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“Make me come, Harper. Do it,” he bit out. “Then you can come.” Her movements turned erratic and her hand slid to his nape as she kissed him hard. Her hold wasn’t tight, but his nape began to heat until it was burning and it felt like tiny needles were stabbing his flesh. The bite of pain instantly became pleasure. He opened his eyes to see that hers were black – her demon had branded him, he realized.
“Fuck.” Just as Harper resurfaced, Knox cinched her hips and repeatedly slammed her down on his cock. His climax barreled into him, making his fingers dig into her hips as he thrust deep and filled her with everything he had. As she came hard, she bit his neck to muffle her scream. Sated, she then sagged against him, arms flopping to her sides. “Your demon branded me.”
“Yep. Does it bother you?” she asked cautiously.
“Of course not.” The demon had every right to brand him. And it was a huge fucking turn-on. He liked that Harper and her demon were possessive of him. “I’m intrigued about what the brand looks like.”
Once they were both cleaned up and had their clothes back in order, Harper took a look at his nape. “I’m not so sure you’re gonna like it.”
“Describe it.”
“Well, it’s sort of tribal. Has solid black lines and pointed curves.” She’d done tattoos similar to the brand. “One of the curves has wings and the head of a sphinx – which looks uncannily like me. Hang on a sec.” She snapped a picture with her cell phone. “See.”
Knox turned to look at the photo. “I like it.”
“That’s a relief, because you’re kind of stuck with it…unless you’re planning to get rid of me at any point. Then I’ll just carve it into your flesh out of spite.”
He chuckled, sliding his arms around her. “I consider myself warned. So, what does the birthday girl want to do next?”
“I need to visit Jolene. I promised.”
“Then I’m coming with you.”
“Okay, but” – she grimaced – “just know in advance that my family is kind of crazy.”
“They’re imps, of course they’re crazy.”
“I’d like to use the excuse that it’s because they’re imps, but…well, you’ll see. Just brace yourself.”
Standing in Jolene’s kitchen a few hours later, Knox had to wonder if this was what a mental ward was like. Over the past few hours, every member of the lair had appeared at one point or another to wish Harper a happy birthday. Some had remained, some had left. With the exception of Jolene, Beck, Martina, and Harper’s co-workers, all had looked at him like they thought he was imagining sticking their severed heads on a flagpole.
They thought he was insane, yet they could accept the strange behavior going on around them. One imp was wearing nothing but a kilt, blue face paint, and a pink Hawaiian flower necklace. Another was dressed up as Harry Potter and occasionally blurted out meaningless spells for no apparent reason. There was also the imp who was carrying a hedgehog and losing patience with the creature because, ‘You’re not listening to me; you never listen to me.’ Then there was the group taking bets about whether the teenager currently eating a raw onion would vomit.
“Are you really Harper’s mate?”
Hearing that sweet, tinkle-like voice, Knox looked down to see the most angelic looking child he’d ever laid eyes on. Long white-blond ringlets, aquamarine eyes, and rosy cheeks. She couldn’t be much older than four years. “I am.”
“You’re really tall,” she said shakily, worrying her lower lip.
He squatted down to meet her level of height, so he didn’t seem so intimidating. “That better?” Her smile was all dimples as she nodded shyly. “I’m Knox.”
“I’m Heidi. Harper calls me Heidi-ho.”
“It’s good to meet you, Heidi.”
“I’m gonna be five in four months. You can come see me on my birthday, if you want.”
“Thanks, I—”
“Heidi-ho,” drawled Harper. “Give him back his wallet.”
Blinking, Knox frowned. “Wallet?” He watched in bemusement as the child’s innocent expression morphed into a put-out snarl that called Harper a traitor.
“Don’t be fooled by those angelic looks, Knox,” Harper told him as he stood upright. “That kid is a plotter. She’s as manipulative as Jolene, and she can cry on cue.”
Handing Knox his wallet, Heidi burst out into very convincing tears. Then she smiled brightly. “Good, aren’t I?” Heidi wrapped her body around Harper’s leg.
His inner demon was chuckling, impressed. He turned to Harper. “She does that ‘you’re really tall’ thing in that trembling voice to make people bend down, doesn’t she?”
“Yep. Then she robs them blind.”
Hearing a new voice behind them, Knox guessed another lair member had arrived. But when sharply Harper pivoted on the spot just as Heidi released her with an “Uh-oh,’ Knox had a pretty good idea who it was. He turned just in time to see a tall male imp with salt and pepper hair hold his arms out to Harper with a wide grin.
“I thought you couldn’t make it,” said Harper.
Lucian wrapped his arms around her. “Happy birthday, baby girl.” Pulling back, he told her, “I sold the emu. I couldn’t miss this, could I?”
There was no way Knox could fail to see the genuine affection Lucian had for Harper. It was in his eyes and the tone of his voice. While Knox wished for her sake that it would be enough to cool his anger at the imp, it simply wasn’t.
