Chapter 20
twenty
My Demon Boyfriend
His wings emerge first, huge and smoky. Then his horns with a deep glow that I never noticed before. His skin crackles with fire and changes to the red color I’m used to. Finally, his tail whips around and he rises to his full height.
Nai Nai claps.
Lacey gasps.
Ace screams.
“It’s okay! No one panic!” I yell, standing in front of Rhaz.
“What the fuck is that?” Ace shouts.
“Zixin! Manners!” Nai Nai chides.
Lacey looks like she’s about to start stabbing.
“He won’t hurt you,” I say, trying to use the slowness of my voice to calm everyone else down.
Well, Nai Nai is perfectly calm, if not a little excited. A grin is splitting her face from ear to ear. She’s looking Rhaz up and down as if she wishes she had a demon of her own.
Finally, my brother stops hyperventilating. “Where did he come from?”
I look at Rhazan since I’m not sure, either.
“That’s a long story,” he says, his voice soft, absent of the growling depth I’m accustomed to. “But right now, I reside in the Onyxian plane. It’s a mirror of Earth, and constructs here shape the world there.”
“I need to sit,” Lacey whispers.
I pull out a chair a little farther away from Rhaz. “Water? Coffee?”
“Martini?” she asks.
“We’ve got that champagne and some orange juice,” I offer.
She nods, her eyes distant.
“Me too,” Ace says, his voice cracking.
I shoot him a scowl and he smiles awkwardly.
“Fine, but it’s in celebration of opening the café, and you can only have one.”
And I’m going to put seltzer in it instead of champagne.
“Nai Nai? Rhaz—aul? Raul?” I ask, trying to clear my throat to cover the flub, which, why am I even trying to cover it? Of course a demon isn’t named Raul. But he seemed to have anxiety around telling me his name before, so maybe it’s important for him to keep it to himself.
He shakes his head and takes his seat again. The chair whines in protest but accepts him. He wraps his tail across his lap and disappears his wings into somewhere. I’ll have to ask how he does that.
“I have some wine upstairs,” Nai Nai says. “I’ll be right back. Don’t start the story.”
“What story?” I ask as I move toward the bar.
“He’s going to tell us where he comes from!” Nai Nai shouts as she ascends the creaky stairs.
Ace moves closer to Lacey, then pulls out a chair.
I look helplessly at Rhaz, and he gives me a weak smile. He doesn’t know what he’s doing either, but we’re in it together, I guess.
“Champagne?” Lacey asks.
Right.
I hop behind the bar and grab two water cups, then pop the bubbly. I pour some into Lacey’s, then a teeny, tiny bit into Zixin’s, finishing him off with seltzer before dropping in the orange juice. I set the cups down at their table and step back, not sure what to do next.
I just called a demon my boyfriend.
A five-hundred-plus-year-old demon.
Seriously, what’s wrong with me?
The room is dark and quiet aside from the ruckus upstairs as Nai Nai digs through our half-unpacked boxes. Lacey picks up her mimosa and takes a sip, then decides a sip isn’t enough. She keeps drinking, her loud gulping the only other sound apart from Nai Nai’s curses.
She sets the empty glass down and looks at Rhaz.
“So, you’re Jade’s boyfriend.”
He turns to me with a pleading look. “Yes?”
“Yes,” I confirm, making it official-official.
There’s tapping on glass coming from somewhere and an anxious, “Hello? My book. I left my book!”
Deelia.
“We should probably limit the number of people who see you?” I ask Rhazan.
“For the best,” he says with a nod.
Smoke swirls around him and fire rips through the cyclone. All at once, the magic falls away and he’s human again.
“Lucifer be damned! You’ve got infernal drip!” Ace yells as he stands and points at Rhaz.
“Hello?” Deelia peeps again.
The blacked-out charm on the windows melts away and Deelia yelps when she sees us clearly. I grab her book from the table and jog to the door with it.
“Here you go. See you soon?” I ask as I pass her the book through a crack in the door.
Her huge eyes bounce between the others sitting around the table. “Mrs. Feng?”
“Upstairs,” I say with a smile.
She hums, then holds up her book to ensure she actually has it.
