Page 35

OLLIE

Ollie glanced over his shoulder and caught Harper’s eye as he and Ash stood from the booth. Harper pointed to the door, and Ollie threw him a wave.

“I think everyone is leaving.”

Dante followed his gaze. “Would you like to head home with Harper?”

Ollie placed a hand on Dante’s chest. “I was actually hoping you’d take me home.”

“Of course I’ll walk you home.”

“No, take me home. To your place.”

Dante’s eyes widened. “Oh.”

“You’re getting lucky on this date. You played all your cards right.”

A new perspective on fate and their bond changed everything. It all lined up, and Ollie needed to give in to the bubbly feeling coursing through him.

This thing with Dante was going to work out.

It wasn’t a trap. Fate didn’t rob him of choice.

It was a guarantee. A safety net. Ollie could take all the risks he’d been afraid of, and the bond would protect him, give him the security to make the right choices.

He’d figure out how to be with Dante without losing himself because, in the end, they were meant to be.

Maybe it wouldn’t always be smooth sailing, but what was?

When Ollie cleared his mind of worries about magic, he saw how right Dante was for him.

Dante was dependable and consistent. When he said something, he followed through.

His values and actions aligned. There was no hidden agenda or two-faced switch coming.

He was the kind of person it was safe to take risks with.

Ollie could trust himself with Dante, something he hadn’t done with anyone since that first toxic relationship. He’d been too afraid to give himself credit, but when he stopped doubting himself, he could admit he already knew how to do the right things.

He’d been doing them already. Taking space, being intentional, not aiming to please at the expense of himself, taking things slow.

It wasn’t only that the bondguaranteed a good outcome.

It reminded Ollie he could do this. The bond was his.

It came from him rather than influenced him. He could do this.

“I played my cards right?” Dante’s brow wrinkled and his lips curved in a crooked smile. “Enough for you to brave flying?”

“Let’s say my desire to explore that giant bed of yours is enough to brave flying.”

With what sounded like a growl, Dante took Ollie’s hand and pulled him toward the door. They left without looking back and wandered the streets until they found a deserted back lot.

“Are you sure you don’t mind flying?” Dante asked after casting his invisibility illusion. “I was going to create a harness to strap you to me so you’d feel more secure if we did this again. But I haven’t made it yet.”

Ollie covered his mouth. “A harness? That’s so kinky of you, Dante.”

His cheeks darkened. “Is it? ”

“You’re adorable.” Ollie glanced at the sky. “I appreciate you trying to help me with my fear of heights, but if you don’t do any unnecessary swooping, I think it’ll be okay. I’m not quite as scared as I let you believe.”

Dante pulled off his shirt and released his wings, gray feathers shimmering in the streetlight. “Why didn’t you want me flying you before if you aren’t scared of heights?”

“After everything that happened, I needed to do things myself and not rely on you. Not do something just because you told me to. Not let everything change if I didn’t want it to.” Ollie’s gut twisted. “I was being stubborn, and seeing everything through the lens of having my boundaries broken.”

Understanding crossed Dante’s face. “You were taking back control.”

It sounded silly now. But at the time, it had felt hugely important. “Getting myself home was all I could do that day. And I am a little scared of heights, so it wasn’t a total lie.”

Dante opened his arms. “Then I won’t fly higher than I need to.”

Ollie stepped into his mate’s embrace. “This time, I will wrap around you like a koala.”

Dante hummed and picked him up, holding on tight. Ollie wound his arms and legs around Dante, burying his fingers in Dante’s hair.

Dante squeezed Ollie’s ass, and he yelped, dissolving into giggles.

“I can distract you along the way,” Dante murmured in his ear.

Ollie sobered. “That sounds like a recipe for dropping me.”

“I’d never.” Dante shimmied his hips, jostling Ollie’s legs as he readjusted.

Something tickled Ollie’s lower back.

“What’s that? ”

“My tail.” Dante smiled slyly as his tail crept under Ollie’s shirt, sliding over his stomach.

Ollie leaned in and bit lightly at Dante’s earlobe. “Okay, you have a deal. Distract me.”

A low rumble reverberated from Dante’s chest, the vibrations thrumming through Ollie. Dante’s tail snaked upward and flicked one of Ollie’s nipples. Ollie gasped, a jolt of pleasure lighting him up, and Dante launched into the air.

Ollie snapped his eyes shut. “Hey, that was sneaky. You didn’t warn— oh .” He shivered as Dante’s tail flicked back and forth, arms holding Ollie so tight he’d never know they were off the ground.

Okay. The wind rushing past was a giveaway. But he wouldn’t look. He wanted to enjoy this.

