Page 56 of Hellish Fae
My heart melts. It melts like a puddle at our feet seeing him like this. Even when we were friends, Krave always seemed like he had this weight on his shoulders which my father probably placed there. Now he’s happy.
For the first time in a long time.
“Come in, come in,” Nix says with a voice like smooth caramel.
Krave looks back, and when he sweeps his arm to guide me in, I slip my hand in his. Every hard muscle in his body tenses as a look of awe spreads over his handsome face. He clamps his fingers over my knuckles, and I shiver slightly from the feel of the demon dust lining his touch.
The five of us step inside, and it’s so dark, I can tell it’s deep into the night. We’re interrupting, but it seems Nix is more than happy Krave is here.
“Who’s your friend, Cousin?” Nix asks.
Cousin . . .
The warmth blooms inside my chest once more.
There’s so much I don’t know about him. Krave has never had anyone. Not in the fae realm, anyway. And he’s been stuck there for so long.
“This is—” His gaze slides over my features rapidly, and I can’t help but wonder if his heart’s pounding as hard as mine is.
“I’m his mate,” I answer, saying the words out loud without a hint of anger for the first time in my life.
Krave’s lips part, and he leans in closer to me like he wants to whisper something, but he doesn’t.
I know my attitude is doing a one-eighty on him, and even I’m having a hard time keeping up. It’s just . . . I just—I want him to be happy. All the time.
He’s beautiful when he’s happy. Really happy. I’ve spent years seeing that shitty, cocky smirk on his face.
It’s never been like this.
His other palm slides low down my back until he almost skims the curve of my ass but he stops himself. Inky hair brushes against my temple, and he leans in with that quiet whisper he’s been biting back for the last several minutes.
“You don’t have to pretend for Nix, love,” he says in a heartbreaking whisper.
He says one thing but does another. If he thinks I’m pretending, he’s really taking advantage of it all. Soft lips press to the side of my jaw, and his warmth is all around me.
I feel as confused about us as he does.
“What if I’m not pretending?” I ask in a cutting breath.
His fingers dig in hard over my ass as his eyes close tightly.
“Fuck, Aries,” he rasps out so low it’s barely a whisper.
“It’s a shame incubus only have that one brain in their cocks, isn’t it?” Nix says to the fallen men whom Krave has forgotten to introduce.
Maybe he forgot they existed at all.
“So,” looking back at Krave, Nix folds his arms across his chest and leans against the door jam with a tauning look on his face, “what’s your mate’s name, and who are all these other fucks glaring at you while you paw all over your woman?” the demon asks.
Krave straightens to his towering height, and doesn’t release me as he looks at the other three men around us.
“Ah, yeah, those three are my mate’s lovers,” Krave says with all seriousness.
Nix just makes a face of understanding while I’m left gaping.
“They are not mylovers,” I hiss, like the L word is just as dirty as the F word now.
Someone tall and broad with a gaze that seems eternally pissed off steps slowly into the room without making a sound. I stand between the two strangers, and Krave turns on his heels to pass the new man a wide smile.
