"There's an actual pig in your closet," Kieran says, looking at Pumpkin with wide eyes and a smile.

"You're just catching on to this now?" I ask with a giggle. "How did you miss the squealing?"

"There was a lot of screaming going on, to be fair. And you stabbed me in the shoulder." He rubs his shoulder, feigning injury. "Why did you stab me, by the way?"

"It was dark and I couldn't see and I panicked."

He laughs and shakes his head.

"Yeah, I guess real life isn't quite as well-lit as your dreams. What is that thing you stabbed me with, anyway?" He looks over to the file, which is now resting on the floor.

"It's a hoof file. I use it on Pumpkin's hooves."

"Well, that's a new one." He stands up and smiles over at Pumpkin. "I can't believe you really have a pet pig."

"I told you I did. You didn't believe me?"

"I just assumed that was just an excuse to hide your bondage fetish. I'm a little disappointed, actually." He walks over to Pumpkin, his feet lightly padding across the carpet with delicate movements so as not to spook him. "Hey there, buddy! Sorry if we scared you."

He kneels down and extends an open palm, holding it just far enough away to let Pumpkin close the distance. After a wary glance at me, Pumpkin cautiously steps forward and sniffs his hand.

"Hey Pumpkin," he says, giving Pumpkin a little scritch on the chin.

"Have you been around pigs before? You seem like you know what you're doing."

"Not really. He just seemed scared and I wanted to make him feel better. Oh wait, sorry to assume your gender Pumpkin."

He looks at me with questioning eyes.

"He's a boy."

"Me too," he says to Pumpkin with a smirk. "Most of the time."

Kieran stands up and Pumpkin snorts, displeased that the petting has stopped.

"Are you saying you can change your body to look female?"

I don't know why that had never occurred to me.

"Sure. I can look just about any way I want. It's not just details like hair color. I can look like anyone or anything."

Pumpkin huffs and makes his way back to his bed in the corner.

"Anything? Like a lamp?"

"Err... well... any living creature with roughly similar size to me. I can't be like, an ant or something. Or if I was, it would be a pretty big fucking ant."

"Could you be, like, a mermaid? Or could you give yourself three arms? Or a tail?"

"Well, I kinda already have a tail." He shrugs his shoulders.

"What?? You have a tail?!"

"Yeah, well... when you first get converted you default into your demon form. It's your human form plus horns, a tail, and wings."

"You're kidding."

"Nope. The whole classic look. You want to see?"

"Yeah."

I mean, who would say no to that?

He bends forward and horns sprout from each side of his head, curling toward his back like a ram's. Large bat-like wings unfold from his back and a long barbed tail swishes behind him.

"Holy shit," I mumble. My jaw goes slack as I take in the full picture.

Any normal human being would see this and be—probably rightfully—terrified. But apparently I am not a normal human, because seeing his muscular body is doing things to me that are anything but normal.

If there is a hell, I'm definitely going. And I just might be okay with that.

"Did I freak you out?" He lowers his head slightly and looks at me with concern.

"Frea-... me, I... no. No."

"You sure about that, Red? You seem flustered."

Oh I'm flustered, but not in the scared way. More in the 'there's a hot shirtless man in front of me with wings and horns and I just discovered my new fetish' kind of way.

"Just didn't expect that is all."

He nods and slowly transforms back into his regular self.

"Why do you have a pig, anyway?" he asks, sitting on the bed.

"Well, when I moved in with Zahra, I was thinking about getting a guard dog. She loves animals so she thought it was a great idea. We went to the pound, and I saw him sitting in his cage all sad and I just had to get him. Zahra agreed and uh... yeah, I got a pig."

"Don't they need to live in mud or something?"

"No, that's a myth. Pigs wallow in mud when it's hot out in order to stay cool. So people think pigs are dirty, but they're actually quite clean. Pumpkin is a lot cleaner than most dogs."

"That's a surprise," he says with a smirk, "considering how dirty his mama is."

I grab a pillow and give him a quick smack.

"He's not really much of a guard dog, but I love him."

"Well, you have a guard demon now."

I smile, but I can't help but feel anxiety creeping up inside my chest.

Sure, I have Kieran now, but he can't protect me forever.

"About that..." I chew on my lip for a moment, trying to figure out the right words. "How long do you think you'll be able to do this? I mean, I'm sure you have a life to get back to. I can't expect you to spend every night babysitting me."

His expression falls and I swear I sense a bit of sadness as he runs his hand back through his hair.

"Yeah uh... I don't know. I have some demons looking for Victor. He's hiding, with good reason. He has to know I'll kill him when I find him."

"Kill him? You're... you're going to kill him?"

I don't know how to feel about it. On the one hand, Vic has been harassing me and making my life miserable for over half a year. On the other, death feels like the most extreme punishment I imagine.

"There aren't a lot of ways to stop a rogue Incubus." He pinches his lips together and his eyes wander as he thinks it over. "If I lock him up somewhere, he'll still be able to reach your dreams—and anyone else's. Do you not want me to kill him?"

Do I? I'm not sure.

I want Vic to leave me alone and I don't want him hurting anyone else. I never really considered what that might mean. It's not exactly like we can just call the cops on him.

"I don't know."

"Well my vote is for killing him," he says, moving so that he can lie down beside me. "After seeing what he did to you, I really want to kill that dick."

Part of me likes the idea of Kieran being here with me, but I'm terrified of what it might mean. I can't let myself get used to the idea that he'll be around. I have to remind myself that this arrangement is temporary.

"Don't get comfortable, Mister," I scold. "This is my bed."

"Really? You'll let me into your dreams, but not into your bed?"

"You have your own bed to get back to."

He sighs and sits up.

"Okay fine," he says, closing his eyes. After a moment, he opens them again and looks at me. "I guess that didn't work. Let me try again."

His eyes pinch shut and his eyebrows furrow. After a minute or so, he opens one eye and sighs.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't actually know how I did it," he says, rubbing his face with his hand. "I may need a ride home."

"You're kidding."

His apologetic smile tells me that he's not.

"I told you, Doll, I have no fucking clue what I'm doing."

"How did you do it before?"

"I don't know. We were just... well you know what we were doing. And the next thing I know, you're screaming and stabbing me."

"So you're saying it only works when we're making out?" I narrow my eyes at him.

"I'd be happy to test the theory." He smiles and his eyes focus on my lips for just a moment.

"I think that ship has sailed."

"Well in that case..." He scoots up toward the headboard and tucks his feet into the covers, then slips underneath.

"What are you doing?"

"Unless you want to drive me home right now, I figure I'm staying over."

"This is the opposite of not getting comfortable."

"What can I say, I like the idea of getting comfortable with you."

I glare at him and poke his chest with my index finger.

"You stay on your side of the bed. No funny business. No being... well, no being you."

"Scout's honor." He holds up three fingers and grins.

"You were a Boy Scout?"

"I was. Learned how to tie a lot of tight knots—comes in handy every now and then." He winks and I roll my eyes.

"Goodnight, Kieran."

He laughs as I reach for the lamp and switch it off.

"Goodnight, Red. See you in your dreams."

◆