It had been four weeks since he scared those two humans shitless and Nex thought he was in the clearing. It was quiet. Katherine had a real audition with a director that hadn't slept with any of the students and heard back that she got the part after singing one of the songs in the play. Her bigger part meant she was at auditions longer and after a few days she convinced Nex she'd be okay and he didn't have to sit in every rehearsal with her.

She didn't understand that part of the reason he was following her around like a puppy was because he was afraid leaving that much destruction behind at Jason's house meant someone would be coming to confront him. However, since a month had passed and everything was calm, Nex was starting to relax. That was the only reason he honored her wishes and stopped following her but that meant he had to find something to do and since he was avoiding all demons just to be safe. It wasn't easy to find things to do.

He decided to make a dinner he saw on one of the crazy cooking shows he ended up watching more than he cared to admit since he had nothing else to do. He went to the store to buy ingredients and got Kat's wine as well. He also had to get another alarm clock since he broke two not including the first one he smashed. He couldn't help it. It was an automatic response to smash it when it woke him up.

He thought maybe they were safe but then he walked in the front door and felt his blood run cold at the sight waiting for him.

Sitting at the kitchen table with a very scared looking Kat in her lap was Lilith. Lilith was much bigger than Kat, closer to Nex's size, with black hair and black eyes. Lilith smiled lightly when Nex walked in, dragging her sharp claw down Kat's shoulder, pushing the cardigan and strap of her tank-top down to her arm, leaving Kat pale and frigid.

"Lilith," Nex greeted coolly, setting down the grocery bags.

"Nex," Lilith answered, her smile growing. "Look how domesticated you're becoming," she mused.

"Let her go," Nex said, stepping forward cautiously. "It's me you're pissed at so take it out on me."

"Oh, I am taking it out on you," Lilith said, pressing her claw into Kat's shoulder until it drew blood, making Kat inhale sharply. "I'm just using a catalyst."

"That's enough," Nex growled, stepping closer.

"Ah, ah, ah," Lilith said, bringing her claw up to Kat's neck. Nex froze and Kat stiffened. "I'd keep that temper in check. You've lost your temper quite enough recently, don't you think?"

"I'm sorry for the mess I left." Nex tried to say calmly, clenching his fists.

"You're sorry," Lilith laughed. "Hear that, sweetness?" She cooed to Kat, her lips brushing against Kat's ear and making her lean away. "He's sorry. That makes it all better."

"Dammit, Lilith," Nex snapped. "Leave her out of this."

"I don't think I can," Lilith said, frowning. "I'm afraid you've grown much too attached to this human. So attached you've put us at danger with your behavior," Lilith said, her eyes narrowing. "I agree those humans were at fault and after seeing her and," Lilith paused, digging her nose into Kat's hair and inhaling deeply. "Smelling her," Lilith moaned. "I do get it. I'm having a hard time restraining myself if we're being honest. She is a sweet little thing, isn't she?"

Kat jerked away as the claw moved down, bringing the cardigan down to her elbow. Lilith's response was to hold her tighter, claws digging in so much they started to leave bruises.

"Last warning," Nex growled, stepping closer, his eyes flashing red.

"You trying to threaten me?" Lilith laughed. "That's adorable, Nex. It really is. She's really got a hold on you, doesn't she? What's your secret, sweetness?" Lilith asked, bringing her claw up to Kat's chin and directing her to face Lilith. "It can't just be physical, there has to be something else that has him so riled up he rips apart an entire house and leaves two souls traumatized for life, causing hunters to pop up all over the place, tracking down my soldiers. There was more than just attraction and jealousy behind that. Even he knew it was stupid," she snapped, sliding her eyes to Nex.

"What?" Kat breathed, looking over at Nex.

"Oh, you didn't know?" Lilith asked, her smile growing. "That's right, sweetness. Nex went and taught a lesson to those two humans that hurt you. So much so they've been muttering about demons and raising way too many uncomfortable questions. I've been cleaning that mess up for the last two weeks and I'm not even done yet," Lilith spat.

