He paused again as the waitress brought over their drinks and then left, clearly rushed off her feet. “I understand that you’d prefer to be part of the same lair as your family,” he continued. “Especially since, with the exception of your missing sister, you’re close to them. I get that you’d feel like you were leaving them behind. But they’d understand, Raini. I think they’d even prefer for you to be living among demons who accept your gift.”
Raini drank some of her milkshake through her straw, silently wishing that the reason he felt so strongly about all this was that he cared about her as more than his anchor. She also silently berated herself for being so dumb as to think it could happen. Maddox wasn’t a man who bonded with people.
He took responsibility for her, he enjoyed having her in his bed, but that was as far as it would ever go. If she hadn’t been his psi-mate, he’d have kicked her to the curb by now and found another bed-partner. The thought made her stomach churn and her demon snarl. The entity had grown to be highly possessive of him—and not just on an anchor-level.
Raini set down her glass. “So you wouldn’t only want me to switch to your lair, you’d want me to give up my home and live at the monastery?”
He gave a small shrug. “It would make sense for you to live there. Most demons live among their lair members.”
“Khloë and Keenan don’t.”
“Probably because the sentinel knows she’d be better off having her family close so that she’s not alone when he’s on duty.”
Probably. Khloë tended to get into all kinds of shit when lonely or bored.
Just then, “Happy Birthday” began to play and a bunch of people gathered near a corner table to clap and sing along for the birthday boy/girl.
Raini cringed. “I would be mortified if that happened to me.” She smiled as the waitress returned and set their desserts in front of them. “Wow.” Raini pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of the combo platter, fully intending to send it to her girls.
“Make sure you eat it all,” said Maddox, spooning some mousse. “You’ll need your energy for what I’m planning to do to you once we’re alone.”
Oh, that made her tingle in all the best places. Which wasn’t fair, because he couldn’t do anything about the tingling right here. “That was cruel.” Scooping up some of her chocolate pudding, she sensually sucked it from the spoon and licked the utensil clean.
A muscle in his cheek jumped. “That was equally cruel.”
“I know.”
Why that devious smile of hers made his cock hard, Maddox didn’t know. His body reacted to her far too easily. Almost as if it instinctively reached for what belonged to it.
They talked about general things as they ate. He wanted to push her on joining his lair, but he knew better. For one thing, he’d learned where his anchor’s tolerance level sat, and he was close to hitting it. For another, he didn’t want her to agree to his request purely because she felt pressured. He wanted her to want to be part of his lair. So he kept the conversation light and easy.
His demon wasn’t so content to let the subject lie—it didn’t see why she couldn’t simply make the transfer. The entity didn’t view anyone else as having any real importance to her. But it didn’t urge Maddox to push her, because it liked seeing her this way. Relaxed. Happy. Open. At ease with them.
She often seemed so edgy and lost. Not many people wouldn’t be, in her shoes. She had someone looking to ruin her life, her sister was not only missing but the possible culprit, and some of her lair had turned away from her. In Maddox’s opinion, she was better off away from them, but he suspected she already knew that. She just needed time to accept it.
Once they were both done with their food, he dabbed his mouth with a soft napkin. “I need to use the bathroom. I’ll be back soon.” He signaled for Carmen to keep a close watch on Raini and then headed for the men’s restroom, knowing Hector was close behind him.
As per usual, Hector waited at the exit, on guard. Inside, Maddox did his business and then washed his hands, not all too keen on the clinical scent of the soap. Crossing to the dryer, he placed his palms beneath the sensor. The loud whirring sound of the machinery filled the air.
In the mirror, he caught sight of a figure materializing behind him. Halo-bearer.
Two others appeared near the row of sinks. The one at his back moved fast and grabbed Maddox’s arm before he’d even had the chance to properly process the situation.
Maddox felt a shift in the air and knew the angel meant to waver him out of there. Fuck that. He struck out, releasing a blast of cold energy that sent all three of them zooming backwards. One crashed into a urinal, breaking the porcelain, and dropped to the tiled floor. The other two slammed into the far wall and then slid to the floor.