Page 55 of Demon's Heart

Ollie cringed. Every one of his words had sounded impossibly dumb. Why would Dante be busy at two in the morning? Ollie wanted Dante so badly now that he’d heard his voice, but he shouldn’t. It was too much. Relying on someone like this was a recipe for an unhealthy relationship.

“I’m not busy,” Dante replied. “Would you like me to come over?”

“Yes,” Ollie breathed into the phone, hating the relief washing over him. Maybe he was the obsessed, stalkery one of the two of them.

“I’ll be right over.”

“Okay, thanks. It’s not a big deal. But I can’t stop thinking about the beach and all these weird things I don’t understand.” Hell, he was making it worse. Shut up.

“We can talk about it, and I’ll explain anything you want,” Dante said like he wasn’t freaked out by Ollie at all. “Thank you for calling.”

“Yeah. See you soon.” Ollie lowered the phone and ended the call.

He tapped his fingers against the back of the phone. How long would it take Dante to get here? What was Ollie going to say when he arrived? His cheeks burned, heart pounding, but it wasn’t like when he’d been in bed. He wasn’t hopeless.

Not long later, he got a text from Dante saying he was at Ollie’s front door. He jumped up from the couch and went to let him in.

“How’d you get in the building?” Ollie asked as he opened the door. He should have had to buzz Dante in.

“I came from the roof.” Dante stepped inside and reached for Ollie, then dropped his hands like he’d changed his mind.

Ollie wished Dante wouldn’t hold back. He wanted Dante to touch him, hold him, care for him. He wanted Dante as something other than a friend. It had never been more glaring than it was right then, but Ollie was afraid of what he wanted, especially in the face of everything he didn’t understand about mates and immortality.

Ollie shifted unsteadily on his feet. “Thanks for coming so quick.”

Dante quietly shut the door. “Anytime, Ollie. Like I said, you can always call. It’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too.” Ollie reached out and squeezed Dante’s hand. He could get lost in Dante’s deep-brown eyes. His gaze was grounding, tethering Ollie to the moment and keeping him from getting lost in the memory of hands on his throat.

Ollie dropped Dante’s hand and turned away. Dante wasn’t wearing a shirt, and Ollie would ravage him with his eyes if he didn’t get himself together.

He led Dante to the living room. “You flew here?”

“I fly pretty much everywhere. Would you like me to put my shirt back on?” Dante sat on the couch, gesturing to where a shirt was tied to his belt.

Ollie shook his head. “Do whatever’s most comfortable for you. You can take your wings back out if you want.”

Dante smiled so tenderly that Ollie’s heart skipped. “I prefer having my wings out, but space is a little tight here.”

That was disappointing, even if it shouldn’t be. “I didn’t think of that.” Ollie sat beside Dante, much closer than he’d been to Harper.

Dante ran a hand through his black curls and his horns appeared, dark gray shimmering in the low light. “How’s this?”

Ollie resisted the urge to reach out and touch them. “Good.” He liked seeing Dante as he truly was.

Dante’s expression shifted from pleased to concerned, more lines appearing around his eyes. “How have you been, Ollie? Tell me what’s bothering you.”

Ollie twisted his hands in his lap. “I keep thinking about the beach and feeling his hands on me. I’m so overwhelmed. I don’t get what’s happening. Why did you say we were mates before you needed to save me?”

Dante didn’t immediately respond, and the urge to explain himself got the better of Ollie.

“I feel like I’m missing something. What does being your mate mean? I know I have to deal with the trauma of the attack, and I’m not going to be okay with what happened and forget it immediately, but all this other stuff is worse. I don’t know what’s happening with my life—my future—now that I’ll live forever. What if you don’t want me as your mate anymore?”

Ollie bit his lip, forcing himself to be quiet. Fuck, he shouldn’t have let that last worry out.

Creases appeared around Dante’s mouth, bringing a sense of deep sadness to his expression. “You don’t have to worry about me not wanting to be your mate. I’ve always wanted to be your mate. You’re right. You’re still missing a few things. I didn’t tell you everything.”

Ollie scooted closer. “Why not?”