She started to speak, but he clapped a hand over her mouth. A move that had them both staring in surprise.
Lowering his palm slowly, he laughed again, nervously this time. “Sorry. But I wanted to explain. Last night, you looked sad, and I couldn’t get that expression out of my mind. And I couldn’t sleep. I had more nightmares.” At her sympathetic noise and nod, he pressed on. “So, I was just bringing Reena in here to keep you company. Anyway, I noticed you were tossing and turning. It seemed like you were having a nightmare, too. And I’ve never seen that happen to you. So, I got in bed with you.”
Chuck coughed slightly and raised an eyebrow as she drawled, “Clearly.”
“As the dog,” he clarified dryly. “I changed into the dog and let you hold on to me that way. You relaxed then. You even smiled. So, I slept here. I swear, though, Chuck, I was the dog when I fell asleep. I must have changed back subconsciously. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He shrugged his shoulders lamely and gave her an apologetic glance from under his dark eyelashes. He had used that same glance countless times to seduce other women, but his intention this time was to get her to believe him.
“I believe you,” she replied. “I thought I dreamt it, though.” Running a hand over her own hair, she shook her head. “Iwashaving a bad dream before about my dad and his murder. The day I heard the news. You expect that as a police officer’s family. You expect that one day you’ll get that call, but you pray hard it won’t be you. I don’t know, my dad just always seemed indestructible.”
Shaking his head, Malachi murmured, “You have no idea.”
“What?”
“I said, I have no idea. I can’t imagine what that was like. How hard that must have been for you. Your dad sounds like a great guy, and I’m so sorry you lost him like that.” To his eternally damned surprise, it was true. Although he guessed he shouldn’t be surprised anymore, everything he thought he knew about himself was being turned upside down by Chuck—a half angel in form-fitting polyester.
Nodding slowly, she continued, “And then, in my dream, when I was crying, you showed up and hugged me. I guess that must have been when you got in bed with me. I knew you were there, so you appeared in my dream. Thanks, Malachi. It’s nice that you care.” She gave him a warm smile before her eyes widened in alarm. “Shit! Look at the time! Gonna be late if we don’t get moving!”
Malachi was on the verge of asking her which version of him had comforted her in the dream, human or dog, but her panic had him jumping from the bed.
“Mal!” she squealed, covering her eyes.
Glancing down, he realized he’d forgotten, truly this time, that he was naked. He quickly shimmered into dog form and barked, letting her know it was safe to look.
Muttering to herself about illegal bodies, she hurried to the bathroom to shower and dress.
Grinning, Malachi flopped next to Reena.Hey, kiddo, doing okay with all of this?
Reena sneezed so hard her tail straightened, then she panted after the happiest little woof ever.
Good to know. So, you know what’s going on now with the demons and stuff, right?He studied her closely and sighed in relief at her grumble of understanding.Alright, just… don’t tip Chuck off, okay? I don’t want to hurt her. I promise I don’t. I’m going to help her figure out who killed her dad.
Reena stood and barked happily before spinning around in crazy circles, making her piggy snorts of approval. It would seem she liked this plan.
Slow down, turbo tailgate,he chuckled, amused at her antics.I don’t want Chuck to know for a bit. I don’t want to get her hopes up if I can’t find anything.He glanced over his shoulder at the bathroom door and calculated how much longer Chuck would be. Hurrying to his room, he shifted back and quickly grabbed a change of clothes. Nothing fancy, just light enough that if he needed to be human, he wouldn’t have to scramble for a hiding spot due to nudity. A police station was the last place he wanted to explain being naked.
Running out to the living room, he piled it on the couch and shifted back to dog form, collar around his neck already. He’d damn near giggled putting it on in human form, and he’d never giggled before in his life.
Chuck hurried into the room, tightening her belt, pausing when she saw Malachi waiting. “How did you get your own collar on?” Then her cheeks flushed a bright pink as she realized how he might accomplish it. Her embarrassed gaze became a murderous squint as he laughed at her. The wheezing huff recognizable even in his canine form. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, mister. What’s with the clothes?”
I want to put them in a bag and take them with us. Just in case,he sent to her.Never know when I may need to be… Evan, ugh… again.His tone was nonchalant, and he managed not to vomit when he thought of the name. It was close, though.
Chuck tapped her pointer finger on her lips thoughtfully before nodding slowly. She held up her finger in a wait gesture, then hurried to her bedroom.
Malachi could hear her rummaging around before she ran back in, a drawstring sack held triumphantly in her fist. “Just the thing! I can put your clothes in here, and either one of us can carry them easily.” Quickly,she suited action to words and had his clothes, shoes, and even a hairbrush in the bag. “Because when you change, sometimes your hair is a little wild,” she explained.
Why are you so obsessed with my hair?he teased.
“I’m not!” she snapped, then shook her head with chagrin. “Okay, maybe a little. It’s such a pretty color. I’ve never seen someone naturally have hair that black before. I mean, lots of people have black hair, but yours is so vibrant. Which doesn’t really make sense about that color. But it’s almost iridescent like a raven’s wings. It’s beautiful, really. And you have so much of it.” She stopped rambling, and her cheeks heated again. Standing taller, she smirked. “Well, enough about you. Wouldn’t want your ego to get any bigger than it already is.”
Bursting into laughter, Malachi let the insult go because he was too busy thinking about how much she truly paid attention to his appearance. That she had studied his hair that closely, it warmed him from the inside in a much more comforting way than the time his cousin Flick had dared him to eat a piece of brimstone when they were children. This reminder of his demonhood had him shaking off the warm feeling, picturing Hyacinth’s threats. He sobered and fell in line, trotting next to her so they could get to work, and he could keep corrupting her. If there was a small voice in the back of his mind, jeering, it was the other way around; he ignored it.
When they arrived at the station, they were both heartily greeted by the rest of the squad as they settled in for the day. At her desk, Chuck reviewed some reports and checked her messages. Sighing heavily, sheabsently rubbed between his ears. “This is the non-glamorous part you don’t see on television,” she confided. “But… alas… paperwork makes the world go round.”
Yeah, about that. I uh… I want to check on a couple of things. Do you mind?He sent his thoughts carefully and innocently, as if his only goal was to go potty and sucker the guys into some bacon.
“Sure, that’s fine, just be back in thirty, we have to head over to a school for a demonstration.” Negligently, she shooed him away without watching to see where he went.
Silently, he grabbed his change of clothes and trotted off to the back room where he knew records were kept. He muffled his collar—so nothing jingled—and slipped some shadows over his body to deflect attention. He wasn’t truly invisible, but it made him unmemorable if someone asked if he’d been seen.
