Page 87 of Demon's Heart

“No need to thank me, silly. It wasn’t a favor.” Ollie’s grin broke through, and Dante chuckled. “I won’t make you wait that long again, promise.”

“No, I don’t think either of us would survive that.” Dante ran his fingers through Ollie’s sweat-damp hair and the emotional connection between them dimmed.

“Wait.” Ollie lifted his head. “Don’t go yet. I want to keep you close a little longer.”

The bond opened back up, radiating an electrifying energy that gave Ollie whole body tingles.

Dante brushed Ollie’s cheek with his thumb. “You got it. Anything for you, mate.”

Ollie snuggled back down. He liked being mated. Who’d have thought? It wasn’t a burden at all.

Dante was a gift.

24

DANTE

Eventually,Dante and Ollie made it to the bedroom, and after cleaning up in the shower, Dante brought Ollie to bed.

Ollie dove onto the large mattress and bellyflopped, his perky ass jiggling.

Dante’s tail flicked. “You said you wanted to explore, but wow, you’re really going for it.”

Ollie giggled and rolled over, showing Dante everything he had, and damn if it wasn’t the most beautiful sight. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’d been having threesomes and more in this bed. It has to sleep at least four.”

Dante snorted. “Sometimes, I lie on my stomach with my wings draped over the sides. I need the extra support.”

Ollie spread his arms. “I like imagining you sleeping with your wings out. I could tuck right under one. Keep me nice and warm.”

The image of Ollie snuggled in, safe and happy where nothing could harm him or tear them apart, had Dante by the throat.

Ollie crawled up the bed and settled in, pulling the coversup to his nose. “I’ll admit, this is pretty nice. But the living room floor is cutting some fierce competition.”

Dante’s face flamed. “I hadn’t imagined using the space so, uh, creatively when I designed the room, but I’m glad I left enough space for my wingspan.”

“Mm.” Ollie wiggled deeper into the covers. “It was meant to be.”

Dante climbed in and pulled Ollie against him.

Meant to be. It sure was, and his mate was saying it like it was a good thing, not something to fear.

Ollie settled his head against Dante’s chest, letting out a soft moan, and even with their emotional connection closed off, Dante knew his mate was happy.

There was no rush to share emotions all the time, even though it would be immensely special. Doing it like this gave Dante time to appreciate connecting in other ways. How he and Ollie would have if they hadn’t been forced into this.

“I have to be home early,” Ollie said with a yawn. “Dex is coming over for breakfast. We get together most Sundays.”

“No problem. We can fly, or I can pop you down the hill to catch a ride.”

“Maybe fly? Then I can sleep in longer. It’s faster than driving across the city.”

Dante stroked Ollie’s hair. “Flying it is.”

“What are you up to tomorrow?”

Dante’s hand stilled. “I’ve been having some problems with the shearwaters. We think there’s a rogue demon in the city who escaped the Realm of the Damned when Luc came here last month. Some of my birds died, and I’ve been keeping them close since, but we need to find whoever’s lurking around, so I’m going to set a trap.”

Ollie propped himself up on Dante’s chest. “Is it dangerous? For you or the birds?”