Marcus glared at the plate of cookies with his arms crossed. He eventually reached over to try to grab one again but Kat smacked his hand with her book, then continued reading, not even bothering to look at him when she spoke. "You can't have one until you bring Mila over."

"That is a ridiculous request," Marcus grumbled, crossing his arms again.

Katherine shrugged and carried on reading. At one point, she reached over and snatched a cookie, taking a bite and sighing happily. "They came out really good."

Marcus growled and glared at her. He wasn't surprised they came out good. Katherine made everything from scratch and everything she baked was sinfully delicious. His eyes drifted again to the plate and he briefly wondered if he could use his abilities to snatch one without her noticing.

"Don't even think about it," Kat said, flipping the page of her book. "I'm keeping count. I'll know if one goes missing. As soon as you bring Mila over," she said, peering at him over her book, "you can have as many as you'd like. In fact, I'll make more. I'll make the ones you love with peanut butter and chocolate chips."

"Stop holding me hostage with your food," Marcus whined.

"Nex is almost done making homemade pasta for dinner," she continued. "It's my mother's old recipe. It's going to be amazing."

Marcus narrowed his eyes at Kat then looked behind her where Nex was working the dough through the pasta maker, cutting it into thin strips. "Don't look at me," Nex snapped, grabbing more dough and working it through the machine. "I don't want her here, but Katherine wants to befriend her and try to help her through whatever the fuck is going on. If you want the pasta and the cookies, go fucking get her I guess."

"You're whipped," Marcus taunted.

"Says the man that's most likely going to go get a woman he doesn't want to see for food," Nex countered. "If I'm whipped, so are you, and you don't even get to fuck her."

"Oh my gosh," Katherine said, shooting Nex a glare over her shoulder. "Don't say stuff like that!"

Nex shrugged. "It's true."

Marcus growled at both of them. He stayed firmly in his chair for the few seconds he resolve lasted then he stood, pushing the chair back with a loud scrape and letting out his wings. "I hate you both. Go fuck yourselves."

"We will," Nex said. "So do take your time."

"Nex," Kat scolded.

Marcus didn't wait around to hear more of the argument. He took to the air and made his way to Mila's apartment. He debated on whether or not she'd be willing but decided if she was forcing him to stay in the stupid human realm, she could live with getting forced into dinner with his friends for one evening. It was only fair.

Marcus returned to his human form and dropped through Mila's ceiling, landing in her bedroom with a thud. What he wasn't expecting to see was her on her bed, face first and unmoving. If he couldn't hear her heartbeat, he might've been more concerned.

"Use the door at least," Mila grumbled, her voice muffled by the bed her face was buried in.

"What the hell are you doing?" Marcus asked.

"I don't have the energy for you being an asshole today," Mila snapped, glancing back to glare at him. "I worked an overnight loading shift, then worked at the law office all fucking day, then did some sketchy shit for money after that. I'm tired, my feet are tired, my mind is tired, my soul is tired, my patience doesn't exist. Don't piss me off."

"What sketchy shit?" He frowned.

"A whole lot of none of your business, devil-boy, what do you want now?"

"A name."

"Mila."

"A different name," he sighed. "I want a different name."

"Yeah, well, I want the demon of death I summoned to kill me and he's not, so I guess neither of us are getting what we want."

"You're impossible," he growled. "Get up. Let's go."

"Go?" Mila asked, turning over onto her back and raising an eyebrow. "Go where?"

"To my friends' house," he answered. "For some fucking reason, Katherine is insisting on meeting you and she won't feed me until she does. So get up, we're going."

"Dude, did you miss the part where I worked an overnight shift, then worked all day at my day job, then did some sketchy shit?" She asked, sitting up. "I haven't slept since yesterday. I'm not going anywhere except the dream world or hell if you suffocate me in my sleep which, by the way, I welcome."

"I really don't care, Mila, they have made from scratch cookies and pasta and while I'm stuck in this fucking realm because of your stubborn, suicidal ass, the food is the only good thing I have going for me," he said, narrowing his eyes at her. "So get your ass up, or I'll drag your ass up. Either way, you're going."

