After rolling out of bed, I pulled some shorts on, grabbed my phone, and debated what Rae had said on my way into the kitchen.
Merrily ignored me pointedly, keeping her gaze fixed on her laptop screen while I silently got out what I needed to make pancakes.
I didn't know much about my female. Not really. Our connection had only ever been about sex.
But I'd heard her and her family talking about going out for pancakes a few months ago. Someone had mentioned they were her favorite, when they were leaving.
While I mixed the batter, I decided that Rae was right.
Nothing had improved between us in the twenty-four hours I'd had Merrily in my apartment. As much as I didn't want to open up about what was really going on in the mansion, there wasn't a way around it.
She might choose to leave when I told her.
I was going to have to let her go if she did.
I still didn't fucking know how I was going to take anyone else as a mate if she refused to seal the bond. Particularly because I wouldn't be able to visit their dreams before I did so. My connection with Merrily prevented that.
Damning myself to an immortal lifetime of mediocre sex with someone I didn't want the way I craved my fae queen sounded like the definition of hell. A hell I just might have to embrace.
Letting myself die wasn't an option. Not while my family was still trapped in the fucking Shadowside Penitentiary.
The smell of pancakes lured Merrily into the kitchen as soon as the second one made it onto the stack I'd started for her.
"Chocolate chip pancakes?" Her narrow-eyed gaze lingered on the plate I carried over to her before sliding it across the island. She sucked in a breath when the porcelain almost touched her.
She must've been more sensitive than she wanted to admit, even with my shadows.
"With homemade syrup." I poured some of it over the pancakes, so she wouldn't have to touch the handle. "How's that?"
"Perfect." She said the word grudgingly, picking up a fork with a threatening glance at it, like she was warning it not to piss her magic off.
My shadows danced lightly around her body, over a soft, cream-colored tank top that couldn't hide the points of her nipples, and matching wide-legged pants. The sight of my magic around her satisfied me more than it probably should've.
"You cook?" she asked.
"I do. You don't?"
"No. I get overwhelmed too easily. It's difficult enough just to eat."
Because of her magic.
"Does Darius cook for you?" I asked, trying not to sound anywhere near as jealous as I was.
The look she flashed me was entirely unamused and stated very clearly that she understood why I was asking. "Do your best friends ever cook for you?"
"You're aware that most of them are in the penitentiary, so not typically."
"What about your Wraith?"
Was that jealousy on her end?
Fuck, I hoped so.
"Rae is basically my sister. She’s even got the family tattoo, though she had it altered a little to flow better with the floral ink she likes."
Merrily’s forehead creased. "Family tattoo?"
"In demon culture, friends and family usually get the same tattoos around the time they reach adulthood. They’re tribal-style, over their shoulder. A mated demon would typically have their significant other's ink on the other shoulder." I gestured to my bare shoulder.
