Chapter Thirty-Six

The Dullahan Can't Handle the Heat

Rafe

We ended up spending the rest of the afternoon together.

And it was… nice.

Really nice.

When we pulled up in our respective driveways and got out of our cars, Dan still seemed tense and irritated and slightly embarrassed. He thanked me, then said he was going to rinse his mouth out with vodka a dozen times and take a shower. To try and get the dick off his cheek.

After he'd gone into his house, I hesitated on my driveway for a few moments, then made a decision and got back in my car. An hour later, I was back at home with two carrier bags waiting on the kitchen island, one full of snacks. After changing into sweats and an old tee, I grabbed a few more things before picking up the bags and leaving my house.

I was kind of nervous as I walked over to Dan's. I just figured he might want a distraction, but maybe he wouldn't want to hang out with me. Outside of fucking, anyway, and I doubted he was in the mood for sex after that ordeal. But if he didn't want me there, he could just tell me. I'd get it.

I knocked on the door and shifted the bags in my hands anxiously. After a while, Dan opened it and blinked in surprise, then grinned at me.

"Hey, kitten."

"Hey." I wet my lips nervously and held up one of the bags. "Want to dye my hair again?"

His grin widened. He stepped back to let me in. "Sure."

"We could dye yours too," I said as I walked into his house for the first time. "If you want. To celebrate the fact that you still have all of it."

He chuckled, closing the door behind me as I looked around. The layout was identical to mine, but his decor was more rustic. It smelled really good, and it was clean and tidy. I instantly felt bad for assuming he might be a slob.

"I'm good, kitten." Suddenly, he was wrapping his arms around me from behind and dipping his head to kiss my neck. "Thanks for comin' over. And thank you for saving me earlier. I really appreciate it."

"Um, I—It's okay." I was a little flustered, my belly fluttering. He was warm and smelled amazing from his recent shower, wearing only a pair of shorts slung low on his hips.

He took the bags from me and stepped back as I turned to face him. Huffing in amusement, I reached up to gently rub his cheek with my thumb, where there was still a very faint outline of a dick.

"Those fuckers."

He grimaced and started walking into the kitchen, so I followed. "I feel a little bad that they're getting fired."

"Don't," I said immediately with a frown. "They're assholes. They can't do that and just keep getting away with it."

"I guess." He sighed and set the bags down on the counter. "What's in these? It can't all be hair stuff."

"Oh, um…" I walked over to join him. "I just, uh, got some snacks and stuff. In case you wanted to forget about your intense wrestler diet for today."

He looked down at me and smiled, then slid his hand onto my back as he dipped his head to kiss my cheek. "Thanks, Rafe."

"S'okay," I mumbled, heat crawling up my neck as I got busy pulling stuff out of the bag.

Dan chuckled when I revealed two big bags of tortilla chips. "You eat these a lot, huh?"

"Yeah. I'm kind of picky with food," I admitted. "Used to annoy the shit out of my mom. When I know I like something, I just tend to stick with it."

"I get it." He kissed my temple and stepped away to open a cabinet.

"Uh, I got beer." I pulled a six-pack out. "Shall I put it in the fridge or do you want one now?"

"We can have one after I've done your hair." He grinned over at me, setting a big bowl on the counter and opening a bag of chips to pour them in.

I stared at it silently, fidgeting with the six-pack.

He remembered that I didn't like eating from the bag?

Flustered, I turned and opened the fridge. "Uh, so, are you the same? With food?"

"Nah, I'll eat anything," he said easily. "Oh shit, is this the ball sauce?"

My brows pinched as I shut the fridge door and looked over, before I laughed when I saw him holding my jar of hot sauce.

"Yeah. I like dipping chips into it." Then I cringed and scrubbed a hand over my face. "Jesus, I can't believe I was so close to dipping my balls into that stuff."

"Can't be that hot, right?" He popped open the lid and lifted it to his nose to sniff, then quickly pulled it back as his eye twitched and he coughed a little.

