Page 23 of Secretary's Obsession

The timing was perfect. It was a moment that would become emblazoned in George’s memory forever more. One screamed, one yelled, and then a satisfying thud, thud, thud, as the twodemons fell headfirst down the stairs, tumbling head over ass, their limbs hitting the walls on the way down. Yeah, George’s bear felt he could afford to swagger a bit.

Except when he turned around, the bear heard Scott yell, “Look out, honey bear,” and he saw the flash of a fireball coming toward him.

That’s going to singe some fur,he thought as he ducked and dodged, feeling a flash of pain as his cells broke down. Seconds later, they were back in Scott’s apartment, and the bear was being smothered by an overly affectionate demon.

“Honey bear, oh, my poor, poor honey bear, you’ve beenhit!” George’s furry face was being subjected to a thousand demon butterfly kisses. “What can I do? Tell me, honey bear, what can I do to make those ouches go away? They burned your fur, those horrid people. They burned my precious bear.”

Oh, no, Scott’s demon was crying. The bear tried to turn his head so he could see the extent of the damage. The smell of singed fur was never nice, but the demon had his cheeks gripped firmly.

“They held me with magic and my own father stopped me going to you. You were so brave, trying to protect me and they hurt you, burned your lovely fur.” The demon was sobbing harder. “Is it any wonder I try to keep things nice? Did you see what they did to my room? And they threatened to go to the king. I should be the one to go to the king. I should have them thrown into the hell pits for hurting my blissful one… I’m so sorry.”

Giving up on trying to see the state of his fur, the bear licked up the demon’s tears, and then George came through when that wasn’t working. “Hey, hey,” he said softly. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not. It’s really not.” The poor demon was heartbroken. “They make fun of my coloring, they tease me because I’m smaller than they are. They’ve never once been proud of me for the work I do for Dakata and make fun of me for that, too. Even my room—did you see the state of my room? That’s where I grew up. I hated it there, but that room was always nice. We kept it lovely. And now it’s messy. A place for them to dump their shit. They attacked you, they hurt you, they called you a mix-up like you were one of those annoyances my father had to fix. I hate them. I hate what they did to you.”

“It’s not the first time I’ve met people like that.” Using his thumbs, George wiped away more tears. “You’ve had a rough time of it…”

“Me? What about you?” Scott came through, his hair a mess, his eyes red-rimmed. “I swear… please believe me, I promise if I’d have known they’d be so rude, or cruel, or hurt you… I can’t believe my father…” Scott trailed off and sniffed. “I would never have taken you there if I thought you’d be hurt. I’m so very sorry.”

“I’m fine. A shift will fix most things for a shifter. Did you want to get dressed and go out for a burger with me?”

“Really? That’s all you’re going to say? We should, I suppose.” Scott was looking around, clearly distracted. “You didn’t even get to eat before the insults started. Oh, no…”

George looked over in the direction Scott was looking and saw the neat pile of three cushions by the couch had fallen, so they lay sprawled over the floor.

“I’ll just…”

“The burgers can wait,” George said firmly, catching Scott before he ran off and pulling him close. His poor mate needed kisses. They both needed kisses, and if a bit of mess got made along the way… well, hopefully, Scott would be too tired to notice.

Chapter Thirteen

Scott

Everything about the evening, or the lack of it, made Scott tumble down into the pit of hell, where he needed everything to go back to being controlled. Orderly.

What was he to do?

He’d cried all over their bear. Then, the sweet honey bear had licked his tears away. He hadn’t chastised him. Called him a baby.

The mess…

George’s mouth became persistent, and his thoughts melted away. The world shrank down to the gentle kisses that made his chest warm and his belly quiver.

Large hands cupped his ass and lifted him effortlessly. Heat and the wonderful smell of George surrounded him, protected him. Being smaller than those in his family, Scott hated feeling less. In George’s arms, he exulted in the knowledge his bear could hold him like this. He moaned at the feel of their naked bodies touching as he wrapped himself around George, clinging on. Safe.

Loved.

His demon side was right. Despite the blissful one connection, there was more to it, and whether they were ready to utter those words aloud, Scott felt cherished for the first time in his existence. It was…amazing.Somewhere in the back of his mind, the worry about everything—him—being perfect didn’t seem to matter. How long it would last, Scott wasn’t sure, but he clung to it now as he did to George.

When his back touched the cool cotton of the comforter on his bed, George didn’t stop the gentle exploration of his mouth. Gentle nips were followed with his teasing tongue before he deepened the kiss. A drug of affection, his lips delivered to Scott, stealing away the need to do more than lay there and feel.

Hovering over him, only their mouths touching, Scott’s eyes grew heavy along with his limbs. Desire hummed between them, yet it wasn’t frantic, more a slow ebb. It washed through him with each kiss that left him in a languid state of arousal.

So different from anything he’d experienced before, Scott was in heaven. His mouth was fully sensitized to that of George’s. “Such lovely kisses,” he murmured dreamily when George trailed kisses down the side of his neck towards Scott’s mate mark, only to nibble on the skin, making his cock jerk and the urgency to run back through his veins chasing away the dreaminess with its fire.

“Like that, do we?”

The rumbled words barely penetrated as George moved lower, his mouth teasing over Scott’s collarbone, his tongue and lips tasting.

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