Devlin walked beside me in silence, his jaw tight, his brows pulled into a deep scowl as he led me toward the main street.

Agitation rolled off him in waves, twisting around us like a storm barely being held at bay.

It wasn’t until The Poisoned Appletini finally faded from view that his body relaxed.

“Are you okay?” I asked. I had intended to sound empathetic. But Devlin was practically a stranger—a stranger who had, without warning and for no good reason, attacked Rowan, a friend who had only been trying to comfort me. So maybe my words came out with a slight edge.

“ Me? ” Devlin scoffed, letting out an exasperated huff. “I’m fine. Are you okay?”

“Of course,” I said, my tone sharper than I meant it to be.

Devlin’s amber eyes flicked toward me, his gaze darkening. “You didn’t look okay.”

“Rowan is a friend,” I snapped.

His nostrils flared. “Yeah? Well, from where I was standing, he didn’t look all that friendly.

” My hands curled into fists at my sides, but Devlin wasn’t finished.

“You do know that orcs can be incredibly dangerous,” he continued, his voice a low warning.

“And don’t even get me started on their jealous streak.

” He took a step closer, his eyes burning into mine. “He made you cry , Jen.”

At his words, the anger in my chest eased. I supposed that from Devlin’s perspective, it could have looked like Rowan was antagonizing me. After all, I had been uncomfortable. I had cried. And when Rowan tried to reach out, I had pulled away.

“I was upset because Rowan told me about Ms. Cadmus’s declining health,” I said softly.

Devlin stilled, turning fully to face me.

“And Rowan was only trying to comfort me,” I continued, meeting his gaze, “but I pulled my hand away because... well, he might have had a bit of a crush on me—” Devlin’s nostrils flared.

“But that was a long, long time ago,” I added quickly.

“Besides, didn’t you see the ring on his nose? He’s claimed.”

Devlin let out a sharp breath, his jaw clenching. “Take it from an incubus, Jen—unless you’ve found your fated mate, claimed and married people can and do stray.”

I snorted. “Well, that’s a very pessimistic outlook, Devie .”

He shot me a withering look. “Not everyone,” he admitted.

“Of course, non-mated couples can be perfectly happy and not stray.” He exhaled, dragging a frustrated hand down his face.

“But... being a creature that can literally sense the true desires of those around you makes you less inclined to trust what comes out of people’s mouths. ”

I tilted my head. “And what exactly did your senses tell you about Rowan’s intentions?”

Devlin arched a brow at me, and then—without missing a beat—slipped into a near-perfect imitation of my own voice: “‘Rule number one: keep your senses dampened.’”

I rolled my eyes. “That was terrifyingly accurate.”

His lips twitched. “I have layers, Jen.”

It was kind of sweet that Devlin hadn’t bent my rules—not even to gauge if the women in the bar were remotely interested in him.

“Round one to Devie ,” I said, unable to keep the amusement from my voice.

Devlin rolled his eyes. “Please don’t call me that.”

I grinned up at him. “Okay, no pet names for you. But while we’re on the subject—what exactly did Brooke mean when she told you not to forget about her proposal?”

Devlin shook his head, a bemused frown creasing his brow. “Literally that. She asked me to marry her.”

I stumbled. “ What ?”

Brooke was eccentric, sure. She had a wild, impulsive streak. But proposing marriage to a complete stranger within minutes of meeting him? That was out of character, even for her. A strange, sharp feeling twisted in my gut. Had Devlin actually considered it?

She had reminded him, after all, which meant he hadn’t given her an outright no during their conversation.

And he was looking for someone to connect with.

Brooke was beautiful. Fun. Lively. She’d make the perfect partner for Devlin if he wanted something emotional, something real.

Unlike me—chronically glum, emotionally unavailable me—she could be light. She could be easy.

“I’m not really sure what happened,” Devlin admitted with a shrug.

“I was only half listening. She must have brushed up against me without me noticing and fell under the influence of my touch.” He shot me a sidelong glance.

“She had just asked me if I’d consider marrying her when your orc friend —” He practically spat the last word, as if still unconvinced that Rowan’s intentions had been as innocent as I’d claimed.

“—tried to touch you without permission.”

His nostrils flared slightly, a residual flicker of possessiveness still simmering beneath the surface.

I probably should tell Devlin the truth—that I had recoiled from Rowan because my succubus side had once turned him into a lust-fueled stalker.

But I didn’t have the energy to explain the ins and outs of being part succubus, not when it meant dragging up my parents.

I was trying to avoid that conversation wherever possible.

And I had a sinking feeling that if Devlin found out that Rowan had stalked me, he’d turn on his heel and finish the job he’d started in the bar. So instead, I said, “Looking out for me wasn’t part of the pact we made.” I hesitated, then sighed. “But... thanks.”

At some point, we had reached the edge of the forest. The last glow of light from town was swallowed by the trees, and darkness consumed the path ahead.

Devlin, of course, had no problem seeing in the dark.

And if my succubus side hadn’t been completely cut off, I would have at least been able to see well enough to avoid tripping over my own feet.

But the sky had clouded over, completely obscuring the sliver of moonlight that had helped me on the way in.

I could feel Devlin’s amusement—could practically sense the smug little smirk tugging at his lips. Unlike before, however, he didn’t offer his hand to guide me. But there was no way I was going to ask him for help—not after telling him I didn’t need him looking out for me a second ago.

Steeling myself, I splayed my arms out for balance and took a cautious step forward.

Devlin let out a low, knowing chuckle, making me more determined to get back to the cabin without his help.

Unfortunately, my determination didn’t stop my foot from catching on something solid.

