“I could stick my tail in your nose again!”
Duke laughed. “If that’s the worst you intend to do... That’s really not bad at all, sweetheart.”
Nat’s heart fluttered. He shouldn’t push his luck. But he also wanted to make sure that Duke had forgotten about the goat thing.
So he scrambled up Duke’s chest and perched on his shoulder, stuffing his bushy tail under Duke’s nose.
Duke scrunched up his face, his mouth pulling into a grin. “Do that again, and you might get snot on your tail when I sneeze.”
“Ugh!” Nat snatched his tail back, only to glimpse Duke’s triumphant smile. “That’s... That’sdevious.”
“You’re talking to a demon, Nat.”
“I can’t win!” Nat made a face.
Duke grabbed him, suddenly. Nat squealed. And Duke rolled Nat under him, bracing his weight on either side of Nat so he wouldn’t squish him.
“Okay, you’re really huge like this,” Nat whispered.
Duke’s eyes glowed white, his teeth growing long and sharp. Nat’s heart stuttered.
He’d never been caged in by a demon, never felt so vulnerable—and yet so safe.
“Is this supposed to intimidate me?” he asked.
Duke grinned. “I would hope not.”
And he buried his face in Nat’s belly, rubbing his nose into Nat’s fur like he was trying to fill his lungs with Nat’s scent.
“Your nose is so big,” Nat squeaked.
Duke laughed. “No one has ever commented on the size of my nose.”
“I am because it’s poking my belly!”
“Sorry.” Duke turned his head, rubbing his cheek against Nat instead.
It was strangely intimate. Nothing like how a boss should treat his employee.
Were they... friends? Was this how demons acted around their friends?
Nat ached for something more, but he knew it wasn’t his place to ask.
“What’s your favorite animal?” he asked instead.
Duke grinned. “It used to be dogs, but right now, I think it might be raccoons.”
Nat blushed hotly under his fur. “You’re just buttering me up.”
“There arelotsof other ways I could butter you up,” Duke murmured. He rolled smoothly onto his back, laying Nat on his chest.
Actually, his chest was really comfortable to lie on. Nat wriggled against him.
Duke cracked an eye open. “Time for sleep?”
“Yes.” Nat pulled his tail around himself. “You won’t forget that I’m here, right? What if you crush me in the middle of the night?”
Duke ran his fingers through Nat’s fur, his eyes drifting shut once more. “I won’t forget.”
