Page 20 of Controller's Obsession

Closing the door, Peni sighed, although it wasn’t with relief.How weird is it that I miss him already, and he’s barely down the road? No. No. This won’t do. Monday is clean the kitchen day. Let’s get on with it.

His goat, who’d been remarkably quiet over the weekend, piped up less than half an hour after Merihem had gone.You sent our mate out into the world horny and without any relief. That’s not what a good mate does. What if he finds someone else to polish his schlong?

Then he’s not our mate, in which case we won’t care.Peni applied some cream cleaner to the counter, humming along with his music.Mates don’t cheat on each other.

But still… that cock is a thing of beauty.

You only saw the demon dick, and I can’t see that fitting inside this body anytime soon. My stomach would get pushed out of my throat.

It wasn’t that Peni hadn’t thought about it, over the long hours the demon had been following him around. He knew the lore about shifter mates, even if his father didn’t believe in what he called “nonsense.” Spunk, spit, and a bite would cement them together, and it didn’t make any difference that Peni shared his spirit with a goat rather than a wolf or a bear. The rules were still the same.

What had helped, and Peni was cross with himself for even thinking it, was that the demon wouldn’t let Merihem come through. “He talks shit and upsets you,” the demon grumped the one time Peni asked about it. “He needs to listen to understand your needs.”

Which had been a sweet thought.Peni sighed. It was funny because, in the book he had been reading, it was the demon who was the rampaging asshole who didn’t care about anyone or anything. But aside from the one little rampage at Saturday’s lunch, Merihem’s demon genuinely seemed to care.

The issue was with the act of sex itself. Peni had never done it, never even got close. But from what he’d seen numerous times when he’d lived at home, sex was violent and noisy. There was very little caring involved, and above all, it was messy. Peni shuddered as a picture flicked into his mind. Some things could never be unseen, and he’d seen his father waving his cock around, sticking it into more holes than a hedgehog had prickles.

Focus on the task at hand.Peni used wide circular motions with his cloth to wipe off most of the cream cleaner, and then, with a second softer cloth, he buffed the counter until it shined.

I genuinely don’t believe it would be like that with our mate.The goat wasn’t as strident as he usually was. He’d seen the trauma Peni went through, and while he talked like a randy sailor most of the time, their bond was deep.His kisses are nice, and he’s remarkably controlled considering he spent all weekend with a rock-hard dick.

So did I most of the time.Peni could be honest with himself, if no one else.It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just that I’m scared. What if…

“You good-for-nothing piece of shit. You stole my job from me.” Peni ducked as a hand came out of nowhere, knocking his headphones clear off his head.

“Mrs. Danials.” Peni backed up, clutching his cloth to his chest as he faced five-foot-ten worth of fury in a blue and white dress. “What are you doing here? I thought you were in Florida.”

“Yes, you thought that didn’t you, you slimy piece of shit. And you thought you could slink your sexy ass up against that fucking demon, telling lies about me and getting me fired. You stole my job!”

“I haven’t talked to Mr. Dakata.” Peni’s back was hard against the stove, but the woman was still coming towards him. “I didwhat you said. I only worked between eight and four when Mr. Dakata was at work. I’ve never spoken to him. I haven’t.”

“Then how come I had a lawyer fella turning up at my sister’s house over the weekend, no less?” Mrs. Danial’s face twisted with rage. “Serving me papers. Embarrassing me in front of my family. Accusing me of theft! I never stole anything from nobody.”

“But… but…” Peni shook his head so hard his brain rattled. “I didn’t do anything. I was just cleaning—”

“Cleaning, my ass. Did you get tired of scrubbing floors for a living and thought you would weasel your way into the demon’s bed? Sucking cock as a sideline now, you little whore?”

“I haven’t said anything. I haven’t lied.” Peni ducked as a huge bag came towards his head.

“I gave you a chance.” The bag connected, and Peni’s goat bleated as pain shot down his neck. “I took you off the streets.” Another whack. “I took your sorry ass in when no one else would even look at you, and this is how you repay me?”

The whacks were coming hard and fast. Peni wouldn’t hit back. He’d never hit a woman, but as he crouched down, trying to protect his head and stomach, Mrs. Danials was relentless. All he could think as the woman used him as a punching bag, was would she kick him out of the house before Merihem came back for lunch, or was she going to leave his dead ass on the kitchenfloor?How can I call him… Would he even come when I didn’t have sex with him?

A demon roar reverberated around the kitchen, rattling the pots and the windows.

He came…

Chapter Eleven

Merihem

“Christa, I said no. The notes that Dakata left clearly state the terms of the contract for Live & Die mean they have to play those ten dates. They can’t now decide to do two less because one ofthe band has met someone and wants to stay in a city for a few extra days getting his cock sucked.”

Christa rolled her eyes at him, then turned to Scott, who had come in to take notes of the meeting. “He’s got no heart.”

“I’ve plenty of heart,” Merihem growled, though his lips curved into a small smile at how big his heart felt around Peni. His little goat was a pocket rocket. He was full of energy and although he’d had his ass curtailed over the weekend by his demon, he’d still had fun.

He moved his head from side to side, feeling the stiffness in his neck. He was far too big to be sleeping on a couch. Not that he’d complain when Peni decided last night he was better than a mattress and used them.

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