Page 43 of Demon's Heart
“Ash lives with me and wanted Harper to have everything he needed when he stayed over.” Dante didn’t add that Ash routinely ruined Harper’s clothes and a second wardrobe was pretty much essential. At least Ash kept on top of the laundry.
Ollie glanced at his lap, his fingers twisting together. “Sure. I’ll take something of Harper’s.”
Dante left the room, moving at inhuman speed as soon as he was out of Ollie’s sight. He didn’t want to be away long. He needed a little distance from Ollie, but not enough to make him feel abandoned.
The new bond begged for closeness. Now that it was no longer distorted by Ollie’s lack of participation in the ritual, it was growing stronger, begging Dante and Ollie to connect.
It dug deep like it was burrowing into Dante’s soul. His skin tingled.Closer.
Dante focused on his breathing and the feel of Harper’s clothes beneath his fingers as he selected a shirt and shorts. He centered his mind on his physical self, the way his wings itched to come out and his heart beat too fast, and used those sensations to block Ollie out, turning his mate’s emotions down like the volume on a TV.
A low growl escaped Dante’s throat without permission. His primal side didn’t want to push his mate away, but Ollie seemed frightened of sharing his emotions. Dante hated that any of this scared him, but he couldn’t stop himself from responding to Ollie’s unspoken needs if he could feel them, so the only way to put Ollie at ease was to block him out.
Closing down this part of the connection was best for Ollie, and with that reminder, Dante’s primal side got on board. Even his baser instincts would never desire something his mate didn’t.
Returning with the clothes, Dante found Ollie hadn’t moved an inch. This wasn’t good. Dante wasn’t doing enough to help Ollie through this, but what else could he do?
Ollie jumped the second he noticed Dante like he’d been woken from a trance. “I’ll change in the bathroom.”
He took the clothes and disappeared, leaving Dante to pull on the first thing he found.
Ollie reappeared, his arms crossed over his chest, voice shaky. “What if Lucifer comes back?”
Shit, Dante had been so wrapped up in the bond that he’d left Ollie worrying about Luc this whole time.
“Lucifer isn’t coming back, at least not right away. He ran back to the Realm of the Damned after I saved you. It’s what he did last time he was here, when we almost captured him. Ash will know the moment he returns to this realm, but until he does, he can’t possibly reach you.”
Ollie frowned, fear dulling his usually bright eyes. “He snuck up on us at the beach and Ash didn’t warn you. What if he comes for me again?”
Dante closed the gap between them, gripping Ollie by the shoulders. “I’ll protect you, Ollie. I know I failed today, but it won’t happen again. I swear.”
“You can’t be with me twenty-four-seven,” Ollie said like he was scared Dante might insist on it.
He wanted to. Dante would be content to never leave Ollie’s side.
“No, I can’t be with you all the time,” he made himself say since it was clearly what his mate wanted. “But that doesn’t mean you’re unsafe. You have my immortality and my healing power. You are about as hard to kill as a demon. You’ll survive anything short of decapitation or the complete removal of your blood, which can’t be done without magic.”
Ollie’s cheeks paled.
Fuck, Dante sucked at this. “Not that I think anyone will try to do either of those things to you. I was trying to give you an idea of what possessing my healing ability means.” Ollie still looked deeply uncomfortable, so Dante barreled on. “Luc realized he made a grave mistake after he saw me bond with you. He acted rashly, trying to kill you, and he won’t do it again now that he knows we’re mates.”
Luc’s attempt to kill Ollie had been for sport, to fuck with Dante, and prove him wrong about finding his mate. He hadn’t believed Ollie was Dante’s, but he believed it now. There had been fear in Luc’s eyes before he’d disappeared.
Good. He should be afraid.
You didn’t harm someone’s mate. It was one of the ultimate rules. Seeing Dante with his mate had to change everything for Lucifer. Mates were why they fell, and Luc wouldn’t try to destroy what they’d been seeking. Right?
Dante shook himself. What did it matter? He’d kill Luc soon enough, and the problem would be solved.
“How can you trust him not to try again?” Ollie asked. “And why are you calling him Luc, like you’re buddies?”
Dante suppressed a bitter laugh. “We were as close as family for thousands of years. It’s hard to drop the nickname, even now. Even when I hate him. And I don’t trust him. Iknowhim. Even Luc isn’t so far gone that he’d harm my bonded mate.”
Ollie looked skeptical.
“Regardless, his days are numbered. I don’t think he’ll try to hurt you again, but Ash, Onyx, and I will hunt him down for what he did to you. We’ll keep you safe, Ollie.”
Ollie bit his lip like he was considering challenging Dante. “Okay,” he said instead. “I don’t quite get how you’re so sure it’ll be okay, but I trust you. I can’t seem to help it. With all this magic stuff, there isn’t anything to do but trust you.”
