Page 4 of Demon (Mystic Guardians #3)

Chapter Four

L onnie

Lonnie had never been more excited in his life. When his sister had hired a bodyguard, he’d expected some buffed up, normal guy, and instead he was driving home with an actual demon following him.

A demon!

It was like a dream come true. He’d spent his entire life dying to talk to one of the supernatural creatures he’d always been able to see. And he hadn’t been kidding when he’d told Callan that others had thought him crazy when he’d tried to ask if they saw them too. The first time, he’d been five years old, and the embarrassment of that awkward conversation was still with him today. He’d asked his teacher why one of the other teachers had wings, and she’d promptly called in his parents to tell them he needed professional help. Which he’d gotten. Several therapists later, he’d clued in that lying was in his best interest, and all that had finally stopped. So he’d kept what he saw to himself, never getting up the nerve to actually talk to one of these people with…extra.

But he’d always wanted to.

Lonnie parked his car in his driveway and turned as Callan pulled a massive Ford truck in behind him. The demon probably needed all that space just to fit inside the vehicle. He got out and approached, and Lonnie had to crane his neck to look Callan in the face. And what an interesting face it was. Craggy lines along his cheekbones, attractive dark brown eyes with long eyelashes, and a jutting lower lip that was full and, well, kissable. He wasn’t a handsome man, but altogether, he had rugged good looks Lonnie found very appealing.

And the horns were gorgeous—like onyx blades, sleek and deadly.

Lonnie couldn’t help looking at Callan’s hands, too. He’d always had a thing for hands and forearms, and Callan’s hands were amazing, big with muscled forearms revealed by his rolled-up sleeves. He wasn’t wearing a coat.

“Do you not get cold?” He’d offered to sleep outside, despite the snow.

Callan shrugged, but there was a long pause before he responded. “Yes, but it doesn’t bother me much.”

“Well, I still want you to stay in the house with me. I know some bodyguards sit in their vehicles, but that would make me uncomfortable. I have a lot of books and manga—do you like to read?”

Callan frowned, his chin dipping slightly as if his answer embarrassed him. “No.”

“Okay, well that’s sad.” He chuckled, so not used to being around anyone who didn’t read. Or write, come to think of it. He couldn’t imagine living without books. “What would you like to do to pass the time while I’m grading? I always have a ton of grading.”

“I’ll watch over you. My job.” He said this in a pure matter-of-fact way, like it should have just been understood.

Lonnie didn’t know what to say to that, which was a first since his mouth usually moved a mile a minute. It would make him nervous to constantly be stared at, though. He’d have to put on one of his favorite shows and hope it caught Callan’s interest.

He turned to walk to his front door and quickly unlocked it.

Inside, he looked around and sighed to see he’d been more messy than usual. Oh, well. “Hope small piles don’t bother you. It’s how I like to keep things. Out of sight is out of mind for me.”

Callan had followed him and stood towering in his entryway. His eyes were wide as he took in the eight shelving units filled with figurines along with the piles of other collectibles. Framed posters of Lonnie’s favorite shows covered the walls, giving the room a lot of color. He liked color. His overstuffed sofa was a deep red and had pillows in purple, blue and orange. His favorite recliner had several multi-colored throws on it, and since he loved plants, too, they dotted the room with tons of green. He also had a lot of standing lamps, so altogether, his home was kind of an eclectic mess.

Just the way he liked it.

Hopefully, Callan wasn’t a neat freak who would go slowly insane among the piles. Lonnie looked at him from the corner of his eye. Seemed fine—just maybe a little overwhelmed.

“Come on in and make yourself comfortable.”

Callan stayed silent a couple of moments, then gave him a strange sort of grimace. “I might knock over your… toys.”

Lonnie snorted. “Toys. I suppose that’s what they are. But it’s okay if you do. The more delicate ones are on the top shelves—I knock things over all the time. I really do want you to feel comfortable here. You can even sit in my favorite chair.” He pointed to the recliner. “It’s sturdy enough for you. But so is the couch if you like spreading out. Always did have a thing for big, comfy furniture.”

“And toys. So many toys.” Callan’s eyes were wide.

Since they were all dear to him, he could only laugh. “I told you I love anime. These figurines are from a lot of different shows. I don’t have all the ones I want yet, and some are a little hard to get ahold of, but I’ll never give up.” Lonnie walked toward his kitchen, which was open to the living room. Someday, he hoped to install an island to give the area more of a separate feel, but he’d have to stop spending all his extra funds on his…toys. “Would you like something to drink? I have soda, tea, coffee, and of course water. But feel free to get anything out of the kitchen you want. My refrigerator is a bit chaotic. Just don’t put anything in the bottom drawers if it’s for me. Those are the forgotten realms where veggies go to slowly die.”

