Twelve

Lux

Maybe I should've thought of a better time to shift in front of Archer than when I was standing between him and Gunner. I would rather die than hurt Gunner, but Archer didn't know that, not now that all he could see was my inhuman form.

Slowly, I turned around and picked Gunner up, careful of my claws as I cradled him in my arms. He still had a hold of my tail, and didn't seem to mind what I looked like at all.

Turning around, I held him out to a wide-eyed Archer, who hastily pulled Gunner to him, trying and failing to get him to let go of my tail.

"I'm not going to hurt you," I promised as I took a few steps back until my tail went taut between us, Gunner's grip on it strong as ever. I let him play with it, focusing my gaze on Archer. "I meant everything I said. I would rather die than see either of you hurt, and I would never, ever want to cause either of you any pain."

Swallowing hard, I turned my gaze to the floor before adding this next part. "I'll leave if you want. I'm sure I've broken your trust. I understand if you don't feel safe around me anymore."

Archer was quiet for so long that I had my answer. I had to leave. To go somewhere far away. Maybe in a few years, once Gunner was all grown up, Archer would be open to the idea of us. It wasn't like I'd get old, and even if Archer never said yes while he was human, I could meet him again in Afterworld, and maybe then he'd say yes...

"Lux?" Archer's voice was hesitant, and I glanced up, meeting his wide eyes.

"Yeah?"

"It's still you, isn't it? Even like this?"

I nodded quickly, linking my claws together so I wouldn't wave them around in my nervousness. "I'm still me, I promise. And I wasn't trying to trick you into anything. When I first got the job, I didn't know you were my mate. It was only after we touched for the first time that I knew."

Archer blinked, his lips parting in surprise. "That time you ran into the kitchen to wash Gunner's bottles without taking the bottles?"

I ducked my head, an embarrassed squeak escaping me. "Yeah, that time."

"Wait. So why exactly is a demon working as a nanny? Is that part of your mission too?"

Did all these questions mean that Archer wasn't about to ask me to leave?

"Uh, no. There are no babies where I'm from, and I've always found humans fascinating. Like I told you, I love taking care of people, and I thought taking care of babies would feel even more rewarding, so..." I trailed off with a shrug, and Archer hummed.

Gunner took that moment to cheer loudly, waving my tail around like it was the best toy ever.

"It looks like Gunner likes you either way."

I barely stopped myself from asking if he did too, instead giving him another hesitant shrug. Then, unable to take it anymore, I pushed, "So? Would you like me to leave?"

Archer sighed loudly, then glanced down at Gunner before turning his gaze on me. "Do you promise you would never hurt Gunner?"

"I do."

He chewed on his lower lip, then shook his head. "I don't know why, but I feel like I can trust you."

"It's the mate bond. It's instinctual."

He squinted at me, head tilting thoughtfully. "So what, some higher power paired us up and now we're destined to fall in love or something?"

"Yeah. Fate did. Well, they usually go by Celeste, but that's their job title. Fate pairs up all kinds of sentient beings."

Archer shook his head, then exhaled. "Okay, I'm gonna need you to tell me about all of this in a lot more detail, but I'm not firing you or asking you to leave. Could you maybe change back now?"

"Oh, right. Um, my tail," I pointed out, and Archer blinked before slowly untangling Gunner's fingers from around it.

The moment it was free, I shifted back, and Gunner started crying. Apparently, he'd grown attached to his new toy.

Walking over to his mat, I grabbed one of his rope toys, and held it out to Archer, still hesitant.

Taking it from me, he rocked Gunner in his arms as he handed the toy to him. He seemed to debate with himself for a moment before holding Gunner out to me, and I glanced at him in surprise as I took the baby from his arms.

"How about you put him back on the mat and then come have breakfast, hmm? I think it's gone cold, though." Archer gave me a hesitant smile, and I did as he asked.

Returning to the couch after settling Gunner, I picked up my plate, using a bit of magic to heat up our food.

"Or not," Archer mumbled around a bite, and I smiled, taking one of my own. I felt a little off kilter, unsure if Archer's acceptance was real or a momentary thing before he had time to think things through.

"Lux."

I jumped, almost dropping my plate, and turned to him quickly. "Yeah?"

"Calm down, okay? I'm not firing you. The logical part of me is insisting I should, but my gut tells me I can trust you, and it has never led me wrong, so I'm going to have faith in it. Now eat your breakfast, and afterward you can tell me more about the demon realm and your mission."

Eyes wide in surprise, I nodded mutely and turned to my breakfast, quickly eating it as I thought about all the things I wanted to tell him now that I didn't have to hide any longer.

Telling him the truth while drunk off my ass and then shifting in front of Gunner might not have been the best tactic, but I'd done it, and there was no changing things now. All I could do was make sure I didn't give Archer any more reasons to fear me, and we'd be okay.

Hopefully.

Archer

Maybe I was the one who'd lost his mind, because I trusted Lux, even after finding out he was a demon.

While we ate, I tried to figure out if my faith in him had anything to do with the fact that I had the hots for him, but no. My faith in him had very little to do with that, and everything to do with the fact that he'd had more than enough opportunities to hurt Gunner if he'd wanted to.

