Zane grumbled, not liking that at all.
“I’m seriously debating sealing the portal to the demon realm. For the greater good. Dad might claim he’s recruiting for his harem, butI get the feeling he’s just taking advantage of all the horny females in this realm after growing bored with demonesses.”
I paused, thinking. “Are demonesses horned and scaly?”
“No clue, pet. Never fucked a demoness.”
“Some are,” Kai said. “Before the portal closed, my mother entertained a group of demons.”
“Entertained as in…entertained?” I shuddered, even though not much Her Royal Bitchiness did shocked me these days.
“I don’t know, sweetheart. I was still a child then. But I saw the demons at a gala dinner, and two were visibly female. One had small horns and a tail.”
“Huh.” Maybe I’d ask my father, who continued to act all sulky that I hadn’t visited my ancestral home, as he loved to call it. I’ll admit I was kind of curious about the demon realm, but not enough to want to chance sleeping in a vomit-pink bedroom. And besides, what would happen if my dad refused to let me leave, like he did to my mother?
Not happening.
The sun had fully set by the time Rasmus joined me as I sat huddled in a thick blanket while Fig and Daisy explored the surrounding area.
Alaric had spent the afternoon helping Maverick build some furniture. Kai had gone for a swim, leaving me with my book, and Zane disappeared to go for a run. At least that’s what he told me. An unlikely story, given how shifty he’d acted when I questioned why he wasn’t wearing running shoes.
Rasmus brushed cool lips across my cheek in greeting. Being here wasn’t ideal for my vampire, but he’d made it work. During the day, ifit was sunny, he stayed indoors and read with the drapes closed. Then, once dusk fell, he came outside and hung out with me.
He sat down beside me and draped an arm over my shoulders.
“Are you well, my darling?”
“Yeah. I like it here. Too much, really.”
“Why too much?”
I sighed. “Because we’ll have to go back to school soon, I guess, and that makes me sad.”
“Maverick tells me it will be the summer break in a few weeks, darling, and then we can travel. I’d like to show you my family’s estate. Florica is there now, repairing the damage.”
“Has any more of your family shown up?” The MIB were still tracing missing magicals from records discovered in the Mage Council offices, but none of those listed were vampires. At least not according to the data.
“No, I think Florica and I were the only ones to survive the virus. On this continent anyway.”
“I’m sure there must be other vampires out there. Maybe now that the mage supremacists have been ousted, the survivors will show themselves.”
Rasmus smiled. “I love your endless positivity,mea amica. Time will tell.”
We sat for a while, listening to the sounds of the forest. Despite the late hour, the creatures of the night were busy making a racket. Fig, in particular, was having a ball. He’d grown even larger in the last week, and now that he and Daisy were a similar size, the two of them liked to play together.
Or not play, depending on how one viewed their antics.
I’d caught Daisy trying to eat Fig the other day, but one cross word from me and she’d backed down. Luckily, Fig hadn’t figured out how close he’d been to dying in a hellhound’s mouth.
“Because he’s the dumbest pig that ever lived,” Kenji scoffed. “You better come and rescue the furniture project. I fear it will end in tears any second now.”
“Oh my stars, Kenji says Maverick and Alaric are fighting.” Irritation flared. Could my mates not get along for one freaking day?!
“Then let’s go.” Rasmus stood, and I belatedly realized he’d dressed up in a smart shirt and pants, his black hair tied back with a strip of leather.
“You look nice.” My eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Have I forgotten a bear family dinner or something?” A horrified gasp fell from my lips. “Oh my goddess! I have, haven’t I? Maverick will be mad at me!”
My vampy mate swept me into his arms, ignoring my hysterics. “Relax. All is well.” Then he zoomed off at vampire speed toward the house.
