Harper skimmed her finger over the black diamond. “Did they come as a set?” Mating rings usually came as a set: the diamond ring, the “her” ring, and the “his” band.

Knox took her hand and kissed her palm. “Yes, but I don’t have to wear a ring just because you’re wearing them.”

She frowned. “I want you to wear it. Not because you gave me these, but because I love you. And because it’ll warn off all those flirty heifers that flock around you.”

He curled his hand around her neck and said against her mouth, “Then that’s what I’ll do.” He kissed her. Hard. Long. Deep.

“Where’s the third band?” she asked when he broke the kiss with a nip to her lip.

“In a box in my bag.”

“Then go get it.”

“You’re sure?”

She sighed. “Would I say it if I wasn’t?”

No, she wouldn’t. Mouth quirking, he did as she requested. It was a thicker version of her black gold band and was dotted with silver diamonds. The diamond in the center, however, was black. Sliding the band on his third finger, Knox closed his fist. “Never thought I’d ever wear one of these. Or that I’d be proud to.” Or that his demon would be smug about such a thing.

Moving to the bed, Knox flipped open their towels and gave her his weight. “No psychic hands tonight, baby. Just you and me.”

He linked their fingers, feeling her rings, and pinned her hands above her head as he fucked her soft, slow, and deep. Fucked her until she screamed into his mouth and came apart around him. With two slams of his cock, he followed her right over the edge.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“Oh my God! I will kill you!”

At Harper’s angry cry, Knox rushed out of his office, down the staircase, and into the dining room… and there was his mate, arguing with the Devil himself. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Knox sighed. “Lou, what are you doing here?”

Lucifer turned to look at him. He was dressed in faded jeans, sneakers, a baseball cap, and a Bob Marley T-shirt that read “Why Drink and Drive When You Can Smoke and Fly?”. With an innocent expression he said, “I just wanted to ask if she’d sew some skeleton heads on my new jacket. She started yelling at me, which I feel was unnecessary.”

Harper’s mouth tightened. “Look at me, I’m soaked.” Her white shirt had a huge brown stain. “You shocked me on purpose.”

“No use crying over spilt coffee,” Lou told her with a huff.

Knox sighed again as the two proceeded to argue. Lucifer actually visited her regularly. If Knox didn’t know any better, he’d think Lou liked her. But the psychotic, abrasive, sarcastic, and irritatingly mercurial male disliked everyone.

Contrary to what several human religions upheld, Lucifer was not the ruler of hell. He did have a major dispute with God, though, after which he moved to hell and brought some order to it. His laws were short and straightforward: demons must protect knowledge of their existence from humans, they must not get caught breaking human laws, and they must never harm a child of any species.

“I will send you a chain letter – don’t think I won’t,” Harper warned. It was a threat that worked, since the guy was OCD.

Lou gaped. “That’s just mean. No, that goes beyond mean. That’s —”

“I don’t care,” said Harper.

Knox stepped forward. “Why are you here?”

Lou looked at him. “I told you, I want her to jazz up my new jacket.” He slung the denim coat on the table before sinking into a chair with a happy sigh. Noticing the rings that they had exchanged the previous night, he whistled. “Black diamonds, huh. Who would have thought you’d ever be so tangled up in a female, Knox? It’s quite nauseating actually.”

“It is not nauseating,” said Harper, plucking at her wet shirt. Her skin burned from the scalding splash of the coffee.

“Hey, I heard about what happened to Carla. This Crow-guy is warped.” Looking at Knox, Lou smiled and added, “I also heard that he claims to have had a fascinating vision that Harper will have a baby that’s the same breed as you.”

“Not a vision, a delusion,” said Harper. “It was planted in his head.”

“It’s still fascinating,” Lou insisted. An excited glint to his eyes, he went on, “I can just imagine a tiny bundle of chaos, death, and cosmic power. Think of the destruction it could cause.”

“Yes, because that’s exactly what I would want my child to do,” Harper said in a deadpan voice.

Lou’s smile widened. “Me too. I will totally babysit. Hey, you could name it after me!”

And Knox knew he wasn’t kidding. He exhaled heavily, seeking patience. “Any child Harper and I have will be a sphinx and you know it.”

Lou’s brow furrowed. “That doesn’t mean it can’t be pure evil and carry an innate wish to indiscriminately wipe out everything in its path.”

Harper’s hands clenched into little fists. “If and when I have a baby, it will not be evil.”

Lou clasped his hands behind his head. “You say that now, but you might think differently when you catch it choking chickens for the pure joy of it.”

Harper made a guttural noise in the back of her throat. The guy could not be real.

Lou studied her. “You sure you’re not pregnant now? It might explain why you’re all flushed and in a mood.”