Page 29 of My Guardian Demon

"Onyx! I need to talk to you!" I yelled.

I heard a shushing sound.

"Can it wait? I'm a little busy," he said.

I pulled my remaining earbud out and tossed it aside. "I'm coming over. Be at your door."

"Wynn-"

I jumped off the bed and stomped through my apartment, on a mission to find out what exactly was happening. I left my apartment unlocked and stormed to Onyx's door. My fist pounded against the door insistently.

Onyx opened the door. "Wynn-"

Red streaks covered his white shirt. They looked like blood.

"What is that?" I pointed at his shirt. "Why does it sound like someone is getting fucked when I listen with my naked ear but then tortured if I hear it through my headphones?"

Onyx looked confused by the words. "I don't know what you're talking about."

I charged into his apartment.

I followed the hallway in his apartment to the bedroom and could hear Onyx's visitor begging for more, sure noises of pleasure. I threw open the door. Inside, I found a chamber of horrors. A naked woman with horns, a demoness I presumed, was tied to a torture rack system anchored to the wall near Onyx's bed. Blood poured from cuts on her face and body. Her arms and legs were suspended, being pulled by chains that tightened and stretched her body with every turn of the crank. She sobbed and begged for mercy. Plastic sheeting lay on the floor below her to gather any blood, and a puddle already formed where she dripped on it. A table set nearby with bloodied surgical instruments that had obviously seen use. No one was receiving pleasure in that room.

I gagged at the sight of her.

Onyx pulled me out of the room and shut the door. He stood against it with his arms down and looked at me expectantly. He knew I had questions.

I swallowed and contained the urge to vomit. I stood in front of him, fanning my face.

"Every time it sounds like you're fucking someone, you're really torturing them," I said, reality dawning on me as I gritted the words.

"Yeah. It's for work," he said. "Sometimes I have to torture beings for work."

"That's why when I asked you who the woman was when I first moved in, you said I wouldn't have to worry about her again. She was dead because you tortured her to death."

He nodded and said obliviously, "I don't know what's happening with your headphones."

I sighed. "That's not the point. Is there some kind of magical filter in your room that makes torture sound like fucking?"

"Yeah, for privacy purposes. That's why the torture rack is in my bedroom. Why?"

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Because that filter is probably something you should share with your girlfriend."

He looked confused. "I don't understand. Is there something wrong with having sex with someone else?"

I glared at him. It was bad enough he was torturing people, now he wanted to play dumb?

His forehead wrinkled. "What? Demons don't care about stuff like that. Ours is the first relationship I've hadwith a human. I don't know all the customs and stigmas. You may have to explain certain things to me."

I sighed and closed my eyes. There was going to be a learning curve. I would have to get used to that. I opened them again.

"Humans usually have exclusive relationships. Monogamous. Sex with someone else is off-limits. It's considered cheating. Which is cause for breaking up." I laughed half-heartedly. "If my headphones hadn't acted up tonight, I would've broken up with you in the morning because all I heard was fucking so I thought you cheated on me."

Panic crossed his face, and he lunged for me. He grabbed my arms. Desperation filled his gaze. "Wynn, I didn't. Please. I swear."

I put my hand on his cheek to calm him. "I know. When I came over, I saw you weren't cheating. But that's not what I heard earlier. I knew nothing about the filter." I sighed. "Next time, can you tell me about arrangements like this in advance so I'll know?"

Eagerly, he agreed. "I can do that. Absolutely. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. I didn't know. Thank fuck for your headphones."

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