Aidan slung his bag over his shoulder the second his last class ended and bolted out of the room, weaving through the crowded hallways like a man on a mission. If he didn't hurry, he'd miss the bus, and there was no way in hell he was walking home in this heat.
He was just a few feet from the exit when it happened.
The one thing he dreaded the most.
A solid wall of human appeared in his path out of nowhere, and before he could even think about stopping, he collided right into it—right into her.
Mrs. Barik.
The impact wasn't hard enough to knock her over, but she stumbled as if he'd bodyslammed her like a linebacker. Aidan swore she was exaggerating—she had to be. How was it that, out of the hundreds of people on campus, he managed to run into the one professor who seemed to have it out for him? Coincidence? He didn't think so.
Mrs. Barik recovered quickly, her tall frame looming over him as she planted her hands on her hips, face turning an alarming shade of red.
"You just ran into me!" she barked, her voice echoing through the hallway.
Aidan sighed, barely holding back an eye roll. "I'm sorry, you came out of nowhere." He would've taken the blame if he'd been texting or looking away, but he had been looking ahead. She had appeared out of thin air, almost like she was waiting for him to crash into her.
"I need to catch my bus." He shifted on his feet, impatient. The last thing he wanted was another pointless argument with her.
Mrs. Barik wasn't having it.
"So you're just going to ignore the fact that you nearly injured me?" she snapped.
Aidan glanced her over. She looked perfectly fine. Not even a single strand of hair was out of place. "You seem alright to me, professor."
Her face darkened. For a second, he thought she might combust right there in the hallway.
"You've left me with no choice but to file an official complaint to the dean!" she hissed, voice practically trembling with fury.
Aidan almost laughed. Was that supposed to be a threat? If anything, that would give him the perfect excuse to drop her class. There was no way in hell he was going to pass psychology with her teaching it, anyway.
"Do what you must, professor," he said with a shrug. "Right now, I have some other commitment."
And with that, he stepped around her and walked away.
—
Aidan's "other commitment" involved a horned, tailed man locked up in his neighbor's basement.
Which, now that he thought about it, was way more interesting than anything else in his entire life.
Excitement hummed in his veins as he pushed open Mr. Albu's front door. His eyes immediately sought out Damon—and found him.
The demon was standing in front of the open fridge, rummaging through it like he owned the place. If it weren't for the curving horns on his head and the otherworldly aura clinging to him, Aidan might've mistaken him for an intruder.
Then again, intruders didn't usually look that good.
Damon had changed—again. If Aidan thought he was attractive before, he was devastating now. His features were even sharper, his skin glowing like he'd been carved from molten gold, and his presence... it was suffocatingly alluring.
No wonder he was a sex demon.
Aidan swallowed, suddenly recalling how easily Damon had lured those women into the forest. With a face like that, who wouldn't follow him into the deep, dark woods for a "romantic dinner"?
"How did you get out?" Aidan asked, his voice coming out more horrified than he intended.
Damon looked up from the fridge, brows raising slightly in surprise.
Aidan swallowed hard, his eyes involuntarily taking in the demon's changed physique. It had only been a few days, yet somehow, Damon had packed on even more muscle, his shoulders broader, his chest more defined, his waist lean and taut. It was like he'd been sculpted into something even more dangerous as the very essence of power had settled into his form. The horns and tail were still something Aidan was trying to get used to, but now, more than ever, the realization hit him: If Damon could free himself, what was stopping him from killing Mr. Albu? Or him?
Aidan forced himself to speak. "Where is Mr. Albu?"
Despite himself, his eyes flickered downward, expecting—no, dreading—what he'd see. But to his immense relief, Damon was wearing pants this time.
"Why?" Damon asked, voice deep, flat, yet oddly amused.
Aidan bit back a sigh. "I don't think you're supposed to be out. Did Mr. Albu let you out?"
Damon's expression darkened. His scowl alone was enough to make Aidan's spine stiffen, but then he moved.
And shit, did he move.
Like a shadow sliding across the room, his steps silent, his presence swallowing the space between them in an instant. He was massive, broad and strong, yet the way he moved was unnervingly smooth, like the predatory leap Aidan had seen him do in the basement and backyard.
It reminded Aidan of something his grandmother used to say:
"No matter how much you love a lion, it will always be a wild animal."
It was absolutely true for Damon.
The demon suddenly grinned, slow and crooked, a sharp gleam of white against his smooth honey kissed skin. It was sinister—and yet, somehow, so ridiculously attractive that Aidan's brain short-circuited for a second.
"I liked you when you offered me cupcakes," Damon murmured, voice like velvet, his eyes hooded but piercing. "Do you have one on you right now?"
Aidan blinked. "I—I'm sure you already ate."
"Not yet. But now that you're here, I will."
