it is a good idea to get involved with your father.”
He was the bane of my existence.
I leaned against the door jamb and looked up at him. “You did it for your family.”
Dimitri went to hell and back to end the curse on his sisters. Then he fought a rival family’s army in order to keep them safe. He’d sacrificed years off his life to train me as a demon slayer, even when he barely knew me, so I could help the people he loved. He wasn’t in any position to tell me what I could or could not do for my estranged father.
A muscle in his jaw twitched. He realized it too, even if he refused to admit it. “I want more for you,” he said, towering above me in the narrow doorway.
“Believe me.” I ran a hand down his chest, stopping above the place where the creature had bitten. “I have everything I need.” Despite the mess with my father and the banshee, I was happier than I’d ever been in my life. For the first time, I knew what I wanted – this life, him.
Did he even know what having him meant to me?
His eyes narrowed down to tiny slits as he weighed the options. “If we do this, I want to protect you.”
“You already do.”
“It’s not enough,” he said, moving closer.
Yum.
“I’m always willing to accept more emerald necklaces,” I teased.
“That’s not what I meant,” he said, gruffly.
“Leather jackets?” I asked as he nipped at my neck.
He brought his body flush against mine. Double yum. Heat pooled in my belly. “Well if this is some kind of one-on-one body guarding, then I’m all for it.”
He touched the emerald at my throat. “Will you accept more of my protection?”
“I can’t.”
Dimitri’s powers were different from mine. While I could levitate, he could shift and fly. When I slowed down time, he could speed it up. It made us formidable. But it also made us weak. When I’d fallen, he’d gone down with me.
It gnawed at me that I could expose him and get him killed.
“We need to each maintain our own strength,” I told him.
“Don’t risk, don’t get too close,” he said, completing my thought with a scowl.
I flattened my back against the hard wooden door jamb. “It’s not like that.” I could see he was hurt, and I hated it.
It wasn’t fun, but it was the responsible thing to do.
And there was also a deep, dirty secret I didn’t even like to admit to myself: when our relationship ended – and I knew it would – I didn’t know what I’d do without Dimitri. I didn’t need to make it any worse by entwining my powers with his.
“You think I’m going back,” he said, accusing, but not denying he was needed elsewhere, away from me.
“Your destiny is in Greece with your sisters.” No head of a griffin clan had ever left their homeland for long. Griffins were conquerors. They craved land and security, and Dimitri had left his holdings wide open. Even being here could leave his sisters open for attack. I cared about him, and them, too much to ignore it.
He ran his hands through my lavender hair. “Why don’t you let me decide what’s best for me?”
Stubborn man. “You always do.”
Then he leaned in and kissed me and for a second I wanted to pull back and have our conversation. I wanted to tell him I did know what’s best and I could handle myself and I didn’t really need him but instead I yanked him closer and ground my body against him and never wanted to stop.
His arms wound around me with a resolute, almost bruising strength. He slanted his mouth over mine, deepening the kiss, pulling me against him until suddenly I was on top of him and we were inside the door and on the bed.
“Are you okay?” I tried to move away from his injured side.
“Hush.”
He lay over me, heavy and strong and I kissed him wildly. He had way too many clothes on. I nipped his lower lip and he groaned. Yes, yes. He was mine.
I slithered away from him long enough to help
He was the bane of my existence.
I leaned against the door jamb and looked up at him. “You did it for your family.”
Dimitri went to hell and back to end the curse on his sisters. Then he fought a rival family’s army in order to keep them safe. He’d sacrificed years off his life to train me as a demon slayer, even when he barely knew me, so I could help the people he loved. He wasn’t in any position to tell me what I could or could not do for my estranged father.
A muscle in his jaw twitched. He realized it too, even if he refused to admit it. “I want more for you,” he said, towering above me in the narrow doorway.
“Believe me.” I ran a hand down his chest, stopping above the place where the creature had bitten. “I have everything I need.” Despite the mess with my father and the banshee, I was happier than I’d ever been in my life. For the first time, I knew what I wanted – this life, him.
Did he even know what having him meant to me?
His eyes narrowed down to tiny slits as he weighed the options. “If we do this, I want to protect you.”
“You already do.”
“It’s not enough,” he said, moving closer.
Yum.
“I’m always willing to accept more emerald necklaces,” I teased.
“That’s not what I meant,” he said, gruffly.
“Leather jackets?” I asked as he nipped at my neck.
He brought his body flush against mine. Double yum. Heat pooled in my belly. “Well if this is some kind of one-on-one body guarding, then I’m all for it.”
He touched the emerald at my throat. “Will you accept more of my protection?”
“I can’t.”
Dimitri’s powers were different from mine. While I could levitate, he could shift and fly. When I slowed down time, he could speed it up. It made us formidable. But it also made us weak. When I’d fallen, he’d gone down with me.
It gnawed at me that I could expose him and get him killed.
“We need to each maintain our own strength,” I told him.
“Don’t risk, don’t get too close,” he said, completing my thought with a scowl.
I flattened my back against the hard wooden door jamb. “It’s not like that.” I could see he was hurt, and I hated it.
It wasn’t fun, but it was the responsible thing to do.
And there was also a deep, dirty secret I didn’t even like to admit to myself: when our relationship ended – and I knew it would – I didn’t know what I’d do without Dimitri. I didn’t need to make it any worse by entwining my powers with his.
“You think I’m going back,” he said, accusing, but not denying he was needed elsewhere, away from me.
“Your destiny is in Greece with your sisters.” No head of a griffin clan had ever left their homeland for long. Griffins were conquerors. They craved land and security, and Dimitri had left his holdings wide open. Even being here could leave his sisters open for attack. I cared about him, and them, too much to ignore it.
He ran his hands through my lavender hair. “Why don’t you let me decide what’s best for me?”
Stubborn man. “You always do.”
Then he leaned in and kissed me and for a second I wanted to pull back and have our conversation. I wanted to tell him I did know what’s best and I could handle myself and I didn’t really need him but instead I yanked him closer and ground my body against him and never wanted to stop.
His arms wound around me with a resolute, almost bruising strength. He slanted his mouth over mine, deepening the kiss, pulling me against him until suddenly I was on top of him and we were inside the door and on the bed.
“Are you okay?” I tried to move away from his injured side.
“Hush.”
He lay over me, heavy and strong and I kissed him wildly. He had way too many clothes on. I nipped his lower lip and he groaned. Yes, yes. He was mine.
I slithered away from him long enough to help
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