Page 28 of My Demon Manny (Demon Debacles #2)

A Few Weeks Later

Lux

"You know, Gunner. When your dada gets home, we should watch a movie together. I heard there's a new animated one out that all the kids love. Would you like to see it?" I asked as I scooped up some baby food and held the spoon out to Gunner. He'd just hit the ten-month-old mark, and I'd recently started saying the word to get him familiar with it. He'd said a few 'words' so far, like "La-la" and "Ba-ba," so I was hoping I could get him to say "Dada" soon.

He squinted at it, then opened his mouth wide, and I flew the spoon in, making dragon noises that always made him clap with glee. He snapped his mouth shut around the spoon, and I pulled it out, rolling my eyes as he dramatically snapped his mouth open and close. I had a feeling he was copying the dragon we'd seen in an animated movie the other day.

Gunner was an especially bright kid, and I was sure he was going to grow up and do wonderful, world-changing things.

As I fed him, I glanced over at the clock, frowning when I realized it was another hour before Archer would be home. I missed him every time he left, but he enjoyed his work just like I enjoyed taking care of babies, and I couldn't ask him to give up something he loved just because I missed him.

I got to spend time with Gunner, though, so I didn't really mind being apart from Archer. I just felt much more content when he was with us. I also felt a little bad for him because he had to spend the whole day without Gunner.

Gunner reached out for the spoon, and I smiled, offering him another bite. He chomped it down, then did some more dragon mimicking as I laughed softly. Damn, I truly loved this boy.

I'd never imagined a job as a manny would lead to me getting a family of my own. All I'd hoped for was that I'd get to take care of a baby, and maybe help them grow into a happy child. That was all I'd wanted to do.

Instead, I'd found an amazing mate who appreciated me just as I was, who wanted me to stay in my true form because he knew I felt more like myself this way. He loved me regardless, and maybe a little bit because of it.

I'd also found a son—because Archer had assured me again and again that Gunner was as much my child as he was Archer's —who was bright and cheerful, and never failed to make me laugh.

I felt lucky to have so much love in my life. I wanted to spread it around, to maybe offer some of it to kids who weren't so lucky.

I'd been looking into it in my free time, and I'd found a few places that I could do some good at. They were all volunteer opportunities, which suited me perfectly since I had no need for money.

Before I contacted anyone, though, I wanted to talk to Archer, especially because taking on any project would mean I would be taking Gunner out into the world.

I had no doubt I'd keep Gunner safe out there—I'd die before I let anything happen to him—but it was still something Archer had a say in. I'd never make a decision as big as this without him, and I knew, without a doubt, neither would he.

"Dada!" The word ripped me out of my thoughts as my eyes snapped to Gunner, who was watching me impatiently. He held his mouth open, and I quickly fed him another bite.

Had I imagined that, or did Gunner just call me Dada?

I watched him with bated breath as he chomped on the spoonful of baby food for an unreasonably long time. Once he was done, he gazed up at me, as if waiting to see if I'd feed him more.

Feeling bad about holding back food just so he'd speak again, I was about to scoop some more food onto his spoon when he said, just as clearly as before, "Dada!"

I was grabbing my phone and video-calling Archer before he'd finished speaking.

Archer picked up on the third ring, a smile on his face as he greeted us. "Hey, Lux. Hey, Gunner! What are you two up to?"

"Well, I was just feeding Gunner, and something incredible happened."

"Oh? What was it?"

I turned to Gunner, keeping the food away from him. Hopefully, he'd forgive me for it. "Gunner, will you please do that again? Pretty please?"

Gunner glanced from me to Archer, then seemed to decide Archer was the one more likely to feed him, since I was taking too long.

Reaching out a hand toward Archer, Gunner said, "Dada! Dada!"

Archer's eyes went wide, then snapped to mine, as if he wanted me to confirm what he'd heard. I nodded, grinning widely at him as his lips parted in wonder.

"Yeah, little guy. I'm Dada. We both are," he said softly, and I felt an unbearable urge to hug him. Or to watch him hug Gunner.

"Are you alone?" I asked, and Archer knew what I meant, because not only did he glance around his office, he also flicked the blinds so anyone outside couldn't look in.

As soon as he nodded, I shifted into my human form—just as a precaution—and then picked Gunner up and teleported us to Archer.

His arms were around us in the next moment, and he squeezed tight as he held us. I hugged him back as I held Gunner close with my other arm, just soaking in his warmth as we both vibrated from the excitement of this moment.