Chuckling, I walked back over to reach into the bag. "I got you salsa."

"Nah, I wanna try it." He grabbed a chip and scooped out some hot sauce.

I winced. "Dan, it's really hot. I'm a ghoul, remember? I can handle heat a lot better than most other people. Including other supernatural people."

He smirked at me. "I can handle it, kitten."

"I really wouldn't—"

I winced again when he shoved the whole chip into his mouth and crunched down. At first, he gave me an approving look and said through his mouthful, "It's good."

Then his eye twitched again, before both started watering. He tried to save face by continuing to chew, slowly, as he went pink. Then red. Then started to sweat.

"Spit it out." I looked around for something, but heard him swallow thickly and gasp for breath.

"Fuck," he wheezed, doubling over, then stumbled for the sink and shoved his head under the faucet as he fumbled to turn the water on.

I suppressed a snort and reached for the fridge. "Water doesn't help. You need milk."

"I can't close my mouth," he garbled. "It hurts too much."

I hurriedly scanned his fridge, reaching for an unopened bottle of creamer. Huh, I thought Dan took his coffee black. "Here."

When he lifted his head, his eyes and nose were streaming and a snort of laughter escaped me before I could stop it.

"It feels like my tongue's going to fall off." He stuck it out, panting like a dog, then reached up to grab his own head. A second later, he'd popped it off but groaned in anguish. "That isn't helping!"

"Here," I said again, unscrewing the bottle and handing it over. Head tucked under his arm, he tipped the bottle over his mouth and guzzled almost the entire thing down. I watched in silence as creamer poured from his neck hole, splashing all over his side and shorts and running in streams down his leg.

"It's not helping!" he gasped. "Rafe!"

"It will." I tried to reassure him, pursing my lips to hide my smile as I rubbed his back soothingly. "Just give it a minute."

"I can't take another minute," he choked out dramatically. "It feels like I'm dying. Rafe, why would you bring that evil into my house?"

I laughed and reached for the bowl to snag a chip, dipping it into the hot sauce and popping it in my mouth. The heat tingled on my tongue pleasantly, warming the back of my throat. "It's good."

"It's torture," he wheezed, still panting like a dog. "You were going to dip your balls in that. Thank fuck I found you when I did."

"Yeah." I grimaced.

"Oh god, it won't stop." Trembling lightly, he shoved his head back on and sucked in a shaky breath, then winced and clutched his throat. "It hurts to breathe."

"I thought you didn't need to breathe."

"I don't, but it's reflex!" he shot back, voice hoarse and croaky, then clutched his throat again and bent over. "Fuck, it hurts."

"It'll stop in a sec."

"No, it won't! It's stripped away the lining of my mouth! I'll never taste food aga—" He faltered, then cautiously straightened up. "Okay, I think… I think it's going away now."

"Good." With a sly smile, I reached into the bag and pulled out the tub of salsa I'd bought. "Maybe stick to this, dullahan."

He exhaled a slow breath and rubbed his chest, then looked down at the creamer bottle in his hand. "Shit, probably shouldn't've drunk all that." He cast me a sheepish look. "Uh, do you want coffee? There's just enough left if you do."

I froze, my eyes darting to the bottle. Had he bought it for me?

No, surely not. He must just have it for guests.

It was the exact kind I bought, though.

"I'm good, thanks." I smiled up at him. After a second he smiled back, then started reaching for me before he paused and narrowed his eyes at the hot sauce jar sitting innocently on the counter.

"I don't like that stuff, Rafe." As I snorted, he grudgingly added, "At least it probably burned away any germ remnants from that fucking sock they stuffed in my mouth."

"Assholes." I hesitated, then stepped forward to rest my hand on his chest as I leaned up to kiss him, my belly fluttering wildly as I did so. He tasted like a disgusting mix of mouthwash, hot sauce and coffee creamer, but I still liked it.

Was this okay? It wasn't like we'd be sucking each other off for a while now. There was no way Dan would let my mouth anywhere near his dick after I'd eaten some of that hot sauce. So I wasn't sure if this was… allowed, if it wasn't going to immediately lead anywhere.

