These two were determined to embarrass me in any way that they could. I sighed and turned back to the paused movie. “Eros and I are… a thing.”
Zane raised a brow at Eros, and Maria just smirked—like she’d been waiting for this since that Sunday morning when she brought him over. “And what does that mean?” she asked.
I rubbed my palms together. “It means that we are… a—”
Someone pounded on my door, knocking hard and frantic. “Dani!” Trevon said. Damn it. “Please open up!”
Maria stared at me with wide eyes and I stared back with the same alarmed expression. It didn’t work. It couldn’t have happened if he was back again. Trevon still had a demon inside of him, and that same demon wanted only one thing the other night: to hurt my Eros.
When I leapt up, Eros snagged my waist and pulled me back down. “Don’t let him ruin our night.” His voice was sour.
Trevon banged again, and the hinges on the door shook.
“I have to. I’m sorry.” I pulled myself out of his grip and hurried to the door with Maria. I really, really, really hoped that I was wrong about this. Maybe he was just excited to see the two lovely women that let him stay in their apartment while he was possessed by the devil. Not frantic and covered in blood with the stench of hell lingering on every inch of his being.
For a single moment, the thought of telling Eros crossed my mind, but there were many reasons I was against it. First, Eros didn’t know that I knew about him and he was hiding himself for a reason. Second, Maria might’ve known that Trevon was a demon, but she didn’t know that Eros was a demon—and who knew if Zane was also one; that would freak her out more. Third, I felt inclined to protect Eros from Trevon.
That was probably the stupidest reason of all of them, but it was true. Trevon stayed calm when I was with him. And, if that priest was right and Trevon was possessed by the devil himself, I would have a hard time keeping him from tearing Eros apart, especially when I knew Eros would antagonize him.
“What are we going to do?” Maria said quietly to me. “He can’t come in here!”
I glanced back at the guys who were watching us from the couch. “Well, we’ll have to calm him down.”
Trevon was wrath, pure fury, and rage. Nothing like Eros’s lustful nature.
Maria and I slipped out of the room and slammed the door behind us. Trevon was on the ground and leaning against the wall, knees to his chest. His head was between his legs, and he was tugging harshly on his hair.
“Trevon,” I whispered, crouching next to him. I took his shaky hands away from his face and resisted the urge to cower away. Blood dripped from a hundred of his fangs onto his chin and rolled down his sweaty neck.
This wasn’t his fault, Dani. He didn’t choose this. Don’t show him your fear.
“Trevon,” I said again, softer this time. He snatched my wrists—like he didn’t even recognize me. “It’s okay, Trevon. It’s me, Dani.”
After taking a few deep breaths, his fangs slowly started to disappear into his mouth.
Someone opened the door, but Maria pulled it closed. “Are you okay?” Eros asked from behind it.
“We’re fine!” Maria shook her head. “I can’t believe that I’m helping this loser,” she said under her breath.
“I thought you said you were better,” I said to Trevon.
Trevon clasped my hands tightly in his. “I was, but this morning I lost control again.”
“You can’t keep doing this.”
“Dani, I’m not trying to. You have to believe me.” He sounded so frightened.
“Did you hurt anyone?” I asked. He grimaced, and I closed my eyes. God, was this the shittiest situation to ever be in. My ex demon boyfriend who wanted to kill my current demon boyfriend and who also had no control over himself and snapped at the smallest things, showing up at my apartment while I was watching a sweet romance movie with that current demon boyfriend. Wonderful.
Eros said something else, but I couldn’t hear him. Instead, I pulled Trevon to his feet and stepped close to him. “As soon as we get inside, go right to the bathroom. Don’t even look in Eros’s direction. We will talk about this later.”
Trevon wiped the blood off of his chin with the back of his hand. I licked my finger and rubbed the deep red stain off of his neck. Why the hell was I doing this again?
When he was ready, Maria opened the door, and we walked in. Eros leaned against the counter, eyes dark and arms crossed over his chest. “Feeling better?” Eros asked Trevon, annoyance dripping from each word.
Trevon kept his chin tucked but nodded, trying to walk past Eros. But Eros, being the damn guy he was, placed a hand on Trevon’s chest and stopped him. “Is that blood on your chin?” His muscles were strained against his gray v-neck. Great, not only do I have one demon to take care of… but now I have Eros.
I could feel the rage in Trevon, even caught a glimpse of a fang. He would lose total control in a moment and would try to rip Eros to pieces. Dig his claws right into his chest, let the blood gush out. Bite right into his neck with those fangs, stop his heart.
I grabbed his arm and pulled him away from Eros. “Stop it,” I scolded, glaring right up into his dark eyes. “He’s sick. Let him go lie down.”
He looked strained for a moment, like he wanted to protest but his eyes softened just a bit when they looked into mine. “I just want to make sure he’s alright,” he said tensely.
“Eros, please,” I said.
“Dani.” He dropped his hand from Trevon and clenched his jaw, any sign of softness drying up. “He shouldn’t be here.”
“Why?” I asked, testing him. “Tell me why he shouldn’t be here.”
“He’s… he smells like…” Eros growled, nostrils flaring, and stormed to the couch where Zane was lounging still.
I clenched my jaw and led Trevon away. Once he was safely in the bathroom, I stood by the door and sighed. Maria was fetching clothes from her room for him, and Eros and Zane were talking to themselves again in the living room.
“Did you feel that wrath on him?” Eros asked quietly. I tilted my head in their direction.
Zane sighed. “If he’s hanging out with Javier still, he’s bound to be covered in wrath. It’ll be seeping from his veins soon, if he’s not careful.”
“He had blood on him,” Eros said. “Coated on him. I could smell it.”
Zane paused for a moment. “You think Javier is hurting him?”
Eros blew a breath through his nose. “He smells more like Satan than Javier to me, but who knows.”
Trevon opened the door, and I stepped away. Lucifer and Satan were supposed to just be monsters from Mom’s stories—but Eros and Zane were talking about them as if they were normal people leading normal lives in a normal world that they called Hell. Who would be next? Beelzebub, the green king of envy. Mammon, the prince of jewels and riches. Or—her favorite—Asmodeus, the sorcerer of temptation.
Everything I had thought was a mere fairytale was becoming truth. And I didn’t know whether I wanted to ask for more or hide in the crook of someone’s shoulder and wish this away.
CHAPTER 32
Dani
My bedroom door opened, and I sat up on the bed. “Eros,” I whispered. I had been waiting for him.
After Trevon’s interruption earlier, I knew he wouldn’t be able to stay away. Just like at Kasey’s he was here to make sure I knew that I was his—not Trevon’s.