Faolan took Mike home and wiped his memories. He stopped off at Baptiste’s Voodoo Shoppe, dropping off a bottle of whiskey as a way of thanks from Niall before heading home. Instead of going inside, where his mate waited, Faolan walked the perimeter, making sure everything was quiet. He also needed time to clear his head. Their world had exploded before their day began, ensuring there’d be no awkward morning. For Faolan, his dreams had come true the moment he sank his fangs in Dougal’s neck. He wasn’t as sure Dougal felt the same. The man’s expression the moment he realized he’d mated himself to Faolan, with a visitor on board, said a million things and none of them were good. He knew he was stalling against the inevitable. Dougal was his mate now. Faolan couldn’t avoid him forever, nor did he want to. Already there was an ache in his gut. Sometimes, Faolan wondered who was the biggest addict—Dougal, Lire, or him.

It’s definitely me. Lire’s dry tone inside his head made Faolan smile. I’m just the only one around here who doesn’t have any scruples, and therefore nothing holding me back from taking what I want.

Before he made it to the back door, Dougal appeared from the shadows. “Are you tired of hiding from me yet?”

Faolan’s stomach cramped with want. “Aye.” Even to his ears, Faolan sounded breathless and aroused. He urged Dougal back into the shadows and against the side of the house.

Dougal didn’t argue against Faolan’s manhandling. “Why are you avoiding me? Are you regretting me already?”

Faolan traced Dougal’s jaw with his fingertips before dragging Dougal’s bottom lip down with his thumb. His gaze stayed locked on Dougal’s mouth. The memory of waking up with those sexy lips wrapped around his cock wouldn’t leave his head. “I love you,” Faolan said rather than responding to Dougal’s ridiculous question. His only regret was not claiming Dougal sooner. This man had always belonged to him—blood exchange or not.

“I love you too. Don’t change the subject.”

After dragging his gaze from Dougal’s mouth, he met the man’s stare. “That is the subject. I’ve come to realize there’s no low I won’t stoop to when it comes to you. There was never a chance of me regretting you. I was worried you felt tricked. Not to mention, I needed a little time to calm down after you disappeared from me today. I didn’t trust myself. Lire is demanding blood over that. He’s telling me to turn you over my knee.”

Dougal’s mouth lifted in one corner. His arms encircled Faolan’s neck. The space between them disappeared as he drew Faolan closer. “Is that why your thoughts are closed to me?”

“I’m pretty fucking furious with you over scaring me,” Faolan admitted. He worked Dougal’s plaid loose. “It’s a clear night. Lots of stars.”

“It is a gorgeous night. I’m Jonathan’s personal guard. Not to mention, I’m now a demon’s mate. He wasn’t getting through the fleet’s wards without me.” It seemed Dougal wouldn’t let this go, even though Faolan had already stolen his clothes. With Dougal’s kilt draped over his forearm, he massaged Dougal’s cock, hoping to distract him.

“I’ll always support your position with Jonathan. He needs you, but don’t you ever close your mind to me the way you did today, leaving me with no way to find you. Don’t think I don’t know it was a purposeful act to keep me from harm. It’s been a long time since I made love to you under the stars.”

Dougal’s hands slid down Faolan’s chest. “I feel both heartbeats inside you.” Dougal whispered the words as if scared to voice what they knew was the truth.

Faolan covered Dougal’s hands, holding them against his chest. “I regret nothing. I’ve loved you from the first moment I saw you.” Dougal couldn’t keep the resolve from his voice. With every word he spoke, his intensity rose. For too long, he’d been forced to silently love Dougal, torturing himself with the man’s absence from his life. He’d purposely kept Dougal at arm’s length while dying inside without him. His deal with Lire had freed him of all that. Turning away, he spread Dougal’s plaid out beneath a nearby tree and sat. He waited. It wasn’t easy. Dougal looked damn hot, leaning against the house—naked. Because Dougal still hadn’t moved, Faolan took off his shirt.

Tell him to come here or I will come after him.

Faolan refused to let Lire have his way. He should get to choose. No one lets him choose. After wadding up his shirt, Faolan sprawled out and shoved the shirt beneath his head. The sky looked endless.

“Hey,” Faolan said when Dougal still didn’t move. “What’s bright and shiny and if it falls out of the sky, it’ll kill you?”

“What?” Dougal asked, sounding closer.

Faolan tilted his chin down, meeting Dougal’s gaze. “A new car.”

Dougal snorted. “You have the worst jokes.”

“Maybe,” Faolan said with a shrug. “Do I have you?”

Faolan’s heart swelled as Dougal dropped to his knees before snuggling in beside him. When Dougal’s head came to rest on his chest, Faolan closed his arms around him and held him tight.

“Aye. You’ve got me.” Faolan swore even his heart smiled as Dougal kissed his chest. “You realize just about anything falling out of the sky would kill a human?”

“Jokes aren’t supposed to be logical.”

Dougal snorted. “They’re also supposed to be funny, but here we are.”

“Ouch. You’re a cruel man. I’ll have you know, most people think I’m hilarious. Of course, I had to go and fall in love with the one person who just thinks I’m an idiot.”

“You’re my idiot.”

Faolan rolled, pinning Dougal beneath him. “That I am. Damn, I’m a lucky man,” Faolan said more for himself as he touched his lips to Dougal’s.

“So you finally got your shit together and claimed Dougal as your mate. Looks like you’re not as big of an idiot as you pretend to be.”

Dougal laughed against Faolan’s lips at Niall’s words. Faolan didn’t move, even when Jonathan spread a large blanket out beside them. Mostly because he’d stolen Dougal’s clothes, and he didn’t want to share his mate’s sexy body at the moment. Cin, Niall, and Jonathan joined them under the stars.

Faolan turned his head and eyed his friends. “What brings you guys out here?”

Jonathan looked over and met Faolan’s gaze. Even in the dark, the man’s iridescent eyes—one gold and one green—shined brighter than the stars. They also shone with laughter. Faolan’s heart swelled with pride. He had his mate and a new king—one worthy of the position. He’d never known a life like the future he saw before him in that moment. Then, Jonathan opened his mouth and stole his position as the clan’s fool.

“I thought it was time for the annual orgy.”

Charity Parkerson is an award winning and multi-published author with several companies. Born with no filter from her brain to her mouth, she decided to take this odd quirk and insert it in her characters.