Chapter 8
PROPERLY COURTED, IN THE WRONG ORDER
Davarox
“Rosalind, I want to put babies in you, and I think you’re my soulbonded.”
Dav pinched the bridge of his nose. “Blazes, Laz.”
“Wrong order? You told me to say all my non-first-date thoughts before she got here!”
“I didn’t think it was that bad!”
“That was my tamest one. I’m so nervous, Dav.”
“Is that why you were at my door before moonrise?”
Lazerath draped himself over the counter dramatically. “I’ve never been nervous a day in my life.”
An exaggeration—young Laz was constantly on edge—but Davarox understood what he really meant.
Laz sobered, the cheer in his demeanor dimming. “She’s so smart and so pretty, I feel like I’m going to mess this up.”
“You won’t,” Dav promised without hesitation.
Sure, his best friend was absent-minded, spoke before he thought things through, and constantly knocked stuff over with his tail and distractedness.
But messing up relationships? Laz was a beacon of joy and hope, even when he had shit days.
He was never boring, never anything other than himself, just naturally lovable.
Dav, however, only lived up to his nickname—the name of the fucking bakery—in Laz’s only-see-the-positive’s eyes.
He was the realistic one that soured moods and called out any demon who insulted his best friend.
He was the magic-less gray demon who liked numbers and lists and who others discarded once they’d had their fun experimenting.
Davarox shoved all those thoughts aside for the present. “How much more of this do you need to get out? We have ten minutes before she gets here.”
Lazerath used seven, because—and Dav should have expected it—Rosalind arrived three minutes early. Probably earlier than that, if the dim figure lingering in the distance had been her. The pacing back and forth and constantly looking toward the clock down the road definitely aided that theory.
“Hi,” she said when he opened the shop door for her. She worried the toe of her shoe against the entry stone, tugging at the hem of her pink velvet blouse. “Sorry, I’m a bit early.”
“You don’t have to apologize,” he reassured her, pressing a kiss to her cheek as she entered. Her shoulders immediately lowered from her ears, so with his mouth close, he whispered, “Maybe having two of us always early will make Laz on time for once.”
Rosalind giggled, a sound that went straight to his cock because apparently Lazerath was rubbing off on him.
Oh, fuck, not like that. He could not be thinking about that.
Thankfully the red demon was, as always, himself, bouncing on his toes where he stood at the counter.
“I thought you were smart. If you add another distraction to my routine, I’m never getting anywhere.
” He grinned and flexed his arms like he was unsure of himself for the first time ever. “Can I… hug you?”
She nodded, blunt teeth peeking out between her lips. “Yeah, that would probably help.”
Rosalind was already in his arms by the time she finished the sentence, Laz frowning down at the top of her head. “Help what?”
“I’m really nervous,” she said, voice muffled as she spoke into his chest. “We sort of did this backwards.”
“A night of mind-blowing sex before courting?” Dav asked smoothly.
When she looked back at him, her cheeks burned a darker red, like Laz’s color had seeped under her skin while she was in his embrace. “Yes, that. But also… I guess I never asked. You said you’ve shared, but I didn’t know if that included courting.”
“It’s never been like it was with you, and I don’t think it could be like this with anyone else,” Laz said gently. “That’s why we wanted to court you properly. Or improperly? Properly, but the opposite order?”
Dav huffed a laugh. “It’s new for us too, baby.” He reached out and soothed a hand over her shoulders, feeling the muscles loosen under his touch. “We’re all learning together, but you get to decide what fits. One of us, both of us, none of us at all.”
One of those options killed him. Even with only a single night between them, a life without Rosalind felt about as pointless as a life without Lazerath.
But deep down, Davarox knew where things would eventually end.
Laz already believed she was the other half of his soul, and with the way they were together, of course it was true.
Dav would stop at nothing to make sure they were happy.
So it was a relief that Rosalind gave him a small smile, still pressed against his best friend, and said, “I was really waiting for Laz to make a filthy joke about what else I might decide should fit.”
Lazerath howled a laugh, to which Rosalind snorted and slapped a hand over her mouth.
Blazes, Dav was dangerously close to blurting Laz’s non-first-date thoughts aloud, so it was a miracle he managed to stutter out instructions for them to get started on their day.
Rosalind’s wide-eyed awe of their barely-functional kitchen and workspace certainly helped distract him, particularly when she catalogued every ingredient and their locations like she might be tested on it later. But she did ease into the dynamic as smoothly as Dav predicted she would.
