Page 18 of Controller's Obsession

His demon smiled widely. “Thank you, blissful one.”

The hand holding the book dropped to Peni’s side and his tiny shoulders sagged when he glanced at the hole, and then at the dirty floor. “You’ve made a mess. Who’s gonna clean that up now everyone is fired?”

Why does he keep focusing on cleaning?

Shut up and let me figure this out. You’ve already proven to be inept.

His demon lowered himself to the ground, uncaring that he sat on a pile of rubble. Peni watched the move but stayed right where he was. “What my human side was trying to do, and failing miserably at, was to explain that if you didn’t want to work from now on, you don’t have to. We would like to take care of you. Make you feel special.”

Merihem bristled.I didn’t fail.

Shut up. Look, he’s thinking.

Merihem couldn’t argue with his demon. Peni was giving them a thoughtful look. “So are you saying that you aren’t going to choose what I do…” he sucked on his lower lip, his gorgeous skin back to the pretty pink. “That you see that sitting on your knee looking”—he waved the book about, and Merihem grinned—“whatever you said.”

“Of course, the choice is yours.” The demon patted his bare thigh. “I won’t say that you sitting right here isn’t very appealing. I won’t lie. But you are free to choose what you want to do. No restrictions. We have more than enough to share with you, so that gives you options.”

“Options.” His brows were back tugging together and Merihem felt panic. His demon side held him back.Give him a chance to finish.“I’ve never had options before.” A very tiny curve of his lips and Merihem became enchanted. “What would that entail… my options, I mean.” He blushed, his gaze dropping to their lap before slipping away.

“Can I ask what you envisioned for yourself?”

Still taller than Peni, his demon maintained eye contact by craning his neck. It wasn’t really comfortable, but as Peni hadn’t attempted to flee, they remained as they were.

Back to chewing the lower lip, the one Merihem was desperate to taste, Peni eyed them thoughtfully. The plump lip popped out. “I love books… all books. The library is my most favorite place. I enjoy cleaning, too. It’s orderly. I like order. My father had so many orgies at the house, making things always messy with…stuff everywhere.”

And we’re back to the orgies!

Give over, weren’t you listening? He didn’t want any part in them.

Alright, keep your hair on. So what does he mean by stuff?

How would I know? And be quiet. Can’t you see we’re making progress? I want a kiss too!

“So working in a library would suit you?” The head shake confused them. “You don’t want that?”

“No, it’s not that I don’t want that. You need a degree in Library Science to work in a library.”

Really?

Oh, that plan of yours just fell flat. Look how sad he looks now.Merihem felt like they were taking steps back and forth, then side to side, and it was making him feel dizzy.

I’ve got it.“Do you want to go to college?”

The slow blink Peni gave them was adorable. “I can’t afford that.”

His demon offered his hand once more and smiled softly, or at least tried. “You are our blissful one—mate, that I believe means the same thing.” A small nod. “What we have is yours. You can afford to do anything you want.” He wiggled his fingers. “Anything. That includes college or staying in our home and cleaning, reading, and doing whatever you do to fill your day. Or the option of coming with us and sitting with us, that’s there, too. But from this moment forward, the choice is yours to have. We hope you’ll choose us because we’ll cherish you for the rest of eternity.”

Peni’s pretty colored cheeks came with parted lips and a dazed expression. The hand remained in the air. They waited.

Does he believe us?

Of course he does, mates and blissful ones don’t tell lies to each other. So once we’ve cleaned up the mess you made. You’ll need to explain why you’re really here, in the human realm.

The rough pads of his fingers sliding against their skin stopped the internal conversation. His demon side didn’t so much as move a muscle as Peni inched closer, his palm sliding against theirs. The roughness sent tingles to parts of them that made it hard to stay on track—at least for Merihem.

“You won’t force me to pick something I don’t want?” he asked seriously.

They nodded. “Never. The choice is yours.” His demon and Merihem were in total agreement.

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