Chapter 12 The Workaholics Still Can’t Take a Break
THE WORKAHOLICS STILL CAN'T TAKE A brEAK
Davarox
Davarox packed up the last of the spiced biscuits, arranging his satchel so the box wouldn’t get smashed on the walk home and be ruined for his date night with Rosalind. Then turned to the stack of charmed boxes that were piling up in the back room and began counting.
Again.
Thirty-three, just like the last time he counted. And the time before that. That stack was for sweet, that was for savory, that was for their best-selling bronzeberry scones. Everything was on schedule, each with the appropriate rune cast by Lazerath to keep them fresh until the fundraiser.
“Rose?” Davarox called, pulling out his notes as he sat. He heard her hop off the stool where she’d been working that afternoon, then said when he saw her in his periphery, “The cart is still coming midday, correct?”
To his surprise, she leaned against his side, taking the clipboard she’d kept from Salgoron of Salgoron’s Goods and humming. “Yes. I confirmed and paid this morning. Mozke knows the driver and said it won’t be a second late.”
“Mozke threatened them.”
“Probably. They said I should stop asking questions I didn’t really want the answer to. The rest of this looks good.” Rosalind turned to look at him, a nervous smile tipping her lips. “Will you check my floor plan? I think I’m finished, but I want to make sure.”
He nodded, definitely watching her ass as she hurried back to the counter and her work. He’d be lying to himself if he said he wasn’t nervous for tonight, but not in the same jittery way Laz had been. These nerves were more personal.
And maybe part of it was knowing what had happened on their date.
Nothing was a secret when it came to Laz’s life. When he’d proudly burst through the back door the following morning and announced he knew what it was like to come inside Rose, Dav had been tempted to kick Laz out and bend her over the counter himself.
Rose’s eyes had gone wide at the hardness growing in his pants, but Laz had only smirked and said to her, “Told you.”
Davarox wasn’t jealous, though. Not in the slightest. The only thing that ate at him as he listened to their perfect date night—plus the explanation of chocolate cravings that made him feel increasingly helpless that he’d not been able to care for her as well—was that…
They were perfect. Perfect for each other in every way. They could go out to Laz’s favorite rooftop restaurant, surrounded by people, and not feel the pressure of all eyes on them. He could talk and make her laugh. She could ease his fears and comfort him in ways Davarox never could.
Dav had to have something to contribute… right?
At least he knew that if he ruined tonight, Laz would have someone who cared for him. Who would look out for him and love him out loud, not from the shadows, like a coward.
“Hey,” a soft voice pulled him from his thoughts. He blinked to find Rosalind standing next to him again, a pinch in her brow. “You okay?”
Davarox tried to give her a reassuring smile. “Sure. Just have that song stuck in my head again.”
Rose leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, “The recipe one Laz was humming earlier?”
This time, his smile was real. “I think that much sugar would actually kill a demon.”
“Sugar?” she squeaked, holding in a laugh. “There are vegetables in it, Dav. Desserts should not have vegetables.”
“Well, that sure puts a damper on my date plans tonight.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh, shit—”
“I’m kidding, Rose. I’ve got your favorites.”
She shoved lightly at his chest, but he snagged her hand, wrapping his tail around her hips to pull her onto his lap. Rose sucked in a breath as she landed on his leg, the color in her eyes nearly encompassed with black.
Dav’s smile almost hurt as he took the paper from her, setting it aside more slowly and deliberately than was necessary just so he could tease his nose along her jaw.
“Fear not,” he murmured, peppering kisses to her throat. “I have much more delicious ideas after dessert tonight.”
Rose’s skin was a bright shade of pink now, breaths coming in rapid pants as she lifted her chin to give him better access. But there was no mistaking the shift of her hips as she pressed her center to his thigh. “Oh?”
He let her glide once more before nipping at her ear, hands going to her waist to keep her from rocking against him. “Later. When we don’t have an audience.”
“No, no,” Laz purred from behind them. “Please continue. I’m enjoying myself.”
Rosalind sighed, maybe groaned, then drooped in his lap like she had no intention of leaving.
Davarox preened. Internally, of course.
“Good timing,” he said, earning him a scowl from the human. “Help us with the floor plan? You’re better at understanding flow.”
“Oh, really?” Laz asked, moving closer. “I mean, sure. Yeah. I’ll try.”
Rose’s scowl softened into something dangerously close to adoration, maybe even understanding, but Dav ignored it in favor of spinning her around on his lap, banding his arms around her waist so he could look over her shoulder at her work.
So maybe Lazerath had explained a little more about the conversations he’d had with Rose the other night.
Maybe Dav was a little less worried about the human breaking his best friend’s heart when she could love his disorganized mind just as much as she’d flirted with Dav’s organized one.
And maybe he was going to have to be much better at hiding his outside contributions to the bakery, because he also wanted the human to stay.
Needed, if he was being honest.
The floor plan, no surprise, was great. Laz made it better, and Rosalind had no issues making the adjustments he suggested.
Shifting tables to avoid tails and stairs, spreading out the more popular trays to the corners to avoid lines, creating a path from Enmona Manor’s kitchens to the edges of the crowd so they could restock without getting in the way of the attendees.
It warmed Davarox’s heart to see his friend in this moment, feeling confident and focused. Even more so, to see Rosalind thank him, genuinely, for his help.
“Will you finally tell me what you’re doing tonight?” Laz asked as they were closing up.
Davarox grunted. “No.”
“Please! I promise I won’t, like, put on a disguise and follow you around or anything.”