“I still can’t believe you’re making us work on a date,” Laz muttered, though he had no reason to complain when he was the one with his arms around the human who definitely didn’t need help kneading bread dough.
“I can’t believe you thought all of this prep would magically do itself.” Dav poked at the hearth with a frown before trying the rune again. “I’m sure you’ll find some brilliant metaphor in that dough, if you keep letting Rose do all the work.”
Laz looked down at the blob and did indeed seem to be pondering something profound, or perhaps that they’d been trusted enough for her to ask them to use her nickname.
“I don’t mind,” Rose said, working her whole body into the motions. “This is fun.”
Laz gave her a scrutinizing look. “Oh, and when Dav brings out the books and says words like itemized and profit, you’ll still think it’s fun?”
Two words he should not have used, because Rosalind’s oddly expressive eyes widened in excitement before she shook her head. “Yes, I mean, no. That’s your private business. Except I did sort of make sure Lovable Loaf was up to date on all appropriate licenses and paid dues on time.”
“Mozke had you worried?” Laz teased.
“They did imply that you had to be selling something illegal if your bronzeberry scones tasted that good. They do have a point.” She smiled, looking between them. “Laz is going to say the secret ingredient is happiness, and Dav is going to say that if he tells me, he’ll have to kill me.”
Davarox winked. “Or never let you leave.”
Her cheeks turned an adorable pink as she looked away, mumbling something that his ears strained to hear but made hope swell in his chest.
Maybe I never want to leave.
Finally standing with a defeated huff, Dav said to Laz, “Rune is acting up again. Think you could get it going?”
The red demon nodded. “Sure. Go flirt with Rose over numbers. Gods know you deserve someone who can actually help with that.” He squeezed Rose’s hands then dusted the flour off on his apron and faced the oven with a scowl. “Alright, buddy, are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?”
Davarox placed his hand on Rosalind’s hip, guiding her toward the front. Once they were clear of the kitchen, she gave a wary look behind her.
“He’s not going to… blow up the oven or anything, right?”
“Luckily that particular protection rune is still in working order. And that’s his magic specialty, so it’s not usually a problem.”
Her lips twisted into a frown. “Someone from the city should look at it. Providing heat to buildings, even ovens, is part of Heck’s infrastructure.”
Grunting, Dav knelt and hoisted out their ledger. “You would think.” Which was the wrong thing to say aloud because, when he turned, Rose had her arms folded and a scowl etched between her brows.
It was both adorable and terrifying.
“Davarox.”
Oh, using his full name.
“Rosalind.”
That obviously didn’t help his case, but he was a masochist.
“Are you telling me that someone from the city did not provide the service that you pay for and that they are paid to do?”
“None of those words ever passed my lips.”
“No, but I can see them on your face.” When he blinked in surprise, she stepped closer. Her arms unfolded, and with slow movements, she brought one flour-dusted finger to the tip of his nose. “This little flare.” She then poked the corner of his mouth. “And this little flinch.”
Dav captured her hand, so fast she couldn’t pull away. “Is that so? You know me so well that my face speaks?”
Her warm brown eyes held his in challenge. “I’d rather you use your words.”
“Laz is better at it.”
“And you think I can’t hear what he doesn’t say?”
He had no response.
From the moment Dav had seen Rosalind across the room, he’d been entranced by her beauty. From the moment she first opened her mouth, he’d fallen for her mind as well.
What he hadn’t realized, until now, was that her beauty and brilliance would cut through every calloused piece of him and lay him bare before her.
She let out a slow breath, fingers curling over his where he still held her. “Dav, I’m not going to hurt him. Or you. But if there’s something you need to tell me, if you aren’t completely in—”
A loud knocking at the back door snapped the tension, and Dav was both frustrated and relieved at the interruption. He dropped her hand, hoping that without the connection, she might not peel him apart so easily.
“Shit,” came the curse from the back before Laz shouted, “Forgot there was a delivery today. Can you get it?”
Dav clicked his tongue, turning away from Rose’s scrutinizing look. “Deliveries were supposed to come three days ago,” he muttered, then opened the door.
A blue demon half a head taller than him pulled back the crate of milk bottles before Dav could take them. “Oh, where’s Laz?”
Dav tried not to make the grind of his jaw so obvious. “In back.”