Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 109033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
She sagged to the mattress, her eyes closed, her breath coming in shallow pants.
Slumping over her, Luka nuzzled her neck, utterly sated. He rolled them onto their sides and held her tight, reveling in the sheer rightness of it—her scent, warmth, weight, softness, how perfectly she fit against him.
His attention fell on the ring she wore, and emotions swelled in his chest. The feelings she brought out in him weren’t soft and sweet and fluffy. They were too dark, too intense, too greedy. But they were deep and true and so fucking encompassing it almost hurt.
“I noticed that Lily kept eyeing this,” he said, tapping the diamond.
Naomi opened her eyes. “It’s your own fault for buying me such pretty bling.” She snuggled into him like a contented cat. “She’s almost unbearably cute.”
“I liked seeing you hold her. It made me imagine you holding our children.”
“How many do you want?”
“At least two.”
A playful light shimmered in her gaze. “Hmm, children born of a legion and a half-demon half-fallen-seraphim. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a prophecy out there claiming that they’ll destroy the world.”
He chuckled low. “Let’s hope they can’t open portals to hell.”
“Fingers crossed.”
Sobering, he said, “If we have a son, he will not be groomed to take over this lair—or the empire I inherited—as I was. Our kids will be allowed to be children, and they’ll know they’re loved.”
Her expression tightened. “I don’t like that you never felt sure you were loved. I really don’t know how I’m supposed to be nice to your father when I meet him. My demon wants to choke him.”
Once Luka had made his parents aware that he’d taken a mate, they had insisted on meeting her. On telling her that, Naomi’s first response had been a hard no.
“I get why Andrey thought it best to shape you into someone who wouldn’t feel he needed love and affection,” she’d said, “but I still resent the fuck out of him for it.”
Still, she’d eventually agreed to meet them. Once.
“You don’t need to be nice to him, you . . .” Luka trailed off on seeing that her gaze had turned inward. “Naomi?” Nothing. “Naomi?”
Her eyes sharpened on him. “Hmm?”
“Where’d you go?”
“I have not moved.”
“And yet you disappeared. Now, maybe you could listen to me.”
“I’m gonna hang off your every word—watch.”
He nipped her jaw. “You should always hang off my every word. You should find everything I say utterly fascinating. I should have your full attention at all times.”
A chuckle bubbled out of her. “You sound like Lou.”
He felt his good humor fade at the mention of her father. “I swear if he randomly appears in our bedroom one more time . . .”
“Once he gets over the fact that I’m mated, he’ll stop dicking with you. Until that time comes, he’s going to be difficult.”
“ ‘Difficult’ is being stand-offish and rude. Hanging over my bed while I sleep, ensuring I wake to find him looming over me chewing on beef jerky—”
“He promised he wouldn’t do that again.”
“He also promised that he’d stop leaving burn marks on my suits with his joints. Guess what? He lied.”
Naomi grimaced. “Yeah, he does that a lot.” She pressed a kiss to his jaw. “I’m sorry that my dad’s a pain in the ass. Can I make it up to you somehow?”
“You don’t need to make it up to me. He’s the issue. Not you. Never you. You bring me peace. Never had that until you.”
Luka had been forced to swim in dark waters his whole life. That shit had a way of staining your soul. But Naomi had wiped those stains away, leaving her own touches behind; engraving her name right there on his soul. There would be no removing it. He wouldn’t even if he could.
His father had been wrong in insisting that attachments weakened a person. She didn’t make him feel weak. She made him feel stronger. And he knew that his life would be worth shit if she wasn’t in it.
He curled a loose strand of hair around her ear. “Never imagined what it’d feel like to have someone who’d be your entire fucking world. That’s what you are to me.”
A warm smile curved her mouth. “You say some pretty nice stuff sometimes.” She nuzzled his face. “Love you more than I love painting – and that says a lot. You’re my person.”
“Just as you’re mine.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
“Always?”
“Always.”
“And you’ll stop subjecting me to delayed gratification?”
Luka hesitated. “No.”
She let out an irritated sigh. “I was afraid you’d say that.”