Although Dan kissed me a lot even when we weren't having sex. So. Maybe.

I had no idea what fell under casual and what didn't anymore.

Dan cupped the back of my head as he kissed me back, then pulled away and gave me a crooked grin. "Feels kinda good kissing you after that, actually."

"Bet you wouldn't be saying that if I sucked you off."

He paled and quickly shook his head. "Probably not right now, kitten. Let's do your hair, huh? So you want to dye it again already?"

"Yeah, just pink again, but it's already fading."

He shot me a stern look as he reached for the other bag. "Because you don't wash it in cool water. I felt how hot that shower was this morning."

My skin tingled at the memory of his cock rutting between my ass cheeks, his finger sliding over my hole.

"I know, but I refuse to take cool showers all the time." I nodded at the milky rivulets of creamer staining his side and leg. "You might wanna go take one though."

He looked down and huffed. "Yeah. Taking my head off didn't even help."

I snorted, trying to ignore the swooping sensation in my gut when he took my hand and led me out of the kitchen. "Why did you think it would?"

"I don't know, I panicked. No one should be consuming that stuff, human or non-human."

"My friends and I love it," I teased. "The hotter the better."

He grunted sullenly in response, which made me laugh. His mouth twitched before he grinned at me, leading me up the stairs.

Dan never let stuff get to him. He was never in a bad mood for long. It used to annoy the shit out of me, the way he'd smirk and chuckle and not take it seriously when I complained to him about his loud music or my broken fence. But now I actually kind of liked it. Admired him for it. I stewed over stuff for days. Weeks. I let myself get all worked up and overly aggravated, and let things almost consume me. I wasn't good at brushing stuff off and moving on.

But Dan was. And I was starting to realise that, when I spent time with him, I was getting better at just going with it. Relaxing a little. Not overthinking everything.

I liked it.

"Are we doing it in the bathroom?" I asked, trying not to clutch his hand tighter as we reached the top of the stairs.

I liked this too. Holding his hand.

"No, I have a room for it."

I blinked at him as he led me down the hall to the back bedroom. "For dyeing hair?"

"Just for hair stuff in general." He opened the door and pulled me inside.

I stared in shock at the shelves lined with wigs on mannequin heads. Huge, ornately styled wigs in a range of bright colours, pastel tones and natural shades. There was a vanity in here with bright bulbs lining the edge of the big mirror, and a little black cart beside it filled with hair styling tools and products. A table in the centre of the room was cluttered with even more hair stuff, as well as a half-styled, bright red wig.

"Wow," I said, still a little stunned.

"I do hair for most of the supernatural drag queens around here." Dan shrugged, looking a little shy for once. "Corey and Gabe at work do drag. They spread the word that I was great at it and… yeah."

"That's awesome." I wandered over to a shelf to look at some of the wigs more closely, then chuckled. "Jesus, they're huge."

"Yep. Drag queens like a lot of hair." He joined me, glancing down at me with a sly grin. "Want to try one on?"

I laughed. "Sure, okay."

He stepped back and gestured at the shelves. "Take your pick, handsome. Except that one," he added quickly, pointing at an enormous pink wig styled into an elaborate updo. "That's Corey's. He'll know if someone else has tried it on."

A few minutes later, I was staring at my reflection in the vanity mirror, a huge mint green wig on my head.

"Damn, it's heavy." I tried to keep still, scared it might tip off my head under its own weight. "But I kinda like it."

"Looks good, kitten." Dan's reflection appeared beside me. He grinned, reaching over to fuss with a tiny bit of hair. "Suits you. You could ask Corey to put you in drag."

I laughed, which made Dan's grin widen as he watched me in the mirror. "I definitely wouldn't be able to walk in heels. And don't they… I don't really want to pull my dick back and tape it down or anything."

Dan chuckled and raised his brows as he carefully took the wig off my head. "Yeah, that ain't too comfortable. Take a seat, handsome."

