“And I am bigger than you, older than you, and more powerful than you. You have no choice but to accept my wishes in this.”

Forget reasoning with him. I had to kill him at my first opportunity. There was no other option unless I wanted to go insane.

I ground my teeth. Samael needed a lot of education when it came to things like personal freedom, autonomy, and privacy. Unfortunately, I was no longer amused, and having someone witness the way I’d fallen to pieces today… unacceptable.

“I appreciate the thought, truly I do,” I said sweetly. “But the next time I see a demon following me around, I’ll throw my knives first and ask questions later.”

His eyes turned to silver ice, and I sighed, holding up a hand. Threats didn’t work with Samael. Unless he was the one making them. I cleared my throat, shifting on my feet. “From the time my mom took me on the run, I was taught to take care of myself. I’ve worked hard to be independent, Samael, and I’m perfectly capable of keeping myself safe. When you have demons follow me around, it undermines my credibility, steals my privacy, and damages my reputation.”

“Your precious reputation,” he ground out. “Half of the people in this city believe you’re a traitor.”

Low blow. The gloves were coming off. “Yes. And the other half know damn well what would’ve happened if those witches managed to take your power. They know I’m bonded to you, and I still chose to save innocent lives over regaining my freedom. They know I’m fair. That’s the reason why Mariam asked me to work for her. And when you have demons following me around, it impacts my ability to do my job effectively.”

He heaved a frustrated sigh and his expression turned calculating. “If I do this for you, you will do something for me.”

How was this my life? How was I being blackmailed with my own freedom?

“What do you want?” I attempted to keep my voice neutral, but it came out as a growl.

“You will allow me to take you on a date.”

I blinked at him. He’d said the word ‘date’ as if it was a foreign language and he wasn’t quite sure of the pronunciation.

I angled my head. “Would you like to repeat that?”

His low snarl communicated that no, he wouldn’t like to repeat it at all.

“You heard me.”

“We don’t date.”

“We do now.”

I raised one eyebrow. Someone had told him that this was a good idea. That this was what humans did. “What kind of date?”

His expression hardened and he stayed stubbornly silent.

I studied his face. “I go on a date with you, and you promise to stop sending your demons to follow me around?”

“Yes.”