“No, it doesn’t,” Lord says. “You came to my realm. These are the rules of engagement.” He turns to Dahlia. “Can you bind him to someone?”
“Of course,” she says, standing. “Any volunteers?” She winks at me as I grumble.
“You can bind him to me,” Dempsey offers, nearly exploding with excitement.
“The fuck she can,” Hemingway says, pulling his mate into his arms. “Bound to an incubus? Absolutely not.”
“No offense taken,” Montrose mumbles.
Dempsey pouts. “I just wanted to see what it felt like.”
“Obviously, he’ll be bound to Valentino,” Lord says, giving me a look that dares me to argue. I fucked up. I took the demon I was meant to be hunting to bed and this is my punishment. Fucking fantastic.
My dragon goes wild, thrashing and threatening to burst from its human confines. Montrose’s eyes land on mine at thesame time I turn to him, and I’d swear the heat vibrating between us could rival all the lakes of fire in the underworld.
“I accept those terms,” Montrose purrs, the corners of his lips ticking into a grin.
Lake raises his eyebrows and giggles. “Nico?”
“Here,” my brother grumbles from the foyer near Mac.
“Take me home.” He fans himself. “I think the pheromones are getting to me.”
In a flash, Nico scoops Lake up and tosses him over his shoulder. Lake waves at us on the way out.
“I guess that’s our cue too,” Hemingway says, gently helping his mate to stand. “I’ve got something you can bind yourself to.”
Dempsey giggles, jumping into Hem’s arms and being carried out. I turn to Arson and Dray, who haven’t moved from their position on the armchair.
“What?” Arson asks. “I want to watch the binding. This is interesting.”
“Arson,” Lord says, “all of us are leaving except Dahlia and Valentino. And the demon, of course.”
“The demon, of course,” Montrose mocks, still pouting in his circle. “I have a name. Several actually.” He sniffs haughtily.
Lord ignores the quip, turning his intense gaze to me. “Let me know if we’re needed.”
“Yeah.”
I turn to face Dahlia, who’s scrolling through her phone. “Be right with you,” she says. “Just double checking a few things.”
“From ancient tomes to five second internet searches,” Montrose mumbles, rolling his eyes. I suppress a snort, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of making me laugh.
Standing over Montrose, I study his face as he studies mine. He looks calm, but I imagine I do too. Can he detect the chaos just beneath my surface? Does he know my dragon is desperate for another taste of him?
But there’s no way. I absolutely cannot fuck him again after his betrayal. With that thought, my dragon nearly drags me to my knees with a violent thrash. Montrose raises an eyebrow and cocks his head. I grit my teeth. He used me. He made a fucking fool of me. Reminding myself of his transgressions brings my rage boiling back to the surface but doesn’t do a goddamn thing to change my dragon’s mind.
“You need to take whatever spell you put on me off too,” I rumble quietly.
“I didn’t put a spell on you,” Montrose says, blinking innocently and furrowing his brow. “I’m not a witch.” He pulls himself to his feet, swaying slightly, unable to move forward thanks to the circle. “Maybe you just really like me, Tino.” He flashes me a cocky smirk.
I growl and flames flicker from my nose, making him flinch. “I don’t like you.”
“Shame,” Montrose sighs.
“Okay, got it,” Dahlia says, standing and walking over to us. “I need something of yours, Tino. An object that means something to you and that you can keep with you. Alternatively…” She pauses as her expression shifts to a tentative one. “I can use one of your scales.”
“What’s the difference?” I ask, but I notice how heat rises from the circle Montrose is trapped in.
