Page 20 of Her Personal Demons (The Seven Sinners of Hell's Kingdom 1)

“Add shaving your pussy to that, and you have a fucking deal.” Dante grins, loving the shock slackening my jaw.

“You’re crazy. I’ll take the damn two hours for the hair washing. The deal is off on everything else, you perv. Now get out.” Slapping my hand to the water, I send a wave of it over his head.

Dante howls a laugh and hops to his feet, yanking his wet shirt off. “I saidmaybetwo, but you just keep getting more entertaining, so now it’s one. You didn’t even let me rinse.”

Grabbing the conditioner, I chuck it at him. He lets it hit him in the chest and fall to the floor. A cocky-bastard smile lights his face, turning him even more handsome. It only pisses me off more. I stand up, and splash more water at him.

“Hey, God,” I call, raising my voice. “Can you bless this water? I could really use some demon repellant.”

Dante play-growls, narrowing his eyes. “Stop being so much damn fun, and maybe I wouldn’t want to be around your bratty ass.”

“If you think this is fun, I feel bad for you. You must’ve had an awful existence.” I can’t stop the smile from crossing my face.

“It was dreadful. Pity me, oh pretty broken soul. Wipe off those bubbles from your perky tits so it feels as if I’ve ascended to Heaven again.” Dante unfurls his magnificent black wings and flaps them, sending a gust of wind in my direction.

I screech and scramble to grab the towel hanging on the rod, only giving him a view of my naked body for a split second. Glowering, I stomp the three feet of space it takes to reach him and slap my hand against his taut pec. He flexes his muscles, and for the first time, I can see the details of the tattoo over his heart. A snake slithers around a skull, and I swear the eyes glow at me.

“I’m sorry, Raven. I couldn’t help myself. Just the thought of your heavenly body getting ravished by mine...” He shakes out his arms, and his wings disappear. “I’ll give you three hours and keep Kase away. You can even punish me.”

“No fucking way. You’d enjoy it, you glutton.” Am I crazy for not being upset? Maybe. But for the first time in days I’ve managed to smile and laugh, even if it’s because this bastard doesn’t understand boundaries.

“Envy is my calling,” he responds, smirking. “And you should shove me out of here and get some clothes on. I’m starting to despise the towel hugging you.”

Oh, boy.

I do as he says, pushing him out of the bathroom, though he doesn’t resist. He grins the whole time as I shut the door in his face. I turn away and rest my back against the door. Why am I okay with this? Is it because I already know these fuckers aren’t going anywhere? Is something wrong with me? It’s only been a week since Joel left me for dead and even less than that, watching as the beast threw him into Hell. I should be reeling. Panicking. Crying and questioning my existence. Right? What the hell has gotten into me...oh. Maybe that’s it. Hell has gotten into me. I don’t know exactly what it means, but apparently I can forgive shitheads who planned to throw me in a dumpster.

Fuck me.

Quickly rinsing off the bubble residue, I dry and dress, wondering exactly what a few hours of space will look like. I already know that they don’t want me to leave the apartment unsupervised for whatever reason, but it’s not like either of them has given up their rooms to me.

“Hey, angel-girl?” Kase asks outside the bathroom door as if he knows I’m hovering on the other side. “We have to run some errands. I picked you up a pizza and some beer from around the corner. Make yourself comfortable in whoever’s room you want. If it’s Dante’s, feel free to go through all his shit. It’ll drive him crazy and pay him back for his games. Hell, if you sleep on his bed, he might kick it out of his room because it got to sleep with you first, and he’s a whack job when it comes to not getting what others have.”

An image of fucking with Dante makes me smile even wider. I consider responding to Kase but decide if I open myself for any sort of conversing, he won’t leave. And now that I know they’re planning to go out? Fuck. I have shit to do. Angels to find. They think they know what they’re doing, but I can’t exactly trust them. This is my eternity, and I will not put it in anyone else’s hands. They had mentioned before that these supposed saviors were flying around. Maybe all I have to do is embrace this crazy-ass situation and start shouting prayers or something. Who knows? If I’m out of this demonic lair, someone might actually respond to my calls.

A door slams, startling me. I was so lost in my thoughts that I hadn’t heard Kase move away from the door. I lick my lips and press my ear to the wood, trying to hear for any noise. I can’t be certain this isn’t some sort of trick to get me to come out, so I wait five more minutes, gathering my nerve. I crack open the bathroom door and listen for another minute. Silence greets me from the rest of the apartment. Strolling into the hallway, I peek into Kase’s room with the sliding glass door to the patio and then into Dante’s...sex chambers? I don’t know how else to describe it. He has an impressive collection of restraints, paddles, spreader bars, gags, and other toys on full display in cases on his wall. Along his dresser, dozens of different bottles of lubes and other unfamiliar liquids rest in neat lines. His closet door is a mirror with the perfect view of the bed, and another mirror hangs from the damn ceiling. If he didn’t admit that he embodies envy, whatever the fuck that means, I’d have pegged him as lust.

I huff under my breath and silently curse Kase. The fucker probably knew there was no way I’d actually step foot in Dante’s room and probably just wanted to get me to look. I half-expect the two of them to pop out and surprise me and tease me for the rest of time, but the apartment remains silent.

They’re gone.

I almost don’t believe it.

They made this too damn easy. Now I feel like this could be a possible trap. I guess there is only one way to find out.

After slipping on my flats, I snag my hoodie from my pile of clothes and shrug it on. The sun will go down soon, and with how hot I’ve been feeling the last few days, I’m sure the nights will start feeling much, much colder.

I grab my purse, though it’s not like I have anything I could possibly use unless I need some lip balm, and head out the door. I don’t know what I was expecting, maybe the fires of Hell to light up the world. But nothing happens. The porch is the same as it was the last time. It feels anticlimactic to just exit the apartment without sudden blaring alarms or angry demonic beasts trying to stop me.

Clutching my purse like a safety blanket, I head down the pathway and in the opposite direction of Joel’s apartment. I have no idea where I’m going, but the farther I get, the better I feel. The easier it is to think.

I reach the parking lot and spot my old Honda in its assigned spot. I had been planning to walk. I mean, I really should save my quarter tank of gas for an emergency. If only seeing my car didn’t bring on a wave of desperate need to escape. I could get more than thirty miles with the gas I have left. That sounds like the perfect amount of space. It would be easier to search for the angels in all the places I can think they’d be hiding.

And when I find one, I can figure out how to make them fall...

What am I even thinking? Make them fall? No. I can beg them for help. Pray for divine intervention. Ask to be saved.

I pick up my pace with the thought and run the rest of the way to my car. Relief floods over me as I start the engine and back out. If Kase and Dante catch me, I’ll surely have hell to pay. I push away my hesitation and back out.

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