“I’ll be back for tea,” she says, then turns away.
She checks her pockets several times as she goes, mumbling to herself.
The stairs whine and Nai Nai shouts. “Wait for me!”
I lock the door again and return to Rhaz’s side, placing my hand on his shoulder. He sighs, smoke curling out through his nostrils as he does.
“This will be good,” Nai Nai says as she sets the tray carrying wine and several glasses down on the table.
I move to open the bottle to serve, but Nai Nai stops me with a stern look.
“Enchanted. Let me.”
She pulls a black string embedded under the wax seal and magic sparks.
The top snaps off just like the champagne, but the fizzy steam doesn’t disappear.
Instead, it multiplies and whips out of the bottle like a ghost. A howl sounds through the room as the smoke moves.
Lacey yelps and reaches for the knife again.
A ghostly wolf rampages toward us, but at the last second, it dodges around and disappears.
Nai Nai grins. “Trespassers would be punished.”
Lacey blinks a few times. “Some wine.”
“Yeah, let’s just get this out of the way now,” I say as I pour a serving of wine for my elder first. “Raul isn’t the only one with a weird secret. Nai Nai’s a fortune-telling mystic and I’m some kinda…astral mage.”
I pass Lacey the next glass, then Rhazan, but he refuses. Ace reaches out for the cup and I smack his hand down. Nai Nai serves him a portion anyway, and who am I to argue, I guess? Tomorrow’s Sunday and it’s not as if he’s going to get wasted on Grandma’s wine.
“I knew you were a witch,” Ace says as he takes a drink. His face scrunches up in disgust, but he smooths it out quickly. “Good stuff, elder Feng.”
“Thank you,” Nai Nai says with a smug smile.
“So, where did you meet?” she asks, looking at Rhazan.
“Here. Or rather, just over there,” he points to the bar.
Nai Nai furrows her brow. “More.”
We look at one another, then shrug.
“That’s it,” I say. “Just over there.”
“What happened?” she urges.
“He told me not to freak out his bartender,” I say. “I was projecting.”
“And then?”
I blow out my cheeks. “And then…an interdimensional cockroach burst through space and time and was about to eat my face, but Rhaz—aul saved me.”
I bring my wine to my lips and avoid everyone’s gaze.
“Cockroaches…” Ace says, and they stare at one another.
Then they all laugh.
“They were huge!” I exclaim. “Like, dog-sized!”
“They’re skreet,” Rhaz says.
“Skreet?” Lacey flaps her lips.
I stomp my foot. “Stop making fun of us. It was scary!”
“And then?” Nai Nai asks.
“Then we met again to reinforce the wards in the pantry to protect against skreet,” Rhaz says.
“Aaaand,” Nai Nai pushes.
I’m not sure I want to give all the details of our second encounter.
“And…we made a magic pact so she could better protect you,” he says.
I touch the mark on my wrist and he shivers, then looks up at me with a smirk.
“Yes, that pact.”
“So, it’s not Chinese mafia tattoo ink?” Lacey asks.
I rub the back of my neck. “No. Sorry…I lied about that.”
“I mean, that’s good. Glowing ink sounds like a health hazard, honestly,” she says, setting her cup down.
“What do you want?” Lacey asks bluntly at Rhazan. “I mean, what are you doing here? With her?” She points at me lazily and maybe Grandma’s wine is a little more intense than I was anticipating.
Rhazan purses his lips, a thoughtful expression pulling on his brow. He’s quiet for a long time, so long I feel like he might not answer her.
“I want to be content,” he murmurs.
Nai Nai grunts in approval and raises her cup. “To contentment, then.”
A weird thing to toast, but all right.
I pour more wine for Lacey, and Rhazan reaches out for a cup. I pour him a small amount and we raise our glasses.
“May we all find it,” Nai Nai says.
“Here, here,” Rhaz says as his hand finds my hip.
I tense, but at Nai Nai’s winking approval, I relax and lean into him.
The three of them question him a little more, like what are his horns made of, how does he do magic, and the like. He’s careful to avoid things like where his magic actually comes from, or talking about anything I don’t already know.
