "Have a seat."Sitting down, I tugged the hem of his shirt down as he headed back to the stove, putting the tiny skillet over the burner."If you trusted me, you wouldn't have reacted the way you did," he simply said, cracking an egg. "And that's not me judging you or any of that kind of shit. You got to trust me that I'm not going to be an ass or freak out over that kind of stuff. You have to trust that I care enough about you.”

“Sure. Whatever. She’s all yours.”Daemon grinned. “That she is.”My hand was twitching to connect with his face. “I am not yours.” A small part of me wanted his to deny my words, though.“Shush it,” he said, walking up to me.“How about I shush it right up you—““Kitten, your language is so unladylike.”

“I…I was just excited.”“Yeah, I’d say you were,” Dee said, grinning like an idiot.Daemon was staring at me like he’s just won the lottery. “I kind of like this level of excitement. Makes me think of—““Daemon!” both of us shouted.“What?” He grinned, tousling Dee’s hair. “I was only suggesting—““We know what you were suggesting.”