Page 11

11

TERRIBLE CHILDHOOD TALES

Nat expected an ordinary trip to Duke’s home, except Duke kept scowling at Hubrie throughout the car ride.

Hubrie wasn’t even afraid; his grins just kept growing smugger and smugger.

“Is there something wrong?” Nat finally blurted, his hands twisted up in the seat belt.

“Hell Master is just worried about what we’ll get up to while he’s gone,” Hubrie sang.

“Like what?”

“Did you know,” Hubrie began.

“Hubrie,” Duke snarled, reaching for his butler.

“No touchy! I’m driving!” Hubrie wagged a finger. “Once upon a time, Hell Master was a little boy demon who thought you could turn chicken eggs into Hellbirds by bringing them to Hell and dunking them in the Hell River.”

Nat straightened. “Did it work?”

“No,” Duke said grouchily. “Shut up—”

“Of course it didn’t work,” Hubrie said cheerfully. “What he didn’t realize was that those eggs were unfertilized. So he brought a basket of eggs down to Hell, trekked several miles uphill, both ways, on one foot. He had to fight three monsters and four trolls for his breakfast—”

“Hubrie.” Duke was cringing now. “Please don’t. The only thing worse than the actual story is you embellishing it. ”

“Well, you just seem so embarrassed,” Hubrie said breezily. “Anyway, Lil Hell Master dunked the chicken eggs into the Hell River, and when none of them hatched into birds, he dunked them a few more times. Then he cracked one open to help the bird hatch, and screamed when he found a hard-boiled egg.”

“That was fucking traumatizing,” Duke growled.

“It’s also the reason you don’t eat eggs now,” Hubrie said solemnly. “In case you ever wonder, Nat.”

“My damn brothers told me to use the eggs from the market! Onyx didn’t stop them, the fucker. They said it would work.” Duke bared his teeth. “I was eight years old!”

“Awww,” Nat said softly. “I’m sure you felt really bad. If that had happened to Wanda, I would’ve been mad, too.”

Duke met Nat’s eyes through the rearview mirror; Nat blushed and looked away.

“Anyway, here’s a story that’s actually funny,” Hubrie said.

“Dear gods,” Duke muttered.

“When Hell Master was thirteen, he decided that he wanted a pet dog. So he hunted all over Hell and brought home a three-headed puppy... only to have the dog’s Mama track him down and roar at his entire family from outside the family home—”

“It came with me willingly!” Duke protested. “It even wagged its tail!”

Hubrie snorted. “Hell Master’s parents were so embarrassed, they sent him over to Dog Mama’s place to do chores. Her puppies ended up sitting on his back and riding him like a pony. He was crawling around for hours doing chores that way. Kind of like those robot vacuums with the cats sitting on them while they move, you know?”

“Awww,” Nat said, his heart fluttering.

Duke groaned. “I hate that story too.”

“You were such a good horsie, Dog Mama didn’t want to let you go,” Hubrie cackled. To Nat, he added, “Hell Master’s parents commissioned someone to paint that scene, and charm it so that when you look at it through some special glasses, the entire scene is in 3D. Lil Hell Master even barks and wags his butt.”

Nat wanted to see that painting, but Duke would probably fire him if he asked.

“I demand respect,” Duke hissed at Hubrie. “These stories don’t give me any!”

“Well, they’ll help you appear more human to Nat,” Hubrie said.

“I don’t need to appear more human!”

“Are you implying that Nat is a monster-fucker?” Hubrie whispered.

Nat choked on his saliva.

Duke growled.

They pulled up in front of a mansion before Duke could ream out his butler. It was growing dark; soft golden lights lit up the exterior of the mansion. Majestic pillars held up its roof, and double doors led the way in.

Nat scooped Wanda out of her car seat, grabbing her diaper bag.

Duke held out his hand. “I can get that for you.”

“You’re already carrying my new clothes,” Nat protested.

Duke raised an eyebrow and wriggled his fingers. It was such an intimate gesture that Nat blushed, handing the bag over.

Their fingers touched again. This time, Nat anticipated the rush of tingles.

He didn’t expect the way Duke smiled at him, though, all warm and inviting. His stomach flipped.

Nat ducked his head, following Duke into his home.

The mansion was huge. A simple chandelier hung above the foyer, casting light everywhere. Smooth cobblestones lined the floors and walls, and on one side of the living room was a giant fireplace as tall as Nat, surrounded by cushy-looking couches.

“This feels like some kind of fancy hunting lodge,” Nat said, eyeing the exposed wooden beams in the building’s architecture.

“I like to bring nature into my living spaces,” Duke said.

He opened his mouth to say more, except tiny, excited footsteps reached their ears.

“Duke, Duke!” Two small faces popped up at the top of the stairs. Teddy was eight with blond hair and green eyes, and Mallie was ten, with red hair and black eyes.

