Briar kissed my nape and rested his hand on my side. I loved being an Evan sandwich between him and Maddox. Callum lay on the other side of Briar and reached across him to touch my forearm. Having them with me again brought me a sense of peace I hadn’t felt since before the royal ball. Almost enough to let me sink into an instant sleep.
But it wasn’t quite right yet.
“Ro?” I called out. “Are you still by the window?”
“Why? Miss me?”
I smiled into Maddox’s chest. “Always.”
Lake lifted his head from my lap. “You can sleep beside me.”
“At the foot of the bed?” Rowan scoffed. “I’ll pass.”
“Oh.” Lake’s fluffy ears dropped.
“Dammit, pup.” Rowan pushed from the window bench and came over, hopping onto the bed. He stepped all over Callum and Briar—probably intentionally—before reclining beside Lake. One leg dangled over the bed while the other bent at the knee. He rested his head on Lake’s shoulder. “Happy?”
Lake made a pleased sound in response.
A light pressure came at my thigh. Rowan had placed his hand there.
The day soon caught up to me, and I drifted to sleep. The five of them waited for me in my dreams, all of us laughing and free of the dark cloud that hovered over us while awake.
For that one moment, we were home again.
Chapter Five
Early Bird Gets… Caught by a Demon Lord?
I was a muffin on a mission—that mission being cooking breakfast for the sleeping men piled together in our bed.
The dark and winding corridors all looked identical as I moved through the castle. Finding the kitchenshouldn’thave been too hard. I’d done it twice already. Too bad I was a disaster when it came to remembering directions. Maybe because my head was too full of recipes and all the smutty romance books I’d devoured in my lifetime.
Remembering whether to turn left or right at the end of the hall? Impossible. But I could recall every book boyfriend’s eye color and how he liked to fuck. It was a special skillset.
“Lost again, little bird?”
I squeaked and impulsively chopped at the air with my hand.
Onyx stepped from the shadows. His red eyes softly glowed in the dim light, a stark contrast to his porcelain skin. He was both frightening and beautiful, like an angel of death. I could practically feel the power pumping through his blood and sparking in the air, causing the tiny hairs on my arms to stand on end.
“L-Lord Onyx,” I stammered. “Hi. I mean, good morning. Kind of. The sun’s not up yet. You’re awake early.”
“As are you.” He stopped less than a foot away, close enough for his scent to waft to me, like woodsmoke on a cold winter’s night. “I assume you’re searching for the kitchen?”
“Guilty.” I rubbed at the back of my neck, trying to calm the excited hairs. “I wanted to cook breakfast for everyone.”
“Everyone?” Onyx took one step closer, bringing him more into my orbit. Or maybe pulling me deeper into his. Something in my chest reached out for him, begging for me to close the distance between us. “Does that include me too? Or only your lovers?”
His inflection remained steady, unchanging, but there was a flicker of something in his eyes. I couldn’t read the emotion before it fled.
“Youandthem,” I responded, voice shaky. “Though I don’t know how Fane will feel about it. He always cooks your meals, doesn’t he? I don’t want to upset him.”
“Interesting.” Onyx searched my face. Scrutinized me. What he was looking for, I didn’t know, but it awoke a flutter of nerves in my belly. “You care if you upset him?”
“Well, of course. He’s my friend.” Even if Fane didn’t see us as such yet.
“Your friend.” A subtle smile touched his lips. “How my curiosity in you deepens, Evan Clark. Very few humans would meet a demon and call them a friend so soon, if at all. In all my years, I’ve only met one other like you.”
