Brim didn’t reply, but rose sharply up behind Slade with a sweep of his large wings, narrowly avoiding three more twisted, black creatures with glowing, red eyes. One looked like a kind of black jaguar, only its skin gleamed in the moonlight, showing it had no fur.
Brim hovered and she felt his body rumble while she clung on tighter and squealed when he let out his own fire.
The demons attacked with sharp blades and long spears, but Brimstone ducked and dived, using his claws, sharp teeth, and his fire as they fought. All she could do was lean down, and hang on for dear life, as both Brim and Slade quickly tore the enemy apart.
Brim finally landed. Her arms were locked so tight, they ached and her head spun from all the up and down motion.
“Hop down, love, it’s over. They're dead and you're safe.”
It was far from over. Her teeth chattered and she no longer felt the cold. One by one, she unlocked her fingers and swung her shaky legs over Brimstone's back, sliding onto the ground.
“Right, okay, I…um, think I need a nap now.” She stumbled away from him, but his huge tail swept around her middle, holding her up when she would have collapsed. Her head continued to spin, everything finally becoming too much for her to process.
“Fuck, Amber, stay with me, my love. Slade quick!”
She wasn’t sure, but before oblivion claimed her, she could have sworn Brim mentioned something about love.
Chapter 8
“Got everything?” Brimstone stopped pacing at the foot of the bed, eyeing Slade setting Amber’s bag on the hotel room’s side table.
“Of course. I slipped the bus driver some more cash and assured him we were all fine, we didn’t murder Amber and bury her body in the national park somewhere.”
Brim’s eyes slid back to his little mate still sleeping on the bed. More guilt slammed into him, seeing how pale she looked against the white sheets.
After teleporting her back to the hotel, he stripped her of her bathing suit and tucked her under the blankets, while trying to get his unruly cock to stay down at seeing her naked again, feeling fucking awful for lusting after her when she was passed out because of him. What kind of mate was he to let her get kidnapped only moments after he mated her? His chest tightened and he struggled to breathe at the thought he could have lost her.
“She okay?” Slade stepped up beside him, following Brim’s gaze, concern etched on Slade’s face.
Brimstone swallowed, his body still ridged with tension and the feeling of helplessness. Killing things, he knew how to do; caring for an unconscious mate, he never did. “I don’t know. She breathes and her heart is strong. Do you think we should get one of the human healers to have a look at her?”
“I don’t know how it works with humans, but any injuries should heal quicker because of your bond.”
“She’s going to fucking flay my balls when she wakes up.” Brim clenched and unclenched his fists.
“Give her some credit, my friend. She’s tough and sassy. You’ve found a real treasure in her, especially now because she has to put up with your bad temper for the rest of your lives. I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. I know I mated her, but what if she really doesn’t want me? I was a fucking selfish bastard, my dragon riding me to claim her. I did it without her proper consent. What if she never forgives me? Those fucking demons, fucking everything up by snatching her. Hell, she watched me kill them. I know how fragile humans are physically and mentally. What if she never recovers? I’m a monster, all I know how to do is kill. Why the fuck would the gods gift me with something as precious as her?”
Slade sighed, patting him on his arm. “Because you will willingly give up your life to protect her. Does that make you a monster? Have faith. Plus, there is far too much curiosity running around in her little head to really want to push you away.”
Slade smiled while gazing at her. “I really like her, Brim, I feel protective, too—as if she were my sister. Trust your instincts on this. The fate gods wouldn’t have given her to you if she or you couldn’t handle it. The bigger question is why did the demon take her to set a trap for us? I wish you left one alive, so we could have questioned it.”
A stab of rage hit Brim. His jaw tightened before growling. “They take her, they die, and I’d do it again.” It was simple—no one took what belonged to him and lived, especially his most precious jewel, his Amber.
“And therein lies our problem. I’ll go poke my nose around the town, and see if I can catch a whiff of anything. Someone must have known or followed us to know she was yours and use it against us. We have been rather distracted the past few days; it’s not as if we were expecting any of this to happen.”