Dahlia grins. “The demon knows.”
“The bond is easily broken with an object,” Montrose says. “All it takes is destroying the object.”
“And?” Dahlia prompts, and he winces.
“And a smart demon will go after the object to win their freedom,” he mumbles and rolls his eyes.
Dahlia chuckles.
“What did I miss?” I ask.
“A little truth serum in the stunning potion. He can lie, but not as easily, and not in all cases. Right, demon boy?”
Montrose only huffs in reply.
I sense she’s withholding something, but my attention is focused on the binding. “And if you get a scale?”
Montrose shifts his sultry eyes to me. “There’s only two ways to break it. With a releasing spell or by death. A demon can’t break it no matter what.”
“Given the circumstances, I vote for the scale,” Dahlia says. “When this is all said and done, I can break the bond and your demon friend can go on his merry way.”
“He’s not my friend,” I mutter.
“I know, Tino,” Dahlia says, rubbing my back, but her tone is oddly sympathetic.
Do I really want to be bound to this sex-on-a-stick demon? The rational part of my brain wants to get as far away as possible, but my dragon is losing his mind at the idea of wrapping itself around the demon one more time.
With a deep exhale, I allow my skin to ripple with shiny black scales. Montrose gasps, drawing as close as possible as his eyes change to his demon ones. My own eyes shift as well, allowing my dragon to gaze upon the gorgeous demon.
“Wow,” Dahlia whispers. There’s a sharp sting as she plucks a scale from my bicep.
Standing at the edge of the circle, I sway as my dragon clamors to get closer. I don’t know what this demon has done to me, but it’s got me fucked up.
“Get ready, boys,” Dahlia says. “This one is a doozy.”
MONTROSE
I can’t takemy eyes off the sexy dragon. I knew seeing him again would be a mistake, but there’s just something about the beast that does it for me on a level I haven’t experienced before. I’m still not sure the decision to betray my demon brothers in favor of Tino’s family was the right one, but what’s done is done.
I’m about to be bound to him. It’s a demon’s worst nightmare, but instead of panic and angst I feel oddly resigned to it. Maybe I just needed an excuse to be around him again and inhale his feral sexual energy.
The longer he looks at me, the more my body reacts, so I tear my gaze away to look around. His home is stunning, old-world, Parisian, but what stands out are the claw marks in the walls, pieces of snapped furniture strewn about, and the general unkempt appearance. Is this the hangover one of his brothers mentioned? Did I do this to him? It’s well known that incubus pheromones wear off a few hours after contact, so how is he still feeling the effects weeks later?
My attention shifts back to the pretty witch as the scale in her hand vibrates. She reaches into the circle, smiling as she plucks a strand of my hair.
“Ouch.” I reach up and rub my scalp. “You could’ve asked.”
“You’ll be okay, demon.”
She wraps the strand of my hair around the scale and the reaction is immediate. Tino must feel it too because his breath hitches and his eyelids flutter. A part of me resists the bond, digging my heels in against it metaphorically. It’s a natural urge to fight it, but another part of me seems to rise to the surface, towards the powerful pull to my dragon.
Then, as if a rope has been wrapped around my waist, I’m pulled forward, and it feels as if I’m being slammed into Tino’s chest. He stumbles backward, his eyes wide, and as the witch erases part of the circle around me, it becomes clear I have a new, much prettier prison.
Valentino.My dragon.
I couldn’t run if I wanted to, but fires of hell, I don’t want to. Valentino steadies himself, clearing his throat and dragging a hand through his hair. Dahlia rubs his arm, whispering something as she slips past us, leaving us alone.
“She’s, um, intense.”
