Page 17 of Under My Bed

I don't know what compelled me to stay, but I held her in my arms until she fell into a deep slumber.

Then, like a cowardly one-night stand, I slipped away from her and went back under to the darkness of the bed's underside.

17

Stella

"KASTORON!!!"

That fucking shithead demon—I'm going to kill him!

The bathroom filled with his amused chuckling snicker, but his face never showed. "Something a matter, Stella doll?" It sounded like he was beside me, but I didn't see his reflection in the mirror.

Turning around, I searched the room for him while clutching the towel tightly against my freshly showered body. "You asshat! How the hell am I even supposed to cover this damn hickey up!?" Yeah, it was very hard not to notice the row of teeth indentation around a large purple spot that ate up the whole junction of my neck and shoulder! I knew he was pretty occupied with the area last night, and I felt the nipping and sucking. But I thought he left little love bites, not one big chomp!

"It's not even that bad." He retorted with a laugh, making me let out a frustrated groan. "You're working from home today anyway, so you'll be fine." His dismissive voice trailed out and disappeared along with his presence.

"Kassie?" Disappointment deepened my frown when I got no response and only felt emptiness in the air. "Kastoron?"

It was highly unusual of him not to be around me. Even if he was quiet, his presence lingered, and I could feel it. But not this time. For the first time since I moved in, I truly felt alone.

And it hurt.

Had I done something wrong?

Okay, that was a ridiculous thought because I literally just woke up and wasn't even finished with my routine after our passionate night together. So literally, I couldn't have done anything to grate his gears enough to warrant this cold shoulder from him. Unless he got pissed off at me saying 'good morning' to him when I woke up, which I think not because he replied with a swat to my ass along with a laugh.

What is his problem?

It couldn't have been about last night, right? Everything went amazing. At least it felt and seemed like so. He didn't complain or make any snide comments about us sleeping with each other last night. Speaking of which, the damn jerk snuck out on me during the night. It saddened me more than I cared to admit when I woke up to an empty bed.

His arms felt so strong and nice, and I loved how safe they made me feel. I wished he stayed next to me the whole night. Sure, waking up to a demon's face would be something new, but I was used to Kastoron. So, his ugly mug—okay, he's not actually ugly—wouldn't have been a huge shock to me.

Maybe he just needs a break.

Putting him aside in my mind, I went about the rest of my morning before settling at my little office area, which I had set up in a corner of the living room. Slowly, I worked through editing the photos of the latest wedding I did, all while peeking over to the dining room table where a plate of breakfast sat waiting to be eaten.

The house had an open floor plan, which I absolutely adored because I loved the space and seeing nearly everything from any place in the house. It also gave Kastoron only so many corners to scare me from—he still got me most of the time, though, because jump scares from corners were scary! Honestly, not gonna lie, I wished he would peep his head around the corner right about now.

Sadly, he didn't answer me when I asked him about breakfast. And I still couldn't feel him around me. The peace to myself was nice, but I grew rather bored and lonely faster than anticipated. I even found myself just calling out for him in hopes he would show up to get some kind of reprieve from this empty pit in my chest.

Kastoron had grown on me after all this time, so the thought of him leaving me after all this time and showing no indication was like a knife to the heart. Then the fact this happened after our special night together, where I opened myself to him and gave myself to him fully when I have never done so to anyone else. I let him have me, and he gave me the best night of my life—probably the best I will ever have.

It sounded stupid, but I felt something special form between us. If I was being honest, I felt some kind of spark from the first time he kissed me. After my shock of the situation died down and I had time to fully process everything later on, I couldn't deny that his lips on mine sparked some kind of inferno alive within me.

I felt a strong desire for the monster under my bed, and last night was a moment of clarity for me. When I came down from my orgasmic high, reality crashed into me like a boat crashing into an iceberg. I craved Kastoron, badly.

This fire in my soul flared to life because of him, and I needed him like how I needed water and air to live. The desire and need for him were insane and impossible to deny after last night.

Honestly, I didn't understand any of it because how could I have fallen so hard for someone I disliked strongly until the time he first kissed me three(ish) weeks ago. I barely knew the demon still after that first intimate contact between us. We bugged each other and got back to our usual routine of him fucking around with me—not like that!—and me either spoiling his antics or giving in to them.

Besides that, we never spent time with each other, so we knew little to nothing about each other. The only thing I knew about him was that he lived under my bed, had free roam of the house and property, could use electronics (found this out the hard way after he fucked up one of my laptops), ate whatever food I made and set out for him (except for this morning), and he liked to be around me a lot of the time.

18

Kastoron

2 days later