Damien

 

“Don’t put that in your mouth,” I said to my four-month old daughter, prying the little bow out of her mouth that was supposed to be on her head. “Your mommy isn’t going to be very happy with me if I let you mess up your hair.” 

Opal cooed, her big green eyes—just like Willow’s—staring up at me. I nuzzled my nose against her cheek before tickling her soft tummy. She giggled and I couldn’t help the grin that split my face.

Repositioning the bow, I ran my fingers over her short black hair. She was the perfect combination of Willow and I, and I soaked up every moment of Daddy time I could with her. I liked to think I was making up for all the moments my dad hadn’t spent with me. 

Hence why I was holed up in our room in the palace as Willow got pampered in preparation for our wedding. Never mind that it was technically our second one—we’d tied the knot in her hometown while she’d been pregnant with Opal, but this one was bigger.

We didn’t do anything halfway in the demon realm, after all. 

“How’s she doing?” Luna popped her head in the door, finding the two of us lounging on the couch. Me, in my wedding tuxedo—if you could even call it that—and my little witching in her lavender dress. 

I kissed the top of her head. “Good. She’ll probably want Wil soon, though.” 

Luna laughed. “I was sent in here for that exact reason.”

Willow was nursing, and even though she pumped, our daughter still preferred her breasts to a bottle. 

“Want to go see Auntie Luna, baby girl?” I asked her, taking the excited bubbles that came out of her mouth as a resounding yes. 

Willow’s sister scooped her up out of my arms. “Yes, you love your Auntie Luna, don’t you?” She babbled to my daughter as she walked out of the room. 

I sighed. The notion that Willow and I couldn’t see each other on our wedding day—our second wedding day, at that, was a ridiculous and antiquated notion. Especially when we were already married. Never mind the fact that we also already had a daughter together. 

The door opened again, and a familiar face peeked in. “How are you feeling, Damien? You ready for this?” 

I smoothed a hand over my face, resisting rolling my eyes at my brother. “We’re already married.” 

“Still. You’ll remember this night forever.” He grinned. His own marriage had made him softer, even though he was still an asshole at times. “I know I do.” 

This time I did roll my eyes. “You’re ridiculous.” 

“I’m happy for you, you know.” His eyes flashed a brilliant gold, such stark contrast from the red of mine. “I don’t think I tell you that enough.”

I shook my head. “I didn’t do much.” I’d found Willow by chance—circumstance. We might have been fated, but still: if I hadn’t been out looking for Luna, I never would have found my little witch.

“No. That’s where you’re wrong. You made a choice. To stay. To love her. To be there.”

I knew I was thinking what he was thinking: that was more than either one of us had gotten. 

“Thanks, Z.” 

He reached over, ruffling my hair. He might have been three centuries old, but he still treated me like the little kid I’d been when we’d first met—when I’d first come to live at the palace. 

“Should we go get you married now?”

I laughed, fiddling with the ring on my finger. “Married again.”

“You can consider it a vow renewal, then. Maybe use it as an excuse to freshen up your mate mark.” He wiggled his eyes suggestively. 

As if I didn’t think about that every time someone else looked at her. Especially with all the visits to the demon realm we’d made since that first one. I ran my tongue over my canines, thinking about how it had felt the first time—when I’d sunk my teeth into her as I’d buried myself inside of her at the same time.

Oh, yeah. That sounded like a great idea. 

“The girls are all together?” I asked my brother as he headed for the door, catching the slight tip of his lips. 

“Yeah.” My girls—and his. 

“I never imagined this would be our lives, you know. Mates. Wives. The whole thing.” I waved my hands. “I kinda thought we’d end up doing Dad’s bidding until we turned to dust.”

He chuckled, but the sound was rough. “We deserve this, you know that.”

“Do we?” I adjusted the bowtie around my neck. I loved her, and I’d promised Willow forever, but that didn’t mean I felt like I’d earned her. There were countless terrible things I’d done, and I’d spend the rest of my life atoning for them if it meant I got to keep her. My precious witch, who filled my life up with so much love and happiness. 

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath as Zain slapped a hand on my shoulder. “You got this.” 

And then he disappeared, leaving me in front of the two big closed doors that entered the ballroom. 

“Hi there, demon,” came my favorite voice in the world, and I whirled around to find Willow standing in a beautiful white wedding dress with billowy sleeves and sparkly star accents, plus what seemed like a thousand diamonds threaded in her silky brown tresses. 

“Hey, little witch.” I held out a hand for her, letting the rightness flow through my body as she interlaced our fingers. “You look beautiful.” That was an understatement, but they hadn’t invented words to describe how lovely Willow was, so that was what I was sticking with. 

Her cheeks pinked. “Thank you. Luna said I had to go with the same demon who’d made her dress, and I wasn’t sure it would fit since my body has changed so much after the pregnancy, but…” 

“But it’s perfect.”

