Page 24

NATHAN

The Rink smelled like fresh pizza, and soda fizzed on Nathan’s tongue. They were all sitting on the padded training floor, pizza boxes open in their impromptu circle. Even the demons were partaking, which was a rare occurrence. They didn’t have to eat as often as the humans, and this was the first time Nathan had seen some of them eat.

“You guys need a name,” he said, broaching the subject for the first time. Beside him, Storm cast him a warm smile. It felt like a reward for finally bringing up what he’d mentioned in bed three days ago.

For three days, he’d been free. It wasn’t a term he ever would’ve associated with not being a paladin, but it was the only one that fit. He’d been hampered by his career as a paladin, forced to obey rules he didn’t agree with. Now that he no longer wore the signet ring—just a tan line where it used to be—he was free to make his own choices. A daunting task, at times, but well worth it. Having Storm by his side was a big comfort. Storm was always there to remind him that it was okay to have things and do things for himself. They’d moved some of his stuff into Storm’s apartment, shut off the power and water to his house and covered all the furniture with sheets. He’d always considered his house to be his sanctuary, but he was discovering that his home now wasn’t a building. It was a person. He and Storm lived practically in each other’s pockets. They fell asleep on the sofa together and took showers together. It was so sweetly domestic that he sometimes forgot Storm was a demon. That fact always came back to him in the bedroom, when Storm took great pleasure in causing Nathan the most exquisite agonies. He never relented until Nathan gave it all. Nathan loved every second.

“A name for what?” Alex asked with his mouth full. Beside him, Luke snorted so hard he nearly spat out his own half-chewed pizza. Alex chortled, elbowing him.

Nathan smiled patiently. They were both so much different than they used to be before they’d met their demonic partners. Lighter. Nathan wondered if the same was true for him. It felt true.

“For your business. Your group. This place.” He gestured around them, at the disco ball and the colored lights overhead. Their reflections gleamed back at them on the ceiling.

“I hear ‘paladins’ is taken,” Alex quipped.

“I wouldn’t want that name anyway,” Luke said, missing the besotted smile Malachi shot him.

“The connotations of that one aren’t great,” Angela added, tossing a chocolate curl over her shoulder. “At least based on the things I’ve heard.”

“But you do still hunt demons,” Nathan said. “Some demons. The bad demons. You protect the innocent.”

“We,” Luke corrected. “You’re one of us now, traitor.”

Nathan snorted, leaning over to line his arm up with Storm’s. “Absolutely. So, we need a name. Something that tells people what we stand for.”

To Nathan’s right, Ira was watching them all without speaking, his warm brown eyes moving from person to person. There was a small, knowing smile on his face. Nathan didn’t know what to make of it.

“What do we stand for?” Zachary asked.

“We’re… protectors of the innocent,” Alex said hesitantly. “We protect people from monsters and bad humans alike. We try to get the bad humans arrested, though, we don’t stab them.”

Angela cackled. “Thanks for clarifying.”

Alex threw a pepperoni at her.

“The Protectors?” Zachary said, wrinkling his nose. “Sounds dumb.”

“The… Guardians?” Luke ventured, tilting his head.

“Sounds like a cheesy superhero movie,” Zachary said.

They stood guard between the darkness and the light, not on one side or the other. They saw the shades of gray where others didn’t, recognized that there was good as well as bad on both sides. What stood guard at a gate between two points?

“Sentinels,” Nathan said. “We’re sentinels. We stand guard against evil, both supernatural and human.”

“Sentinels,” Luke repeated, nodding. “I like it.”

Beside them, Ira’s smile bloomed. “Yes. Sentinels.”

Nathan pointed at him. “You already knew, didn’t you?”

“I’ve known for months,” he admitted readily.

“Why didn’t you just say so?”

He ducked his head to hide his smile. “It had to come from you, Nate. You’re the one who names us.”

That was humbling.

“You always knew I’d wind up here?” he asked softly.

He shrugged one shoulder. “I didn’t know when or how.”

“He knows lots of things,” Talon said with a smirk. “Pisses Shadrach off to no end. It’s highly amusing.”

“He’s just easily riled.” Ira flapped a dismissive hand.

Nathan straightened. That reminded him, he needed to ask a favor of Talon. He met the demon’s eyes over the pizza boxes, and his dark brows rose in question. Nathan glanced around, uncertain whether to ask in front of everyone or ask to speak to him alone. No matter what he did, Alex would learn the truth. He doubted Talon would keep any secrets from his human partner. And Alex would likely tell Luke. Hell, Ira probably already knew .

