Page 21 of Boyfriend From Hell

“Is her respect lost on us?” An angry voice boomed from all around me.

The air was thick with the scent of sulfur and smoke. Screams and howls erupted all around me as I speared through darkness. My mind swam—each sound was like a punch straight to the brain. I squinted, seeing nothing but hazy shades of red and black.

“What?” I whispered, dazed, as I struggled to rouse my brain into working.

It felt like I’d been vacuumed out of my body and slammed back in, all wrong—misaligned and jarring. “You brought that? Surely, this is a farce, Raios.”

A voice rang out, baffled and sharp.

“A mortal? What in the inferno is this? This is a joke. Please, Son—tell me you cannot be serious.”

“Direly, Mother,” a low gravelly voice I recognized to be Raios’ replied.

There was an eardrum puncturing wail, followed by the sound of glass shattering. I flinched at the noise as my vision finally came into focus—and boy, did I really wish it hadn’t.

“She can’t even bother to look at us, let alone greet us! You chose this vain thing?” Another glass shattered.

“Seph, she’s adjusting. Mortals aren’t used to the way we travel.” These words were so softly spoken, almost timid.

I stood in a cavernous dining hall of sorts, surrounded by black stone covered in carvings of writhing bodies, their forms contorting in ways which defied human anatomy.

Above me, a chandelier made of obsidian and blackened bones cast an eerie glow, illuminating the long table sitting in the center of the room piled high with food—and six sets of expectant eyes.

I winced as warm skin brushed against my chest, catching me off guard—then suddenly, it felt like Lucifer himself had unleashed hellfire on me. My chest burned, raw and searing.

Panicked, I glanced to either side, expecting to see Cam and Mal… but I stood completely alone. “There. They’re bonded. Now, can we get on with this meal?”

I tracked the voice with my eyes. A man who looked no older than forty sat at the head of the table, exhaustion hung from his eyes in the form of deep purple crescents.

A low laugh rumbled through the air.

“Fantastic. Faaaaantastic.” The woman who sat to the man’s left wretched.

I knew I must’ve looked completely lost, and the longer I stood there, the more the woman’s expression twisted with irritation. I couldn’t help it, though—Raios, now hornless, walked toward me. His blood-red eyes sparkled with joy, and that familiar, pleasant smile spread across his face.

“You’re late,” he breathed through his teeth.

I squinted at his forehead; he looked so normal now.

“I don’t need them all the time, I can choose to have them show or not,” he stated as if reading my thought. “Now, please. Join us. I know for a fact you have not eaten yet, and well—my parents are apparently waiting to meet you.”

Shock seemed to have fully taken over at this point. I stood there, dumbfounded by how casually he spoke, as if this were all normal.

“Please?” There was a particular begging tone to how he spoke, then the soft heat of his palm enveloped my hand.

“I don’t understand,” I began.

“Well, you were to dine with just me––as I said earlier. To be fair, I wasn't expecting my parents to show up. They’re not accustomed to seeing mortals—just so you know—so please, treat them with grace.” There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice, as if he found humor in the situation.

Grace, the word hit a chord in me.

Gracie!

I tried to recall when I had spoken with her, but the more I pushed my mind to find the memory, the murkier and more distant the thoughts became.

Raios snickered beside me—at my expense, I’d wager.

I fought against the attraction buzzing through me from the sound of his laughter.

His head tilted back as the sound poured out of him, infusing the air with the intoxicating rhythm of humor.

I watched, surprised rather than distraught by the sudden outburst of laughter.

“Come—” he wrapped his hand tighter around mine. “I’ll do all the talking, don’t worry, my little nightmare.”

He had been throwing so many pet names at me—it irked me more than it unsettled me, but I’d be lying if I said they didn’t make me feel a certain way. There was a shuffle of feet and a symphony of whispers. I rolled my eyes but followed him to the table where his parents sat.

“My Queen,” Raios said with a smirk as he gave a low, exaggerated bow and pulled a hefty oak chair out for me. The wood scraped against the stone floor awkwardly in the silence.

