Page 52 of Demon's Desire

Nico’s heart ached in protest. He’d have to work on that.

“It’s so much easier not hiding demon stufffrom you,” Harper went on. “It’ll be better for you to know what’s happening with Lucifer, too. Safer, so you aren’t dragged into things blindly. You’ll be prepared if anything’s coming. Not that Lucifer would have any reason to come after you, unless…”

Nico waited a beat. “Unless what? Don’t leave me hanging.”

“Sorry.” Harper hesitated again. “I wonder… Lucifer came after me and Ollie because we were hanging around the other demons. He could potentially target you if you’re spending more time with Onyx.”

“But that was different.” Nico and Onyx weren’t the same as Harper and Ash, or Ollie and Dante.

“True. Our attacks were before Lucifer believed we were real mates. Now that he knows, he probably won’t attack you if he thinks you’re Onyx’s mate. At least that’s what Ash and Dante believe. But there’s always a slim chance. We don’t really know what’s going through Lucifer’s mind.”

“Wait. Why would Lucifer think I’m Onyx’smate?” Nico’s body flashed hot, and sweat broke out on the back of his neck. Did Harper think he was Onyx’s mate?

Nico’s reservations about the mating bond were general. He’d never considered that the situation would apply to him. If it did, what would he think? Would he change his mind about immortality? Would he accept being bound permanently to another soul even when he’d sworn never to put himself in that position, no matter how much he trusted someone?

Harper shuffled his feet, breaking eye contact for a second. “If Lucifer is spying on us again, and notices the two of you spending time together—even if it’s platonic—he might assume Onyx is being drawn to you, like Ash and Dante were drawn to me and Ollie.”

“But Onyx isn’t drawn to me.” Nico could have laughed. He wasn’t special to the demon.

The image of Onyx outside his window filledhis mind.

Nico shook it off. Onyx had needed someone. He liked Nico, and Nico had already proven he couldn’t easily be pushed away. Of course Onyx had shown up. It was no more than one friend seeking support from another.

Nico was like any other friend-with-benefits in Onyx’s life. But why did acknowledging that stab him in the heart?

“Onyx certainly didn’t want to help you with Rowan. I guess he would have if he’d been drawn to you.” Harper seemed to mull this over, except he looked less convinced by his own logic the longer he was quiet. “Anyway, you’d know more than me. I don’t mean to tell you what’s going on with you two. Onyx is a good guy, and I think he wants friends more than he admits. That’s all.”

“You’re right about that.” Nico wanted Onyx to be open to positive relationships, especially in his case.

He was pretty damn drawn to the prickly demon. To some extent, it had to be mutual. That didn’t mean it was magic. People were drawn together all the time, and it had nothing to do with mates.

Rowan:

I need to speak to Onyx.

Nico staredat the ominous text.

He’d closed the shop for the day. Harper was long gone, meeting Ollie and their human friend, Dex, to go to a concert. An event that Harper had said the demons wouldn’t be attending.

Nico was glad to hear that the boys did things on their own. Maybe there wasn’t as much to worry about with the mating bond as he’d assumed. His reservations were still valid, but thelonger he spent around the mated pairs, the more he realized being mated wasn’t overriding the boys’ lives. The bond was potentially problematic, but, in their cases, didn’t seem to be in practice.

Perhaps Nico was going soft on the idea. He couldn’t lie, the possibility of being Onyx’s mate had nagged at him all day.

He replied to Rowan.

Nico:

I’ll let him know. Want us to come by tonight?”

Rowan:

Yes. This can’t wait.

Nico:

What’s going on? Can I get a heads up?

Rowan: