Page 6 of My Demon Manny

Lux smiled, then shrugged. "I've always liked taking care of people. I debated between babies and the elderly, but I guess I like the idea of helping shape young minds more. I suppose that makes me sound a little conceited, huh?"

"About as much as anyone who wants to be a parent," I said with a smile, making him chuckle.

The one thing I'd noticed about Lux was that he was always smiling. I wasn't an unhappy person by any means, but I couldn't manage the level of cheer he seemed to carry with him everywhere. It was good for Gunner, and maybe for me too.

"May I ask about Gunner's mother? I don't need details—they're none of my beeswax—but I need to know if she's in the picture, or if I have to be careful about her."

I was surprised by his reasoning, but I supposed not every custody decision was as easily settled as ours. "No, it's okay. She's a law student, and she isn't involved in Gunner's life. I have full custody."

"Okay," Lux said, taking another bite of the sandwich.

I'd been surprised by how delicious they were, unable to believe he'd made them with the contents of my refrigerator. He'd assured me he had, and then grinned happily when I told him they were delicious.

After lunch, Lux shooed me away to take a nap, despite my protests that I was perfectly well-rested. The reflection I saw every morning in the mirror called me a liar, but I ignored it.

The thing was, I wasn't sure if I was okay leaving Lux alone with Gunner just yet.

"Here." Lux held out the baby monitor. It was a fancy one with an audio and video feed, and showed a perfect view of the whole living room, with a button that allowed me to focus on the part where there was any movement. "You can keep watch on me from your bed, okay? Just get some rest."

Sighing, I took the monitor from him, then trudged into my room. Placing the monitor on my desk, I lay down, watching as Lux held Gunner in his arms, smiling down at him before kneeling and placing him in his little play area on the floor.

Lux handed Gunner a toy which the kid quickly threw away, waving his arms happily when Lux brought it back.

As I watched them play fetch, my eyes grew heavy, and before I knew it, I was asleep.

When I woke up, panic filled me for a short moment before I remembered that Gunner wasn't alone, which prompted me to reach for the baby monitor.

Lux sat on the armchair with Gunner cradled to his chest, his eyes half-closed, and his lips moving softly. Was he singing to the baby? I turned the volume up and realized that he was. I also noticed the time in the corner, discovering I'd been asleep for close to three hours.

I did a quick playback of the feed for the past three hours and spotted nothing wrong or suspicious. Lux had even brought over a fresh diaper and the other necessary stuff and changed Gunner in the living room instead of going to the nursery. (I had a different camera and monitor set for the nursery, but I hadn't switched that one on, and the monitor was probably in the living room.)

Feeling like Lux had passed an unmentioned test, I stood up, stretched my arms above my head, and made my way to the living room, monitor in hand.

Lux's eyes snapped open when I came into the living room, and he smiled when he spotted me. "Hey. Sleep well?" His voicewas low, and I felt like if he started singing to me, I might fall right back to sleep.

Nodding, I placed the monitor on top of a cabinet close by, then crossed the room to them.

"Is he asleep?" I whispered, and Lux shook his head.

"I was just telling him a story," he said with a grin, then held him out to me.

I quickly cradled my arms, and Lux's arm brushed against mine as he placed Gunner in my hold, his eyes going wide.

"What is it?" I asked, but he merely shook his head and made his escape, mentioning something about needing to wash the bottles.

I glanced down at Gunner and raised a quizzical brow at him, making him giggle.

As Gunner patted my chest and realized there were no buttons to pull—Lux had made me change into a t-shirt, telling me I'd have no shirts left by the time I started work if I kept letting Gunner pull out the buttons—I wondered what Lux's reaction had been all about. Maybe he'd remembered something?

Shaking my head, I decided it was none of my business, not unless it concerned Gunner. If it did, I was sure Lux would mention it to me.

Four

Calux

Now that's what Icalled a complication.

A few weeks after I came to the human realm, Artemus—the King of Otherworld's mate, and the man who'd summoned me to the human realm to guard it—had shown up at my place with Kym in tow.

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