"I'll help you with whatever needs cleaning up, just let her go," Nex said, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Hmmm," Lilith hummed. "Not good enough, Nex. I think you need to be taught a proper lesson. The others think I should let you off with just a warning but why should I?" She asked, tilting her head to the side." Shall I kill both of you then? Obviously I'd rather kill her first but if I did that, you'd be able to go home and then I'd have to go through that whole process of officially removing your rank which seems rather tedious," she said, wrinkling her nose. "So unfortunately, I'll have to kill you first and send you back to the torture chambers, cleaning up the messes. But rest assured, her death won't be painless," Lilith said, smiling wickedly.

"You're so concerned about me causing problems, what do you think will happen if you kill her?" Nex countered. "She goes to church regularly and has already been talking about demons. Imagine the mess you'd have to clean up if a good little girl that goes to church and has demons removed from her house is suddenly violently killed, having gone to the same school as the other two. You really think that won't raise questions and more problems for you?"

Lilith snarled at him, digging her claws into Kat's arm until Kat whimpered. It was close to breaking the skin again but just left more marks instead. There were several marks at this point since Kat initially tried to fight her off until she realized how easily Lilith could snap her neck.

"You're clever," Lilith said, narrowing her eyes. "It's why I've always liked you. You can find your way out of almost anything, can't you?" Lilith stood and pushed Kat off her lap onto the floor with a thud, stalking towards Nex. "But you can't talk your way out of a punishment. Maybe I can't use the girl right now but I can still send you home with your tail between your legs."

"If you kill him I'll tell them about you," Kat said quickly, pushing herself up to sit up despite how shaky she felt.

"Katherine," Nex growled, sending her a glare.

"Did the human just threaten me?" Lilith asked, turning to Kat with a tilted head. "Did you?"

Kat was severely tempted to cower when Lilith fixed her eyes on her again but she swallowed hard and stayed strong. "It's not a threat, it's a promise. If you hurt him then I'll go to my church. My church has a lot of influence. If you think it's hard now just wait," Kat said.

It was a lie. Her church was small and because the pastor did things so differently it isolated them from other churches. But Lilith didn't need to know that.

Kat felt like she would break under Lilith's glare. Just when she thought she couldn't take anymore, Lilith started laughing. Kat frowned in confusion as Lilith laughed, her claws retracting.

"I see why you like her," Lilith said, giving Nex a side-glance. "Few humans would dare stand up to me," she said, walking over to Kat and crouching down. "I like you, sweetness," she cooed, bringing a claw under Kat's chin to make her look up. "I like your boldness. Because I like you so much and this was his first mistake, I'll let you off with a warning but keep in mind I will be watching," Lilith said, vanishing and reappearing in front of Nex, her face inches from his. "I will be watching closely and if there's one little slip up, I don't care if her or her church comes down or what consequences I face, I will kill you both."

Lilith vanished in front of their eyes and Kat breathed a sigh of relief. Nex rushed over to her, checking the place where Lilith's claw drew blood. He cupped her cheek with his other hand, raging at the sight of so many marks on her perfect skin.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine," Kat breathed shakily. "Terrified but fine."

"Come here," he said, lifting her up and carrying her towards the bedroom and into the bathroom. "Why did you do that? You shouldn't have threatened her. She's dangerous," Nex said, shaking his head and setting Kat down on the bathroom counter.

"I didn't want her to hurt you," Kat said, biting her lip. "I didn't want to lose you," she mumbled, darting her eyes away.

Nex pretended he didn't hear that last part because it sent his mind racing on what she could mean by that. Kat removed her cardigan, leaving her in just a tank top. She pushed her hair back behind her shoulders as Nex cleaned up the wound. They were silent for a while but as he was cleaning it out, Kat finally spoke.

"What did you do to them?" Kat asked quietly.

"I didn't physically hurt them," Nex defended.

"Not what I asked," Kat pointed out.

"I scared them," Nex said, meeting her gaze. "I scared them out of ever doing anything like that to you or anyone else again."

"She said you ripped the house apart," Kat said, watching him carefully.

"It was part of the scare tactic," Nex shrugged. "Does it really matter? The point is, it's taken care of," he said, securing a bandage over the wound.

"Why did you do that if you knew you'd get in trouble?" Kat pressed.

"Because they deserved it," Nex said, placing a kiss over the bandage. "As long as I'm here, no one else is going to hurt you."

"She was scary," Kat admitted in a low whisper.

"I know," Nex said, his face crumpling as he pressed his forehead against hers. "Don't be scared. I won't let her hurt you. I won't let anything happen to you, Katherine. You're safe with me."

