Chaos peered around the diner. It was mostly full, with lots of humans eating their various nonsense, but none that drew him in the way Cooper did. They were boring, he could already tell, these strangers that weren’t his puppy. “I don’t see anyone better here,” he pointed out, tightening his grip on Cooper’s fingers.

  That little thrill of anxiety pulsed from Cooper’s soul piece again. “Well, yeah, maybe not right this second.”

  Chaos plopped his chin onto his free hand, studying his puppy. “I’m not known for my patience,” he warned. He didn’t usually give warnings. Why let an enemy know his next steps? But Cooper had been so polite up until now. He’d earned it.

  “Right.” Cooper swallowed hard, the acrid scent of nervousness wafting off him again. He was a fearful creature, wasn’t he? “We’ll…find you someone soon, then.”

  Chaos let it go for the moment, gesturing for Cooper to try more of the strange plates they’d been given. Why make meat into the shape of a loaf when one could rip it straight from the haunch of the animal in question? But maybe humans didn’t have the strength for haunch-ripping anymore, in these modern times. Or had they ever? Chaos couldn’t remember.

  Anyway, it was displeasing that Cooper was not eager to mate with him. But his puppy had already told Chaos he was easily frightened. And Chaos could be…intimidating; it was true. Cooper had been right to say Chaos was a powerful and fascinating demon.

  And while Chaos wasn’t patient, he didn’t really have to be. Cooper was right here in front of him, bound to him for the moment by their contract. He was even still holding Chaos’s hand, working his way around his meal one-handed so as not to let go.

  So accommodating. It pleased Chaos. Immensely.

  Just like the way Cooper had said, “If you like,” when Chaos had requested he order pancakes.

  It had never been about what Chaos liked before, when he was summoned to this realm. It was all about what the summoner wanted, with Chaos having to find a way around his orders to explore the delights the world had to offer.

  It could be fun, the sneakiness, make no mistake. But it was occasionally…tiring.

  Yet sweet Cooper wanted to please Chaos, not the other way around.

  Possibly because Cooper was afraid of Chaos, but still.

  Chaos swung his feet happily under the booth, pleased with the general state of things. This might prove to be his best summoning yet, even without blood and mayhem to attend to. Although, who knew? Blood and mayhem could still make their way onto his plate, like a half-eaten french fry dropped from Cooper’s mouth.

  Wouldn’t that be lovely?

  “Why are you frightened of people?” Chaos asked, poking his finger into the meatloaf now that Cooper had taken a bite. It was…squishy. Very strange. “You said you were, but people are generally inconsequential. Did you not know that?”

  “Oh.” Cooper swallowed, his gaze darting around the diner again. “Um…I don’t know. It’s not exactly logical, most of the time.”

  Chaos nodded. That was good. Logic was boring.

  “My dad was…erratic, growing up. He tried, but he was an alcoholic, and he wasn’t…in control, a lot of the time. I had to be on top of things if I didn’t want to get taken away from him. I just got used to a certain hypervigilance after a while. It’s so ingrained it’s hard to shake off, even if it’s…inconsequential.”

  “You’re not inconsequential,” Chaos told him with a frown. Had Cooper misunderstood him? “People are.”

  “Well, thank you.”

  “Your father didn’t take good care of you,” Chaos surmised. He wasn’t very familiar with the concepts of parents or family—demons didn’t stay with their young, and those humans inclined to summon a chaos demon tended not to be family men—but he had a general idea parents were supposed to protect their young, not the other way around.

  “He tried,” Cooper protested, a certain bite to his words. “He loved me. He just…well, he was already prone to depression, and then my mom died, and I think he was just…self-medicating for most of his adult life. Alcoholism is a disease,” he said, like it was a mantra he’d repeated before. “I can’t blame him for succumbing to it.”

  “But you were a child,” Chaos countered. “Children should be protected.”

  “You like children?” Cooper asked, sounding surprised.

  “Left to their own devices, children are the embodiment of chaos. Of course I like them.”

  And then Chaos was treated to a real, genuine smile from his summoner. There was no repressed anxiety, no subtle quirk of his lips. His pretty, mismatched eyes crinkled at the corners, and his teeth were on display.

