Page 36 of Demon with Benefits
“Yeah. Ooh, what’s that?” His gaze caught on the painting on the wall across the room, and he headed there until he suddenly remembered why he was here in the first place. And it wasn’t to examine fucking art. Sure, that was fun and all, but not as fun as what he had in mind.
Diverting his attention back to Iris, he stopped and actually looked at her for the first time since he’d arrived. She was wearing a baggy black sweater with a scooping V-neck, revealing the sight of the flowery tattoo on the side of her chest, and a pair of leggings the same shade as her hair. That hair was tied in a loose bundle on top of her head, little blue strands framing her face.
She was glaring at him slightly, but that wasn’t new. But with her hair up like that, her dainty little ears visible—and maybe it had something to do with the fact that he was standing in her home—she looked... cute. She would have nailed his balls to the wall if he’d said it out loud, but it was true.
She looked cute. And hot. And he really wanted to see her naked.
Silence reigned for a few awkward moments. Meph would have been down to grab her, thrown her down on the couch, and go to town right then and there. But he wasn’t sure what was going on in Iris’s head. She had this curious expression on her face that looked like a cross between confusion and anger. Admittedly, not a great place to start.
So, shoving his hands into his pockets, he stood there and stared back at her, waiting for her to make the first move.
“You want a drink?” she said.
“Sure.” He didn’t. But if it would make her relax, then why not.
She gestured for him to follow her down the hall to the kitchen. Her place had pretty much the same layout as Lily’s, which wasn’t a surprise because a lot of the old apartments in this city were built that way.
Halfway down the hall, he heard hissing before a furry nightmare shot out of nowhere and attacked his ankles.
“What the fuck?” He jumped around to dodge the assault like he was standing on hot coals.
“Grim, stop it,” Iris scolded, scooping up the black cat who continued to hiss at him, yellow eyes flashing with fury.
“That thing’s a menace,” Meph said, glaring right back at the little devil.
“He’s just protective, aren’t you, Grimmy Poo?” Iris stroked his little black head.
Meph and the cat’s eyes narrowed at each other.
Iris put him down, and he shot out of the kitchen in a blur, hopefully to remain out of sight for the rest of the night.
“Where’s your hound?” Meph asked as Iris bent over at the fridge and retrieved two beers. She twisted off the tops and handed him one, and he took up station beside the fridge while she leaned against the counter by the sink.
“He’s asleep in my room.”
Meph nodded and took a swig. Iris did the same, looking anywhere but at him.
“So... this is awkward.”
She snorted. “Yeah, it kinda is.” She seemed relieved that he’d said it.
Say what one would about him, Meph was always direct. Maybetoodirect, but in this case, it served him well.
“Maybe we should watchDawn of the Deadto get in the mood.”
This time he got a proper laugh out of her, and it was stupid how he felt like he’d earned a trophy or something.
“That’s about the unsexiest movie I could think of,” she replied.
Hoping he was reading the vibe correctly, he pushed off the fridge and stalked toward her, stopping a couple of steps away. Her eyes darkened, and more satisfaction filled him. “We could have been watching The Weather Channel, and I would have been turned on.”
“You weren’t even watching.”
“Nope. I was too busy trying to keep from coming in my pants every time you rubbed up on me.”
Her eyes flared a little, but she scoffed. “I was notrubbingup on you.”
“You were.”
