Page 69 of Demon's Desire
Infuriatingly, Nico tilted Onyx’s chin until their eyes met. “You’re not turning bashful on me, are you?”
Outrage had Onyx flushing to the tips of his horns. “Bashful? Not fucking likely. I’m a work of art, and you’re lucky to see me naked.”
“Mmhmm.” Nico pumped his eyebrows. “So true. No one does naked like you. Thank you for allowing me to see such beauty.” He even said it without sarcasm.
Onyx’s skin burned. His cheeks were bound to be purple. Face and ass. Fuck.
“Come.” Nico tugged him out of the living room. “You’re lucky the bathroom was renovated recently, or we wouldn’t both fit in the shower.”
Onyx zoned out as Nico turned on the water and guided him into the—still small—shower. Nico seemed happy to quietly pamper Onyx, gently washing his body as Onyx stood there like a rag doll.
Letting someone take care of him was divine. Onyx wanted Nico to look after him forever, which was idiotic. He was a demon. He didn’t need looking after. If anything, Onyx had to take care of Nico and ensure nothing bad happened tohim.
“What was that heavy sigh for?” Nico asked, jarring Onyx out of his daze. They were scrubbed clean, and Nico turned the shower off.
Onyx pretended to be interested in the loofah hanging from the basket holding the shampoos. “Tired,” he lied.
“Then let’s lie in bed.”
Onyx didn’t protest as Nico guided him out of the shower and toweled him off like a helpless child. He didn’t object when Nico dragged him to the bed and curled up with him under the comforter, despite it being the middle of the day.
Nico turned Onyx on his side and pulled him in close, his back pressed against Nico’s hairy chest, his tail nestled alongside Nico’s cock.
Nico’s lips brushed along the shell of Onyx’s ear. “Will you tell me what you were protecting me from when you came over?”
Onyx white-knuckled the arm wrapped around him. He didn’t want to. Talking was the worst, especially after he’d already revealed too much. But Nico deserved to know if he was in danger.
Onyx nestled as far back into Nico’s embrace as possible. “I went to the gallery this morning and found Luc there. He got in without breaking my protective spells. Said it was because we share blood.”
“Have you sworn blood loyalty to him?”
“No. Forced loyalty isn’t a thing in the Eternal Realm. Being Luc’s brother by blood must have made it harder for my protections to sense the difference between us. He obviously found a way to exploit our connection.”
Nico nuzzled behind Onyx’s ear. “Finding him in the gallery must have been a shock. It’s your space. He shouldn’t have invaded it like that.”
“Yeah, well, heisthe Devil.” Onyx hesitated, gripping Nico tighter. He’d probably leave bruises, but Nico didn’t complain.
“Luc mentioned you and”—Onyx took a breath—“I was scared he’d hurt you. Seeing how easily he got into the gallery meant he could break into your apartment without me knowing.He could have done anything to you. I need to call Dante and Ash and have them protect you better.”
He should have done that already, before Luc showed up, but he hadn’t thought past whatever had made Nico jumpy that evening. Onyx had assumed the danger was minimal—Nico hadn’t acted like it was serious—and had no reason to think Luc would target him.
But if they were mates… No. Now that Lucbelievedthey were mates, things were different. Onyx had to be prepared for Luc to act on that belief.
“Why would Lucifer mention me?” Alarm laced Nico’s tone.
Of course it did. But knowledge of Luc’s vicious side wasn’t what caused Onyx’s pulse to pound. He couldn’t admit why Luc had brought Nico up.
“Luc must be spying on us again. He saw through my invisibility and said he could see through Ash and Dante’s too. It was how he tracked Ash and found Harper—”No, don’t mention mates. “He’s obviously seen me with you. Luc was taunting me. Trying to trick me into thinking he was sorry. But the only reason he’d mention you is to remind me he could hurt you. It was a threat. I won’t believe any of his lies. Not again.”
“Hey.” Nico squeezed him. “Slow down. How did Lucifer threaten me? What did he say?”
“He said he wouldn’t hurt you, but it was a lie, I know it. That’s how he works.”
There was a long silence.
True, it turned out Luc hadn’t hurt Nico. That didn’t mean he wasn’t planning to. Luc wouldn’t change overnight. He was up to something.
“What else did Lucifer say?” Nico asked at last.
