Page 36 of Demon Dating Service

Luke waved good-bye, his legs unable to move as he watched Matteo jog away. His heart was racing, his palms were sweating, and he was seriously considering fainting for good measure. Matteo had talked to him. He’d bought the crows some nuts based on something Luke had said. And he even wanted to come to his house.

A house full of demons.

That last part might not be a great idea.

He needed to think about that. While the demons could assume human form and refrain from scaring Matteo, did he want to take the risk? Azroth might be able to help rein in his compatriots.

Luke shuffled to his class, his brain turning over the pros and cons of allowing Matteo to come to his house. It would be nice to talk to him without the prying eyes of society waiting to pounce on them and point out that Matteo shouldn’t be talking to a loser like him. Luke was sure he might relax enough in private to sound like a knowledgeable human being.

On the other hand, the house had six demons determined to be love matchmakers.

This required a lot of careful thought and planning.

As a result, he might have heard only about a third of the professor’s lecture that day as his brain alternated between the scheming demons and Matteo’s sweet smile.

After gathering up his things at the end of class, Luke checked his phone for emails and found he had a text waiting for him from Matteo. It was a selfie of him sitting on the ground with a giant grin on his face. In the background were Banks and Dante, as they picked through a pile of nuts on the ground close to Matteo. He’d actually gotten the crows to come to him for food, and he looked so damn proud of himself.

Fuck. He was already half in love with Matteo, and now the man was caring for his crows. Luke was sure of it. He didn’t stand a chance.

Chapter 15

Plotting with Demons

AZROTH

Luke had a proposal for the demons.

This was faster than Azroth had been expecting. He was even more impressed that the little human had requested a meeting with all of them. And so soon after discovering their true nature.

“Do you think he’s going to ask to move out?” Tog asked. A scowl twisted up his large meaty face as if he meant to fight Luke if he dared to leave them.

“Do you really think he’d ask to talk to us if he was?” Ogos replied. Azroth clenched his teeth, waiting for Tog to stomp on Ogos for his sarcastic, condescending tone.

Mullmag shuffled closer, all four of his hands wringing and twisting together. “Maybe he’s afraid we’ll hunt him down if he attempts to sneak away.”

Of course, after Luke’s talk with Azroth, it didn’t feel like Luke intended to run. He’d been adamant about staying, and not nearly enough time had passed for him to find an alternative residence.

Not to mention the crows had told him about a very promising meeting between Luke and Matteo.

No, Luke wasn’t leaving. This was something else.

Before the demons could continue their speculation, the front door opened, and Luke’s footsteps echoed through the hallway. They stopped close to the main living room, where the others were gathered. The thick, heavy scent of grease and fried food wafted in the air ahead of him. It was after midnight, and Luke had just gotten off work at that nasty fast-food restaurant.

After a brief pause, Luke continued until he was standing in the doorway wearing his uniform and a heavy coat with a backpack slung on one shoulder. His eyes were bright, and his cheeks were red as if bitten by an icy wind.

As he stood there staring at the group of demons, his breathing sped up, and Azroth could hear his racing heartbeat across the room. Of course, this was Luke’s first time seeing all of them in their true form. It was undoubtedly overwhelming.

“Has it started snowing yet?” Azroth called out in a friendly tone, breaking Luke’s paralysis with a mundane question.

“Snow?” Luke blinked at him like he’d never heard of such a thing. His brown eyes widened when the information seemed to click, and he exhaled. “Uh…no, not yet. Soon. I think,” Luke answered haltingly. It sounded like his brain was coming more online with every word he spoke. He licked his lips and swallowed hard, his eyes touching on everyone in the room.

“Would you like us to assume a more human form?” Azroth offered.

“No! Uh…no, thanks. That was part of the agreement, right? If I stay, you get to be your true selves. That’s only fair.” He took a slow step into the room and then another. “I’m still adjusting. You’re scary, but also kind of cool. Plus, I’m trying to figure out who is who.” He stopped in front of a towering, hairy creature. “I want to guess that you’re Tog.”

“Yep!” Tog grinned, showing a mouthful of large yellow teeth. He tipped his chin higher and puffed out his barrel chest.

“Can you guess who I am?” Mullmag inquired, throwing all four of his spidery arms up in the air.