Chapter 5
LISTS ARE INCREDIBLY SEXY
Davarox
Mine.
The moment the word passed through Davarox’s mind, he hated himself. Took the thought and shoved it into the darkest parts of himself.
She wasn’t his. No one was.
Yet he couldn’t look away.
Because the glimpse wasn’t enough.
There was only the slope of her shoulder under the sheer long sleeve that alternated between a pink and blue shimmer.
The soft curls of her dark brown hair hiding anything but the tip of her nose as she chatted with the two demons sitting across from her.
The expanse of leg hooked around the stool she sat on, heel bouncing restlessly even as she smiled politely.
Dav wanted to know what she said when she curled her lips around her blunt teeth. Needed to hear her voice and pick apart the flutter of each eyelash and what those demons had said that made her heart beat so quickly in her chest.
But he also couldn’t get his feet to move.
Could only stare and chastise himself for being such a creep.
A shoulder bumped into his, but he barely noticed.
“I thought you were getting a drink.” Lazerath’s voice snapped him out of his trance, but not fast enough for his friend to see what had delayed him. He did a double take toward the bar, tail inadvertently thumping atop Dav’s. “Human.”
Dav could only nod, and then they were both staring like creeps until Laz muttered, “Dav? Is it weird that I think she’s the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen in my life?”
Davarox pulled his tail out from under Laz’s, clearing his throat.
His friend whipped his gaze back. “Oh, fuck. You think so too.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Your tail did.”
“Tails don’t speak.”
Laz clicked his tongue. “It went all thumpy-thump. That’s tail-speak for I saw her first.”
Dav glared.
“Come on,” the red demon whined. “You never look that long at someone unless you’re interested, and it’s been forever since you got laid.”
“She’s human.”
“So?”
It was just a single word, but it stumped him.
So? So what if she was human? That was part of why he was staring, but not the whole truth.
That was far too terrifying for him to admit aloud—or at least in Laz’s presence.
But she was a human who had been brought here against her will.
Trapped in the demon realm trying to start a new life. A better one than the one she escaped.
And he was just a gray demon with no magic and nothing to offer.
“Look, she’s alone now. Go talk to her.”
Dav shook his head. “I’m just getting a drink.”
This time his feet actually moved, but Laz was right on his heels, crowding him so he had no choice but to walk toward the human.
“You promised no sads.”
“I’m not sad. That’s just my face.” He bumped his shoulder against Laz, the demon surprisingly unwavering for never getting any more exercise than running his mouth and moving sugar and flour. “Stop this. What are you doing?”
“Fix it before she sees.”
“Fix my face?”
“Ow, stop whipping me with your—hello!”
Dav pulled up short, spine going rigid as the human looked up at them with wide eyes.
Beautiful. It wasn’t a strong enough word for the creature who didn’t cower or look at all terrified to suddenly have two giant demons standing in front of her.
He was right about earlier. A glimpse hadn’t been enough, because seeing the entire softness of her cheeks and the tiny top underneath the gauzy outer layer was almost more than he could handle.
“Hello,” she answered, a small smile ticking at the corners of her lips as her cheeks turned red. Her russet eyes flicked to him next. “Hi.”
“This is Davarox,” Laz said quickly, arm draping over Dav’s shoulder. “And I’m Lazerath.”
“Rosalind,” she offered. “Sorry, I’m sitting in your seat, aren’t I?” She turned to grab her drink. “I’ll move, no worries.”
“Wait, what?” Laz blurted, hurrying to stop her. “No, no. We aren’t…”
She retreated from his flailing arms, and Dav quickly pulled his friend back a step. “We aren’t kicking you out. You’re free to sit wherever you want,” he reassured her. “We were just…”
“Saying hello,” Laz finished. “Badly, apparently. Sorry, it’s his face.”
Dav shot him an affronted look. “What the fuck?”
“He has the sads,” Laz continued, ignoring him.
“My twin has the sads—he’s the one who rescued you from the slavers, but he got hurt and now he’s watching over one of the other humans in his house—so I got the sads seeing him sad, and then Dav caught the sads from me, though he kind of always has them, and—”
“Laz,” Dav warned, shaking his head.
