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The entity shrugged, unapologetic. Like Naomi, it was feeling lethargic and mentally numb right now. That display of power had zapped them both of psychic strength.

“Put that down,” Tia barked. “Tobe, I swear to God if you steal anything from this house . . .”

“I said I wouldn’t,” he reminded her.

Tia huffed. “You’re an imp. Forgive me if I don’t trust your word on that.”

“I wouldn’t steal from Naomi’s mate; it would be like stealing from her. But yeah, I’d otherwise totally pocket this watch,” he unashamedly admitted.

“Why? Do you not like your fingers?”

“Belinsky wouldn’t really cut them off. Would you?”

“Yes.” A flat response from Luka—the sound of his voice seemed to bat away the rest of the fog in Naomi’s brain.

“But I’m Naomi’s psi-mate,” said Tobe.

“That doesn’t require you to have fingers,” Luka told him. “You can anchor her just as well without them.”

An inner smile warmed her chest. She forced her heavy eyelids partially open. Her surroundings were a huge blur. She blinked three times, clearing her vision . . . and Luka’s dark gaze immediately locked with hers.

His lips kicked up, relief flaring in his eyes. “There you are.” He gave her hand a little squeeze. “Feeling all right?”

“Mostly,” she replied, her voice low and thick.

She cleared her throat as she looked around the room.

Tobe, Jolene, Tia, Alfie, Ciaran, and Beck were all staring down at her, looking both relieved and tired.

Much like Luka, they had scorch marks and bloodstains on their clothes, but their injuries had either already healed or were healing well, because they seemed otherwise fine.

Alfie lifted a hand in greeting. “Hey, sweetheart.”

“I didn’t expect you to wake so soon,” said Tia, smiling. “You recovered faster than I thought.”

Naomi might have slept longer if Lou hadn’t woken her.

Tobe leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead, ignoring the low growl that came from Luka. “It’s good to see you conscious, even if you look half dead.”

Snorting, she forced herself to sit upright, her movements slow and awkward due to the heaviness in her limbs. “How long was I out?”

It was Ciaran who responded. “Only about three hours.”

That really wasn’t long, given how much energy her demon had expended. But she would bet that three hours with these imps and Tia had felt like an eternity for Luka. They could be a trial at times.

“I take it all the clerics are dead.” She couldn’t imagine that her demon would have retreated otherwise.

“Dead and incinerated,” Jolene confirmed. “Just as they deserved.”

“As for that Kushiel guy, it looked as though your demon took care of him,” added Beck.

Yeah, Naomi remembered that part. “How did you guys find me out there in that desert?” It had been in the middle of nowhere.

All eyes drifted to Tobe.

Her anchor scratched his chin. “Uh . . . it might have had something to do with the GPS trackers I put on your shoes.”

Naomi blinked. “What?”

“Well, shoes are the only thing you always wear. You frequently forget your jacket, and you don’t always carry a purse.” He held up his hands. “I’ll take them off now that the danger’s over. Luckily you don’t have that many pairs or I’d be here a while.”

“Wait, you put them on all my shoes?”

“I couldn’t take the chance that you’d be kidnapped when you weren’t wearing shoes I’d tagged.” He paused, eyeing her closely. “You mad?”

“Yep. You should have told me.”

“Your demon would have taken the trackers off so that it could kill all the clerics itself.”

Okay, that was true.

“While I didn’t think you’d need backup, I didn’t want to take the risk. Forgive me for caring.”

“You’re forgiven.” Naomi pointed a finger at him. “You will never do anything like that again.”

Tobe saluted her, all innocence.

“As you’re clearly doing okay, we’ll leave you to rest,” announced Jolene.

Tia and the other imps moved toward their Prime . . . except for Tobe.

Jolene grabbed the back of his shirt. “You too, Tobe.”

He frowned. “But I want to stay.”

“You want to annoy Luka—that’s different.”

A millisecond later, the entire group disappeared from sight.

Luka opened his arms. “Come here, baby.”

Gladly. Naomi edged sluggishly off the bed and eased herself onto his lap. As his arms curled around her, she sagged against him, enjoying his warmth. She never wanted to move again.

Holding her tight, he nuzzled her hair. “You definitely feeling okay?”

“Yup. Just tired and groggy.”

“Not surprised. Your demon wiped you both out psychically.”

“It regrets nothing.”

“Again, not surprised.” He brushed his lips over her temple. “So. You can open a portal to hell.” A neutral statement.

“Hmm. I first learned that when I was four. I hadn’t meant to do it. I’d just been annoyed with my dad about something—I can’t even remember what. Anyway, a portal opened up, and he toppled right into it. He thought it was the most hilarious thing ever.”

“Yes, I can imagine. Can you open portals to other places?”

“Nope, which is good. My demon is so nosy, I’m not sure I could trust that it wouldn’t go wandering in places it shouldn’t. Bring me up to speed on what happened after I passed out. Again .”

“Well, I caught you before you could hit the ground. Lou sent out a wave of fire that incinerated every last trace of the clerics before disappearing into the portal and closing it behind him. He looked as though he wanted to take you with him, but then he seemed to think better of it.”

“He couldn’t be seen to care what happened to me just in case any of the demons there didn’t know that he was my father.”

Luka nodded. “Ciaran teleported us all here, since he and the others didn’t want to leave your side until they were sure that you were fine.” He sighed—the sound loaded with impatience—before adding, “I can’t say it was a joy to have imps in our bedroom, let alone our home, but . . .”

Naomi dabbed a kiss on his throat. “Thank you for letting them stay.”

“Jolene was ready to pull the ‘I’m her Prime, I have a right to be here’ card, so I was sure to inform her that that’s no longer the case. You co-run this lair with me now.”

Feeling her brows slide together, she lifted her head to meet his gaze. “I do? First I’ve heard of it.”

“I rather thought it was obvious. Neither you nor I would want for us to be in different lairs. It goes without saying that I’d never join Jolene’s, which means you’d switch to mine.

Being my mate makes you co-Prime. Unless I’m wrong in believing that you wouldn’t want us to belong to the same lair. ”

“Of course of you’re not wrong.”

“Then there you go.”

Fair enough.

He threaded his fingers through her hair. “The illegal side of things will of course remain in my hands, however.”

“Obviously.” She yawned so wide it cracked her jaw.

“You didn’t tell me about the deal you have with your entity.”

“I never thought to mention it. I know that sounds weird, but aren’t there things you haven’t told me not because you’re hiding them but merely because they haven’t come up?”

“Yes.”

“I did actually confess to you that my demon likes causing destruction and mayhem,” she remembered. “I hope that seeing it in action didn’t put you off, because you’re stuck with me now regardless.”

Luka gave her a solemn look, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Nothing about you could put me off. It doesn’t work that way when you love someone.”

Naomi’s breath caught. “You love me?” The question came out low and shaky.

His brow furrowed. “Baby, of course I fucking do.”

Emotion twined around her chest so tightly her lungs burned. “In case you aren’t aware of it already, it’s a two-way street.”

“It had better be,” he growled playfully. “I meant what I said—I’m not going anywhere, and neither are you.”

“And my demon meant what it said—it will kill you if you hurt me, mate or not.”

His lips bowed up. “Having seen what it can do, I now understand why it’s so certain it can live up to that threat.”

“You don’t seem bothered,” she observed, surprised.

“I’m not. Neither are my demons. In fact, it turns Belial on in a major way.”

She did a slow blink. “I don’t really know what to say to that.”

Luka only smiled.