Page 14 of The Prince's Mate

"That's right," I answered, and he looked so dejected, practically heartbroken at the thought. I smiled fondly at him before dropping the bar into our trolley.

"Why don't you eat it for me, yeah?" I said, and he nodded, still looking a tad disappointed. That was, until he caught sight of something and raced off, leaving me to follow.

I found him in the toys section of all places, his hands on his hips as he stared at a wall of board games.

"See something you like?" I asked, and he turned to me.

"Do you play chess?" he asked, and I smiled, remembering all the times Damien and I had played.

"Yeah. Damien and I used to play all the time.”

Walker pulled out a box of a wooden chess set. "Yeah, he taught me too. Maybe...maybe we could play?" he asked hesitantly, and I smiled. I'd take any reason to spend some time with him.

"I'd love that."

Ro'Shassz

Getting them to go out alone without me had been a stroke of genius. I just hoped they'd get their heads out of their asses and actually talk for once instead of just mooning at each other without seeing the other wanted them just as much. If Damien found out I was trying to manipulate them together, he'd have my hide. Then again, he wasn't the one stuck in this constant low-grade sexual tension every day. I was going to get these two together if it was the last thing I ever did.

Step Six: Leave them together as much as I can.

Seven

Walker

It was only once we were at the checkout counter that I realized just how much stuff I'd bought considering I'd be the only one eating and this was supposed to be a short stay, just as long as we needed to check in with all the demons. I didn't think it would take more than two or three weeks, and yet the amount of stuff I'd bought could probably last me a whole month.

Caelan didn't say anything, simply paying for it with a card Reece had given him before we came here.

Our hands were full of bags when we left the store, and I wished I could use my magic to get back to the apartment so I wouldn't have to walk with all this weight. Luckily, the apartment was only a few blocks away, so at least we wouldn't have to walk too far.

Caelan stumbled beside me, and I glanced up in surprise. His reflexes were like a cat's, and I'd never ever seen him miss a step before. He wasn't looking at me, though. His head was snapping back and forth, eyes scanning the crowd as if looking for someone.

"What is it?" I asked, and he finally turned to look at me. He shook his head, running his fingers through his messy hair and pushing it off his forehead.

"Nothing. I thought I saw someone I knew once," he said, sounding distracted, and I frowned.

"Someone you knew in your human life?" I asked.

Caelan went to nod before shaking his head. "It doesn't matter. It wasn't who I thought. Couldn't be anyway."

I stayed quiet, but I surreptitiously glanced around us as if I'd be able to catch sight of or recognize if I did see them, whoever Caelan thought he'd seen. But no one was paying us any mind, and I figured he really had imagined it.

Once we got back to the apartment, we unpacked the groceries, stocking them in the refrigerator and the cabinets, while Ro'Shassz sat on the counter and judged my food choices. For a snake who didn't eat at all, he had quite a lot of opinions about food.

Since we didn’t know how to cook, we'd mostly bought things that could be heated using a microwave. I ignored Ro's bitching as I stuck a frozen pizza inside and turned to Caelan. I thought about asking him if he’d like to play a game of chess before we turned in. It was almost nine, but still pretty early for us. Otherworlders didn't need as much sleep as humans did, and while I needed a little more sleep than the average soul collector, I could manage without it.

"I'm going to turn in," Caelan said as I opened my mouth to speak, and I swallowed my words, nodding slowly.

"Sure," I said, and he walked over to the couch. I watched him with a frown as he lay down on the couch and folded his arm under his head. All I could see from here now were his legs sticking out over the armrest.

"What are you doing?" I demanded, and he jerked his eyes open.

"Trying to sleep?"

"You know there's a perfectly fine bed in there, right?" I asked, pointing to the closed bedroom door.

"I know," he said, and I sighed.

---