“Agreed,” he said, the predator inside him stretching wide awake. The rain battered against the solid cabin he’d built, providing a cocoon of intimacy tinged with a dangerous tension.
She faltered. “Um, okay. So. We’re mating because we like each other and you need to teleport.”
God, she was cute. “Actually, I don’t like you very much right now, and I’ll gain the skill to teleport on my own at some point.” Most demons didn’t teleport until they’d lived a hundred years or so. He crossed his arms. “What else?”
“What do you mean you don’t like me?” Her eyes opened wide, and her jaw assumed such a stubborn line that he wanted to take a bite.
The woman could be dense. “Do you have any clue why I’d be irritated?” He had to suck down said irritation to keep his voice level.
“No.” She tapped her foot again, a sure sign of impatience.
God help him. She’d drive him crazy through the centuries. The female had to acknowledge just a couple of simple facts before he lost his damn mind. He clenched his jaw and spoke through gritted teeth. “You do not teleport out with the enemy. With somebody I just beat up. With somebody who might harm you. Ever.”
“Oh, you do not tell me what to do.” Her head jerked, and all of that glorious hair tumbled around. “Ever.”
“That’s not how this is going to work,” he said, rather gently if he did say so. When it came to her safety, his will was absolute. He’d rather not have to fight her as well as her enemies, but if she required that, so be it. His phone buzzed behind her backside.
Without looking, she yanked it from her pocket and chucked it at him. He caught it midair, the edge of violence pricking his temper. Oh, she was pushing him too far now. He pressed the screen. “What?”
“Tomorrow. Seven in the morning. I’m sending coordinates,” Benny said. “Say your good-byes.” The phone went silent.
Fuck, Benny was nuts. Logan settled the phone in his pocket. “So.”
“So.” She visually shook herself, loosening up. “You can be a bossy jackass tomorrow. We’d better get to the mating.”
Chapter 35
Tingles raced down Mercy’s body as she pretty much offered herself to the sexiest male she’d ever imagined. She’d told Niall the truth about falling for Logan. The demon had intrigued her from the first picture she’d studied, and the moment he’d finally touched her, she’d felt whole. But now, she had to protect him the same way he’d already saved her—whether he liked it or not.
He watched her like a predator, his eyes a molten green in the darkened room. “I’d love to take the night, but we’re not mating.” His voice had gone demon low.
“What?” Her head bobbed with the exclamation. Was it really possible the immortal was that stubborn and arrogant? “Have you suffered a head injury?” He made less sense than marshmallow pudding.
“Probably,” he muttered. “We’ll mate after the Seven ritual, Mercy. Not before.”
“But the whole purpose of mating is to save your ass,” she snapped, fury bubbling through her like an evil champagne.
He tucked his thumbs in his faded jeans, an implacable force in a rioting world. “Ah, baby. The purpose of mating is forever. You and me. Fun and sex and fights and family. That happensafterI survive the ritual.”
His sweet words rocked her, even through her anger. “You’ll be stronger if we mate,” she said.
“You won’t.” Even across the room, his energy pulsed. Strong and powerful. Primal. Drawing her in a way she could barely comprehend. “Mating a demon takes a toll on a female. And if I don’t survive the ritual…”
He didn’t want to leave her a widow. A mate without a mate for eternity. Just when she wanted to kick him in the head, he had to go and say something endearing.
But this wouldn’t do. “Oh, Logan,” she murmured. She could almost feel sorry for the guy. If he had any idea how many hours, days, or even weeks she had spent studying him. Truly fascinated by everything about him. His relationships with family, with friends, with foes. His fighting ability and what drove him.
Even what made him.
She knew what lurked at the core of him. The predator he only let loose in times of war to protect his family. A demon-vampire hybrid was the most dangerous creature in a world brimming with deadly beings, and even he, with his calm intelligence, couldn’t overcome his true nature.
Not if they were truly meant to be mates.
He tilted his head toward the bedroom. “We do have this night.”
A shiver took her, dancing along her spine. An entire night with Logan Kyllwood in a big bed. Very tempting. But she wanted more than a night of great sex. She was going to save him even if it killed them both. There was one way to do it, and it wasn’t pretty. Even so, her blood started to burn with anticipation. “No.”
His eyebrows shot up. “No?”