Willow nodded. “Yeah. I love it.” 

I leaned close, cupping her chin with my free hand. “I love you.”

She giggled. “That’s kind of why we’re here today, isn’t it?”

“Mhmm,” I agreed, kissing her nose lightly. “How was Opal doing?”

“Good.” Her eyes lit up when I mentioned our daughter. “I nursed her right before Luna took her to sit down. Hopefully I have a few hours till she needs to eat again.” 

Luna had reassured me that she would take care of our daughter tonight, so I could have my wife all to myself—a special surprise. Her first treat would be a long, luxurious bath in the giant tub she loved so much. 

“She’ll be fine,” I reassured her. 

“I know.” Willow squeezed my hand, and then looked at the doors. “Should we do this, then?”

I cleared my throat, getting choked up thinking about the last time. “Yes.” 

Our first wedding, Luna had walked Willow down the aisle. Luna and Zain had come back to Pleasant Grove for it, and even if the townspeople had been a little hesitant around us at first, I was glad we’d had our siblings there. Of course, Willow’s whole coven had showed up as well as we tied the knot. 

Seeing her round and growing, knowing she was carrying my baby inside of her. We weren’t ready for another one, not yet, but I couldn’t wait for the day that we were. Trying to make another one sounded like a lot of fun. 

“We’re just… walking in?” Willow bit her lip. “And everyone’s going to be there?”

“Mhm. Just hold my hand, Wil. I’ll be by your side the whole time.”

“I’m not nervous,” she whispered, even as she squeezed my hand again. “I just never thought I’d willingly be entering a room full of hundreds of demons.”

I laughed. “This isn’t the first time.” And it wouldn’t be the last. 

She looked at me, pointedly. “You know what I mean.”

Bending down, I kissed her softly, being careful not to ruin her makeup. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, Willow. Even if you want to turn around and go home right now, and not do this.”

“No. I want to be married to you.” I raised an eyebrow at the ring on her finger. “Here,” she clarified. “There. Everywhere. I want everyone to know that you’re mine, and I’m yours.”

“That’s my girl,” I replied, moving us closer to the doors. 

They flew open upon our approach, enchanted to open for us. Open to see the crowd of demons waiting for us. Beings that had become our friends over the last year as we’d come back to visit Luna and Zain. Not that they didn’t have the threat of being eliminated if they so much as looked at her wrong. 

“Ready, wife?” 

“Ready, husband,” she replied.

“I love you,” I whispered as we made the first few steps.

“I love you too,” she murmured, her eyes fixated at the end of the aisle. At our baby girl, sitting on her Aunt Luna’s lap. 

I’d have given up an eternity for this moment alone. 

 

Willow 

​

My cheeks hurt from smiling as I swayed back and forth with Opal in my arms—her in her pretty purple dress, me still in my gorgeous wedding dress. It was more than I’d ever imagined, especially since I’d been perfectly content with our little gazebo wedding back in Pleasant Grove. But I had to admit—I was having fun. 

Opal giggled as I spun us around in a circle, and a hand pressed against my lower back—a warm, soothing presence. I didn’t have to look up to know it was Damien. 

“Hi.” I tilted my chin up so he could press a small kiss against my lips, and then he placed a kiss against Opal’s forehead as well. Her dark hair had a little bow on the top of it, even if it was slightly askew—she’d been trying to eat the thing all evening. I’d watched Luna take it out of her mouth during the ceremony. 

“There’s my girls,” Damien said, sliding his other arm around our daughter so he could hold both of us. 

I hummed into his hold, leaning my head against his shoulder. 

“Are you having fun?” He whispered against my ear, my whole body shuddering from the brush of his skin against mine. 

I was, but also… “Is it bad if I say I want to go home?” I looked down at our daughter, nuzzled into my arms with her eyes drooping closed. 

“Home home?” He asked, his eyes flashing bright red. “Or here home?” 

I shrugged. “Either.” I loved his rooms in the palace, but the one he’d built in the demon realm was even better. 

“Luna said she’d watch Opal tonight,” he murmured, brushing my hair back to place a kiss against my neck. Against the mark he’d made all those months ago. “So I can have you all to myself.”

“Oh, did she?” I made a mental note to thank my sister later. I didn’t like spending the night away from my baby, but Damien and I hadn’t been alone since I’d given birth, and I really missed my husband. 

He nipped at my ear. “It’s our wedding night, Wil.” 

I looked down at our daughter, making my decision quickly. Cupping her head, I buried my nose in her hair, inhaling her sweet baby smell. She didn’t have that newborn smell anymore, but I was still in love with the way she smelled.

