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“That was fast.” He needed to buy time because his heart started beating way too fast. His mouth felt dry, drier than it had when he was breathing all that sulfur. He couldn’t look in the demon’s direction when he braced himself for the answer to the next question. “So what’s happened to them? To Jordan?”

After all, Jordan was the only one in the group he cared about. He couldn’t even say he’d learned everyone else’s names. They were just the friends of Jordan’s boyfriend, and they’d never gotten along.

Dave gave a minute shake of his head. It didn’t matter now, did it?

“I can show you.”

“Will it make me throw up?”

Sure, he was curious, but he hated appearing weak in front of the demon, who would surely watch the kinds of images he was offering while eating a bucket of popcorn—if he ate human food. Dave’s stomach already felt queasy enough, though, and he didn’t want a repeat of yesterday and all the toilet cleaning.

That had been humiliating.

“Jordan is alive,” Melchom supplied.

“Oh.” Why, yes, that was the only sound that came out. “What does that mean?”

“I offered him to Astaroth,” he said, shrugging. Dave’s eyes threatened to bulge out of his skull, but the demon didn’t seem to notice. “You could probably see him if you wanted.”

“I…” He struggled to catch a breath. His fists clenched and unclenched as he began to pace. “No. No, thanks.”

“You sure, Dove?”

Dave sneered. “For all I know, he’s being tortured and you just want to traumatize me even more. Or it’s part of another deal where I’d owe you something else.”

If he was honest with himself, he’d probably ask him about it another day. He wanted to see Jordan, to get some kind of explanation. How did someone throw years of friendship down the toilet like that? But he needed to be strong for that, and he…

He wasn’t.

No, it was better if he just focused on making it inside the demon’s chambers, and getting in Melchom’s favor. The rest of Hell, with all the minions and flames decorating the hallways, didn’t feel like they were within his scope. Perhaps later he could figure out other stuff, but he had to put himself first, right?

Funnily enough, Jordan was the one who always drilled that mantra into him.

“Here I was thinking you liked me now.”

“I don’t like you.”

“No?” Melchom teased. “So you don’t wanna clean up in the bathroom?”

“I want that.” Dave fumed. “It’s just sex, though. You’re good at it, and I can use the distraction.”

Shit, he cursed. He should’ve sweetened that more, maybe played Melchom’s games where he kept things vague to keep the demon guessing. It just wasn’t him. He’d never quite managed at it, too worried with the mess in his head to make anything else more complicated than it needed to be.

“Then come be distracted.” Melchom turned around.

Was it him, or did Melchom move more stiffly? Dave snorted. Right, because he now had the power to hurt a gigantic demon who collected weapons and pretty crowns under some misguided notion Dave hadn’t learned enough about.

Before the demon could drag him inside, Dave made his way to him. He may have taken a second to admire the body before him, too. It wasn’t his fault that Melchom’s muscles rippled like that when the demon bent down to sink into the tub.

“Take off your new pretty clothes, Dove.”

“You’re gonna get tired of that one real soon.”

“Am I?”

Dave shrugged. He was not going to fall for another one of the demon’s taunts. Instead, he focused on slipping out of the lingerie set. His cock hardened when he realized he hadn’t taken any of it off while they were in bed before. Having sex while in expensive lingerie sets like this one had always been a fantasy of his, but for some reason, today had been the first time.

And it had been with a demon.