12. She Is Mine

ALDRICH

I stalk after the demon, still untrusting of this new mate of hers. My plan to get rid of her mates has gone to hell, literally. Demons are rare and for a good reason. Too many would mess up the balance of power in the world. And much like Fae, they tend to be unique and powerful.

My plan to figure out which demon he is didn’t exactly pan out, and Mip was less than helpful. I lost count of the number of cushions and things he filched from the demon’s casino. I have heard of Kushim the Merchant. He’s been around as long as man has, but that doesn’t tell me a bloody thing about his abilities. He could be a threat to my Clover.

When he stops, I creep close enough to hear both sides of his phone call. I think he might have sensed Mip and me earlier, but he seems distracted enough that I think we can get away with it. Besides, even if he could somehow sense our energy, it’s not like he could do anything about it. I’m, well, where I am… and no one can touch me here, and Mip’s untouchable when he’s not in his little doll body.

“Hi, Boss, how’s the date? Have a good night?” A woman’s voice rings out through the high-end technology, not even trying to hide her tone of curiosity.

He starts pacing, and I struggle to match his stride as he quickly crosses the room, clearly troubled, based on the tension in his neck and the crease of his brow.

“I need a doctor. Or not a doctor, a specialist.”

“Oh my god! Did you hurt the poor girl?” She gasps over the line.

I freeze, aghast at the mere thought.

“What? No!” he says, sounding just as horrified by that as I was.

“Oh, good. I’d hate to have to bring you salt-filled coffee until the end of time. That woman seemed so sweet, like a breath of fresh air in the cesspool of idiot men I deal with.”

Salt in coffee? Hmmm. Why do I feel like this is something Mip would do to me? I quickly brush the thought aside to focus back in on the demon’s conversation.

“Veena, focus.”

“Right, yes, so why do you need a doctor?”

He smiles slightly, before sighing and running his hands through his hair. “She believes I am her mate.”

“You are,” I tell him, like he can hear me. Demons are so dense.

She pauses, then says, “And that requires a doctor?”

I hear a man in the background of the call, “She definitely has something wrong with her if she thinks that.”

I let out a growly noise that almost matches the one Kushim lets out.

“A month, Amias. Cleaning duty for a month. And I would be an amazing mate,” he says, rubbing between his eyes.

“Not as good as I would be,” I inform him.

I hear the other man grumbling in the background. After a pause, Kushim adds, “She also thinks there is a realm with a monster and a trapped Fae that she needs to rescue. And you both know I have seen almost every realm, and I know that one simply doesn’t exist. And she mentioned a curse.”

“Demons always think they know everything,” I mutter, rolling my eyes.

“I see.” Veena sighs then the man chips in, “Boss, you sure she is worth it? She sounds like a problem, and you don’t do well with problems.”

Blood boils in my skin, and I feel some magic waft off my skin. The demon pauses for a moment and looks in my direction, his head tilting. I take a calming breath. How dare he say she is a problem? Kushim’s staff seem like the problem to me… And she is certainly worth it.

I hear a smack on the other side of the call followed by, “Fuck, Veena. What did I do?”

“Shut up, Amias,” the woman, Veena, hisses over the line.

“Regardless of if she is or isn’t a problem, she is mine. And something here is very wrong.” His eyes narrow in my direction, but he shakes his head and continues pacing.

“Yes, what’s wrong is that you’re a brutish mongrel with mollusks for brains,” I inform him.

After a long pause of silence, Kushim sighs. “Just schedule someone to come in tonight if possible, if not tomorrow. I will get her the help she needs. I will lock her up if I have to.”

He will do what now?

“Like hell he will!” Mip yells.

He blinks off my shoulder onto the ground and charges back into the other room. And oddly, I agree wholeheartedly with Mip for once. Man’s a calf lolly if he thinks I or her other mate would ever let that happen. I will track the other one down and convince him to free her if I must. I understand wanting to keep her safe. Perhaps if I were free, the thought would have crossed my mind as well. Hell, a vehicle tried to oust her the first time I met her. But I would never act on it.

Bloody demons.

