Page 22 of King’s Obsession (Obsessions #5)
Dougal
Sitting in the sun on a late afternoon, surrounded by their found family, was always one of Dougal’s favorite things to do.
The demons had gotten used to being more casual with Asmodeus over the months, and there was a general air in the clearing that all who were there accepted each other as equals.
Which was why it wasn’t at all unusual for Peni and Merihem to be digging into a plateful of food, while Asmodeus was gingerly holding their little girl, Lorelei. She always seemed to shift into her demon form when Asmodeus was near, and it was kinda cute how she held his entire attention.
Oh, if the demons from the realm could see their king like this, they’d be having children in the hundreds.
Dougal wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Watching Asmodeus’s avid curiosity of the little sweetheart who could barely sit up by herself, when she gripped one of Asmodeus’s finger as if it was a lifeline, was an etched memory—something Dougal could keep.
We haven’t had a lot of lovely memories like that yet—fun ones, Dougal mused as he enjoyed the warmth of the sun stroking his face.
Asmodeus seemed focused on being sick, or determined not to be sick, and on keeping the baby a secret from those around them.
That was all blown out of the water now that both realms knew about his condition, and in honesty, it was a relief that people knew.
Prior visits to the demon realm had been a combination of grumpy Asmodeus while he was there and then utter exhaustion on Asmodeus’s part when they got back to the forest. Between the grouchy moods and the copious sex—because it seemed it was not just Scott who got horny while pregnant—along with Asmodeus’s need to sleep, there hadn’t been a lot of time for him and Dougal to do anything fun by themselves.
There was a part of Dougal that was sad about that, although he was thrilled about their baby. It was just, after wanting a proper relationship with his demon for so many centuries, it seemed their fun or romantic clothed experiences became measured in a blink.
As if he was reading Dougal’s mood, he felt the heat of Asmodeus’s gaze on the side of his face and smiled.
It’s fine. We’re fine, he sent through their bond .
Dougal didn’t doubt that Asmodeus loved him anymore, and that was worth more than anything else.
It just would’ve been nice if we’d been on a date, just the once.
Although looking around at their family, Dougal grinned as he considered that maybe dating was a concept demons weren’t familiar with.
He didn’t remember Dakata dating Silas before they claimed each other, although the demon took his blissful one all over the world for singing gigs, and likely that involved taking Silas out for dinner as well.
Dakata was well used to living in the human realm before he met Silas, so eating out was normal for him.
George’s idea of a date was beer and chicken wings or burgers at a local bar, and Dougal didn’t imagine Scott was keen on doing that very often.
But then George had always been a homebody as well, and now the threat from his father was gone, it was easy to see how much more comfortable the bear and demon were together.
Although they both kept an eagle eye on their Remi who was sleeping in a crib tucked under a tree, to keep him shaded.
Merihem had apparently taken Peni out for a meal once and gotten himself into trouble for it.
Especially when he mentioned how he thought Peni would look good sitting on his knee looking pretty while Merihem was in meetings.
It was highly possible that Merihem didn’t dare suggest another date after that disaster, and now they had Lorelei in their lives, Merihem and Peni both seemed to enjoy their home life, although Merihem still carried out his duties for his king.
Speaking of Lorelei, Dougal ducked his head to the side, away from Asmodeus as the waft of soiled diaper floated through the air.
A troll could handle most nasty things, which was why Dougal was able to remain so patient with Asmodeus’s daily date with his bucket.
But the smell coming from the diaper was thoroughly putrid, and Dougal wanted to laugh when he realized Asmodeus had caught a whiff, too.
“My gods, what happened?” Asmodeus had Lorelei held out from his body, his arms outstretched. “She’s gone from cute and fluffy to… I can’t… I don’t have words. She smells like a toxic waste plant. What the fuck?”
“She just needs a diaper change.” I must not laugh. Clearing his throat, Dougal called out to Peni, “Can you throw us a clean diaper and a washcloth, please?”
“Oh no,” Peni groaned, hanging onto his plate as he went to stand up. “I swear she does this every single time we settle down to eat something. Did you need me to—”
“No, no.” Dougal shook his head. “You sit down and keep eating. Just throw me your bag. Asmodeus and I can handle it. We’ll take her to my cabin, so your meal isn’t ruined. It’ll be good practice for Asmodeus.”
“I’d take all the practice you can get,” George said darkly, as Dougal caught the bag Merihem tossed to him. “If you don’t fasten them things right, then the moment they flail their little legs, shit starts running down them. Ask me how I know that one.”
The others in the clearing all laughed, including Peni and Merihem. “I’m not sure this is an appropriate thing for me to be doing,” Asmodeus muttered as they made their way back to their cabin—Asmodeus’s nose wrinkled against the smell. “Diaper duty? Do I want to know what that is?”
