Page 40 of Demon's Desire

She looked skeptical, but after a moment, she nodded. “Fine. But I’m sleeping with you tonight.”

“Thank you.” I hugged her quickly.

“Come on.” She sighed, and we headed into my room. Suldeargan moved to let us in. I finished putting away my underwear and shut all my drawers, then moved my phone back to the charger and got in bed next to Kelly.

“Did you get a new perfume?” she asked. “Your bed smells nice.”

I took a deep breath and paused when I recognized the smell. “No… I think that’s Suldeargan, actually.”

“Really?” She raised an eyebrow. “I would have thought demons smelled like… rotting flesh or something gross.”

“Yes, well, we all thought about changing it a few years ago, but the petition didn’t get enough signatures,” Suldeargan replied. We both looked at him in genuine surprise. He chuckled for a second before shaking his head. “It’s a joke. Demons can make jokes.”

“Oh…” I nodded and gave him a weak smile.

We got into bed, and Suldeargan turned off the light for us. “It’s a trait we evolved to help with hunting. You smell something beautiful, and you want to get closer to it. Once whatever we’re hunting realizes what the smell is, it’s too late.”

Even in the dark, I could sense Kelly’s fear beside me. “Do demons need to eat?”

“No.” His red eyes weren’t glowing this time. The room was pitch black except the small corner that the moonlight touched. “We don’t need to eat. We can, but it’s not a necessity. We hunt for sport.”

I knew what Kelly wanted to ask next, but I realized she was too scared, so I took a deep breath and asked for her. “What do you hunt?”

He chuckled. As he did, I realized he was moving closer to the bed where I was. “Not humans. Rest well in that knowledge.”

Kelly relaxed. Honestly, I did too. If demons only existed to set things on fire once in a while, I could make peace with that easier than I could if they were hunting humans for fun.

“Night, Mia,” Kelly whispered, reaching out to take my hand.

I took hers, as well as a deep breath. “Goodnight.”

The room was silent for a bit. It was strange. I knew Suldeargan was there, but I couldn’t see him. It was making me nervous, so I waited until I could hear Kelly’s breathing, which got just a little bit louder when she slept, and I sat up.

“Suldeargan?” I whispered.

“Yes, little one?” His voice came from right beside me.

I jumped but refrained from making any noise that could wake Kelly up. I took a breath to steady myself. “I can’t see you in the dark.”

He chuckled at that. “Do you want to see me?”

Okay, well, when he phrased it like that, it sounded flirty. “Not… It just freaks me out. Not being able to see where you are…”

“Hm. Very well, Mia.” I heard quiet movement, then I saw his large figure move into the corner covered in moonlight. He was mostly covered by shadows, but I could see where he was. That put me at ease. “Satisfied?”

I nodded, then paused. “Can you see? In the dark?”

He nodded. “I can. It’s a useful skill.”

“I can imagine,” I muttered, watching him for a moment. I didn’t know if it was the angle I was looking at him from or something in the moonlight, but every part of him that wasn’t drowned in shadow was that mesmerizing, shining purple…

“Is something bothering you?” Suldeargan asked. Something about his voice when he said it… He almost sounded concerned.

“Not… I mean, this is scary for me,” I admitted. “But… mostly it’s just strange. I’m having to come to terms with the fact that the world doesn’t work the way I thought it does.”

“If it’s any consolation, I had to do the same,” he told me. “It’s a hard process, seeing the world for what it is. But we’re better for it.”

I nodded as if I agreed with him. It’s not like I disagreed exactly, but I just wasn’t sure.

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