Zach looked around the tiny kitchen and his eyes were drawn to what appeared to be the rest of the apartment beyond the door— nothing more than a single room with a bed, a television, and a rickety free-standingcupboard. It was certainly not a luxurious space, and he realised that the reason why Drew was trying to cook was because he couldn’t afford to eat out. He waved a hand magnanimously. “It’s on me, of course.”
Drew threw him a sceptical look. “What, you have Mastercard in Hell?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he scoffed. And then paused before adding, “We use Amex.”
Drew snorted. “Of course you do.” He then shrugged and averted his gaze, looking embarrassed. “I’m hungry enough that I’m not gonna turn down free food. Where do you wanna go?”
“I don’t actually know where we are, so I have no idea what’s available.” Zach would never admit it, but he was eager to get outside and look around. He’d been trapped down below for so long now and he’d missed Earth. He hadn’t been lying, they did have the internet—it was Hell, not a two-star hotel—but it was torture to see the world develop, to learn of the new technology, but not be able to play with it. To be forced to watch from afar. Demons who had returned from a summoning often brought back gadgets and toys with them, so it wasn’t like he’d never experienced modern conveniences, but they weren’t widespread. He was itching to discover things for himself, and he hoped Drew wouldn’t discover the spell to send him back for a long time yet.
“We’re in Nanaimo,” Drew said. “Are you familiar with Vancouver Island, Canada?”
Zach nodded. The last time he’d been in Canada was well before it was even known as Canada, but he’d watched almost every season of every version ofThe Amazing Race, so he had a passing familiarity with the modern island.
“There’s a little diner down the road,” Drew told him, pushing back his chair and standing up. One of his feet caught on the leg of the chair and he stumbled a little, but he recovered and picked up the threadbare coat that was slung over the back of the second chair at the table. “They do awesome coffee there. Much better than Tim Horton’s anyway.”
Zach made a small, pained noise. “Oh, I haven’t had coffee for ages.”
“How long is ages?” Drew asked, pocketing his phone and keys.
“Oh, let’s see . . . three hundred and four years, I think.”
Drew raised a brow at that. “Man, the double-shot peppermint mocha is going to blow your mind.”
“It sounds . . . interesting.” He glanced up at the ceiling.
“What?” Drew asked, looking up as well.
“I’m just waiting for the lightning bolt to hit,” Zach said. “I thought a Canadian not liking Tim Horton’s was an automatic smiting offence.”
Drew snorted. “Timmy’s has its place, but you’re offering to pay so I want something a little better than stale Timbits and lukewarm coffee. This place isn’t a chain store but it has been run by the same family for generations. The food is good, the coffee is even better, and it might be more expensive than Timmy’s but not by too much.”
“Fair enough.”
“Okay, let’s go.” Drew glanced around the tiny kitchen, double-checked the stove was off, and then led the way to the front door.
Zach watched him as he followed behind, admiring the juxtapositions that were Drew Phillips— lean angles and soft features, an innocent face and biting sarcasm, the body of a dancer and the grace of a baby dodo, the power radiating from him and the complete ignorance regarding its presence.
Yes, this summoning was going to bedelicious.
Drew sat across the cream formica table from the demon as they waited for their order, a small frown tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Zach arched abrow at him. “Yes?”
Drew flushed a little at being caught staring but was secretly glad that he had—the eyebrow thing was damn sexy. In fact,allof Zach was sexy, and Drew wasn’t exactly sure what to make of that. He’d never been what you’d call religious, but he also didn’t live under a rock. He’d seen artistic depictions of demons, and none of them had ever looked like they’d just stepped off a catwalk. Looking at Zach there was no red skin, no horns, and no smell of brimstone. Instead, there were smoky eyes the colour of fine whiskey, an immaculate suit that clung to the demon’s ass and thighs, and the spicy, alluring scent of expensive cologne. If he hadn’t appeared suddenly in front of the stove, Drew would never have believed Zach wasn’t human. A tall, dark, and extremely handsome human, but human nonetheless.
“I’m seriously beginning to think I have something on my face,” Zach said as he turned to the window and peered at his faint reflection.
“Sorry, what?” Drew asked, finally surfacing.
Zach’s lips twitched as he turned back to him, and Drew had a sudden, almost violent urge to lean in and lick him . . . to feel the scrape of Zach’s stubble against his skin. He felt his face heat, hoping fervently that demons couldn’t read minds, and he picked up the menu once more to hide his embarrassment. Drew had absolutely no idea where these urges were coming from and they were rather confronting. He’d been aware of attractive people in the past, but he’d never really felt any desire towards them, and he’d even suspected he might be ace, though the lust he felt surging through his veins at this very moment put that to doubt. Maybe the demon was doing something, messing with his mind?Or,a small voice at the back of his head piped up,maybe he’s just the hottest thing you’ve ever seen and you want him to fuck you five ways to Sunday.
“Everything alright there, Drew?” Zach asked, the hint of a smirk tugging at his lips. “You seem a little . . . peaky.”
He almost squeaked, turned it into a sort of choked cough, and cleared his throat. “No, um, I’m fine. I’m good, everything’s good. It’s totally fine.”God damn it, Zach was doing the eyebrow thing again. Surely he had to know what a formidable weapon it was? Drew scrambled to come up with something to say to distract them both from how pathetic he was being. “So, uh, witches and demons and stuff are totally a thing, huh?” Oh yeah, that sounded intelligent.
Zach just nodded, but his eyes crinkled in amusement. “Yep, we sure are.”
Drew nodded along. “You learn something new every day. Are there other things, like werewolves and stuff?”