Ollie pressed his lips to Dante’s neck, breathing in his peppermint scent as it mixed with the night air, the two melding like Dante belonged out here in the dark sky.

He sucked on Dante’s neck, scraping his teeth over the spot. Fuck, he wanted to mark Dante. He tasted so good. So fresh. If Ollie had fangs, he’d latch on.

Dante squeezed his rear. “You’re getting hard.”

“Mm,” Ollie hummed. His cock strained against his jeans and Dante’s stomach. “We better be home soon. I’ve got ideas.”

Dante’s wingbeats sped up and they swooped. Ollie’s stomach dropped, and he yelped as he clung on.

“We’re here,” Dante murmured. “One last drop.”

They landed, and Ollie’s eyes flew open. He inspected Dante’s neck. “Aww. There’s no hickey.”

Dante laughed, carrying Ollie toward the open sliding doors. “You sound disappointed.”

“I am. It’s your demon healing, isn’t it?”

“Afraid so. You’d be the same if I tried to mark you now that we’re bonded. ”

Ollie squirmed against Dante as they entered the house. He didn’t really mind. He wasn’t that into wearing or giving marks. “What about biting?”

In the living room, Dante tumbled Ollie onto the couch, flicking his wrist to turn on the surrounding floor lamps. His fangs descend partially. “What about it?”

Ollie swallowed. He ached for Dante’s fangs to pierce his skin, but that wasn’t all he wanted. “Can I bite you too?”

Dante groaned, bracing his arms on the back of the couch on either side of Ollie’s head. “You most definitely can.”

A wall of desperate need hit Ollie in the chest. For once, he wasn’t the one breaking through the barrier between them.

“I felt that,” he teased, and Dante’s eyes flashed with black fire, his face and neck flushing. “Let me in. I want to see how undone you are before we’ve even started.”

Dante’s eyes glowed and he dropped the barrier, revealing a need so strong it was like a magnet pulling Ollie toward his mate.

Dante’s soul begged for him. If anything, he was needier than last night.

The connection felt brighter too. There was no other way to describe it.

Bright and happy, echoing Ollie’s own happiness.

For the first time, Ollie understood what Dante meant about the magic being created between them. Now that he was no longer resigned to this but excited about what the bond could give him, he could feel something solidifying and building on itself.

Dante’s fire burned, and Ollie had never been warmer. How had he ever doubted being the source of his feelings? This wasn’t a trick or outside influence. Nothing had felt as personal—as him—as responding to Dante’s seemingly bottomless need.

Dante pressed his forehead against Ollie’s, panting slightly.

Ollie cupped the side of Dante’s neck. “Me biting you sounds that good? ”

He whined. “Yes, I want you to own every part of me. Show me that I’m yours.”

Bringing their lips together, Ollie pulled Dante onto the couch. He came willingly, letting Ollie push him around as if he were the inhumanly strong one.

Dante spread his wings and sunk back into the cushions.

Ollie straddled his lap, running his hands along Dante’s feathers. “This is my favorite spot.”

“Mine too.” Dante cupped his hips and dragged him closer.

It was a good thing Dante hadn’t put his shirt back on. Ollie caressed him, leaning down to nip at Dante’s nipples. Dante hissed, rolling his hips. Body begging for more.

Ollie made his way to Dante’s neck, and Dante automatically turned his head to the side, baring his throat for Ollie. Ollie’s breath caught. This was his demon. He was claiming Dante, almost more than he had when they’d performed the mating ritual.

Then, Ollie hadn’t understood. He’d known it was right, but there was too much pain. Too much he had the wrong way around. Now he knew. Dante was the one he’d face all his fears for. The one he could build a life with.

He’d figure it all out with his sweet demon. He chose this. How could he not? The potential of a fated mate was intoxicating.

Ollie licked a stripe up Dante’s throat. “Is it going to hurt since I don’t have fangs?”

Dante shook his head. “Not when I want it like this.” He trembled slightly, and Ollie felt a tingle of anticipation shoot down the bond. “Have me.”

Ollie growled, Dante’s need sparking a raging hunger in him. He bit into the arch of Dante’s neck, breaking the skin. Dante bucked his hips, crying out as warm, sweet peppermint flooded Ollie’s mouth .

Dante whimpered, holding Ollie tight as he drank. Pleasure filled Ollie from within, down his spine and deep in his core. It flowed from Dante to him and back again.

Ollie met each of Dante’s frantic thrusts. Fucking hell, they should have taken their clothes off.

Dante’s heart thundered. Ollie felt it as he drank. How wild was that? Its rhythm matched their pleasure until Dante’s thrusts faltered.

“Ollie. Fuck. Please . Yes. Take me. Fuck me.”