AllFreeNovel
Share Us
BONUS NOVELLA: THE MATES OF THE DEMONS
124
ANASTASIA
“Are you sure you don’t want me to–”
I turn my head to glare at my mate. Normally, a massive and scar-covered demon wouldn’t cower from his tiny human mate, but that has never been the dynamic between Volikan and I. My feistiness is what broke him down, but, in recent months, the fear he once wished to instill in me has quickly filled him.
“If you offer to cut a curve into this table again,” I snarl. “I am going to snap one of your horns off.”
He throws his hand up in mock defeat, his eyes wide. “Yes, ma’am.”
And just like that I sink back in my chair, my enormous belly preventing me from getting too close to the table. I know that he is just trying to help, but for all the horror I’ve heard of pregnancy, it is no match for an overbearing, soon-to-be demon dad.
There’s only one way to calm them, and it’s putting them in their place. It’s the demon way.
And maybe it is fun to spike fear in him.
I rub my hand over my belly as he dishes spoonfuls of my favorite treats onto the plate I cannot reach. His eyes keep flicking to me affectionately, never begrudging my mood swings.
I think he secretly likes when I snap at him.
“Do you think the baby will come out with your temper?” he asks with a smirk curling up the corners of his lips. I swipe at him, which he dodges as he chuckles heartily.
See? He likes pushing me.
“They got it from you,” I chide, shifting to grab a piece of bread and nearly topping the chair over in the process. “I think that’s why I’m so moody.”
Volikan snorts. “You were like this when I brought you here. Don’t blame that on me.”
I open my mouth to retort when a painful cramp hits. I’m so close to giving birth that every wince makes Volikan panic. As I suck in a deep breath, he kneels at my side, his chair clattering as it goes flying out from under him.
“Anastasia?”
He’s cupping my face, looking absolutely panicked as I breathe through it. I pat his hand and give him a pained smile. “I’m alright.”
For all his harshness, Volikan truly has a sweet side. It’s fun to tease him most of the time, but I love all the tenderness that comes with his brutish behavior. “Let me take you to the bedroom. I want you to be comfortable.”
There’s so much worry and fear in his voice that I can’t help but try to distract him. “So I don’t have to sleep in the dungeons anymore?”
He swats at me, huffing as he sinks back on his heels. “You haven’t been down there in ages! Don’t act like that!”
“Are you going to make me stop?” I wiggle my eyebrows at him.
He leans over me, and my breath catches in my throat. My thighs clench together as heat pools low in my stomach. He grins, knowing damn well what he’s doing, and in that undeniably sexy voice, he rumbles, “We both know I don’t have to. You’ll beg me for anything.”
Well, fuck.
My mouth is dry, and he chuckles as I flounder for a response. He should not still be able to garner such a response from me, but he does. Easily.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Volikan finally asks as he goes to retrieve his chair.
I nod, but find my appetite already gone. I maneuver around to drop the bread on my plate, but I can’t quite reach my tea. “Damn demon table!” I huff.
“I told you I could–”
“No!”
