Page 23 of Demon with Benefits (Hell Bent #3)

“I was feeling fancy,” he said, dropping onto the couch beside her. “Also, there was an open bottle in the fridge, so...” He shot her a mock-serious look. “Do not let Bel find out you keep red wine in the fridge. He’d burn your house down in a rage.”

Iris scoffed. “Don’t tell me he’s a wine snob on top of being a food snob, coffee snob, and pastry snob.”

“Safe to say, Bel is a snob.”

She laughed, settling back into the cushions and sipping the cold wine. Meph propped his feet on the table, and they watched Faust sleep in a strangely companionable silence.

Maybe it was the blasphemous fridge wine.

Maybe it was the comfortable quiet. Maybe it was the fact that Meph was surprisingly easy to talk to and seemed to understand her in a way no one did besides Lily and Suyin.

But she found herself bringing up his earlier statement, seeking further understanding.

“Do you really think I’m easy to read?” she asked.

“I told you, you’re an open book.” He smirked at her.

He was so damn attractive when his lips curved up like that, she almost couldn’t follow the conversation.

“Your cute little eyebrows jump all over the place when you’re thinking.

I feel like if I just watch you, I can practically read your mind. ”

She blushed and hid it by taking a sip of wine. Stupid Irish heritage giving her stupid pale skin that reddened far too easily. “Antoine always said I had no emotions.”

“Who the fuck is Antoine?” Did Meph stiffen? Did his voice sound deeper?

“My ex,” she said, deciding she was imagining things.

“He was an asshole. But I thought he was right about that. I’ve never been good at.

.. discussing things. I tend to just bottle everything up until my entire life implodes.

Case in point, me not telling Lily the truth about how our parents died for years.

Like I thought if I just didn’t mention it for long enough, it would go away.

” She scoffed at her own stupidity. “Which makes no fucking sense.”

Meph shrugged. She liked that no matter how serious the topic, no matter how grievous the sin, he always seemed to brush it off like it was nothing. She supposed that for someone literally spawned in Hell, very little of human drama seemed overly catastrophic.

“Eh, I’d have probably done the same,” he said. “Or worse, honestly, knowing me. I don’t think you’re that bad. And your ex was obviously an idiot, because like I said, your thoughts are always written all over your face.”

She scoffed, but she was secretly pleased.

She couldn’t quite say what it meant to know that he could read her, that she didn’t have to work so hard to communicate when communication was always her greatest struggle.

That even if she tried to hide something from him, he’d probably figure out the truth anyway.

She was tired of hiding, but not quite brave enough to emerge by herself. She wanted someone to find her and drag her out, kicking and screaming.

The only person who had ever tried was Lily. Lily, whom Iris loved so fiercely it scared her. Lily, whom Iris had hurt worse than anyone in her life.

She still didn’t understand how or why her twin had forgiven her so easily for her egregious lie, but she thought the life-or-death situation they’d been in when Lily had accidentally transported them to Hell might’ve had something to do with it.

Almost immediately after Lily had learned the truth, they’d found themselves in Paimon’s lair, on a harrowing mission to save Mist.

Iris couldn’t help but wonder now... would Lily have forgiven her had that not occurred? Had her forgiveness only been granted because Lily had bigger problems at that moment?

And if so, did Iris really deserve that forgiveness?

Scratch that, she knew she didn’t deserve it. But selfishly, she’d accepted it anyway. She needed her sister in her life. Losing her was unthinkable.

“For example,” Meph continued, drawing her from her contemplations, “right now I can tell you’re thinking some pretty heavy shit.”

Iris took a sip of wine to hide her wince.

“Knowing you, it’s probably about your sister or your parents. I bet you’re berating yourself or stewing in guilt.”

She choked on that sip.

He laughed. “I’m right, aren’t I? You’re so predictable.”

She snapped her gaze to his, feeling simultaneously furious that he would bring up her secret pain so frivolously and stunned that he had, in fact, practically read her mind.

He was smirking, of course. He’d just dropped the subject of her dead parents and soul-crushing guilt as casually as he might mention that it was still snowing outside and then smirked at her like it was a totally normal topic of conversation.

She hated his audacity, his complete and utter insensitivity. Yet she loved the way he could take the heaviest, darkest topics and just scatter them into the wind with his blasé attitude like they were nothing. Because somehow, in doing so, they became nothing.

For some bewildering reason, she laughed. An ugly bark of a thing, half snort, half cackle.

“You’re such a dick,” she said, shaking her head, somehow meaning it as a compliment.

“You’re a huge bitch,” he replied, grinning.

“I know.”

“It’s hot.”

“Really?” Was she blushing again? Stupid.

“Really.”

She tilted her head. “Why?”

“I dunno. I guess it’s a weird kink of mine or something.”

She barked another laugh. “What does that mean?”

His eyes darkened. “I mean, I get off on shutting up your smart mouth when I fill it, watching your snide little insults turn to pleading when I make you beg for it, and seeing your bitchy attitude go soft and compliant when I make you come all over me.”

She stared at him for precisely thirteen seconds.

He wasn’t smiling anymore; his red eyes were doing that eerie glowing thing that she’d used to find scary and now found incomparably sexy.

Then, she set her wine glass down on the coffee table, took Meph’s from his hand and set it down too, and then jumped him like a. .. What was it he’d called her?

Ah yes, a horny lioness.

They ended up on the rug. Faust woke while they were frantically tearing each other’s clothes off and darted away to the bedroom, traumatized. Meph ate her out from behind and then fucked her so hard she got rug burns on her knees. And she begged for it too.