"Homemade pasta?" She frowned. "What is their house, a cooking show? I've never had homemade pasta in my life, who goes to that much work? Just buy the box or fuck, even the canned shit, I'm not wasting a bunch of time making pasta from scratch."

"Get up," Marcus repeated.

"You can't make me do anything," Mila shrugged.

Marcus walked over and grabbed her calves, then roughly dragged her to the edge of the bed until her face was inches from his. His eyes flickered red as he glared at her and he didn't miss the small gulp as he did. "Wanna bet?"

"So I see you're good at this part of being a demon," she said, pushing him away and reluctantly standing, wincing as pain shot into the sole of her foot. "Why can't you be good at the killing part too?"

"I'm an excellent killer when I have the right target," Marcus said, backing out of the way as Mila wobbled toward her dresser and removed her shirt like it was no big deal. This time, he decided not to look away from her nearly bare back, only part of it covered by the strap of her bra. If she was going to continually not care about changing in front of him, he decided he might as well enjoy it.

"You're not allowed to say you're excellent at anything if you can't do it under conditions you don't consider 'right'," she said, pulling out a shirt and turning around, holding it against herself. "How fancy are they?"

"Katherine dresses up for everything, Nex is in sweats. Wear whatever you want."

Mila's brows furrowed but then she shrugged and nodded, seeming impressed. "That's a vibe I can live with."

"That looks valuable," Marcus commented, pretending his eyes were on the necklace and not on her breasts. He couldn't help it. She wasn't shy about showing her skin and she had beautiful, large breasts he hated to admit he'd thought about more than once.

"It is in more than one way," Mila said, tugging a shirt over her head. "It was my mom's."

"Oh," he said, watching her through the mirror on her vanity as she turned and picked up lip stain, applying the dark red color to her lips. "She's gone?" Marcus asked. Mila nodded. "What happened?"

"Dementia," Mila answered. Marcus was surprised to see sadness in her eyes. Usually sarcasm reined over all but he could see it. "She died three years ago."

"I'm sorry."

"Me too," she sighed, turning to face him. "Well, what do you think?"

"Good enough," he shrugged, walking towards her. "Let's go."

"I hope they live close," she sighed, grabbing her jacket off her vanity.

"They don't. We're flying."

"Flying?" Mila said, raising an eyebrow and slipping her jacket on.

"Yes," Marcus said, closing his eyes a moment as his wings broke through his skin, shirt and jacket all at once, spreading out with a loud whoosh and a gust that blew Mila's hair back. The horns pierced through his skin and stuck out on his head, the transformation riddled with snaps and cracks until it was complete. When he opened his eyes, they were blood red. "Flying."

"Whoa," Mila said with wide eyes, stepping back so she could see take it in more. "Um... Where the fuck have you been hiding?"

"I tend to stay as a human among humans because they get uncomfortable in my demon form," he explained. "I can switch easily."

"Uncomfortable?" Mila asked, stepping closer and wrapping her hand around his horn. "This is fucking cool."

Marcus didn't respond at first, surprised at her reaction. Her hand moved down his head and over his shoulder to his bat-like wings. She ran her fingers along the edges, her eyes wide with marvel.

"You should hang out like this more often, you look hotter as a demon."

Marcus let out a long sigh and opted out of responding to that comment. "Are you done?"

"I mean, no, but I guess we have homemade pasta to get to."

"Yes we do."

"One question," Mila said, raising her hand. Marcus frowned. She lowered her hand and smiled widely. "Is it..." she said, gesturing to his crotch. "...Bigger in your demon form?"

"What?" He asked flatly, narrowing his eyes at her.

"You know," she said, pointing at his crotch. "It. Is it bigger when you change forms? Does it have spikes or something?"

Marcus's next breaths were all perfectly calculated in an attempt to seem unaffected by her question. Instead, he stepped closer to her, dropped his hands to the back of her thighs and lifted her up, her legs on either side of his waist. "Hold on."

He took to the air before she could answer. The quickness of it all had Mila screaming and clinging to Marcus, her arms and legs wrapping around him as he ascended into the sky, far above the city beneath. Mila at first hid in his neck, a shiver going through her as the cold air whipped against her skin as if her jacket wasn't there at all. Marcus's hands tightened on her thighs and warmth spread through her, warmth in an unfamiliar sensation that had her lifting her head so she could see him.

