Stella smiled sweetly at him. “Thank you, baby.”
Sammy watched as the glow surrounding them started to fade, taking his parents with him. He was still sad, mourning for all the things he could never share with them, but having seen them one last time, happy and whole, gave him a sense of peace that he would have never thought possible. Letting them go was one of the most difficult things he had ever done, though instead of being crushed by it, he felt empowered. They had given him their blessing to be with Dre, and Sammy had every intention of taking this gift and making the best of it—as soon as he had a word with Dre about the unpleasantness of mating bites.
Chapter Fifteen
When Sammy finally opened his eyes, Dre felt as if an entire mountain was lifted from his chest. His sweet mate had been unconscious for almost twenty minutes, which was longer than Dre had expected, and he had started crying at some point. Knowing that he couldn’t do anything to help Sammy had driven Dre nuts. Sammy groaned and tried to sit up. The movement tugged on Dre’s knot, which was still fully swollen inside Sammy’s hole. They both whimpered when flashes of arousal went through them.
“How long was I out?” This time, Sammy only moved his head, careful not to jostle the knot again.
“About twenty minutes. I was getting worried.” They were still lying on their sides, with Sammy as the little spoon, so he couldn’t see Sammy’s face, but the mate bond between them was already strong enough for Dre to feel the sadness in his lover.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know it would be that bad.”
Sammy sighed. “It hurt like a bitch, Dre, and we’re going to talk about your way of selling me this whole mating thing soon enough.” He hesitated for a moment. “I saw my parents.”
“Oh.” That was all Dre could come up with. He knew Sammy’s parents were a difficult topic, one that always made Sammy sad. The cross between a sniffle and a laugh Sammy made didn’t help Dre to determine what his mate expected of him.
“They gave us their blessing. Mom thinks you’re almost as fine as Dad. I’m pretty sure she didn’t take a good look at you, because you’re better looking than my father.”
Dre was relieved to hear the playfulness in Sammy’s tone. There was still a tinge of sadness, one that would most probably never go away, because Sammy had loved—and still loved—his parents dearly, but he seemed to have found some kind of closure, for which Dre was grateful.
“Of course I look better. I’m a demon prince. It comes with the territory.”
Sammy giggled then groaned. “This knot of yours… How long till the swelling goes down?”
“I haven’t got a clue, mo grah thu. Do you want to get rid of me already?” Dre nibbled on Sammy’s ear.
“No. I was just thinking… Why waste a perfect opportunity?”
“Why indeed? Are you sure you’re up for this?”
“Yes, more than sure.” Sammy rotated his hips to emphasize his words. Dre groaned and gripped him harder. This was going to be a long night. He couldn’t wait.
* * * *
The next morning they were woken by a steady pounding on the door as well as the ringtone from Sammy’s cell. Whenever voice mail took over, there was a short pause, then the ringing started again. Groaning, Dre reached for the annoying device while he cradled his mate close to his chest. Sammy was slowly waking up, but clearly not able to deal with whatever was going on yet.
“What?” Dre did nothing to keep the irritation from his voice. Whoever it was had disturbed their first morning as a mated pair and could go to hell for all Dre cared.
“Ooh, someone’s a grumpy ass this morning. Where’s Sammy?” Dre wasn’t sure if it was Declan or Troy on the phone and he didn’t really care.
“Still asleep. What do you want?”
“Who pissed in your cereal? Never mind, it’s already past nine, and the shop’s still closed. Troy and I need our coffee fix.”
Dre took the cell off his ear for a moment to stare at it with his mouth hanging open before he put it back. “You’re waking us up because you need Sammy to make your coffee? Are you nuts?”
“Interesting question. Depending on who you ask, the answer differs. And we need Sammy’s coffee. He’s the only one who gets it right.”
Dre opened his mouth to give a sharp answer when Sammy reached out and took the cell from him. He looked adorable with his sleep-tousled hair and the lips still swollen from kissing. “I’ll be down in a minute. Stop making such a ruckus.” With that, Sammy ended the call and started getting out of bed. Dre managed to catch his wrist.
“Are you seriously telling me you’re going down there to make them coffee?”
Sammy smiled weakly. “It’s not that I want to go down there. But believe me, it’s better in the long run. These two won’t stop pestering us until they have their caffeine fix. Do you really want to spend the morning waiting for what they will come up with to get me down there?”
Dre pondered the question for a moment. He didn’t like the pictures his mind provided. “Fine. But I’m coming with you.” He let go of Sammy’s hand and bent down to pick up his trousers. Sammy was already putting his on. Neither of them bothered with a shirt since they had every intention of getting back to bed again once the terrible two were dealt with. Dre followed Sammy into the shop and opened the shop door for Declan and Troy while Sammy went behind the counter to start the coffee machine. The werewolves sauntered in as if it were perfectly normal to harass other people for coffee at the butt-crack of dawn. Well, early in the morning.
“Had a good night?” Declan eyed Dre’s naked torso. Troy made a beeline for Sammy. Dre was just formulating his answer when a sudden gasp made him turn toward Troy and Sammy. Troy was staring at Sammy with big eyes, the outstretched index finger of his right hand trembling slightly in the air. Declan ran to his friend—lover? partner in crime? Dre was never sure—to see what had him so excited. Sammy was looking at both of them, clearly wanting to know what the issue was. Then Dre realized it too.
Sammy’s torso was covered in silver tattoos, marking him as Dre’s mate. The sight made his cock instantly swell and he felt himself growing as his demon form took over. Careful to keep his wings close to his body, Dre stepped to the counter to touch Sammy’s naked chest where the words Mate of Dresalantion, Prince of the Demon Realm were engraved in the demon tongue. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed the tattoos sooner, though he had been otherwise occupied during the night, and when Declan and Troy had woken them, it had taken all his concentration not to strangle the two werewolves.
He couldn’t suppress his proud grin. “You look beautiful, mo grah thu.”
Sammy obviously still hadn’t caught on. He looked from Dre to Declan and Troy and back, before his gaze finally went to his naked chest.
“Oh.”
“Oh? That’s all you have to say?” Troy almost squeaked. “You’re mated, Sammy! You found your true mate! That’s so cool. Congratulations!”
“Yes, congratulations to both of you.” Declan smiled broadly, offered Dre his hand after a moment’s hesitation when he realized Dre was in his demon form. Dre grinned and took the offered hand then pulled Declan into a hug.