Fascinated, Jonas said, “Really?”
“Change color?” Alethea sniffed. “How odd.” She looked at Knox. “She’s not your usual type. Far from it, in fact.”
Harper gave her a winning smile. “Maybe that’s why I got claimed and the others didn’t.”
Alethea’s eyes flared and her mouth set into a hard line, which made Harper’s demon laugh wickedly.
“Harper and I are done for the evening,” declared Knox, taking her by the wrist and beginning to lead her away, but she dug her heels in to say a quick goodbye to her friends.
“Don’t forget the meeting, Knox,” Jonas called out. “It’s important.”
Harper shot him a questioning look, but Knox gave a quick shake of the head. They’d talk about it later. Now, he just wanted to take his mate home.
CHAPTER SIX
Striding into the living area, Harper plonked herself on the sofa. She was tired, and her feet hurt after hours of walking around the mall, but she was also feeling pretty energized after the rodeo. “Are you finished brooding yet?” she asked Knox. “Because I’d like to know what meeting Jonas was referring to.”
Knox stood in front of her. “I don’t brood. But I am angry that you put yourself in danger like that.”
“It’s not like I threw myself in front of a bus.”
“You were riding a bull.”
“At least I didn’t fuck a dolphin.”
Knox double-blinked. “What?”
“You and Alethea.” Harper raised a finger. “For the record, I don’t like the way she looks at you. There’s something proprietary about it. But I suppose it’s natural that, given you’ve known each other for longer than I’ve been alive, she’d feel like she had some rights to you.”
He frowned. “She doesn’t have rights to me.” The only person who had and ever would was Harper.
“I know that.”
Knox sighed. “You’re trying to distract me from the matter at hand.”
“Of course I am. But you did fuck a dolphin.”
“She shifts into a dolphin.” Not that he’d ever seen it happen, but it was typical of her kind.
“Dolphins are seriously twisted, you know.”
Knox’s frown deepened. “Dolphins are twisted?”
“They’re the only predators that kill their young for fun. And the males are rather fond of gang rape. Oh, they might look cute and seem charming, but that innocent exterior is quite an act. They’re like the sea-world’s version of Ted Bundy.”
Knox closed his eyes and let out a long breath. His demon was laughing. “I’m not sure why we’re having this conversation.”
“Then maybe you can instead tell me what meeting Jonas was talking about.”
He opened his eyes. “We’ll talk about that once I’ve said what I have to say. I don’t like that you mounted a two-thousand-pound bull, I don’t like that you did something you knew full well could get you badly hurt, and I don’t like that you dismissed my concern. But I do understand why you did it.”
“You do?”
Knox pulled her to her feet and into his arms. “Your life is changing and you’re finding it hard to emotionally keep up. That’s natural. I want you to come to me when you’re feeling overwhelmed. Talk to me. Let me help you. Don’t jump on the back of a wild animal.”
She smoothed her hands onto his shoulders. “Sorry if you thought I was dismissing your concern. I genuinely wasn’t trying to patronize you when I assured you that I’d be okay. I just didn’t want you to worry. You’re so extremely overprotective that you don’t trust my judgement when it comes to my own safety.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust your judgement. It’s that I don’t trust wild bulls.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re deliberately missing the point, but whatever. Now tell me what Jonas was talking about.”
Knox cupped her hips. “This year, he’s hosting the annual meeting wherein the US Primes get together and discuss any issues. It takes place in two weeks. Tanner and Levi will come with us.”
“Why did he come to your office?”
“He heard about Crow. Apparently Roan is walking through the Underground with a picture of Carla, asking if anyone has seen her.”
She absentmindedly tapped her nails on his shoulders. “Even though I’m not totally comfortable with this co-Prime thing, I don’t like that Jonas and the dolphin only asked to meet with you tonight… like I don’t count.” Her demon was rather offended.
“If I had known it wasn’t a standard business meeting, I would have included you.”
“You know, it’s probable that they don’t truly see me as your mate. I mean, even you’re shocked that you took a mate. It could be that they’re also so shocked by it that they don’t take it seriously. After all, it’s rare for Primes to mate since demons didn’t like to share power.”
He thought about Alethea’s belief that news of his mating was false. “You could be right.”