That damn smirk was back, curling at the edge of Damon's lips. His canine—sharp and just long enough to be unsettling—glinted as he tilted his head, looking at Aidan like he was something else entirely.
Aidan's face heated as realization struck.
Oh.
Oh, fuck.
Damon was bad news. Godly, unfairly attractive, and dangerous as hell.
But the way he looked at Aidan... No one had ever looked at him like that.
It wasn't just lust. It wasn't a passing glance. It was intense and focused, like Aidan was the only thing in the room worth noticing.
And the worst part?
Aidan had a sinking feeling it wasn't even intentional.
Damon was built to lure people in, to ensnare them, to wreck them. Of course Aidan felt this way—it was just Damon being a demon.
And yet...
His heart pounded like celebratory drums.
"You can't—" Aidan started, but his words died in his throat as Mr. Albu walked in from the backyard, wiping his hands on a rag.
"I let him be free for a little while. He said he'd behave," Mr. Albu said casually, as if they weren't talking about a horned, tailed, possibly murderous demon roaming around his house.
Aidan frowned. Since when did Mr. Albu start trusting a demon? He wasn't sure which was more unsettling—the fact that Damon was standing in the middle of the living room like it was his home or the fact that Mr. Albu was treating this as normal.
Aidan cleared his throat. "Then I guess I'm not needed here anymore. If you've started giving him free reign to do whatever he wants, I'll just—"
"Why is the fridge open? What are you doing going through my fridge?" Mr. Albu cut him off, snapping his gaze toward Damon. "And where the hell did you get those pants?"
Damon looked down at himself, stretching the fabric between his fingers. "These?" He smirked. "They're yours. Not really my style, though. I prefer no clothes, but I figured I'd put something on—for Aidan."
Aidan froze. Oh no.
"He doesn't like looking at my junk. At least not when I'm soft."
Aidan choked on his own spit so hard that he doubled over, coughing violently. His face burned hotter than hellfire itself.
Damon's head tilted. "Do you need water?"
Aidan shook his head furiously, thumping a fist against his chest to clear his throat. Damon just shrugged and walked back to the fridge, continuing to eat whatever he had pulled out.
"I was hungry. so Is this your leftover sandwich?" Damon asked, eating half of it without waiting for an answer.
Aidan took back every thought he'd had about Damon being a man of few words. The demon had no filter.
Mr. Albu sighed, shaking his head. "Ignore him, Aidan. He's signed the blood oath. He can't hurt you."
Aidan wasn't convinced. "What about you? What if he hurts you?"
Damon's tail flicked behind him lazily. "I'm not going to hurt him," he said, taking another bite of the sandwich. "I've never hurt a single person in my life."
Aidan's gaze snapped toward Mr. Albu questioningly. That wasn't what he'd been told.
Damon noticed the look. His easy expression vanished in an instant, his golden eyes narrowing. "What?" he snapped. "Did he say I killed people?"
"No," Mr. Albu replied, though his voice was tight. He crossed his arms and exhaled sharply. "I know you didn't kill. But they died."
Damon's jaw tensed. "It was an accident. I didn't know when to stop."
"I know, Damon. There's no need to feel offended."
The tension in the room thickened, pressing against Aidan's chest. "Uhmm... I think I should leave," he croaked, shifting uncomfortably.
Damon suddenly set his sandwich down. "I'll go."
Aidan's head snapped up. "Where?" The question left his lips too fast, too urgent.
Damon's lips curled into an amused smirk as he turned to face Aidan fully. He had to know the effect he had on him. Had to. It was in his genes.
"The basement. Isn't that where you wanted me to go?"
Aidan didn't answer. He couldn't.
"He's right," Mr. Albu said, rubbing his temple. "His up-time is over anyway."
Something itched at Aidan's brain, something he hadn't questioned before but suddenly couldn't ignore.
"If he hasn't hurt anyone intentionally, why do you keep him locked in the basement?"
Mr. Albu's lips pressed into a thin line. "He hasn't yet. But he can."
A muscle in Damon's jaw twitched, but he said nothing.
Mr. Albu turned to him. "I'm sorry, Damon. I don't mean to hurt you, but we can't take any chances. We don't know the extent of your powers yet."
Damon's entire demeanor shifted. His tail stilled. His expression went blank.
"Trust works both ways, old man," he said coldly. "If you don't trust me, don't expect me to trust you."
Mr. Albu's face darkened. "Sorry for not trusting you but do you think I'm stupid? I know you're hiding your full powers. And I know you act differently around this boy."
Aidan swallowed hard.
"I feel like I made a mistake introducing you two," Mr. Albu muttered. "So spare me for being cautious."
Aidan's stomach twisted at his words. What did that mean?
Damon didn't say another word.
His face betrayed nothing as he turned and walked back to the basement.