Page 83 of Demon Demands

“Devil help me,” I muttered to myself before clearing my throat. “It’s kind of late to ask, but... are you okay with what just happened?”

“Hmm,” he snapped his attention back to me, “Yeah.”

I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Yes, Barbie.” He ambled over to me, wrapping his arms around me from behind. “It’s not something I’d want to take back, even if we could.”

“Are you sure? You’ve been reserved, and I don’t want you to feel any regret about sealing the bond.”

“Positive,” he affirmed, his eyes on mine in the mirror. “My wolf has been riding me since day one. The only hesitation I’ve had was over not knowing if you were ready. This was quick, but it could have been quicker. I wanted to get to know you better; my wolf didn’t give a fuck about my feelings.”

I gave him a sad smile. “But we don’t really know each other…”

He held his hand out in front of me, and when I took it, he shook his like we were meeting for the first time.

“Briggs Elliott. It’s nice to meet you. I hate the beach, but I do love long hikes in the woods at sunrise. My favorite color is purple. I have a massive sweet tooth. Dogs over cats, for obvious reasons. Cooking is a passion of mine. Whiskey, straight. I wear my heart on my sleeve. I wrestled in high school. And my favorite dinosaur is a stegosaurus.”

Snorting at him in amusement, I shook my head. “A stegosaurus? Really?”

He shrugged, laughing lightly as he spun me around. “Your turn.”

I tugged my lips to the left, tracing over his face with my eyes as I clasped my hands behind his neck.

“Sloane King, at your service. I like the beach and the mountains. I love swimming, but didn’t compete because I was homeschooled through high school. I prefer fresh fruit over sweets, but I will eat cherry jolly ranchers and the red and purple skittles. Always tequila, unless it’s been a bad day. I can cook popcorn without burning it. My favorite color is black. I speak four languages. I hate buying clothes, but I love buying cars. Nothing makes me feel more powerful than matching lacy undergarments and a pair of stilettos. And my favorite dinosaur is a Spinosaurus.”

“Dogs or cats?” He questioned smiling down at me.

“Both.”

“Favorite thing to do in your downtime?”

I scoffed at him. “What down time?”

Briggs raised a single brow at me in response, ushering me back to the bed. “Fine. I like to read anything that isn’t a contract, shoot pool, star-gaze. What’s yours?”

He hummed as he tugged me down with him. “I like to make up my own recipes. I used to go rock climbing a lot too, but I haven’t been in a while.”

“Why not?” I asked, snuggling further into his embrace so that I could lay my head on his chest and listen to his heartbeat.

“I had an insane ex-girlfriend who threw all my gear away,” he divulged.

I leaned up to glare at him, and he covered my hand with his as he grinned at me.

“Fuck the gear, let’s go free climbing. It’s not like we can fall to our deaths, but your ex can. What’s her name?” I narrowed my eyes as I waited for his response.

Briggs rolled his forest green eyes as he pulled me back down, tucking me into his side. “Her name is Katie. She lives near the Alpha’s lodge, so I’m sure she’ll pop in to say hello once we get there. Should I be worried about the amount of crazy ex’s chasing after you too?”

“Most of mine are dead already,” I admitted with a huff. “Are all your ex’s crazy or just the one? I need to know how many bitches I’m going to be killing in the future.”

Coughing to cover his laugh, he rolled over to lay on top of me and gaze down into my eyes.

“All of my exes are crazy, Barbie,” he whispered inches from my lips. “And now you know why…”

* * *

I had to forcefully remove myself from Briggs’ room as the sun came up. I could have stayed — I wanted to stay — but I had work to do.

There were dozens of things swirling around in my head, and I was back to that point where I was getting on my own nerves.