Page 10 of How Not to Charm Your Human Colleague (Falling for Demons #2)

Suddenly, there was a strong arm curling around her back, the other scooping under her knee as she was lifted.

Her crutches nearly clobbered him in the head, but then a whip of green twisted around them, and his tail was removing them from her grip.

With nothing else to hold on to, Aofe’s arms clung to the first thing they could find.

Kizros.

You’re so warm .

The words fluttered through her mind, and she had the odd feeling on her tongue that she’d said them before. Or perhaps just constantly thought them whenever he was near, his large body never looming over her shoulder, but providing comfort with his proximity.

Kizros kept his eyes on the stairs as he turned in place, and Aofe tightened her arms around him at the movement. His lips twitched, but he focused on his task, either unaware or unaffected by her chance to stare.

She hadn’t had a chance to study his face this close—the strong jaw and soft green skin.

There was a light shadow on his cheeks, not quite stubble, as if he’d shaved shortly before she’d woken.

It was the same dark green as his hair, which was just long enough that she could bury her whole hand in it if she wanted.

Which, maybe she did. Just a little. Just to see what it felt like, of course.

Then she studied his horns, which he’d told her was both a source of pride for demons, but also not so serious. Apparently they grew back if one ever broke, to which Kizros had informed her he’d broken his only once and it was so embarrassing a story, he would never repeat it.

The dark green bone was shaded with black and brown; a warble pattern that added to the sweeping nature of them beyond his pointed ears. There were a few divots, but mostly near his temples where he often scratched at his head when he was nervous or deep in thought.

Curious, but also… handsome, which didn’t feel as odd of a thought as it probably should have. He was green, after all. Strong and muscular, proving capable of carrying her with no challenge. Kind and gentle, caring, but also protective.

Kizros didn’t stop at the bottom of the stairs, and Aofe shook out of her thoughts at the panic of being carried outside .

She loosened her grip and tapped his chest. “You can put me down now.”

“Hmm?” he muttered, almost like he, too, had gotten lost in his thoughts. “Oh, yes.”

Gently, he set her on the ground, arm still curled around her waist to keep her upright.

She watched, fascinated, as his tail curled around his body and handed over her crutches.

When she was stable, he slowly withdrew his arm, and it had to be her imagination that he slid it a little longer over her lower back as he pulled away.

“Right, out—” Kizros cleared his throat of its rasp. “Outside. Surprise. The back.”

Aofe was a little confused but followed as he unlocked the door in the back of the shop. What she’d always suspected was a large storage room where he kept all his supplies was in fact… a do or outside?

She followed him into a garden, dozens of bushes and flowers catching the first light of the moon as it rose.

Darker colors reached for her—deep purples and blues, a few reds so deep they looked black, and little patches of color where flowers bloomed between the leaves.

A soft mist hung along a stone path, and while the air at her feet was warmer, there was still a chill that she couldn’t quite shake from Heck’s climate.

But apparently this wasn’t the surprise because Kizros was still walking.

She focused beyond the odd moon-blooming life to the darkened building at the end of the path.

It stretched just taller than the second story of the apartment, no windows or decoration anywhere to make sense of what might be inside.

And that was indeed where he was going, tugging a key ring off his belt to unlock the door.

“What is this?” Aofe asked, stopping beside him. She glanced back at the shop, noting that her room was on the other side of the building, facing the street. Otherwise she might have noticed there was an entire garden and building in the back.

Kizros straightened, and even in the scant moonlight of day, she could tell his cheeks were a dark green, eyes shifting nervously away from her. “Uh, the surprise. I… it’s just…” He blew out a harsh breath. “Better to see it first.”

All confusion she might have felt melted away as he pushed the door open and light illuminated the pathway.

No, not just light .

Sunshine .

Aofe nearly stumbled inside, warmth flooding her veins and blanketing her skin as she blinked at the brightness.

Life bloomed around her, a mixture of greenery she recognized and some she didn’t.

Flowers and fruit lined the aisles of garden beds, another with only green sprouting that she guessed might be vegetables in the soil.

All around her, sunshine warmed and lit the inside of the blackout greenhouse.

A stuttered laugh left her throat, and despite the stupidity of it, she turned her face up to the sun and stared until her eyes watered. From light, of course, definitely not happiness or warmth or?—

Who was she kidding? This was…

“Beautiful,” she gasped, staring up at the little ball of light. Despite its size fitting in the building, it felt just as warm and comforting as the real sun was outside of this realm. There was a buzz to that light, an energy she was starting to recognize.

