Beyond the Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #6)(84)

“Unhinged?” she helpfully supplied.

Darcy chuckled. “Okay, unhinged, by the thought of being irrevocably bound to a male. Especially if that male happens to be an arrogant, overbearing, far-too-fond-of-giving-orders demon.”

“You?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, Styx tends to take arrogance to an epic level. He’s quite convinced that he’s been put on this earth to take command of everyone and everything. Including me.”

“Why didn’t you run?”

“I did.”

Harley jerked in astonishment. Not even the most cynical demon could fail to appreciate the devotion between Darcy and her vampire.

“Really?”

Darcy wrinkled her nose, clearly recalling one of those memories that you could only laugh about later.

“Styx and I had our own share of troubles.”

“Obviously you came back.”

“Because distance doesn’t change anything.” Darcy shrugged. “My bond to Styx isn’t just an ancient demon rite or sappy exchange of vows. He’s a part of me.” She pressed a hand to her heart. “Wherever I am.”

The words did precisely nothing to reassure Harley.

“So you just gave up and let Styx take over your life?” she demanded.

Darcy’s eyes widened before she fell backwards on the bed, her laughter bouncing off the vaulted ceiling and echoing through the priceless chandeliers.

“Only in his dreams,” she at last managed to gasp, sitting up to wipe the tears from her face. “Actually, if you asked Styx he would tell you that I’ve completely taken over his life, and that he’s not even allowed to step out of the house without asking my permission.”

Harley frowned. The big, scary King of Vampires asking permission?

“I don’t believe it.”

“The truth is that we have both learned to compromise,” she said. “Styx has grudgingly accepted that I’m capable of making my own decisions, and I’ve grudgingly accepted that his position as Anasso means that he has to put himself in danger far too often.” She reached to grasp Harley’s hand. “It doesn’t mean that we don’t still have our moments, but we’ve learned we can discuss the situation and find a solution we can both live with.”

“Compromise? Salvatore? Yeah, right.” Harley snorted at the mere suggestion. Salvatore would learn to compromise when pigs learned to fly. “I don’t think so.”

“Trust me, Harley. He will learn to compromise because he won’t have a choice.”

“You obviously don’t know the pain-in-the-ass Were as well as you think you do.”

Darcy leaned forward, her expression oddly serious.

“I know that a male demon might be obsessed with his need to protect his mate, but he’s equally obsessed with his need to make her happy.” She caught and held Harley’s gaze. “The moment that Styx senses his overprotective habits are suffocating me, he has no choice but to back off.”

There was no doubting the sincerity in Darcy’s voice. She truly believed a demon like Salvatore could be tamed.

Not that Harley actually wanted to tame Salvatore.

No. Of course not.

She wanted…

What?

A frightening ache unfurled in the center of her heart. An ache that was directly connected to Salvatore Giuliani.

Dammit.

He made her crazy with the thought of being mated. And at the same time, he made her crazy with the thought of ever leaving him.

In other words, he flat-out made her crazy.

Shifting uneasily, Harley turned her attention to the stack of movies on the tray.

“Actually, I just want to forget Salvatore and our…mating for the next couple of hours.”

Darcy looked as if she wanted to press the benefits of being mated to an uberalpha demon with a throne, but easily recognizing the stubborn expression on Harley’s face, she heaved a rueful sigh.

“That should be simple enough.” She grabbed one of the mugs of hot chocolate.

Simple?

Harley lifted her brows, sensing she was missing something.

“Why do you say that?”

“When I spoke with Salvatore a short time ago, he mentioned he was leaving tonight and might be gone several days. We’ll have plenty of time to get to know one another without being bothered by the King of Weres.”

“Leaving?”

A sharp alarm had Harley off the bed and storming toward the door.

Salvatore hadn’t said a word to her about a road trip.

So either he was making plans for her without asking her opinion.

Or he intended to leave her behind.

Either way, he was going to get his assed kicked.

Chapter Twenty-One

Salvatore didn’t need anyone to tell him that he was an idiot.

What male, especially a male werewolf, would willingly leave the warm, welcoming arms of his mate?

Unfortunately, he was also a king, which meant he couldn’t avoid his responsibilities. No matter what the temptation.

Reminding himself that the sooner he was done with his business the sooner he could return to Harley, Salvatore forced his reluctant feet to carry him down to the kitchen to briefly speak with Darcy, and then to the back of the mansion where he found Styx.

Entering the long narrow room, he lifted his brows in amused appreciation.