Callan just blinked at him, frozen in place.

“I have ADHD, so I come with a few quirks.” He’d never felt the need to apologize for that. He was who he was, and his disorder was a part of him; he took medication to help him focus but had otherwise embraced his neurodivergence. It had driven his last boyfriend a little up the wall, but then so had his padded body. Why they’d even dated in the first place was a mystery.

Callan finally moved, though he held his arms tight to his body and walked slowly. He chose the couch, which was probably the best choice because he’d be kind of squished in the recliner even though it was one of the larger models available.

Since the demon hadn’t answered his question, Lonnie grabbed him a big can of green tea. “This good?” he asked as he handed Callan the can.

“Yes, thank you.” Callan popped the top and took a long swallow, then looked at the can. “I like this.”

“Great, because I buy it by the case. There’s an entire shelf in my pantry dedicated to it.” He chuckled, but it quickly faded to awkward silence, and he just stood and stared at Callan. He was reeling over having an actual demon in his home. “I’m just so excited to meet you,” he blurted. “You have no idea. Well, you will when you see the third bedroom. In fact, let’s get that out of the way now. You’ll understand why all the gushing.” He held his hand out to help Callan get up, but the bodyguard just stared at it for the longest time before he smirked.

“I weigh over two hundred and fifty pounds, Lonnie.”

Lonnie dropped his hand, laughing. “Yeah, I’d probably be no help. But come with me. I want to show you something.”

Callan easily got up himself, showing surprising grace for one so large. He followed Lonnie into the hall and on into Lonnie’s…well, shrine for want of a better word. He was a little embarrassed but figured it would be better to show Callan now rather than have the demon waltz in there without warning.

He flipped on the light, and Callan gasped.

“Er,” Lonnie murmured, shuffling his feet a little. “I like demons.”

Callan grunted. “Understatement.”

“Yeah, probably so.”

Callan walked into the center of the room and turned in a slow circle. More shelves filled every available space of wall, with the exception of a table in the corner that held Lonnie’s winged Bahamut from Final Fantasy X , standing by itself because he loved it so much. It had been the first one he’d purchased as a teen. He’d mowed a lot of lawns to save up enough for it.

“This room is all about my kind?” Callan gently touched the horns on one of his collectibles.

“Yes. So you can understand why I’m so excited to meet you. And you’re so gorgeous. Not scary at all.”

Callan puffed out his chest, frowning. “I’m scary.”

Uh-oh, was that some kind of insult for him? “Oh, I was scared at first, I promise.” Lonnie really hadn’t been. He’d been too thrilled to see one of his obsessions walking into his classroom. But he could see where the fierce-looking supernatural would be frightening to most. And that chest puffing was just so damn adorable. “Do you call yourselves supernaturals?”

Callan shook his head and one of his horns bonked the overhead light. He ducked and looked up, but it was fine. “Preternaturals.”

“Oh, I like that term—though you are natural, right? You’re from here and not some hell dimension—or are you?”

“From here, just like humans. There are no hell dimensions.”

“That you know of,” Lonnie pointed out.

Callan’s lower lip jutted out. “There aren’t. I’ve been alive four hundred years, so I’d know by now if there were.”

Utter shock speared through Lonnie. “Four hundred years! Fuck! You have to tell me about the things you’ve seen in all that time. That puts you born in the seventeenth century. Did you actually come here on the Mayflower or was your kind already here?

He was silent a moment, his head tilting. “Father was already here.”

“Are your parents still alive?”

“Father is. Mother was human, so not a soulmate. She died when I was a boy.”

“I’m so sorry. I’m familiar with the term soulmate, so are you saying if she had been, she would have lived longer?”

Callan nodded while a hint of what had to be remembered sadness flared briefly in his eyes. “But she wasn’t. Was human. Preternaturals can be with them a long time, but humans can’t be true soulmates.”

Lonnie couldn’t imagine how many times Callan must have outlived people he knew. That had to be horrible. “I lost both my parents ten years ago when I was twenty-four. It’s just me and my sister, Gabby, now. She’s the one who hired you because of the notes.”

“Xavier told me about them. I’d like to see them.”

“I’ll show them to you. I wasn’t really that concerned and think this is probably a student trying to give me a hard time. Maybe got a bad grade or something. But Gabby is worried, so here you are.”

Callan held up his hands. “Here I am.” He gave Lonnie a crooked grin.

He had a nice smile, one that hinted at a fun sense of humor behind all his gruff. That smile intrigued Lonnie, made him want to learn more about Callan. As a person. His brows pulled together as he wondered if Callan could even be called a person. He was another species entirely.

Damn, this was so strange. But still…intriguing.

“Come. I’ll show you the notes and you’ll see there’s not really anything to be worried about.”