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"Well, I know he likes my body," Ryk said with a cheeky grin, "but the rest I still need to figure out."
"Then that's our first order of business," Star declared, and I exhaled softly as I nodded.
When I'd picked this house for us to move into, I'd had no intention of getting close to Dakota. I'd thought we'd be casual friends and roommates, but mostly keep our distance. Within two weeks of moving, all my preconceived notions had been shattered into pieces, and I'd somehow developed feelings for the human I'd planned to keep my distance from.
"Okay, then. Tomorrow, we start Mission: Woo Dakota," Ryk declared, full of enthusiasm as always.
"Shhh!" I hissed, glancing at the hallway that led to Dakota's room. His was downstairs, while the rest of us had our rooms on the second floor. We probably should've moved into one of our bedrooms for this conversation.
"Don't worry. I used my magic to make sure he wouldn't hear us," Star said, waving me off, and I relaxed. At least one of us had enough presence of mind to take care of things like that.
I glanced at the sketchbook on Ryk's lap, then turned my eyes to him. "How are Dakota's parents?" I asked, curious to know what kind of people had raised a man like Dakota.
"Oh, they're wonderful! Dakota's mom even told me to call her Mom! Isn't that sweet? His dad's a little on the quiet side, but they both have really kind auras, and it was clear they love Dakota."
"That sounds lovely," I murmured, wondering how that felt. I’d had a human life once, a long, long time ago. Then I died, and I was given three options: become a demon, become an Otherworlder, or move on to Afterworld. I picked being a demon because it’d felt noble, and while I regretted it for a while after that, I was glad about my choice now. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here now.
I didn't remember my human life or my parents. I had no idea if they'd been loving or absent or abusive. As many human experiences as I was trying to have now, there were some that I just wouldn't get to feel. Like getting a hug from my parents, or spending a holiday with them.
I still had my little patch-up family, though, and I cared for them immensely. Like Ryk had said, these two were the most important people in my life, and as long as I had them, I could deal with just about anything.
"Nico, you're falling asleep," Star said, making me jerk upright.
"'M not," I protested, and he chuckled. "Whoa!" I gasped, my eyes flying open as I realized Star had picked me up. "What are you doing? Put me down!"
"I'm taking you to bed," he said and, before I could protest again, started walking.
"I can do it myself," I groused as he started climbing the stairs. For someone who kept telling me to "Use your magic, damn it!" Star seemed happy to climb each stair with my added weight instead of just getting us to my room. Did that mean he was actually enjoying doing this?
Star walked into my room and dropped me onto my mattress. "There. Now sleep. See ya tomorrow, sleepyhead."
"Good night, Nico!" Ryk said, peeking around the doorway with a grin before backing out. Star turned off the lights before leaving the room, and I sighed as I spread myself out on the mattress.
With a wave of my hand, I removed my clothes until I was just in my underwear and covered myself with the comforter.
So, Star, Ryk, and I all liked Dakota. I wondered if I'd suspected that would happen when I'd first found Dakota. I didn't think so, but I still couldn't help feeling this wasn't a complete coincidence.
I knew from Azazel that a mate bond between a human and demon was a bitch to recognize, but then again, could that be because he'd already shared a summoning bond with his human?
Dakota wasn't the one who'd summoned us, so there was a possibility we'd recognize it much more easily if he was our mate. Only time would tell if he was, and I was eager to find out.
Six
Dakota
Walking into the kitchen, I was greeted with the sight of Candy chewing on a treat in the corner of the room while she eyed Nico warily, who seemed to be sneaking glances at her as he made breakfast. Out of the three of them, Nico and Ryk had been trying relentlessly to win Candy over since I brought her back a few days ago.
Star, on the other hand, seemed satisfied by Moon's devotion to him. The cat hadn't left his side for more than a few minutes at a time. They were both equally lazy, and I usually found them lounging about on the couch or sometimes even in the backyard. I had no idea how Star could just sleep in the grass, but he did it quite regularly.
"Good morning," I greeted as I fully stepped into the kitchen and made my way to the coffee machine, and Nico smiled up at me.
"Morning, Dakota. Did you sleep well?"
"I did, thanks. What are you making?" I asked as I grabbed a coffee mug. "Want a refill?" I added when I spotted his almost-empty mug.
"No, thank you. And I'm making French toast," he said, and as if in reply, my stomach gave a loud growl.
"Well, as you can hear, I really like French toast," I joked, making him chuckle.
