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“Don’t say my name,” I huff as I start following the other males. “You know I don’t like it.”

“I do not know this at all,” Rallan says, chuckling behind me. Whatever had him so nervous just a minute ago seems to have passed. He’s already back to being an annoying ass. “Every timeI say your name, your eyes flare with desire, and your body leans toward me. Your soul wants me. Your body wants me. I am very confused about which part of you is uncertain of me.”

“Uh, the most important part.” I whip my head to the side and up so I can glare at him some more.

He’s looking at me from the corner of his eyes. He lifts one of his hands like he’s going to put it on my far shoulder and pull me close to him. Part of me wants him to, and that’s the thought that has me forgetting whatever point I was trying to make. Stupid heart flutters.

“The most important part?” Rallan uses the hand I thought he was going to touch me with to rub the back of his neck. He gives it a soft squeeze before dropping it down again. A few of his brothers have slowed their speed so they can listen to us argue, but most of them are eager to get to the tribe and aren’t being slow just to eavesdrop. “I assume you are talking about your mind, are you not?”

“My mind?” I ask, confused about what he’s talking about, and then try to recover as smoothly as I can. “Yes, my mind is the most important part of me. It’s what makes me a person.”

“It is what makes you an insufferable female, you mean.” Rallan smiles brighter as he calls me the nickname he knows I hate. I don’t need to tell him I secretly like it. Just like the demon himself, it wiggled underneath my skin and made me grow warm with its familiarity.

“I hate you,” I mumble under my breath. I’m not quiet enough because a few of the others whip their heads around, eyes wide, as they look from Rallan to me. Yeah, I’m a model of healthy communication and nontoxic relationship building.

“Ignore her,” Rallan says, shooing his brothers away with a flick of his wrists. “My mate is a cranky female. Do not let her bristly exterior make you fear the other humans. I have yet to meet another just like her.”

“One, I’m not cranky.” I put my hands on my hips and add as much brazenness as I can to my words.

Rallan stops walking when he sees me stop and turns his body to face me. This time, when he steps closer to me, I don’t back down. He wants to make me run. He wants to push and push and push. Well, what if I don’t step back? What if I let him take up all my personal space? What is he actually going to do?

“Two, there are plenty of women just like me. Hot, talented, and opinionated. They’re great traits.”

“Opinionated?” Rallan asks with a disbelieving huff. “This is what you prefer your attitude to be called?”

“Yeah, opinionated makes me sound like a classy bitch and not just a bitch.” I wiggle my brows, unable to stop the smile on my lips.

“Never a bitch,” Rallan murmurs as he bends lower until his face is close to mine. “I do not think you could ever be a bitch. Especially not when you haven’t denied being my mate once today.”

He keeps his face close to me for long enough to watch as I piece his words together. My left eye starts to twitch before I can even go back over how many times he’s called me mate and what my reaction was each time. I suck in a short breath and press my lips into a tight line.

Rallan throws his head back and laughs as he straightens to his full height. He starts walking again, even as I reel from his observation. When he stiffened earlier, he was expecting me to tell him not to call me mate, and I hadn’t even thought about it. And just now, when he said it again, I made a point to be difficult about what he said but not about calling me mate. I can’t even deny it either. The smug asshole is walking away with a saunter he doesn’t deserve, and it has me wanting to jump him.

“I— That— Urg—“

I don’t manage to come up with anything remotely intelligent sounding as I run over to him. My face is burning, but I refuse to let him affect me more than he already has.

Whatever, so I didn’t correct him for calling me mate. I can still push him away in other ways. I can keep a distance between us.

Sure, I’ve now conceded to allowing him to hold me when I go to sleep, but that’s because he rubs my head so nicely. I can’t help but fall asleep in his bed. And yeah, sometimes I catch myself leaning into his touches without noticing and then have to remind myself not to. And maybe, just maybe, I like it when he calls me mate, and it fills me with a warmth I haven’t felt since Vex dumped me. Not that I’ve been trying to feel that warmth because I’ve very actively been trying to avoid it.

“Do not be upset,” Rallan says. This time, he doesn’t hesitate to throw his arm over my shoulders and pull me close to his side.

I should push him off. I should tell him I don’t like how I react to him. I should, I should, I should. But I’m tired of denying myself.

“I will give you many more opportunities to tell me not to call you mate. Starting right now, I think. Yes, my mate, Simone, is a prickly female, but she is also filled with love and kindness that she shows to everyone who is not her strong, powerful mate.”

“Shut up,” I whine against his side as I turn my head against his tunic.

His grip tightens on my shoulder, and I swear I can hear him mumble something about being blessed before his jovial voice finally concedes. “You are right. There is much walking to do. It would be wrong to waste all of my talking now when we are just beginning.”

I let him keep me close, or rather, I keep myself plastered to his side and tell myself that it’s because of how tight he’s holding me. Silence isn’t something Rallan does well with, so of course,he lasts all five minutes before he calls some of the other demons to walk with us so he can talk with them. I don’t mind because I just get to listen, and he’s done with poking me.

I don’t extricate myself from his hold. Anytime Rallan seems like he’s going to move his arm, I might tense, but I don’t tell him not to move, so it’s fine. This is all fine.

“When you grow tired, let me know so I can carry you.” Rallan lowers his head as close as he can to me without removing his hold on me. He says the words so quietly that the others don’t hear, and I appreciate that because I don’t need them to know that there will come a time when I’m too exhausted to keep going. My options will be to end the day early and take twice the amount of time to get to the tribe or let Rallan carry me.

I turn my face up to him and give him a small nod. The look in his eyes is one I haven’t seen before, or maybe he keeps it locked away from me when I’m not the most complacent. It’s a look of adoration and vulnerability that tells me if I were to reject him right now, it would cause actual wounds.