But Rosalind didn’t look all that bothered by his rambling, leaning forward in her seat. “You’re Severath’s brother? That makes me feel much better.” Her gaze flicked to Davarox. “And you’re also brothers?”
“Oh, no,” Laz said with a laugh. “We’re partners.”
“Work partners,” Dav amended quickly.
“And best friends.”
Dav nodded stiffly in agreement.
Rosalind raised a brow, glancing between them with a slow nod, but her smile came back, a little less strained around the edges. Though her foot continued to tap against her stool like she needed something to do to keep herself occupied.
Much like Laz did with his fidgeting—well, everything.
She picked at the lip of her cup, the ale inside barely consumed. “Must be nice working with your best friend. I’ve been lucky that Mozke has sort of adopted me.”
“Aw, we love Mozke!” Laz cheered and then immediately gasped as the music shifted.
“Oh, this beat is perfect for what I’ve been practicing.
” He backed up, gesturing wildly with his hands.
“I’ll be back, or maybe I won’t, you know, if things are going well.
” He grinned, all fangs on display as he pointed to Dav.
“Also, he thinks you’re beautiful and you should keep talking because he’s really amazing. ”
With that, he spun away and began a completely different dance than the one he’d been practicing all day.
Davarox shook his head, a small chuckle rumbling in his throat. “Sorry about him. He’s… always like that.”
“It’s nice, actually.” He turned back to find Rosalind smiling after Laz. “I didn’t officially meet Severath, but it’s reassuring to know Ember’s safe with a demon like him.”
“Oh, they’re exact opposites.” At her panicked look and quickening heartbeat, he quickly blurted, “Not in a bad way. Actually, Sev and I are more alike from a personality standpoint. She’s perfectly safe with him, and he takes his duties very seriously.
I assure you, criminal or not, he will put her safety first.”
Rosalind sagged. “Does everyone think that about her?”
“Umm, no?”
She flashed him a look that said she knew he was lying.
“Sorry.”
Rosalind rubbed at her chest, and Dav wondered if it was meant to try to slow her heart down.
It wasn’t working.
She finally blew out a long breath, pushing her drink aside. “No, I’m sorry. I’m not… the most fun. That’s probably disappointing.”
Davarox slipped into the seat beside her, frowning. “Disappointing?”
“Everyone just sort of wants me to be, I don’t know, more interesting? They don’t want a human who is constantly worrying about the other women and has been crafting a list of reasons why I need to leave the tavern early since before I even got here.”
“Is it alphabetized?”
Her frown deepened. “Are you mocking me?”
“No, I’m wondering if our lists are the same.”
Rosalind’s gaze flicked across his face, like she was searching for a lie. He prepared for the rejection, for the dismissal once she saw into the deepest parts of him with her oddly colored eyes, but instead…
She smiled, her posture relaxing. “I’m at eight. You?”
“I forgot them all the moment I saw you.”
The soft pink of her tan cheeks darkened to a red as she turned away. “That is…” She cleared her throat, biting back a smile. “Very smooth.”
He watched her tip her cup back and forth, the liquid sloshing just to the edge of the glass before she tilted it the other way. And below, her foot still bounced, though it had slowed its franticness.
“Let me guess,” Dav said, leaning back in his chair.
“If Mozke brought you here, they’re trying to distract you from work.
Which is great, in theory, but something like a tavern isn’t stimulating enough for your mind—unless you’re Laz, who is the most terrifyingly extroverted demon in Heck, or you’re completely drunk, which will not happen with two sips of confetti-contaminated ale. ”
Rosalind stopped playing with her drink. “I’m more of a wine person.”
“You can ask for one.”
“It’s…” She grunted. “Complicated.”
She said the last word quietly, like she expected further questions or prodding despite how uncomfortable she was. But even Lazerath wasn’t so distractible that he wouldn’t have noticed Rosalind’s desire to switch topics.
“So you need to be distracted from thinking about work?”
“Told you. Not very interesting.”
“Lists are very interesting,” Dav countered. “And so is work, but in the spirit of avoiding Mozke’s wrath, we can refrain from speaking on the topic.”
