Chapter 2
two
MERRILY
I stared at him, positive I'd misheard.
"After what?"
"I want a sealed mate bond." He said it matter-of-factly, like he hadn't just hit me with something that was completely and utterly insane.
He had.
He definitely had.
"Why?" The word that escaped me was strangled.
"Mated incubi and succubi can feed from their partner in the waking world."
I blinked.
Maybe I should've researched demons.
Honestly, it had just sounded really overwhelming, and I had enough overwhelm in my life as it was.
"So if we were mated..."
"I could fuck you in reality and feed from you while I do."
Oh.
Wow.
My face flushed. Hell, I think my entire body flushed. "I, um..." I cleared my throat. "Is it warm in here?"
"No."
"I think it is. I'm just going to..." I tried to slide off his lap.
He pulled me closer.
The motion tugged me against his erection a little harder.
My face burned hotter as desire curled in my lower belly. If I hadn't been touching him, it would've sent me spiraling.
Tilting his head, he studied me. "You're flushed."
"Obviously."
"Why?"
"Once again, it's none of your business."
"Our souls are connected. You're my business in any way I decide you are."
Fuck.
"Did Callum tell you everything?"
"If he didn't, I'll break in again."
He probably had told him everything. Everything about fated mate bonds, at least.
Grayson had known to touch me to fix the hell I was going through thanks to the price of my magic. He'd known to pick me up and carry me up the stairs instead of walking with me, too, so Callum must've told him how my power affected me.
He knew. Some things, at least.
I probably should've told him everything myself, but fuck it, I wanted to keep as much distance between us as I could.
"I'd prefer not to have sex in the real world,” I said.
"Why?"
"You don't ask this many questions at Cabinet meetings. Or in my dreams."
His lips tilted upward, but the smile held no humor. "You're more forthcoming with the Cabinet and in your dreams."
That was fair.
I basically ran the Cabinet.
We were only in his dreams to fuck, so the only conversations we had revolved around that. There usually wasn't much talking at all, outside of the praises and commands he gave me.
"You and I will be going back to our separate lives after we figure out a plan in the next day or two. Having sex in reality could complicate that in too many ways. I’m not willing to take the risk," I explained.
"In what ways?"
"Certain ways." I wasn’t going to clarify.
"Like..." He prodded.
"It's a miracle no one has murdered you by now. Including me."
Grayson grinned. "You need me too much."
"I've survived my magic alone for hundreds of years."
"I wasn't talking about my touch. Every time you keep me out of your dreams for a few days, you end up frazzled and miserable. You need my cock, Mer."
If I wasn't already as flushed as possible before, I sure as hell was now. My face burned and my ridiculous body responded by wanting him. Fiercely.
"That's because of the lack of sleep, not some ridiculous need for sex."
"The need for sex isn't ridiculous. Don't bother pretending you don't want me, either. You look disappointed every time I leave your dreams."
I scoffed. "I don't."
"You do."
"If I do, it's disappointment that I have to go back to dealing with my magic," I tossed back.
"Luckily for you, you can seal a bond with me and never have to worry about that again. It's a win for both of us."
"You are the most conceited male I have ever met, Darke. I'm not sealing a bond with you, and I'm not fucking you, so—"
He tipped my head back, lowering his face toward mine, and I went still. Completely and utterly still.
I wanted him.
God, I wanted him.
"Death," he murmured, his lips only a breath away from mine. The sides of our noses touched, just barely. It was the most intimate physical contact I'd ever had.
"What?"
"Tell me I can take your pants off. I need to feel more of your skin."
My lips parted.
There was no magic in the air. During our dreams, I could feel it. It had a scent and a sensation to it.
This wasn't magic.
This was all Grayson. And all me.
I pressed my lips together.
He nipped my ear lightly.
My eyes slammed shut. "I can’t have sex with you." I wouldn’t survive leaving him afterward.
"I didn't say anything about sex. Just pants."
"We were talking, Darke."
"We can talk without your pants on."
"You're being difficult again."
He nudged my nose with his, his lips only a breath away from mine. "I'm always difficult. You know that."
"At least you can admit it."
He chuckled, the sound low and deep.
And then he kissed me.
Just... kissed me.
Like it was normal.
Like the dreams we shared translated smoothly and easily into the real world.
Like it wasn't my first kiss, on top of the first time I'd ever not felt overwhelmed. Like being fated mates meant something to him. Like he wanted me in reality as much as he did in my dreams.
He parted my lips immediately, and the soft, desperate sound that escaped me at the taste and feel of him was anything other than intentional.
Grayson's grip on my hair tightened as he pulled me closer, deepening the kiss. Our mouths moved and our tongues danced, and it was so similar to my dreams, but so different, too. So real.
He was warm.
His hands were hot.
His taste was everything. Mint and lust and Grayson.
I was lost in the sensations of his mouth and body against mine in a way I could never have imagined an hour earlier.
When he pulled away, I groaned at the loss of him.
His mouth moved down my throat with slow, hot kisses, and his fingers brushed the bottom hem of my bra. The touch wasn't scandalous, but my body still throbbed with need at that small, simple bit of contact. The question was silent, but it was there.
"Take it off," I breathed.
I was supposed to be having a conversation with him. That was the plan.
