Page 21 of Boyfriend From Hell
It’s just fog, or shadows…or whatever. Nothing with a brain. It’s not going to hurt me. It literally can’t hurt me.
The shadows grew closer and all I could come to terms with doing was continuing to slink back, one pitiful step at a time—until I ran into the frame of the bed. My eyes bounced between the shadows that had slowly, but efficiently, flooded the room. Without hesitation, I jumped onto the bed—my mind working overtime to make sense of the situation.
In mere seconds, the floor was engulfed by the writhing shadows, they lapped around the wooden posts of the bed like waves.
My shoulders began to burn as I realized I was still holding the plate above my head.
“You look like a fool.” The disembodied voice laughed from all around me, yet again, “What do you plan to do with that plate?”
I whipped my head around trying to find the source of the sound. Whatever game he was playing, I waswellover it. I bared my teeth and scoffed.
The shadows had made their way on top of the comforter and were now moving toward my trembling legs. A sudden rush of cold rolled in from the hallway, the frigid gust blowing in with enough force to send the stray hairs back away from my face. My skin broke out in goosebumps.
The screaming burn that radiated from my shoulders from holding this plate above my head for so long served as a humbling reminder that I needed to get back to the gym. Who knew a plate could get so heavy?!
The shadows at the edge of the bed began to undulate, just as I lowered my arms. A soft glow no larger than an apple began to form, turning the onyx air gray. Without moving too much,I peered over the edge of the bed. My stomach tightened while I watched the shape expand.
What in the fucking hell?
Gray quickly transitioned to white. The first thing to break the surface of the hazy mix was two pointy…spikes? My eyebrows pulled together as the whatever-it-was continued to rise from the fog.
What had started out as fine points quickly revealed themselves to be stout horns. Horns that were nestled atop a dark-haired scalp, which breached the fog next.
Pins and needles shot across my face, a sudden reminder that I had barely sucked in a single breath while watching. I had been too enthralled by this living nightmare to register my lungs were screaming for oxygen.
Unblinking eyes emerged next, irises as red as freshly spilled blood—looking right at me. A mouth followed, curled in a hungry smirk, as finally, the body emerged.
I’d recognize that hot, chiseled face anywhere.
“No fucking way,” I whispered.
“You swear far too much for such a devastatingly beautiful thing,” he said as his smile grew.
Spots began to dance across my vision, my periphery slowly disappearing.
“Raios?” My words were beyond weak, strangled by fear.
“Hi, Deer.” His hungry smile turned warm. “Breathe, love.”
My fight or flight instinct malfunctioned and left me frozen as I tried to grapple with reality. My mouth was beyond dry, my tongue sticky. For a breath, we just stared at each other in silence.
He dipped a shallow bow and extended a hand out to me, his porcelain palm facing up. His muscles flexed as he reached toward me slowly and raised his head slightly, level to mine. He frowned slightly and began to withdraw his hand when it became clear I had no intention of taking it. He looked as if the rejection had wounded him, his disappointment was evident.
The corner of his mouth twitched downward as he then scanned the room, “You didn’t eat,” he said, all too casually.
I offered only a blink in response, unsure what to say, if anything at all.
“You really should have eaten.” He exhaled. “We killed nearly two bottles of wine last night. You need food.”
His words filtered in through one ear and out the other. My focus was still stuck on his face, and the two finely pointed horns that seemed to protrude from his temples. I knew my mouth was opening and closing like a goldfish, and I probably looked beyond foolish. But I didn’t care.
He sighed, stepping toward the bed with soundless grace. “Very well.”
“What are you?” I asked as I recoiled from him.
An all too sweet smile unfurled across his lips as he gestured to his horns.
“You tell me.”
