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God help any demon who fell for him as hard as I did.
It was another layer of punishment, for if another bonding began, the severed partner would feel it and feel the pain of loss all over again. I could never truly be rid of Tate—he would always be as much a part of me as I was him. Now, Jacob was potentially in danger. I had no proof that Tate would come for him, but I felt Tate’s rage bubbling beneath the surface as it always did, no matter how cool he appeared on the outside. I sensed it spike the second the connection was made between Jacob and me, and if Tate were to act on that rage, I needed to be ready.
So that is how I came to be in my office with Ray and Ilsa in front of me. Ilsa stood, arms crossed over her chest, army pants and boots only adding to the power of her stance, and even without the demon blood running through her, she would be an impressive being. On the other hand, Ray was seated, leaning back obscenely far in the spare chair and bouncing it up and down. She had found the exact spot on the chair’s tilt that created a slight squeak, and she was pushing that point over and over again, so our conversation was tainted with thesqueak, squeak, squeakof the chair. Ilsa did most of the talking while Ray simply watched me, a smirk plastered on her face as though she knew damn well she was being annoying and waiting to see if I would retaliate.
She would be waiting a long time. A demon didn’t work with Frank as long as I did without learning to control his patience.
“Tell us about the demon you want protection from,” Ilsa said, watching me.
“He’s not a demon… he’s a human.”
“Bonded?”
My lip twitched. “Severed.”
Ilsa glanced at Ray, perhaps for guidance. Maybe she didn’t know much about bondings being severed, but Ray’s interest was piqued. She stopped squeaking the chair and leaned forward, the legs of the chair hitting the floor with a thump. Ray studied me, but I didn’t take my eyes off hers and resisted the urge to adjust my shirt sleeves.
She turned to Ilsa. “Even if a human severed their bond with a demon, they retained the additional strength and power.”
Ilsa almost smirked. “Oh, sweet. So if I tire of you, I can fuck you off and keep my new strength?”
Ray was on her feet and held the other woman’s hips still as she ground her body against Ilsa’s. “You’d be lost without me, sweetheart.”
I cleared my throat, and they both glanced at me. Ray giggled and was about to sit down when the door to my office was shoved open, slamming into the rubber doorstop. Both women dropped into defensive poses, and I snarled as Frank stormed his way into my space, slamming the door behind him.
“What the fuck is going on?” He growled.
“You could’ve knocked, Frank,” I grumbled. His intrusion into my office against my direct instructions was another power play, whether he realized it or not. Every day he was testing me, and one day soon, I’d have to put him in his place.
Physically, with force. Remind him who was the older demon.
“Frank?” Ray piped up.
Frank rounded on her, searching her face before her body, a look which elicited a growl from Ilsa, as though trying to figure out if he knew her before finally asking, “Do I know you?”
“No, but your reputation precedes you. I’ve met Earl.”
He huffed something that could’ve been a chuckle if he weren’t so pissed off. He rounded on me. “Do you mind telling me why there’s a demon and her bonded human pet in your office?”
“Fuck you!” Ilsa chimed in.
Gritting my teeth, I leaned back in my chair. I’d had no intention of making this a group affair, and Frank needed to get his goddamn voice down so he didn’t attract the attention of the entire fucking office. I told him as much, and while he snarled at me, he nodded and closed the door.
The more this situation escalated, the harder it was to maintain my calm, and Frank’s eyes shot to my wrists as I began to play with my sleeves. “Frank,” I started, my tongue suddenly feeling too big for my mouth. This was ridiculous. I was a demon, for fuck’s sake. I was older, stronger, and more experienced than almost all demons who were currently living in this city, and yet it took only a whisper of Tate to throw me off. Tate knew me more intimately than anyone else, and I had tainted him and destroyed whatever was left of his humanity.
Clearing my throat again, Frank waited patiently while Ilsa and Ray waited with less patience. “My severed partner… Tate. I believe he is going to come after Jacob.”
“What makes you think that?” Frank was leaning forward in his chair, his elbows resting on his knees as he watched my eyes.
Fuck, time to admit I was an idiot. “Last night when we were…”
“Fucking each other’s brains out?” Frank offered, unable to stop the smirk that played across his lips.
“Right. Well, in the heat of the moment, he bit me, and when he tasted my blood, I saw—”
“Damn, Mike. You don’t fuck around. Starting a bonding the first night you’re together?”
“I didn’t mean to.” I pushed the words through gritted teeth. Frank was enjoying this way too much. Because I was the stable one, the sturdy one, and here I was admitting I had done something reckless with a human.