“I need to ask a favor,” he said, setting his pizza down and pushing the plate away.

“Ask,” Talon said shortly.

“Weston,” Nathan said. “The guy we brought into the guild that led the demons there.”

“Yes.”

“I want you to go to the guild while the wards are still down.”

Talon’s black eyes gleamed. “And?”

“Kill him.”

A hush went over the group. Alex looked like he aged ten years in the span of a few seconds, and Luke leaned toward Malachi like he needed him to stay upright. Talon didn’t move.

“I don’t know what the guild will do to him, but he’s too dangerous to live. He might know how to make those hex pills. Even if he doesn’t, he helped kill dozens of people. Innocents and paladins alike. I know you don’t care about the paladins, but?—”

“He’ll do it,” Alex said.

Talon turned toward Alex, the hungry glitter in his gaze replaced with bald concern. “Are you sure?”

Alex nodded. “He’s right. Weston’s too dangerous. Nate said he worshipped that Amon demon. He might have other connections to other demons. If he’s holding a grudge—it’s just too dangerous.” He shrugged simply. “Just make it quick?”

“He doesn’t deserve quick ,” Storm said. “He nearly got Nate killed.”

“If he’s going into the guild, I want him to be quick,” Alex argued, albeit kindly. “I’m much more concerned about him making it back out than making sure Weston suffers. He’ll be dead. That’ll have to be good enough.”

Storm opened his mouth, but Nathan laid a hand on his knee and brought his reply to an abrupt halt.

“It’s okay,” Nathan said. “He won’t be able to hurt anyone else ever again. That’ll definitely be enough. And that’s what I care about. That’s why I’m making the request.”

“Favor,” Talon said, pointing at him. “You asked for a favor. Generally, if you ask for a favor, it means you owe that person in the future.”

For the first time, it struck Nathan that he was making a deal with a demon. “You want me to owe you a favor?”

Talon’s shark-like grin brought to mind blood in the water. “I do. You never know when it might come in handy.”

“Don’t worry, Nate,” Luke said, stretching his legs out and laying his plate on his lap. “Whenever Mal or I owe Talon a favor, he usually winds up asking us to cover one of Alex’s shifts so they can have some, uh, quality time together.” He cast a covert glance at Zachary and Angela.

“I’m fifteen,” Angela deadpanned. “I know what ‘quality time’ means. None of you are subtle about what you get up to.”

Malachi snorted out a laugh.

Storm leaned over, smoothing a hand up Nathan’s back to curl around his neck. “Are you finished eating? We should head home.”

Nathan agreed, draining his soda and picking up his trash.

“I’ll handle it in a few days, after the guild’s had time to let their guard down some,” Talon promised. “I’ll text you when it’s done.”

Gratitude filled him. Talon was the only one who could teleport into the guild and back out—besides Shadrach, who likely wouldn’t be inclined to help. While the wards were down, Talon would be able to get in easily and take care of Weston quietly.

“Thank you, Talon.” He’d feel much better knowing Weston wasn’t out there with the potential to hurt anyone else.

He let Storm lead him from the group. It was only when they were ensconced in the truck, with the moonlight shining down on them, that he asked, “Why’d we leave so early?”

“I’ve got a little surprise.” Storm started the engine, shooting him a smile.

Nathan grinned, sliding into the middle seat and curling a hand over Storm’s thigh. “A surprise? Really?”

“Yep. It’s kind of a tradition.”

“A tradition?”

Storm chuckled, patting his leg. “Just wait. You’ll see.”

Nathan settled beside him, leaving his hand to rest on Storm’s leg. The route home was a familiar one by now. He watched the houses and storefronts pass by with idle interest, content beyond words. This was what he’d been missing. He’d had companionship, friends, certainly, but nothing like this. This was a bone-deep satisfaction like he’d never known before. His eyes drifted closed, and he turned his head, pressing a kiss to the curve of Storm’s shoulder and then resting his head there.

When they pulled up at the apartment, Storm shook him awake, and Nathan blinked, raising his head and yawning.

“More tired than I thought, I guess,” he said, following Storm out of the truck and toward the building. When they reached the top floor, Nathan used his key to open the apartment door.

“Do you want to go to bed?” Storm asked, flipping the living room light on.

“No, I want my surprise.” He sat down on the sofa and smiled up at him. “You’ve gotten my hopes up. I’ve got to know now.”

The fondness in Storm’s eyes took his breath away. “Okay. Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

Nathan waited, watching Storm retreat upstairs to the bedroom. While he waited, he kicked off his sneakers and tucked them under the coffee table.

