Rosalind stumbled back a step. “Did you just leap over the counter to stop me from leaving?”
His head tilted like that was a ridiculous question. “I’d leap over the fucking Scar just to see you again. A counter is nothing.”
Ah, so itwasa ridiculous question.
“Laz,” came the deep voice behind her, and Rose was both soothed by it and reminded of all the filthy things he’d growled in her ear. “Our customer?”
“Fine,” the yellow demon grunted, digginginto his pocket before holding his hand out. “I’ll tip better from now on. Happy?”
Lazerath accepted the coins and peeled himself off the door, never letting his eyes stray from Rose as the yellow demon left. Thankfully, Laz didn’t take up post blocking the exit again, though he hovered warily like he was watching a cornered animal.
She pressed a hand to her chest, unsure when her breathing had started to come so quickly. Why did it have to betheirbakery? Why did she now see an open path to the door and freedom but had no desire to run?
“Hey, beautiful,” Laz rasped, hands fidgeting at his sides. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you. I got ahead of myself.”
“No, no,” she managed to squeak out. “Not, um… frightened. Just?—”
“Rosalind.” Her eyes squeezed shut at Davarox’s gentle voice. “It’s okay. You are free to leave. We won’t follow.”
Laz made a pained noise, but when Rose popped an eye open, he schooled his face from whatever silent conversation he was having with Dav and stepped to the side.
Okay, it was more like a partial side shuffle, but it provided a bit more room by the door if she desired.
It was very clear that was the last thing Lazerath desired.
“It’s really good to see you, beautiful,” he murmured, smile more pained than joyful as his body remained rigid. Tense, but respecting the distance.
It had been so easy. So easy for them to find her. One of six humans, and they already knew she worked with Mozke. But she’d had nothing, asked for nothing, searched for nothing, knowing that if she found them, she’d be doing exactly this.
Standing and waiting. Giving in despite every anxious thought telling her that this was a horrible idea.
“I, um?—”
“We want to court you!”
“Laz!” Davarox scolded as Rosalind’s eyes widened.
“I’m sorry,” Lazerath whined back, shaking his head before taking a tentative step toward her. “Actually, I’m not sorry. Maybe just for how I said it all aggressive-possessive and a bit shouty, which really isn’t my thing because I’m more the warm, gooey center of pastries fresh out of the?—”
“Laz,” Dav scolded again, this time with much more exasperation.
“Right, focus.” He huffed out a breath, hands smoothing out the air like he was calming himself despite the frantic twitching of his tail. “It’s just been eating my insides since that night, and I can’t stop thinking about it, okay? I know it was only supposed to be a single night thing, but I’ve—we’venever connected with someone like that before, and it just felt right, and maybe this is a lot for you to handle, and judging by your reaction this meeting was not intentional, but I had to say it before the sads that my sads has got the sads and then Dav caught the third sads too.”
Somehow, Rosalind understoodall of that. “Oh.”
Her eyes flicked to Davarox who had inched closer to Laz, possibly to tackle the red demon or hold him back if Rose really had decided to bolt through the door.
There was barely a flicker of emotion on the gray demon’s face, but she still felt like she could see everything he tried to mask. Not just what they had, but the connection he had with his best friend.
Their own little understanding passing within the silence of their gazes, no words needed. Everything quieted in her head, a rightness settling on her shoulders that she couldn’t deny.
Laz’s head twisted to see Dav, then her, then back again before his eyes widened. “Oh.Oh. Right.” His tail thwacked against a chair, nearly upturning the table as it got tangled. “You and Dav, obviously. Yeah, makes sense.”
“Laz,” Rose sighed.
“No! No worries,” he went on, pulling the chair off his tail and righting it as he turned away from them. “The lists thing was very hot. I mean,Idon’t understand it, but you do, and I definitely want you both to be happy. So fucking happy?—”
“Laz!” It wasn’t just her shout that got him to shut up, but the fact that she’d moved without thinking. When he turned back to her, she caught her palms on his chest, which was panting nearly as hard as hers had been. “That’s not what that look was.”