Dav looked over to find Rosalind chewing her thumbnail, papers still spread out in front of her after getting distracted packing her bag. Her shoulders were hunched, concern pinching her brow.
Suddenly, he felt a little less nervous about tonight.
“Okay,” Lazerath conceded. “Maybe I was going to wear a disguise. Just fake horns, and I was going to stick some spikes onto my tail to be less obvious.”
“I’m sure you would be completely invisible.”
His friend pouted. “I told you my plans. And what happened.”
“Then maybe I’ll tell you about it tomorrow.”
“No, you won’t. That’s so unfair.”
“Bye, Laz.” Davarox pushed him out the back door.
“First thing tomorrow!” Lazerath managed to shout before the door closed in his face.
Dav blew out a breath. One down.
He spun and set his sights on Rosalind.
“Sorry, sorry,” she blurted when he came into view, scrambling for the papers. She started stacking them again, definitely reading as she went. “Almost done—hey!”
Davarox smirked at her protest as he scooped her out of her chair and tossed her over his shoulder. “Day’s over.”
She spluttered, unable to find words until he’d confirmed the locked front door and began walking toward the back. “Wait, wait, I need to clean—”
“It’ll be there tomorrow.”
“I can’t leave your shop messy with my work.”
“Have you met Laz? You can and you will.”
Rosalind squirmed, then fell limp. “You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s so engrained in me to clean up and fix and—”
He cut her off, pulling her from his shoulder and setting her on the counter.
“Rose, baby, it’s okay. I get it.” She slumped, and he took the opportunity to grab her sweater and help her into it.
“You were running around a lot the last two days between city hall and here. Making sure everything is on schedule and helping us. My stress probably isn’t helping yours. ”
Then again, he could see the way her body and mind seemed to thrive whenever she came back into the bakery after her errands. How stepping through that front door seemed to lift a weight from her soul. The smile that grew whenever she saw Laz…
Whenever she saw Dav.
She took his hands, squeezing them rhythmically. “I just want things to go well. For the bakery and you, but also…”
“They’re going to love your proposal, Rose.”
“If I ever get to work on it between the fundraiser tasks. I asked for more responsibility, I should be able to handle it.”
Davarox understood her struggles all too well.
The need to balance everything, do everything perfectly, all for an ounce of attention.
The human in Heck, fighting for someone to listen.
She’d been in the demon realm just over two weeks now and probably hadn’t stopped running except for the night they’d met and the night she’d had with Laz.
Now it was his turn.
“Tell me one thing about your proposal on our walk?”
It was Rosalind who grabbed his hand first after he’d locked the back, a welcome surprise that she wove her fingers through his and let him lead her to their destination.
She talked about seeing the art district for the first time and the joy she’d felt walking around freely.
How Mozke had told her the challenges the shopkeepers faced and how she’d immediately started looking for solutions.
Dav didn’t stop her when she kept talking well past one thing, probably because his curiosity sparked—not just at her enthusiasm, but at the brilliant mind she probably didn’t realize she was showing off.
“What do you mean gone?” Dav asked, looking over his shoulder at Rose.
She sat at the counter in his kitchen—well, sitting was relative, because she had leaned so far over the surface in her excitement, she was practically flat on the marble.
“That’s exactly what I’m wondering too! With all the back and forth and hands it’s passed, that money just disappears. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Davarox slid the eggs out of the pan, topping each of the rice bowls before setting them on the counter between them. He pushed a jar of sauce over to her. “Try that first. Spicy.”
Rosalind dipped her pinky finger on top then licked it, tongue wrapping around in a way that had Dav’s cock stiffening. Which was only made worse by her eyes rolling back as she moaned.
“Oh my gods,” she breathed, throwing her head back. “Why does food here taste so good?”
Davarox could only grunt, a little too pleased with himself. If he wanted to make it through dinner, he was going to need to change the subject fast.
Except Rose had no intentions of going easy on him as she continued explaining her research, if she even noticed how often he was shifting in his seat to alleviate his hard cock.
Fuck, he would have thought it had been weeks since he’d last found release, not that fucking morning.
And they were talking about budgets, for fuck’s sake.
“I assume Laz informed you of most of what we talked about the other night?”
Dav cleared his throat. “What?”
She fiddled with the greens on her fork. “Sorry, changing subjects randomly.”
He couldn’t help his grin. “I’m actually used to it. Laz did talk about… quite a bit, so you might have to be more specific.”
“Fair,” Rosalind said with a shy smile. “I didn’t know if he shared my… sexual preferences. Or… other stuff?”
This conversation didn’t make Dav nearly as uncomfortable as it was making her. “You are attracted to intelligence, including emotional intelligence. He informed you I am open about my preferences.” Then, he smirked. “And he fucked you in the shower while you were on your cycle.”
Rosalind’s fork squeaked at the bottom of her bowl. “Okay, yeah. That part.” She took a long drink of water, avoiding his gaze. “That’s… over with already, no surprise. Won’t get it again, at least, since the contraceptive should stop it. In case that was—”
“A turn off? Not in the slightest.” He probably couldn’t explain the depths of how much it turned him on without frightening her. “Did that worry you?”
“I’m starting to realize that maybe I don’t have to. About a lot of things.”
“No, baby,” he reassured her. “You don’t.”
That list of desires she supposedly had? Dav was starting to wonder how much it might align with his own. Not that he’d tell her. Or Lazerath. In fact, he’d be spending the next week finalizing everything so that secret would never see the light of the daymoon, especially considering…
He wanted Rose to stay.