Page 154 of Married to the Devil

One momentthe world is cold, silent, and the next it’s full of warmth and possession. I wake as if in a dream with my wife’s back pressing against my chest, and the demon we both love surging inside her like he’ll never have another chance.

They both come too soon, but I’m riding too high on victory to care. The witch and the demon are mine and have the marks to prove it.

The high feeling doesn’t last because once Stella catches her breath, she starts crying.

These aren’t silent tears or small hiccups. This is a torrential downpour.

“What did you do?” I hiss at Ben as he pulls out of her and slips himself back into his pants.

He shakes away his shock over just being bitten enough to answer. “She’s crying about you. You kind of died.”

“What?” I ask, but Stella turns in my arms and wraps her arms around my neck, pressing her face against my throat, her sobbing lowers in volume, but her shoulders still shake, and tears wet my skin.

Ben bends down and picks up a blanket that must have fallen to the ground, wrapping it around our witch who must be freezing. Why are we outside?

“A curse turned you to stone,” Ben says. “You’ve been trapped that way for a week.”

My brows raise, and I take in the roof of the Firefly. Memories drift back in. I remember the fear of Stella being taken. I tighten my arms around her, part to reassure her and part to comfort myself.

A whole week has passed since that moment. Time that I’ve missed, but the world has not. It’s disorienting but not as important as the woman in my arms.

“Stella,” I croon. “Please don’t be upset.”

“I’m so happy,” she gasps out.

My lips twitch in humor, but I don’t let that spill out.

Ben’s eyes are glassy. It would seem my demon was affected by my predicament as well.

“So you returned?” I ask.

His jaw tightens before he answers. “I would have. I didn’t know what happened until today. I came as soon as I finished foraging for a mushroom to cure you.”

If my brows could raise more, they would. “A mushroom?”

“It was unpleasant,” he says lightly.

I’ll have to ask more about that later. I feel as if I’m floating. Not quite in the real world because I have no idea what’s occurred. Only that I woke up during the best part of it.

Stella sniffs. “You were with the potion master?”

Ben nods. “She thought I knew what happened.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” she says against my skin, shame heavy in her words. Ah, my painfully independent wife has been suffering.

“I understand.” He runs a hand over her hair.

The demon has returned, and I won’t let him get away again, but now is not the time for tackling either of my mates.

I may be invigorated, but the exhaustion is clear on both of them.

Now is the time to take care of them.

I pull him into a group hug. It’s time to get off this blasted roof. It’s freezing. I tighten my hold on both of them and step off the roof.

Stella makes a rude sound, and Ben stiffens, but the glide to our bedroom balcony is a quick one.

“A little warning next time?” Stella growls, but it’s a weak complaint. I swallow once we’re inside. It’s one thing to hear about Stella being alone. It’s another to experience it. The scent of her sadness is so prevalent here that I leave the doors open to air it out.

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