Choking back a squeaky sound, I squeeze his arm, so he leads the way again. “Get a move on, birdman. I’m hungry as fuck. The big guy’s regimen has my body trained to know when I’m s’posed to have food. That might have been his plan, come to think of it.”
“Slash would beextremelyhappy to hear that, you know.” He opens the door to another staircase, this one darker and more foreboding. “In fact, I think he’d be tickled pink to know you insisted I feed you. You had to be dragged to food when you arrived, KK.”
I dip my chin so I don’t have to look at him as the blush gets hotter, mumbling, “Whatever. Did you bring food or what? ‘Cause if not, we won’t be able to stay long. I definitely can’t make it through the rest of the day without eating a good meal. I snacked on my morning snacks already.”
“Damn… Slash is going to be super fucking happy to hear that.” Oriel pauses, then adds, “But yes, I have food here and once we’re here, you’re gonna be so entranced that it won’t matter what anyone else thinks, anyway.”
Was that him convincing me or himself? Either way, it’s pretty cute.
“You’re setting yourself up for some pretty big expectations.” I pat his arm, my lips curling up a bit. “Are you sure whatever you’re taking me to see is spectacular enough to withstand the build up?”
“I’m fairly certain I more than meet expectations.”
Blinking owlishly, I stumble over words again because, given how my roomie is acting now, I think Oriel just flirted with me. The tinge in his voice was definitely suggestive—at least, I think it was. I could have been mistaken, though the words he chose were hard to misinterpret. “I… well, I uh… I…”
His laugh is dark and husky, which makes me tingle from head to toe. “KK, I think you’re going to pass out if you don’t breathe. Relax… I promise you’re going to enjoy my surprise.”
“Oh? And how would you know? Is it ahighly ratedsurprise?” I shoot back. My eyes widen when I hear myself; I didn’tmeanto take that petulant tone. Oriel has done nothing wrong and I don’t have a right to even insinuate that he can’t enjoy… whatever… with whoever he wants.
These demons are rotting my brain and making everything confusing—more so than usual since we came back from the surface.
We reach the bottom of the stairs and Oriel winks at me, completely ignoring my little snit. He opens an enormous door with a key he produces from his pocket, then holds it for me. “Watch your step now, KK. We’re in the older part of the university now. There’s a system of tunnels that goes underneath everything, but you have to know someone to get access. Lucky for us, I do.”
“Lucky for us?” I echo, hoping to move on from my oddly possessive episode.
“Yep. It’ll be hotter than you expect because of the underground lava deposits, but it’s Hell, you know?”
I nod, thinking about that. Since I haven’t explored the campus, much less the realm, I’m pretty ignorant about the geography, much less the geology of my new home. “Good thing Dottie is hanging in my bag, taking a nap. I wouldn’t want her to jump down and burn her little paws.”
Oriel snorts. “No, you would not. But where we’re going, there will be places for her to explore.”
“Are we going to a secret jungle gym? A hidden amusement park? Maybe an underground bowling alley like the White House had?” My curiosity is killing me, but it’s been taking a back seat to the uncertainty about flirting and double entendres.
“Well, we’re using the underground to get where we’re going, and it will have things for you to play with,” he says with a bob of his eyebrows.
Damnit, what iswiththese guys now? Am I putting out a vibe or something?
I say that like I’m mad, but surprisingly, I’m not. Anger and fear aren’t part of the equation, strangely enough, but anxiety and nervousness are. My lack of experience doesn’t seem to matter to Salem, but I don’t know what to expect from Oriel—or any of the rest, if that becomes a thing. Wait, do I want it to be a thing? Am I actually entertaining a seven guy dating situation for real? Withtheseridiculously hot, patient, and mostly kinddemons?
My heart thumps in my chest as I swallow to get the dryness in my mouth to fade. I sort of ignored that idea because it was so incredibly silly to me previously. How can I avoid thinking about it now when a second dude is maybe probably sort of flirting with me as we walk down a dimly lit secret passage to his secret surprise?
“KK, you’re white as a ghostie, man. What is going on in your head? Is it too… tight down here? Do you have claustrophobia and I didn’t know? Or maybe you didn’t know until now?”
Oh, for fuck’s sake. He’s such a decent guy under the dark makeup and cutting sarcasm.
“No, no… Oriel, I’m fine. I’mnotclaustrophobic.” I think for a second, then add, “At least, not if I’m not already in an episode? I get panicky when closed in if I’m mid-attack. I think that’s because of the incident. But it’s okay now. You don’t make me panic.”
His brow arches. “Your pulse says differently, Kit Kat. I can feel it racing against my arm, you know.”
“Well, fuck,” I mutter. “Okay, I’m alittlenervous, but that’s not the hallway,it’s just surprises. I trust it won’t be bad in my head, but I’m working on knee-jerk reactions, as you know.”
A huge set of doors appear in front of us and he stops just before we get to them. His smile is gentle as he looks down at me. “I’m thrilled to hear that you’re just working through an involuntary reaction, not worried about me. And the trust thing is… uh, really cool.”
I watch him rub the back of his neck, waiting for him to address the ornate purple doors. When he doesn’t, I wrinkle my nose as I squint at the intricate designs on them, then turn back to ask, “Are you going to tell me what the hell these open up to? I’m dying here.”
His eyes widen, and the look on his face is priceless as he gapes at me. “You…. You can…seethem?”
Uh-oh. I get the feeling I’m not supposed to—and it’s a huge deal.
