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“You—” I interrupt her, shocked at her answer and humbled by her loyalty.
She cuts me off. “It’s the truth. What else would you call what happened to me?”
The ground opened and swallowed her? She plummeted to certain death? The thought of how close I came to losing her sends a chill from the tips of my horns to the soles of my hooves. As many centuries as I may live, I will never forget the terror I felt. I owe a life debt to her and that monster kitten that she insists on cuddling even after seeing his true form.
“You fell?” Theo’s tone of voice says he doesn’t believe her any more than he should.
“Yes.” Meg inches her chin high, every bit a queen. I want to kneel at her feet and swear undying fealty.
Theo drags a hand over his face. “If I’d realized how complicated you and your friends would make your matching contracts—”
“You would’ve what?” Meg asks. “Actually told us what we were signing? I doubt it.” She stands up to the demon like an equal, as a warrior. My little warrior. I loom behind her and glare at Theo, daring him to argue with my mate.
He glances up at me. “You have the least stable realm, Leander, but you were supposed to be the most stable of the male matches. Everyone knows your reputation as solid, trustworthy, dependable, boring even. As the host match, you’re responsible for her safety and well-being, and she looks as though you force her to work your fields. No matter how she may explain away her appearance, you have failed to uphold your end of the bargain.”
I have, in so many ways. This morning, I had such hope of a chance to woo my mate, to show her that I could provide for her and care for her in the manner she deserves. I failed so epically. “What’s your decision, Theo?”
Meg sputters. “Why should he get a say? He tricked me into signing a sex contract, which I’m asking to stay bound by.” She tips her face to mine, a stricken expression across her pale skin. “Unless you don’t want me—”
“No.” I won’t let her believe such a falsehood. Not now. Not ever. “You’re everything I could desire.” Dropping the civil restraint in my gaze, I show her how badly I want her, skimming my hand over the curve of her hip.
“Well then…” She clears her throat, and I love that I made her voice go rough with need. “Why does Theo decide when we’re through?”
When? As if she might consider staying past the contract. My chest swells, and it’s still not enough room for my heart that kicks and stomps against my ribs like a charging bull. I consider breaking the mirror to sever the connection so I can beg my mate to grant me a taste of her.
But Theo answers her question. “As your matchmaker, I’m responsible for the welfare of those who I match with a client. If any of the families considering a match could see you now, I would be run out of the business. I have a reputation to uphold, and Leander knows how vicious I can be in protecting it.”
I do. Theo can do more than rip Meg away from me. As punishment for endangering her life, he could take my realm. I hadn’t considered the seriousness of the penalty clause before today, since I had no real reason to believe a human’s safety might be at risk in a world I’m supposed to control completely. Given the crumbling magic of my realm, I signed, regardless of the potential cost. I would’ve gambled it all for a mate, for Meg.
She beats me to answering. “As you can see, I’m fine.” She looks anything but fine. “So, if that’ll be all...” Wriggling her fingers in a run along wave, she dismisses Theo as if he doesn’t have the power to yank her back to her world and take over mine.
The demon shakes his head. Perhaps he’s figuring out how pointless it is to argue with my mate. “I’ll require daily status checks to guarantee your safety,” he says.
“Agreed.” I wait for him to add more conditions, but he doesn’t.
Meg plops Oggie on the floor and folds her arms over her glorious breasts, pushing them up to the point that I want to hide her from Theo’s view. “You can’t just pop in any time you want,” she argues. “I have a right to my privacy. It says so in the contract. I’ve reviewed it thoroughly since I got here, and there’s a part that talks about how you have to give reasonable notice.” She makes the last two words sounds as though she’s reciting the actual contract language. “So don’t be looking in on this world unless you knock first.”
He gives my mate the look of respect that she deserves, with only a hint of a smirk. “Unless you’ve called with your wrist comm or you’re in imminent danger,” he qualifies.
“Fine,” Meg says. “Bye, Theo.” No one could miss the finality in her tone. But she must doubt whether the demon will actually leave because she grabs a drop cloth and tosses it over the mirror. “The nerve of that demon—stalker-level messaging me, bossing us around, ruining my plans.” She’s always beautiful, but in a temper, she’s magnificent.
“What plans were those?” I fight to keep my gaze on her fury-filled eyes and not drop it to her heaving breasts.
Her hands go to her lush hips, tempting me further. “Oh, I’d planned to strip out of the ruins of my beautiful dress, shower off the mud, and then set about surprising you with seduction.”
My heart stutter-stops in an unsteady rhythm that would compete with a drunk gargoyle plodding along. She skirts around me toward her washroom, but I snag her arm, taking care not to hurt her. I would be concerned about scaring her, but if she snuggles with Oggie after seeing his true form, I’m not sure she’s afraid of anything. “What’s this about seducing me?”
“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise.” She pulls her lovely skin from my grip, and I miss the softness the moment she does. The mischievous look in her eyes has me following her, and I realize I’m no better than the demon cat.
She stops in front of the shower and the whirlpool tub that I took care to install as soon as I figured out how to magic indoor plumbing into the castle. With the same care she used to select pastries at the market, she eyes both the bath and shower before staring at me, taking in my size by glancing from my hooves, past my bare chest, to the top of my horns. I straighten under her scrutiny, hoping she finds me worthy of her attention, and inhale the heady scent of her arousal. But she shakes her head. “This won’t do.”
My ego shrinks to pixie size. I’ve disappointed my mate. There’s only so much I can do about my appearance. I’m not one of the monsters who can shift, and without my magic at full power, holding a glamour will be impossible. If she doesn’t find me acceptable—
She gestures toward my size and then the shower. “There’s no way we’ll both fit.”
My brain skids to a stop, no longer cataloging the options for changing myself to please her and skipping straight to fantasies of Meg in the shower, water streaming over her skin, my tongue licking away the drops on her sweet pussy. Of her wet hair tumbling over her shoulders while I pound into her from behind, stretching and stuffing my little mate with my cock until she screams in pleasure. Because that’s the only scream I ever want to hear from Meg. My name on her lips as she comes around me.
When she bends over the tub, as if willing it to grow to accommodate my size, her rounded ass sways in a hypnotic wobble that has me hard. Magic rolls through my veins, and my vision narrows to this woman who could save my kingdom or ruin me in an instant.
