Page 117 of Sent To A Fantasy World and Now All the Men Want Me 7

“I love that sound,” Maddox said against my ear. “Your laugh. You deserve only happiness, sweetheart. Now and always.”

A lump wedged in my throat. “Why are you being so sweet? Is someone dying?”

He breathed out a laugh. “I suppose I’m feeling… sentimental. One year ago today, I found you beneath that tree in Bremloc. It was the day my life changed forever. Falling in love with you has brought me more joy than I ever thought possible.”

Well, that didn’t help the lump in my throat. I rested my face in the crook of his neck and breathed in the warm spice of his skin.

Had it really only been a year? It felt longer. The person I was before finding Lupin’s shop seemed like someone else. A guy who’d escaped with books and video games because he never fit in with the world around him. And now I knew why.

Because I hadn’t belonged in that world at all.

I belonged here. With the grouchy, muffin-loving captain in my arms and the other five men who owned pieces of my heart. A demon lord amongst them.

A feminine giggle came from the corridor.

“Wonderful.” Maddox groaned under his breath. “Here that demon comes again.”

Nina burst into the kitchen half a beat later and beamed as soon as she saw me. “Evan! Nina hasss come to help with evening meal!”

Cyan entered the room behind her, propelled by that same high energy. “Me as well!”

The two of them flocked to me at the stove, pinching my cheeks and patting my head, easing Maddox out of the way in the process.

Rowan appeared in the corner of the room, using the shadows beside the pantry to pop in like the sneaky spy he was. “Are they fighting over Evan?”

Maddox sneered at the female demons. “Yes.”

Cyan tugged on my left bicep, causing me to fall against her, before Nina tugged on my right and glared at the other female demon. The two were playing muffin tug-o-war.

“Meanie Cyan!” Nina yanked on my arm again. “Trying to take Evan from Nina.”

“He wasn’t yours to begin with,” Cyan responded, pulling me back toward her.

I glanced at Maddox in a silent plea for help. He was possessive enough to come save me. The others were too amused by it. Rowan, especially, who helped himself to a bite of the gumbo directly from the simmering pot as he watched the show.

However, before Maddox could come to my rescue, Oreo padded over from where he’d been busy attacking Callum’s boot laces and gave a half-hearted woof at the two demons.

My little hero.

The puppy yawned big before plopping to his back and staring up at me. Showing his chunky belly.

Or not. I sighed.

“Bad Yoyo,” Maddox said. “You should be protecting your master, not begging for pets.”

Oreo heavily huffed. The action caused a jiggle in his belly.

“How precious he is!” Cyan exclaimed, releasing my arm and dropping down to pet him. “So fluffy and soft.”

“Nina wantsss to pet him too!” She knelt down beside the other demon and showered him in love and pets.

Oreo tipped his little head back to look at Maddox, as if to be like, ‘you were saying?’

Well, I’ll be damned. It seemed Oreo had known what he was doing all along. Using his cuteness as a weapon against the girls, as though knowing no one could resist the temptation of his chunky tummy.

With the female demons preoccupied with the puppy, Fane and I finished with dinner and then carried it to the dining parlor with the help of the knights. Lake, Briar, and Varys were already in the room, sitting in front of the lit hearth as they chatted.

And they weren’t the only ones.