Kushim pauses when we hear a thump in the other room. He pushes open the door a little to check the room, but Clover is simply sitting there holding Mip’s stitched doll body.

He lowers his voice a bit. “I won’t let anyone or anything cause her harm, be they real or imaginary, so find me a specialist now.”

I agree with the man on the first part, but I need her to free me from this hell. As if something as amazing as I am could be imaginary. She will not be locked up.

“Yes, Sir. Are you going to make your five o’clock and seven thirty meetings? Also, do you need me to send Amias to the pickup tonight?”

He holds up his wrist to look at the shining metal band that ticks like a clock and sighs.

“No, I will handle them. Send a car for me. I will be down in five,” he says, then hangs up.

He brushes his hair back over his devilishly handsome face and pushes open the door more. We both pause to appreciate her stunning body and pointed small nose that’s scrunched like she tasted something sour as she stares at Mip’s crocheted body.

“I need to head to work, sweetness,” he coos at her.

She opens her mouth, hopefully to tell him to stuff it, but he pulls her in for a heated kiss.

“I’ll be back late this evening. Relax here, and we can pick up where we left off once I’m back.”

“Mmm… All right.” That glazed, adorable fuck me expression takes over her face, and jealousy engulfs me with its thorny vines. I might hate this man.

“CLOVER!” Mip whisper-yells, though I’m unsure why. He isn’t in his doll body, so it’s not like he can hear him. “WE NEED TO LEAVE!”

She keeps her eyes trained on Kushim’s ass as he drops his robes and pulls on clothes.

“Mhm… Okay, just five more minutes, though. Look at that tushy!”

I can tell the prick flexes a little. I find my own eyes drifting over his toned form. Mip starts pulling at her blankets slightly, and I shake my head to clear it as he pulls on the rest of his clothes.

“I must agree with Mip on this, Clover,” I tell her as Kushim saunters back to her side.

He leans down and pulls her in for one last heated kiss. “I’ll see you later this evening.”

He disappears behind the large metal sliding doors, and she looks down at Mip.

“What do you mean, he will kidnap me and lock me up?”

“Exactly that!”

She pauses, that same fuck me look glazing over her eyes as she considers it.

“Whatever you’re thinking, no,” Mip tells her. “You can’t let him do that to you just because he’s got an amazing tushy.”

“But he was so nice. He didn’t seem like that type of person,” she says, frowning at Mip.

“I’m telling you the truth, Clover!” Mip says, stomping his little foot. “Even that idiot heard it.” He points at me before griping, “We should have listened to Aldrich when he said demons couldn’t be trusted.”

She looks at me for clarification. And I look into her eyes that are practically begging me to tell her it’s not true. A lump forms in my throat.

“He did say that,” I choke out.

“Really?” Tears brim in her eyes.

Ah, shit. I go to her immediately and pull her into a hug. She just formed a bond with that ass. I should tell her he probably was doing it to protect her, but what if she chooses to stay here with him? I will be stuck running forever… or giving into its darkness.

“Was it something I did?”

“No, no, never,” I say as Mip says, “He just sounded like he didn’t believe you were his mate, or maybe he didn’t want you to be. Was tough to tell. Either way, we need to blow this joint!”

“Oh,” she says, looking absolutely crestfallen. That spark and brightness in her eyes just disappeared.

I lift her chin and kiss her nose. I can’t see her like this. “Hey, maybe he just needs time. Let’s find your other mate. And don’t forget I am here, too. Even if the whole world leaves or forgets you, I never shall.”

“Promise?” she says, burying her face against my chest.

“Yes, I give you my oath, sunshine. You will have me. Always.”

“Great, if you two are done being sappy, let’s blow this popsicle stand before he sends someone to lock us in here!” Mip says, teleporting from the bed to the door and back.

“Should I leave him a note?”

“No,” both Mip and I say.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be quick,” she says. bustling to find paper, clearly ignoring what we said.

“Clover. He wants to imprison you.”

“Yes, but I don’t want him to think I’m rude.”

Mip rolls his head back and sighs as she scribbles something on a note. I think she is absolutely delightful, and polite, I suppose.

“Okay, let’s go.”