don’t truly understand the concept of God, but we also don’t understand much beyond three dimensions, and even you cynical physicists believe there must be more than three. Otherwise, nothing else makes sense. I don’t believe you can create this world or any other out of nothing. Something had to be there first, and that something has to be omnipotent.”
“I don’t know,” she said. “My sense of reality, of what I know to be true, has been shaken. I might be open to other possibilities.”
It was all he could ask of her at the moment. “It’s like sex and your vibrator,” he murmured.
“What?”
He grinned. “You didn’t know the kind of pleasure that existed, and now you do. You’ve admitted it.” He kept his voice gentle as he tried to explain. “The same might be said for how you’re working the math for me. Maybe you’re including assumptions and limitations you don’t even realize you have.”
She was quiet for a moment. “That might be brilliant. I’ve never seen the connection between the physical or emotional status and the cerebral one.”
In other words, she was realizing that emotions held power and could help with math. All right. He’d let her mull that over. “Go to sleep, chipmunk.”
She laughed, and the husky sound soothed his soul. “I think you should stick with ‘Missy’ as your term of endearment.”
“I think you might be right.” He smiled and kissed the top of her head. “I’m glad we’ve reached an understanding.”
“I’m not agreeing with you about experimentation,” she said. “I’m willing to examine my hypotheses and investigate alternatives, but that’s all.” Her voice lowered. “My parents did their best, but I’m learning that emotion can have a place with intelligence, and it’s okay to be angry with them and still love them.”
Did that mean she could love him and still be aware of the beast deep inside him? Maybe. Hope burned deep inside him. “Sleep now,” he murmured.
She scooted closer and was asleep within seconds. Was her tiredness caused by the change in her chromosomes? Or just exhaustion?
Lightning flashed through the window, and the skies opened up with a fall storm that held a new chill. Soon it would snow. He held her close, his eyelids shut, trying to remember how he’d gotten from this world to the hell loop. And it was a loop. The more he’d studied her math, the more he’d recognized a pattern. He could trace that pattern again if he had the right skills, skills beyond the power of a normal demon.
He’d get them somehow. His last brain scan had shown engagement in areas of his brain more connected to fairies than demons. Was he changing, evolving, from mating Promise? Her ability to instinctively identify those who could teleport might translate into a whole new skill for him.
He was hoping. In fact, he was starting to get interested in fractal math, and he’d spent a half an hour actually enjoying playing Sudoku the other day. How weird was that?
He drifted in between dreams and reality, memories and hopes for hours.
A knock on the door had him stiffening. “What?” he called out, knowing his voice would carry through the suite.
“We think we’ve found the Fae-demon hybrid,” Logan yelled back. “Be in the conference room in ten minutes.”
Ivar awoke fully immediately. He kissed the back of Promise’s neck. “Get up, Missy. It’s time to work.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Promise sucked down the cup of coffee Ivar had handed her as if it was an elixir of life itself. Even though she’d slept well, her body ached in all sorts of delicious places, and she could use a long bath. But it was not to be. Ivar led her into the conference room at demon headquarters, where Logan and Garrett awaited.
A screen took up the entire west wall, and a small picture in the bottom left showed Faith, Emma, Mercy, and Grace in a room at the medical facility.
Mercy grinned. “We’ve been working for a couple of hours. Where have you been, Promise?”
Heat slid into Promise’s face. “I was sleeping. Sorry about that.”
The rain slashed hard against the windows, and she wrapped her cardigan tighter around her body. “What did you find?” She’d been surprised to discover that Garrett and Logan both were excellent with computers as well as being superb fighters. They’d been on the search to find the Fae-demon hybrid for the entire week.
Garrett kicked back in his leather chair. He had a couple of bruises down his cheekbone that he hadn’t bothered to heal