Page 43 of Dating the Dealing Demon

Her banter and wit? It’s exactly what I need. “Can I join you if I don’t touch the…what did you call it, bitter peanut?”

She rolls her eyes to glare up at me from the floor. “You know that’s not what I said.”

“Either sounds awful.”

“Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.” She digs in for another bite, patting the tile floor next to her. “Shadowvale cleaned ‘til it squeaks. Join us. Still not sharing my butter pecan.”

“Wouldn’t dream of asking.” I furl my wings tight and move to sit, and damn, my body hurts. Every ache and slash pulls at my skin and my ribs scream in protest. I manage not to hiss, but a grunt escapes before my ass hits the hard floor.

Why couldn’t my mate get comfortable on the plush couch or come to bed? My brain immediately supplies the answer—because she’s Val, and her casual coolness makes her the antithesis to my ambitious intensity. Or the ambition I had before my father yanked the kingdom away…on what? A whim?

“You don’t look so good,” she says.

“You look amazing.” I manage the words around my clenched jaw becausefuck, my body isn’t taking the latest battering well when I’d barely recovered from the last few fights.

“Liar. I washed away all the hard work Nic’s glamazon team did.”

“You know you’re gorgeous without it. You’re flawless just as you are.” I close my eyes and concentrate on pushing past the pain to enjoy the win of having my mate still agreeing to let me near her after I’ve been shamed so publicly.

If I’m not a crown prince, who am I? I can’t keep her. Not without a throne and the privilege and riches that come with it to entice her to stay. Hell, I’m the monster who tricked her and kidnapped her. I’m probably scaring her right now in my demon form. I try to slide into my human glamour, a negligible use of magic, but it flickers.

“Hey.” She brushes her fingertips over my wing, and I want to lean into the touch, to let her stroke and pet me as she does Montejanus. “You don’t need to change for me.”

I sigh, and some of the tightness in my chest unwinds, only to coil into another knot as soon as I remember my father’s words. “I’ll let you go the moment it’s safe to do so. I promise.”

“What about us being fated mates?”

“We forever will be,” I admit. “But without the throne, I have nothing to offer you. I’ve basically broken my end of our demon deal.”

“And the deal’s all that matters?”

“For once in my long life, it means nothing.” The weight of the truth presses down on my pain to make it unbearable. “Not when I have to let you go.” I don’t open my eyes because I can’t stand to see the relief on her face.

Silence stretches between us—the kind that sucks all hope from the room.

Earlier tonight, I had it all. A fated mate, a way to power up my magic, the promise of a better future for the kingdom.

Now? I’ve a broken body, a family gunning for me, and barely enough magic to keep Val safe until this ends in whatever brutal, bitter way it might play out.

So imagine my shock when the most beautiful woman in the world touches my cheek, nudging my face toward hers. I open my eyes to find her studying my horns, my monstrous red eyes, my scars, and I wait for whatever end is coming.

She licks her lips, a final blow to my ego in what I missed by not claiming a kiss earlier. Her gaze locks on mine. “What if I choose to stay?”

CHAPTER TWENTY

Val

Theo looks at me as if I’m the answer to every prayer. The damn demon offered to break off the deal and let me go. Right after he said what I’d always wanted to hear from someone who meant it, who treated me like I’m the center of his world. He’d called me flawless. He hasn’t ever asked me to change. He studies me as though I’m perfection while I sit here on the floor with no makeup, dripping hair, and the most comfortable clothes I could magic into this dimension.

Who’d have thought I would find my dream guy in a monster?

A monster who’s clearly hurting. I can’t fix the awfulness his father inflicted upon him tonight, but I can help his physical pain.

“Short of slicing myself open again, what’s the best way to help you heal your bruises?” I stare closer at the ugly burn on his wings. “And whatever that is.”

He glances down. “An acid burn from a poison demon.”

“Charming family you have.” I regret my words when he flinches. “Sorry about that…and them.”

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