Page 12 of Tall, Dark & Horny

Her pulse sped up as she whispered, “What do you mean?”

I straightened slowly, giving her space even as my demon clawed beneath my skin, furious at the distance. I had to tread carefully now. The truth couldn’t be softened—but it could be delivered with care.

“You need to understand something about demons. We don’t form attachments easily. Many of us never do. And we don’t bite like shifters. What binds us with the other half of our soul is forged in hellfire itself, so our marking is more of a brand. When we meet the one who’s meant for us—our fated mate—it’s final. Immediate. Irrevocable.”

Her brows furrowed, lips parting just slightly as she struggled to keep up. “How do you know you’ve found the right person?”

“A tether snaps into place the moment we meet the person we’re meant to claim. One that I finally felt tonight.”

She sucked in a shaky breath, and I saw her throat bob as she swallowed. “Are you saying…you think I’m your mate?”

“No.” I met her gaze without hesitation. “I’m saying Iknowyou are.”

She froze, barely blinking. “That’s not possible. I’m human.”

I didn’t correct her—not yet. First, she needed time to accept that the world was more than she’d ever imagined. And for me to figure out what, exactly, Calliope might be.

“I don’t see how I could be your…your anything. I don’t know anything about demons, or magic, or mating, or…” The panic rose in her eyes.

Barely resisting the urge to crowd her, I took a slow step back, loosening the leash on my control just enough to soothe the flare of power in the room. “I understand this might be too much to wrap your head around in one night. Maybe it would help if I showed you a little more of the world you’ve stepped into.”

Her chest rose and fell quickly, but she didn’t run. Or demand that I leave. She was handling the situation well for a woman who had just met her first supernatural being—and learned she was his fated mate.

The same couldn’t be said for my demon half. He didn’t like the space I’d created between us and snarled in my head, furious that I hadn’t sealed the bond the moment I recognized her. But I held him back because Calliope didn’t need pressure.

She needed time.

And I was determined to give her what little I could.

“Like what?”

I gestured toward the door. “Let me show you The Abyss. Some of it, anyway.”

“I’m not sure.” Calliope’s gaze darted between me and the exit, hesitation written across every inch of her. Her shoulders were still tight, the fight-or-flight instinct clearly warring inside her.

“No pressure,” I assured her. “But you’ll understand more when you see it.”

For a long moment, she didn’t move. Then she finally nodded and stood, wiping her hands on her thighs. “Okay.”

I opened the door and held it for her, and the moment she stepped into the hallway, The Abyss responded. The lighting shifted, the sconces along the walls glowing warmer. Not brighter exactly, just more…alive. The faint hum of warded magic pulsed beneath the surface of the stone floor like a heartbeat, quiet and steady. My magic. And now hers, in a way.

She paused to look around, pretty green eyes wide with wonder. The awe on her face only made her more beautiful.

As we reached the main elevator, I pressed the button and watched as the doors slid open, the interior washed in a soft golden glow. “That was just the beginning.”

6

CALLIOPE

As I stepped into the elevator with Adan, I knew nothing would ever be the same. What he’d told me should be impossible, but there was no denying something was otherworldly in the way his eyes bled completely to black.

The hotel, too. Now that I was paying attention, the entire building felt quietly alive in a way I couldn’t explain.

My pulse picked up as the doors slid closed behind us. Hoping to soothe my nerves, I joked, “Next you’ll tell me you have a dragon chained up in the basement.”

Adan’s deep chuckle filled the lift. “Wouldn’t be the strangest thing under this roof.”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” I peered up at him, searching for any sign that he was teasing me but finding none. “Dragons are real?”

---