  It was kind of wonderful. Lovely, even.

  Chaos grinned back.

  This really could be his very best summoning yet.

  After Cooper had eaten his fill—which had only been maybe a third of what Chaos had asked him to order, much to Chaos’s disappointment—they walked around for a while, at Chaos’s eager request. (Once again, his puppy was so very accommodating.)

  This was much better than before, when Chaos had been wandering on his own.

  Now Chaos was able to spill all his many thoughts to his companion, their joined hands swinging between them, and Cooper didn’t get bored or frustrated or sassy with him. He answered all Chaos’s other questions too: people ignored the traffic lights because “this city is always in a hurry—they’ve got places to be” and the men called out to the women because they were “acting like misogynist douchebags.”

  In turn, Chaos explained more about the Book, his many centuries waiting in the Void, and how Cooper had managed to summon him. Chaos found it very funny that his puppy had accomplished it with a nosebleed and not a ceremonial knife.

  How times had changed.

  Eventually, many hours after the sun had set, Cooper grew tired—again—and they had to return to the apartment so he could rest.

  Humans required a lot of care, didn’t they? Chaos maybe should have known that already, but he’d never bothered to pay much attention before.

  There was Cooper’s need for regular food, for one. And regular sleep. And the way his feet seemed to get tired after miles of walking. There was also the teeth chattering he was succumbing to—apparently a light sweatshirt was not enough to protect Cooper’s fragile human skin from the cold night air.

  So many things to keep track of.

  Back in the apartment building, they walked past the guard at the desk, and Chaos stuck his tongue out at the man. The guard should consider himself lucky Chaos hadn’t set him on fire. The only reason Chaos had attempted to reason with him—ugh—was because Cooper had been so upset about the flames on his machines. For all Chaos knew, Cooper would be equally upset over flames on the people in the building.

  Chaos had been acting out of amazing, thoughtful consideration, and the guard hadn’t even appreciated his efforts.

  Chaos should bite off all his fingers in retribution.

  But the guard’s fingers didn’t look nearly as tasty as Cooper’s, which sort of lessened the appeal right now. Chaos refrained. For the moment.

  Cooper led Chaos up the elevator and back to his apartment. He said he was going to get ready for bed, so Chaos followed him to his room, where he finally released his hold on Cooper’s hand and watched him select sleeping clothes that weren’t much different from what he was already wearing.

  They stood staring at each other for a moment, and then Cooper held up the clothes in his arms. “Um. I’m going to get changed now.”

  Chaos nodded. “Yes. I see.” In solidarity, he changed back to his demon form, although he kept on the comfortable sweatpants and sweatshirt. His magic adjusted the sweatshirt for his wings, creating little slits in the back for them to escape from.

  Cooper gestured to the bedroom door with a nervous smile. “Would you like to give me some privacy, maybe?”

  Chaos settled down on his haunches, stretching his wings out. “No, thank you.”

  See? Chaos was very polite when he wanted to be. The guard downstairs hadn’t appreciated it, but Chaos had a feeling Cooper would.

  Cooper seemed stuck for a moment. Was Chaos’s puppy malfunctioning? But then he let out a heavy breath, tossing his bedclothes on the foot of the bed. “I guess I probably won’t be the first naked man you’ve seen.”

  “Nope,” Chaos told him cheerily. He’d seen many a nude man in his time. Usually when they were fleeing for their lives from his terrible destruction.

  Somehow this was better.

  Cooper started getting undressed, and Chaos stared, unblinking. He liked not blinking sometimes, even if it made his eyeballs itchy. It unsettled people. It definitely unsettled Cooper. But even more than that, Chaos was curious about his summoner, and he didn’t want to miss a detail.

  And oh, he was pretty, wasn’t he? Cooper didn’t have much hair on his chest, but the down under his arms was the same reddish blond as his hair, which Chaos found delightful. And the soft swell of his belly was even nicer unclothed. Chaos wanted to butt his head against it, to breathe in Cooper’s sugary-sweet candy smell. But he refrained. For now.

  Once bared, Cooper tugged his sleeping clothes on with haste, and Chaos rose from his crouch in indignation. “You weren’t nude,” he accused. “You kept your underwear on.”

