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“Yeah, I get that.”
Teague pressed his forehead to hers, exhaling a long sigh. “I hate that I was deep in battle with no clue that you were in danger.”
She slid a hand up his chest to splay it over his heart. “I hate that you were in battle at all. I can’t lie, I’m absolutely ecstatic that Ronin’s dead. So is my demon. I’m surprised it didn’t do a happy dance around his ashes.”
Feeling his mouth curve, Teague pulled back. “Your entity sure had some fun with him. I think it scares my clan.”
“My demon scares most people. But not you,” she mused, regarding him closely. “Never you.”
“The entity’s nice to me,” he reminded her, still rather smug about it. He tilted his head. “Is it still sulking because it didn’t get to pluck out any of Ronin’s teeth and keep them as trophies?” Teague had vetoed that on the basis that it was not only plain weird but also a bad idea, since he needed every trace of Ronin to be gone from this realm.
“No. It was placated by your gift of a chupacabra fang.”
He smiled. “I knew it would be. I almost took one for myself. Would have made a nice toothpick.”
She stared at him for a long moment, a look of blank incomprehension on her face. “You’re both nuts.”
He shrugged one shoulder. “We can live with that.”
“I’ve noticed.”
As he recalled the question he’d meant to ask her earlier, he studied her closely. “How did you escape the net? You never said.”
She merely gave him one of her enigmatic smiles.
“Ah, come on, tell me,” he coaxed, squeezing her hips gently.
“Maybe later. I need a shower in a major way. So do you.”
“We’ll have one together. Then you can tell me what I want to know.”
She made a noncommittal sound.
So he bit her. Right on the neck. Hard.
With a hiss, Larkin gave him a little shove that was more playful than annoyed. “Watch those teeth, Black Beauty.”
“You like it when I bite you,” he taunted before landing a hard kiss on her mouth, savoring her taste. Breaking the kiss, he gave her ass a soft pat. “Get naked. I’ll grab some towels.”
He stalked over to the wall near his bed and opened up one of the high cupboards that were built into the wagon’s walls. Spotting something, he felt his brow knit. “What’s this?” As he pulled out an unfamiliar book, he noticed Larkin awkwardly poke her tongue into the inside of her cheek.
She cleared her throat. “My demon stashed it there.”
“Your demon?”
“It likes to hide its belongings in little hidey holes.”
He felt his frown deepen. “In other people’s homes?”
“It stores things wherever it feels like.” She said it like it was no big deal, her voice overly casual.
He couldn’t help squinting. “You know, you’re no better than your demon when it comes to stuff like this. You leave your shit here all the time, you just don’t secrete it away.” He was starting to wonder if Gideon was right and this was her way of leaving a mark on his territory.
“I can pack it all up and take it home with me if you want,” she offered without hesitation.
He should say yes. But he weirdly found that he didn’t mind having some of her things spread around his wagon. He even kind of liked it, as did his beast.
Deciding not to question why, Teague flicked a hand. “No, it’s fine.” He glanced around, his mouth twisting. “Has your demon stashed other stuff around here?”
“No, just that.”
He bit the inside of his cheek, not so sure he believed her. The look she gave him was just a little too innocent.
She glanced at the book he still held. “Do you want me to take it home? I mean, I can’t guarantee that my demon won’t just put it back in your cupboard at some point, but you never know.”
He felt his lips hitch up. “The book can stay.”
“All right, if you’re sure.”
“I’m sure.”
Walking toward him, she said, “This is one of many reasons why you shouldn’t be so smug that my demon likes you. Where you’re concerned, it’ll feel it’s entitled to do all kinds of things that you won’t be happy about.”
“It’s a law unto itself,” he agreed with a nod. “I approve.”
“You would,” she mumbled.
“I don’t know why you’d think I shouldn’t.”
“Of course you don’t.” Rocking back and forth on her heels, she eyed the book again. “You, uh, should really put that back in the hidey hole.”
Sensing the issue, Teague felt his smile widen. “Your demon’s getting antsy about me holding it, huh?”
“It doesn’t like other people touching its things.”
Affronted, he pointed at his chest. “I should be an exception to that.” It liked him. A lot. And he gave it presents.
“You are to an extent. Which is why it hasn’t surfaced to punch you in the throat. And yes, it has done that to others who’d dared put their hands on its possessions. The entity is pretty territorial.”
