Page 43 of Imprisoned with the Vampire King

No.

The story definitely hadn't been the only reason.

"Oh god, you're going to have to have the knotting conversation with her." Jazz made a gagging face.

We were all aware that she was one of the very few female demons who didn't enjoy being knotted. One bad experience had ruined her for it, and she had been disgusted every time someone brought it up since then. Which was a good thing, considering she was mated to angel.

Personally, I could've taken it or left it, in past relationships. Most of the time, I'd been with women who weren't demons, so knotting hadn't been an option.

Even if Ophelia and I hadn't been mated, she would've ruined that for me. I was very firmly in favor of knotting, now.

"Been there already," I said.

Jazz looked horrified. "Tell me you didn't knot a non-demon for the first time in prison."

"I don't think my sex life with my mate is any of your business, Jazzy."

"She could've ended up in the hospital! People who get that hurt in the penitentiary die. We both know that."

"She'd done it before. It wasn't a risk."

Jazz gaped at me. "No."

"This conversation is over."

"God, she really is insane." Jazz ran a hand over the top of her head.

"She's not insane, and she's been through hell. Ease up."

"You're kidding, right? We went through hell in her penitentiary. River fucked up, sure, but that doesn't mean he deserved to spend a century in there. Her magic feels like death. She doesn't own a phone. She doesn't have any friends, and she tried to claim that her pottery is her family. She's insane."

"Her magic feels like night, she was tortured as a child, and she's both independent and an introvert. That doesn't make her insane. She came to get us out of the prison as soon as she found out we weren't supposed to be in there. The situation River put her in was bad enough that imprisoning him was reasonable, considering her age at the time, and what she had been through."

Jazz stared at me. "Holy fuck."

"What?"

"You like her? As a friend, at least?"

I dipped my head. "Yes."

"You never like women."

"That makes me sound incredibly misogynistic."

"As friends. You never like them as friends. You date them, and you woo them, and you treat them like a million bucks, but you never actually become friends with them. Wow." Jazz sat up, draping her legs over the chair as she leaned back. "This is a first. Or a second, if you count me."

"You're being ridiculous."

"Well, you liking your mate as a friend is a good thing, regardless of how I feel about her. Don't fuck it up by treating her like one of your other girlfriends."

"If I could fuck up a friendship with my mate by taking her on dates and bringing her gifts, our connection would be pretty shallow," I pointed out.

"That's not what I'm talking about. You fucked it up by making yourself into their dream man without actually letting them into your life."

"They never asked for personal details."

"Opening up on your own is part of being in a relationship." She dragged a hand through her hair. "We really need to get everyone else out of the prison who doesn't belong. Without River there to protect them, you know that place is going to shit."