Lou beamed at Asher. “Where’s my favorite guy?”
“What time did you get here?” Knox asked him.
Lou pursed his lips. “I’m too stoned to be entirely sure, if I’m honest. And I’m rarely honest. But then, maybe that’s a lie.”
Knox sighed. “It was a simple question.” But he wasn’t surprised that he didn’t get a straightforward answer. Lou went back to fussing over Asher, which made Knox frown. “You seem almost … nice when you’re with Asher. It’s an odd thing to witness.”
Head jerking back, Lou echoed, “Nice? I am not nice. Goodness and I got married way too young. The divorce was quick and painless.” Glancing around, Lou rolled back his shoulders, seeming edgy. “The atmosphere is so … relaxed. I don’t like it.”
“Everyone’s feeling better now that the Horsemen are out of the picture,” said Harper. Alethea and Jonas were tucked away in Knox’s Chamber, and they had regular visitors. Their lair had already instated another Prime, who seemed much more suited to the position than Jonas had been. And no, Harper wasn’t just saying that because she despised the asshole. “Thanks to us, the mystery has been unraveled.”
Lou snickered. “Oh, please. That could have been done by a sedated amoeba. Come on, it was so obvious—” The cap on his head abruptly disappeared in a spurt of fire and then reappeared in Asher’s hand, who then let out a fake laugh. Lou sighed. “If anyone does somehow manage to take this kid, they’ll bring him back in a hurry. He’s a handful.”
Asher looked at Knox, demon rising to the fore. Knox’s demon also surfaced, and the two entities stared at each other. It wasn’t uncommon.
Harper sighed. “I hate it when they do that. It makes me nervous that Knox’s demon has an invasive bond with Asher’s demon. Even when Asher was in the womb, they seemed to communicate somehow. Obviously, not with words, but impressions and emotions.”
Lou’s eyes widened in delight. “Ooh, maybe they’re plotting Earth domination.”
Sighing again, Harper shook her head. “You’re completely whacked.”
“Why is he whacked?” asked Knox as his entity retreated. “Not that I disagree.”
“Your son is capable of global domination, Harper.”
She ground her teeth. “Lou—”
The devil slashed his hand through the air. “It is pure truth. There are no variables. If you can’t handle that reality—” A sneer twisted his face. “Oh, not her.”
Noticing that Jolene was slowly making her way toward them, Harper smiled and said quietly, “You know what, Lou? I think, in some weird morbid way, you actually like her.”
His face scrunched up. “Your opinion has absolutely no practical basis.” And that seemed to bother him more than the opinion itself.
Reaching them, Jolene doled out greetings and hugs before sparing the devil a glance. “Well, hello, Lou,” she said. “What are you doing over here?”
He gave her a brittle smile. “Oh, we’re just chittin’ the chat. You can go now.”
Jolene tutted. “Really, Lou, must you be so rude?”
“Um, yes. Yes, I must.”
“It won’t make me march off in a huff. You know me.”
“And I wish I didn’t.”
“Oh, how you lie. But you know, I genuinely respect just how fabulously honest you can look when you bullshit people.”
He softened. “Really? Aw, thanks. You’re a pretty good liar too.” He moved a little closer to her. “You know, Harper has a theory.”
“A theory?” Jolene echoed.
“Yes. A theory that … well, that I might actually like you.”
“Hmm.” Jolene’s eyes warmed. “Maybe I actually like you. Perhaps I even like you like you.”
“Perhaps I feel the same. Maybe we should even … explore that.”
“Maybe we should.”
And then the pair of them burst out laughing like they’d never heard anything more ridiculous in their entire lives.
Shaking her head, Harper turned just as Khloë, Raini, and Teague—who was no longer in his hellhorse form—headed their way. He was the definition of tall, dark, and handsome. And Harper didn’t fail to notice the way Larkin ate him up with her eyes.
“Hey, Harper, how are you doing?” Teague asked.
“Good, thanks.” She introduced him to Knox and then Asher, who burrowed into Harper, smiling shyly. As she then went on to introduce the sentinels, she smiled to herself when Teague gave Larkin one of his panty-dropping smiles.
He clicked his fingers as he looked at Tanner. “Wait, you’re a hellhound. I saw you race a few times. You’re good.”
“Back atcha,” said Tanner.
Devon leaned into Khloë. “Oh no, look, they’re bonding. What do we do?”
Tanner gave her a gentle smile. “No need to be jealous, kitten.”
As the others chatted, Harper touched Keenan’s mind and said, You don’t need to keep glaring at Teague. He and Khloë aren’t together. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t care if they were.
It’s none of my business. Keenan shrugged, nonchalant. It just came as a surprise that she was anchored because, you know, she doesn’t talk about him.
Khloë’s chatty, but she doesn’t talk about herself much.
Knox lowered his mouth to Harper’s ear. “Who are you talking to?”
“Keenan.”
“Hmm.” Knox pressed a kiss to her neck. You’re standing here wearing a scruffy checked shirt and holey jeans with your hair styled into a messy ponytail. And yet, I just want to ravish the shit out of you right here.
She swallowed, feeling herself go damp. Stop that or this will feel like a very long night. But he didn’t stop it. Of course he didn’t stop it. He kept on teasing her with kisses to her neck, flicks of his tongue to her earlobe, and strokes of his hand over her ass.
By the time they were ready to leave the party, she was also ready to jump him. Asher fell asleep on the car ride home, so Harper tucked him into bed before joining Knox in the master bedroom … which, for some reason, was in utter darkness.
Frowning, she reached for the light switch. Her hand was snatched from the air, and then she was spun around and caged against the wall with Knox’s front plastered to her back, his hands pinning her wrists either side of her head.
Harper gasped. “Hey!” She struggled and squirmed, but he simply pressed her even closer to the wall, snuggling his hard cock against her ass.
“Shh,” Knox said softly into her ear. “We need those jeans off.” Using his psychic hands, he snapped open her fly and shoved down her jeans. “Better. Much better.” He scraped his teeth over the crook of her neck, breathing her in. “I love your smell. Love it even more when you’re wet for me.” Transferring both her wrists to one hand, Knox slid the other hand down her side, fisted her long shirt, and bunched it up around her waist.
“Wait, let me turn—”
He roughly grabbed a fistful of her hair and snatched her head back. “When I want you to direct how things go, I’ll tell you. But it won’t be tonight. Not when my cock has been hard for you for hours. So here’s what you’re going to do—you’re going to stay nice and still while I have my way with you. Don’t fuck with me, Harper. Just take what I give you.”
With his hold on her hair, Knox twisted her head and took her mouth. Her taste burst through him, so fucking sweet, so fucking addictive. Hungry and dominating, he ate at her mouth as he tore off her panties. He felt the tension in her, felt her defiant nature rising. Before it could surface, he cupped her hard with a psychic hand.
Harper inhaled sharply as two icy fingers plunged inside her. Her pussy clamped down on them, and he growled low in her ear; the sound made the little hairs on her nape rise. “Knox—”