  Cooper made a surprised sound, glancing down at himself, then gave Chaos a sympathetic nod, almost as if he was teasing. “False advertising?”

  “Incredibly false,” Chaos agreed with a pout.

  And Cooper laughed.

  Chaos had been right—it was a very pretty sound. It wasn’t bright or boisterous like Chaos’s cackling tended to be. Instead it was soft and gentle, like a happy little babbling brook.

  Chaos let it fill his head, a pleasing chime he’d replay when he was feeling restless.

  When his soft laughter had trailed off, Cooper asked, “What will you do while I sleep?”

  “I don’t know.” Chaos’s tail swished in agitation. “It’s bound to be dull though.” He cocked his head. “Perhaps if you slept just a very little amount.”

  Cooper rubbed at the back of his neck with a sigh. “I know I’ve passed out, like, twice already, but I really am exhausted. I don’t think a couple hours is gonna cut it. I could set you up with a movie?”

  “No,” Chaos said immediately, not caring if he sounded petulant. “I’ve spent centuries watching. No more.”

  Cooper looked around, as if to search for ideas. After a moment, his face brightened. “Hey, have you ever played a video game?” He immediately shook his head, not waiting for Chaos’s answer. “Of course you haven’t. Do you want to try?”

  Chaos would try anything once.

  Not too many minutes later, Chaos was in front of one of the machines in the machine room, and Cooper was showing him how to use the “mouse” and the “keys” to play something called World of Warcraft.

  As lovely as his puppy’s attention to his needs was, Chaos was a little skeptical. “I’ve watched humans playing video games through the Void,” he whined. “It’s very dull.”

  Cooper shrugged. He was leaning over Chaos to help him with the keyboard, and that part of it was very nice. Cooper smelled good and sweet, and his arm brushed against Chaos’s face every now and again. “Yeah, it can be boring to watch someone else play, but… I think you might like playing yourself. You get to create a character, be someone else for a while. Follow quests. Kill things.”

  “Really?” Chaos leaned forward, studying the screen. He didn’t usually yearn to be anything other than himself, but he had been stuck in the Void with only his own thoughts for a very long time. And killing things was always fun.

  He examined the character options and wrinkled his nose. “I don’t want to be a warrior.”

  Warriors were boring. Just ask Kai.

  “You don’t have to be,” Cooper reassured him. “You’d probably fit well as a rogue…or maybe a demon slayer.” Cooper bit at his lip, smiling to himself at his little joke. It was very endearing. “If you hate it, we’ll try something else tomorrow.”

  He had set up a video on the laptop next to Chaos, one that had a man explaining how the game worked, just in case Chaos got stuck or confused. Overall, it didn’t seem like a terrible way to spend the time Cooper would be sleeping. It was something new, at least. Chaos had been inside the machine, but what was showing on the screen now was nothing like the ones and zeros he’d been surrounded by. It was sort of like the animated movies humans watched, except Chaos would be controlling the action this time.

  “Yes, this will do nicely.” Chaos gave Cooper’s arm a fond pat. “You may sleep now, puppy.”

  Cooper straightened, raising a brow. “How very generous of you,” he drawled.

  He was getting more comfortable with Chaos already. And Chaos didn’t mind a little sass, if it meant his puppy would be less nervous around him.

  So he only nodded sagely. “Yes. I know.”

  Cooper padded off to bed, and Chaos was left with the machines.

  7

  Cooper

  This time, Cooper woke up in his bed. That was great, right? Waking up in a bed like a normal person. Things were getting back on the right track.

  Except he also woke up with an inhuman screech leaving his throat, because there was a pair of fox eyes a hair’s breadth away from his face, staring, unblinking, at him.

  Without his glasses on, they were kind of a fuzzy blur in the dim, curtained-off room, but it was still fucking startling.

  “That was loud,” Chaos told him, not exactly sounding put off by having scared the bejesus out of Cooper, or by getting an earful for it. He didn’t move any further away either. “And your heart’s beating quite fast.”

  Cooper sat up, putting some distance between their faces. Chaos was squatting on his heels by the head of Cooper’s bed, his wings flared behind him, as if to help him keep his balance.

