“Yes, you can,” I told her.
“Some of those demons who chose to stay on Earth and die all those thousands of years ago, they did so because they had found their Chosen with a human, didn’t they?” she asked.
“Yes,” I confirmed.
“So demon children also roamed the earth?”
“A few, but like most of your line, they are all gone. Some of them were never able to reproduce as they acquired a demon’s necessity for their Chosen in order to reproduce with a mortal’s lifespan at birth.”
“How sad.” Her eyes closed and her head turned on my chest. “I can’t get pregnant, Kobal. I’m too young, it’s too risky right now, and I believe Lucifer would come after our child with everything he has.”
My body stiffened beneath her, and my hand stilled on her hair. It would be the biggest mistake of all for River to get pregnant now, but I wanted that offspring.
“We will take care to prevent pregnancy from now on,” I said. “But you must know, I will protect our offspring with everything I am.Noone will ever harm our children, or you.”
“I know,” she murmured and stifled a yawn. “But I’d still prefer him dead first.”
“So would I.”
Her lashes brushed over my skin when her eyes closed. I kept her cradled against my chest as I felt her slip into sleep. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched her. She would also be the first woman I would ever fall asleep beside.
CHAPTER 37
River
Kobal’s leg was draped over mine with his foot hooked possessively around my calf when my eyes fluttered open the next morning. His arms were securely enfolded around me with his chin tucked on top of my head.
Shadows still enshrouded the tent, but I could see the early glow of the sun filtering beneath the flap and around the edges of it. The growing warmth of the rising sun didn’t bother me, nor did the heat of the powerful man lying next to me.
I remained unmoving against him as I took stock of my body. My throat and body were sore from the battle with those things yesterday, and there was a tenderness between my legs that wasn’t entirely unpleasant. I couldn’t stop myself from smiling at the memory of what had transpired between us.
The smile slid away when doubts descended over me. Did he really believe I was his Chosen, or in the light of day would he change his mind and realize he’d been mistaken?
A shiver of delight ran through my body when I rested my hand against his bite mark on my neck. He had sounded so sure of himself last night, and I could never forget the primal compulsion that had driven me to sink my own teeth into him. At the time, I hadn’t understood why I’d been compelled to do such a thing, but now I knew it had been something primal inside of me.
I’d been unable to resist marking him in the same way as he’d marked me. I could feel the urge growing within me once more.
This large, powerful, magnificent man was mine. I felt the rightness of it all the way to the center of my soul. I somehow knew this possessiveness would not abate, that it would not change, and the strength of it was anything but human. Perhaps I’d known it since the first time I’d seen him.
My fingers slid over the flame tattoos on his arm, the flames that had fired to life yesterday and leapt from him to destroy those creatures. I traced over the strange symbols intricately wrought within the flames.
Contentment stole through me as I nestled closer against him, seeking out his strength. “What are these symbols in your tattoo?” I asked, knowing when he woke by the rumble of pleasure reverberating through his chest.
“Part of our ancient language,” he replied, fisting his hand so his arm flexed against me. My mouth went dry as the chiseled muscles of his forearm bulged and moved before me.
“Really?” I slipped out of his embrace and sat up in the bed. I tucked the sheet against my chest before grabbing his arm and drawing it closer.
A smile tugged at his mouth when he reached up to pull the sheet away from me. The playful look on his face robbed me of my breath, and for a minute, I forgot all about my fascination over the tattoos on his arms. I’d never known he could look so relaxed and youthful, never imagined the unrelenting demon could lookjoyful.
His hair fell boyishly across his forehead and into one black eye as his finger trailed over my breast before circling my nipple. I was bombarded by memories of the night and the feelings he’d ceaselessly awakened and set free in me. My heart swelled with emotion, and it clogged my throat as I realized I was well on my way to falling helplessly in love with this demon.
“Really,” he murmured.
“Why did you have them tattooed onto you?” I inquired in a strangled voice as my body arched into his touch.
“They aren’t tattoos. I emerged from the fires with these markings upon me.”
His fingers slipped toward my stomach. Grasping his hand before it could dip any lower, I held his arm in front of me. As badly as I wanted him right now, I was also eager to learn more about him.
