Page 40 of Controller's Obsession

In the end, Merihem got down on his knees, ignoring his king while Peni fussed over him, making a tutting noise. “That big bully.”

“I dealt with him.” He locked away anything that would clue Peni in to exactly how that had happened.

“Good.” Peni sniffed, and Merihem rose, picked him up, and tucked him into the crook of one arm.

Peni rested his cheek against his shoulder.

Asmodeus met Merihem’s gaze over Peni’s head. “Sir, I know we need to discuss the position of Controller—”

“Discuss…” one brow arched up, and Merihem resisted squirming. “What would we need to discuss?”

Tell him.His demon was very pushy. “Peni would not be comfortable living in this realm, and I wouldn’t feel happy leaving him here while I was… working.”

“I see.”

Did he? Merihem wasn’t so sure. But he was picking up Peni’s relief at the conversation, so he pushed on. “I could reside in the human realm, like I did here. It would make no difference to my ability to carry out my role.” No, that would happen when he had to leave his little goat.

As if Asmodeus read his thought his smooth brow furrowed. “You could,” he suggested, his gaze on Peni. “Your blissful one could keep me company while you arebusy. He will be safe with me.”

Merihem wasn’t so sure of that, although Peni was showing no signs of distress at the suggestion. What had they talked about?

“Thank you for the offer. I’ll give it some thought after I have discussed it with Peni. Ultimately, it would be his decision.”

Asmodeus didn’t hide his surprise. “Unusual,” he murmured, then nodded. “Fine. Now you may take your leave.”

And just like that, they were back in Dakata’s house. Peni snuggled a little closer and Merihem’s demon receded. “He’s a nice man—Demon King—I think he’s lonely.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Peni

In honesty, Peni’s brain was a little muddled, and it wasn’t any clearer after a long week with Merihem checking over every inch of his body every night and half the day to make sure he was allright after being in the demon realm. Peni still got to clean the house while Merihem worked at Dakata’s office, but the demon realm sat like an elephant in the living room and wasn’t budging.

The demon realm was a place Peni didn’t like. That was something he could share with Merihem, and he did a couple of times when Merihem stopped kissing him long enough so they could talk. He hadn’t seen a single plant down there. The atmosphere was full of tension. Peni enjoyed his time with Asmodeus, although… their conversation had confusing bits, too, and Peni wasn’t sure he should even mention any of that.

Not that Merihem seemed keen on being reminded Peni had spent time alone with another man anyway, so he wasn’t pushing for details. It was almost a relief when Merihem cleared his throat after breakfast a week later and said, “Would you be all right in the forest for a few hours this morning? You could spend time with Silas, I know he’d be pleased to see you. If you’re with him, then I can trust Dakata will look out for you, too.”

“I don’t mind.” Peni looked up from his plate, hoping his relief wasn’t showing. “I appreciate you understanding I’m not keen on visiting down there. You know, so soon after last time. Being in the forest would be lovely. Maybe I could let my goat out for a bit, if Silas doesn’t mind.”

“I’m not keen on leaving you alone for any length of time at all, but I want to get things organized for us going forward.” Merihem leaned his elbows on the table, looking serious, and Peni realized he was expected to pay attention. “I know you enjoy the cleaning here, so I’m going to speak to Dakata aboutbuying this house. That way, your cute little animal side can have fun in the garden out the back here, with me keeping an eye on you, of course. But you could do that every day if you wanted to. We can always buy more plants.”

“That sounds wonderful.” Peni clapped and grinned. “I used to look out of the window in the basement in the evenings sometimes, watching the trees blowing in the breeze. My goat was always longing to go and play in the bushes out there. But I was always afraid he would eat too much, and we’d be found out.”

“I’ll make that happen for you.” Merihem used that tone that always made Peni feel special, and he blushed. “But I also need to speak to the king about my job as Controller.”

That made Peni pause for a moment. “That is really important, isn’t it? Do you have to kill people every day? Only, I’m thinking if you do, then you might need to invest in more pants, or I’ll have to do the laundry more often.”

“I don’t have to kill people every day, no.” Merihem was chuckling as he shook his head. “Gebre was a special case. Most of the time, the only fighting I do is when someone tries to get away, and that annoys me.”

“That makes sense.” Peni figured it wasn’t anything he needed to see anyway, so he could worry about the laundry later. “How will we get to the forest? Is George all right, or is he still in hospital?”

“I’ll translocate us.” Merihem got up and started clearing their plates off the table. “George is out of hospital, but apparently, he’s spending a bit of time in the forest as well. That’s what Scott said, anyway.”

“I’m glad he’s all right.” Peni sat and savored the moment, watching his mate clearing the table and stacking the dishes in the sink for Peni to take care of later. It was like a ritual for them now, and Peni loved that Merihem understood his love language so well.

“Ready to go?” Merihem held out his hand.

“Just don’t be gone too long, or I’ll worry,” Peni said, although that was more for the demon than the human side. He could feel the warm glow of satisfaction coming from the demon as Merihem took them to the forest.

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