Page 71 of Catnapped

I bet I could summon the Devil in the room with little difficulty—and I wouldn’t even need a pair of his panties to pull the trick off.

As he didn’t understand what he did wrong, and his mother mourned that her genetics hadn’t been able to overcome Darian’s special blend of magic, I canted my head to the side so I could regard the circle he’d been attempting to draw. Drawing a clean circle took work, and he’d created more of an oval with a few squiggles here and there from his unsteady, uncertain hand.

Apparently, he lacked in any form of artistic ability.

Belial and Raguel joined me in regarding the remnants of Darian’s work.

His devilish father heaved a sigh and said, “It seems we must give our next child more ready access to crayons and stencils. Artistic ability must be nurtured, and summoning circles are as much an art as a skill.”

“There will be no stencils used in my summoning room, you fiends!” Darian’s mother growled from the corner.

Raguel’s snicker, rather dark for coming from an archangel, warned me there’d be a battle between the threesome within a few minutes, one I did not wish to witness. As grabbing Darian and leaving seemed better than getting involved with those three, I snagged my tall, dark, and handsome by his collar, grunted, and backed to the door.

Darian’s startled squawk amused me so much I let go of his shirt and whinnied.

“You are really not good at this,” Belial complained. “You have to finish dragging him off before you start laughing at him.”

My coat paled to as white as snow, and I snorted holy fire at him.

Belial sidestepped with a grin. “Not very effective, but I appreciate your willingness to give me a few burns I won’t forget for at least a week.”

Darian stared at me with his mouth hanging open. “Diana?”

To make it clear I wasn’t afraid of either one of his fathers, I went the nightmare route and snorted some hellfire at Raguel, who made a point of stepping out of the way to avoid being burned.

“I am not quite sure what I have done to be targeted, but I am a wise enough being to admit I do not want to deal with being burned. Is this, perhaps, a demonstration you can protect your territory?”

I considered the archangel’s words, and after taking the time to think about it, I bobbed my head. “That’s close enough.”

Mostly, I was hungry, didn’t even know what I wanted or needed to eat, and longed for a nap. On second thought, a nap would go over well. How did nightmares sleep? I eyed my lingerie with interest. If I piled them up, would they make a suitable nest?

Darian’s mother turned from the corner and looked me over. “Well, she’s not a succubus, so your worries about having to launch a major seduction strategy no longer seem required.”

I flattened my ears and showed the woman my teeth. “You’re not helping.”

Claudine cackled and bounced over, and with no fear of my teeth or my various flames, she looked me over and stroked my nose. “Don’t you worry yourself at all. He can still make use of his major seduction strategy if you wish. You’re absolutely gorgeous. What is she, Belial?”

“A nightmare or a daydream, depending on her mood at the time. He gifted her with holy fire, and Lucifer made certain she has a balanced access to hellfire. Darlene became rather hungry, so Lucifer is tending to her. As a result, I opted to retrieve Diana to put an end to this nonsense.”

I eyed Darian’s pitiful attempt at a summoning circle. “You should stick to wayfinding objects. You’re good at that. And you will limit any summoning of my panties off me for after hours activities.”

My tall, dark, and handsome considered my lingerie with interest. “I can do that with a summoning circle?”

“Well, you’re certainly not going to be summoning me with those circles, but you’re good with objects. Stick to your strengths.” I grabbed his collar and resumed dragging him towards the door.

“I already told you I’d teleport you,” Belial said with an exasperated sigh. “You don’t have to make your point beyond what you’ve already done. We understand you’re leaving with him.”

I released Darian’s shirt again and snorted some hellfire to make it clear the devilish general needed to watch his step. “And my cat.”

“And your cat,” he conceded. “And yes, Darian, that really is Diana. Yes, she fully intends on stealing you, and yes, you may begin your so-called major seduction plan in a few days, once she’s able to return to a human form. Lucifer is blocking her shapeshifting abilities until she’s physically adapted sufficiently. She’s got a lot of conflicting energy pouring through her right now, so she needs to stay in her new form until that settles. Her human shape wouldn’t handle it well. Instead of pursuing your seduction plans, you can help her adapt by going on rides and letting her burn her energy off while getting her used to a rider. You’ll have your turn being the one ridden soon enough.”

Darian got to his feet before I had a chance to grab him again, and he faced me, lifting his hand to touch my nose. I bumped him, and when he didn’t start giving me strokes, I pushed harder.

“She wants you to pet her,” Raguel stated. “She enjoys the attention.”

Traitorous yet useful archangel. “We’re going to conquer Lucifer’s house and make him serve my bidding until he builds me a lair. Once I have a lair, I am dragging you to it. It will be near a lake, because your father said it’s a prime spot.”

“What happened to going to a bunch of hotels on Lucifer’s dime?” Darian asked in an amused tone.