“The rest of our kind are probably just as doubtful. Most saw you kill Isla to avenge me, but they could have decided to attribute that to me being your anchor.”
“It could actually be that they don’t want to take our mating seriously. A mated pair of Primes is far stronger than a demon ruling a lair alone. We’re the only mated Primes in the world. The fact that we’re both powerful makes us even scarier.”
“I’m nowhere near as powerful as you.” And she was totally okay with that, because she didn’t think anyone should be expected to harness and control the kind of power he had.
“But you’re by no means weak, and demons respect strength. It’s well-known at this point that you can cause soul-deep pain.”
“Yeah, but I’m a Wallis. They won’t even take me seriously as a person.” It was ridiculous, yet true.
“They’ll learn to.”
Hmm, she doubted it. The prejudice against imps, especially her family, was too deep-rooted.
Knox searched her eyes. “You take our mating seriously, don’t you?”
“Of course,” she said, surprised. “Why would you even ask that?”
“Because you expect people to leave you.” The way her parents had. “I need to be sure that you trust I won’t ever do that.”
“I don’t believe you’ll leave me.”
“But you don’t trust that I won’t,” he sensed.
Yeah, but that wasn’t anything he needed to worry about. “Knox, I never trust situations where I get what I want. It’s not that I don’t trust you.”
“But you don’t feel fully secure either, do you?”
She shrugged. “That’s just me being me. It’s not a reflection on what we have.” But he didn’t seem convinced. “A lot of people, like Belinda, just don’t understand what you see in me. They don’t understand how someone who could have pretty much anyone they wanted would choose me. Want to know why that pisses me off? Because that theory insinuates that you’re shallow. You’re not.”
Melting against him, Harper admitted, “I do sometimes question how you could manage to be with someone who constantly tests your patience, but that’s it. I know you’re a person who doesn’t make huge decisions without giving them careful thought. I know that you’re someone who goes after what he wants. If you say I’m what you want, I believe you. My subconscious will take a while to accept that, since it’s pretty much trained to believe people come and go like the wind. And I admit that a small part of me will always worry, but that’s not a bad thing. It means I won’t take what we have for granted.”
“It also means I don’t have every part of you. I want it all.” He was greedy when it came to her. “I want that little part that eyes me warily.”
“Give it time to get used to seeing you every day.”
He tucked her hair behind her ear. “Before you learned what I was, I worried that you’d try to leave. But you accepted the truth of what I am. If I remember rightly, you said, ‘big motherfucking deal.’ You’ve seen me at my most dangerous. You
know better than anyone else what I’m capable of. You know how far I’d go to protect you. And yet you’re still here.”
“That right there should make you see you don’t have to worry. Actions speak louder than words.”
Then Knox would have to think on what “action” he could take to assure her that he wasn’t going anywhere. Putting that aside for now, he said, “It’s your day off work tomorrow. How will you be spending it?”
“I have another flying lesson with Khloë.” Not that they were helping much. Harper had spent most of her life unable to use her wings. Every sphinx had tattoo-like brands on their back that could become wings. But although Harper had the brands, her wings had never come to her when she called them. Or, at least, they hadn’t until a few months ago when some of Knox’s power had leaked into her mind and coursed through her system.
Knox’s brow furrowed. “I can give you flying lessons. Why didn’t you ask me to help?”
“You’re a busy guy.”
“I’ll always make time for you. Khloë’s wings are different than yours. They’re gothic and bat-like.”
“Yeah, and yours are made of magma energy so they’re different than mine too.”
“It doesn’t mean I can’t still teach you.”
Realization dawned, and she tilted her head. “You don’t like it when other people do things for me, do you?”
“Not always.” All right, in truth, he wanted to selfishly be all she needed and wanted.
“Fine,” she sighed. “You can give me flying lessons.”
Satisfied, Knox kissed her. “We’ll start tomorrow.” Curling his arms around her waist, he lifted her. “Now let’s go wash the smell of bull off your skin.”
Harper locked her legs around him. Sounded good to her.
“Ready?” asked Knox.
Harper grimaced. “Not really.”
“You’ve had flying lessons before.”
Yeah, she thought, but she’d never had them near the border of a winding ravine before. It was making her nervous, even if the scenic views were divine. It also didn’t help that she was baking in heat that was as dry as the breeze. “The lessons didn’t amount to much. I don’t know how easy it is for you to use your wings, but mine are a pain in the ass. I didn’t realize how hard it would be just to call them.”
