Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Wind whipped Milo’s hair, his stomach lurching so hard it might as well have been left behind at the station. He pressed his face into Zeke’s skin. He was warm, his hold tight and secure.
Milo wasn’t too terrified. He was appropriately terrified, thank you very much.
Had people seen them take off, or had magic kept it all hidden? Milo had about a million questions, but his voice wasn’t working. The last thing he needed was to open his mouth and let out a mortifying scream.
They flew, and Milo’s muscles ached from holding on so tightly.
Zeke dove. Milo’s stomach—having returned to its rightful place in his body—dropped, and everything in him seized impossibly tighter in an effort to hold on.
With a thud, they landed, and everything went abruptly still. Milo remained frozen, his face plastered to Zeke’s neck.
“We’re here,” Zeke rumbled, the sound vibrating through Milo.
He didn’t move. Maybe his brain was broken. That seemed about right.
Zeke squeezed him with both hands. “Hey, you okay?”
No, Milo was not okay. Zeke had squeezed his ass, and his brain was now malfunctioning for a whole different reason.
“Milo,” Zeke said sternly. He jostled Milo as he adjusted his hold, tangling a hand in Milo’s curls and pulling his head back.
Milo couldn’t fight the commanding touch. He faced Zeke, his cheeks burning so hot it was a wonder they weren’t steaming in the cold night.
Zeke glared, inspecting him closely. Maybe Milo’s flush could pass as windburn? That would be less embarrassing.
“Are you okay?” Zeke repeated.
Milo cleared his throat. “We were flying. Of course I’m not okay. I’m processing.”
“Ah. That makes sense.”
Milo narrowed his eyes. “I’m glad at least something does.”
Zeke chuckled, his lips twitching. “Magic surprises modern humans more than it did the last time I was here.”
Modern humans? “When was the last time you were here?”
Zeke released Milo’s hair, and he immediately missed the tugging on his scalp. Thankfully, Zeke’s hand returned to his ass, so it wasn’t all bad.
“Around nine hundred years ago. Give or take.”
Wow. All right. That was a long fucking time. “Guess they didn’t have shopping malls back then.”
Zeke chuckled more heartily, and something sparked in Milo, igniting a warm, fuzzy feeling in his chest. “No, they didn’t.”
Milo shifted in Zeke’s hold, getting more comfortable and becoming acutely aware of his grip on Zeke’s shoulders. “Why are you here? Did you get bored with Hell?”
The light in Zeke’s eyes dimmed. “No. Demons were imprisoned in Hell—the Realm of the Damned, as we call it—and were recently set free. None of us wanted to stay away from Earth, especially for that long.”
Milo’s heart clenched. Imprisoned for nine hundred years? Zeke had a better excuse for being grumpy than he did. “I’m glad you’re free.”
“Thank you.” Zeke smiled, lines crinkling around his mouth and eyes.
Milo relaxed, his grip loosening on Zeke’s shoulders. He longed to be closer to Zeke, which wasn’t all that possible given they were snuggled together.
“You’re not originally from the Realm of the Damned?” he asked to satisfy his need for more.
Zeke shook his head, his thumb stroking idly along Milo’s ass as he held him. “It’s a long story. We fell to Earth searching for a different life. Hopefully, most of us will find what we were looking for this time around.”
“Yeah,” Milo agreed distractedly. If Zeke kept rubbing him like that, he’d get ideas.
There was a long silence, and Milo couldn’t think of anything to do but gaze into Zeke’s eyes. It should have been really awkward, but it wasn’t. Being close and touching felt natural, like they should have been doing this all along. Milo could kiss Zeke right now.
Zeke’s thumb stilled, and he set Milo on his feet, taking a step back. “Have a good weekend. I’ll see you on Monday.”
Before Milo could reply, Zeke shot into the sky.
As he flew away, Milo realized he’d never told Zeke where he lived, yet here he was, outside his apartment building.
“How the hell…?” The heat building inside Milo snuffed out. Just when things were starting to make a little more sense, Zeke had to go and freak him out all over again.
On Monday morning, Milo found Zeke already at their wrapping station. “You’re here early.”
Zeke shrugged. “I heard things get busier the closer we get to Christmas. I wanted to be prepared.”
Of course he did. Zeke, a being from another realm, who was more than nine hundred years old, was worried about being prepared for the Christmas rush. “Yeah, it’s not like you’ve got magic or anything. Wouldn’t want the shoppers to catch you off guard.”
Zeke narrowed his eyes. “Was that sarcasm?”
“Good spotting.” Milo sat and put on his hat. “How do you know where I live?”
