Page 19 of Hellfire & Tinsel
Beau squirmed against his massive chest and shook his head stubbornly.
Kassel stared down at him. “Would you like me to raze this grocery store to the ground in your name?”
Beau shook his head again, his fingers straying to the leather lapels hiding Kassel’s pecs and playing with them. Themortification was lessened like this, the judgment from outside a door away. Instead, he was pressed against Kassel’s warm chest as the demon offered destruction and death to him like a canapé on a silver platter.
Bizarre yet comforting.
A meaty finger poked at Beau’s bottom lip, taking it between his finger and thumb. Shocked, Beau looked back up, his breath shuddering out over Kassel’s hand. His stomach flared hot.
“The pout means something must be fixed,” Kassel said. “You were upset that they thought you were talking to yourself?”
Beau gave up on pretending and nodded the tiniest increment, not wanting to lose Kassel’s touch on his face.
“Would you like me to appear at your side?” Kassel asked.
“But you’re a demon,” Beau mumbled around the fingers.
“I can take a human form. Though I have not tried it before,” Kassel admitted.
Beau’s eyes widened. “You can?”
“I’ll need some time to achieve that form, but yes. Would you prefer that?”
Beau nearly gave himself whiplash from how emphatically he nodded, and Kassel lost his grip on his mouth. Then Beau suddenly paused. “Would that make you uncomfortable though? I don’t want to make you do things you don’t want to do.”
“I have no preference,” Kassel said.
Beau frowned. “You told me earlier that I shouldn’t just go with what other people want.”
“That’s different.”
“Why?”
“Because I was brought here to give you everything you want.”
They were the words his dream husband whispered to him every night, curled up together under the covers, so much love blooming between them he could hardly breathe. This wasn’t that reality though. This was a reality where he had summoneda demon to be his friend. Beau didn’t want a doll to instruct, he wanted a companion to spend time with.
“Then what I want is for you to also do what you want. Like eating bacon out of the packaging.”
Kassel seemed to contemplate this for a while. “I’ll tell you if I don’t want to do something.”
“Or if you do,” Beau added hopefully.
“Or if I do.”
Beau smiled, a weight lifting from him as Kassel placed him on the floor, which Beau tried not to be too disappointed about.
“I’ll cloak both of us from now on, so we can talk freely,” Kassel said.
Beau’s eyes widened with amazement, even though he shouldn’t have been that shocked considering the circumstances. “The cart too. People will get freaked out otherwise.”
Kassel nodded.
“I can still kill those people if you would like,” Kassel said as they exited the back room.
Beau shook his head with a smile. “It’s fine. She was probably just having a hard day.”
Kassel simply hummed as a feeling of power made Beau’s hair stand on end, the scent of sulfur and brimstone hanging in the air. There was a faint scream in the background.
