Devon felt her cheeks go impossibly hot and her stomach curdle with embarrassment. Yes, she knew the place was bad; she didn’t need to have that rubbed in her face. He hadn’t maliciously trampled over her pride, but he’d done it all the same.
It wouldn’t have been so bad if he’d done it yesterday when he first saw the place—she’d been braced for it then, could have shrugged it off. But because he’d made no disparaging remarks yesterday, she’d dropped her guard. Stupid. So stupid.
It was easy for him to pass judgement—he’d probably had centuries to accumulate the money he now had. It wasn’t easy to tell how old a demon was; they moved with the times, adjusted, adapted—it was how they blended. But she’d come face-to-face with his hound yesterday; she’d sensed that it was far older than she ever would have suspected.
“I can take you to see the place tomorrow,” he offered.
“I’m not moving.” Not only because she couldn’t afford to or because she wanted to be near her family, but because she’d be damned if she’d let him interfere in any aspect of her life. He wouldn’t be satisfied with doing it just once; he’d do it over and over and over.
His jaw hardened. “You can’t honestly want to live here.”
“Not all of us can afford to live in swanky condos.”
“And not all of Knox’s buildings are ‘swanky,’ nor are they out of your price range. More importantly, they’re secure.”
She lifted her chin. “I’m not moving.”
His growl was low and deep. “Kitten—”
“Didn’t I say that your marking me doesn’t mean you have rights to me? I don’t need you interfering in my life, Tanner, and I won’t fucking allow it.” She pointed toward the door. “Go.”
“I’m not trying to hurt your pride, kitten—”
“My name is Devon. Now get out.”
He swore, low and vicious. “It’s so bad that I want you safe?”
“Why are you still here? Go home, go to your Primes, go to your girlfriend—I don’t care, just go.”
His brow hiked up. “My girlfriend? I didn’t realize I had one.”
“That’s not what Eleanor Owens believes.” And, just as Devon had expected, she was unable to keep a bitter note out of her voice when she spoke the bitch’s name.
His shoulders went stiff. “She talked to you? When?”
“A few weeks ago. She came here. She said that you’re hers, and that I needed to back off. She seemed to be under the impression that I was a threat to your little fling. I’ll bet she’s not happy that you marked me, huh?”
“I don’t care, it’s got nothing to fucking do with her. I never so much as kissed her, let alone slept with her.”
“Then why did she warn me off?”
“She must think you’re the reason why I refuse to father the baby she plans to have, despite that I’ve told her several times I’m simply not fucking interested. Did she touch you?”
Pushing back the shock and pain she’d felt at hearing what Eleanor was offering him—something Devon could probably never offer any male—she replied, “No, she didn’t. Now, seriously, Tanner, get out.”
“Kitten.”
And then she’d had enough. “Just fucking go.” She sent out a wave of dark, thick energy that knocked him so hard he staggered back a few steps.
The weird bastard smiled. “Well, well, well. My kitty’s got sharp claws.”
Fury whipped through her, and her upper lip curled. “I’m not your anything, pooch. You’d better get that through your head, because this possessiveness isn’t going to fly with me. And my demon’s not going to take kindly to it either, considering it’s on the hunt for a mate.”
Devon had seen people stiffen. Seen them freeze on the spot. But she’d never seen someone go literally as still as a statue until right then. He didn’t even look like he was breathing.
His power swept out in a wave that purred against her skin and, oh God, she could feel the depth of his anger. Finally, his muscles unlocked, and he prowled toward her, all menace and intensity. The air felt thick and oppressive with the power that continued to pour off him. It took everything she had to stand tall and not back away, especially while his golden eyes stared down at her, glittering with something dark and dangerous.
A long, low growl rumbled out of him. “What did you just say?”
CHAPTER SIX
She hadn’t just said the word “mate,” Tanner told himself. She hadn’t. No fucking way. That was not what—
“It’s on the hunt for a mate.”
Rage exploded in Tanner’s gut and rushed through his veins. A thread of something that suspiciously felt like panic tightened around his chest, squeezing until he felt like he couldn’t quite get enough air.
His hound let out a furious snarl as a dark jealousy clouded the edges of its vision. The demon didn’t want to stake a claim on her, but it didn’t want anyone else to have her either.