Page 26 of Stalked By Pestilence
“The demons will be out there if you leave,” he went on, talking over me. “And I know I’m the last person you want to see right now, so be as snarly as you want with me. I’m plenty capable of handling your venom. But I won’t let you stroll right into the arms of a demon even if you get a little bitey while I whisk you away from danger.”
Annoyed, I slammed my hands on his chest. “I was going to find you, you ass.”
That stopped him. His head canted to the side in confusion. “Find me?”
“Yes, you big fucking oaf. Find. You. I’m not exactly in any position to fight a demon and stay out of Hell, am I?” Fixing my skirt and loose blouse, I leveled a scowl at him. “I think my best option is the devil I know in this case.”
His mouth twitched, the ring piercing on the left of his lip catching a glint of light, and he folded his arms across his annoyingly perfect man-chest. “Glad you’ve come to your senses.”
“You’re the only one who thinks so,” I clapped back angrily, tossing my purse on the nearby table. “I don’t know what the fuck I did to put myself on Hell’s radar, but it’s no use ignoring the reality of it.”
I pretended not to notice how proud he looked when I said as much. Making himself at home, Zelus closed the door behind him and plopped his large and unwelcome ass down on my couch like he’d been invited in. “I’m looking into it.”
My brows knitted together, and I couldn’t help wandering over to him. After a brief debate with myself, I sat down, curiosity piqued. “Looking into it?”
Zelus draped his arm around the back of the leather sofa that had seen a lot of time, snacks, and sex, teasing a few fingers through my hair. “We supernatural beasties have our ways of finding out these things, but it’s likely to take a week or two before I hear anything substantial.”
My shoulders slumped in dismay. “So, what do I do until then? I can’t become a hermit.”
It’d been nearly three weeks since Asha went off on an adventure. She could be back at any moment, and I didn’t have any clue how to explain a new demon infestation or the big lug who promised to help with it.
The sly smirk I’d started to associate with the redheaded singer—snake monster?—was already in place when I lifted my eyes. “Never said you had to, love. What’s life without a little danger, anyway? I’m scarier than anything that you’ll encounter in the dark.”
Flashes of his clawed hands definitely gave validity to his claim. That demon shadow thing hadn’t stood a chance against him. I didn’t have a great gauge on the power structure in this new supernatural existence, but I was sure he was strong enough to pose a problem.
More than me, at least.
“So, first you’re a singer—”
“Still could be if it tickles your fancy.”
I glowered at him. “Then a stalker.”
“Well meant.”
Sighing, I went on, “And now you’re my bodyguard?”
“Brings a tear to my eye how far our relationship has come in less than a week, love.” The smug asshole leaned back and cast his amused glance my way, the shirt and pants he wore doing nothing to hide his impressive physique.
“Why are you doing all of this?” I asked.
Was it mere interest that made him follow me that night? The senses I’d honed over the years suggested otherwise. It wasn’t mere attraction that made him seek me out. Something bigger was at play here, and I needed to find out what it was before trusting myself with the monster in front of me.
His smile was gone in a blink. “Can’t I help someone who clearly needs it?” He leaned in close. “I don’t think you know quite how delicious you are, love. Sweeter than any treat I’ve ever had in my mouth, that’s for bloody sure.”
Another non-answer. I was starting to recognize a pattern with him. When he wanted to redirect, he’d pose a rhetorical question, lean into flirtation, and then find a path to lead me away from my original point of interest.
I pressed this time. My life was on the line if I didn’t. The last thing I wanted was to flee one monster for another and still get gobbled up. “We both know that’s not enough. You don’t strike me as someone who’s struggled to find a good time, and that’s all our night was.”
His lips twitched, another tell.
“Unless it wasn’t…” I tracked the lines deepening on his face and the subtle tensing of his muscles, hiding secrets. “You sought me out for more than that, didn’t you? I deserve to know why.”
I went for the kill, putting my own history on the table, one I rarely talked about but made me who I was. One maybe even a snake monster could understand.
“Men who I was stupid enough to trust have hurt me in the past—humans who took what I didn’t want to give. Men who ruined my safety and made it impossible for me to feel comfortable ever trusting another one again. You’re capable of doing far more damage than any human has done to me, and I don’t…I need to know I can trust you.”
All the humor had left him over the course of my speech. His reptilian slits were barely there as his expression darkened, and I worried for a second he’d attack me.