"Did you just... Warm me up?" She asked.

"It's a thing I can do," he answered.

"Thanks," she muttered, darting her eyes away.

She eventually became brave enough to lean back slightly and look down. All air sucked out of her lungs when she saw how high they were, gliding through the sky as people that looked like little ants moved slowly on the sidewalk, the buildings coming alive with little specks of light as night started taking over the day.

"Aren't you worried someone will see you?" Mila asked.

"They can't," Marcus said. "They can't see you either."

"Another demon perk?" Mila asked. Marcus nodded. "Wicked," she breathed, tightening her arms around his neck but leaning back even farther so she could see more before the last signs of daylight vanished.

Mila could only enjoy the sights for so long. Marcus was flying so fast that it was cold against her face so she buried her face in his neck to protect it from the cold. His hands tightened on her again and more warmth spread through her body, though not only because of Marcus's powers. Mila's legs tightened around him and Marcus focused every amount of energy he possibly could into flying to Kat and Nex's house.

Minutes later, they slowed. Mila lifted her head, finding a city she'd never visited below. Marcus hovered, his wings leisurely flapping as they slowly descended towards a house with two dogs in the backyard that barked up at them.

"I thought no one could see us," Mila said, watching the dogs.

"They can't, animals are more in tune," Marcus explained. They can't see us, but they can sense us."

"Cool," Mila said, watching as they drew closer and closer to the roof of the house. She almost asked why they were landing on the roof but then remembered they'd left her house by simply passing through the ceiling as if it wasn't there at all. Still, she couldn't help but tighten her limbs around them as they lowered to the roof, then through it.

They landed in a warm, cozy living room. A couch rested in the middle of it, facing a TV. The open floor plan showed a small dining area to the right and a kitchen with an island next to it. Other than that, there were sets of doors leading to other places but those weren't what interested Mila. What interested her was the small woman standing in the kitchen with fiery curls and a friendly smile on her face, a stark contrast to the man behind her with black hair and a scowl.

"You must be Mila," the girl said, running up and taking Mila's hand with both of hers as soon as Marcus set Mila down. "It's nice to meet you," she said, smiling warmly. "I'm Katherine. You can call me Kat, are you hungry? I just made some cookies," Kat said, gesturing back to the house. "Come on," she said, tugging Mila with her.

Mila glanced back at Marcus, frowning in confusion. He gave her no response and so she found herself being pulled into the house and offered freshly baked cookies. Mila wasn't one to turn down cookies so she slowly started nibbling on one and wondered if she'd ever had a better cookie in her life.

"So, Mila, what's up with you? Do you work or go to school or...?" Kat asked.

"I uh... I work," Mila said, sizing up the small girl in front of her.

"What do you do? Also, would you like some milk?" Kat asked, nodding to the cookie.

"Uh, sure," Mila said slowly, wondering what kind of person invited someone they didn't even know into their home then acted as if they were old friends. "I'm... I don't do anything special," Mila shrugged. "I'm just a paralegal at a law office and then I have another graveyard job that's basically just labor, loading and unloading shit at stores and departments, that kind of thing."

"That's not nothing," Kat frowned, grabbing a glass and opening the fridge, pulling out a carton and filling it with milk. "Paralegal work is really important, lawyers can't do what they need to without your help. The labor job sounds hard but I bet it's interesting."

"Um, yeah, interesting is one word," Mila nodded, mumbling a 'thanks' as Kat set the glass of milk in front of her.

"Do you get scared?" Kat asked, frowning in concern. "Working overnight? I sometimes get scary people working downtown and I don't even really work nights."

"Sometimes," Mila nodded slowly.

"Are you staying for dinner?" Kat asked, her eyes lighting up. "Nex and I made homemade pasta today and we made way too much. I'd love to have you stay," she beamed.

"Uh, well, I...." Mila said, struggling with the words. The girl was so sweet it was almost disarming. "I mean, Marcus dragged me here without my permission, so, sure, if you don't mind me intruding."

"You're not intruding at all," Kat said, waving her hand dismissively. "I'd love to have you stay. You'd be doing me a favor. I'm constantly surrounded by men."

"Hey," Nex frowned.

