Page 13 of My Demon Mate

“So I had no choice in the matter?” he asks, though not with anger.

“You did,” I tell him. “Our connection was growing weaker by the year since you did not summon me forth when you turned eighteen. If you had reached the age of thirty, I would have vanished from your mind and your great great great great grandfather’s soul would have been stuck in the fifth dimension, the dimension of servants. He did that to himself anyhow. He is punished to work for another greater demon, since he tried to undo what he had wrought when his marriage only last three years before the death of your great great great great grandmother in child birth. My father took offense to his underhanded attempt and punished him to a millenia of servitude.”

Everest blows out a long breath. “What happens if I send you away? Will I have to be a servant?”

A pang of unease settles in my chest. He is mine. Everest belongs to me. I do not think I can handle him sending me away. “You summoned me, but only because you belong to me. Not because you made a pact with a demon. You will not be sentenced to any servitude if I must return to Xendail.”

“Xendail,” Everest mutters, tasting how the name rolls on his tongue. He looks at me with a curious expression. “I don’t have to send you away, right? I can keep you?”

I grin. “You can keep me. If you want.”

“Is it weird that I want to? We don’t know each other, but I don’t want you to leave me.” His voice is small and unsure and I despise it. Everest should never feel less than, and I will eliminate all the people that made him feel that way. As soon as he lets me off my proverbial leash, that is. That is something I will have to broach with him tomorrow. He has had enough for tonight.

“Nothing is weird about us, sweet Everest.”

“What happens now?”

It is on the tip of this strangely shaped tongue to tell him now I will kill those that wronged him, but he needs rest. He has been through enough today, and it is not even that late. I do not think he can handle making that kind of drastic decision when exhaustion is coming off him in waves. We have time to get to my other purpose here, besides claiming him of course. It can wait until morning.

“Now,” I say, “you get some sleep.” Moving his legs, I stand and hold my arms out. “May I?” Everest nods and I scoop him up, his light weight barely registering.

“You’re strong,” he murmurs in a tired voice, leaning his head against my chest. “Will you always carry me around?”

I bark a laugh. “If you would like me to. I am yours to command.”

He sighs and squirms in my arms. “I don’t want to command you, Raven. I want … I don’t know what I want. But I know that I don’t want to command anything of you. That’s unkind.”

How is this human still so sweet after he has been through so much? How does he even have an ounce of kindness in him when others have tried to beat it out of him?

I vow to keep his gentleness intact. I will be the one to seek vengeance on Everest’s abusers. Even if he gives me the command to do his bidding, I will keep his soul pure. He deserves so much in life after not having anything for so long.

Before putting him in bed, I strip him of his soiled shirt and torn jeans. I frown at the state of his clothing. I will have to buy him more. He cannot keep wearing these tattered clothes. I know it was all he could afford, but he has me now. All these years, Everest has done the best he could, keeping himself clean, fed and clothed. Now it is my turn to take up that mantle. He is off work tomorrow, so we can spend the day shopping and getting to know each other more.

When he is undressed, I pull the blanket back and tuck him in, sitting beside him. I rub his hair and watch his eyes flutter shut. I smile, hoping he will get some uninterrupted and peaceful sleep for the first time in years. Nothing and no one will hurt him here. They would have to go through me and that would be a death sentence for whoever tried to hurt my sweet Everest.

“Lie down with me,” he says sleepily. “I haven’t slept beside anyone before, but you’re warm.”

Because of my demon blood, I run hotter than humans. “Anything you want, Everest.”

He opens his eyes. “You have a choice in this too, Raven. Like I said, I won’t command you to do anything. If I have to do that, it means you don’t really want to do it.” Again, his voice takes on that small, sad quality. It is like a gut punch and anger sizzles through my veins. No one should make him feel like he is a burden. Everything I do with Everest will be because I want to. And there is a lot I want to do with and for him. But we can start with him feeling my warmth near him.

“I want to lie down with you,” I say earnestly, putting as much conviction in my words so he knows it is my choice too. Everest searches my face, then nods. “Can I hold you?”

“Please,” he murmurs, sliding over to give me space.

My shirt and pants are quickly shucked, and I slide under the sheets with him, clad only in a pair of boxer briefs. These are as restricting as shoes, as we do not bother with underwear in Xendail. We wear limited clothing, maybe a pair of pants, but we are usually very scantily clad. For reasons I cannot broach with Everest right now.

Everest immediately pastes himself to me, and we both sigh in contentment. “Good night, Raven. Thank you for today,” he mutters, yawning around the words.

“You are welcome, baby,” I whisper, but Everest is already fast asleep.

CHAPTER 6

RAVEN

I do not sleep much, waking after about four hours. As I am not human, I do not need to rest as much as they do, even when I am in this body. Four hours is actually too long.

Everest has his arm tight over my chest, his fingers practically digging into my flesh. I smile in the dark, loving how he seems to need me already. His warm weight against me feels natural. I have waited centuries for Everest, even though he is only twenty five in human years.

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