Free Demon Warriors 4: Takeo by Lynn Hagen Page B

body on the spot.
    Kamiko was his, and Takeo didn’t plan on failing him again.
    When the tub filled, Takeo stood, removing his shirt, and then went after his mate. He pulled Kamiko’s resting form from the bed and then stepped into the tub, lowering them both as he lay back.
    “This feels good,” Kamiko murmured as he rested against Takeo’s chest. “You take such good care of me,” he said and then yawned, burrowing deeper into Takeo.
    He ran his hands over his mate’s back as he lay there. Why couldn’t it be like this all of the time? It was peaceful just lying here with Kamiko safely in his arms. It felt good.
    It felt right.
    Takeo began to hum to his mate as he raised his hand, allowing droplets of water to hit his mate’s back, and then watched the droplets trail back down into the water.
    This was perfect.
    This was serene.
    This was exactly what Takeo’s soul needed.
    He had been fighting his whole life, and now he had his light.
    Kamiko was the man who would balance out Takeo’s darkness.
    Every warrior fought for thousands of years, and finding their mates balanced them. Kamiko was his, and Takeo would kill anyone who tried to take his light away.

Chapter Nine

    Wayland knocked on Takeo’s apartment door. Normally he would have used a shadow, but he had a feeling that Takeo would remove his eyes from their sockets if he saw Kamiko naked.
    What a pity. The small human was handsome as hell. Not that he was a poacher, but it only drove home the fact that Wayland still hadn’t found his mate. Takeo was the fourth to find his. The lucky bastard . The rest of the warriors watched the mated men with envy.
    Especially Panahasi. The leader was the oldest of the warriors, had been around thousands of years before any of the warriors were a twinkle in their parents’ eyes. He couldn’t imagine being alive and unmated that long.
    “He’s not there,” Phoenyx said as he walked up the stairs. “He took Kamiko to Jake’s Java.”
    Wayland had never known Takeo to act this way toward anyone and was glad that the demon was finally mated. Maybe he would actually smile more often—once a millennium wasn’t enough. They had become friends from the first day Wayland had been brought here for his training. He knew of Takeo’s past. He was one of the few people who did.
    Takeo didn’t let anyone into his personal space.
    The man breathed lethality, ate it for breakfast, but Wayland had always seen the loneliness in the warrior’s eyes, that craving that all creatures had to find their other half. It was good to see him letting someone in.
    The man needed it.
    “Panahasi sent me to find you. We need to head out.”
    With things on the fritz around Serenity City, Wayland wasn’t too keen on just strolling outside. He liked to have a plan in place.
    “Where to?” Wayland asked as he jogged down the steps behind the warrior.
    “Crypt. He’s been spotted.”
    Wayland’s foot hovered close to the bottom step at the fucked-up situation of Crypt. He shivered as he walked out of the building. “And he’s sending the two of us instead of every single warrior? Why? Did I piss him off or something?” He had to have.
    It had taken all ten warriors and the leader the last time to take Crypt down. And he was sending only two?
    “He just wants us to confirm.”
    Like that made it any better. What if they confirmed that it was Crypt, then what? As much as Wayland prided himself as a warrior, he was going to haul ass. Crypt wasn’t someone to fuck around with on his own. “Uh, we should still call for backup. You can’t have forgotten what happened last time.” Wayland sure as shit didn’t.
    He had almost lost his life back then. He didn’t want a repeat performance.
    “It’s cool. It’s just a confirming mission.” Yeah, right. There was no way they were just going to say, yep, that’s him, and walk away.
    Things were never that easy.
    Wayland wasn’t sure what he was walking into. With Crypt, one never