Page 23 of King's Obsession

“I’m so proud of you, babe. So proud of you,” Merihem said after several sniffs.

“We’ve just got to wait for the afterbirth,” Dougal said quietly, although he was unsure if anyone was listening. Merihem had a stunned look on his face, and all he could keep doing was stroking Peni’s face and blinking a lot. “Asmodeus, can you come and take this darling for a minute? I need to cut the cord. Merihem, you just keep holding your blissful one. Maybe zap up some water or juice, which could be a good idea right now. There’s just a few things to take care of on this end. You don’t need to see that.”

Asmodeus came around the bed, standing by Dougal’s side. His head tilted as he studied the little one. “Your first birth?” Dougal guessed. “Can I have a small sharp knife and a soft blanket, please?”

A delicate blanket appeared, looking as if it was made of spun spiderweb, in Asmodeus’s hands. “She’s so tiny. What do you need the knife for?”

“She’s still attached.” Dougal indicated at the umbilical cord. “The afterbirth will be expelled shortly—that necessary piece of equipment that kept this little one nourished while she was inside Peni’s belly. In the meantime, this needs to be cut and tied. It won’t hurt her, or Peni.”

Flicking out a claw, Asmodeus cut the cord, knotting the end, and then held out the blanket. “You can hold her.” Dougal wasn’t going to laugh at his mate, but when he placed the baby in the demon ruler’s hands, Asmodeus looked as if he’d been handed a bomb.

He swallowed his chuckle. “Just support her head, and make sure she’s warm enough.” He busied himself grabbing a small wicker basket from by the fire. It would contain the afterbirth until Peni and Merihem decided what to do with it. If they didn’t want it, Dougal would bury it in the forest to nourish the trees. Then he got a washcloth and some water—Merihem had zapped them up but left them on the floor—and gently cleaned Peni’s legs and around his butt before flicking the blanket back over him.

When he had cleaned the worst of the mess up, Dougal tapped Peni’s legs. “Hey, Peni, how are you feeling?”

“Like I could rule the world if I hadn’t been run over by a truck.” Peni groaned anew.

“Roll yourself back around and get yourself comfortable,” Dougal suggested. “Then you can meet the new little lady in your life.”

Dougal had witnessed many births, but as Peni took his baby into his arms, the smile that bloomed from that tired face moved Dougal to tears. Even Merihem, who always seemed to come across as gruff and confident, and in control, had a look of wonder Dougal knew he’d never see again as he leaned over Peni’s shoulder, stroking over their daughter’s small fingers.

“We should do that.” Asmodeus was watching the happy couple, too, his weight comforting against Dougal’s shoulder.

“Hmm.” Dougal quirked a brow as he wrapped his arm around his mate’s waist. “Did you want me to blow on you like you did to Peni? Because I can’t see you blowing on yourself.”

“I’m exceptionally flexible,” Asmodeus grumbled, but he draped his arm over Dougal’s shoulder. “I could blow myself if I wanted to.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

The two men chuckled quietly, chuckles that stopped as Peni gasped. “Oh, my goodness, look. Look. She’s shifted already. Isn’t she just adorable?”

How on earth did that happen?

Peni was right. Their new baby was the most gorgeous pink fluffy demon Dougal had ever seen. “And see, see here,” Merihem said proudly, pointing at the fluffy head. “She’s got tiny horns already.”

A symbol of change.Dougal wasn’t sure if the sentiments were coming from Asmodeus or the forest, but deep inside he quietly agreed. “So, seeing as the sun is rising, does anyone fancy breakfast?”

Chapter Fourteen

Asmodeus

Asmodeus really wasn’t sure if Dougal was joking about the baby, but his belly had been out of sorts ever since the conversation. He had to agree that the little girl was the most adorable thing he’d ever seen. She had clutched his finger so tightly that he’d felt it tug at his heart. He was going soft, that’s what it had to be. A blissful one made him… gooey inside.

When Peni had left clutching the little girl in Merihem’s arms, he had been… disappointed. His early annoyance at Merihem calling him a fucker had long since fled with the gift he had bestowed on them being present at the child’s birth.

The enormous sigh brought a look from his blissful one, who was tugging on the collar of the dress shirt Asmodeus had laid out with a black silk suit earlier on Dougal’s bed to dress for the ball. “You haven’t changed your mind, have you?”

Nothing about the way he said it let Asmodeus know what his thoughts were on the subject. Asmodeus had purposefully not given the ball any thought because it would be boring as hell and nothing his blissful one would enjoy in reality.

It was a means to announce to the demon realm he had a blissful one, show Dougal how proud he was, and show the other noble families that he had no issue with mixed matings. Their stuffy ideas were antiquated and needed challenging. The realm needed to understand that demons who didn’t venture beyond the realm would not find their blissful ones. Dougal was right, only those who ventured beyond the realm received the blessing. It was time to reveal the proof of this.

He walked to Dougal and cupped his jaw, holding his gaze. “I was thinking about the gorgeous demon—goat baby girl. And no, I’m not having second thoughts, but you might the second those snobby assholes start with their nonsense.”

The chuckle was dirty and gave Asmodeus other ideas about what they could do instead of attending the ball. He moved in to kiss Dougal who raised a hand, pressing in firmly against Asmodeus’s chest, stopping him an inch from his lips. The twinkle in his eyes promised that later they’d get naked. “You can get me out of this garb later. Right now,” he glanced at the tiny clock on the dresser, “we’re going to be late.”

“I’m the king, I can be late to my own ball if I want to be,” he muttered, miffed at not getting the kiss he wanted.

“You’re pouting.” Dougal moved away, his chuckles turning to deep laughter.

---