She whipped her head toward the doorway. “This is your magic.”

Kizros had closed the greenhouse door and was now leaning against the wall with his arms folded. He was more relaxed, watching her closely. “The shop light is a variation of my magic, but this”—he pushed off the jamb and gestured toward the ball of sunshine—“is my real gift.”

He turned his palm up as he approached, allowing another smaller ball of light to grow in his hand, just like he’d shown her that first day. She followed it until he held it between them, the additional heat sending a pleasant shiver down her spine.

“Light and warmth,” Kizros said, so quietly that Aofe pulled her gaze away from the dimming magic to look at him. He was smiling down at her, not the fading light, but there was a sadness to it. “I’m so sorry, Aofe. I should have realized. Not just the stairs, but this.”

She shook her head. “Kiz, this isn’t?—”

“I have one more gift.” He reached down to a pouch on his belt, and Aofe noticed light and dark blue flowers where the yellow ones had once been. And from that pouch, he tugged out a golden chain. He draped it over his hand, centering the charm on his open palm so she could see it.

A little U-shaped sunburst was attached to the chain, the yellow metal almost glowing against his green skin. But it wasn’t leftover from the magic he’d just created—it was coming from the golden charm.

With wide eyes, she looked up at Kizros to see a different kind of softness on his features. More than just kindness, it was care and compassion, but somehow that wasn’t deep enough a description for the emotion in his eyes.

At his silent question, she nodded, staring up at this large demon who was so gentle and sweet and understanding.

“The greenhouse is open whenever you need. For sunshine or silence or to plant your own garden. But you can’t take that light with you, so…

” He tapped a rune on the chain, allowing it to open before reaching out and securing it ar ound her neck, all while they stayed facing one another.

“You have so much light and joy in your heart, Aofe. I never want to see it dimmed. Now this can be your own personal sunshine.”

Kizros’s fingers slipped from the chain, but his touch hesitated on either side of her neck, and Aofe could feel so much warmth in the moment. From his skin so close, from the magic of the charm and rune now blooming in her chest, and then the tension that hovered in the space between their bodies.

“Plus,” he added, flicking a long finger against her earlobe, “it matches the rest of your jewelry.”

Aofe let go of her crutch handles, gripping Kizros’s lingering forearms for balance as she pushed up on her toes. It was a little bit of a stretch, but he was so surprised he remained completely still when she pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“Thank you,” she whispered, biting back the tears of happiness that threatened to spill over at his caring gesture.

But as she pulled away from him so she could lower herself, she froze.

The darkness of his eyes simmered, and now she could see how deep of a green they were, not black, as he stared at her.

Not a stare of curiosity, but one of unwavering shock and heat.

Her surprise sent her stomach swooping, and Kizros’s arms tensed to counteract as she wobbled in place.

He was still staring, and her thoughts contained just a flicker of excitement that he might close the distance when he glanced to her lips.

But then there was a loud thwack , and the spell was broken.

Kizros swung his head around toward the noise, and Aofe caught a glimpse of the dent his tail left in a raised metal bed before he snatched it out of whatever frenzied flicking it was doing.

His other arm still helped to lower her heels to the ground, but the moment she was balanced, he cleared his throat and stepped backward.

“Right, uh, sorry,” he mumbled, hand scrubbing the back of his head.

His cheeks had darkened again, and Aofe could have sworn the magic overhead and at her chest flared.

When the grip holding his twitching tail couldn’t hold it stable, he grabbed it with both hands.

“You, uh—sunshine, greenhouse. There’s a bench somewhere”—he seemed to realize his hands were occupied so he jerked his chin past her, all while backing up and stumbling with each step—“that way. Stay as long as you’d like. Or leave whenever you like? Um.”

His shoulder clipped the door, and he looked around in surprise before releasing his tail and fumbling for the handle behind his back. He managed to get it open after the third try. “Yup. Okay, that’s…”

Kizros trailed off, stared at her a moment longer, then turned and fled.

As the door slowly creaked closed, Aofe realized her cheeks were hurting with how wide she was smiling after him. And with one hand holding the charm around her neck, there was no sting of rejection that Kizros had left her, or awkwardness at the realization pinging through her head.

She wanted to kiss a demon. Really kiss him.

And she was pretty sure he wanted to kiss her too.