I hadn’t told Damien yet, but I wanted another one. Not now—I was only four months postpartum, and even though my doctor had assured me everything was healed down there, I still wanted to wait a bit. To enjoy the time with just Opal. 

“Let me go find Auntie Luna,” I said in a soft whisper to Opal’s head. “And then you get to have a little sleepover.” She’d be in good hands. 

Damien leaned down, whispering in Opal’s ear before kissing the crown of her head. “Love you, my little witching,” I was pretty sure. His nickname for her made me swoon. It was so sweet, seeing him be a daddy. He was a natural with her, and it was obvious every time he held her or played with her just how much he loved her.

It was doing unfair things to my ovaries. 

Damien chuckled as I weaved through the crowds—through the hoards of demons, who weren’t as scary looking as they’d been the first time I’d come here. Maybe it was the shock factor rubbing off, but most of them were honestly nice. Especially the ones who weren’t trying to sign contracts and steal souls. But no matter what, I knew my demon would protect me—just as much as I could protect myself. 

Thank you, magic. 

“Luna!” I exclaimed, finding my younger sister at the edge of the dance floor, sipping on a glass of demon wine. Normally, I would have had some myself, but I’d planned on feeding Opal tonight, so I’d abstained. 

“Hey, Wil.” Her lips split in a knowing smile. “Damien tell you are plan?”

I nodded. “You’re really okay with taking her?” I switched Opal from one hip to the other, trying to absorb all her baby-cuteness before I gave her up.

“Of course. What’s one more?” She reached out, doing the grabby hands motion. “Now gimme my niece so I can cuddle her.”

“If anything happens, just let us know. We’ll come back.”

“She’ll be fine,” my sister promised. It was weird to see her like this—all grown up. So fiercely independent, and happy in her own right. She was a queen now, after all. “It’s just one night.” 

“I know.” I sighed, handing over my daughter to Luna’s waiting arms. She instantly snuggled her against her chest, cooing sweet words at Opal. 

Luna waggled her eyebrows. “Now go let your demon husband ravish you, girl. That dress doesn’t stand a chance.”

I winced. “But it’s so nice! I don’t want it destroyed.” 

“Says the girl who picked the lace-up back.”

“Well, it seemed prettier than a zipper.” I shrugged.

“It’s okay—Zain practically popped all the buttons trying to get mine off.” She giggled, and then sighed happily. “Sometimes this still doesn’t feel real.”

“Kidnapped by a demon prince and carted off to be his wife? I bet.”

Luna rolled her eyes, and I knew she would have swatted me on the shoulder if she didn’t have a baby in her arms. “Go on then. Go get laid. Maybe make another one of these.” 

A laugh burst from my lips. “Luna! She’s only four months old.”

“What?” She shrugged. “I’m just saying, you two made a cute kid.”

“Thanks, Lu. I love you.” I pulled her in close, giving her a hug before plopping one last kiss on my baby girl’s head. “Love you too, Opal. Be a good girl for Auntie Luna.” 

“She’s an angel,” Luna reassured me—before shooing me away so she could have my baby all to herself.

Trudging back over to Damien, I sighed, letting him wrap his arms around me. “That was harder than I thought it would be,” I mumbled, resting my forehead against his strong chest.

“Want me to take your mind off of it?” He asked, curling a hand around my shoulder. His voice held the promise of delicious sex and countless orgasms—and who was I to turn that down? 

“Yes. Please.” 

He teleported us out of there, wrapping us in his shadow magic before I could even blink. 

* * * 

“Damien.” I gasped. “What’s all this?” I whirled, staring at my demon. When did he have the time to do all of this? I’d expected—well, I hadn’t expected anything, because we still had an infant at home. But he’d taken us straight to the giant bathroom I loved in the house he built. There were dozens of candles—still unlit, though between the two of us that would only take a moment—and a trail of purple petals that led to the bedroom. 

“I snuck out earlier,” he responded, resting his forehead against mine. “Wanted to make this night special for you.”

“Oh, my love.” I cupped his face, holding my world in my hands. My husband. My mate. My demon. “It already is.” 

He grinned, his fangs popping loose from his mouth. “You deserve the world, Willow. And I intend to give it to you.”

Didn’t he know he’d already given me that?  

Running my fingers down his chest, I admired my husband’s body. Even if he wore them so infrequently, he looked damn good in a tux. I untied his bowtie, getting ready to pull it off, and he took a deep breath. 

“Turn around,” Damien said, his voice almost a purr. 

Obeying his command, I turned away from him, and felt as his fingers swept my hair off the back of my neck. He placed a kiss to my shoulder before those deft fingers started tugging at the laces of my dress. 

Luna was right.

“What?” He growled. 

I giggled. “She said you were going to rip it off of me when you couldn’t get the laces undone.” 

