Me
Fuck you
Grayson
I gave you the chance, you turned me down
There's food in the fridge, and the TV remote is on the coffee table, just try to relax
I have work stuff to deal with and won't be able to answer for a few hours, but I'll be back up there with dinner eventually
I'll try to keep the shadows with you, but when things get violent, some will come back to me
If your family shows up, I’ll fight them too. You're mine.
I waited for another message, but Grayson left it at that.
Another fucking threat.
One that followed some annoyingly considerate messages.
I let out a harsh breath, trying not to relish the temporary peace I had because of his shadows, but failing.
I'd never felt so good in my life. That made the ease pretty much impossible not to appreciate.
I sent back one more message before setting my phone on my couch and grabbing my bra off the floor.
Me
Try not to get yourself killed
I pulled the fabric over my head before glancing at the screen at one last text from the demon king.
Grayson
Probably won't
But just in case, you should've let me fuck you while we had the chance
I huffed... but I did kind of agree with him.
That whole conversation would've gone better if I'd let him fuck me, and I’d probably be feeling a lot happier at the moment.
Sticking to my guns was going to suck, but getting back to my life had to be my priority. Not just for my security and sanity, but for Dare’s too.
three
MERRILY
I exploredGrayson's apartment while I had his shadows with me to make it manageable. I'd already seen it in my dreams almost every night, but things had a blurry quality to them when I was asleep.
Unlike the blinding-white hallways and stairwell I'd been forced to walk through (and been carried through) earlier, Grayson's place leaned into the shadow magic he possessed. The lighting was dim and warm, the apartment insanely cozy as it relied on stone, wood, and natural paint colors to make it both dark and appealing.
I'd loved it since the first night we spent there.
That love certainly hadn't faded with the passing thousands of visits that followed. Despite never seeing it in person, it felt almost as familiar to me as my own home did.
My stomach growled fiercely as I finished my exploration. I couldn't get into the laptop I found on one of Grayson's nightstands, so the search didn't really give me anything useful.Seeing the little trinkets and mementos my mate kept was interesting, though.