  Cooper had almost managed to get weirdly used to the little demon yesterday. It had been hard to maintain his fear and anxiety when Chaos was marching him around the block, swinging their hands together and asking question after question, like an overinquisitive child.

  It didn’t make it any less unsettling to have him looming over Cooper while he was sleeping though.

  Cooper grabbed his glasses from the bedside table and turned back to Chaos with clear eyes. The demon’s hair was a violently bright purple this morning. It suited him. He also had small, stubby black horns, short enough that Cooper had missed them in the nest of his hair yesterday.

  Cooper cleared his throat. Was Chaos still waiting for him to respond? “Yeah, well, my heart beats fast when someone scares the shit out of me first thing in the morning.”

  Instead of taking it as a rebuke, Chaos seemed to take it as an invitation, crawling up onto Cooper’s bed and sitting cross-legged on the covers, facing him. He held Cooper’s laptop in his hand.

  “Did you like the game?” Cooper asked.

  “It was quite tolerable,” Chaos told him. “I have advanced many levels.” He looked almost thoughtful as he said, “It’s a strange sort of chaos to feed off of. Kind of faint in flavor. But also novel.” He gave Cooper’s knee a pat over the covers. “You did well.”

  “Great.” Cooper was weirdly proud he’d managed to find something entertaining for the demon to do. He hadn’t even considered Chaos could feed off chaotic energy through a video game.

  It had been such a long time since Cooper had had anyone in his space, let alone a strange creature from another realm. He’d half expected Chaos to have run off and found someone better by now.

  He can’t, stupid, he reminded himself. He’s bound to you by the contract.

  Chaos’s continued presence didn’t have anything to do with Cooper at all, or his talents as a host.

  “I found something else,” Chaos said, a sly cant to his voice.

  Cooper stuck his fingers under his glasses to rub some of the sleep from his eyes. “Oh yeah?” He could only hope Chaos hadn’t downloaded some horrible virus onto his computer. That would be just his luck.

  Chaos opened the laptop, and the sound of moans and wet slapping filled the room before Cooper’s eyes managed to focus on the writhing bodies on the screen.

  Sweet, holy fuck.

  Chaos had found Cooper’s porn stash.

  Cooper’s cheeks heated, and his heartbeat, which had slowed down to a normal rate, ramped up again. “Um…”

  That was all he could come up with. A big, fat “Um.”

  He cleared his throat. Came up with nothing. Cleared his throat again. “So that’s… Well, pornography is—”

  “I know about pornography,” Chaos told him dismissively, even as his eyes gleamed at Cooper’s blush. “Nix liked to watch the shoots through the portal.”

  There was so much to process in that statement.

  “Nix?” Cooper asked dazedly, his gaze still stuck in horror on the porn Chaos had decided to show him. His own porn. “Ivan’s Nix?”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  “How—how do you know Nix?” Had Nix summoned Chaos first? But Chaos had said he’d been in the Void for centuries before Cooper found him, so that wouldn’t make sense.

  “Nix is a demon.” Chaos fast-forwarded the video, pressing play again when the two men on-screen had changed positions. “An incubus. Your boss summoned him, I think.”

  Of course. Sure. Ivan had summoned a sex demon. A male sex demon. That made perfect sense.

  What the fuck was Cooper’s life turning into?

  “Anyway, you have a splendid variety here,” Chaos told him. “I approve.”

  He clicked on another video, one Cooper had found in the “Groups” tag on his favorite site. Now there was an entire chorus of moans filling the hole left by Cooper’s awkward silence.

  “You like orgies?” Chaos asked him, cocking his head. At some point he’d shuffled closer so his bent knee was touching Cooper’s leg, his tail swishing over Cooper’s calf.

  Cooper supposed there was no use giving in to the embarrassment crawling over his skin. Chaos was immune. Or maybe oblivious to it. Either way, the only thing to do was answer his questions and pretend like getting interviewed about his porn taste first thing in the morning was par for the course. “Um. I like watching them?” Cooper told him. “On video. I don’t…participate.” It seemed only polite to ask, “Do you like orgies?”

 

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