"What?" Kat asked, stepping over to Nex and kissing his cheek. "You know I love you. I just also like girl time," Kat said, sending a smile to Mila. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mila, I'm so rude, this is my husband, Nex," she said, setting her chest on the man that stood at least a foot taller than her. "Retired demon, now human."

I'm so rude. Mila almost responded with I don't know that you're capable of that.

"Hey," Mila said, waving at the guy that didn't seem particularly friendly.

"Hi," Nex responded, pressing a kiss to Katherine's forehead then turning for the kitchen. "Food is almost done."

"Did Mila say you dragged her here?" Katherine asked Marcus, setting her hands on her hips.

"Don't look at me like that," Marcus said with a mouthful of cookies, several others piled in his hands. "You gave me no choice when you barred the cookies."

"You were supposed to invite her over, not drag her over," Kat huffed.

"It's fine, really, the food smells good and the cookies are amazing," Mila said honestly.

"Well I'm sorry he wasn't polite about," she said, shooting Marcus a glare which he responded to with a sheepish smile. "But I'm glad you're here. Did you see the dogs on your way in?"

"I did, yeah," Mila nodded.

"Do you want to meet them?" Kat asked, clasping her hands together like it was the best idea in the world. "They're friendly."

"Uh... Sure," Mila shrugged. She liked dogs.

"They're really sweet," Kat said, walking over to the backdoor while Nex rolled his eyes. She opened the door and two very big and intimidating coal black dogs stepped inside. "This is Sicarius," Kat said, gesturing to the smaller one. "And this is Venandi," she said, gesturing to the bigger one before crouching down and petting them. "And they are such good puppies, aren't you?" She cooed, scratching their ears and giggling when they licked at her.

"They're not puppies," Nex scowled. "They're retired hellhounds."

"Seriously?" Mila asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," Nex said, rolling his eyes. "They're only babies around Katherine."

"That's so..." Mila frowned. "Cute..." she trailed off, wondering how in the world she could feel this way about someone she just met.

Kat brought the dogs over to Mila and Mila pet them, watching them carefully and wondering how the hell these dogs could be such softies for Katherine but seemed pretty intensely trained in other ways.

"Mila, can I take your jacket or are you still warming up from the flight?" Kat asked.

"Oh, I'm fine now, your house is cozy," Mila said, shrugging off her jacket and handing it over. "Thanks."

"Oh, this is pretty," Kat said, folding the jacket over her arm and stepping closer, examining Mila's forearm where a tattoo of a colorful car rim was. "Does it have a special meaning?"

"Oh um," Mila said, feeling embarrassed. "Just something I got for my mom after she died. Because she always loved to tell the story about when I was born, my parents got a flat tire on the way to the hospital and my mom ended up having me in the backseat. She said the moment she was having me, she screamed so loud the car shook and the rim fell off the flat tire so... Yeah," Mila shrugged. "People think it's weird but it's a memory that makes me laugh and she kept the car rim so I still have it."

"Oh wow," Kat said, giving Mila a sympathetic smile. "I think it's beautiful. And so what if other people don't get it? Other people won't understand the bond you had with your mom. It's personal between her and you and it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks of it. Can I ask what happened?"

Mila blinked a few times, suddenly feeling emotional at how understanding this stranger was. "Um... She got sick," Mila answered. "Dementia."

"I'm so sorry," Kat said, setting her hand on Mila's. "That must've been so hard for you to go through. People don't always understand what it takes to be a caretaker and it takes a lot," Kat said, making Mila's frown deepen because that was very true. People didn't understand how hard it was to take care of a sick person and Mila had gone through some really hard things with her mom, especially towards the end. "I think you're just amazing, to take care of your mom and get this tribute to her," Kat said, smiling down at the tattoo. "How beautiful," Kat gushed. "I love that you got something permanent as a tribute for her. I just wear this," Kat said, holding up her hand. "It's a bracelet my mom gave me. It doesn't look like much but sometimes the little things mean the most," Kat shrugged, walking back into the kitchen.

Mila watched Kat and felt strangely protective over the sweet girl. "Oh my God," she muttered as Marcus stepped next to her. "I'm soft for this girl," she hissed at Marcus. "I'm never soft, what is happening to me?"