Page 39 of King's Obsession

As they headed off in the direction he wanted them to go in, Asmodeus shook his head. “I want to stretch my legs.”

Dougal looked to the trees and through the foliage. “Nice night for it.”

It was perfect. The air was cooler, but not enough to require a jacket. Although his body recently ran hot all the time.

“It is.” He rested his head on Dougal’s shoulder as they walked, and the plants, trees, and leaves played the tune of the evening.

Dougal shifted a little towards him, taking a little more of his weight, and sighed happily. They walked in silence, neither needing to break it.

Asmodeus opened himself, getting all the love Dougal felt for him and the baby. His eyes ached, and he sniffed, feeling at absolute peace.

When the orchard came into view, the car parked at the side of the house drew Dougal to a stop. “What would a car be doing in the orchard?” He searched the area, his disquiet rolling off him.

“Let’s go see.” He didn’t need to do more than cling onto Dougal’s arm as he’d already picked up his pace.

At the house, Dougal wore a confused look when he looked at Wanda’s trees and back to the occupied house. “Something ain’t right!”

He didn’t give Asmodeus a chance to reply before he flew up the steps and barraged into the house.

Asmodeus went slower, given how he was carrying the extra weight, he tracked down Dougal as quickly as possible. The man was easy to hear, demanding to know what the two servers were doing.

Breathless and amused, Asmodeus stood in the doorway of the dining room, seeing how gorgeous it looked and smelled.

The two impeccably dressed servers stood wide eyed as Dougal glowered at them. “What do you mean you were paid to be here?”

“Surprise,” Asmodeus said, chuckling.

Dougal spun around. “Surprise? What’s this all about?”

He loved Dougal with all his heart and the flustered troll staring at him with wide eyed wonder deserved this and so much more. “I’m romancing you.”

“W-what?” he spluttered, red faced, looking at the gorgeous table, covered in crisp white linen, set with silver and crystal. Everything gleamed as the flickering candle flames danced. In the center sat a huge floral arrangement of all the scents Dougal loved.

Asmodeus walked to Dougal and gave a discreet nod to the servers, who walked rather quickly without actually scurrying out of the room. He kissed him softly, cupping his bearded cheeks. “I’m romancing you.” He kissed him slower, swallowing Dougal’s moan. “Taking you on a date.” Another kiss that lasted longer. “Showing you how much I love you and treasure you.”

Dougal blinked slowly, dark eyes gleaming. “You are?”

Asmodeus grinned and resisted kissing him again when a server popped his head around the door, giving him a questioning look. “I am.” He stepped back, pulled out a seat and bowed like a gentleman. “Let me seat you.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Dougal

“You were reading my thoughts, weren’t you?” Dougal smiled at his mate, sitting across the elegant table from him after they’d finished a sumptuous meal. At that moment, Asmodeus never looked so handsome, especially when he blushed.

“You were… wistful, so I paid attention,” Asmodeus said gently, wiping his lips and setting his napkin on the table. “I… I know our mating, claiming, blissful one experience, or whatever you want to call it, wasn’t typical. You were right in your thoughts. For all the centuries we’ve known each other, I never courted you, we have never dated until tonight. There’s so much we still don’t know about each other, and yet we’re having a child together.”

Asmodeus was rubbing his belly, and Dougal wondered if he knew how often he did that. “Confessed we love each other—that’s a huge improvement,” he said with a chuckle. “There was so often over the centuries where I felt I was nothing more than a casual fuck to you. No, no, don’t be upset about me saying that,” Dougal added quickly as Asmodeus’s face fell. “We’re well past that, and I know—I definitely know how much you love me now—and look at all this.” He waved at the remains of their meal. “You still have the ability to surprise me after all this time. There are not many couples that can say that about each other.”

“I can’t say I’ve got any experience with dating. I don’t recall seeing much of it in the demon realm.” Asmodeus leaned back and winced, rubbing down the left side of his belly. “My parents weren’t a very good example of a happily bonded pair.”

“What was it like for you growing up?” One of the things that Dougal had been curious about was his demon king as a child. “Were you a rascal child always getting into mischief, or were you the quiet soul who enjoyed reading and doing artistic pursuits?”

Asmodeus snorted. “My parents absolutely hated each other—it was an arranged bonding, something my grandfather pushed them into because, in his words, my mother had acceptable genetics to provide a future king. She did that when she gave birth to me, and then she shut herself off in a remote part of the realm and refused to have anything to do with my father again.”

Dougal’s heart lurched. “That must’ve been so difficult for you as a kid.”

“Not really.” Asmodeus rubbed over his belly again, his eyes watching his hands, which Dougal could admit was a hypnotizing act. “If you don’t know any different, then as far as I understood, my upbringing was normal. I had nannies until I could walk, and then I was expected to follow my father around and learn how to be king. All of my education, what I learned about life and how to rule, came from my father.”

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