My dragon thrashes inside at those words. I wish he’d get the fucking hint that this dude is trouble, but those pheromones are strong.
“Couldn’t we just get you some supplies up here? Lake knows all about fancy hair products and clothes.”
“As if mortal products are sufficient.” His tone is pure disgust at the mere suggestion. “Five human minutes. In and out. Aren’t you even a little curious to see where I live?”
“No,” I grumble, but my dragon screams “Yes” at the same time. “I don’t give a fuck, Montrose. When this is all over, I never want to see you again.”
His face falls and unexpected sadness flashes in his eyes. At the same time, my dragon makes it real damn clear he doesn’t agree with my declaration.
Montrose clears his throat, tucking a lock of hair behind his ear. “That’s fine. There’s plenty of dick in the sea. You’re not the only man alive, you know. There are literally billions of them to fuck my way through.”
His blow-off should feel good to me, proof that both of us accept that whatever this attraction is between us is short-lived, but as visions of him sharing a laugh, a sexy smile, and a bed with someone else flash through my mind, a tendril of smoke rises within me, billowing out of my flared nostrils.
Montrose raises an eyebrow with an amused tilt to his lips. My dragon, annoying little shit that he is lately, pushes forward, dragging my eyes up and down the pretty demon’s body. His cock still strains against his bodysuit, and the heat emanating from his skin is palpable from where I stand.
Maybe we can fuck it away.
His earlier words tease my mind. Would that even work? Could I let go of the rage long enough to truly indulge in his body again? The whimpering, horny dragon inside me is definitely on board with that plan.
“What do we have to do to get this done?” I grunt, apparently agreeing to take a trip demon-side.
“It’s easy when you’re with a demon.” He kicks his long legs as he sits perched on the stool. “I’ve heard it stings if you’re mortal, but I doubt a big strong dragon would feel anything.”
I huff and roll my eyes. “Stick to the facts and drop all the flirty shit.”
“It’s not a fact that you’re a big strong dragon, deliciae? My apologies.”
I growl again, ready to demand he stop calling me that, but my fucking dragon is damn near purring, leaving the words unspoken.
“What next?”
“I’ll pop us into my apartment, grab a few things, and blink out. Or we could?—”
He’s interrupted by the ringing of my doorbell. “Pizza.”
I stomp toward the front door, noticing for the first time since I came out of my hoard room the subtle signs of destruction around my home. Proof of my rage and humiliation. I hope Montrose doesn’t pick up on it. I’d hate for his ego to get even bigger than it is.
When I swing the door open, Hemingway is standing there holding a pile of pizza boxes with Dempsey beside him. The little human is dripping with excited energy. Hemingway gives me an ‘I’m sorry’ smile.
“What’s up?” I ask, stepping to the side to let them enter.
Dempsey, nearly bouncing now, opens his notebook. “Maggard is real and he’s bad news.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was doing some research in this book about demons. It’s very old and hard to read. I’ve had to translate a lot of it over the years from this archaic English, but I’ve made good progress.”
I can hear Hem’s dragon purring from here as his mate speaks, and my own dragon swirls around, which weirdly annoys me. I’ve always been happy for my brothers, but never once have I wanted to find what they have, so why is my dragon acting like a lovesick puppy right now?
“Go on,” I say.
“So, Maggard is a Latin translation. He’s so old his name can’t be pronounced by anyone outside of the demon realm.” Hepushes his glasses up his nose. “Which sucks, because he can’t be summoned or banished if no one can say his name.”
I nod, my jaw ticking with the knowledge that Montrose wasn’t lying.
“Mac called him the Al Capone of the demon world, but he’s way worse than that,” Dempsey continues. “He’s like every mafioso that ever existed wrapped up in one.”
My chest tightens. “Where is Mac?”
