Page 67 of Married to the Devil

Connors is placed against the wall near them. An actual bodyguard to look after my dreamer of a wife and her methodical demon. The gods know that neither of them is skilled in combat. A fact that will be rectified. They have a standing training appointment with Fiona and Connors every morning much to my wife’s complaint that she prefers quiet and coffee to sweating before the sunrises.

Fiona reports that Ben is a quick study, but Stella’s abilities aren’t promising. I hope that she never needs the skills the cat shifter is trying to push on her, but I’m a gargoyle of contingency plans.

Silas makes a sound of acknowledgment, distracting me from watching my wife get to know the other guests.

I turn and blow a breath. “Kalos, what a surprise you could make it.”

The dragon’s lips curl into something resembling a smile. “I’d never leave an ally hanging in the wind. Especially one making eyes at my second-in-command.”

Silas blinks in surprise, but I don’t outwardly show mine.

“Is he really your second-in-command if he spends more time in my territory than yours?” I challenge and feel Silas glaring at me.

Ben has been working with Stella on the issue of crafting charms that can stand against fae magic near constantly since the revelation of how people were being taken. He even found a fae within the territory who can instruct her.

They’ve begun the preparations, but with my current investigation and tasks managing the territory, I’ve not had a moment alone with both of them since the night in the library.

When I arrived home last night to relieve Ben of his position, Stella was asleep in the chair I’d picked for her workshop. Even with her apparent drained state, I’d been tempted to demand he stay so I could take from him what I’m owed.

His breath had caught in the dim light the moment I’d contemplated it. He knows he’ll pay for allowing Stella to be vulnerable to attack in her investigation after I put my trust in him, but I spared him last night.

I’m enjoying prolonging his unease.

The grin Kalos gives me now is all fangs. “I hope you realize how valuable our allyship is to me to part with him for so long.”

I narrow my eyes. The dragon knows I’m after the demon and, for some reason, isn’t warning me off.

Kalos continues, “But I will tear you apart if you don’t have a care in your courtship.”

My insides freeze.Courtship. I don’t live in a clan as other gargoyles do. I cast aside the traditions of my upbringing when I left that life, but what I’ve done to manipulate Ben is similar to courting.

To an outsider, the ends would appear the same, but creating a clan is not my intention.

“He’d be a valuable addition anywhere he went,” I say without commitment. “Where is your mate?”

Kalos arches a brow. “I’m not bringing my pregnant mate into contentious territory, ally or not.”

I nod, my eyes on Stella again. “And she just accepted that decision?”

Stella would fight me on that front even if she were expecting. I’m not ignorant to the whispers of the territory hoping that she pops out an heir. I’ve never needed to breed someone to stabilize a territory before, and my wife is more than a brood mare for political gains.

But the idea of claiming her that way…affects me.

That and the way her scent is sweetening with the approach of her fertile time is distracting.

Kalos huffs a laugh. “Katarina cares for my peace of mind. It’s what comes from not treating your mating like a tactical game.”

My lips twitch at the targeted statement. “I wouldn’t know how that is.”

Stella gives back as much sharpness as she takes from me, and there’s something delightful about that. Surprisingly, Ben’s presence adds to the experience.

Kalos nearly rolls his eyes. We are two leaders, comparable in influence and power. We are similar in many ways, but he obviously doesn’t see the joys in courting chaos. I enjoy predictability in my scheming as much as the next strategist, but Stella does add a fire to life.

I may not be able to soften enough to be what she needs, but I can enjoy the blaze.

“I see your host invited Lobo.” Kalos changes the subject, nodding to the stiff man who Ariel is currently trying to chat with. “It’s a surprise that he came.”

Now my lips purse in annoyance. I don’t like the wolf shifter who manages the territory a city over, and the feeling is mutual.

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