Page 11 of How to Flirt with a Hellhound
Luckily, Sexy Neighbor just chuckled.
“I’d be happy to provide inspiration for any of the scenes you need to write,” he murmured.
With that, he gave me a soft peck on the lips, smiled at me, and turned and walked out of the kitchen. I heard my front door close behind him.
“Holy shit,” I mumbled. Was I in a coma? A fever induced dream? In what universe did a sexy neighbor come in, tell you everything you needed to know to complete your current chapter, then kiss you senseless?
Damn, I was horny. I was also incredibly inspired. I adjusted myself then sat back down at the table, ready to write a really fantastic kissing scene between my two MCs.
By the time I finished my sexy scene and came up for air, reality hit me.
Sexy Neighbor had kissed me.
I hadn’t imagined that, right? It had actually happened? And then he had just… walked out. Like it was perfectly normal to randomly kiss your neighbor.
What was I supposed to do now? Would there be more kissing? Because, yes, please. Was I supposed to call him or something? Or stop over at his house? Could I pretend I needed to borrow a cup of sugar? Was that way too 1950s?
My god, I was so bad at dating. Not that this was dating, because I’m sure Sexy Neighbor wouldn’t be interested in dating a reclusive writer who was awkward at best. But if this was hooking up, I was bad at that too. I mean, yeah, I’d done some random hookups in college, but most of those involved partiesand alcohol and very little actual conversation. Plus, I had the benefit of knowing I probably wouldn't run into those guys again if I made a complete fool of myself. That was totally not the case with Sexy Neighbor. I’d have to see him everyday.
Fuck.
I grabbed my phone and texted Josh and Sebbie. This definitely required a night of gossiping and drinking.
Chapter 6
Dexter
Iwas driving around the outskirts of the city that was about an hour away from Paradise Falls, hunting down the faint tinge of evil on the air. After kissing Toby, my hellhound had been itchy as hell. It had been hard to walk away from him, but as much as I’d wanted to take him up against his kitchen island, I wanted more from him.
I’d had sex with humans before, but Toby was special. I had the urge to woo him.
I chuckled to myself thinking about what Jude would say if I asked about giving a human the corpses of his enemies as a courting gift. Not that Toby had any enemies; he was all sweetness and light, his soul shining brightly, not a speck of rot on it.
I hadn’t even really meant to kiss him, but I’d smelled his arousal, and I hadn’t been able to help myself. He was so tempting.
I tried to clear my thoughts of Toby to focus on the hunt. I was in a very wealthy suburb outside the city, where the mansions had a lot of property and were gated, but electronics wouldn’t stop me. I could feel the pull of a rotten soul, and I followed it until I reached one particularly large property. It wascovered in a miasma of evil, and I knew there was at least one hellbound mortal inside.
I noted cameras as I drove by, so I didn’t stop. My features would never appear clearly on camera, but my car would, so I parked about a mile away, grabbed my working bag, and walked the rest of the way back to the mansion. As I got closer, I could smell the rot and decay of the human soul getting stronger, a symptom of a soul too far gone for redemption in this lifetime.
I contemplated bringing the human back home to take my time with them, but it was only afternoon, and the possibility of people being about made that more difficult. It was probably best to dispose of them here. I had some tools with me, and I’d be able to have at least a few hours of fun.
I scaled the wall, avoiding the cameras easily. Once inside the property, I sensed the dogs. They were approaching quickly, but at least they were silent so far. What an added bonus. I loved dogs.
They ran up growling, probably ready to start barking an alert, but the moment they saw me, they fell to their stomachs and started whining.
“Oh, what cute boys you are!” I murmured, crouching down and motioning them forward. “Are you good boys? I bet you are!” I said as they belly crawled toward me, tails wagging at my voice.
They were large German shepherds, and they were obviously well trained. I had no doubt that they would find a home after their owner was disposed of. Guard dogs like these went for a small fortune.
“You didn’t know you were protecting an evil human, did you? You’re just doing your job, aren’t you?” I murmured as I scratched them both. One rolled over for me to pet his belly, so I gave him a nice rub.
Eventually I stood up. “Alright boys, I have work to do. Where’s your owner?”
They stood as well, obviously realizing playtime was over, and trotted along beside me, tails wagging and tongues lolling. I patted them occasionally as I walked, but I knew I’d have to make sure to leave them outside. Dogs who licked up blood at crime scenes didn’t tend to get adopted. Humans were weird about things like that. I gave a mental shrug as the dogs led me around a beautiful built-in pool to a patio and sliding glass doors.
I smiled as I saw the electronic keypad on the outside of the door. It was obviously hooked to the house alarm system as well, which made things even easier. I placed my hand on it, allowing some flame to wind its way down through the wires. The dogs whined a bit at the surge of hellhound power, but I just made a reassuring sound and they hushed right up. What good boys.
I wondered idly if Toby liked dogs. I bet he did. He totally seemed like a dog person. I could just imagine him curled up on his sofa with a dog next to him while he wrote. Although Toby was a bit absent minded, and I wasn’t sure he’d remember to feed them. Of course, if Toby lived with me, I’d make sure the dogs were fed and exercised. Although maybe I was getting a bit ahead of myself with that thought.