I glanced at his parents, feeling strange and floored by the audacity of the whole scenario.

I could go about this in one of two ways; play along and maybe he’ll somehow be down to let me go, or pick up the fork that gleamed in front of me and start jabbing.

I could see Raios biting the inside of his cheek, amusement filling his eyes as he watched me hesitate to sit.

It would be three versus one, I sighed. Might as well play along and play it as safe as possible.

Sliding into the chair I gave a small nod, meeting his eyes as he stood above me while pushing my chair in.

His eyes were locked on my chest, suddenly I became aware of the sting that lingered there.

I brushed my fingers over that sensitive, mysterious spot on my chest and winced.

The skin felt slightly raised—yet another thing to add to my ever-growing “figure it out later” list. “Right, so, let’s get this over with.

I don’t have any intentions on acquainting myself with mortals.

” His mother sneered at me as I forced myself to calm down and take the situation second by second.

I plastered my sweetest smile on my face as her eyes overflowed with disgust. Raios slid into the chair beside mine, moving it so his armrest was practically touching mine.

Keeping my eyes on his mother, I reached across the wood separating us and placed my hand on his thigh, before tracing circles along the black velvet encasing his leg.

He tensed beneath my touch, surely not anticipating the change in my demeanor.

If she was going to play bitch, then so would I.

“We will be leaving after this dismal meal.” She eyed my movements and scoffed, looking at the array of food as if it were piles of shit.

“Your father has a meeting in the north with your uncle. If you are serious—which I certainly hope you are not—about this…” Her eyes were on me again.

“Hound. Then we will leave it up to you to commence the ritual.”

I coughed out a laugh and tilted my head at Raios, whose face met mine with an amused expression—like he was up for playing this game of chicken with his mother. He raised an eyebrow at me as I kept stroking his thigh, feeling a bit braver fueled by spite.

“Mother dear,” Raios said, his tone dripping with venom, “you’re the only hound present here, as you so graciously pointed out. What did Father marry you for, again? The noble task of bearing heirs?”

His eyes left mine and locked onto hers, lips curling into a cruel smile.

“And yet, after millennia, you’ve given him just one. What a disappointing hound you turned out to be.”

Wood grated sharply against stone as she shot up from her seat, his words hitting their mark.

“You despicable, miserable, waste of seed.” She bristled and I had to fight the smile that was threatening to creep across my lips.

“What a disappointing thing for a mother to say to the only heir she could provide the Underworld. You’re dismissed, Mother.” He waved a hand lazily in front of him, as if swatting at a gnat.

This was entertaining.

See, if Raios had led with this, I probably would have been a little less pissed off and freaked out.

I snuck a glance at his father, who looked like the bickering was draining the life out of him with every word flung across the table. He just sat there, silently rubbing his palms along his forehead—I couldn’t help but wonder if he had horns too.

“Now, my sweet one. Would you prefer to be on top—I’d love to watch you writhe around on my cock, while you curse my name in front of all the Underworlders. Or, perhaps you’d like to be bent over? So you can watch as the crowd pleasures themselves to you being fucked,” Raios purred.

I whipped my head toward him so fast I nearly smacked my head against the back of the chair. “Huh?” I gaped, my heart skipping from his outlandish words.

My hand stalled on his thigh. Plates and glass shattered somewhere across the table, but I couldn’t even look, I was too baffled by what he’d just asked me.

This sweet—debatably twisted, and undeniably hotter than hellfire—man just asked what? What shocked me even more was the fact that he asked me something like that right in front of his parents.

Raios’ eyes were intense with an emotion I couldn’t quite pinpoint, but definitely was beginning to feel suspiciously interested in exploring.

The butterflies I felt the first time we interacted appeared in my stomach, attraction overriding rationality.

Wood hit the floor somewhere within the room with a loud crash, startling my attention away from the heated moment.

I turned to look toward the sound and found that his parents had vanished.

I stared at their empty chairs and swiveled my head around.

“Well done,” Raios praised me.