But maybe it could wait.
Grayson slowly tugged my bra over my head, and I lowered my eyes to his hands as he cupped my heavy breasts. My breathing hitched, my heartbeat picking up as he dragged his thumbs over my nipples.
It felt so good, it was surreal.
Real world sex might actually be better than dream sex.
How was that even possible? I'd thought the dreams were a fantasy, an unrealistic experience, an exaggeration—but there was no mistaking the pleasure and need and wildness that rolled through me at the feel of his hands on me like that.
"Seal the bond with me," Grayson murmured.
I slowly escaped the heat of the moment and processed what he'd just said.
Seal the bond.
He was touching me... because he wanted me to agree to seal the bond?
What the actual fuck?
"Are you trying to use sex to get what you want from me?" I asked, grabbing his wrists and pulling his hands away from my breasts.
"No." Grayson didn't bat an eye at the accusation. "I'm enjoying your body while trying to get what I want from you."
"You totally are. You can't use sex as a weapon, Darke."
"I'm an incubus. Sex is the best weapon I have, outside of my fists and shadows.”
Anger flared in my chest. I looked to the side, trying to find my clothes, but they were too far to reach easily.
Guess we were having this conversation while I was topless.
"I'm not sealing a bond with you until we've come to an agreement. There needs to be a schedule. Something concrete as far as what we're going to do and be."
"What we’re going to be is mates, Mer."
"I still want a schedule." I slipped off his lap. He didn't stop me, this time, just leaning back against the couch as I sucked in a panicked breath.
Everything hit me at once.
The waistband of my pants, digging in just a little too tight.
The tickle of my hair against my neck, a few inches longer than I liked it thanks to my hatred for going in to get it cut.
The gentle flow of chilled air blowing from a vent nearby.
Those fucking invisible bugs.
Grayson's shadows materialized at my shoulders, wrapping around me like a warm, light blanket.
Slowly, my overwhelm sort of... softened.
It was there, but it was lighter.
Easier to ignore.
"What do you want to schedule?" Grayson asked.
"The time we’re going to spend together, if any. You need to be here. I need to be in my home. The best-case scenario for this mate bond involves both of us returning to our normal lives."
"I don’t know how you could’ve convinced yourself of that. In your normal life, you can barely leave your house."
I resisted the urge to pull his shadows closer, as if they really were a blanket. Obviously, they weren't. If I'd tried to grab them, my hands probably would've gone right through. "So?"
"You'd rather go back to hiding at your house alone, while struggling beneath the weight of your magic, than live here with me?"
"Yes." It was a lie. A half-truth, at least.
The thought of staying with him was overwhelming, to say the least.
Plus, his home was a war zone. His people both feared, adored, and despised me.
And my family needed me. Darius, mostly.
"No." Grayson stood. More of his shadows gathered around me, moving and dancing over my skin as they darkened and thickened. "I'm not letting you go. You may have walked in here by choice, but you can consider yourself my prisoner now."
He strode toward the apartment’s front door.
"I could kill everyone in this building if I wanted to," I called after him. "I am not your prisoner."
"You only kill abusers, but nice try," he tossed back. "You have my phone number if you need it. Enjoy the apartment, because it's ours now, mate."
I glared at his back as he left the room, shutting and locking the door behind himself.
His shadows remained on my skin, though, and the weight of them eased the cost of my magic just as well as my bathtub ever had. They made me feel too good to even be angry.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and sent Grayson a text.
Me
I'm not staying here for more than a day or two
I can find a way to get out
Grayson
You can try
It'll probably start a war, though
Me
You wouldn’t go to war to keep me
Grayson
Wouldn’t I?
Me
We both agreed my people would win
Are you seriously threatening me now?
Grayson
You threatened me first, Love
Me
You're the one who brought up war!
Grayson
You threatened to escape
Me
YOU'RE HOLDING ME PRISONER!
Grayson
I'm also exerting the mental energy to hold my shadows on your skin because you're too fucking stubborn to let me ease your magic by holding your hand
Me
I never asked you to do that
Grayson
Well, one of us values mate bonds
Me
Fuck you
Grayson
I gave you the chance, you turned me down
There's food in the fridge, and the TV remote is on the coffee table, just try to relax
I have work stuff to deal with and won't be able to answer for a few hours, but I'll be back up there with dinner eventually
I'll try to keep the shadows with you, but when things get violent, some will come back to me
If your family shows up, I’ll fight them too. You're mine.
I waited for another message, but Grayson left it at that.
Another fucking threat.
One that followed some annoyingly considerate messages.
I let out a harsh breath, trying not to relish the temporary peace I had because of his shadows, but failing.
I'd never felt so good in my life. That made the ease pretty much impossible not to appreciate.
I sent back one more message before setting my phone on my couch and grabbing my bra off the floor.
Me
Try not to get yourself killed
I pulled the fabric over my head before glancing at the screen at one last text from the demon king.
Grayson
Probably won't
But just in case, you should've let me fuck you while we had the chance
I huffed... but I did kind of agree with him.
That whole conversation would've gone better if I'd let him fuck me, and I’d probably be feeling a lot happier at the moment.
Sticking to my guns was going to suck, but getting back to my life had to be my priority. Not just for my security and sanity, but for Dare’s too.