the thing he most wanted had bled over onto the demon.
She probably had no idea that last night was the first time he’d slept at a woman’s house. He’d stayed, because he’d wanted to make the most of what time he had with her—unable to know for sure if his hound’s attitude toward her would change overnight. It hadn’t.
Tanner wouldn’t have thought he’d like sharing a bed. Wouldn’t have thought he’d be able to relax enough to sleep deeply. But she wasn’t a snuggler, so he’d had his space. She didn’t snore or hog the covers. And waking up to the sight of her right there while her scent cocooned him … yeah, he’d liked that a fuck of a lot.
“We need to talk about last night,” he said.
“Our demons didn’t interfere. I don’t get it.”
“It was probably a combination of things. One, they’ve grown to tolerate each other. Two, your demon has come to view me as an ally and trusts that I won’t harm you. Three, my hound considers you under its protection—I should have figured that meant it therefore wouldn’t hurt you. Your feline had obviously already worked that out or it would have surfaced to chase me off. You know what all that means.”
Pausing, he brushed his mouth over hers. “It means it doesn’t have to be a one-off.” He heard her pulse quicken, sensed she was going to object. “How long have we both been struggling with this thing between us, kitten? Too long. Far too long. It’s not going to go away, or it would have done so by now.”
“I don’t—”
“A month.”
“Excuse me?”
“Years’ worth of pent-up sexual frustration isn’t going to burn out fast. One month of you in my bed, night after night … yeah, I think that should do it.”
Devon’s stomach hardened. She felt as if he’d slapped her because … “Oh, you want to fuck me out of your system.” Hiding how much that stung, she gave him a sardonic smile. “Well, isn’t that nice. You sure know how to make a girl feel special, pooch.”
“You got a better idea, baby?”
“Yeah, go find yourself a fuck-buddy.”
He raked his teeth over her lower lip. “Is that really what you want, kitten? You want another man’s hands on you? You want another woman’s hands on me?”
Her claws almost sliced out, pricking the insides of her fingertips so hard she winced.
“Yeah, I figured you wouldn’t like it. I sure as shit don’t.” Dipping his head again, Tanner dragged his lips down her neck and over to her rapidly beating pulse. He wanted to feel it beating in his mouth, wanted to bite down on that soft flesh again. But if he did that, he’d need more. And there was no time—she had to be at work soon. So he satisfied himself with grazing his teeth over her pulse, leaving the slightest mark.
“Look, I don’t—”
He lifted his head. “I know it’s pure reflex for you to fight me on everything, but what’s the sense in fighting me on something you want as much as I do?” He slid his hand up her arm, over her shoulder, and settled it on her neck. “A month. Think about it. You can give me your answer later.”
“And if you don’t get the answer you want?”
He skimmed his thumb over her lower lip and said softly, “You know me, kitten.”
She did know him, Devon thought. Knew that he wasn’t fazed by rejection, knew he never settled for anything less than what he wanted. He wouldn’t tip his hat and walk away if she turned him down. No, he’d be relentless and single-minded in his pursuit. And she couldn’t help but feel sad that he wouldn’t be in pursuit of her, he’d be in pursuit of a brief fling.
Oh, she knew a hellhound and hellcat could have no future together, especially since male hellhounds rarely mated, but it still hurt to know he simply wanted to rid his system of her … like she was a virus or something. Yeah, there was nothing flattering about that.
*
It wasn’t until much later, when she, Raini, and Khloë were having lunch in the break room, that Devon had a chance to tell them about Tanner’s little proposal.
Khloë’s brows rose. “A hellcat spending a month in the bed of its natural enemy. What could go wrong?”
Raini picked up her soda. “I doubt his hound would harm her, Khloë. Unless it withdrew its protection from her, of course.” Her gaze slid to Devon. “Do you