Page 73 of Demon Dating Service
“I believe you are perfect for Lukebecauseyou are not like him.” Matteo shook his head, clearly not understanding. “Think of all the trouble Luke will get into on his own because of his gentle, forgiving nature. He needs someone who will help protect his fragile heart and body. On the other hand, you need someone to temper that tiny little black spot inside you. The perfect match.”
Matteo’s expression softened, and it looked as if he wanted to grasp the lifeline that Azroth was extending. The only problem was that it was a demon who was tempting him.
The interesting human took a couple of steps closer and gripped the back of the chair he’d been sitting in just minutes ago. “But, you’re demons. You’re supposed to be evil. I’ve been taught my entire life to avoid all evil things.”
Azroth groaned and threw up his hands. “It’s a job.”
“Huh?”
“Being a demon. Serving the dark prince of Hell. It’s a job. We answered summons and collected souls, but right now, think of it as—we’re on an extended vacation. We’re not collecting souls because we don’t have to.”
Matteo stared openmouthed at Azroth and then jerked his head as if to shake loose a thought. “Seriously? You’re not out sowing discord and trying to bring about the apocalypse?”
“Satan, no,” Azroth gasped. He leaned across the table toward Matteo. “First, that’s just too much work, and second, do you think there’s any good tea in Hell?Squid Game? Taylor Swift? Stray Kids? Let alone all the trashy reality TV? Humans are horrible and interesting without our intervention. Bringing about the apocalypse just gets rid of all the fun things we get to enjoy while we’re vacationing here. The worst we do now is torment our neighbors and stir up trouble at the local shopping mall.”
“Oh, so you’re only evil for your job.”
Azroth shrugged one shoulder. “And sometimes for fun, but not too much because it would upset Luke.”
Matteo pulled out his chair and dropped into it again. “You all really like Luke.”
“Luke is ours. He’s not scared of us, and we have fun with him. After eons of boredom, that is important. We will do anything to keep him safe and happy.”
A small smile spread across Matteo’s lips. “I’m glad. I have a lot of fun with him too, and I don’t want to lose him.”
“Then don’t. Come back to the house with me.”
“And all the other demons are as scary as you?”
Azroth shook his head. “Oh, no. I’m the scariest by far.” One corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk. “But just know that even if you’re scared, Luke will always keep you safe.”
Chapter 28
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
LUKE
Luke trudged home from campus, hating everything. Why did he have to have these stupid high ideals? Why couldn’t he have told Azroth to wipe the entire attack from Matteo’s mind? That way, he’d still have his hot, sweet boyfriend to cuddle and sex him up.
Sure, he’d “done the right thing,” but now he had no cuddles and no sex.
Life sucked.
He missed Matteo as though he were missing part of himself. For a brief moment in time, he’d been able to taste heaven. Life had been so good, and he’d started to imagine a bright future filled with Matteo’s laughter and joy where they celebrated the holidays together and maybe went on their first vacation adventure.
Now he was going to be lucky if he didn’t flunk out of graduate school. It had been a week since he’d last talked to Matteo, and he still couldn’t concentrate on his classes. He was behind on a paper he was supposed to be writing, and exams were right around the corner. He knew he needed to pull his head out of his ass and get back to work, but he couldn’t summon the energy or interest to do it.
No.
He had to study. Graduate school was fucking expensive. He’d worked too hard and sacrificed too much just to throw it all away. This weekend, he’d let himself mope and wallow in misery. Then on Monday, if he hadn’t heard from Matteo, he’d pick up his sorry ass and focus on studying. There was still time to salvage the semester.
He turned to shuffle along the sidewalk to the house and paused. The big, rambling mansion towered in front of him, little glimmers of light sneaking between the heavy curtains, giving it a welcoming glow. Well, at least it did to Luke. Everyone else just saw a creepy old murder house.
The demons had been really sweet and understanding during the last week. They’d tried to cheer him up and reassure him that Matteo would return. They’d given him space, and Azroth and Mullmag kept trying to feed him. He needed to pull himself out of his funk for his roommates. He didn’t want them to feel like this was their fault. It wasn’t Matteo’s fault either. Accepting helpful demons into your life was a complicated matter. Such a thing wasn’t going to work out for everyone.
With a sigh, Luke stumbled up the stairs to the house. As he pushed the door open, he was immediately hit with banging chaos and the acrid odor of something burning.
“Ahhhh! Fire! Fire! The salad is burning!” Annod’s panicked voice rang out through the house.