Page 61 of Dancing With Demons
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Ulstrath
My heart stops the second I see her–just like it always does. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to how beautiful Piper is, and when she turns around, spotting me standing on the edge of her new property, her eyes light up.
Fuck, it kills me when she looks that excited to see me. Like always, my heart kicks into high gear as she rushes toward me, and I catch her carefully. The news has spread among Ti’ilth about the magic human’s pregnancy, and I don’t want to hurt her.
I’ve just gotten to where I’ll hug her back after a lot of coaxing and begging. Piper swears she set Tolmond straight, and that’s the only reason I dared to come out here.
“What do you think?” she asks as she throws a glance back at the massive manor. “I thought that we needed more space and privacy with so many of us living here.”
I beam. “Are you sure you want me to stay here, too? I’m perfectly fine in the barracks.”
Piper clutches my arms as she gives me a stern look. “You are the new head of security. I need around the clock watch, and you can’t do that if you don’t stay here.” She leans in a little closer as a smile tugs at her lips. “Besides, I need as many friends as I get and I like having you around.”
My breath catches in my throat, and I don’t catch myself before I tell her, “I like being around you.” Quickly, I try to amend it. “You are such a good friend and a badass with your magic. You don’t need me at all!”
She rolls her eyes. “Don’t sell yourself short when you know you shouldn’t be.”
Her words hit me harder than she realizes, and when her other two demons appear, I struggle to get ahold of myself as she dashes away. Piper is the only one who sees me. She doesn’t look at my rank, my status, or my past failures. She sees my skill and my grit, and she admires that.
Gods, it’s why I can’t get enough of her.
“Ulstrath!” I turn around to see Eth’tak waving at me. “Our little human overlord has sent us to fetch quite a lot for the house. Come help?”
I appreciate he isn’t bossing me around, and I see Piper nod at him before waving at me. I rush over to where Tolmond has set up a portal to filter the new furnishings from the shop to the estate directly. How lucky we are to have a soz’garoth in this instance.
I duck through the portal, lifting a small cushioned seating piece and when I emerge back at the manor, I see Piper leading us all inside. She tells us where to put each item, rearranging them as we go to retrieve more, and after endless trips, we have finally moved all her pieces into the house.
I pause as I re-enter the house, taking in the pieces around the dining room, the entry space, and the sitting areas. It hits me that Tolmond hunted down handmade pieces because half of them are human-sized.
“Do you love it?”
I look down at the little firecracker that has popped up beside me. “It looks great in here.”
Piper grins. “Thank you. I wanted everyone to be comfortable, and I thought it might be nice for us to all feel at home.”
I walk farther into the sitting room, looking around, and I take note of how the decoration pieces, too, are for both her and our comfort. There are tapestries depicting great battles, spell books, and baubles depicting storms and demons in flight. But I also see human books, potted plants, and little farm touches that remind me of Piper’s stories of Protheka.
“You’ve brought pieces of all of us here.” I turn to see she’s followed me, watching me carefully. “That’s so thoughtful.”
She cups my face, pushing up on her toes so that we aren’t that far apart with me bending down. “I value all of you, and I want you to be happy here.” With a smirk, she whispers, “Isn’t this better than the barracks?”
I chuckle. “I’ll have to consider it. It’s noticeably lacking of blood.”
Wrinkling her nose, Piper scoffs. “That’s a selling point?”
I loop a strand of her hair around my finger. “It is for a warrior.”
“Well, you are just going to have to deal with the depictions on the wall because this house is strictly mess-free. It’s called a compromise.”
My eyes dart down to her lips involuntarily. “I guess I can make that work.”
“Good.”
She sounds almost as breathless as I feel, and when she pulls me closer, my chest feels like it’s going to explode. My whole body is electrified, and even though she bypasses my lips to press a soft kiss to my cheek, I still feel the brush of her mouth against my skin through my whole body.
She’s just a friend,I remind myself.Nothing more.