Page 17 of Heaven on Earth

He shook my hand off and used the knocker to rap on the door once, twice, and a third time before letting it fall back into place. We waited in the cold silence for someone inside to answer it.

We didn’t have to wait long, and a moment later, a man dressed in a gray wool sweater and black slacks opened it. He had short black hair and a kind smile, but something about him seemed off.

“Come in, come in,” he said, smile widening as he ushered us inside. “Draven and I have been waiting for you. I trust that the journey wasn’t too terrible?”

“Not at all,” Ciel replied, taking the man’s hand in a hearty shake. “I’ve come to delight in these sorts of early spring walks.”He turned to me. “Teddy, I would like you to meet my friend, Ryan Adler. Ryan, this is Theodore Chapman.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Theodore.” I extended a hand and the man took it, his palm softer than I expected.

“It’s lovely to meet you too, Ryan, but please, call me Teddy.”

I smiled. “Teddy it is, then. How long have you known Ciel?”

They exchanged glances, an odd expression on Teddy’s face that I couldn’t quite place. “Years, technically,” Teddy said carefully, “although I only met him in person a few months ago.”

“Oh.” I furrowed my brow. “You mean, you knew Ciel when he was in Heaven? You’re not undead, are you?”

Teddy laughed. “No, my boy. I’m a former priest. A while back, when I began questioning my faith, Ciel was the only one who kept me from abandoning it entirely.”

“But you left the priesthood.”

“Yes, that’s correct. I left it for, well, see for yourself.”

A sly little incubus slipped out from behind the door to the kitchen, holding a platter of some sort of meat balanced precariously in one hand. He set it on the dining table and turned around to face me and Ciel, a devilish grin spreading across his face.

He was handsome, I could give him that much, although not my type at all. Still, I understood that Teddy saw something in him, and I immediately knew it was reciprocated when the demon looked back at his partner and his harsh, deep red eyes softened, sparkling a little, even.

“Draven, our guests are here,” Teddy said, gesturing toward Ciel and me. “You remember Ciel, of course, and this is his friend, Ryan.”

“Such a delight to meet you,” Draven said, taking both my hands in his and planting a kiss on top of one of them.

His voice dripped with seduction and I had to admit, I didn’t mind it as much as I thought I would. He looked back and forthbetween the two of us, eyes twinkling brighter the longer he looked.

“Lovers?”

I bit down hard on my tongue, willing myself not to open my big, dumb mouth. Ciel could handle this one. As it turned out, he didn’t have to.

“Draven, you know that’s an inappropriate question to ask,” Teddy admonished him.

Draven let my hands go and turned around, tail swinging unbothered behind him. “I do apologize,” he said, but I could tell he didn’t mean it.

“Well,” Teddy clasped his hands together, “shall we sit down? Dinner is almost ready — just as soon as I remove the bread from the oven.”

Ciel shot a glance in my direction and I nodded, almost imperceptibly, before turning my attention back toward Teddy.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to use the bathroom first.”

“Of course. Draven will show you where it is.”

I followed Draven out of the dining room and down a long, wide hallway. As soon as he pointed out the door to the bathroom for me, he hurried back into the dining room to join the others, who were now just waiting for me.

I shut the door behind me, locking it for good measure, took a deep breath, and pulled the box out of my pocket. “Well, this is it,” I murmured, setting the box on the counter and unzipping my jeans. “I just hope Ciel gives me a minute or two to get used to it when I get back.”

Who was I kidding? Ciel would do what he wanted, and I would be lucky if I made it out alive of this house. Between the three of these strange men, I had a feeling I was in for quite a ride, and it wasn’t the kind I wanted to be taking tonight.

14

CIEL