Page 34 of My Demon Mate

The drive there is nice, both of us firing questions at the other. Raven asks more about my graphic novels, and I tell him about the first one I finished with Mitch.

“I wanted you to kill him like I drew, but you got the job done.” I wink at him and Raven grins, not looking sorry at all. He shouldn’t be. I don’t think what I drew would have been half as satisfying as watching what Raven wrought. That was ferocity in its purest form.

Snapping back to what I was saying, I explain, “I was terrible when I first starting drawing. But I had nothing else. I had no friends, and I was in the house all day with my dad. And he wanted me away from him as much as possible. So I kept at it. Trying to recreate the comics I managed to keep hidden from my dad. After a while, I started to get good, my pictures almost looking like the ones from the papers. It took years, but I finally got good enough that I could create my own characters. From there, I made up Nightshade.”

“The hero you draw?” Raven asks, paying rapt attention to what I’m saying. I’ve never had anyone hang on my words like this. I could take advantage, make sure he did what I said without question, but that’s not the kind of mate I want to be. I want Raven to want to listen to me, and I want us to do things together because we choose each other, not because I command him.

I grab his hand and thread our fingers together. “Is he still a hero if he’s killing people in such brutal ways?”

“It depends,” Raven says with a smile. “Do these people deserve it?”

Grinning over at him, I say, “Fuck yeah.”

His hearty chuckle fills the cabin of the car, and I smile as it seeps through me. “I love your art,” he says. “When I would see it in your mind before I was set free, I admired it. Have you thought about producing your own graphic novel to sell?”

Nodding, I tell him something I never told anyone. “That’s my dream. I’d like the world to know Nightshade. It might give a kid like me hope, even if it is a little dark and twisted. They’d know they had a hero out there, doing what they probably can’t.” Thinking back to my last drawing before I left home makes my eyebrows dip. My blood boils as my mind goes back to how my father abused me, then destroyed all of my hard work. “I wish I could kill like Nightshade.”

Raven squeezes my hand gently. “Good thing you have a demon mate that can. Do you want the others to be killed in the manner you drew them?”

“Yes,” I answer quickly. “The last one I drew of my father had his heart ripped out and his face stomped in. The one of the sheriff, he’s pinned to the wall, gutted like a pig. The one of Joey’s head is ripped off. I want them all killed just like that.”

“You shall have them as you wish, sweet baby.” Raven kisses the back of my hand and I smile, knowing he means it.

We get checked in to our hotel room and change into more comfortable clothes for a day of fun. Raven speeds to the amusement park, his dark eyes alight with excitement.

I’m glad I came as an adult. As a kid, I would have been limited by what I did, since I was never especially tall and would have been scared shitless on a rollercoaster. And since I didn’t have money, I wouldn’t have been able to taste or eat whatever I wanted. As an adult, I can do more. I can appreciate it more.

Raven and I go from rollercoaster to rollercoaster, jumping the line since we have the green wrist bands that gives us access to a different line. Parents give us dirty looks when we move ahead of their kids but fuck them. This is my childhood that I’m trying to recreate. They should have sprung for the green wrist bands.

Or had a demon that could summon the passes for them.

While on the rides, Raven holds my hand tightly, letting me squeeze as hard as I want and scream my head off. We have the best time, going from ride to ride without a care in the world. He wins me stuffed animals and somehow sends them to our hotel room. I don’t ask how he does anything. I trust Raven.

We take plenty of pictures and for once, I have someone to send them to.

The first picture I send to Danae is of me and Raven in front of the first rollercoaster we got on. Both of our smiles are so wide, our cheeks look like they hurt. The reply I get back in response makes me laugh, and I hug the phone to my chest.

Danae: I want an invite next time. You’re a terrible friend. *laughing emoji* Have fun and bring me back a stuffed animal!

When we get back the hotel, I’m too tired to do anything but shower and climb between the sheets. Raven spoons me, pulling me closer to him. “Did you have fun, baby?”

“So much,” I answer honestly, voice low from exhaustion. “What about you?”

He kisses my neck gently, then breathes me in. “I had the time of my existence. Thanks to you.”

Shoring up some energy, I turn over to look at Raven, putting my hand on his face. “No, Raven. It’s all thanks to you. I’m free because of you. I’m getting revenge because of you. All of this is because of you. And my great great great great grandfather.”

His smile is gorgeous as he looks down at me. “Yes, thanks to him. You are welcome, baby. I will do anything to make you happy. If it means taking you to amusement parks, I will do that. If it means killing for you, burning down the whole fucking world, I will. Do you understand?”

My eyes burn with unshed tears, my heart thuds and an unexpected but not unwelcome feeling washes over me. Butterflies fill my belly as I try to swallow the lump in my throat. “I understand.”

Raven gives me a lingering kiss, stroking his tongue over mine without heat. Instead, it’s full of comfort and affection, exactly what I need right now. “Sleep well, Everest. I will keep you safe.”

In a low voice, I reply, “I know you will, baby.” That unfamiliar, pleasant feeling dances in my belly again, urging me to say … something. To get something off my chest so my heart can stop fluttering.

Before I can figure it out, I’m swallowed by the darkness of my dreams.

CHAPTER 13

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