Tyler visits tomorrow.

Isaac woke nude, nestled in strong arms, as his phone chimed loudly. His morning wake-up alarm… how long had he been asleep?!

He carefully extricated himself from Ophelia’s embrace, silenced his phone, and scrolled his notifications. Emails back from clients, a rare text from his dad he would get to later, a text from Jade who could wait, pings from his various apps, and, most recently, a message from Tyler.

Shit. Right.

The message said he’d be coming by half-past noon for their first check, it was nine as Isaac had picked up his phone, so they had a few hours to gather themselves.

There was a deep inhale from behind him, and he turned to see Ophelia stretching out on the bed. “Something up, love?”

“Tyler’s coming by shortly after noon,” he replied, sitting on the edge of the bed. His eyes danced across her naked form, drinking in every curve, edge and scar. “You are something else, Ophelia.”

She grinned, her tail lashing playfully. “I know.” She blushed as she sat up and leaned in, kissing Isaac softly. “Do we need to see Tyler? Or can we just…” She put a hand on Isaac’s chest, pushing him back gently. “...stay here?”

“Rules are rules. Protocol and all that.” Isaac took her hand in his, kissing her knuckles. “We should get a shower, then get some food.”

Ophelia pouted, but swung her legs off the bed and stood up, stretching her arms high over her head. Isaac watched the shift of the muscles in her back, powerful and rippling beneath her skin, unlike anything he’d seen in person. Her back was perhaps the most covered in scars, including a broad, curving one over each shoulder blade, almost the same as each other. She was dotted with pale marks, but here and there were larger, more serious marks of wounds survived.

“What happened to you, Ophelia?” Isaac finally asked.

She looked at him over her shoulder, a brow raised. “What do you mean?”

“All those scars… what’ve you been through to cause them?” He stood up and walked over to her, tracing some of those big scars.

“How about we hop in the shower and I’ll tell you?” She leaned down to kiss Isaac. “You were the one who wanted to get moving this morning.”

“Fair point.” He took her by the hand and led her to the attached bathroom, turning the shower on warm. He picked out two towels and stepped in the shower. She followed him in, thankfully the shower was, frankly, massive, and he quietly pointed out what each different product was. As they started properly cleaning themselves, Isaac spoke up again.

“So,” he started, touching that jagged scar on her side. “What’s this?”

Ophelia looked at it and snickered. “Some dumbass came at me with a spear one time. He got me good, but he didn’t get a second.”

“Where are most of these from?”

“I got into a lot of fights. Usually with other demons, but, y’know.” She shrugged. “It is what it is.”

“And that big one on your back?”

She grimaced and hesitated for a few seconds too long.

“Understood, no problem.” Isaac put a hand on her arm. “You don’t have to tell me.”

“Thanks, love.” Ophelia leaned down to kiss him, then ruffled his wet hair. “We’ll get there.”

“And it’s okay if we don’t. You don’t owe me anything.”

Ophelia gave him a sad sort of smile, kissed him again, and wiped her face. “Let’s hurry up. Can’t be in the shower when Tyler gets here.”

***

Isaac realized quickly that Ophelia preferred to lounge around topless. He was all for it, of course, but when there was a knock at the door, he shot her a look.

“You okay to stay like that?” He asked, standing to clear away the remnants of their breakfast and answer the door.

Ophelia hummed uncertainly. “You think he’ll mind?”

Isaac shrugged.

“I’ll get a shirt…” She stood and meandered off to the bedroom.

As soon as she was up the stairs and out of sight, the door rattled with another set of knocks, so Isaac opened it.

Sure enough, standing on the porch was Tyler Jones, clipboard tucked under his arm as he adjusted his tie. “Hey, Isaac! How’s it going?”

“Going…” Isaac paused, considered the previous day, and nodded. “Going really good.” He stepped away from the door. “Come on in.”

Tyler followed in, looking around. “Where’s the lucky lady?”

“Putting on clothes.” Isaac stood by his desk, gesturing to the couch and armchair in front of the television. “Have a seat anywhere, she’ll be down soon.”

“Putting on-?” Tyler laughed, taking a seat in the armchair. “Did I interrupt something?”

“No, no, she was just lounging around.”

“Are you talking about me when I’m not around?” Ophelia asked as she jogged down the stairs.

“You look happy,” Tyler said.

“The happiest, mister Jones.” Ophelia strode to the couch, sitting heavily. Isaac followed her, sitting beside her. The demoness grabbed him, lifting him into her lap. “He’s been good to me.”

“That is amazing to hear. You two look very comfortable already. This doesn’t have to take long, just a bit of admin and I’ll be out of here.” Tyler produced a pen and started reading his clipboard. “Any problems so far?”

“Nope,” Ophelia replied. “I’ve had good food, good sex, and good sleep. I’m very pleased.”

“Great. Anyone expressed distaste?”

“Haven’t run into anyone yet,” Isaac said.

“Any incompatibility?”

“Not so far.”

“Anything you need from me or the AWIO?”

Isaac looked up at Ophelia. She shrugged. “Don’t think so,” Isaac said.

Tyler tucked the pen back in his pocket. “Okay, sounds good. I’ll swing by tomorrow, the day after, we’ll play it by ear.” He cleared his throat and stood, then paused, grimacing. “One more thing…”

“That’s a bad expression. Why do you look nervous?” Ophelia said, sitting up a bit straighter. She put a protective arm around Isaac.

“There… was someone asking for you, Ophelia. At the AWIO center.”

“...why?”

“I don’t know.” Tyler shrugged. “He was this tall guy, messy hair, wide eyes… He asked for you by name, wanted to talk. Of course, by policy, we don’t connect people to any clients, monster girls or otherwise, so I told him no. He got a bit aggressive, I told him to pound sand, and I had him escorted out.”

Isaac raised a brow. That was… concerning, to say the least. “You dealt with him personally?”

Tyler nodded. “He asked for me personally. Seemed to know I was your rep. The point is, if anyone comes after you, call the police, then me.” He scratched at his beard thoughtfully. “If anyone really bothers you, you can call the agency and someone can help you out, always, but for criminal stuff, I should be your first contact after the police.”

Tyler fiddled with his collar and Ophelia inhaled sharply. Isaac decided to worry about that later. “Got it,” she said. “Will do, Tyler. Just one question, did the guy have yellow eyes?”

Tyler furrowed his brow and looked away for a moment. “I don’t… remember.”

“Okay. Yeah, no problem, we’ll let you know if something happens.” Ophelia leaned back into the couch, but Isaac could feel that she didn’t relax, her body still tense beneath him.

“Cool. I’ll see you folks later, stay safe.” Tyler gave them a small wave and let himself out.

Isaac let the silence rest for a few moments, but eventually spoke up. “Who do you think that is?”

“Probably just some random guy. Hopefully not who I think it is.” Ophelia shook her head. “Not worth dwelling on. You wanna watch some TV?”

Isaac checked his watch. He had time. “Sure. Only for a little while, then I gotta get back to work.”

“Fantastic.” Ophelia quickly shed her shirt again, tossing it over the back of the couch. She pulled Isaac into a tight embrace, nestling him against her chest. “Love you, Isaac.”