Page 11 of Summoning Mr. Wrong (Hotter than Hell #1)

Twenty minutes later, we were strolling through the small park near my apartment.

It was a mild spring day, the kind that reminds you winter eventually ends even when it feels endless.

Deus walked beside me, hands in the pockets of a leather jacket he’d manifested from somewhere, looking for all the world like a normal (exceptionally attractive) guy.

Except for the occasional shimmer of tattoos visible at his wrists and neck, and the way other park-goers seemed to subconsciously move out of his way without realizing they were doing it.

“Do people always react to you like that?” I asked, nodding toward a woman who had just crossed to the other side of the path for no apparent reason.

“Like what?”

“Like they sense something’s… different about you.”

Deus considered this. “Sometimes. Humans have instincts they’ve mostly forgotten how to listen to. But on some level, they can tell I’m not one of them.”

“But I didn’t,” I pointed out. “When you first appeared, I was surprised, but not… afraid. Not really.”

He gave me a sidelong glance. “That’s because you’re different.”

“Different how?”

“You see things other people miss.” He stopped to examine a flowering bush, touching a petal with surprising gentleness. “You notice beauty in unexpected places. It’s why your apartment is full of those little drawings and odd trinkets. You find value where others don’t look.”

I stared at him, caught off guard by the observation. It was true that I collected things others might consider junk—interesting rocks, fallen feathers, sketches of strangers on cafe napkins. But I hadn’t realized he’d noticed, much less understood why.

“Is that why you were summoned to me, specifically?” I asked. “Because I’m… what, more observant?”

“Maybe.” He resumed walking. “Or maybe it was just dumb luck. The universe has a strange sense of humor.”

We continued in comfortable silence for a while, eventually stopping at a small pond where ducks were paddling lazily through the water. I sat on a bench, and Deus joined me, his thigh warm against mine.

“Feel any better?” he asked.

Surprisingly, I did. “Yeah, actually. This was a good idea.”

“I have those occasionally.” His shoulder bumped mine playfully. “Even demons can learn from watching humans for millennia.”

“What’s the most interesting time period you’ve lived through?” I asked, genuinely curious.

Deus leaned back, considering. “The Renaissance was fascinating. So much creation, so many new ideas. The 1920s were fun—all that repression finally breaking loose. And the 1970s…” He grinned. “Let’s just say there’s a reason my tattoos from that era are particularly colorful.”

“Do you miss it? Any of those times?”

“Sometimes. But the thing about living through history is that you know how the story ends. It’s more interesting to be in the unwritten chapters.” He glanced at me. “Like now.”

There was something in his voice, a weight to his words that made me look up. His expression was unusually serious, those amber eyes focused on me with an intensity that made my breath catch.

“What?” I asked, suddenly self-conscious.

“Nothing.” He looked away, back to the pond. “Just thinking.”

“About?”

“How strange it is to be here. With you.” He gestured vaguely around us. “Walking in a park, watching ducks, talking about history. It’s very… human.”

“Is that bad?”

“No.” He sounded surprised by his own answer. “Just unexpected.”

A comfortable silence fell between us again. I watched the ducks, thinking about what he’d said. It was strange for me too—sitting in a park with a demon, discussing history like we were on some bizarre first date.

Except we’d already slept together, he was living in my apartment, and technically he was bound to me by some mystical contract neither of us fully understood. Definitely not a normal dating trajectory.

“What are you thinking about?” Deus asked, interrupting my thoughts. “Your heartbeat just changed rhythm.”

“You really need to stop doing that,” I said, but without heat. “I was just thinking about how weird this situation is.”

“Weird bad or weird good?”

I considered the question seriously. A month ago, my life had been predictable, stable, and utterly unremarkable. Now I had a supernatural roommate, no job, and more sexual satisfaction in one night than I’d had in the past year combined.

“Weird good, I think,” I decided. “Though ask me again when rent is due.”

Deus laughed, the sound drawing glances from people nearby. His laugh was like that—too rich, too perfect to be entirely human. “Don’t worry about rent. I told you I’ve got it covered.”

“I still feel weird about that.”

“Human pride,” he said dismissively. “Such a strange concept. Where I come from, accepting help is just practical.”

“Where exactly is that?” I asked. “You said it’s not Hell.”

“Nowhere you could pronounce or comprehend,” he said, then seeing my expression, added, “But the closest translation would be ‘The Between.’ It’s… a realm that exists in the spaces between other realms.”

“Like parallel dimensions?”

“Something like that.” He stretched his long legs out in front of him. “Less fire and brimstone than human mythology suggests. More like an infinite city built from materials that don’t exist in your world.”

I tried to picture it and failed. “And you left that to come hang out in my crappy apartment?”

“I go where the contract sends me.” He looked at me from the corner of his eye. “But your apartment has its charms. Mainly you.”

The casual compliment caught me off guard, and I felt myself blush. “Smooth talker.”

“It’s in the job description.” He stood, offering me his hand. “Come on, I want to show you something.”

Curious, I took his hand and let him pull me up from the bench. Instead of heading back toward the park entrance, he led me down a small path I’d never noticed before, deeper into the wooded area.

“Where are we going?” I asked as the path narrowed, the sounds of the city fading behind us.

“You’ll see.” His hand was warm in mine, a comfortable weight.