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It also seemed right to grab Nightmare’s hand as they headed out the door.

Matty belatedly tugged his hood up, then led Nightmare into town at a brisk pace.

It was true that—while people definitely stared—no one approached them.

No one tried to get Nightmare’s number or offered him a modeling contract or anything like that.

Everyone kept their distance, like there was an invisible force field around Matty and Nightmare. That part was pretty nice.

Still…

Dummies. Dummies, the lot of them.

Matty smiled up at Nightmare when they reached their destination.

“This is not a market,” Nightmare noted mildly.

“No. It’s a bakery.” Matty pointed at the Bakeshop window, which had a view of the pastry case. “But the pastries have fruit. I’ve even seen a vegetable or two in the savory croissants.”

Not that Matty ever bought a savory croissant, but still. He’d seen them.

He opened the door, leading Nightmare inside.

“Helloo— Oh, holy fuck.”

“Hi, Seth. This is Night—” Matty broke off. It wasn’t exactly normal for people to go by names like Nightmare , was it? “This is Night. Sarkaron Night, but he, um, goes by Night. Right?”

Matty looked up to Nightmare for approval, and Nightmare inclined his head slowly, although his eyes were on Seth.

Matty followed his gaze to where Seth was still staring wide-eyed at them.

What was Nightmare looking for? Did he think Seth was pretty?

Matty did. Seth had soft round cheeks and equally soft curls, and he usually had a bit of something sparkly on his face.

Matty had always liked that about Seth, but now suddenly he wasn’t so sure.

Matty tugged Nightmare’s hand, grabbing his demon’s attention. “Do you like coffee? Kai likes coffee.”

Nightmare shook his head. “No, sweet.”

“Okay. I’ll just, um, make my…selections.”

Matty didn’t really want to let go of Nightmare’s hand, but Nightmare didn’t seem interested in coming forward to the pastry case, so Matty let it drop. He stepped up and focused on his task.

No lemon bars today.

Seth leaned over the counter, whispering kind of loudly, “ Where are you all finding these men?”

“Who’s ‘we all’?” Were there more nightmare demons in town Matty should know about? They probably weren’t as good as his nightmare demon though.

He already knew he’d gotten the best one.

Seth ticked off on his fingers. “Sascha. Benny. Now you.”

“Benny has a dem—a…person?”

Seth rolled his eyes. “He waltzed into town—after disappearing for weeks, mind you—with the prettiest, grumpiest man glued to his side. It was…very odd. Like you, who barely speaks a word to anyone besides Sascha, Kai, and myself, coming in now with this new friend of yours.”

“Oh.” Matty worried at his sweatshirt sleeves, studying the pastries to avoid Seth’s gaze. “Night and I have known each other a long time though.”

It wasn’t a lie, not really. Nightmare had been stalking Matty in his dreams for months before they’d formed their contract.

It was kind of comforting to think about, actually.

Maybe Matty snuggling Nightmare and holding his hand and offering sexual favors out of the blue really wasn’t that weird, considering their history.

“Mm-hmm,” Seth hummed skeptically. But he didn’t look put out or unkind, even if he thought Matty was lying. He never did look either of those things, no matter how shy or weird or awkward Matty was. That was why Matty liked the Bakeshop. That and the actual baking.

“I have key lime Danishes today,” Seth finally told him, apparently done with the interrogation. He pointed to some pale-green pastries Matty had feared might be apple-flavored.

“Yes, please,” Matty said immediately. “Two?”

“Sure thing. If nothing else, we know you’ll never get scurvy.” Seth put two in a bag, then added a third thing. “And a blueberry scone. If your…friend wants a taste of the local flavor.”

Matty narrowed his eyes as Seth held the bag out cheerfully. Was that a come-on? Seth didn’t sound lascivious, but Matty grabbed Nightmare’s hand again anyway, not sure why he suddenly wanted to snap and growl at a man who’d only ever been incredibly kind to him.

Matty pulled Nightmare out of the Bakeshop after one last suspicious look at Seth, then guided his silent demon down the town’s coastal path, stopping at a bench that looked out at the cliffs. Matty tugged Nightmare down to sit, then slid sideways until their thighs were touching.