“I’m sure you’ve already guessed.” Dougal opened the cabin door, standing aside to let Asmodeus go in. “It will make a change from you puking all the time.”
Asmodeus
There was way too much glee coming from his blissful one to imply what he was about to be greeted with would be nasty.
Asmodeus was a king, and he had faced some horrific situations over his long life.
He was going to prove how he could adapt to anything, despite the smell coming from the little bundle.
“Best to lay her down on that chair, then we can wipe it down if there should be an accident.”
“Accident? I’m not planning on hurting her!” he replied, frowning at Dougal.
“I know, my love, it’s just she’ll wiggle and there will be seepage.” Dougal patted his arm, stepping to the chair he had pointed to.
Asmodeus got down on his knees, then when he found he was still too tall, he settled onto his heels, having to adjust for his belly. Only that brought him closer to the smell when he placed her down.
Good gods!
Hold your breath, his human side suggested.
You can do it.
No, you go first.
The little girl started to fuss, her pretty face screwing up, legs kicking out, and Dougal patted Asmodeus’s shoulder and pointed at the poppers between the girls' legs. “I suggest we move this along.”
“Alright,” he muttered through gritted teeth, trying not to breathe, he opened the poppers.
If his fingers trembled and dwarfed the child, he worked not to think about how fragile she was.
Sweating by the time he had her tiny legs out of her outfit. She fought him every step of the way.
He sagged in relief when he saw the side tabs on the diaper were Velcro. I totally have this under control.
Are you watching the same thing as me?
Button it!
The little mite lifted her legs, and a brown, poisonous substance coated her skin. The smell, so horrid, could get used as a weapon to fell the biggest demon—him. His belly lurched so hard he grabbed it, worried for his own baby.
Dougal, appearing unaware of his distress, grinned and handed him a wet cloth. “Peel the side openings back, then grab both legs in one hand, and pull the diaper between her legs.”
Glad of the direction, he held his breath again.
His nose wrinkled, and he leaned back as far as he could to peel open the diaper.
Yes, I’ve got this. He gently held both kicking legs.
“It’s gonna be okay, Lorelei,” he soothed in his quietest voice when the fussing increased, forgetting he was supposed to be holding his breath.
Legs up and bottom in the air, he dragged the diaper from under her bottom, quick and fast.
“Nooooo,” Dougal hissed right as globs of poop splattered in every direction.
Alarmed, stomach doing the hokey-kokey or was it a fast tango—didn’t matter, he glanced at Dougal feeling globs of poop slip over his fingers. “I did what you said! Why is the poop going everywhere?” he demanded in outrage.
And it was.
He gulped, then regretted it when he could not only smell the toxic slime but taste it too. “Urghhh…” he wretched, his eyes watering, along with his nose.
He was in hell. Utter hell… in fact, hell was better than this.
He dropped the diaper to the floor next to him. It landed with a thump, more poop splashing out, hitting his trousers. “What. The. Fuck.” At that point, his human half went into hiding and his demon wanted to follow.
How was it possible such a tiny person could unarm me so spectacularly? How? If anyone saw me now in the demon realm!
He shuddered, unsure what to do next.
Dougal coughed and placed the back of a hand over his mouth. Asmodeus suspected it wasn’t solely because of the smell. He felt Dougal’s amusement, and he was ready to throw the little girl at him.
Instead, Asmodeus rolled his shoulders, doing his best to keep his lips and nose in check, snatching the wet cloth from Dougal. He swiped haphazardly at the mess.
Smears went in places he considered the little tyke would never forgive him for.
Another wet cloth appeared, so he dropped the dirty one in the direction of the diaper, not taking his eyes off Lorelei when she started to make cooing noises. “You can coo all you want, but I’m never gonna forgive you for this!”
Her gummy smile was the only reply.
He huffed, his lips twitching at the urge to smile back at her with how adorable she looked. He once more forgot himself and gagged violently a second later, getting giggles from the child. Clearly, she found his predicament hilarious.
There was a choked sound coming from his blissful one and he side-eyed him. “You laugh or tell anyone, and I swear I’ll rub that diaper in your… hair!”
Dougal made another choked sound, and then his deep belly laughter filled their house, his arms going around his waist as he rocked.
“I hate you,” Asmodeus muttered without any conviction—it was his blissful one and he couldn’t lie to him—as he worked to stop pouting.
When the laughter continued and Lorelei seemed to enjoy it, Asmodeus sighed. “I’m never doing this again!”
“You could have done the clicky thing to sort it,” Dougal finally pointed out when better under control.
Asmodeus stared at Dougal as if he had three heads. “Why didn’t you say that before we started?” he asked, outraged at himself for not even considering that.
Dougal kissed his cheek, giving him an adoring look that melted Asmodeus’s heart. “Where would the fun in that be?”