I bare my teeth, but my dragon backs down. Useless lizard. Arson gloats.
“Are you involved with the demon?” Nico asks, ever serious.
“Not involved.” I shrug. “He’s an incubus.”
“And?” Nico asks, clearly not getting it.
“Do I seriously need to spell it out?” I grumble and glare at him. “I enjoy sex, Nico. I have a thing for incubi. I didn’t know he was the culprit until tonight. Obviously.”
Nico curls his lips in disgust. “Have you no dignity?”
“What’s wrong with an incubus?” Lake asks innocently, perched on Nico’s lap.
“Demons are so…” Nico’s words trail off.
“Mean,” Mac finishes.
“Dirty,” Hemingway adds.
“Untrustworthy,” Lord says.
Arson shrugs. “Eh, I get it. Some of them are fire.” He waggles his eyebrows.
Dray laughs while I just grumble.
“Anyway, where I put my dick is not the point this time. He used me to get to Mac.”
“What’s your plan, Valentino?” Lord asks, crossing his arms over his chest. “Go to the demon realm and… what? Kill him forhonor? You’ll be attacked and skinned alive before you’re even finished with your demon.”
“He’s not my demon, and I’m not stupid. Obviously, I’ll bring him back here.”
“It’s still a dangerous proposition,” Lord says. “He could have other demons on his side. They typically stick together.”
“Are you suggesting I let him get away with it?”
“Mac stole the ring,” Nico says. “The demon took it back. Problem solved. Deal with your bruised ego another way.”
I glare, but even I know when I’m in the wrong. It’s not lost on me that my dragon has no interest in making Montrose pay for what he did. Not that he’s againstfindingthe demon. In fact, it’s all he can think about. I huff, releasing a tendril of smoke.
“Fine.”
“Mac will stay a little longer to ensure he’s truly safe,” Lord says. “Once we know he’s in the clear, we can all return to our lives.”
As the meeting breaks up, Lake walks over and rubs my shoulder, like he knows how stupid I feel right now. I’ve been out gamed. The player became the played. All I can do at this point is hope Montrose relocates and stays the hell away from me.
My dragon thrashes his tail and grumbles, making my skin feel too tight. Now if I can just convince the horny beast we’re better off never seeing the sassy incubus again, I’ll be good.
MONTROSE
After the shouting stopped,I carefully took a peek into the human realm, only to find my dragon, ahem,thedragon gone and the room we were in destroyed. Oh, he’s big mad.
I guess I’ll be kicking it old school in the demon realm until he calms down. I’d hate to have to hurt him. He might be a bigsurly dragon who could tear me apart topside, but down here, I rule. No self-respecting demon would let another get hurt. I just wish it didn’t feel so shitty.
I slip back into my flat, high above the river of fire. It’s a beautiful view, the souls trapped by my brethren moaning in misery or begging to be released. Silly mortals. Always dabbling with things they don’t truly understand.
I wish it was enough. The energy down here has never been what I need to quell my insatiable appetite. Living among the humans allows me to gorge on their easy flowing emotions and desires, but even that pales in comparison to my fiery dragon.The!Notmy. He’s not my dragon. He was just a fling. A very delicious one.Le sigh.
There’s one plus to all this. Down here, I can slip off my human glamour and let my true self out. First my wings uncurl from my shoulders, stretching and flapping slowly of their own accord. I whisper a silent apology for keeping them cooped up for so long.