“This is the ocean,” Matty said, pointing out to the sea beyond the cliffs. “Do you like it?”

Kai had said they didn’t have oceans in the demon realm.

“I do.” Nightmare nodded regally, pale skin glowing in the morning sun. It was strange for him not to be wrapped in shadows. Matty had the odd urge to throw a blanket over his face. “Many humans fear it. They dream of drowning, or of creatures in the depths. I enjoy their terror.”

“Oh.” Matty nodded politely. “That’s nice.” He took a bite of his Danish. The sharp citrus was tangy enough to hurt his mouth.

Seth really was a genius.

“Were your parents nightmare demons too?”

“Possibly. Unlikely.”

Right. Nightmare probably didn’t know, because demon parents didn’t stick around to raise their young.

“My mom left me behind too,” Matty told him, setting his half-eaten Danish on his lap.

“Luca didn’t have any heirs of his own, so when she left, he…

stole me? Or maybe bought me. I like to think he bought me, because she never came back.

Never—never tried to get me. If it was a desperate money thing, I would kind of understand, I think. ”

“He wanted a son, this Luca?”

Matty shrugged. “He needed a successor, and he thought he saw something in me. And when he realized he was wrong…I guess he figured it was just as good having a pet. One he could hurt without anyone caring.”

“And Dominico Caruso?” Nightmare asked, his voice deadly soft.

Matty couldn’t suppress his shiver, and not the good kind. He hated hearing that name spoken out loud. The sun was out, it was a pretty day, and Nightmare was warm at Matty’s side, even if he looked strange and human; there was no need to bring his name into it.

So Matty changed the subject. “Why didn’t you want me to touch you, earlier? Are you not attracted to me? It’s okay if you aren’t.”

Matty knew he wasn’t pretty like Seth, but he’d thought he was maybe cute.

There was a long silence. Nightmare really did like to consider his words carefully sometimes. “It’s the reverse that interests me.”

“Oh. Am I attracted to you ?”

Nightmare nodded, and Matty thought it over. He wanted to give Nightmare the same courtesy Nightmare gave him—a thoughtful answer to a question.

Was he attracted to Nightmare?

Matty was still getting used to this absurdly beautiful human form of Nightmare’s, so that side of it was maybe a trickier question. But Nightmare’s demon form? Wrapped in shadows, all sharp teeth and talons, more monster than man?

“Yes,” Matty decided. “I think so.”

“You offered it as an exchange.”

Matty tilted his head up to look at Nightmare. “You didn’t like that? Lots of men seem to. ‘I’ll give you this if you do that.’ ‘Let me do this, and I’ll maybe do that.’”

There had been men in Luca’s employ who’d been either brave or stupid enough to try for something with Matty, despite what Luca would have done to them if they’d found out. They’d always seemed to approach the prospect as a barter of some kind.

Nightmare straightened, all impressive height and predatory stillness. “And do you accept these offers of exchange, Matteo?”

“No.” Matty frowned out at the ocean. “They always scared me.”

And while Matty could be stupid, he certainly wasn’t brave.

“And I don’t scare you.”

It was half statement, half question. In answer, Matty leaned his head against Nightmare’s arm and held up his pastry. “You want a bite of this?”

“Yes, sweet.” Matty could hear the smile in Nightmare’s raspy voice again. “Give us a taste.”

Matty lifted the pastry to Nightmare’s lips, and his demon took a careful bite, his teeth scraping lightly against Matty’s fingers.

A shiver went down Matty’s spine, the good kind this time.

Nightmare’s lips were soft, and his breath was hot, and as he leaned back to swallow his bite, Matty missed the feel of them both.

He wanted those teeth to scrape against more of his skin—his throat and his belly and the shell of his ear, maybe.

Matty swallowed hard, staring at his pastry again. He looked at that perfect bite mark Nightmare had made, and he brought it to his own lips, pressing his teeth where Nightmare’s had just been.

Yes, there was definitely attraction there.