I wondered if every parent felt this way when their child first spoke. Gunner's softly spoken words were more than worth all the dirty diapers and spit-ups and staying up late because he couldn't sleep.

"Dada?" Gunner asked, his voice going up inquisitively, and we pulled apart, both glancing down at the little miracle. I couldn't imagine my life without either of these humans now, and I knew I was going to spend the rest of my life making sure they were happy, because their happiness would make me the happiest demon in all the realms.

Archer

That night, we celebrated Gunner's new skill with takeout and a movie. An animated movie so Gunner could watch with us, of course.

Lux had also spent much of the evening toy shopping, and judging by the bags, he'd bought everything Gunner had remotely shown interest in.

I'd worry about Lux spoiling the little guy, but I knew he wouldn't do that. Out of the two of us, I suspected he'd read far more books about raising kids, and I was sure he knew what he was doing, even if he got carried away sometimes.

After we'd finished eating and the movie ended, the two of us put Gunner to bed together, making up voices as we read him a story. His sweet giggles were like music to my ears, especially when he started shouting "Dada!" every time either of us paused. I had a feeling he knew exactly how powerful that word was, and he wasn't afraid of using his newfound powers.

He fell asleep halfway through the second reading of the story, and I leaned forward to press a kiss to his forehead before putting the book away while Lux did the same. He turned on the baby monitor, then walked over to me, linking my fingers with his, his claw tips pressing against the back of my hand, as we both watched Gunner sleep for a moment. He looked peaceful, his little hands curled partway, his lips still working slowly on the pacifier in his mouth.

"Come on, let's go to bed, or we'll be standing here till the sun rises," I said, and Lux snorted.

"Yeah, you're right."

In our room, we undressed quickly before sliding into bed, Lux's huge arms wrapping around me the moment we were both horizontal. Since our conversation a few weeks ago, he'd started staying in his true form whenever it was safe, and I loved it. We'd had to make some adjustments to the house, including adding tinted glass to the windows, but that was easy to do when all you needed was an all-powerful demon.

I didn't think either of us were in the mood for sex tonight, because all I could think about was Gunner, and I suspected it was the same for Lux. So we just held each other, and that was more than enough. We didn't need to have sex to show each other our love, and that had been true since the moment we got together.

"Archer, there was something I wanted to talk to you about," Lux said, his chest rumbling under my cheek as he spoke. I pulled back a little so I could meet his eyes, and waited for him to continue. "You and Gunner make me so happy, and I feel like I should be sharing some of that happiness, and I found this place that accepts volunteers. It's a community center where people can come for help with everything from job interviews to daycare to getting a hot meal and a lot of other things."

"Lux, you don't need my permission if you want to volunteer. You know that, right?"

Smiling, Lux reached up and ran the backs of his claws down my cheek. "I know. But Gunner would be with me too. I'm not asking for permission for myself. And I'll keep him safe."

"I know you will. If doing this will make you happy, you should go for it. And we can figure out a system so on the days I don't have any meetings outside the office, I can keep Gunner with me, while you can take him with you on the other days."

Lux's eyes lit up, and he squeezed me so tightly I was afraid he was going to break something. "Thank you! Thank you!"

Laughing, I pressed a kiss to his chin, hugging him back and then patting it when he kept squeezing me.

"Lux, need to...breathe!"

"Shit, sorry!" Lux jerked back, giving me a guilty look as he put some distance between us. In moments like this, he seemed to always revert to believing I'd finally start disliking his true form, and I crawled on top of him before those thoughts could take hold in his mind.

"I'm okay, my sweet demon. You can squeeze the life out of me anytime you want," I teased, placing a palm on his chest, right over his beating heart. "I love being wrapped up in your big arms."

Lux squinted up at me, as if he didn't believe me, and I leaned down to kiss the tip of his nose, chuckling when he got all cross-eyed trying to look at me. Fuck, I loved him so much.

I was excited for the rest of our lives, excited to wake up each day wrapped up in his big, pale arms, excited to reach every new milestone of Gunner's growth with him by my side.

"I love you, Lux," I murmured as I rested my head on his chest, sighing happily when he wrapped his arms around me once more.

"I love you too, my mate." Lux's rumbling voice traveled straight from his chest to mine, as if he'd spoken the words right into my heart, and I smiled into his skin as I closed my eyes, sleep tugging at me from the way beyond.

I dreamed of happy days, of cheerful giggles and warm hugs, and when I woke up the next morning, Lux's arms were still around me, and my lips were curved up in a sleepy smile.