Page 45 of Dancing with My Elf
“I’ve enjoyed every minute.” I laughed. “Well, maybe not the part that involved pinning down a revolting demon but other than that.”
A small smile tugged at her lips. “You looked like you enjoyed kicking demon ass.”
In a strange way, I did. It gave me the opportunity to both protect and impress her.
“Tonight, get a good night of sleep. Tomorrow, no work and all play, Zoe.” I extended my hand. “Deal?”
She stared into my eyes and then lowered her gaze to my extended hand. She shook it. “Deal.”
Chapter 10
Lucas
The scent of cooking eggs met me as I opened my bedroom door. Shadow trotted ahead of me down the stairs, eager to get his breakfast.
Sebastian stood in front of the stove. “Hey man, want an omelet? I’m making sausage and pepper today.”
“Sure but no peppers,” I replied. “You know I hate them.” I opened the cabinet and pulled out a can of cat food.
Shadow purred as he rubbed against my legs, buttering me up with a reminder not to forget him.
“You’re nuts.” He shook his head. “What’s there not to like about peppers?”
“The taste.” I scrunched my nose in disdain.
When I pulled the cover off the cat food, Shadow meowed as if to urge me to hurry the hell up, human. He was funny like that. We went through this ritual every morning. It always ended up with him having a bowl of cat food covered in gravy set before him, so why would he worry that I’d suddenly forget what to do? He was too picky to eat pate and would turn and stride away, head and tail in the air in a silent protest.
After I scooped out a serving, I put the bowl down next to his water on his placemat, which had to be served in a glass bowl.
“You spoil him with food,” Sebastian noted, as he often did.
“That’s okay, you spoil me with food.” I grinned. We often had this exchange. He noted that Shadow was too finicky and should learn to eat a wider variety of food. I’d note that Sebastian wouldn’t eat anything he didn’t deem palatable so not to be a hypocrite.
After I fed Shadow, I was able to take care of myself next and poured a mug of coffee. If I dared to do so before feeding Shadow, I’d hear the most woeful of wails. No one wanted to hear the whining protest of a hungry cat.
Blowing on the coffee, I took a sip. “Piping hot, just the way I like it.” I put the mug down and walked over to my record player in the living room. I found an album to put on, an old Beach Boys one. Starting with “Fun, Fun, Fun,” would set the mood to help me think up some entertaining activities for the day ahead.
“How was your night?” I asked Sebastian.
“Busy at work.” He cracked some eggs into a bowl and whipped them up with some milk. “I barely stopped moving and just came home and crashed. Yours?”
I leaned against the counter. “Slightly more exciting.”
“Oh? Does that mean you met a hottie at the club?”
That would be a usual reply to explain a good night. That was before Zoe. I hadn’t hit on anyone since I’d met her. Intriguing. I hadn’t been interested in anyone else. My dragon snorted in his knowing way, reiterating the reason why.
“No, nothing like that.” I took another sip of coffee and tried to sort through the order of events while Sebastian added more to the egg mixture. I wouldn’t have believed last night happened if it hadn’t felt so real. Shadow had his fill for now and wandered off to one of his cat trees in front of a window. He loved to look outside at the squirrels and birds, making the weirdest clicking kind of sound whenever he got excited.
“One of my coworkers was found dead outside the club.” I summarized what happened and how I volunteered to help. “When Zoe and I met that night, we found something.” I paused for emphasis. “Something big.”
Sebastian had been stirring the egg mixture but had stopped and gaped at me. “And?”
“We heard a woman scream. When we went to investigate, we found her struggling against someone. Only it wasn’t human, but a demon.”
Sebastian put the bowl down on the counter. “For real?”
I nodded. “No lie.”