Zeke went unnaturally still.
Milo’s heart skipped. “That is not the right reaction. You’re freaking me out. Are you stalking me? Did you cast a home-detection spell on me? Are you stalking me with magic?”
“I’m not stalking you. I’d never harass you like that.” Zeke sounded adamant, but it wasn’t an explanation.
“Awesome. Glad to hear it. So, how do you know where I live?”
Zeke squirmed in his too-small chair. “I followed you home.”
There was a beat of silence. Nope, it didn’t seem like Zeke was joking.
“That is literally what stalking means,” Milo gritted out.
Zeke shook his head, a flush creeping up his cheeks. “No, stalking would imply I had bad intentions.”
Oh, good god. “I feel like we’re splitting hairs here.”
Zeke scowled. “I’m sorry… hairs?”
Right. “Never mind. It’s an expression. Why did you follow me home?”
Zeke ran a hand through his hair, pulled it out of its bun, and then retied it. Was he nervous?
He gave a little cough. “I was trying to figure out what was happening. Everything with you is confusing, and I had to be sure, but I can’t deny that I’m drawn to you. I like you. I need to be close to you.”
If someone had asked ten minutes ago, Milo would have said it was impossible to shock him after all that had happened, and he would have been wrong.
He glanced around. Was anyone else hearing this? Did they have answers?
“What the fuck, Zeke?” he hissed.
Zeke pointed an accusatory finger. “See, this is why I had to figure out what to do with you first.”
Milo sputtered. “What? That makes it sound like you’re shopping around for a basement to lock me in.”
Zeke sucked in a breath, practically clutching his pearls.
“I’d never do something like that. Demons aren’t evil.
I told you that already, and I mean it. I like you.
I’m not plotting against you. All the negative connotations associated with being damned to Hell are a myth.
Demons fell to Earth for love. For our mates. ”
“Whatever. I’m not talking about Hell. I’m talking about you. And if you supposedly like me”—Milo refused to acknowledge the word love at a time like this—“why did you tell Alice you can’t work with me?”
Zeke gripped the edge of the table, and the plastic cracked. “Because I supervise Santa’s Village, and it’s forbidden for a boss to be with an employee.”
“Forbidden? What?”
“I watched a training video,” Zeke explained, his tone turning urgent. “Sexual harassment. I couldn’t be with you and supervise you at work, so I was hoping Alice could get you a different job. That way, it wouldn’t be a problem.”
“Wait.” There was no way Milo had heard that right. “You wanted to get rid of me to avoid potential sexual harassment?”
Zeke nodded vigorously. “I was thinking over the weekend that I could ask Alice to put someone else in charge, instead of me. To avoid the issue that way.”
“But you don’t even know if I’m interested in you.” This was bananas, but Milo wasn’t as appalled as he should be. In fact, he was interested.
He’d been physically attracted to Zeke since he’d first laid eyes on him, and the more bizarre things got, the more he was intrigued. The more he was tempted.
Something must be seriously wrong with him.
“How can you think that following me home is appropriate, if you were that worried about harassment?”
Zeke waved a careless hand. “You weren’t supposed to find out about it.”
“You don’t say.”
Milo stood abruptly. His own feelings and willingness to listen and accept what was happening made this harder to handle. It was too much. He’d finally reached his limit. One person couldn’t withstand this much nonsense.
He tore off his festive hat, threw it onto the table, and stormed away. He had to get out of here. He needed air. Space to come to his senses. Options. A better job. A shield against magic bullshit and stalker demons. An antidote for his growing attraction to Zeke, even in the face of all this.
Milo grabbed his things from the locker room and hurried back through the mall, heading for the exit.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out. Of fucking course. Dad was calling. Milo’s throat burned, and his chest tightened. He pressed Ignore, but a second later, his dad called back.
“Milo, wait.” Zeke had caught up to him, concern lining his face.
“No. Leave me alone.” Milo’s phone stopped ringing and started again immediately. “Leave me alone,” he muttered to the phone, voice cracking as he imagined what his dad might be calling to say after the way he’d hung up on Friday.
He closed his eyes and ignored the call again.
“Who’s calling?” Zeke had gotten closer, and against all reason, his presence brought a sense of calm, that fresh scent of summer filling the air.
“It’s my dad. But never mind. Why are you still following me?” Milo’s phone began to ring again, and his heart rate spiked.
Zeke grabbed the phone, and Milo gladly let it go. Zeke powered it off and handed it back. “You don’t have to listen to the things he says to you.”
Milo blinked, vision blurry with confused tears that he didn’t want to shed. “Have you been listening to my private conversations?”