“Betrayed!” Drew cried, poking out his tongue. “Besides, it’s not like you were arealdemon.”
Zach faked-coughed into his hand.“Beelzebub.”
Turning wide eyes on Zach, Drew held a hand to his heart. “You wound me.”
“To be fair, you wound yourself more than I ever could.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you tripped over your own feet this morning and hit your head on the bathroom cabinet.”
“It wasn’t my feet!” Drew protested. “I tripped over your catnip toy, thank you very little.”
“And why was it out in the first place, hmm?” Zach challenged. “Maybebecause you were being a little shit and got me high last nightso you could have a big laugh.”
“Hey! You make it sound like you hated it but you pounced on it as soon as I brought it out.”
“Because it smells so damn good,” Zach growled.
Drew patted his shoulder. “There, there. If you’re struggling with it, there are places and professionals who can help with addiction.”
“I don’t have an addiction,” Zach shot back. “I just have an enabler for a boyfriend.”
“Is it so wrong to do things that make you happy?”
“I’m pretty sure it makes you happier.”
“Only because you’re so cute in your cat form when you’re on the nip. Your little bottom sways so much as you stalk across the kitchen.”
Harriett snorted. “You two are precious.”
They both flinched and turned to look at her. Zach had almost forgotten she was there, and by the guilty look on Drew’s face, so had he. “Sorry,” Drew told his aunt.
“Don’t be. I’m glad to see you’ve found someone who complements you so well.”
“Really?”
She smiled. “Really. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t realise quite how big the age gap was between the two of you, but you seem to be making it work.”
“We are,” Zach assured her, feeling some of his anxiety fade.
“So, Zach, tell me about yourself. What have you been doing since my nephew broke your bonds to that horrible man?”
“Oh, well, I’ve been keeping busy, especially since Drew has had so many assignments he’s had to work on. I’ve been helping Kensington with a few projects, including writing up a strategy in case there’s ever anotherincursion. I’ve also been taking some driving lessons,” he admitted, and he was amazed at how bashful he felt over that. He rubbed at the back of his neck. “I thought if we had a car we could come and visit you more often. Drew does miss you terribly.”
Harriett’s eyes softened. “Oh, you are sweet.”
“I know, right?” Drew exclaimed. “Can you see why I questioned what sort of demon he could be?”
“You never questioned it,” Zach argued.
“Well, maybe notquestionedit, but I did think you were a really shitty demon.”
“You flatter me,” Zach drawled, but couldn’t help but lean in and give him a soft kiss on the lips.
“You really are very sweet together,” Harriett said, then stood up from the armchair. “Right, how about I see about dinner? Then afterward, I have a few things I want to dig out that I think you might find interesting.”
The interesting items turned out to be a stack of old notebooks that were bound together by twine. Drew blew a layer of dust off the top of them and then undid the bow which held them together. Zach looked over his shoulder and saw there was loopy handwriting scrawled across the cover of the top book.
