Page 8 of Raising Hell

“Alright… humor me. Explain why there is a summoning circle on the floor.”

“That’s not a… a… summoning circle! That’s a rune.”

Oh, wow, okay, he’s like…new,new. “Same thing.”

“No, it… isn’t.” His voice is as weak as his argument as my grin spreads even wider. Suddenly, his eyes narrow and his pointer finger jabs into my chest. “Don’t laugh at me!”

My hands fly up in surrender, still grinning as his cheeks flush in anger. “No harm meant, Red.”

“Rory,” he mutters. When I quirk my brow, he explains, “My name is Rory, not Red.”

“Right, okay… so, Rory. Care to explain why I’m here?”

His fingers pull into a fist at his side as he grows even more flustered. He steals a quick glance at my naked body, chirping a mouse-like squeak as his eyes snap back up to meet mine. My smile is hurting my cheeks at this point, because this isdelightful. “I didn’t mean to…summonyou. This wasn’t my intention.”

“What was your intention, if not to call me to this realm?"

A deeper shade of petal pink paints his cheeks as he looks away. “Doesn’t matter… this wasn’t it, so you can go.” He nods, like he’s made some sort of grand decision. “Yes, that’s it. You may go now.” His hand waves through the air, dismissing me with the flick of his wrist.

“Oh, sweetheart, I’m afraid it’s not that simple.”

His eyes fly back to mine, narrowed and suspicious. Panicked, but trying to hide it. “What do you mean ‘isn’t that simple’?”

“Well,” I say, dragging the word out as I reach for him and twist one of his pretty red curls around my finger. A peculiar mix of a squawk and a honk leaves him as he lurches backward, and my hand hits the barrier of the summoning circle. “You are the witch… er, warlock who summoned me. It’s your spell that brought me here, and only your spell can return me home.”

He sputters, clearly in the dark about all of this. “But I don’t know how to send you back!”

“Can you at least let me out of this circle? No spell needed for that; you just have to speak permission for me to leave.”

“Absolutely not!” he shouts, his wide eyes finding mine again. “You might… do…things!”

Another grin slides across my face. “What sort of things might I do?” I purr, and he flushes deeper.

“Demon things!” he exclaims, gesturing up my body.

I give him a contemplative hum. “I’m going to need specifics here. What exactly do you know about demons?”

His shoulders droop as his eyes fall to the floor, and a wave of sympathy hits me as he mumbles, “Nothing. I don’t know anything about demons... aboutanyof this.”

“Then why’d you do it?” I ask, gentle.

He sniffles, and I’m glad he’s looking down because my face would betray me in a heartbeat. The way my lip pokes out at his sadness definitely contradicts the tough guy persona I’m trying to maintain. “I’m so tired of things not going my way,” he whispers, before averting his eyes like he’s embarrassed.

“Does someone need a hug?” He freezes, unnaturally still for a squirmy human. “Oh, come on, Rory. I don’t bite… unless you want me to.” He lets out a strangled cough at my cheeky wink, and I grin again. There’s a touch against my ankle, and I glance down to find a cat rubbing against me.

ACAT!

“Aww, and who are you?” I coo, crouching and running my fingers through the soft black fur. Completely forgetting myself, my voice gets higher pitched as I squeal. “Oh, myGOD,I have never gotten to pet a cat before! Is it always so… so…fluffy?”

Rory turns and faces me with a frown, and I’m smiling like a maniac as I look up at him. His brows furrow before he glances down, jerking his head to the side with another of those adorable squeaks, and I follow his gaze.

Oh, right. My lack of clothes means my cock hangs between my thighs, and I breathe out a soft laugh at his bashfulness. “Could you put some clothes on?” he hisses, and my laugh turns indignant.

“You were the one that summoned me!” I argue, standing again and picking the cat up with me, not willing to stop petting it. Crossing my arms, I neither confirm nor deny that I push my hips out on purpose. Or that I give a little wiggle, hoping to draw his eye back. “I was enjoying a lazy afternoon in my hot tub, so it’s not my fault I’m here in the nude!”

Now, could I summon clothing? Absolutely. Many of my demon powers work fine in the human realm, as long as they mean no harm to my master. But he doesn’t need to learn that little piece of information yet.

Not while I’m having fun.

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