Page 56 of Demon Demands

Always.

From outside the palace gates, the bar we were going to was only a few blocks away. I tried to use the time to clear my mind. It was difficult with how hard she was pushing on me, but I focused on my fingers entwined with Vaughn’s.

His skin was cold, not clammy, and it soothed the heat racing through me as I continued to battle with myself. My alter?

Seriously, I had hoped, at some point in my life, I’d have her figured out.

Not a chance.

Was it a case of two souls trapped in one body? Could it be possible that I had dissociative identity disorder? Maybe I only struggled with it when we were in the demonic realm because my alter was stronger here?

I’d once spent days holed up in the palace library, pouring over old texts and tomes, but a case like mine was never mentioned. Maybe it was due to the power that Lucy had gifted me. Had I chosen the worst kind of demon to mimic?

The streets were overly crowded at sunset, and I was thankful that my guys were surrounding me. I’d been teetering on the edge of losing control for too long. The less interaction we had with the locals, the better our night would be.

Hmmm. The less bloody our night would be.

I had asked Palmer to change my hair color before we’d left for the bar, hopeful that I wouldn’t be as easily recognizable with my silver hair turned jet black.

I should have known that they’d know all about Stone. My reserved demon mate was getting all kinds of looks thrown his way, from reverence to jealousy and everything in between.

Hearing Briggs and Novak whispering behind me, I peeked over my shoulder to see what they were up to.

“You’re staring at my ass right now,” I accused them with a laugh.

“Fucking guilty.” Novak sent me a flirty wink, making a show of checking out Vaughn and Palmer too.

Briggs chuckled. “That’s the only reason why I’m walking behind you.”

“Yer missin’ all the fun, ye know?” Palmer chimed in from my left, tossing his arm around my shoulder. “Back there ye can only look. Up here ye get ta touch as well.”

Novak‘s presence bumped against my mental walls, his voice rough and tinged with amusement. “Step up for a second, Trouble.”

Smirking, I dropped Vaughn’s hand and took a quick step forward as Novak pressed into my back. I spun, facing my vampire as he fucked with Palmer and Vaughn. Linking my arms around Stone and York’s elbows, I watched in fascination as Palmer blushed and Vaughn simply pressed his fingers into his forehead. The sight before me made walking backward more difficult than I’d anticipated.

“Yer hands are like an octopus. Keep them to yer-fucking-self,” Palmer growled to Novak, elbowing him in the stomach.

“Palmer.” Novak gasped. “You should know better than to flirt with me like that.”

Vaughn pinched the bridge of his nose. “Really, Novak?” he asked in exasperation. “How did I get dragged into this?”

My vampire stared at me for a minute before responding. “Truthfully?”

I nodded my head like a fucking fool, even though I was pretty sure he wasn’t asking me.

Gods.

Yes.

Please!

Novak shrugged. “I just wanted to cop a feel. It’s been awhile, and you’ve always had a nice ass.”

“He does have a great ass,” I agreed, wondering… Did Novak mean what I thought he meant or what I hoped he meant? He winked at me, hearing my internal musings, but not clarifying.

It’s the latter. Had to be.

Still imagining a threesome between my vampire and fae, I felt Stone and York tense where their arms were linked with mine. Briggs narrowed his eyes, Novak pulled his hands away from Vaughn and Palmer, both of which glared daggers over my head.