Page 62 of Unholy

Alex waved a dismissive hand at him. “Not counting our demonic fountains of money. And we can’t rely on you foreverything, you know.”

“Why not?” Talon asked, while Malachi nodded seriously. “What else am I going to spend this money on? Worldly possessions are boring. It would make me happy to buy you things.”

“What, like boring worldly possessions?” Alex repeated, narrowing his eyes.

“Like office spaces,” Talon replied pointedly. “Officebuildings, if that’s what you want.”

“I don’t, but thanks,” Alex said with a sweet smile. “We’ll do like you said, do it by phone until we have a hub of some kind.”

Luke shrugged. “Better than nothing, I guess.” He stacked up the papers and closed the laptop, piling everything on top of it.

Malachi leaned in, hooking his fingers under Luke’s knee and tugging him to the edge of the platform until their knees were almost touching. “Don’t worry, you’ll get a couple of good cases under your belt and have a fancy office before you know it.”

Alex said, “I’ll email you when I get the ad written up and let you make any tweaks you think it needs.” He stood, and Talon draped an arm around his shoulders, urging him toward the door none too subtly.

“Sounds good,” Luke said.

“See you guys later!” Alex said as Talon led him from the room.

“Much later,” Talon murmured as the door closed behind them.

Malachi snorted. “He’s such a cheerful guy, isn’t he?”

Luke chuckled. “Yeah.” He pressed closer, climbing into Malachi’s lap and taking the bottle from him, taking a generous sip and scrunching his nose as the whiskey burned on its way down. Blowing out a hard breath, he set the bottle on the shelf behind the couch and leaned in, pressing his elbows to the leather cushion on either side of Malachi’s head. “Have I mentioned lately how hot you look?”

“Am I?” Malachi asked delightedly.

“Mm-hm. Sitting over here like something from a rockband, sprawled out on this black leather and watching me like I’m something you want toeat.” His lips brushed Malachi’s, not quite enough to kiss.

Malachi hummed, curling his fingers under Luke’s knees and dragging him in until they were flush. “Oh, Idowant to eat you, treasure. Want to eat you right up.”

Luke smiled, settling more comfortably on Malachi’s thighs. “So, listen. I did a thing.”

“A thing,” Malachi repeated, his eyes roaming Luke’s face. He loved every inch of it. The scars, the stubble, the whiskey-brown of his eyes.

“Mm-hm.” Luke raised up and slipped a hand into the front pocket of his jeans. The movement brought his groin very close to Malachi’s face, and he couldn’t resist nuzzling into the bulge below his zipper. Luke let out a startled laugh, threading his fingers into Malachi’s hair. There was a soft jingling sound, and he pulled a chain from his pocket.

“What’s this?” Malachi asked.

Luke held it up. It was a sturdy silver chain necklace, with a small key threaded onto it. He gasped dramatically, holding out his hand and letting Luke drop it into his palm. “Is this the key to your heart, treasure?”

Luke chuckled. “Sort of.” He reached under the collar of his T-shirt and pulled out a necklace of his own. This one had a small, folded knife pendant with a pearl grip.

Malachi stopped breathing.

Luke turned the necklace around to let him see the clasp. But it wasn’t a clasp at all. It looked like a small padlock.

“This is… You…” He didn’t know what to say.

“I’ve given it some thought. A lot of thought, actually. And I’ve decided that you’re what I want. What I’ll alwayswant. I don’t want to think about a future where you go on alone long after I’m gone.”

Malachi shuddered. He didn’t like thinking about that either, and had pointedly avoided considering that prospect after he’d told Luke he would accept his decision about whether or not to start taking Malachi’s blood.

“I want to be with you forever,” Luke said. “So I got this. And I want you to be the only one who can take it off me.” He grinned, like he was proud. Malachi was proud, too. “I thought necklaces instead of rings would work better for us. You already have enough rings, and wearing a ring would just remind me of the guild. This way, this is just ours.”

“I love it, treasure,” Malachi said, putting the necklace on and tucking the key under his shirt. Then he reached for the little knife on Luke’s necklace, opening it with a click and watching it gleam in the overhead lights. “Beautiful. Just like you.”

Luke huffed bashfully.

---