Wash glanced down, huffing as a few more soul blooms spread up his forearm. They varied in size and color, but in Peri’s opinion, they seemed to pop on his demon’s red skin. It was so pretty, he wanted them all over his mate so everyone knew he was taken and?—
“Our turn.”
Peri looked up just as they stepped through the portal. An endless sky of stars greeted them, making Peri gasp.
“Oh! This is– You– Wash! This is amazing!”
Thirty-Six
Wash wanted to say it was Peri who was amazing, but that felt cheesy and he didn’t want to distract his mate. Knowing Peri, he’d start crying and hide his face again, and he’d miss the view.
“Oh! Look! A shooting star!” Peri gasped, pointing at the bright white streak across the sky. He then squeezed his eyes shut, his face screwed up in concentration.
“What are you doing?” Wash asked, amused. Why was his mate so cute?
“Making a wish! You should make one, too!”
“That’s not a real thing,” Wash argued, only to get poked in the side by Peri, who was still concentrating. Relenting, he closed his eyes and thought about what he wanted to wish for. He couldn’t think of anything at first. He had everything he wanted. But when Peri started gushing about the star-filled sky again, Wash decided his one wish would be that Peri would always be smiling. He never wanted to hurt his mate again.
The starlight realm was eternally dark, and all the lights were dim so as to not interrupt the view with light pollution. As a demon, Wash could see fine in the dark, but he kept Peri tucked close as they walked along the streets toward a restauranthe’d looked up the first time Peri mentioned the starlight realm. They hadn’t even been officially together yet, and he was already pathetically planning dates, because he hadn’t noticed at the time how in love with the fairy he already was.
The buildings in the starlight realm were all dark stones with little crystals scattered throughout that lit up the streets from the light reflecting from inside. It made their path dance with rainbow colors, and it was a good thing Wash was holding Peri’s hand, because he was so busy taking it all in, he wasn’t watching where he was going.
Meanwhile, Wash was having a hard time taking his eyes off the little fairy. He was gorgeous when he was like this, all excitement and joy, and seemed to radiate with his own light that drew people’s attention his way. It was only Wash’s protective instincts that kept them on course. He needed to feed his mate.
The restaurant they arrived at had massive stained glass windows that depicted the castle that resided in another part of the realm, the light from the restaurant making the image glow brightly.
“Ohh… That’s gorgeous. How hard do you think it would be to replace my windows with stained glass? It’s so pretty!”
Wash waited until he’d given the hostess their name before considering the question. “Depends. Does your apartment complex allow you to do big changes like that? If not, we can probably find a temporary spell. I’ve seen some made specifically for decorating apartments that can be removed when you leave so you won’t lose your deposit.”
Peri was still gushing about the idea of all stained glass windows in his home when they were led to their table. Wash considered talking him down, sometimes natural light was perfect all on its own, but then he looked at Peri and theexcitement on his face and he bit back the comment. Whatever Peri wanted, he’d give him. Anything to make him happy.
“Peri?”
The familiar voice of Ozen’s mate made them both turn. To everyone’s surprise, they were seated directly next to Ozen and his mate who looked to be on their own date, glasses of wine in front of them and their fingers intertwined.
Wash bit back a growl of annoyance, he’d wanted this date to be just the two of them, but Peri squealed in delight and hugged Avery’s shoulders before plopping down in his seat without giving Wash a chance to ask the waiter to move them. He would’ve been polite about it and said he wanted to give the CEO and his mate their privacy. Probably. But that wasn’t in the cards now.
“Avery, hi! What are you doing here? Date night?”
Avery’s cheeks warmed, and he looked pleased when he admitted, “Ozen takes me out at least once a week.”
When Wash sat down, Ozen nodded politely, speaking quietly so as not to interrupt their mates’ conversation. “I heard about what happened with Taron. I want to apologize for my part in it. When I told him I was worried about your wellbeing, I thought perhaps he’d ask you to a weekly lunch like he had with me. I never would have agreed to him sending someone to flirt–”
Wash put up his hand, flicking a cautious glance at Peri to make sure he hadn’t heard before replying. He didn't want Peri to know people thought he would do something like that. It would crush him.
“He didn’t. Peri was already interested before Taron approached him. He agreed because he wanted an excuse to spend more time with me. While I don’t appreciate Taron’s involvement, I don’t blame Peri. I honestly was considering excuses to see him too when he started visiting me more often.”
Some of the tension around Ozen’s eyes softened, and he nodded once. “Good. I’m glad things worked out. Have you…” He trailed off for a moment, a look of concern crossing his face. “I hope you won’t hold it against Taron either. He may be misguided at times, but he only acted because he cares. It’s his way.”
Drawing in a breath, Wash let it out slowly. “I’ll speak with him about it. Intention or not, he crossed a line. The only reason I’m willing to discuss it is because things worked out for the best.”
The tightness in his chest eased when Peri shot him a beaming grin, snatching his hand and pulling it close so he could roll up his sleeve to show Avery the soul blooms. His entire forearm was covered now, and Wash got the feeling it would only take another day for him to have a full sleeve. He didn’t hate it. The flowers might be considered a little feminine by some, but he didn’t care. It was a physical representation of how much Peri loved him. He wouldn’t care if every inch of his skin was covered, and he wouldn’t hide them either. Anyone who had something to say about it could say it to his face.
Ozen tipped his head curiously. “I didn't know you had tattoos.”
“They’re not tattoos. They’re soul blooms,” Wash explained. “They’re mating marks for fairies.”