A Dangerous Demon King (The Sentinel Demons Book 4) by J. S. Scott Page B

colorfully decorated home she shared with Hunter. “I’m not sure he’ll ever be right unless she does. He had to wait too long, and his hunger is going to be powerful. I’m not sure he’ll stay sane if he doesn’t.”
    Hunter looked up from the table where he was tearing into his breakfast. “You have doubts that she will?”
    “She has to do it soon. But she hesitates. I can feel her reluctance. And even though finally finding his radiant is almost a miracle, Kristoff is reluctant, too. I think she’s as attracted to him as he is to her. But she doesn’t feel like she’s his true radiant . And my stubborn king is never going to convince himself that he deserves her because of his own past. They are both going to be pigheaded when they actually have so much in common. They’d understand each other if they just try.”
    “She’ll figure it out as soon as he gets her naked. There’s no way he’s going to be able to hold out for long,” Hunter replied with a smirk.
    Athena gave her husband an irritated glare. She loved Hunter with everything she had, but he was still a smartass at times. “He needs time to understand he won’t survive without her. It’s mating dance time, and they both need to get in step.”
    Hunter shrugged. “Then they can dance naked.”
    “This isn’t a joke,” Athena snapped. “I don’t want to lose Kristoff. You know what he is to me, and he was loyal to me before the demons were even created.”
    As though he sensed the distress in his radiant’s tone, Hunter got up and stood in front of her, causing her to slam into his body as she turned to pace a different direction.
    The goddess sighed as their bodies collided, loving Hunter’s powerful form against hers. She could never stay mad at him, which irritated the hell out of her. He took her wrists and put her arms around his neck. “Kiss me,” he demanded.
    “Hunter, this is no time to—”
    He pulled her head back with her long braid and covered her mouth with his. As always, Athena caved in, opening to him so he could have what they both wanted. For a brief moment, her troubles faded and all she could feel was Hunter.
    As he finally released her mouth, she murmured, “Why do you always do that?”
    “Because it’s the only way I can get you to calm down. Besides, you’re sexy when you’re all worked up.” He paused, taking her face between his palms as he added, “Stop worrying. Kristoff knows what he’s doing. I’ve always had faith in him as a king, even though I was a jackass at times.”
    “Maybe he’s wise in all other things except this. But he’s never experienced the mating urge, and nobody is ever going to experience it the way he does.”
    “He’ll be fine,” Hunter grumbled, kissing Athena’s forehead.
    “He’ll be stubborn. He dedicated himself to spending the rest of his existence keeping the Evils in check and watching over my Sentinels. Honestly, I think he has always been hoping he’d never find his radiant , even though he secretly yearns for one, as all Sentinels do. I don’t want to lose him. I’ve been terrified for him since I found out he’d been taken by the Evils. If Sophie hadn’t been there, I’m not sure he would have ever been the same. He has a chance at a normal life now, a happy life. But I know Kristoff. He’ll sacrifice himself before he does something he thinks will hurt somebody else.”
    “We aren’t going to lose him,” Hunter rumbled.
    “Are we ready to go wake up Sleeping Beauty?” Drew asked as he popped into the room with Talia at his side.
    Athena turned, feeling more reassured as Hunter grasped her hand and threaded his fingers through hers. “I suppose we should.” Athena knew she was going to have to send Kristoff and Sophie away, someplace that would calm her Sentinel king. And she knew exactly where they needed to go.
    “We’ll go, too,” Zach chimed in as he appeared next to Drew with Kat by his side. “We’ve been trying to wait until a