“Not the slightest.” Barion leaned down to press a kiss to Jon’s forehead. “I just thought having sex with my best friend could turn out to be either great or a complete disaster. I guess ‘great’ won the day.”
“Definitely.” Jon felt a stupid smile tugging on his lips. “And I thought zombies didn’t get mates at all. I’m so happy.”
“Me too, babes, me too.” Barion leaned down to catch Jon’s lips, his fire racing through Jon the moment skin met skin, promising him he would never be cold again. Jon slung his arms around Barion’s neck, accepting his mate and everything he had to offer, giving himself wholly in return.
* * * *
The next morning, Jon was sitting at the kitchen counter, watching Barion make coffee and marveling at the strange yet wonderful turn his life had taken all of a sudden. He looked down at his naked chest, which was covered in demonic runes, proclaiming for the world to see who he belonged to. Just half an hour before, while still in bed, Barion had explained what all the wriggles and loops meant. Jon, mate of Barion, Demon Prince, son of Alerion, Demon King. There were other relations mentioned—Barion’s mother, as well as Dre and Quirion, and a beautiful little loop around his navel that resembled a butterfly represented Sammy. Having this connection to his landlord and friend made Jon even happier than he already was, especially when Barion explained to him that Dre and Sammy, along with the rest of Barion’s family, would—with time—get additional demonic runes to mark the growth of their line as well.
Jon was all for growth, especially in certain parts of his mate’s—mate’s—anatomy. It made shivers run down his spine and his cock plump. Barion turned to him with a knowing smirk, no doubt having sensed the naughty direction Jon’s thoughts had taken. The gleam in his eyes said he was very much on board with whatever Jon wanted to do. Before either of them could act on the tension rising between them, Don’t Pay the Ferryman blared from his cell. Jon sighed.
“It’s Grann. I guess we can be grateful she didn’t call the moment I was marked.” He reached for his phone and took the call. “Hello, Grann.”
“I don’t know if I should congratulate you or chew you out for your carelessness, enbesil. Sleeping with a demon for fun?” Jon cringed then saw Barion trying to suppress a chuckle. The man was insufferable.
“Your demontre, he’s listening, isn’t he? Put me on speaker.” Jon obliged, shooting Barion a warning glare. The demon just smiled.
“Hello, Mrs. Honoré. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, even if it’s just over the phone. I’m Barion, third son of Alerion, the king of all demons. Jon has told me so many good things about you already.”
“Throwing your titles around won’t save you, young man, nor will your sweet talking, though you can keep going. It warms an old woman’s heart to be appreciated.”
Jon rolled his eyes. Barion bowed with a flourish, apparently forgetting that Grann couldn’t see him. “Well, I know you took Jon under your wing after he came back from the dead, and I’m eternally grateful for it because it made finding him possible for me.” If Barion was laying it on any thicker, he would slip on his own trail of slime.
“Wi, you found him—by chance, I heard. So you weren’t serious about my grandson?” The hint of steel in Grann’s voice made Jon snicker. He muffled the sound by slapping his hand over his mouth while Barion shot him a dirty look.
“Quite the contrary, ma’am. I was serious about Jon as my friend, and as friends, we decided to have ourselves a little adventure. Nobody is happier than me how it turned out.” Barion winked at Jon.
“Nice save, demontre. And I think you can call me Grann, seeing as you’re family now. Speaking of which, I’m expecting you here the day after tomorrow. I want to meet and welcome my new grandson in person, and the family wants to get to know him.”
Jon groaned inwardly. Getting to know him meant grilling Barion relentlessly until their curiosity was satisfied. He also didn’t dare mention his mate—his mate! How freaking cool is that?—was her senior by several centuries. Just thinking about how much weirder his family constellations had suddenly become—and he hadn’t thought there was room for improvement on that front. Ha!—felt somehow wrong and creepy, and he wished his brain would shut up already.
“Of course, Grann. I can’t wait to meet Jon’s family. We’re looking forward to it.” Barion clearly didn’t know what he was getting into. And Jon wasn’t sure what he wanted more, to protect his mate or show him off to his family. The decision was taken from him anyway.
“We’ll be there, Grann. Is noon all right?”
“Wi, Jon. We can have lunch together.”
“Should we bring anything?” Barion was still trying to get himself some brownie points.
“It’s fine, Barion. The family will cook.” Meaning, they would all be there. Jon didn’t comment.
“Wonderful, Grann. See you the day after tomorrow.”
“See you.” She hung up and Jon slumped in his chair.
“This is going to be a massacre.”
“It’s your family, iubit. I want to meet them. Besides, you’re going to have to put up with mine. It’s only fair.” Barion winked.
“Believe me, it’s not fair. Your family basically consists of your two brothers, one of whom I’m already friends with, while the other never leaves his library, and your father, who is, yes, the king of all demons but also pretty nice. That’s it. My family consists of everybody of that bloodline who has ever lived and is currently alive. We’re talking hundreds of people, all intent on poking their noses where they don’t belong. They’re going to swamp us.”
“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that.” Barion seemed to consider his options. “You know, we can always go on another tour around the hell dimensions. Now that you’re a demon’s mate, you should be fine surviving all of them.”
“I’m not even going to start thinking about all the things wrong with that sentence.”
“It’s probably for the better. Sorry… I was panicking.” Barion stepped toward him, pulling him into a hug that was mostly comfort and only slightly sexual. Jon snuggled into him.
“It’s fine. You have a right to panic. Let’s enjoy breakfast then go back to bed?”
