Page 18

DANTE

Through the bond, Dante felt a numbness growing in Ollie. His poor mate had been through too much.

If only Dante could hold Ollie close and whisper sweet words in his ear, tell him he would be treasured for the rest of time, that he’d always have Dante, and that Dante would devote his life to keeping him safe and happy. But he couldn’t.

How did he express himself without it being too much for Ollie? This horrible day didn’t need to be any harder to get his head around.

Maybe they needed to do something simple, find a way to connect that had nothing to do with the mating bond.

“Why don’t we have dinner?” Dante offered.

Ollie looked at him as if he’d never heard of dinner and didn’t know how to respond to such a silly question.

Was Ollie even more overwhelmed than Dante thought?

Even if he was, they had to do something. It was impossible to keep sitting here without clothes on, resisting the urge to hold his mate and never let go.

Having Ollie on his lap had been sweet torture.

Everything in Dante begged him to claim his mate and be claimed in return.

To be close to Ollie, as intimate as two beings could be.

But no primal urge was enough for Dante to cross that line.

He’d never take advantage of Ollie. There were too many new sensations flowing between them for Dante to think that if Ollie had said yes to sex, he’d have meant it as much as he would have without the bond.

Ollie had been clear with what he wanted. A friend. Nothing romantic. And even if sex and romance weren’t connected for Ollie, they were for Dante.

He should approach Ollie more like he would Ash, no matter what his body was trying to tell him. “We can have something to eat and keep talking. I’m not trying to brush you off. You must be hungry.”

Ollie’s baffled expression faded. “I am a bit, now that I think about it.”

“Let’s get dressed.” Dante stood, but Ollie didn’t move. “I can grab something from Harper’s closet for you to wear. It’ll fit better than anything of mine.”

Ollie glanced around the room. “Harper has a closet at your house?”

“Ash lives with me and wanted Harper to have everything he needed when he stayed over.” Dante didn’t add that Ash routinely ruined Harper’s clothes and a second wardrobe was pretty much essential. At least Ash kept on top of the laundry.

Ollie glanced at his lap, his fingers twisting together. “Sure. I’ll take something of Harper’s.”

Dante left the room, moving at inhuman speed as soon as he was out of Ollie’s sight. He didn’t want to be away long. He needed a little distance from Ollie, but not enough to make him feel abandoned.

The new bond begged for closeness. Now that it was no longer distorted by Ollie’s lack of participation in the ritual, it was growing stronger, begging Dante and Ollie to connect .

It dug deep like it was burrowing into Dante’s soul. His skin tingled. Closer .

Dante focused on his breathing and the feel of Harper’s clothes beneath his fingers as he selected a shirt and shorts.

He centered his mind on his physical self, the way his wings itched to come out and his heart beat too fast, and used those sensations to block Ollie out, turning his mate’s emotions down like the volume on a TV.

A low growl escaped Dante’s throat without permission.

His primal side didn’t want to push his mate away, but Ollie seemed frightened of sharing his emotions.

Dante hated that any of this scared him, but he couldn’t stop himself from responding to Ollie’s unspoken needs if he could feel them, so the only way to put Ollie at ease was to block him out.

Closing down this part of the connection was best for Ollie, and with that reminder, Dante’s primal side got on board. Even his baser instincts would never desire something his mate didn’t.

Returning with the clothes, Dante found Ollie hadn’t moved an inch. This wasn’t good. Dante wasn’t doing enough to help Ollie through this, but what else could he do?

Ollie jumped the second he noticed Dante like he’d been woken from a trance. “I’ll change in the bathroom.”

He took the clothes and disappeared, leaving Dante to pull on the first thing he found.

Ollie reappeared, his arms crossed over his chest, voice shaky. “What if Lucifer comes back?”

Shit, Dante had been so wrapped up in the bond that he’d left Ollie worrying about Luc this whole time.

“Lucifer isn’t coming back, at least not right away. He ran back to the Realm of the Damned after I saved you. It’s what he did last time he was here, when we almost captured him. Ash will know the moment he returns to this realm, but until he does, he can’t possibly reach you. ”

Ollie frowned, fear dulling his usually bright eyes. “He snuck up on us at the beach and Ash didn’t warn you. What if he comes for me again?”

Dante closed the gap between them, gripping Ollie by the shoulders. “I’ll protect you, Ollie. I know I failed today, but it won’t happen again. I swear.”

“You can’t be with me twenty-four-seven,” Ollie said like he was scared Dante might insist on it.