When Storm returned, he sat down beside Nathan, perching on a knee and facing him sideways on the couch.

“We haven’t really talked much about the future,” Storm said, “other than that we want to stay in each other’s lives.”

Nathan nodded. “That’s the priority, yeah.”

“Well, to that end, I have something for you. We discussed you taking my blood, and if that’s something you still want, I’d like that, too. I want to spend eternity with you.”

Nathan stared, unable to formulate a response. Storm reached into his pocket and tugged out a small, velvet box.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but a couple of the humans have these. I asked Wolf where he got the one he gave Ira.”

His heart in his throat, Nathan took the box and lifted the lid. Inside, a gold ring sat on a bed of silk. There were two rows of diamond studs on the band, and a sliver of gold that sat between them, separate from the rest of the ring. He removed it from the box, staring in awe.

“See that little button on the side?” Storm pointed out.

Nathan pressed it, and the sliver in the center popped out like a switchblade, revealing a small, razor sharp blade. He gasped, meeting Storm’s eyes.

“This is incredible.”

“I want you to use it to drink my blood,” Storm said. “I want to spend forever with you.”

Nathan softened. “I’d like that.”

Storm’s red eyes gleamed. “Really?”

He grinned. “Yes. Yes, I want to spend eternity with you.”

Storm’s face lit up, and he dragged Nathan into a kiss, almost pushing him down onto the cushion until he remembered the ring. “Oh, put it on, put it on. I want to see if it fits.”

Nathan closed the blade and slipped the ring onto his left ring finger. It fit just as snugly as his signet ring had. He brandished his hand, and when he pressed his middle finger against the ring, the blade shot back out.

“That’s so cool,” he whispered.

Storm shed his shirt. “Why don’t you try it out?”

Nathan gaped. “What, now?”

Storm smirked. “Hell yeah. Come here.” He dragged Nathan over to straddle his lap, and Nathan spied something on the cushion on Storm’s other side—the bottle of lube from the bedroom.

“Were you hoping for something?” Nathan asked as Storm guided him to face him and sealed their mouths together.

“Maybe,” he said between kisses. “I knew I wanted you to use the blade. If you said yes and agreed to use it, I was going to get hard from it anyway.”

“Really?”

“I told you pain does it for me, sunshine.”

A shiver of anticipation went down Nathan’s spine. “Oh. Why don’t you undress me, then?”

Storm didn’t have to be told twice. His hands fell to Nathan’s waistband as their tongues tangled, loosening his jeans and pushing Nathan away just long enough to shove them and his underwear down and off. Storm’s jeans followed next, pushed down his thighs just far enough to free himself.

Within moments, Nathan was back in his lap, and Storm was smearing lube between them, coating their cocks and his fingers alike. Nathan moaned as two of Storm’s big fingers eased inside him, stretching him hastily.

Curious to see Storm’s reaction, Nathan curled his fingers into a fist and pressed the blade into the skin of his chest. A moan tripped from Storm’s throat, and his fingers thrust harder, recklessly wanton. Black blood trickled from the wound, and Nathan ducked down to chase the droplets, lapping them up and sucking the wound.

“Fuck, sunshine,” Storm breathed. “Need you right fucking now.” His fingers disappeared, and then his strong hands were gripping Nathan’s hips. “Come on. Sit on my cock. Let me fill you up.”

Nathan moaned, rising up and letting Storm position himself at his entrance. He sank down, letting gravity aid him in taking Storm’s thick cock all the way to the root. The wound under his mouth healed, so Nathan lifted his head and kissed Storm, licking into his mouth as he rocked his hips, finding a comfortable rhythm that sent starbursts of pleasure up his spine. His cock rubbed against Storm’s abdomen, just enough to drive him wild.

“I love you,” Storm said, the words muffled between their mouths. “So much. I don’t ever want to be without you.”

“You won’t be,” Nathan swore. “I’ll be with you forever, I promise. Touch me, please, I’m so close.”

Storm’s lube-slick hand encircled his length, gripping tight and perfect. Nathan cried out, ducking his head and biting down so hard he tasted sweet blood. A demonic growl rolled out of Storm’s chest as he fucked up into Nathan, and they came as one, Nathan spilling against Storm’s stomach and Storm filling him up.

Panting, Storm said, “Well, maybe you didn’t need the knife after all.”

Nathan raised his head, licking the blood from his lips. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, sunshine. That was fantastic.”

“I’m keeping the ring.”

Storm laughed. “Good. I want everybody to know who you belong to.”

“You,” Nathan agreed readily, snuggling closer. They didn’t have to move yet, right? “Only you.”