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“Henry called you lazy for sleeping in. Gale said you needed nurturing through all the changes. She ordered me to make sure you ate.”

“Did they feed ya too?”

“They fed everyone. I believe it’s their way of staking ownership of us and the house. I shared breakfast with Mulan and Conn at the kitchen bar. Henry told us not to get used to casual dining because he was having a proper dinner table delivered as soon as possible.”

I scooted to sit up completely and tucked the covers discreetly over my naked body. Rasmus set the tray down on an unpacked box we were using as a side table.

“The tray is from Mulan. She’s unpacked already.”

I snorted. “Of course, she has. Mulan is Ms. Perfect.”

Rasmus chuckled. “She’s definitely Ms. Efficiency.”

“Same thing,” I said, sipping the coffee. “Do I get the whole carafe to myself?”

He nodded. “Yes, and you can thank me and Conn for it. We both shared stories of what you were like before you had your coffee in the morning. Mulan ran to her house and found the tray and carafe.”

I would have sighed but the coffee was wonderful. It was better than what I made and I was picky. “So Henry and Gale think the worst of me already. What a great start to our relationship. I can’t believe they’re Conn’s parents.”

Rasmus chuckled. “Those three demons are not family in the same way you and Fiona are. Henry and Gale seem more like friends than his parents. Perhaps that’s what happens after being alive together for so many millennia.”

I looked at Rasmus over my cup as I drank. “Are ya feeling wistful?” I asked.

His laughter shook the queen bed, which he’d not tightened properly. I suppose I needed a better quality one given the nightly use we made of it.

His gaze on me was kind but condemning. “Sometimes I need a dictionary to talk to you.”

I held my now empty coffee cup out to him for a refill. “Let me rephrase my question to accommodate yer limited guardian understanding of nuance. Do ya ever wish ya had actual parents? At yer most forgetful, ya once mentioned not being able to remember being a child. Ya sounded sad about it.”

“Oh,” Rasmus said, finally understanding my question. “This body feels the normal human longing for familial connections. Sharing your life and bed has appeased most of them. I have studied how inclusive you are with the beings you encounter. It is a trait I’m attempting to emulate.”

I sipped more coffee while I tried to figure out what he was saying. “Right. Sometimes I forget ya’re an alien.”

Rasmus stared at me. “I’m not an alien. All beings are one. All planets are one. We are connected through the divine source from which we were all made.”

“Even the criminals?” I asked, snickering when he narrowed his eyes. “Sorry. I hear what ya’re saying and know what ya mean.”

When he lifted the plate of food and set it on my lap, I immediately plucked a piece of bacon from the plate and chewed. After swallowing, I took the fork and cut into an amazing omelet. “Did Mulan bring all this food? When did she find the time for shopping? I’ve been too busy to breathe.”

“My understanding is that Henry had food delivered this morning. I believe they have a crew of demons who work for them because there are people outside working. Some were playing with the demon wolves.”

Guilt hit me for nearly forgetting to feed them yesterday. I’d locked them in the nicest barn ever built to keep them out of our way as we came and went. Poor things had waited all day for me to remember them.

I thought about Henry and Gale having a crew as I ate. Conn had to have known about that. No wonder he hadn’t been worried about the size of this place. Was I supposed to house the crew as well? I shook my head and decided to think about that after I finished eating my yummy breakfast. It was nice to be taken care of and I’d be sure to thank them for it later.

My phone dinged again. I ignored it to continue eating. This is why I hated technology. All it mostly did was interrupt my real life.

Rasmus smiled at me. “Want me to see what it says? It’s late morning and people will expect quick answers from you.”

I waved my hand at the phone. “Check it if ya must. There’s no password blocking ya.”

“Aran, you need to set one. It’s an unfair temptation to cyber thieves for you to have none. It’s like leaving your front door standing wide open when you’re away from your house.”

I stared at him while I finished my omelet. “Do they infuse ya with instant adaptability when they stick ya in a new body? I bet ya lived on Earth before, haven’t ya? It’s obvious that living with me is not yer first human experience.”

Rasmus stopped reading the message on my phone to look at me. “All guardians are required to live among humans every couple of centuries.”

Grunting, I returned to my coffee. “People on Earth call that a working vacation.”