He wanted to. Dante would be content to never leave Ollie’s side.

“No, I can’t be with you all the time,” he made himself say since it was clearly what his mate wanted.

“But that doesn’t mean you’re unsafe. You have my immortality and my healing power.

You are about as hard to kill as a demon.

You’ll survive anything short of decapitation or the complete removal of your blood, which can’t be done without magic. ”

Ollie’s cheeks paled.

Fuck, Dante sucked at this. “Not that I think anyone will try to do either of those things to you. I was trying to give you an idea of what possessing my healing ability means.” Ollie still looked deeply uncomfortable, so Dante barreled on.

“Luc realized he made a grave mistake after he saw me bond with you. He acted rashly, trying to kill you, and he won’t do it again now that he knows we’re mates. ”

Luc’s attempt to kill Ollie had been for sport, to fuck with Dante, and prove him wrong about finding his mate. He hadn’t believed Ollie was Dante’s, but he believed it now. There had been fear in Luc’s eyes before he’d disappeared.

Good. He should be afraid.

You didn’t harm someone’s mate. It was one of the ultimate rules. Seeing Dante with his mate had to change everything for Lucifer. Mates were why they fell, and Luc wouldn’t try to destroy what they’d been seeking. Right ?

Dante shook himself. What did it matter? He’d kill Luc soon enough, and the problem would be solved.

“How can you trust him not to try again?” Ollie asked. “And why are you calling him Luc, like you’re buddies?”

Dante suppressed a bitter laugh. “We were as close as family for thousands of years. It’s hard to drop the nickname, even now. Even when I hate him. And I don’t trust him. I know him. Even Luc isn’t so far gone that he’d harm my bonded mate.”

Ollie looked skeptical.

“Regardless, his days are numbered. I don’t think he’ll try to hurt you again, but Ash, Onyx, and I will hunt him down for what he did to you. We’ll keep you safe, Ollie.”

Ollie bit his lip like he was considering challenging Dante. “Okay,” he said instead. “I don’t quite get how you’re so sure it’ll be okay, but I trust you. I can’t seem to help it. With all this magic stuff, there isn’t anything to do but trust you.”

Damnation, Ollie sounded hopeless, like he was resigned to relying on Dante but didn’t like it.

“I’ll always be here for you, Ollie—I won’t take your trust for granted—but don’t forget, you have Harper too. He’s a powerful witch.”

Ollie uncrossed his arms, his face softening. “It’s so cool that Harper is a witch. Uh, I mean, it’s cool you’re immortal and have wings too. But it’s weird to think my sweet, innocent roommate has this hidden magic side.”

Dante smiled. “I won’t be offended if you’re more impressed with Harper than me.” And he wasn’t. He wanted Ollie to be comfortable with the magic world, no matter what it took.

He didn’t want Ollie to feel stuck with him. Dante would be here when Ollie chose to turn to him, but he wouldn’t force it by presenting himself as the only option.

“Let’s get something to eat. It’ll help you feel better.” He led Ollie to the kitchen and pulled out a barstool at the counter. Ollie perched on it tentatively as Dante considered their options. “Do you like chocolate?”

Ollie nodded, damp blond curls falling across his forehead. “Of course I like chocolate.”

Dante pulled open his candy drawer and selected several different chocolate bars, lining them up in front of Ollie. “Start with these, and I’ll make you a sandwich.”

Ollie glanced between the candy and Dante, a smile tugging at his lips. “I can’t eat all of these.”

Dante’s heart fluttered, caught on that lovely grin. “Why not?”

“Because that would be seven chocolate bars.” Ollie laughed like it was a ridiculous prospect.

Dante didn’t see the problem. “That’s never stopped me from eating this many—if not more—in one sitting.”

Ollie picked up a chocolate. “Says the immortal. Do you even need to eat?”

“Not exactly.” Dante hurried to grab sandwich fixings from the fridge, wishing he didn’t have to explain drinking blood. Would this be the thing that pushed Ollie irrevocably far away?

He turned back to Ollie, arms full of food. “Demons need to drink blood to maintain their immortality in the Human Realm. We don’t need food, but I like eating anyway.”

Ollie’s brows pulled together. “Do I need to drink blood now too? Since you said I have your immortality?”

Dante paused, his brow furrowing. “Harper hasn’t needed blood since mating with Ash. It seems that trait doesn’t pass on.”

He hadn’t considered whether their mates would need to drink blood. It made sense, given vampires—the only other immortals in the Human Realm—did, but for some reason, demons’ mates seemed to be an exception.