Kat stayed silent and just looked at him, not sure what to say, not sure what she felt about what he did. Safe with him. It almost seemed silly, to believe that she could be safe with a demon. Except she did feel safe with him.

Staring into her eyes, he felt his anger fading and stepped back, offering a hand. "I'm sorry she hurt you. I shouldn't have left you alone," he said, frowning.

Kat took his hand and slid off the counter. She gave him a small smile and walked out, staying silent. Nex followed her back into the main part of the house where she picked up the groceries he brought home and took them to the kitchen. She pulled out the bottle of wine and got a glass, filling it up and taking such a long drink, she needed to fill it again. Nex sighed and walked into the kitchen, crossing his arms.

"Say something," he said, frowning.

"I don't know what to say," Kat admitted, taking another sip. "You... Care about me?" Kat asked, looking up at him.

"I don't know how that hasn't been obvious given my relentless presence the last month," Nex said, walking over and taking the glass from her hands, setting it on the counter and standing close, looking down at her. "Do you not want me to care about you?"

"It's not that," Kat breathed. "I guess I'm just surprised. I thought you just felt sorry for me and I'm your ticket out of here so you do have to care to some degree."

Nex brought his hand up and tilted her chin up to him. "No, Katherine, even when I feel sorry for someone, I don't..." he sighed, shaking his head. "I don't do what I've been doing. I'm not like this. This is different."

Kat looked up at him nervously. "But... Lilith said if you had me killed you could go home. You didn't even know me when you first got here," Kat shrugged. "So why didn't you just have me killed?"

Nex sighed and dropped his forehead down to hers. "Because it took very little time to see you are everything good in this world and I may be a demon, but I've only punished those who are evil. Not the ones that are good."

"So... You're just a big softie then huh?" Kat asked, a smile tugging on her lips.

"For fuck's sake," Nex growled, pacing away from her.

"It's so sweet!" Kat called after him.

"Shut up, kitten," Nex snapped, trying not to smile at the playful look on her face.

"And you care about me, too," Kat persisted.

"I'm beginning to not as much," Nex said, narrowing his eyes.

"I don't believe you," Kat shrugged. "But I do wonder..."

"What?" Nex said, crossing his arms.

"Nothing," Kat said, turning away from him.

He grabbed her and spun her to face him. "What?" He repeated more sternly.

"I just wonder the way in which you care," she said, biting her lip.

"How do you want me to care?" Nex asked, bringing his hand up to her lower lip and rubbing it with his thumb until she released it.

Kat blushed and darted her eyes away. "Should we have dinner?" She said, trying to change the subject.

Nex grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. The sudden grip elicited a tingle through her body she hadn't felt in weeks.

"Answer my question, kitten," Nex commanded, his eyes staring into hers like he could see right through her. "Do you want me to care for you the way I have been," he said, bringing a hand up to her waist caressing up and down her side. "Or do you want more?"

"What does more entail?" Kat asked breathlessly.

"More," Nex purred, rubbing his thumb over her lower lip again. "If you don't know or don't want to tell me then you're clearly not ready," he said, pulling away from her and grabbing the ingredients for dinner from the grocery bags. "I'll make dinner tonight."

Nex got to work but Kat couldn't move. She looked over her shoulder at him and swallowed hard. Hadn't she decided to not let anyone close to her again?

But Nex was different. Nex was good to her the last month, took care of her in ways she didn't even know she needed. But he was a demon. She couldn't help but think it was a bad idea to get involved with a demon that would eventually have to go back home. At the same time even thinking about it sent another sensation through her that had her craving to be close to him.

She didn't know what to make of it. What to say. Being with him seemed dangerous but being without him was the last thing she wanted. Instead of letting her mind go crazy trying to figure out what she felt or what it all meant, she poured another glass of wine and got out of the kitchen to put some distance between them.

It didn't stop her from looking back at him. She looked back and found his hands braced on the counter, staring straight ahead. His eyes darted over to her and she felt the heat rush to her cheeks but couldn't look away. He broke eye contact first and she immediately missed that eye contact. Looking in his eyes brought her more peace than she ever thought she could feel after the accident. Maybe it was silly to think she could feel safe and peace with a demon but Nex wasn't just a demon to her.

He was everything.

did