Page 11 of Inferno (Drake Security Book 4)

VALENTINO

“If that’s the case, then explain to me again how it’s safe for me to go with you to your realm?”

Montrose sighs. “Because Maggard doesn’t know that I’ve come here to warn you yet. As far as I know, he doesn’t even know I heard anything.” With his hand on my chest and his eyes flickering between their human and demon form, his expression turns serious. “It’s far more dangerous for me. If even one demon finds out I helped you, I’m a target.”

My dragon thrashes inside at those words. I wish he’d get the fucking hint that this dude is trouble, but those pheromones are strong.

“Couldn’t we just get you some supplies up here? Lake knows all about fancy hair products and clothes.”

“As if mortal products are sufficient.” His tone is pure disgust at the mere suggestion. “Five human minutes. In and out. Aren’t you even a little curious to see where I live?”

“No,” I grumble, but my dragon screams “Yes” at the same time. “I don’t give a fuck, Montrose. When this is all over, I never want to see you again.”

His face falls and unexpected sadness flashes in his eyes. At the same time, my dragon makes it real damn clear he doesn’t agree with my declaration.

Montrose clears his throat, tucking a lock of hair behind his ear. “That’s fine. There’s plenty of dick in the sea. You’re not the only man alive, you know. There are literally billions of them to fuck my way through.”

His blow-off should feel good to me, proof that both of us accept that whatever this attraction is between us is short-lived, but as visions of him sharing a laugh, a sexy smile, and a bed with someone else flash through my mind, a tendril of smoke rises within me, billowing out of my flared nostrils.

Montrose raises an eyebrow with an amused tilt to his lips. My dragon, annoying little shit that he is lately, pushes forward, dragging my eyes up and down the pretty demon’s body. His cock still strains against his bodysuit, and the heat emanating from his skin is palpable from where I stand.

Maybe we can fuck it away.

His earlier words tease my mind. Would that even work? Could I let go of the rage long enough to truly indulge in his body again? The whimpering, horny dragon inside me is definitely on board with that plan.

“What do we have to do to get this done?” I grunt, apparently agreeing to take a trip demon-side.

“It’s easy when you’re with a demon.” He kicks his long legs as he sits perched on the stool. “I’ve heard it stings if you’re mortal, but I doubt a big strong dragon would feel anything.”

I huff and roll my eyes. “Stick to the facts and drop all the flirty shit.”

“It’s not a fact that you’re a big strong dragon, deliciae? My apologies.”

I growl again, ready to demand he stop calling me that, but my fucking dragon is damn near purring, leaving the words unspoken.

“What next?”

“I’ll pop us into my apartment, grab a few things, and blink out. Or we could?—”

He’s interrupted by the ringing of my doorbell. “Pizza.”

I stomp toward the front door, noticing for the first time since I came out of my hoard room the subtle signs of destruction around my home. Proof of my rage and humiliation. I hope Montrose doesn’t pick up on it. I’d hate for his ego to get even bigger than it is.

When I swing the door open, Hemingway is standing there holding a pile of pizza boxes with Dempsey beside him. The little human is dripping with excited energy. Hemingway gives me an ‘I’m sorry’ smile.

“What’s up?” I ask, stepping to the side to let them enter.

Dempsey, nearly bouncing now, opens his notebook. “Maggard is real and he’s bad news.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was doing some research in this book about demons. It’s very old and hard to read. I’ve had to translate a lot of it over the years from this archaic English, but I’ve made good progress.”

I can hear Hem’s dragon purring from here as his mate speaks, and my own dragon swirls around, which weirdly annoys me. I’ve always been happy for my brothers, but never once have I wanted to find what they have, so why is my dragon acting like a lovesick puppy right now?

“Go on,” I say.

“So, Maggard is a Latin translation. He’s so old his name can’t be pronounced by anyone outside of the demon realm.” He pushes his glasses up his nose. “Which sucks, because he can’t be summoned or banished if no one can say his name.”

I nod, my jaw ticking with the knowledge that Montrose wasn’t lying.

“Mac called him the Al Capone of the demon world, but he’s way worse than that,” Dempsey continues. “He’s like every mafioso that ever existed wrapped up in one.”

My chest tightens. “Where is Mac?”

“Safe with Lord,” Hem says. “We came here first. Your demon isn’t lying.”

“He’s not my demon,” I growl. I don’t miss the looks Hem and Dempsey exchange. “He wants me to go to the demon realm with him to pick up some of his personal belongings now that we’re bound. I worried it was a trap.”

Dempsey shakes his head. “No, in fact, Montrose has endangered himself by telling you. Demons have a fierce code to never, ever betray another demon. It’s how they survive attacks, summonings, and bindings.” He smiles. “Unless you have Dahlia on your side, of course.”

My dragon is losing his mind right now, tugging me toward the kitchen where I left Montrose. All of it was true. Dammit. I treated him like ass.

“You didn’t know, Tino,” Hem says as if he can hear my thoughts. “You were right to be guarded.”

“Family first,” Dempsey says sweetly. “You were protecting Mac.”

Hem chuckles. “But if you want, we can talk about this hangover you’ve been?—”

“No,” I growl, cutting him off. “Come on.”

