Page 3 of How Not to Charm Your Human Colleague (Falling for Demons #2)

The woman smiled, but this time Aofe saw through the strain it took to maintain. “I’ll be checking in, but don’t hesitate to reach out, okay?”

Aofe barely managed a “Thank you” before Rosalind was slipping out of the room, her presence immediately replaced with a demon who was definitely not Argeth.

He wasn’t as massive as Goldy, or as tall as the councilor, and yet compared to the humans she knew, he put them all to shame with his size.

Green horns swept back off his head, darker than his hair and pastel green skin.

Black-rimmed glasses sat on his nose, falling forward as he read from a book balanced in his hand.

If he was her sponsor, she assumed those were her papers resting on top, and he studied them with rapt attention, barely looking at where he was going as he entered.

He wore a loose linen shirt and vest over tight pants, a leather belt twisting around his hips with several pouches attached—including one with yellow flowers sprouting out of the top.

He glanced up briefly with black eyes, offering her a quick smile before returning to the pages.

His head darted up again before he blinked—they did blink—and shoved his glasses back up his nose. There was no warning before he tripped, the book and papers flying forward as his body and long-whipping tail crashed into the bedside table .

“Blazes, sorry,” he blurted, dropping to his knees. He frantically reached for the papers scattering everywhere. As he scrambled for the last of them, his claw-tipped hand collided with the leg of her crutch. It tumbled, smacking him in the back of the head with a loud crack.

“Oh, no,” Aofe said, trying to reach for the thing as the green demon cursed again and slipped further, losing more papers in the process. “Wait, stop?—”

The warning came too late. He knocked into her other crutch and sent it toppling into his mess. Aofe tossed her blanket to the bed and chased after the crutch, lowering herself carefully so she was kneeling on the ground, before grabbing it and sliding it behind her to safety.

But of course, that only made things worse. As she grabbed for the other crutch, so did the demon. The thick base of his horn collided with the top of her head, knocking her back on her rear.

“Fraudulent fudge,” she grunted, pressing a hand to the bump.

“Fuck, I’m so sorry,” the demon said, and then suddenly two hands were gripping either side of her head and yanking her closer to him. Aofe couldn’t even squeak—in fear or surprise—as she was jostled left and right while he inspected her. “Not bleeding, that’s good. Humans are so fragile.”

Aofe gave an indignant huff then shoved him away. “Just because I’m not colored like the rainbow with weapons protruding from my head doesn’t mean I’m fragile.”

Silence fell as the demon blinked at her.

Aofe’s first fear was that she’d done something wrong pushing him off her, then over the fact she’d touched him at all. She barely registered that his skin had been warm against hers, firm yet pliant as she’d distanced him, only that he was looking at her with an odd expression.

Then she realized where his gaze was shifting—from her blue hair to the piercings in her ears and nose—and that his pinched features weren’t from anger or an assessment of danger.

The demon’s laughter broke first, bright and booming and so shocking; Aofe couldn’t help but snort in response.

And then she was laughing with him, studying his smile and the crinkling of the green skin at his eyes and feeling more at ease than she had since…

well, long before she’d been taken by those slavers.

Which was an odd thing to think, considering how she’d felt around the other demons she’d met.

His laughter finally settled, but the smile remained as he dipped his head. “My name is Kizros.”

Right. She’d seen demons bowing to each other in greeting.

She did her best to mirror the gesture. “Aofe.”

“I know. You’re assigned as my apprentice,” he answered cheerfully, collecting the rest of the papers. He stood, then reached for her hand—presumably to help her up.

“Oh.” She blushed and pointed to the crutch he’d left just out of her reach. “That might be easier.”

Kizros looked confused but knelt to retrieve it for her.

He watched with intense focus as she used them to stand, then lean on them to remain upright.

While she was used to being stared at, this demon’s attention made a blush rise to her cheeks.

“I… um, these won’t get in the way of my work.

I need them, but the potion that knocked us out is still messing with my system. ”

Maybe that was why she was still so cold. Not that she had a high tolerance of cold temperatures to begin with.

The green demon bared his teeth, and while it was probably terrifying, Aofe only felt a mild urge to cower.

“Disgusting humans.” When Aofe raised a brow, he amended with a panicked, “Not you, of course! You’re very curious.

In a good way ! I didn’t think humans could be pretty.

” He ran a clawed hand through his hair, tail whipping furiously behind him.

“I mean, for being so lacking in color.” His gaze caught on her shoulder-length blue hair again.

“Not that you lack color. That one is very nice to match your eyes and the jewelry in your face.”

She blinked, cheeks heating enough that she wouldn’t need a cloak if he kept this up.

Kizros seemed to notice his own rambling, or her lack of ability to get a word in, and he swiftly changed topics as he turned away from her. “Anyway, we can be off. I can fill you in on the particulars on our walk—” He stuttered a step, gripping the edge of the door. “Er, ride.”

“Oh, that’s not?—”

Aofe didn’t get to finish the sentence because just down the hall, a giant woman— human woman—shrieked and slammed Goldy to the ground with body strength alone.

She snarled at him, then jerked her head up, glaring down the hall toward Aofe and Kizros.

There was a split second of calculation, a feral gleam in her eyes like she might go for them next, and then a purple demon collided with her.

They tumbled out of view, vicious noises coming from both of them, until Kizros slowly closed the door to muffle their screams.

He turned back to her, wincing. “We’re going to give it a minute before we leave.”