Page 133 of Demon's Bane

It’s not a whole lot to look at. Mostly a jumbled, eclectic bit of organized chaos—with the same hardwood floors as the rest of the apartment, a soft braided rug under a wrought-iron bed frame, and a mattress piled high with pillows and quilts. It’s decorated by a makeshift canopy of spare bits of gauzy fabric hanging from the ceiling, and various piles of books and yarn and plants and tarot decks spread across my desk and dresser. The walls are covered with a vintage floral wallpaper that’s more grandma chic than anything, but luckily you can’t see a lot of it beneath all the prints and photographs and bits of art I’ve collected over the years.

When I turn my attention back to Rhett, his eyes are wide, greedy, taking it all in before he turns back to me with that devastating smile still lighting up his face.

“A bit more lived-in than mine.”

Though he says it on the edge of a laugh, the comment still makes my chest ache a little, and I burrow closer into his embrace as he steps us into the room and over to the side of the bed.

Shifting my body against his, he slides out of me, and the blush on my cheeks gets even darker. Rhett chuckles as I clamp my thighs together, and he pulls the covers back and sets me gently down before turning to leave the room.

“Where are you—”

“I said I’d take care of you, didn’t I?”

All I can do is nod mutely and try not to let the knowing gleam in his eye make my face go any more crimson as he pads back down the hall and into the bathroom.

He’s back a few moments later with a damp cloth in hand, and I decide not to fight him on this one. Thighs spread, body still loose and tender from the orgasms he gave me, I simply let myself relax and enjoy being tended to.

Once he’s taken care of me, Rhett excuses himself again. I prop myself up on an elbow and shamelessly watch him go, all taut ass and impressive wings and miles and miles of muscled, tattooed skin.

And the view when he comes back is just as tantalizing.

Cock swinging between his thick thighs, nipple piercings glinting in the late afternoon light, another knowing smirk on his face.

Reaching deep to remember what we were just talking about, I gesture to the room around us.

“You can let me know if you’d like to make any changes.”

“And ruin the perfection?” he asks, climbing into bed and laying down beside me.

He hauls me up against him immediately, like even a few seconds of us not touching is unacceptable.

And I’m not about to disagree with him. Well, at least on that point.

“I want you to feel at home here. If there’s anything that would make you more comfortable, or anything we can bring back from the demon realm that would help—”

“I’ll think on it,” he assures me, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

Apparently, my cat has decided it’s safe to reappear from hiding as he leaps onto the bed and saunters his way up to us, turning around once before settling down on top of the comforter like he owns the place.

“Ah,” Rhett says, stroking Poe’s head as a loud, contented purr breaks from my little furball’s chest. “It seems your creature does not mind if I stay, either.”

It might just be because the last few hours—hell, the last fewdays—have left my emotions perilously close to the surface, but something about the sight of the two of them makes me feel like I might cry.

Luckily, I’m saved from those wildly unstable emotions by a rumble from beside me.

My phone buzzes where it’s plugged in on the nightstand, and I groan a little as my muscles protest when I lean over and grab it.

Everything alright up there?

Seren’s text is followed by a tongue-out, winking face emoji, and I stifle another groan as I set the phone down and roll back over to my mate.

“What is it?”

“Nothing,” I sigh. “Just my friends being nosy.”

Rhett’s brow furrows. “I should apologize. When I arrived here, I was not… thinking clearly. They probably think me terribly rude for—”

“It’s fine,” I hurry to assure him. “I told them what happened. Well, most of it, I kept some of the details to myself.”