Teddy hopped onto the stair railing and slid all the way down; Nat squawked in horror.

“Teddy,” Duke chided, reaching over to catch the boy before he flew off the end. “I told you not to do that.”

“But you always catch us,” Teddy said brightly.

“My turn, my turn!” Mallie hopped onto the railing too. Duke hurriedly set Teddy on his feet; Mallie slid down with a whoop, and Duke caught her with a fond sigh.

“You can’t do that when I’m not around, okay? Hubrie and Nat might get knocked off their feet if they try to catch you,” Duke said, crouching to look them both in the eye.

“Who’s Nat?” Mallie asked.

Nat waved awkwardly. “Hey! I’m Nat, and this is Wanda.”

“Nat and Wanda are here to play with you tonight,” Duke said, wincing when Teddy and Mallie both sagged. “There are some wildfires nearby that the fire department really needs help with, so I promised them that I’d help them tonight. These fires might hurt people if we continue to let them burn.”

“But...” Teddy whined, his little shoulders slumping. Nat felt so bad for him.

“Hey,” Nat said, stepping forward. “You’re both shifters, right?”

The siblings eyed him warily. “What’s it to you?” Mallie asked.

“I thought we could go out and play in the backyard. See, I’m a raccoon, and so is Wanda.” Nat set Wanda down and shifted. He squeezed himself out through the collar of his shirt, waving his paws. “Tada!”

Wanda made a low churring sound and shifted, too.

“Awww, she’s so cute!” Mallie cooed, her gaze going soft.

Nat shifted back and pulled his clothes onto his lap. “You may play with her, but be gentle! She’s not used to you, so she’ll take a while to get friendly. But even when she does want to play, you’ll have to watch your strength. She’s just ten months old.”

Mallie bobbed her head obligingly. Teddy crept closer.

“Why do you only have two fingers and a thumb?” Teddy asked, staring at Nat’s hand.

Nat froze, unsure what to say. He glanced at Duke.

“I could explain, if you’d like me to?” Duke asked.

Nat nodded. “Sure.”

“Someone hurt Nat really badly,” Duke said quietly to Teddy and Mallie. “It’s why he lost some of his fingers.”

Teddy and Mallie both shuffled uneasily. It made sense—Duke had told Nat earlier that someone had murdered their parents, thankfully not in front of them.

Teddy huddled behind his sister. “Is the bad guy gone?”

“I’ll make sure he’s gone,” Duke said.

Nat frowned. “But—”

Duke pressed his finger to Nat’s lips; Nat’s heart stuttered. “Let me deal with it. You’re playing with Teddy and Mallie tonight.”

Nat knew an order when he heard one. He nodded and turned back to the kids.

“Why are you fat?” Teddy asked.

“Oh, gods.” Nat cringed. That wasn’t what he wanted Duke to notice!

Duke looked just as shocked. “Sorry, I’ll correct that,” he said earnestly to Nat. Then he turned to Teddy. “We don’t call people fat, kiddo. That word can be hurtful and unkind, even if you didn’t mean it that way. People come in all shapes and sizes, and they’re all beautiful.”

Nat blinked hard. He... hadn’t expected Duke to say that.

Then again, Duke hadn’t looked at him with any sort of disgust, even when he’d had Nat almost naked in front of him.

“Thanks,” Nat mumbled.

Duke flashed a quick smile. “Again, I’m sorry,” he murmured. To the kids, he asked, “Are we all good here?”

“I’m good,” Teddy said.

“I’m very good,” Mallie added.

“I’m better!” Teddy shouted.

Duke snorted. “All right. What about you and Wanda, Nat?”

Nat gathered Wanda into his arms—she was currently rooting around in her clothes, chewing them up. “We’re fine.”

Hubrie rubbed his hands gleefully.

Duke shot his butler a wary look. “Hubrie.”

“The roof repair people are almost here,” Hubrie said. “I’ll be watching them... And telling Nat more fun stories.”

“Stories!” Teddy and Mallie chirped.

Duke glared daggers at his butler, who only seemed too pleased.

“Hubrie will tell you stories later,” Nat hurriedly said. “The more games you win, the more stories he’ll tell.”

Immediately after, he shut his mouth. Should he not have suggested that?

Hubrie cackled. Duke looked a little betrayed, but not angry.

“What game are we playing?” Mallie asked excitedly.

When Duke still didn’t correct him, Nat said, “Well, first, we’ll see how many circles you can run around Wanda and me. But wait!” He held up his hand before they could start running. “You’ll run in the backyard. Not in the house! And I’ll need volunteers to help me make the circles.”

“Me, me!” the children cried.

“I’ll help too,” Duke said.

Nat blinked in surprise. “O-okay.”

Duke gathered some sticks and wide, shiny ribbons. Then they went out to the backyard, where Nat had each child unravel ribbon from a large roll. Nat and Duke stabbed the sticks into the ground in a wide circle, before tying the ribbons to the tops of the sticks.

