Page 46 of Grabbed By the Guard

Kennedy smiles. “Love did. I fell in love with Loki. And after that… he promised me loyalty. His love in return. These demons… they don’t cheat. They’re not hardwired that way. When they love, they love with everything they have. And they’re immortal. That means, despite all evidence to the contrary, they’re patient. They’ll wait for you.”

Funnily enough, I agree with her. Glaine… if I told him to wait for me forever, he would. Just so long as I don’t insist I’m not his mate, he’s not rushing me to do anything. I’m the one who can’t stop thinking about taking things one step further.

I should’ve known I was a goner from that first bout of mate sickness the other day. If I’m being honest with myself, the more time I spent with Glaine, the more curious I became about the big demon. Whether it was because his absolute devotion to me directly

Kidnapping is not sexy. It’s not. But when I remember that he’s not human, that he doesn’t have the same morals as we do, and that he’s spent literal centuries searching for his fated mate only to believe that he found her in me… in his shoes, I might’ve done the same thing.

I’m attracted to him. Who would’ve thought that a hulking red-skinned demon with hair almost as long as mine would do it for me, but once I got past his alien features and just saw Glaine, I couldn’t deny the pull I felt for him. The mate sickness just gave me the excuse to act on that attraction without feeling guilty for falling for him after he stole me from my kitchen.

I thought it would be a one time thing. We took the edge off until we could get to Nuit and lose the chains. We did that. I’d hoped that meant the local mage would open up a portal and ship my butt back home, but that… that hasn’t happened yet.

It’s looking like it might never happen.

And here I am. Here’s Glaine, who hasn’t given up his vow to prove that—should I choose him—he’ll spend the rest of his life proving that I made the right choice. And while it’s way too early to give in and agree to that, what about sex?

When I can’t stop thinking about touching him, tasting him, fucking him… I can blame the mate sickness all I want, but the way I burn up when I think about seducing my virgin demon and letting him do a little more than pleasuring me with his mouth… I’m just as horny, only I’m in control of that. It’s not like I’m gonna die if I don’t bang him, but I really, really want to give it a try.

Is that because I am his mate? Maybe. Until I met Kennedy and Loki, I don’t think I really grasped that a mating like ours could be possible. Oh, he told me that night in the dungeon that I’m not the first human to be fated for a Sombra demon. He’s convinced that Sierra must be a mate to a hunter he knows, though he stole me away before he could confirm that himself.

He wants to be my mate. And though I can’t promise him forever, not yet, maybe I can be his that way.

It’s worth a shot.

CHAPTER 17

ANYTHING

BILLIE

Once I set my mind to something, there’s no reason to wait to go through with it. That’s why, later that night after Glaine brings home a dinner that one of the mated demonesses in the village made for us, I wait until we’re winding down, ready for bed, before I look Glaine in his glowing green eyes and ask, ““Would you like to take a bath with me?”

Since giving me his essence, I’ve learned that Glaine is a pro at locking down his emotions. It’s as though he’s steeling himself against the time I have to leave him. Now that I know about his history with Lilith, I understand him a lot better. I didn’t need to peek at his past, either. Glaine still had his privacy, and after hearing the story from Lilith herself, it explains a lot.

All Glaine’s ever wanted is his mate. He thought he found her once, only to watch her choose the most powerful male in his village. It didn’t matter that he was a respectable soldier who had a close relationship with Duke Haures. In Nuit, Apollyon was in charge—and Lilith was his fated mate. Glaine couldn’t stand in their way of their bonding—and the male I’ve come to know wouldn’t if he could—but she left scars on his heart.

He’s sure I’m his mate. For real this time. I doubt he’d understand the concept of rebound dating, and even if he did, it’s been centuries since Apollyon and Lilith bonded. Considering the damage Trevor did to me, my undeniable attraction to Glaine is probably my rebound… but the more I think about doing this, the more I’m sure it doesn’t matter.

I’m not trying to tie myself to Glaine forever. I mean, I’ve known him for a week. Declaring my love for a guy I barely met is Tandy behavior, not Billie. It took me seven months before I told Trevor that I did, and a month longer before I introduced him to Sierra. I need to take my time, and no ‘fated’ bond or mate sickness pushing me toward Glaine is going to change that.

But sex? Sex is different. It can be emotionally-charged, but it doesn’t have to be. It can be purely physical, too. I’ve had my share of one-night-stands, just to scratch an itch. I encouraged Sierra to do the same before she was too famous for it to be feasible. I’ve never been shy, either. I’ll proposition a guy if I’m down to fuck, and if he is, too… well, let’s go.

But Glaine isn’t just a random human guy, is he? Does he realize that, when I say bath, I’m not asking because I’ve changed my mind and want him to scrub my back?

Glaine closed himself off as soon as I invited him to join me. Me? I did my best to keep my thoughts and intentions open so that, if he dipped into my essence, he’d know that I was hoping the bath—with both of us naked and in close proximity—would lead to something more. I wanted it to. I couldn’t offer him anything more than pleasure, but if he could accept that…

Our eyes meet. I see that same hunger that was there the night we met and he stole me away. I see straight-up lust. I see need… and, through the whisper of a bond stretching between us, I sense an excitement tempered with a touch of resignation.

Glaine knows. He knows that, if we have sex, it doesn’t change anything; at least, not when it comes to my desire to get back to Sierra, or my insistence that I can’t be his bonded mate. For now, though, we’re stuck together in Nuit, chains or no chains. We’re obviously attracted to one another in spite of our huge differences, and even if I can’t give him forever, I can give him tonight.

And he wants that connection with me enough to accept that.

He simply bows his head, then turns to set the tub up. Just like the one the doppelseers’ have, it fills up on its own, and empties the same. By the time I’ve stripped off my dress and pulled my curls up into a knot on the top of my crown, the slightly steam water is at the right height for the both of us.

He starts to pour in the soap, but I stop him. I don’t trust the local healer enough to risk a UTI, and since I don’t know how far we’ll go in the tub, we don’t need the soap. After all, I’m not trying to get clean. I’m just trying to let my demon get used to my naked body.

Glaine is not shy one bit. As he climbs in first, sporting one hell of an erection, he puffs out his chest when he notices me staring at it. He’s preening again, showing off his cock to me, and I let him.

More than that, I know that I made the right choice.

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