Page 86 of Prince with a Chance of Darkness

Vlad still couldn’t believe he wasn’t dreaming. That this was his life now. He loved it and had finally started to exhale and let his guard down enough to enjoy it all.

Teya’s words of warning still haunted him.Death’s just a door…and she’s coming soon. But not today. She’s waiting to play until the other shows himself again.

Despite his best efforts, he’d been unable to get a straight answer out of her on it all. Who was coming, and was his family safe? What was the great darkness Lucian had been warned of? Was it The Order of the Dragon? Who was the man who had given Mina the thinly veiled threat to pass on to Vlad? And how did he know what Radu had said to him long ago? And what did the forest witch have to do with everything?

These questions robbed him of sleep and left him pacing the house when Mina and Temperance slept, worry eating at him that something might come along and snatch them away fromhim. He loved them more than words could ever describe. They were his everything.

If only they were fine with dress clothes for all occasions, his demon said.

Vlad tugged at the collar of the cotton t-shirt Mina had purchased for him, fighting the urge to rip the offensive garment to shreds. The fabric was soft enough, but it was not the fine linens he was known for having his clothing tailor-made from.

The jeans were equally confining, though Mina's appreciative glances when he bent to retrieve the paint roller made the discomfort somewhat worthwhile.

His mate was like fire, always ready for him—always willing to accept him into her bed.

Our bed, the demon reminded him. After all, they had been residing with her and their daughter in Grimm Cove for a whole month now.

The accommodations are somewhat lacking, he thought, but didn’t dare say as much out loud.

Mina was so proud of the home he dared not comment.

Instead, he sighed as he glanced around the tiny study that they’d spent the last three days working on. Vlad owned six homes in total. All of which were considered mansions. And all of them had bathrooms bigger than this.

Shut up, Vlad, you’re what our daughter would call a one-percenter, said his demon.

Vlad groaned. “What do you know of one-percenters?”

Mina glanced over at him. “Deep discussions with your inner self again?”

She had gotten used to him speaking to his demon but had yet to hear him herself. He suspected that would come with time for them.

She will like me more than you,said his demon.I have a sense of humor. Kind of like your hairstyle.

“What is wrong with my hair?” he asked. It was pulled up so that he wouldn’t get paint in it while he did manual labor.

Nothing, pushed the demon, laughing as it did.

He grunted and dipped the paint roller in the pale blue paint, trying to remember what he and Mina had been discussing before his demon interrupted. “Ah, yes, about the home I could have commissioned for us here.”

Mina let out a long sigh. “Vlad, we have a house here. You’re standing in it.”

“It’s…quaint.”

She snorted. “If you have too much money, raise your hand.”

The demon picked that moment to push forward so fast Vlad wasn’t expecting it. The demon forced Vlad to lift his hand high in the air. A drop of paint fell into his hair in the process.

Mina laughed loudly.

Told you, she will like me better,said the demon smugly.

“Think about it,lumini?a mea. We could build by the water,” he said casually, lowering the paint roller. "And the north tower would be great to?—”

"We're not building towers," Mina interrupted, her attention on carefully edging around a window frame. "This is South Carolina, not Transylvania."

"A man can dream,lumini?a mea."

She glanced over her shoulder at him, her gaze lingering. A smile touched her lips.

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