And now they had a ribbon rink of sorts, two-thirds of it made of gold ribbon because Duke was faster, and a third of it tied off with Nat’s silver ribbon.

“Now, you’ll both start here,” Nat said, pointing to a spot on the outside of the ribbon circle. “Let’s see how many circles you can run in two minutes. Ready, set, run!”

Mallie and Teddy took off, scrambling around the ribbon circle. They yelled and chased each other, and seemed to forget that Nat and Duke were even there.

“You didn’t start a timer,” Duke murmured.

Nat grinned. “Two minutes is up when one of them gets tired.”

Duke snorted, but he was grinning again, a handsome smile on his lips. Nat gulped.

For a while, they stood together in the moonlit backyard, looking at each other. Duke’s gaze dropped to Wanda curled up in Nat’s arms, and drifted back up, lingering on Nat’s face.

His attention settled on Nat’s lips. Nat wet them nervously; it only seemed to darken Duke’s gaze.

When the silence between them grew to be too much, Nat blurted, “You don’t mind? That I volunteered some of your stories?”

Duke rolled his shoulders. “Hubrie’s always looking for a chance to tell them about my misdeeds. He’s already told them several terrible stories about me.”

“Shouldn’t he tell them the good ones?” Nat asked, frowning.

“Oh, he tells those too, sometimes.” The demon leaned in, closing the distance between their faces until all Nat could see was Duke’s golden eyes. “But Nat. For the record, the next time you think about doing that...” Duke pressed closer, brushing his lips against Nat’s ear. “You will ask for permission first.”

Nat’s heart stumbled. “O-okay.”

“Good.” Duke trailed his nose against Nat’s cheek, his breath hot on Nat’s skin.

Nat would’ve said that all this touching—foreplay?—was unnecessary, because sex was already in his contract. He didn’t have to be convinced to accept Duke’s touch.

But the fact that Duke still wanted to touch him, the fact that Duke was nosing at him intimately like a lover...

It made Nat feel desirable.

Like he was something special.

And Nat hadn’t felt that way in a very long time.

Mallie shrieked, suddenly. They jerked away from each other and turned to the kids.

“I saw a moonfly!” she said, pointing at the trees.

Something pale fluttered from tree to tree. Duke grinned, striding over and scooping both Mallie and Teddy into his arms. “Where is it?”

“There!”

Duke carried them over to the trees. Nat checked his phone and winced, jogging after them. He waited for Mallie and Teddy to be distracted, before bumping lightly into Duke’s side.

“You’re due at the station soon,” Nat murmured.

Duke grimaced. “Thanks.”

He looked at where Mallie was pointing, but it was obvious that he wasn’t fully engaged with the children anymore.

It was hard, Nat could imagine. Choosing between time with his kids, and helping with the wildfires.

Duke sighed. “Mal, Ted, I have to go save the town.”

“Aww.” The kids pouted. “Aren’t there other firefighters who can go?”

“They’re already there, fighting fires. And the ones that aren’t there yet, they’re preparing to take over. It’s not as though the fires will stop when there are no firefighters around.”

The children sagged; Nat felt bad for them.

“Nat will play with you like he promised,” Duke said gently. “You like raccoons, don’t you?”

They cheered up. “Yeah!”

Duke set them down and slipped away; Nat tried his best to hold their attention. This time, they played How To Be A Moonfly.

Nat had just sent them off to collect ten leaves each, when Duke reappeared next to him. Nat jumped.

His boss was in a Cartfalls Fire Department T-shirt—it hugged his chest and biceps, and Nat couldn’t help staring.

“I don’t think you need tailoring on that shirt,” he said.

Duke rolled his shoulders, his smirk growing when Nat followed the movement with his gaze.

Mallie skidded to a stop next to them. “Oh! You should’ve seen the time we spilled paint on Duke,” she said. “He got it all over his face, so Teddy and I painted him even more!”

Duke laughed, his eyes crinkling. “We will paint outside the house next time.”

Nat shuddered. “I can only imagine the cleanup when you didn’t.”

“It’s not so bad when you can call in some help.” Duke hugged Mallie and Teddy. Then he turned to Nat, and paused.

Nat wished he were getting a hug too.

“Bye, Mr. B,” he said with a small wave.

Duke huffed and tugged him close in a one-armed hug. “Be good, all of you.”

Then he pulled away, his fingertips skimming down Nat’s spine for a brief second.

Their eyes met. Duke’s gaze was dark, intent, like he was promising Nat something.

Maybe... when he returned home?

Nat swallowed dryly. He turned back to the kids and raised his voice. “All right, let’s hunt for some flowers!”

Teddy and Mallie cheered.

Duke disappeared, but Nat felt the ghost of his touch for a long time after that.