to resist the urge to start humming the Jeopardy melody.
I shifted my weight from one foot to another, but kept eye contact with him. I had a feeling this was a decisive moment, that looking away or lowering my gaze would send the wrong message. Like that one time I won the stare down against the bully cat of the neighborhood, after which that cantankerous feline would finally let me pass its favorite hedge without swiping at my legs.
The demon uttered a sound between a sigh and a snarl and rolled his eyes heavenward. “You’re insufferable.”
Me, insufferable? That was rich coming from the dude who’d been a pain in my ass all night. I relaxed a little, though, relieved I didn’t have to hold his gaze any longer. The contact had been so intense that I’d wanted to squirm. Beautiful his eyes might be, they were far too perceptive for my liking.
Some people you meet, when they look at you, their gaze seems to bounce off you, like sure, they notice you’re there, but it’s surface level. Mostly, that suits me just fine.
But then there are those whose perception of you catches you off-guard. When they look at you, their attention arrests you, their gaze cuts deeper, and suddenly you feel exposed, naked in a way you’re not used to. Like they can read every minute detail of your expression, your voice, the way you breathe.
It has nothing to do with sexual attraction or gender—I’ve met people from all kinds of identities who had that effect on me.
But when it is coupled with a simmering sexual attraction—unbidden and annoying as it might be—it makes the intensity of that contact even worse.
Anytime I had to hold the demon’s gaze longer than three seconds, I felt layers of myself unwrap themselves that I sure as fuck wanted to keep as tightly folded as the silly love notes I used to pass in class to my crush in second grade. Those were origami-style intricate.
The demon had meanwhile turned to the priest and released the poor guy from whatever spell he’d been under. The priest shuddered, shook himself, and threw an anxious glance at me. I nodded at him to leave. There was nothing he could do for me.
The next moment he’d run toward the parking lot, likely to get his car and get the fuck out. I sighed wistfully. Getting the fuck out sure sounded great.
Alas, I was still sort of betrothed to an overbearing jerk of a demon—who just in that moment snapped his fingers in front of my face.
I turned slowly toward the bane of my existence, fully intending to skewer him with a furious look, only to be brought up short by his magnetic appearance.
He’d toned down the dark vibe and retracted the wings, leaving only a trace of his energy, which unfairly came across as sexy smolder.
He should not be smoldering at me, goddammit.
And yet he looked like something out of a sensual fever dream, all dark hair and piercing eyes, his attention on me causing the perfect mix of thrill and danger.
Awareness raced over my skin in tiny, delicious shivers. If this were a dream, I’d climb him like a tree.
“Get moving,” he said, effectively dousing the flames of my irrational desire. “We’ve lost enough time with your capricious demands.”
“Watch,” I gritted out, holding up a finger, “your tone. I can still decide to damn it all to hell—literally—and break this covenant if you keep being insulting.”
The muscles in his face contracted, turning him into a vision of suppressed rage. He probably wasn’t used to someone standing up to him. His Grouchiness was likely a high-ranking demon in Hell, with underlings and subordinates who withered at his glower. Must be nice to have others waiting on you and jumping to fulfill orders. It would also explain a lot of his behavior, not that it made me more forgiving toward his assholishness.
“Find a bar,” he growled, “so we can secure an inebriated individual for the ceremony.”
I whipped out my phone and looked up the nearest establishment that promised to have at least one poor drunk who would play along. Turned out the bar was just a block away, open late, and seemed popular for cocktails among the younger crowd. Perfect.
“This way.” I indicated the direction with a nod and started walking.
My own personal demon trailed me like a brooding shadow. He didn’t speak a word, and I was just fine with that, considering anytime he’d opened his mouth earlier