I walk back to the kitchen, calmer now, to find Montrose leaning on the counter, his long, lean body on full display as he doodles on my countertop with fire that quickly dissipates. He glances up, standing upright when he sees my brother and his mate.

Dempsey smiles like he’s meeting his favorite celebrity. “Hi, Montrose.”

“Hello, human. I missed your name earlier.”

“Dempsey.”

Montrose’s eyelids flutter as he smiles. “Your aura is so soothing and pure. It’s clean. There’s not a negative thought or desire in you.”

Dempsey sinks into my brother’s arms while Hemingway beams with pride.

“You can read auras?” Dempsey asks.

“Not read. I see them as clearly as you see me.”

“What do you see in Hemingway?”

Montrose shrugs. “Supernaturals are different. It’s all about energy with us, rather than auras but…” His words trail off as he tilts his head and studies my brother for a second. “He loves you with every ounce of his heart and soul. I’ve heard about the bond of fated mates, but it’s truly breathtaking to experience it firsthand.”

Dempsey’s cheeks blush pink as he hums happily. My dragon is so close to the surface I can barely feel my human form. I blink, but the dragon doesn’t budge, pushing toward Montrose. Hemingway’s attention shifts to me, and he cocks his head with questions in his eyes.

I shrug, grumbling and setting the pizza boxes down. I’ve got bigger problems than what my lust-driven dragon is doing. I flip open a box and my heart drops when I see the thick mushroom topping.

“Sorry,” I mutter, hoping Montrose knows why.

Montrose looks too, then smiles, flicking his wrist. All the mushrooms rise, swirling above the pizza, until he flicks his wrist again and tosses them into the trash.

“Problem solved.”

At least one of them. I wish pizza toppings were our biggest challenge.

MONTROSE

Valentino’s energyhas shifted since his family showed up. He’s calmer now, the rage that was boiling off of him before at a low simmer. A part of me is disappointed. I like the fiery dragon when he’s angry, but even I have to admit that a calmer Tino is a safer one. Turns out he’s pretty either way.

“We’ll go now,” the cute human says. “Be careful, huh?”

“We will,” Valentino mumbles. “Uh, thanks, Demps.”

“Anytime. If you want to bring anything back…”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Hemingway says, chuckling and dragging his human out with him.

“What was that about?” I ask, lifting a slice of pizza. I do enjoy human food.

“Dempsey fancies himself a researcher or historian. He loves digging into things. He did some research on Maggard.”

I shiver just hearing the name on Tino’s lips. “Yeah? And?”

“He confirmed what you told me.” His eyes flash gold before returning to their calm blue. “He’s very old?”

“Very old. No one even knows when he was born. Some say he’s as old as Hades himself.”

“That’s nearly eternal.”

I nod, picking at a piece of pepperoni. No surprise the pizza has every available topping on it. Such a dragon thing to do. “He’s difficult to kill. You can’t bind him.”

“So, what the fuck do I do to protect my brother?”

His distress tugs at my chest as if it were my own. Stupid binding spell. “I… I’m not sure. I didn’t think about that. I figured you dragons would know what to do. Haven’t you ever battled demons before?”

“Low level ones, sure. Not Boss Daddy demons,” he grunts, and I suppress a laugh. “Besides, I’m more of a lover than a fighter. I got roped into this whole security business against my will.” He waves his hand dismissively.

His response draws a smile to my lips. He scarfs down several slices of pizza, staring off into space as he chews and giving me the chance to simply soak in his features. His gluttony for food equals his sexual appetite, and my cock stirs again, just as much from the pleasure pouring off of him with every bite as from the pornographic sounds he’s making. I miss the sultry loverboy I met, but the angry and melancholic versions of Tino do it for me too.

“I wish I could tell you his weakness.” I sigh, taking a bite from my own slice of pizza and chewing slowly. “He’s vicious. Brutal.” I swallow hard. “He has no feelings, no conscience at all, even by demon standards. He wouldn’t hesitate to kill me for helping you.”

Tino makes a strange sound, almost like a whimper. He drags a hand through his hair, scratching his scalp before turning his gaze to me. “Why are you helping us? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“No, it doesn’t.” I pluck at the cheese on my pizza slice as if it’s the most interesting thing in the world, searching my soul for the answer to his question. “Why don’t we just accept that I am? And maybe between all of us we can figure out a way to get your brother out of this before we all end up stuffed and mounted on Maggard’s wall.”

“Right. Figure out how to take down a psychopathic, impossibly powerful demon. No problem, Xazedose, we’ll get right on that,” he mutters, tossing his unfinished slice of pizza back into the third empty box.

As my true name lingers on his lips, my body vibrates in response to him, my cock thickening again, and a flood of pheromones pours off of me involuntarily. Tino sways and his eyelids flutter, a guttural sound rising from his throat.

“Sorry,” I moan with my eyes closed, practically overcome with lust for the dragon. “It’s not intentional. It must be the effects of the spells I’ve endured today.”

Tino’s heavy breathing reaches me, snapping my eyes open and drawing our gazes together. I shiver when I see the pretty dragon eyes roaming across my face. He surges forward, gripping my neck with one hand.

“We’re stuck together, and until Mac is out of any danger, you’re not getting away from me. Not this time.” He drags his nose along my cheek and a hot shiver runs through me.

“Promises, promises,” I mutter with a smirk.