I laugh, the sound bubbling up from my chest. "You're serious?" Pulling away, I search for the joke in his expression and find none. I'm not a child but I'm wondering how dangerous this outing truly is and how much Duske isn't telling me.
"Dead serious," he says, and I can't tell if the pun is intentional or not.
Milo claps his hands together. "Okay, okay. Let's do this."
I watch as Vesper climbs off the bed, his tail slowly disappearing. He approaches me, Milo coming up on my other side, the three of them surrounding me completely. It's absolutely perfect.
My scent sweetens a little and I let out a hum of appreciation, Duske's grip tightening further. He grunts as he pulls me more to his side, a frown spreading across my lips until I realize why, my gaze dropping to the growing bulge between his thighs.
That looks delicious.
Somewhere in my little primal Omega brain, I just want to drop down to my knees and…
“Dove, keep thinking whatever you're thinking and we're not going to the store.”
A whimper falls from my throat as I bury my face into his chest, the others laughing at my reaction. I don't even get to seethe game of rock, paper, scissors but Milo starts squealing with his win, Duske grumbling in disbelief that he lost.
“You're Death, notGod,” I joke and quickly realize that was NOT the thing to say. He just shoots me a look before heading down the stairs, leaving me feeling like I did something wrong.
The longer I stand there, the more I feel like I need to fix this, something nagging at me in my chest. I press my hand to my heart, trying to rub out that emotion and failing. “Why do I feel like I let him down?”
Vesper steps up behind me and wraps around an arm around my waist. “Because him and the man upstairs don't really get along. Heaven and hell are not really like all the stories and whatever. Everyone upstairs are kind of assholes and really pretentious. He was given god-like powers but he's the one everyone is told to be terrified of. Him and Lucifer.”
I hadn't ever thought about it like that before. “Fuck, I'm going to fix this.” Vesper's chuckles follow me as I rush down the stairs, smack into Duske's chest. “I didn’t mean to…”
His arms come around me, Duske waiting until I look up at him. “You didn’t know but it's one of many things that we never shared with you. There's a lot you don't know.”
“So, tell me then. I won't break. Besides, I'm already dead. What's the worst that could happen?”
Duske huffs out a laugh as the other two come down the stairs. His nonanswer leaves me worried but I don't have time to dwell on it as Milo rushes over to the coffee maker. "Wait! We need to make you another coffee. Just to be safe."
I frown, tilting my head. "Another coffee?"
"Yeah," Milo says, already moving to the counter. "Duske said the coffee is what's keeping you anchored here. So, we should make sure you have another one before we go out. Just in case."
Vesper leans against the counter, watching Milo with an amused smile. "Milo, that's not what he said. He said thataccepting something from this plane is keeping her anchored here. It doesn't have to be coffee."
Milo shoots him a look, his hands already reaching for the coffee grounds. "Shut up. I'm going to do this because the other option is cereal and a protein bar and I'm not feeding Esme that.” He glares at the coffee maker, his brows furrowing when Vesper starts laughing. “Shut up, I know how to make coffee."
"Do you, though?" Vesper teases.
Milo huffs, pulling out my favorite pumpkin mug and setting it on the counter. "Yes, I do. Esme likes it sweet, with just a little bit of coffee flavor. Easy."
I bite back a laugh as I watch him work, his movements a little clumsy but endearing. Some part of me wonders what kind of demon he truly is and how he got mixed up with Vesper and Duske. Hell, I'm wondering how the three of them decided to work together.
Milo wiggles his ass as he measures out the coffee grounds, fills the machine with water, and then waits, drumming his fingers on the counter as the coffee starts to brew.
"Patience isn't your strong suit, is it?" Vesper asks, his grin widening as he moves me to sit down at the table.
Milo glares at him. "I'm being patient."
"You're drumming your fingers on the counter," Duske points out, sitting across from me.
"Because I'm excited," Milo shoots back. "There's a difference."
A soft laugh tumbles from my lips. It's moments like this that make me feel alive again, even if I'm technically dead. Or in a transition state. Or whatever the fuck this is.
The coffee finishes brewing, and Milo carefully pours it into the mug, his tongue poking out in concentration. He adds the pumpkin creamer, way too much of it, and then stirs it with aspoon. When he's done, he stalks over to the table and holds it up like a trophy.