“But they come to you on command now?”
“Yes, I have that part down.” She batted at a bug that came too close. “It’s the flying part that’s the problem.”
“Where do you feel the wings? Your back? Shoulders?”
“They feel like a weight extending from my shoulder blades right down to the center of my back. They feel more like another set of arms than a pair of wings. And that’s just freaky.”
Knox also “felt” his wings near his back and shoulders, but they didn’t feel like an additional pair of arms. “Call them. I need to get a good look at them.”
She nervously shifted from foot to foot on the uneven, gritty ground. “Are you sure we should be doing this here? The Grand Canyon is a pretty popular place.” And extremely beautiful with the varied, vibrant colored rocks and the Colorado River flowing through the center.
“Baby, the park encompasses something like 1,904 square miles. The canyon itself is roughly 277 miles long. There is plenty of land for the tourists to explore; this particular spot is difficult to navigate and it’s mostly left alone.”
“Some tourists use helicopters,” she reminded him.
“We’d hear them approaching and then I could pyroport us away from here.” Just as he’d pyroported them there in the first place.
“Maybe we should reschedule. We have more important things to take care of. Like tracking Crow before he hurts Carla.” If he hadn’t already done so. They all knew there was a good chance she was dead.
The gravelly ground crunched beneath Knox’s feet as he moved to her. “I have many people tracking them, Harper. The Force is working night and day to locate them. They will be found eventually.” He just couldn’t promise Carla would be found alive. “Okay?”
Harper took a deep breath. “Okay.”
“Good.” He backed up a step and said gently, “Now stop delaying the lesson.”
Inhaling deeply, Harper rolled back her shoulders and called on her wings. They snapped out, fanning around her and she bit out, “Motherfucker.” It felt as if the skin of her back peeled away, but she knew it hadn’t.
“Beautiful,” said Knox. His demon agreed. They were huge gold, gossamer, eagle-like wings that had red and black streaks running through the feathers. He skimmed his fingers over one wing. “Hot. Silky. Soft. They look flimsy, but they’re strong as steel.”
“I doubt they’re as strong as Larkin’s wings, though.”
“Her wings are heavy and strong, but they have bones; bones can be broken, and then she can’t fly. Yours don’t have bones or muscles, which means they won’t break or feel any strain.” She would only feel strain on the muscles of her back and shoulders. “They couldn’t be snapped in half, but they do have some weaknesses.”
Harper nodded. “They’re so thin, they’re very sensitive and especially vulnerable to sharp objects. They won’t necessarily tear, but it’ll still hurt.”
“Yes, which means you need to be careful with them.” He stroked her wing again. “You have an additional problem.”
She knew what he meant. “Sphinxes are often hunted for their wings. They’re considered a prize and they sell well.”
“I don’t want your wings to end up mounted on someone’s wall. It’s probably a good thing that you’re keeping them secret. They’re very unique.” While she was vulnerable in that she couldn’t yet fly, a hunter would definitely take advantage and try to steal them. That was why Knox was so set on teaching her to control her wings.
“They share the same colors as the flames of hell.” She bit down on her bottom lip. “What does that mean?” She’d never actually asked him outright before, wary of the answer.
“It could mean nothing.”
“But it could mean something. What?”
“I truly don’t know.” He’d pondered over it many times, but he’d never come up with a satisfactory conclusion in his head. “It can’t be that you now possess some of my power. That would have killed you.”
“I’m not built to handle that level of power.” Harper honestly didn’t know how he did it. “When the shield between our minds dropped and your power poured into me… I’ve never felt pain like it. I really thought I was going to die.”
He slipped his hand around her nape and gave it a comforting squeeze. “Maybe these colors simply represent that my power gave the wings a little push before it bounced straight back to me.”
“That makes the most sense.” Or, at least, it was an answer that didn’t stress her out.
Knox released her and took a few steps back. “Now… on to the flying lesson. Flap your wings for me, but not hard enough to ascend.”
Using her arm to wipe sweat and grit from her forehead, Harper flexed her back muscles, making the wings flap once.
“Good. That hurt?”
“No, but it will later.”