Four
DESMOND
“Is there anything you require from your home?” I ask my mate.
My Demon powers pulse beneath my skin.
Stronger.
Steadier.
For decades, my magic has felt fractured. Broken.
Like a river forced through a crack too narrow to contain it.
Now?
Now it flows freely.
All because of her.
Instinct pounds through me.
Ancient.
Primal.
Focused entirely on one objective.
Take her home.
Protect her.
Mark her.
Claim her.
Mine.
“What?” she asks, blinking up at me with those enormous brown eyes. “I mean… I just need to go home.”
I smile.
Perfect.
“Very well, Myrrin. Let us go home.”
The confusion on her face should warn me to slow down.
To explain.
To court her properly.
But three hundred years of loneliness and one overjoyed Demon do not make for rational thought.
So I do what comes naturally.
I pick her up again.
Her startled squeak nearly sends me to my knees.
By the Fates.
I adore that sound.
She immediately wraps herself around me.
Arms around my neck.
Legs around my waist.
Like the lunar pythons that once curled around the silver trees of Nightfall.
My birthplace.
My punishment.
My shame.
I have not seen my homeland in centuries.
My father's sins became my burden to carry. The Prime sentenced me to exile and stripped me of everything.
Banishment.
Isolation.
And the curse.
Find my fated mate while living among humans… or lose myself entirely.
For many years, I believed the old Prime cruel.
Unjust.
Unforgiving.
But now?
Now that my mate is in my arms?
I find I no longer care.
Not one iota.
Because everything I want—everything I need, and all that I treasure—is right here.
“What are you—”
I grin and, unable to resist, press my lips softly to hers.
Not demanding.
Not claiming.
Simply needing to feel her in this moment.
And by the gods—she is sweet.
The taste of her floods my senses.
Sweet.
Warm.
Perfect.
My magic responds instantly.
Shadows wrap around us.
Shielding us from mortal eyes.
And with a thought—I transport us home.
True, I ride the train to soothe the ache of loneliness.
But I reside far from the city.
In a quiet New Jersey suburb where the homes are large, the streets are empty, and my estate sits alone at the end of a very long cul-de-sac.
Privacy.
Isolation.
Safety.
For centuries, I thought it was enough.
Now I realize the place has been waiting for her all along.
We arrive inside my bedchamber in an instant.
And my little mate trembles violently in my arms.
I immediately regret my impatience.
“Easy,” I whisper, stroking her hair. “Traveling by magic can leave one unsteady.”
Truthfully, I am feeling somewhat lightheaded myself.
But not from the transportation.
No.
It’s from that first kiss.
The taste of Josie still lingers on my tongue.
I reluctantly slide her down my body and steady her with my hands on her elbows when she sways.
“Where…” she whispers. “Um… where are we?”
Her eyes remain squeezed shut.
“We are home,” I answer honestly.
Her eyes fly open.
And then widen.
“What do you mean home?” she squeaks. “I—I don't live here.”
I smile softly.
“Maybe. Not yet.”
Panic flashes across her face.
I immediately curse myself.
She is human.
Humans do not understand mating.
Humans need explanations.
Patience.
Courtship.
Not overexcited Demons kidnapping them directly into bedrooms.
Well done, Desmond.
Brilliant.
“I know you do not understand,” I say gently. “Not yet.”
I step closer.
Perhaps too close.
But I cannot seem to help myself.
“But tell me, Myrrin… can you not feel it?”
I place my hand lightly over her heart.
The instant contact nearly undoes me.
Her body is so soft.
So warm.
Her pulse races wildly beneath my palm.
Desire and longing surge through me.
I want her.
Fates help me, I want her desperately.
“I—I feel…” she begins.
But she hesitates.
And I know.
She's trying to deny it.
I frown.
“Have you not searched your entire life for someone who belongs only to you?” I ask quietly.
She blinks.
“Have you not waited?”
Still, she says nothing.
Her lips part.
Eyes widen.
An ugly emotion rises inside me.
Jealousy.
Territorial and vicious.
“Or is there another?” I ask carefully. “A suitor, perhaps? Someone I must best?”
The thought alone makes my Demon growl.
I do not like the idea.
Not at all.
But Josie immediately shakes her head and raises her hands, placing them on my chest.
She does it instinctively, and the effect? Amazing.
My powers calm immediately and desire rises even faster.
“No! No, I haven't dated anyone in forever.”
Relief floods me.
Instant and complete.
“Good.”
She stares.
Then snorts.
“Good?”
“Yes. That is very good.”
She laughs nervously.
“But that isn't the point. Why would you even be interested in me?”
I blink.
The question makes no sense.
“Why wouldn't I be?”
She gestures helplessly to herself.
“Because… look at me.”
Confusion grips me.
So I do.
Really look.
Josie is stunning.
She has this beautiful riot of curls—brown and blonde and hanging to her waist.
Then there is her lush body—soft and curved, big enough to fill even my hands.
And her magnificent eyes—big, brown, and soft like velvet.
An adorable flush is spreading across her cheeks—and my heart starts to thud in time with my cock inside my pants.
By the Fates.
She truly does not know.
“You are so beautiful,” I tell her honestly.
She takes a step backward.
I hate it immediately.
“Myrrin—Josie.”
Another step.
Absolutely not.
“I will only ever tell you the truth, Josie,” I repeat firmly. “You are what humans now call…”
I pause.
Searching centuries of collected information.
“The hottest girl I have ever seen.”
She chokes.
Actually chokes.
“I—what?”
I nod seriously.
“Extremely hot.”
Her mouth falls open.
Adorable.
“If you do not believe my words…” I murmur, stepping closer again, “then believe this.”
I gently pull her against me, and I make sure she can feel exactly what she does to me.
Not forcing.
Never forcing.
Simply offering.
I flex my hips and my steel cock presses against her soft belly.
She doesn't pull away, and I feel the victory of it down to my soul.
I lower my head and kiss her once more.
Slowly.
Tenderly.
And when she melts against me with the sweetest little sigh? My entire fucking world rights itself.
Three hundred years.
For three hundred years, I waited for this curse to be lifted or for it to end me.
But now I see…
She was worth every second.