“Fine, you can have a cookie, but not until Raven’s had hers.”
“Be a good boy,” I reminded my incubus. We’d had words several times lately about his inability to recognize Maverick’s boundaries. Training an incubus was a bit like training a hellhound—frustrating and ultimately pointless. However, as a witch that preferred to see the good in all creatures great and small, I hoped that one day both Daisy and Zane would reach adulthood.
“Do I get a reward for being a good boy?”
Clearly that day wasn’t coming anytime soon.
“I’ll consider it,” I hedged, not in the mood for a bickering episode.
“Then I’ll be a good boy for my pet.” He kissed me on the nose and then set me down.
“Fucking irritating incubus,” Maverick muttered as he pulled a tray of golden cookies from the oven. Two seconds later, Fig barreled in, squeaking excitedly.
“No cookies for you,” I told Fig. “Sugar makes you sick.”
“Yeah, I’m not cleaning up after him again.” The mere mention of pig duties was enough to encourage Zane to leave me alone with my bear. He disappeared in a flash, muttering something about a rogue demon in Thornville.
I had a feeling Zane had been taking on jobs from the MIB to keep himself amused. He’d returned a few times covered in blood and entrails, claiming he’d stumbled across a crime scene. Fully aware he had probablycausedthe crime scene, I decided it was better not to know.
Besides, my father didn’t care, so why should I?
If hunting rogue demons kept my incubus out of trouble, then I was all for it. Lessons didn’t engage him, and now that I was busy with my classes, I had less time to entertain him.
Plus, I had four other mates.
“Eat this and then I’ll go run you a hot bath, little mate,” Maverick said, handing me a warm cookie.
“Can we watch a movie after dinner? Glynda’s bailed on me.”
My bear frowned. “Oh? Did she say why?”
“No. She’s being shady. Can you ask Boon to hack her phone?” I gave Maverick my most innocent expression.
“Little mate…that would be unethical, and also illegal.”
I pouted. Since she refused to talk to me, hacking her phone seemed like a sensible option.
“I’m impressed with this new criminally inclined version of you,” Kenji announced. “Maybe there is hope for you yet. Keep up the good work.”
“Ugh, how else am I supposed to figure out what’s wrong?” I moaned when I took a bite of my cookie. Holy shit, my bear was an excellent cook! This cookie tasted like heaven.
Maverick’s eyes glowed as his bear came forward. “Careful, little mate. If you keep moaning like that, I won’t be able to keep my paws off you.”
“Maybe I don’t want you to?”
Maverick groaned when I fluttered my lashes and licked my lips.
Stars, I was getting pretty good at this flirting business. It turned out my father had a lot of excellent advice on the topic, which was hardly surprising since he spent most of his free time picking up females.
Was it any wonder my mom had dumped his skeevy ass?
No.
“Little mate,” Maverick began before his phone trilled obnoxiously loud from the counter. He sighed before reaching for it.
“What’s up?” The casual greeting meant it was a family member. I picked up another cookie, intending to leave so my bear had some privacy, but stopped dead when he gasped.
“You have? Is he okay?” Maverick turned milky white. His hand shook as he stared into space while whoever it was spoke.
