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He laughed. “A third nipple?”
“You have a weird-ass sense of humor, so it struck me that your entity might be the same.”
His shoulders shaking, he used a washcloth to clean her up. “It’s not a nipple.” He gently turned her so that she faced the wall-mounted mirror and then he cupped her still-smarting breast. “Look.”
Her eyes dropped straight to the black horseshoe-print on her breast. Her lips parted. It wasn’t like a drawing, no, it genuinely looked as if she’d had a hellhorse step right on her and leave a print of its hoof behind. It was basically a stamp of ownership. Something her demon rather liked.
“Your beast is pretty territorial.”
He hummed in agreement, sweeping his thumb over the brand, looking mightily pleased with it.
“So are you.”
His eyes flicked to hers, dancing. “Which makes us even.” He guided her out of the bathroom and over to the bed. A bed that turned out to be extremely comfortable.
“I’m staying here tonight,” she told him. Well, he made those sort of statements when he felt like it. It was only fair that she could, too.
“Thanks for letting me know,” he replied, echoing the response she typically gave him whenever he made the same declarations.
Recalling his answering phrase on those occasions, she repeated: “You’re welcome.”
He grinned. “I’m a bad influence on you and I can’t tell you how much I love that.” Smoothing his hand up her arm, he studied her face. “So. I matter to you, huh?”
Larkin felt her cheeks flush. She hadn’t originally intended to tell him so soon. But she’d blurted it out in a moment of anger, and now she’d need to be careful he didn’t sense that her wants had changed where he was concerned. That meant playing things down. “A little bit.”
Still smiling, he brushed the tip of her nose with his. “Two-way street, harpy.”
A grin shaped her demon’s mouth, who gave her a smug ‘Did you hear that?’ nudge. Yes, she heard it. She couldn’t lie, it hit her in the feels. It was also a relief.
“It doesn’t bother you that I’m hell-born?”
She frowned, not seeing why it should matter. “No.”
“What about that I was once Master of the Wild Hunt?”
“What about it?”
His smile widened. “Good response.”
“Speaking of the Wild Hunt, I have a lot of questions.” She was super curious about it. “First, though, I want to know what your plan is for dealing with your half-brother.”
He swiped a hand over his jaw. “All right. It goes like this . . . ”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Walking out of his bedroom area the next morning, Teague found Larkin using her fingertip to trace the swirly patterns that were ingrained on the doors of his china cabinet. Her gaze slid to him, pure black, and he realized her demon had taken the wheel.
“I want this,” it told him.
Smiling, he crossed to the entity. “Well, you can’t have it.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s mine, and I intend to keep it.”
“But I want it.” The childlike statement was flatly spoken yet rang with a sense of self-entitlement that amused his demon.
“I have something for you.” Teague returned to his bedroom and walked to the chest of drawers. He grabbed a jewelry box from a particular drawer and then made his way back to the demon. “Here.”
Its eyes twinkling with interest, it took the box and opened it. Delight rapidly replaced the intrigue in its gaze. “You kept your word,” it said, tracing the gold chain that was a feminized version of his own.
“I don’t break my promises.”
The entity took the piece of jewelry from the box and clipped it on.
“Like it?”
“Yes.” It skimmed its fingertip over the part of the brand that peeked out of its tee shirt. “I also like this.”
“So do I.” A little too much.
“As does Larkin.” The demon splayed its hands on his chest with a hum. “I want to carve her name into your skin.”
He couldn’t lie, the utter seriousness of that statement weirded him out almost as much as it tickled him. “That won’t be happening.”
“I would make sure the blade was clean.”
“You know, funnily enough, whether or not I’d get an infection wasn’t my main concern.” He took its hand. “Come on, my little sadist. You can officially meet my clan.” He led the demon outside and down the wagon steps.
Slade, Archer, Tucker, and Gideon were gathered around the firepit while Leo and Saxon lounged in the deck chairs. All were talking, drinking, and eating breakfast.
Teague and Larkin had eaten an hour ago, since they’d woken early. And fucked like there was no tomorrow. “Everyone,” he began, “this is Larkin’s demon, as you can see.”
The males looked up and gave it wary nods. Well, her entity had quite a reputation.
The dogs swarmed it, sniffing at its hands and circling it while its black gaze eyed them closely.
