Page 45 of My Demon Manny

Pulling back to give Archer some space to breathe, I peppered kisses on his jaw as he chuckled roughly.

"We should stop if we want to have dinner."

I hummed in agreement, but continued kissing him, unable to resist his cheeks and the way his stubble scratched against my lips. Now that Gunner wasn't quite as interested in his beard anymore, he'd started shaving it.

"Lux," he murmured, and I sighed, taking a big step back in an attempt to resist temptation.

"It's your fault for being so sexy," I complained, making him chuckle.

"Oh? Is that so? Well, I apologize. How about you help me cook up our dinner quickly, and then we can have some fun once we've filled our bellies?"

"What do I do?"

Laughing, Archer started giving me directions, and I followed them to the letter, rushing through the cooking as much as I could without actually using my magic.

Archer gave me an impressed look when I dished out our food, and I smiled to myself, following after him with two glasses of wine as he carried our dinner to the living room.

"Uh, Lux?"

"Yeah?" I placed the glasses on the coffee table, then stood up to find Archer standing in the middle of the room, dishes still in hand.

"Where's Gunner?"

I glanced over at his play area, and where he should've been lying on his belly playing, there were only a few of his toys scattered around, and no Gunner in sight.

"What the hell?"

I scanned the room, trying to find the brightly colored onesie-clan bundle, but he was nowhere to be seen. Had someone taken him? But I would've sensed it if they had! Gunner still had the charm around his neck, and I'd also put a protective ward around the place. Who could've taken him without alerting me?

"Lux?" Archer asked, worry clear in his voice, and I shook my head.

"Give me a moment." Closing my eyes, I focused my magic on Gunner's charm, and my brows furrowed when my magic told me it was close by. Had whoever taken him removed it?

Opening my eyes, I followed my magic's direction back to the couch, confused. According to my magic, this was where the charm was. What the...

"Blaa!" I blinked at the sound of Gunner's voice, and fell to my knees, peeking under the couch. There, squished into a place barely large enough for him, was Gunner, happily chewing on his toy like he hadn't just given us a heart attack.

I was glad I always made sure to remove every speck of dust and dirt from this room. Who knew what kind of germs Gunner could've put in his mouth otherwise?

Getting to my feet, I turned to Archer with a wry smile. "He's down there."

Archer's eyes widened, and he put the plates on the coffee table before walking over to me. "He's under the couch?"

"Mm-hmm. I'll pick it up and you get him out, okay?"

"Okay."

Grabbing one end of the couch, I picked it up, and Archer quickly grabbed Gunner and his toy.

Gunner went "ba ba ba" as I returned the couch to its spot, probably referring to the sheep-shaped toy in his hand, and Archer shook his head as he watched me, an impressed look on his face.

I was tempted to pick up the couch again and do a few curls, but I resisted the urge.

Archer

I stared down at the little hellion who'd somehow managed to crawl into the tiny space below the couch. I had no idea how his little mind worked, or why he'd thought it was a good idea, but I was glad I had Lux. I couldn't imagine how I would've retrieved him otherwise.

"For our peace of mind, you're going to stay in your crib while we eat dinner, okay, little dude?" I said, which Gunner found funny for some unfathomable reason.

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