Nikola was not one of those people who got attached to flings he had walked out on.
But Marcel, the Lich necromancer who had tied him up in the library and then helped loosen up his body afterward was a special case.
If the man was not such a believer in Eros, Nikola would have taken the stars off the sky for him. The man had clever fingers, an even cleverer tongue, not to mention the stamina of a bull in heat.
But that was all to be expected, Nikola figured, considering the man was an incubus.
"Niki!" Marcel had seen him, apparently.
Nikola smiled.
It was not like the demon could control himself. How had Marcel put it?
It was as natural for him to flirt as it was for a bunny to hop.
Nothing to be done about it all.
"Hi, Marcel. Do you have more to say to the blacksmith? I am here to place an order."
Marcel sighed, stepping to the side.
"No, not really. Hey, are you busy later?" Marcel had that dimpled smile for which Nikola was ready to die. But no dimples in the world were going to convince him to end up as just a person Marcel viewed as food.
He was already feeding goblins and getting peanuts for it. He didn't want to give his heart away, only for Marcel to flirt with a cashier the very next moment.
And yet…
He didn't want to leave Marcel with the impression that they could not be friends.
"I guess we can go out for a coffee?" Nikola asked. Marcel smiled even wider. The wind was ruffling his gorgeous red curls this way and that.
The blacksmith narrowed his eyes.
"What is your order?" the man asked, clearly understanding that he had no chance with the demon, even though said demon had been all but purring for him a couple of seconds ago.
"I would like these made," Nikola showed the person a very bad drawing of rakija brewing containers. "You will have to use your fantasy. There should be pressure that would force the rakija out of the barrels through a hose."
"I… see?" The blacksmith rubbed the back of his head. He just knew that this meant a trip to the library!
Nikola took out his coin pouch, paid the price on the wooden board behind the blacksmith, and then looked at Marcel.
"So, are we going?" Nikola was testing the man. He wanted to see if a date over coffee would be better for the demon than a shag with the blacksmith.
Marcel looked first at the blacksmith, a strong as a bull man whose arms were exposed and looked so, as if he could break bricks with them.
Then at Nikola, who was looking at his feet.
There was something about the world traveler that called to Marcel. He didn't know what it was.
It was more of a familiar pang in his chest.
It was the memory of a night spend feeding.
Marcel nodded.
The blacksmith had not responded to his flirting anyway.
While Nikola could be convinced to feed him again…
****
The small and only cafe at Big Capybara, the Sweet and Woke Cafe of Madam Annalise, was packed to the brim with customers.
Still, the eight-legged arachnid managed to make Nikola and Marcel a cup of coffee each.
"Niki!" Annalise said, as she handed him his cup. "Do tell, how are the goblins?"
Nikola figured that since there weren't people waiting in line behind him, he could chat with the barista.
"They are doing well. All of them are well-fed," Nikola said, as he tried to think up of something else. "Gnomes moved in their farmsteads. I think that soon, the goblins would be able to produce their own food!"
Annalise's eyebrows rose to dramatic heights.
"Goblins, who would produce their own food? Now that I need to see!" She giggled, only to see that someone else had moved behind Nikola and Marcel, staring at the board with the coffee variants on offer. "Ok, off with you both! I have a job to do!"
Nikola nodded, and Marcel did a slight bow.
Soon, they were in the park and drinking their coffee.
The problem was that Nikola had no idea what he should tell Marcel.
The necromancer had been an oddity, at the start. Then he had proven to be a delicious oddity.
But the fact that Marcel could not commit was something Nikola could not overlook.
"I can't stop thinking about you," Marcel finally said, as he took a sip from his coffee. "How have you been?"
"You can't stop thinking about me, but you flirted with the blacksmith?" Nikola knew that he was being petty. But if the incubus wanted to use his body, then he had another thing coming.
"Why come with me to the park, if you were not interested?" Marcel countered. He rather liked the punch this brew was giving him.
Not only was it clearing his mind, but it was also making it so that his senses were sharpening.
He sniffed the air.
Then he looked Nikola in the eyes.
This was not good. The man smelled of honey cakes on a summer night. Marcel knew what that meant.
But he was an incubus. He couldn't go against his nature.
Not even for his soulmate.
"I think we should be friends," Nikola said finally. "No strings attached."
"Oh, but I do want to attach some strings to you, dearest," Marcel let his mana into his voice. He knew that the man would not resist him.
"Too bad," Nikola said, his gaze clear.
Marcel blinked. Why hadn't his mana worked?
"I don't share. The only thing we could be is friends. Take it or leave it."
"I will turn your head in time," Marcel said, not really believing in his words.
"When? When you teach a rabbit not to hop?" Nikola countered, as he took another sip from his coffee.
Marcel took a deep breath.
This was his soulmate. He was an incubus. He couldn't give him what he wanted.
And yet, he wished to be a part of Nikola's life. To see him make something of himself.
"Friends, then," the Lich said, as he continued to drink his coffee.
And if he scooted just a bit closer to Nikola on the bench, well, he needed to get drunk on that lovely smell his soulmate was giving off.
And probably pick his clothes for the next date better. A necromantic robe over tight clothes was not ideal.
He had a lot of work before him.
For he wanted his cake and to eat it too.
Alongside other cakes, when he needed variety.