Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 117510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 588(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 588(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
If the entity could have felt love for anyone, it would have been her. Although it lacked the capacity to love, it treasured her. Respected her. Was exceedingly possessive and protective of her. She charmed, amused, and fulfilled it—something Knox wouldn’t have believed anyone would ever be able to do.
Even if Harper wasn’t their psi-mate, she still would have anchored the entity in her way. It trusted her, which said everything, since the demon trusted no one. She’d given it total acceptance, just as she had Knox. In doing so, she’d sealed her fate. It was firmly and irrevocably attached to her. Once a demon fully committed itself to someone in such a way, it never let them go.
Knox rubbed his nose against hers. “Love you, baby.” Like that, she lost the stiffness in her spine. Probably because he didn’t say the words often. It wasn’t just because they didn’t come easy to him, it was also because they felt wrong. Weak. Soft. Unlike the love he’d sensed in others, there was nothing soppy or tender about what he felt for Harper. No, it was a dark, intense, hissing, spitting emotion that consumed and clawed at him.
She went pliant against him. “Love you.”
It amazed Knox that she did, given the darkness that stained his soul. And, he suddenly remembered, it similarly amazed a certain male hellcat. “Tell me about Drew.”
She blinked at the abrupt change of subject. “He’s Devon’s older brother. He lives in Cuba, but he came home for a visit.” She tilted her head. “Why was your demon in his head?”
Knox’s feet moved soundlessly along the light pine flooring as he walked to the small bar. “Drew’s shields are very weak. I picked up some of his thoughts. I didn’t like what I heard.” He gestured at the bottles. “Drink?”
Shaking her head, she folded her arms. “What thoughts did you hear?”
“Like your father, he has a lot of distaste for me due to the rumors he’s heard over the years about my versions of punishment. Such as the time I subjected a vampire to horrific torture, confined her to a solid brass coffin, and then set a fire beneath said coffin. Of course, she’d kidnapped and caused much harm to one of my demons, but people tend to leave out that part.”
Pausing, Knox poured himself a gin and tonic. “He thinks I’m bad for you. Too dangerous. Too cold. He believes I couldn’t possibly care for you the way I should, so he has absolutely no idea why you have committed yourself to me. Although … he does wonder if you feel comfortable with me because I’m like Lucian.”
Harper’s eyes widened. “What? You’re nothing like my father.”
“I know that. But to Drew, I’m as emotionally unavailable as Lucian. Therefore, Drew wonders if it’s a case of you having daddy issues.” Knox took a swig from his tumbler. “Baby, he just wants there to be a reason you’re with me that doesn’t mean you care for me. He’s jealous that I have you, and he despises me for tying you to me.”
“Jealous?” Harper’s arms slipped to her sides. She shook her head, unconvinced. “I’m sure he finds it surprising that I’m mated and have a kid, considering the last time he saw me I was still intent on not getting involved with a demon—”
“A rule you broke for him one night,” Knox reminded her, voice carefully controlled. “He projected his memories quite loud.”
Harper felt her cheeks heat, though she wasn’t sure why she was embarrassed. His voice hadn’t raised even a single octave, but cold menace was stamped into every line of his perfectly sculpted face. “I was hammered.”
“Yes, you were so hammered, in fact, that he got to … what’s the term? Third base.”
The taunt there made Harper narrow her eyes. She had a vague memory of Drew making her come with his fingers in her old apartment. She remembered pushing him away after that. He hadn’t pressured her for more. He’d just kissed her forehead and left.
Knox took another swig of his drink. “As you can imagine, I don’t like having all that in my head. My demon was kind enough to share some of its own memories of you with the hellcat. Memories that would drive home exactly who you belong to. If the hellcat has any sense, he will stay away from you.”
“Knox, I really don’t think Drew has any designs on me. Even if he did, he’s hardly going to think he has a chance with me. You and I don’t just live together, we exchanged rings, we have a son, and I took your surname. If all that doesn’t scream ‘commitment’ I don’t know what will. Even the skanks from your past have given up trying their luck with you.” And, really, she just didn’t believe that Drew cared enough to bother.