Page 32 of The Prince's Mate

I rolled my eyes at him but couldn't help smiling fondly. Damn, I was smitten for this man.

Walker

Caelan made me breakfast in bed when he didn't even need toeat. How sweet was that? How had I ever been anything but nice to this guy? I was never going to forgive myself for acting like a dick to Caelan, no matter how easily he'd forgiven me.

"Do you think Ro told the Dads about us?" I asked curiously, and Caelan scrunched his brows up thoughtfully, his ears twitching.

"It's possible. Ro and Day rarely keep things from each other, especially when it comes to you," he said, and I had to agree.

"Yeah. Then again, Pops was here yesterday, so it's not like they wouldn't already know," I said, and Caelan raised a brow.

"Did younotwant them to know?" he asked, and I rolled my eyes.

"Nah. I would never think I could keep something like this from them, and I don't want to," I assured him as I scraped off the last of the scrambled eggs off my plate. "So, the demons," I said, dragging us back on topic, and Caelan hummed.

"We already met Ajax, so we can cross him off the list. Two more to go in this city and then we go north." I had no idea what was in the north. Geography had always been my least favorite subject, and since I didn't have too much use for it, Pops had let me drop it after I knew the basics.

"Sounds good. Do you want to leave right away?"

"Sure. Unless there's something else you want to do first," he said, and I hummed.

Placing the plate on the nightstand, I freed myself from the blanket tangled around my legs before shifting closer to Caelan. He turned so he was facing me properly, and I placed my palms on his cheeks.

"How about a good morning kiss?" I asked, and he blinked, his dark pupils dilating as he focused on me. He licked his lower lip and nodded, pressing his face harder into my touch.

Smiling, I brushed my lips against his teasingly before retreating. I did that two more times before Caelan growled andpressed his lips to mine hard. My breath caught in my chest at the intensity of his kiss, at the hunger behind it, and I moaned as I kissed him back, opening my mouth and inviting his tongue inside.

We kissed for what felt like hours, and when we finally pulled away, Caelan was on my lap, straddling my thighs with his knees pressed against the mattress on either side of me. I didn't even realize when he'd done that, or when I'd wrapped my palms over his firm asscheeks.

"Fuck," Caelan mumbled, and I chuckled softly.

"Sounds about right. Okay, how about I take care of these dishes while you get ready?" I suggested, and he nodded.

I kissed his nose before he could move away, and he huffed, making me grin. He climbed off the bed and walked over to his bag, rooting around until he found the clothes he wanted to wear. Once he was in the bathroom, I climbed off the bed, grabbing the empty mug and plate and taking them to the kitchen.

"Who would've thoughtCaelanwould bring you breakfast in bed?" Ro said, and I glanced over at him as I placed the dirty mug and plate into the sink.

I didn't even realize I was grinning until Ro rolled his eyes, and even then I couldn't stop doing it. "I know, right? I never realized how sweet he actually was."

Well, maybe I had. When I was a kid, all I'd wanted to do was play with Kitty. I loved my dads, but other than them, I'd only ever felt completely at ease around Caelan. It hadn't been weird in any way, and no matter what he feared, he'd never ever looked at me the wrong way. I'd always felt utterly safe when I was with him, just like I did now.

"Eh, he's always been a softie. It was probably why he and Damien didn't work out as anything more than best friends. They're too alike in some ways."

If someone didn't know them both, they'd roll their eyes at the thought that Caelan and Dad were alike in any way, but it was true. While outwardly they appeared as different as two people could, they were both kinda alike on the inside. They were extremely sweet, adored all kinds of touches—I couldn't count the number of times I'd cuddled up on the couch with Dad while we binge-watched Disney movies because he'd had a bad day—and when they trusted someone, they were ready to lay down their lives for that person. I was a lucky man to have them in my life. A day didn't go by where I didn't thank the powers that be for giving me the chance to choose Otherworld, for bringing me to my dads, and now to Caelan.

"Yeah, they are," I murmured as I started washing the dishes, and I wondered if I should be weirded out by the fact that my mate used to hook up with my dad, because I wasn't. They'd ended things long before Da, Pops, or I came into the picture, and it wasn't like they'd been in love. Sure, they loved each other, but I knew that was only as friends. Caelan might have been with Dad once upon a time, but he was all mine now.

Ro'Shassz

When I took on this project to get Walker and Caelan together, I hadn't realized what it would be like once they did get together. I certainly hadn't foreseen all the sappy smiles and breakfasts-in-bed and moony eyes. If I had, maybe I would've left them alone. Alas, what was done, was done, and now all I could do was sit there and take it. I was hoping things would mellow out after a while, but given the fact Day and his men were still as sappy as day one, that hope was barely holding on.

Step Fifteen: Try not to puke rainbows and glitter at all the cutesy shit Walker and Caelan do for or around each other.

Sixteen

Walker

"Tell me about the demon we're going to see," I said, and Caelan pulled his tablet out, scrolling through it as Ajax drove us to our destination. While we could've gone on our own, I didn't want to take any risks with Caelan's safety, and since demons were immune to dark magic—they'd built up the immunity by spending so much time around dark souls—it seemed like a good idea to keep Ajax close.

---