Page 13 of Darcy By Day, Demon By Night

It meant I’d be able to give her the distance she wanted, but it also meant I would have to give her the distance she wanted.

I brutally suppressed the part of me that wanted to keep my greedy cock buried deep inside her. If I didn’t handle the next few minutes very carefully, I might never get this again.

“You read a lot of romance, right?” I asked. Maybe if I used an example she was familiar with, it wouldn't be as shocking. After she nodded her head, I continued. “Do you ever read any with a werewolf or wolf shifter?”

“Sure, there’s lot of shifter romances,” she said. “Not just wolves. There are lions, dragons, and a lot of others.”

Interesting, I might need to read some of those books.

“When the wolf shifters are having sex in these books, do their dicks ever swell?”

Her eyes went wide, then she started laughing. “Holy shit, I’m being knotted-knotted! I didn’t make the connection because, well, human guys don’t do that, and I guess I assumed neither did demons. Now that I’ve experienced it, I can 100% recommend it. 10 out of 10, would do it again.”

Her humor made me chuckle as the fear left my body.

By now my dick had deflated enough that I was able to slide out of her. We both let out a little gasp at the sensation.

I sat back and she did too. We were still staring at each other through the mirror. “Snuggles?” I asked.

She nodded and basically flopped down face first. She said something into the pillows that might’ve been, “Best Halloween ever.”

I laid down next to her and then gently urged her to roll to her side so we could spoon. Having her curled up against me felt right, as if I'd been missing this my entire life and hadn't known it. I waited for several minutes before broaching the next difficult topic.

“There’s more to the knotting thing than just making the sex good,” I said.

“Oh? Are you going to tell me you're a shifter demon?”

The image made me smile, despite my nerves. “No, nothing like that. Um, so, about those novels. Do any of them ever talk about fated mates?”

She nodded her head. “Of course. The idea of soul mates is so romantic. It’s too bad it’s not real.”

“Not real for human-human relationships,” I said. “But most of us non-humans spend our lives looking for our mates.”

“Including demons?”

Her tone sounded much too neutral, as if she was trying hard not to reveal anything. Was I already scaring her off?

I tried for a factual tone. “Yes, we have fated mates, among demons or other species. My cousin is mated to a gorgon. He’s immune to her special magic but if I look into her eyes, I get to find out what statuary feels like. I have to wear special glasses when I visit or he spends all evening de-stoning me.”

She didn’t laugh. Not even a little chuckle. Damn it, I was fucking this all up.

I wasn’t surprised when she sat up and turned to face me. Grabbing a blanket, she wrapped it around her shoulders, covering her nakedness.

She was frowning at me. I was terrified of what she was going to say next, so I tried for a distraction.

“Are you hungry? I could get some food. I cleaned out several bakeries, delis, and one small restaurant. Yuri approved of all the choices, and he has great taste. I swear it’s all very good. I also have wine, or beer. If you want something else it wouldn’t take me long to pop over to your realm and get it for you.”

She held up a hand, quieting my vomit of words. Heart sinking, I shut my mouth and waited for her to break my heart.

“Did you tell me about all that fated mates stuff because you’re trying to let me down gently?” she asked.

I blinked, confused. “Huh?”

“Are you trying to tell me you had some fun but I shouldn’t expect anything else from you?”

My mouth dropped open. “Why would I want to say that? I knotted you. That means I never want you to leave!”

It was her turn to look confused. “What?”