Page 74 of Demon Dating Service

“Well, it will match the burned bread, at least,” Mullmag shouted.

“How is the salad burning? Where’s your fire extinguisher?”

Luke froze. He knew that voice. That was Matteo’s voice. But it couldn’t be Matteo because that would mean he was in the house. With the demons.

Yet, there was no mistaking it. That had to be Matteo’s wonderful, exasperated voice.

“Bath’tuk, open the windows!” Azroth barked. “Smoke is bad for humans.”

That settled it. Luke dropped his heavy bag of books at the door and raced through the house to the smoky kitchen, where he found all the demons in their natural form gathered around the island next to Matteo.

His beautiful, perfect Matteo with flushed cheeks, watery eyes, and messy hair all while wearing a cheery yellow apron.

“Matteo?” Luke gasped.

Matteo’s head snapped up, and he grinned. “Luke!” he greeted and then broke into a round of coughing.

“What’s going on? What are you doing here?”

“Can’t you tell?” Tog demanded. “We’re surprising you with a homemade dinner.”

Luke turned his attention to the smoldering array on the island. There was a pan of small, blackened squares he thought might have been bread at one time. Next to it was a melted bowl with more blackened bits and ash that could have been a salad at one time. Behind the assembled group on the stove was a bubbling cauldron that had hints of oregano and tomatoes in it.

“Did you make…spaghetti?” he inquired hesitantly.

Matteo laughed and hurried past the island toward Luke. “The demons and I tried. Your roommates insisted on helping.” He leaned close with a big smirk and said in a fake whisper, “They’re not very good at cooking.”

Luke watched him, and he could have sworn that under all of Matteo’s happiness was an edge of nervousness. His head snapped around to glare at Azroth. “What did you do? Did you mess with his memory?”

Azroth straightened, fluttering his wings slightly before wrapping them about his shoulders. “Absolutely not.”

“No! No! He didn’t. I swear.” Matteo frantically waved his hands in front of Luke’s face, drawing his gaze to him. “He cameto see me at school. We had a long talk about you, and us, and demons. He helped me to realize that there are far worse people in this world than your roommates. I hoped we could try dating?—”

There was no need for him to finish. Luke threw himself at Matteo, closing the short distance between them in a heartbeat to press his lips to Matteo’s. A small laugh was trapped between them as Matteo instantly wrapped Luke up and kissed him.

Luke’s heart soared, and all the horrible aches that had plagued him just minutes ago vanished. He had Matteo back.

Behind him, a great, ear-splitting cheer went up, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t ready to release Matteo yet. Part of him had given up all hope that he’d ever get to hold Matteo like this again. If this was a dream, he didn’t ever want to wake up.

“I missed you so much,” Matteo mumbled against his lips.

“I missed you too,” Luke replied, refusing to lift his mouth from Matteo.

“I’m so sorry?—”

Luke squeezed his lover tighter. “No, I’m the one who’s sorry. You were hurt because of me.”

“No, those were evil assholes, and they totally deserved to die for ever touching you.”

Azroth sighed loudly. “See? This is why I think Matteo is just perfect for you. The right amount of bloodthirsty and protective.”

Luke finally broke off the kiss to chuckle. Okay, so maybe he should settle down since they did have an audience. He would more thoroughly welcome Matteo into his life when they were alone.

“But…the demons? You’re okay with them? You’re not scared?”

“Oh, no! Your roommates are amazing! Who cares if they’re demons? We’ve been hanging out for a couple of hours now, andthey’ve been telling me the best stories about how they torment your neighbors. And did you know that your library isalive?”

“The whole house, actually,” Luke murmured, his brain struggling to keep up with this fresh development.