Page 52 of Property of Mako
“Fuck, baby,” he cursed before he drove inside slowly but deeply. I’d never had sex like that in my life. It was unreal. It was magical.
When it was over, I curled against his chest, listening to the steady thrum of his heartbeat under my cheek. With each thump, my eyelids grew heavier.
His fingers traced idle patterns along my spine. “Lyra…”
“Mmm?” I murmured, already half-asleep.
He hesitated long enough that I opened my eyes and tilted my head up. His gaze caught mine, raw and unguarded in the dim light.
“I’m not going to be able to let you go when this is over,” he admitted, voice rough. “I know I should. I know it would be the right thing to do for you, but….”
My breath caught. The walls I’d built around my heart threatened to crumble under the weight of those words.
I didn’t answer. I didn’t know how.
Instead, I pressed my lips softly against his chest, holding him tighter, praying that somehow we’d both make it through what was coming.
Because I now couldn’t imagine my life without him in it.
Chapter 24
A Reckoning with a Demon
Mako
Haidyn didn’t keep me waiting long. He never did. One moment, the tree line that grew at the edge of the swamps behind the clubhouse was empty, the next, it was full of swirling black smoke and the stench of brimstone. He stepped out of it like a goddamn phantom—immaculate in a tailored black suit, not a single strand of his golden hair out of place.
And he looked fucking pissed.
“You really don’t listen well,” he drawled, his sharp smile anything but friendly. “You’re lucky I like you, Mako. Otherwise, you and that girl would be ash already.”
I bristled, instinct rising, but I didn’t take the bait. “We got Lily. That’s what matters.”
His blue eyes flared with an eerie ember light, a predator’s glow. “What matters is that you nearly ruined my game. Do you have any idea the lengths I went to, to cover your little stunt? I had to stand there, furious, spitting fire at the Covenant, pretending I gave a damn that the most valuable piece in the auction had been snatched out from under my nose.” His gaze narrowed, and his grin went wicked. “It worked. They bought it. But don’t mistake my acting ability for charity.”
My jaw tightened. “Then why cover for me at all?”
Haidyn’s smirk widened as he stepped closer, his presence like smoke curling around my throat. “Because I have my own interests, vampire. And because, deep down, I enjoy watching you disobey orders you should fear.”
“You don’t give me orders.”
His laugh was a low, dangerous rumble. “Keep telling yourself that.” Then his tone shifted, hard and sharp. “Someone else already made a deal with me, Mako. A grieving parent. Their daughter was taken by the Covenant, and in their desperation, they offered me their souls in exchange for the girl’s rescue. You almost fucked that up for me, and I would’ve been extremely unhappy about that.”
My stomach turned, heat licking at my veins. “You’re saying?—”
“I’m saying,” he interrupted smoothly, “that I have things under control. Their debt has ensured my involvement. The girls will be freed, one way or another. You can stop pretending you’re the only savior in this little war.”
In disbelief, I stared at him, searching for cracks in his certainty, for any hint of a trap. But Haidyn was unreadable, a demon who never lied but always twisted the truth until it felt like a noose.
“What about me?” I finally asked, knowing this wasn’t over.
Haidyn’s eyes glittered. “Oh, you still owe me, D’Aragon. Don’t think for a moment you’ve slipped that leash. You may have forgotten, but I never do. And I’ll be collecting on that debt very, very soon.” He leaned in, his voice a husky whisper. “Pray it’s something you’re willing to pay.”
Before I could reply, tendrils of smoke and shadow crawled in from the trees to consume him, and he was gone.
Back inside the chapel of the clubhouse, my trusted brothers were waiting—faces grim, eyes sharp. The weight of Haidyn’s words still clung to me like smoke.
“We’ve got a problem,” I told them.