“Fuck the laces,” Damien muttered, before giving up and slicing them open. I supposed those shapeshifting abilities did come in handy every once in awhile. Even if I’d randomly wake up and find him curled across my feet in cat form some nights, and I’d roll my eyes and go back to bed. 

My beautiful dress slid down my hips, and with just a few tugs, Damien had gotten it off of me, leaving me in just the little white bridal lingerie set I’d bought for the occasion. 

It might have been our second wedding, but when I’d been hugely pregnant I hadn’t gotten to wear anything cute under my wedding dress, so I was making up for lost time.

 I turned around to face him, and the way his eyes flared when they trailed down my body made me feel sexy. Wanted.

My cheeks were warm, and my eyes dropped to his lips as I ran my tongue over mine. 

“Your turn,” I whispered, stepping closer to him and reaching up to push the jacket off his shoulders. “I don’t think I ever told you how handsome you looked today.” 

He smirked as I tugged on the loose strap of his bowtie, pulling it off, before I started on the buttons of his shirt. I placed a kiss to his open chest as it became exposed, torturing him by going slowly down the front. 

Damien groaned as I loosened the final one, whipping the shirt off in a flash. 

“Bath?” He asked, flicking his eyes over the tub.

I shook my head. “Later. Bed now.” 

He chuckled, scooping me up into his arms. “I like what you’re thinking, Willow.” My voice was a rasp as he nuzzled his face into the crook of my neck. Inhaling my scent. 

It had been so long since I’d had my mate’s hands on me, for anything other than a quick kiss. Nothing like before. But I wouldn’t trade our lives now for anything.

“What’s running through that mind of yours?” He purred, as if he could scent my arousal. Maybe he could. I never really knew the extent of his demon abilities. 

Damien set me down on the bed, and I fiddled with the little bow between my white lacy bra. 

“That I want you inside of me. That I need to feel you.” 

He smirked, leaning down to kiss me. “That can be arranged, little witch.” Then his pants were discarded on the floor, and he joined me on the bed, not hiding his breath of surprise when I straddled him, guiding his length into my entrance with no warning—no foreplay. I needed him to take me, hard. Needed to feel him pulsing inside of me. 

Needed him to give me everything, just like he’d promised me so long ago. 

My hands clutched at his shoulders as I slid down his cock, relishing in each inch as he stretched me, as I moved to accommodate his size.

“I love you,” I gasped as I settled onto his lap, taking in every inch of him. 

Damien’s hands clutched at my waist as he helped me find my rhythm, riding him with careless abandon.

“I love you,” he groaned. “Wife.” He nipped at my ear. “Gods, the fates really did make you for me.”

I dug my fingers into the hair at the base of his skull as I worked my hips harder against him, the pace getting me maddeningly close—but not enough.

“Damien,” I whined. “I need—”

“I know.” He leaned in, pressing his lips to mine. Taking them in a dizzying kiss. “I’ve got you, Willow.”

He always knew what I needed. Knew my thoughts—my mind, my heart, my very soul. As if all of those things spoke to him. 

And when he unleashed his shadow powers, letting those tendrils brush over my nipples, giving my clit added stimulation—I saw stars. 

“Fuck.” He nipped at my neck, sinking those sharp canines of his into my mark—the one marking me as his. And after the sting passed, all that I felt was bliss, the feeling of our very essences tangling together as he thrust up inside of me. His hands grasping my body tightly to keep me in place as he fucked me. Another orgasm pulsed through me, pleasure flowing through every inch of my body as he hardened even further inside of me.

“Husband,” I said, letting out a deep moan. 

Damien’s roar of release was his only reply as he poured his seed inside of me. Filling me up with his cum. 

“My mate,” he said, brushing a hair off of my face as we slumped against each other. 

I hummed sleepily, sated and happy as I let his scent fill my lungs. 

Without slipping out of me, he guided us backwards onto the bed, his cock still half-hard inside of me. I was sure it would only be a few moments it’ll he’d be ready to go again. 

I didn’t mind. We had all night, after all. And I’d needed this, too—just as much as he had. I nestled further into his side, kissing his pecs. Appreciating his bare chest for all that it was—the hard plane of his body that he kept finely toned. 

Damien’s hand rested on top of my abdomen. There were unshed words in his eyes, but I didn’t need to be able to speak with him mind to mind to know what he was thinking. 

I slid my hand on top of his. 

“I can’t wait to see you swell with our child again,” he murmured, staring at the stretch marks and skin there with awe. I was sure magic could have removed them, but I didn’t want to be ashamed of the body that had let me bring Opal into this world. That would bring another child into it. Not yet, but soon. 

Resting my forehead with his, I kissed him lightly. Smiled. My heart clenched at how happy he looked. How normal this had become for us. 

A reminder that we’d gotten the life I could only ever have dreamed about. 

And who would have guessed that I’d be doing it all with a demon by my side?