Page 61 of My Demon Manny

I wondered how things would go once Jerry and Kat showed up. Would they sense something off with Fressia like I could? I hoped not, because I hated keeping secrets from my friends, and I didn't know what I'd do if they asked me something outright, something I wasn't allowed to tell them.

Lux

Ryk, Nico, and I chatted about our time in the human realm so far, while Star—as per usual—was curled up in the corner of the couch, napping. When I'd snuck a glance at him, Ryk had told me Star had been up all night with a waggle of his brows, and I'd shaken my head with a smile. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed my demon brothers—and sister—until now, but I was glad Archer had suggested I invite them. I was especially glad I'd invited them a little earlier so we could talk freely.

Soon enough though, the hour had passed and the doorbell rang again. Archer, who'd been in a deep conversation with Dakota, got to his feet and headed for the door, while Fressia strolled around the room, seemingly fascinated by all of Gunner's things.

I heard Jerry and Kat a moment before they walked into the living room, and I stood up to greet them. Jerry pulled me into a one-armed hug, then stole Gunner from my arms, raising him up into the air.

"Oh, look at you, little man! When did you get so big?" Jerry asked like he did every time he saw Gunner, grinning up at him. His long hair was in a braid tonight, and I distantly wondered if he and Dakota used the same hair products, since they both seemed to have such silky hair.

"Hey, Lux," Kat greeted as she sidled up to me, her eyes scanning over the new faces. Then, she leaned even closer to me and asked, "Who's the hottie over there? Is she single?"

I followed her gaze to Fressia, and I blinked in surprise. While Fressia was beautiful, she was also a little intimidating. She got along with us just fine, but she wasn't truly close to anyoneexcept maybe Azazel, another demon who'd been living in the human realm for a while before us. Humans seemed to find her especially unnerving, so I was surprised Kat was showing an obvious interest in her.

"That's Fressia," I said, knowing full well the woman in question could hear us. "And yes, she's single, as far as I know."

Fressia turned around, as if she was going to correct me, and then froze. Her eyes widened as they scanned Kat up and down, a series of expressions flashing over her face, too fast for me to figure out what she was thinking. Before I could ask her, Ryk called me over, and I glanced between them before walking over to him and leaving them to their devices.

When I looked up next a few moments later, they were both gone, and I hoped Fressia wouldn't do anything to scare Kat. She was a close friend of Archer's, and I'd hate it if anything happened to her.

The sound of some very enthusiastic making out reached my ears a few minutes later, and I hissed under my breath before putting a silencing ward on the guest room they'd shacked up in. I shared a look with the other demons while the three humans chatted on obliviously, and Ryk made a face, Nico shook his head, and Star snorted in his sleep. He'd woken up to greet Jerry and Kat before going right back to sleep.

Kat and Fressia returned as I started serving dinner, taking seats right next to each other. After we'd all settled with our plates, Kat spoke.

"So...we're dating now," she declared, waving a hand between herself and Fressia, and silence fell over the table before Jerry whistled softly.

"Wow, that was fast, even for you, Kat."

Kat smirked, and then her eyes flicked to me before falling on Ryk, Nico, and Star. Wait. My eyes widened as realization sankin, and I glanced at Ryk, who seemed to be coming to the same conclusion.

Fressia and Kat weren't just dating. They were mates.

What the fuck? How had Fressia done all of that in the forty minutes they were upstairs? It'd taken me weeks to win over Archer's trust, to make him ready to reveal my secret, and even then I'd been terrified of rejection. How had Kat accepted everything so easily?

I also realized that now Jerry was the only one in the dark, and I hated that. I wished I could tell him too. He was so close to Archer and Gunner. But the rules were the rules, and I couldn't do anything about it.

Once we started eating, conversation drifted back to safer topics. Nico told us about his latest culinary experiments, while Ryk described the painting he was working on, which was a pet portrait for their dog and cat, and sounded absolutely adorable.

After dinner, I bathed Gunner and got him ready for bed while Archer and the others cleaned up the after-dinner mess, and I took my time since this was one of my favorite parts of the day, not only because Gunner was a sweetheart when he was sleepy, but because putting him down meant I finally got some alone time with my mate. Not that that would be happening anytime soon tonight.

I waited until Gunner was asleep before turning on the baby monitor and leaving the room.

Downstairs, a game of Pictionary had broken out in my absence, and I slid in beside Archer on the couch, leaning against his shoulder as I called out a guess and joined in on the fun.

As much as I liked having our friends around, I hoped they'd leave soon, because I really wanted to get Archer alone and in our bed. We hadn't done anything more intimate than cuddling since the night we found Sabre, first because we were exhaustedtaking care of two babies, and then because we were sad after losing Sabre. But tonight? Tonight I wanted to feel him deep inside me, and our friends were unfortunately in the way. Why had I thought inviting them over for dinner was a good idea?

Twenty-Seven

Archer

After returning from puttingGunner to bed, Lux practically rushed our friends out after a hurried game of Pictionary.

At the door, I hugged Kat and Jerry, and shook hands with all of Lux's friends before watching them leave. Closing the door behind them, I turned to Lux and asked the question that had been burning in the back of my mind since Kat's declaration.

"Are Kat and Fressia—"

"Mates? Yeah," Lux answered before I could form my question as he took my hand and started tugging me toward our room.

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