"Have you been in drag?" I asked as I sat in the chair in front of the mirror, getting comfortable. I watched Dan's reflection as he settled the wig back on its mannequin head.

"Uh-huh. Gabe put me in drag once." He grabbed the bag and pulled over the little cart, appearing behind me in the mirror.

"Uh, I brought stuff. Like, uh, gloves and stuff." I flushed when I said it, because it was weird how much I was looking forward to seeing him in those black latex gloves again. "But I guess I didn't need to."

"We'll still use your stuff," he said easily, taking it all out of the bag. "It's what you're used to using."

Something pierced through my belly as I gave him a tiny smile in the mirror. Dan was far more perceptive than I'd ever given him credit for. I was kind of shocked by how relaxed and at ease I felt around him, now that we were actually spending time together, not just bickering as neighbours.

He seemed to get me. I appreciated it. A lot. More than I was probably able to verbalise.

"So, um… Gabe and Corey do drag?" I asked as he got busy preparing everything. "Like, they perform?"

"Yep. They're both great, but Corey is phenomenal. He has a lot of loyal fans who'll come watch him wrestle too. I think a lot of Goliaths' success is down to the audiences he pulled in when it was just starting. He's been with Holt since the beginning."

"He seems nice," I said with a nod, even though I didn't think I'd ever actually had a conversation with the orc. "Me and my friends went to watch the wrestling years ago—before you were there or, um, had moved in here. We were all really impressed by him, even though it wasn't really our thing."

Dan chuckled. "He's a true performer."

"So you've been to watch his drag shows?"

"Oh yeah, lots of times." In the mirror, I saw Dan glance at me quickly as he poured pink hair dye into a bowl. "We could go to one. If you're interested in seeing it."

"Yeah, okay," I said quickly, my belly clenching with excitement I tried not to show. "That could be fun."

"And I mean, obviously you could invite your friends," he added with a tiny shrug, keeping his eyes averted now as he reached for a comb. "So you're more comfortable. I know you don't like being around a lot of people you don't know."

My chest tightened. Suddenly, I wanted to spin the chair around and hug him. Or something.

And I never wanted to hug anyone except my friends, so it was weird.

"Well, it… I'd probably be okay if it was just…" I swallowed, my face heating. "Me and you. As long as you didn't wander off and leave me alone," I added quickly.

Dan paused, then shot me a huge, brilliant grin in the mirror as he stood behind me and gently pulled my hair back to start combing it. "I wouldn't, kitten. And okay, let's do it. I'll find out when Corey's next show is."

I found myself grinning back at him. "'Kay."

"This was a good idea, Rafe," he said with a smile as he combed the tangles out of my hair. "It's calming me down after the stunt those shitheads pulled."

My lip curled. "Have they stolen your head before?"

"Yeah."

"Dicks. Do you think they've found them yet?"

He shrugged lightly, setting down the comb and reaching for the box of gloves. "Dunno. I'm not going back in until they're gone, though."

I nodded, growing a little distracted as I watched him snap on a pair of black latex gloves and flex his long fingers to get them comfortable.

"You look really hot in those," I heard myself blurt, immediately blushing and rubbing my hot cheek as he paused and looked at me in the mirror. "I mean… um, yeah. I don't—You just do."

A grin slowly spread over his face. He set his gloved hands on my shoulders and squeezed, then leaned down to nuzzle my cheek. "Good to know."

What? What did that mean? My cock twitched, my gut bottoming out with nervous excitement.

He pressed a soft kiss to my cheek before straightening and reaching for the comb and clips to section my hair.

Swallowing, still a little flustered and embarrassed that I'd admitted that, I nodded at his reflection, specifically the creamer stains on his shorts and leg. "Uh, don't you need to go shower first?"

He smirked at me in the mirror. "How about we shower together when you rinse your hair, handsome?"

My cock jerked again, starting to fill. I hoped he wouldn't notice.

Although, I kind of wanted him to jerk me off while he was wearing those gloves.

"'Kay," I croaked.