“Don’t worry, they’re gone and likely will not return for a long time,” he assured me. “I’m sorry you had to meet them. I had no intention of our first date going like this, honest.

My eyes widened. “First date?” I spun toward him.

“Yes, first date,” he said with a sheepish grin. “The first of many—I’m hoping for a few millennia’s worth.” “What?” I asked incredulously.

He nodded. “I know you heard me correctly, Deer. I can sense it in your mind. What do you say? Would you care to date a devil like me?”

I stared at him, completely baffled.

This was a date? Our first date? Says who? I didn’t agree to go on a date—especially one like this! This felt more like a nightmare than a date. This man was bat shit crazy.

His smile faltered, and for a moment, I caught a flash of sadness in his eyes.

“And, if I say no?” I ventured.

“Well, this was your wish, and I’m fulfilling it.

It’s a devil’s duty to grant the wishes of the desperate.

Up north? They get the prayers and hopes of the good.

But down here—down here, we get the pleas, the bargains, the desperate exchanges.

You can deny me. Deny this. But whether you admit it or not, this is what you wished for.

I was pretty positive that I hadn’t wished for a devil, let alone to be abducted by one.

He was drop dead gorgeous though, I’d give him that. And then there was the fact that when he looked at me it felt like he was looking at every fiber of my being, seeing me for me.

I couldn’t possibly date a devil though, right? That would just be...

“What happens if I deny you? Do I get to go home?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never been denied before, but I’d assume––based on my father’s stories––you’ll end up trapped here in some way, shape, or form.”

“And where is ‘here’?” I asked, slowly.

“Deer,” he drew out my name as if savoring every letter.

I stared at him, everything in me stilling.

“Where is here?” I demanded, my voice taking on a small shake.

“Hell,” He replied flatly.

I remained silent for a few moments, giving him the silence to add in the real answer—but, when he said nothing more, I realized he may be serious.

“I am serious,” he said quietly and I cringed at the reply.

“Prove it.”

He looked at me in surprise. “Prove it? How?”

I shrugged.

His eyes never left mine as his horns emerged from his head, smoke pluming from them in small puffs. The look he gave me was enough to let me know he knew I needed more than just that, and he sighed.

He reluctantly raised his hand and made a strange wafting gesture, the room turned black for a moment, before shadowy forms began writhing around us.

The shapes cackled and yowled, their wispy fingers reaching for me, causing me to jump up from my chair.

Raios had found my hand, and pulled me back down into my seat.

The room instantly went back to normal and I hauled in a deep breath. I could feel that all of the color had drained from my face.

“So...” he said slowly, “what do you say?”

I sat rigid in my seat, shaking with fear at what I had just seen. He was serious, even if he wasn’t there was no way for me to believe otherwise.

“Do I need to sift through all those thoughts or will you put me out of my misery and just tell me?”

“Okay,” I whispered.

“Okay?”

He reached toward my face, his warm palm cradling my cheek as he began to stroke it softly. Similarly to Mal’s touch, the rigid feeling of unease began to melt away.

“You will never see anything like that again, I can promise you that, Deer. I’m sorry, I know that scared you, but you asked me to prove it. That place you just saw was the Hall of the Damned––no place that will ever concern you, nor will ever hurt you.”

His warmth radiated through my cheek and flowed down the rest of my body, leaving me calm... The way he looked at me, with such concern and protectiveness as he spoke, made me feel like I could trust him.

“Okay,” I whispered again. “You can’t be worse than any other guys I’ve dated—or I mean, I guess have been on dates with.”

“That’s my girl.” He gave me a small smile. “It’s not like you had a choice in the matter either way. That deal you made with the star bound you to me regardless,” he said playfully.

I couldn’t help but laugh. Great—so apparently wishing upon a star had always been code for making a deal with the devil. And now? Turns out he has some bizarre, ultra-calming touch. Oh, and he can read my mind. Can’t forget that part.

“I can do a lot more than just calm you by touch.” He smirked.

I rolled my eyes. This whole alleged mind reading thing was going to get old fast.

So now what? I have a boyfriend from hell?