Rosalind nodded, turning in her seat to face him more fully. “That’s great, in theory,” she said, mirroring his words. “But I have no idea how to have a conversation about anything else.”
Davarox blinked, then scrubbed a hand down his face. “Fuck, neither do I.” He glanced over his shoulder. “We could rate Lazerath’s dancing?”
“Obviously it’s a perfect score.” Her eyes fell to Laz as he performed multiple steps in disjointed order before tripping over his own tail. “Flawless. Ten out of ten.”
“He’s so bad,” Dav muttered.
“But he’s having so much fun.”
She leaned in closer, and Dav marveled at how comfortable she was being so near. This smart, overworked little human who made lists in her head and had just as much trouble turning off her brain was…
Fuck, he couldn’t get attached. Laz had all but laid Dav at her feet and she’d not brought it up since.
And that was fine, because even if she wasn’t interested, it was nice sitting here with her.
Talking, even if they were bad at it. Feeling a sort of ease around her that he only ever experienced with one other.
But out of the corner of his eye, he could see clearly how she tracked Lazerath in the crowd. How her lips twitched and she sometimes lost rhythm with her foot tapping when he turned in place with a bright smile.
Ah, that’s why she hadn’t brought it up again. No surprise that someone had chosen Lazerath’s energy over his own. Then again, there was something niggling in his belly, the same shape of the word his mind had screamed at him earlier.
So he tested his theory.
“Rosalind,” Dav said, voice a touch lower than before as he bent in.
To his surprise, she immediately pulled her attention away from the crowd, giving it wholly to him. If she was startled by their proximity now, she didn’t show it, the rings of color in her eyes bright in the demonlight.
“Exactly what kind of distraction from work were you wanting tonight?” he asked.
Her breath hitched, eyes shifting to where his finger had risen to his temple. His hair was still perfectly in place, but it was only after he’d pulled the strand of dark blue hair free and tucked it over his pointed ear that he realized Laz had been right.
He did have a going out braid.
And his slightly-messy-but-still-sexy vibe definitely worked, because Rosalind’s pink tongue wet her lower lip as she tracked the movement. “One where I don’t have to be drunk to shut off my mind.”
Dav curled his hand under the seat of her stool, dragging it closer. “If I said I was interested?”
“Then I could use item number nine to leave early.”
“I thought you had eight?”
“I had a backup.”
He nodded in understanding. “The plausible excuses list and the less plausible excuses list.”
The colored ring in her eyes shrank as the blackness grew. “I just came up with another.”
“And if I said Laz was also interested and is now staring intently at us trying to figure out if we’re talking about what he thinks we’re talking about?”
“Would you judge me if that was already item ten?”
“I didn’t judge you that we were on the less plausible list.”
“Is it because I was also on yours?”
“You were the only list.”
A throat cleared. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but if Dav’s talking about lists, things must be going well.”
Davarox smirked at Laz. “Rosalind is not allowed to think about work. We are going to help distract her.”
Lazerath’s tail thumped against the floor. “Okay, things are going really well.”
Rosalind glanced up at Lazerath, then Dav, then back again. Her blunt teeth scraped over her lower lip. “It’s not going to get complicated, is it? This is just a one-time thing.”
“We’ve shared before,” Dav said simply. “It can be whatever you want, and it will stop whenever you say the word.”
She glanced over her shoulder, and Laz and Dav pretended they weren’t watching Mozke give a very animated approval of Rosalind’s choices. Which truly was high praise that they trusted them with her.
“Okay. One night.” Then, mostly to herself, she mumbled, “I can do this.”
With a grin, Lazerath offered her his arm. “One night, Rosalind, to forget about work and fix all our sads.”
She slipped her hand around his elbow and stood. As Dav dropped to the ground to follow, a hand popped into his periphery.
He stared at it, then traced up the shimmery gauze-clad human arm until he met Rosalind’s gaze.
Waiting. Fearless.
Dav slid his palm into hers, and with that cool touch, it felt like everything in his body settled. Like he could breathe fully, completely, even as the three of them walked back through the crowd toward the door drawing curious eyes.
And for the first time in his life, he easily ignored them.