Finally, Rhazan stands, his hand still planted firmly on my side. Lacey and Ace both rear back, but Nai Nai only smiles up at him.
He clears his throat. “I must return.”
“Really?” I turn into him, forgetting the others as I loathe the thought of him leaving.
Yep, Grandma’s wine is real good.
His hand slides up my side and he cradles my back. “Yes. I will be missed, soon.”
I know he means that someone will be by to check and see if he’s abiding by his…parole?
“You’ll be missed here,” Nai Nai says, her cheeks rosy.
Lacey giggles.
I cough and cover my face.
“Don’t hide, Firecracker.”
Rhazan pulls my hand away, then kisses my wrist. His lips on my skin have a flood of heat—both arousal and embarrassment—washing over my body.
“I’ll see you soon enough,” he murmurs with a smile.
“Will we see you again?” Nai Nai asks.
Oh, my god, really?
“If she so wants,” he says, looking at me.
I so want to get out of this right now.
“Okay, well, you need to go, yeah?” I ask him.
He grunts and nods. “Yes.”
Ace stands, and extends his hand for a shake.
Rhazan moves forward and accepts the gesture.
"I fear you. And I stan," Ace says, his smile wide and just a little unhinged.
Good to know it’s not just me he has this effect on.
“What is this lingo?” I murmur. “Since when do you talk like a normie?”
He pulls a face and shrugs. “Met some friends at school.”
Rhazan releases him and then turns to me. “Walk me back?”
Oh, thank god.
“Yeah, of course.”
I know he doesn’t need to go to the pantry to escape, but he wants to give us a little privacy, and I couldn’t be more grateful.
“Be seeing you,” Nai Nai says in a tone that sounds way too happy.
Lacey waves a little wave and I rush toward the pantry.
We escape behind the bar and I hiss out a breath.
Rhazan grabs the back of my neck and pulls my lips to his in a blind fury.
He kisses me hard and I meet him with the same fervor.
The bite of his grip in my hair has me keening.
Thank fuck Lacey’s talking loudly out there, or they might hear me.
Rhazan pulls away and traces my lips with a taloned finger. He’s himself again—horns, wings, and everything. He’s lovely.
“Your boyfriend,” he rumbles. “Is that what it’s called when I get to spank and finger-fuck you?”
The filthy words make me shiver.
“Yes,” I whisper.
He groans and his other hand cups my groin. I gasp and yelp, but he covers the noise with another kiss. Our tongues tangle and I squeeze my thighs, relishing the sensation of his hand holding me up.
“When can I see you?” I beg.
“Tomorrow night,” he says, tugging my hair back with his other hand.
He kisses my neck and I crawl close to him. He holds me up, my entire weight cradled in his hand cupping me. I wrap my arms around his shoulders and tangle my fingers in his hair.
“Where?”
He laves my neck with attention and bites my earlobe. “I’ll summon you.”
I don’t know how that works, but I trust it will.
“Jaaaade,” Nai Nai calls.
I huff and pull away. Rhaz sets me down and fixes the bulge in his pants. I lick my lips as I think of what’s going on down there. I mean, I might be a virgin, but I’ve seen porn. I know what a cock looks like.
But I don’t know what a demon cock looks like.
I want to know.
He grabs my chin and lifts my gaze. “Not now, Firecracker.”
“Soon,” I say, breathless. “I want to make you come.”
His lips pull back and he flashes fangs. “You want that?”
“I do.”
He murmurs in a language I don’t know, deep and rumbling. Then he says, “Tomorrow night. I’ll summon you.”
I don’t know why I do it, but I turn my head and bite down on the meat right below his thumb. He groans and tugs my hair with his other hand.
“Jiahui,” he whispers, and the use of my true name makes me shudder. “You’re making it incredibly difficult to leave.”
I release him and take a step back. His hand slides off my neck, his talons grazing my throat as I move away. My heart thunders and my body yearns to be back in his arms, but I love how the fiery look in his eyes grows with the distance between us. I never knew being a brat could be so fun.
I bite my lip and twiddle my fingers at him. “Begone, then.”
He adjusts his cock again and then disappears.
Fuck.
I’m dating a demon.