“What was that about?” I ask, lifting a slice of pizza. I do enjoy human food.
“Dempsey fancies himself a researcher or historian. He loves digging into things. He did some research on Maggard.”
I shiver just hearing the name on Tino’s lips. “Yeah? And?”
“He confirmed what you told me.” His eyes flash gold before returning to their calm blue. “He’s very old?”
“Very old. No one even knows when he was born. Some say he’s as old as Hades himself.”
“That’s nearly eternal.”
I nod, picking at a piece of pepperoni. No surprise the pizza has every available topping on it. Such a dragon thing to do. “He’s difficult to kill. You can’t bind him.”
“So, what the fuck do I do to protect my brother?”
His distress tugs at my chest as if it were my own. Stupid binding spell. “I… I’m not sure. I didn’t think about that. Ifigured you dragons would know what to do. Haven’t you ever battled demons before?”
“Low level ones, sure. Not Boss Daddy demons,” he grunts, and I suppress a laugh. “Besides, I’m more of a lover than a fighter. I got roped into this whole security business against my will.” He waves his hand dismissively.
His response draws a smile to my lips. He scarfs down several slices of pizza, staring off into space as he chews and giving me the chance to simply soak in his features. His gluttony for food equals his sexual appetite, and my cock stirs again, just as much from the pleasure pouring off of him with every bite as from the pornographic sounds he’s making. I miss the sultry loverboy I met, but the angry and melancholic versions of Tino do it for me too.
“I wish I could tell you his weakness.” I sigh, taking a bite from my own slice of pizza and chewing slowly. “He’s vicious. Brutal.” I swallow hard. “He has no feelings, no conscience at all, even by demon standards. He wouldn’t hesitate to kill me for helping you.”
Tino makes a strange sound, almost like a whimper. He drags a hand through his hair, scratching his scalp before turning his gaze to me. “Why are you helping us? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“No, it doesn’t.” I pluck at the cheese on my pizza slice as if it’s the most interesting thing in the world, searching my soul for the answer to his question. “Why don’t we just accept that I am? And maybe between all of us we can figure out a way to get your brother out of this before weallend up stuffed and mounted on Maggard’s wall.”
“Right. Figure out how to take down a psychopathic, impossibly powerful demon. No problem, Xazedose, we’ll get right on that,” he mutters, tossing his unfinished slice of pizza back into the third empty box.
As my true name lingers on his lips, my body vibrates in response to him, my cock thickening again, and a flood of pheromones pours off of me involuntarily. Tino sways and his eyelids flutter, a guttural sound rising from his throat.
“Sorry,” I moan with my eyes closed, practically overcome with lust for the dragon. “It’s not intentional. It must be the effects of the spells I’ve endured today.”
Tino’s heavy breathing reaches me, snapping my eyes open and drawing our gazes together. I shiver when I see the pretty dragon eyes roaming across my face. He surges forward, gripping my neck with one hand.
“We’re stuck together, and until Mac is out of any danger, you’re not getting away from me. Not this time.” He drags his nose along my cheek and a hot shiver runs through me.
“Promises, promises,” I mutter with a smirk.
Chapter Twelve
VALENTINO
With my dick temporarily satisfied, my belly full to the point of bursting, Montrose’s scent in my nose, and the overwhelming warmth of his body radiating through the small amount of space between us, my dragon is feeling pleasantly drowsy and ready for another nap. The beast tempts me with images of curling up in our hoard again with the fiery demon tucked close and dozing off for a few hours.
I growl low in my throat from frustration, and Montrose raises his eyebrows at the sound. I huff through my nose and shake my head sharply. Fine, he was telling the truth about Maggard, and okay, I guess I have to believe him that he neverintentionallyused me, but my reaction to him is still unsettling me. Andno onegoes into my hoard room. Not once in a thousand years have I ever been tempted to bring a lover or anyone else inside my private sanctuary. Showing someone yourhoard is the dragon equivalent of… well, I’d say getting naked, but it’s a hell of a lot more intimate than that.
“What are you thinking, deliciae?” He puts a hand on my forearm and the contact sears my skin pleasantly. I clench my fist but lean into his touch at the same time. “You look like you still can’t decide if you’d rather fuck me or kill me.” A coy smile stretches over his lips. “If you’re interested in my vote, I’d definitely prefer the fucking, but I wouldn’t say no to a little hand-to-hand combat to get our blood pumping first. Maybe if you draw a little blood, your scaly, fire breathing ego will finally be willing to forgive me.”
I huff out a laugh. It’s not my dragon who’s holding a grudge, but if I admit that, it’s only going to invite him to kick the door in and ask a hell of a lot more questions that I don’t have the answers to.
“I’m thinking…” I stack the empty pizza boxes into a neat tower and then get to my feet. “That if we’re going to hell, we’d better hurry up and do it before my commonsense kicks in and I tell you to forget about it.”
“Oh, thank fuck.” Montrose hops to his feet and claps his hands. “I should make a list of what I need to grab. Clothes, my hair products, my favorite cock sleeve in case you plan to continue your game of torturing me with blue balls.” He ticks things off on his fingers as he lists them.
I choke on a breath at the mention of a sex toy. He’s fucking with me, right? Who would want to fuck silicone when flesh is so much moresatisfying? The image of him holed up in one of my guest bedrooms, sweating and moaning as he shouts my name and spills into a rubbery cock sleeve makes my dick jerk and my chest rumble.
“You’re going to make me regret every second of this binding spell, aren’t you?”
