Page 99 of Hell Fae Warden

“What are you…?” I trailed off.

He draped the silky ribbon over the curve of my hip and resecured the robe neatly over my breasts before ensuring the fabric was fully aligned down to my belly button. Then he grabbed the tie again and created a decadent knot against my stomach, one that formed the shape of a rose. “Much better.”

I gaped down at it. I suddenly felt like a gift-wrapped present. The question was, whom had he just wrapped me up for?

With a quick shake of my head to stir me from any unwanted thoughts, I asked, “Why are you here, Melek?”Wait, no.“Sorry,PrinceMelek.”

Or did I only need to refer to him that way around Lucifer?

I hadn’t bothered to use the formal title when talking about Melek with Ajax since we’d always called him by his name alone. But now that I’d met the Hell Fae King, I wasn’t sure of Melek’s appropriate address.

He raised a blondish-brown brow. “Prince?”

“I, uh, yeah. Lucifer said I should be referring to you asPrinceMelek.”

His lips twitched. “And yet you’re calling Lucifer without a title?”

“That’s what he told me to call him.” I went to run my fingers through my hair, then remembered I’d pulled it back into a ponytail.

Ugh. Why do I feel so jittery?

I released a long breath and shook my head. Melek typically made me uneasy because of his perpetual riddles. But this was different. I felt…nervous. Like I wasn’t sure how to act around him. Or what to say.

A frustrated noise escaped my mouth.This isn’t me. I’m not inept or insecure. I’m Cami. I live by a set of rules. I kick ass and take names. And I do not bow.

Except to Lucifer, apparently.

Like a demented flamingo.

Another groan threatened to leave my lips, but I swallowed it on a wince.

“Do you want to call me ‘prince,’ little angel? Or maybe ‘sir’?” Melek offered, his silky voice pulling my attention back to him. He stood closer now, his all-black suit a scant inch from my robe. “Or do you want to hear my preference?”

“I don’t want to play any games today,” I admitted. “Not even one related to titles and names.”

He considered me for a moment, his gaze softening. “Then I’ll tell you to call me Melek. Because with you, I don’t have a title. I’m simply yours.”

“Mine?” I nearly snorted, though the part of me that was melting from his words kept the incredulity from coloring my tone. “You’re Lucifer’s mate.”

“I am,” he agreed. “But I’m also yours.”

My brow furrowed. “You’re not my mate.” It didn’t come out as defensive so much as confused. Because what he was saying didn’t make any sense.

He merely smiled. “Then we’ll say Iintendto be yours, if you choose to one day have me.” He brushed his knuckles across my cheek, sending a shiver of warm energy over my being. “But that’s not what I’ve come to discuss with you today.”

I… I didn’t know how to reply to him.

“I intend to be yours,”he’d said.

As… as a mate…

CHAPTER23

CAMI

Melek intends to mate me?

That wasn’t at all what I’d expected him to say.