Anyone who spent time with Lalo in a garden immediately recognized his devotion and capacity for love, even if it was all directed toward his plants. Behind a camera though, Lalo showed the depths of his soul for all to see. Iggy sat on the cold grass, enjoying the view of Denver from Lookout Mountain, eating dessert and watching his date photograph the bright skyline in the distance. They’d arrived as the sun went down and enjoyed dinner while waiting for the lights of the city to come on.

“Lal. Have some Nutella pizza?” He waved a slice at Lalo’s back. They’d picked up one pepperoni and one of the sweet pies from Pizzeria Locale. “Help me help myself or I’ll be licking the box clean before I know it. Do you know how much running I’m going to have to do to work all this off?”

“No,” Lalo grunted abruptly. His attention focused intently on the viewfinder of his camera. “And don’t eat my slice. Why are you so distracting?”

“Have you seen me?” Iggy licked the chocolate spread from his fingers, sighing when the move was completely wasted on Lalo, who hadn’t bothered to turn around.

“You’re hard on my ego.”

“Good.” Lalo finally glanced over his shoulder with a grin. “Yours has needed deflating since high school. You’ve got Nutella on your cheek.”

“Want to lick it off?” Iggy infused the question with all his charm.

“Are you this unsanitary on all your dates?” Lalo wrinkled his nose and turned back to his camera. “They put napkins in with the pizza.”

Iggy fell backwards with an aggrieved sigh, staring up at the stars in the night sky. “Why do I bother?”

“No idea,” Lalo muttered. “Don’t know why you bother either. You’re less obnoxious when you aren’t using your chili senses to spice up your life.”

They snickered together.

The slightly defensive tone in his voice caught Iggy’s attention. He sometimes forgot Lalo misread teasing for seriousness. Silently kicking himself for not being more careful, Iggy got to his feet and walked toward him as their laughter faded away.

Great job, Iggy; put your foot in it on the first date.

You’ve only known Lal for years.

Iggy brought his hands up, giving Lalo plenty of time to retreat, and gripped him by the shoulders. “I bother because you’ve had my attention since high school. Not that you noticed or cared.”

“You were joking.”

Joking?

Oh, right, the misunderstanding a minute ago.

“I was.” Iggy tilted his head to put their lips closer, bending a little to close the two-inch height difference. “I’m not joking about wanting to kiss you.”

“Your face is still sticky.” Lalo’s green eyes glinted with mischief in the glow of the moon and stars overhead. He reached up to grip Iggy by his hair and tugged him into a kiss. “Mouth tastes of Nutella as well.”

Iggy smirked hungrily and sought Lalo’s lips again. He only pulled back when oxygen became an issue; they stared breathlessly at one another. “Ever had sex under the stars?”

“Not—”

“Damn it.” Iggy cut Lalo off when the telltale sensation of a demon on the prowl hit him, the strange, otherworldly rush of energy up his spine causing his hair to stand on end.

“Fuck.”

“Chili on the loose?”

“Chili on the loose.” Iggy gave him a crooked grin.

“Rain check on the date?”

“Rain check?” Lalo scoffed, stepping away to begin packing up his camera. “I’m coming with you.”

“Lal.”

“Igster.”

“Fine.” Iggy didn’t honestly mind if Lalo joined him.

Unlike his priestly mentors, he’d never seen a reason to keep secrets, not from his best friend. “Let’s spice up our first date with a demon.”

“Might want to wipe the chocolate from your face first.”

Lalo pointed to the napkins in the empty pizza box. “Can you open the back of your Trailblazer? I want to stow my extra gear.”

Lalo drove, allowing Iggy to focus on feeling out where the demon had crossed over into his city. Despite centuries of journals, they’d yet to discover how or why the devil came to Denver in the first place. Nor did the Jesuits know how Iggy could sense demons.

Despite the Jesuits’ reluctance to involve anyone outside their group, Iggy fully believed Lalo to be an asset. He tended to absorb everything around him, distilling the most complex issues into understandable ones. Iggy couldn’t help wondering if his best friend had better luck studying the journals than he had.

Putting the idea aside for now, Iggy returned to pinpointing their demonic problem. Let’s not lose any souls tonight; might ruin our first date completely. He couldn’t help grinning at Lalo in the dimly lit vehicle as they drove away from the foothills toward the city.

Lalo understood his life. Youthful crushes and dickdriven lust aside, Iggy trusted every aspect of his life to Lalo. What better foundation for a relationship is there? Who else is going to happily hop behind the wheel to play driver as I hunt down a sulfuric monster?

Focus, Ignatius.

Sex and romance after, not before.

As they moved through the city, Iggy leaned his head slightly out the open window. The cold air shook the slight haze that had filled his head watching the intense focus on Lalo’s face. He had to quit thinking about how sexy Lalo was.

They were headed down Fourteenth when sulfur began to burn his nostrils. Iggy sat up, trying to get a hint of a direction. Lalo slowed the vehicle down to an almost crawl, much to the annoyance of the driver behind them, who honked in irritation before swerving around them.

“Right on Broadway.” Iggy frowned at the familiar location.

Why do they keep appearing in the same area? “Past the library.”

Denver at night wasn’t much different from during the day. Iggy preferred the brightness of the sun. He knew Lalo loved the opposite; evenings offered more quiet introspection.

Or so he claimed.

“Hang on.” Iggy twisted in the seat, trying to pinpoint the location. “It’s gone.”

“The demon?”

Iggy slumped against the leather and massaged his forehead.

“Let’s head back to my place. I want to show you something.”

“I’m not playing hide the salami.”

Iggy barked out a surprised laugh, snickering helplessly.

“It’s too big to hide.”

Ignatius Faber knows a few things for absolute certain. He’s half-demon, his
father is the unequivocal prince of darkness, and demons want to
destroy his city. And if he doesn’t make the first move on his
crush, they’re never going to be anything more than a teenage
fantasy that’s lasted into his thirties.

Lalo Pavia grew up hard and fast, orphaned at a young age. As an autistic,
he’s learned to approach life cautiously. He throws his energy into
gardening and photography—allowing both to provide a buffer between
himself and the rest of the world.

Except for Iggy.

Can they find triumph, life, and even love in the middle of a city in flames?

Their fight for the mile high city has just begun.