I barely had time to register I was falling before I instinctively threw my arms up to brace for an impact that never came.

Because before I could hit the ground, Devlin’s arm wrapped firmly around my waist. A surge of heat shot through me where we touched, even through the fabric of my hoodie. His grip was effortless as he easily pulled me back upright.

Then, just as quickly as he had caught me, he let me go.

His voice dipped into a low, velvety hum, laced with unmistakable amusement. “Do you want to take my arm, Jen?”

I scowled, which only earned me another infuriatingly amused chuckle from Devlin. “Fine,” I huffed. “But only because I won’t be able to write if I fall and break my arm.”

“Of course,” he said smoothly.

His large, warm hand squeezed mine just slightly before guiding my arm to loop through his.

His forearm was solid, the muscles beneath his skin taut and strong—and I did my absolute best not to focus on the way they flexed under my fingers.

We resumed our silent walk, Devlin expertly leading me past the various obstacles littering the woodland path, adjusting his steps to keep me from stumbling.

Unfortunately, this was the longest I had ever been in sustained physical contact with any man since my succubus side had first awakened.

And my sex-starved brain decided that now was the perfect time to start superimposing Devlin’s face into every filthy fantasy I’d ever had, playing them on a loop in graphic detail inside my head.

My core clenched, heat pooling deep in my stomach, and it took everything in me to keep my scowl firmly in place.

There was no way in hell I was going to let Devlin know what his touch was doing to me.

“This is nice,” Devlin said a few moments later, cutting through the very vivid image currently playing in my mind—the one where he pulled me into the forest, pinned me against a tree, and had his way with me.

“Being able to touch someone without worrying that I’m going to send them into a lust-filled craze, that is,” he clarified.

I swallowed hard, immensely grateful that Devlin had actually stuck to his word and kept his senses dampened. Because if he could feel even a fraction of the utter filth currently looping through my brain, I doubted he’d be quite so obliging in escorting me home.

“Uh-huh,” I squeaked.

“Um,” Devlin said awkwardly, his grip shifting slightly against my arm. “I was meaning to talk to you about your thoughts on reenacting the upcoming scenes. They... progressively get more intimate, and I think it would be a good idea to establish boundaries before we begin.”

Boundaries.

A great idea.

Except that, in my current state, my body was screaming at me to have absolutely no boundaries whatsoever when it came to Devlin.

“Um, yeah, sure,” I said, my voice a little too high-pitched. “What do you think?”

He gave me a look. “I’m an incubus demon, Jen. We don’t really have many boundaries at all,” he said, like it should have been obvious. “I think it’s best if you tell me what lines you don’t want to cross.”

The twenty-seven-year-old virgin currently experiencing the most intimate touch of her life wanted to blurt out, To hell with boundaries! Let me experience every scene in full. Now.

But my last remaining brain cell pleaded with me to slow down. I had spent years believing I was waiting for one person. Would I regret not saving myself for my mate after holding out this long? Or... was my obsession with the Samhain summoning just a toxic cycle I needed to break?

And then there was Devlin, who had claimed he didn’t have boundaries, yet had very clearly put them in place. He was taking a break from being an incubus. He wanted something more, something emotional. And I had promised to help him find that.

But regardless of these budding, confusing emotions, my heart was still reserved for my mate.

And Devlin? He wouldn’t find love with me.

“How about we just... play it by ear?” I said, still unable to decide which voice in my head to listen to.

“Play it by ear,” he echoed, the dissatisfaction in his tone clear.

I nearly sighed in relief when I spotted the flickering candlelight from my cabin peeking through the trees. Finally, this agonizing conversation would be over. Except... it wouldn’t be. Because once we reached the cabin, we’d be reenacting the next scene of the book.

“Um, yeah,” I said, my mind scrambling for some kind of compromise between my warring thoughts. “Let’s just say that if either one of us feels uncomfortable with any of the scenes, we can just say ‘stop,’ and we will.”

The glow from the cabin was just bright enough for me to catch the amused smirk tugging at the corner of Devlin’s lips. “Traditionally,” he murmured, his voice low and teasing, “a safe word is something other than ‘stop.’”

“You’re the incubus demon—you come up with one,” I said.

Devlin hummed in thought, then, with unmistakable mischief in his tone, said, “How about ‘Yaba Daba Doo?’”

I snorted. “Absolutely not. I am not saying ‘Yaba Daba Doo’ in the middle of an intimate moment.”

“Alright, alright,” he said, struggling to keep a straight face. “How about ‘Yaba Daba Don’t ?’”

I burst into laughter, and Devlin’s deep, rumbling chuckle quickly joined mine.

“Devlin, seriously,” I said between giggles. “Pick something sensible.”

He sighed dramatically. “You wound me, Jen. ‘Yaba Daba Don’t’ is an amazing safe word, and quite frankly, I’m deeply disappointed that you don’t appreciate my creative genius.”

I rolled my eyes as he lightly bumped his shoulder into mine.

“But fine ,” he said, feigning exasperation. “If you want something boring and basic, how about ‘Meat Loaf?’”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Why ‘meat loaf?’”

Devlin kept his gaze fixed straight ahead, the picture of innocence—if it wasn’t for his chest vibrating as he fought to contain his laughter.

“Out with it,” I demanded, though my lips were already twitching into a grin.

He barely held back a chuckle. “Meat Loaf. ’Cause, y’know...” And then, to my utter horror and delight, Devlin, with absolutely no shame whatsoever and completely off-key, belted out, “I WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR LOVE... BUT I WON’T DO THAT! ”