Hell, judging by his size and what he'd done to Jessica's car before he'd used magic to fix it, he could just as well hurt Gunner now and there was nothing I'd be able to do to stop it.

I trusted Lux, and I thought it was the right thing to do. I didn't think I'd read him wrong. Sure, I hadn't known he could change into an eight-foot-tall demon when I hired him, but I could tell that he genuinely enjoyed working with babies, and that his warm personality wasn't just for show.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm under strict orders to never hurt a human. It's why I didn't do anything to that woman even though I really wanted to. So you don't have to worry about me hurting you or Gungun." Lux's voice was soft as he spoke, and eyes focused on his almost-empty plate.

It was strange to look at him like this and remember how much bigger and stronger he actually was. But no matter what he looked like, he was the same Lux on the inside, and right now, I could tell he was being eaten alive by his worries.

"Thank you for telling me that, but it's okay. I trust you, Lux. And I'm glad you didn't hurt Jessica," I added as an aside, and he growled. I was sure it would've been a terrifying sound in his other form, but right then he just sounded adorable.

"I would've if I could've," he reiterated, and I believed him. His protectiveness over Gunner was one of the reasons I knew he wouldn't.

After we finished breakfast, we washed up the dishes while Lux told me more about the demons. How there were twenty-two of them currently in the human realm—twenty-three if you counted the demon they were tasked with tracking down. How their mission was to keep humans safe from the dark souls who had escaped the Burning Chasm.

As he explained, the Burning Chasm was where evil souls burned until they were ready to work for their redemption, but before that, there had been the Underworld, where Lux and all the other demons had tortured the evil souls.

Despite seeing his other form, I had trouble imagining Lux as a torturer of any kind. How could someone so sweet be expected to do a job like that?

Discovering Lux had once been human—though like all demons, he remembered nothing of his human life—was probably the least surprising past of this whole revelation.

Lux was sweet, gentle, kind, and possessed all the good things humans had to offer. Of course he'd been human once. Not that demons weren't those things, from what I could tell.

I paid particular close attention when he told me about three of his demon friends who were mated to a human, and how the four lived together and were very much in love. I wanted to ask Lux if he could put me in touch with that human, but I couldn't quite find the words to ask the question. Not until I cleared up what was between the two of us.

Now that I knew what Lux was, the whole "boss and employee" power imbalance thing basically became a moot point. That, coupled with the fact that we were apparently soulmates, meant that the path between here and calling Lux mine had suddenly cleared right up.

I'd never been one to let a great opportunity pass, and I wasn't going to be one now.

Which was why when we'd returned to the living room and I'd settled on the couch with Gunner in my lap, I turned to Lux, taking a moment to admire his blond locks and the sparkle in his blue eyes as they flickered between Gunner and me.

Even without the magic and the demon form, Lux was a mesmerizing man, and I wanted to get to know him even better. I wanted to know his likes, dislikes, and all the little things about him.

"Lux" I murmured, the question dancing at the tip of my tongue as his eyes met mine.

"Yeah? Does he need a change?"

Smiling down at Gunner, I shook my head, then looked up at Lux again. "No, he's okay."

"Oh," Lux mumbled, then tilted his head, curiosity clear on his face.

"About that soulmate thing..." I started, and he blinked, surprised.

"Um. I just told you about it to explain things. I wasn't trying to pressure you or anything."

Okay, this needed to stop. I preferred Lux to be happy and smiling, not unsure and off-footed as he was now.

"Here, hold him for a minute." Lux scrambled to take Gunner from me as I held him out, and Gunner instantly grabbed onto his T-shirt, making his usual happy sounds. Gunner clearly liked Lux too, but unlike me, he had absolutely no trouble expressing himself. He got that from his lawyer mother.

"Okay, Lux. I need you to relax, okay? I'm not mad about any of it. I understand why you didn't tell me earlier, and I know that you won't hurt either of us. So you need to relax and stop panicking, okay? The books say babies can feel our anxiety."

Maybe using Gunner like that wasn't the best thing to do, but it worked. Lux's eyes widened and he glanced down at Gunner, pulling him close and murmuring to him softly.

"Sorry, Gungun. I'll try not to worry now, okay?"

Smiling, I sat back on the couch and waited for him to look up again. He already looked a little lighter, as if my assurance was all he'd needed.

"Now that that's settled...Lux, would you like to go out to dinner with me sometime?"

Lux's brows furrowed. "What about Gunner? Couldn't we just eat at home? I can magic up any food you want to eat."

I blinked, then laughed softly as I realized he'd taken my question literally.

Smiling fondly at him, I reached out and placed my hand over his on Gunner's chest, waiting until he glanced back up and met my eyes.

"What I was trying to say is—would you go on a date with me, Lux?"

Lux blinked, his lips parted, and he sucked in a sharp breath, his hand twitching under mine.

"Really?"

I nodded, and he exhaled in a soft, shuddery breath. Then, he smiled the most brilliant smile I'd ever seen and said the word I'd been hoping to hear. "Yes!"