EIGHT

Elodie

"So, listen," Azeroth leans back in his seat until my chair creaks, arms behind his head. "I don't want to make this weird or anything, but we're staying at my place. I have better... everything."

I look around my apartment, seeing it as he might be seeing it. I mean, the guy's a millionaire. Or maybe a billionaire. I'm actually not sure how much of the wealth he splashes around financing other people's bright ideas is his, and how much is company money or loans. Even so.

I've been slightly better this week, but the place is still a mess. Or it was. He's done a miracle cleaning it up while I was sleeping!

Living by myself cleaning feels sort of pointless. Or maybe that's just the funk I've gotten myself into. I grimace. "I'm not normally this much of a slob."

Azeroth looks skeptical and I don't blame him. "I have a Jacuzzi tub. And a cinema room. Come on. Why slum it?"

I take exception to the term slum, but I see his point.

"Oh, right. Because you can't leave until..."

"You're satisfied," he says quickly.

"Right." I swallow. It's starting to sink in just what I've gotten myself in for. I've never been the sort to date or flirt at work. I've never even thought about my boss that way before. But now he's sitting in my kitchen shirtless... well it almost seems like a shame to let him cover up those abs.

I might have bitten off more than I can chew.

I'd like to bite those abs...

I force myself to look away and take a sip of orange juice to cover up the fact I've been ogling him. "You'd let me stay at your place?"

"I'm sure as hell not staying here."

I have to laugh at how blunt he is. Maybe it's the non-human thing. "OK, no need to rub it in. I'll pack a bag."

"Please do."

What's the harm, I guess? This whole situation is pretty messed up. Wherever we stay we're probably violating some code of professional conduct. I've never been to a billionaire's place before. I wonder what it's like.

Azeroth's penthouse is absolutely stunning. I mean it's a bit ostentatious. For a start the view is nearly three sixty. I guess it is, if you go into the bedrooms. The grand room has an enormous fireplace and a grand piano, which is dwarfed by the huge open space. The chandelier must be custom-made. It juts out at all angles, spokes on angular metal beams somehow coming together with an elegant vibe that's more than the sum of their parts.

I'm still staring up at it when Azeroth speaks. "Think you could put up with it for a while?"

I look around to see he's smirking at me. Of course he is. He already knows my answer. "Wow." I drop my tiny bag on the tiled floor and try to take it all in. "Just wow."

"Pretty good, huh?"

"I just wanna say I'm sorry about my couch." Standing here, I'm no longer taking issue with the term slumming it. I now feel bad he even saw the inside of my home.

Azeroth shudders dramatically. "Let's never speak of it again."

I laugh.

I wander to the piano and skim my fingertips over the keys.

"Do you play?" When I turn, Azeroth is standing closer than I expected. He must have crept up silently behind me. Surprisingly, I don't feel like stepping away. Quite the opposite. I force myself to look away when awareness of his big body next to mine makes me want to step closer. Doesn't help that he still hasn't put a shirt on. "No. Not for years. I used to."

"That's a shame. I don't either, but the piano looks good here, wouldn't you agree?"

This strikes me as funny. "You own a piano you can't play?"

He shrugs. "One of many things I always meant to do, but haven't got around to yet. Can I get you a drink?"

I narrow my eyes. "What's the catch? Do I have to stay half the year with you in hell if I accept?"

"I should be so lucky." He's already striding to the kitchen and opening the fridge. "Come on. Let me get you something. What do you drink? Apart from gin."

I grimace and my head throbs a little with memories of last night. "Ah, That's OK. I think I'd better not. Are you sure it's OK for me to stay here? It's not weird?"

"Only if it's weird for you."

He's still topless. I still haven't stopped noticing. I'm not sure I ever would. His tight dark nipples look firm on the rounded swell of his pecs. There are deep red swirling patterns on his skin that I can only see when he moves a certain way.

Oh it's weird to stay here alright. But only because of all the things suddenly going through my head. Like licking the tip of my tongue across a firm flat nipple, or finding out if his skin is as hot to the touch as it looks.

I still haven't answered him. "No. Not at all. Nothing weird about this." Nothing weird about the fact I'm moving in with my monster boss less than twenty-four hours after summoning him into my kitchen in my underwear to help me get revenge on my cheating ex-boyfriend.

"Good." After a pause, Azeroth bends and picks up my bag. "Let me show you to the guest room."

After today, I'm going to tear the page with ‘weird' out of the dictionary and write my own entry.

Azeroth showers while I unpack. His guest room is almost as large as my whole apartment and unpacking the few things I brought with me takes just a few seconds.

Then we sit at his kitchen counter, or I do. He paces the kitchen, interviewing me about my previous relationship.

"So you broke up with him when you found out he was cheating?"

I look down at my hands clasped on the marble counter. "No. He asked me to move out, and I begged him to let me stay. Then told me he had another girlfriend."

Azeroth is so deadly silent that I look up to find him glaring.

OK, yeah, I'm not proud of that. And under his scrutiny, I feel about a hundred times worse. I'm sure anyone with any backbone would have told Dustin where to go ages ago.

Azeroth shakes himself. "How long were you together?"

"A couple years." More like five, but who's counting?

OK, me. Every year he didn't propose.

Azeroth makes a little growling noise low in his throat. "What else? Was this piece of pond scum good to you when you were together, at least?"

I consider. Dustin was my first real boyfriend. I was always much too busy in school with friends and extracurriculars for a proper relationship. So I don't really have anything to compare him to except my unreasonable expectations. "I guess."

"Well, did he take you out? Did he buy you gifts?"

"If I organized it." That sounds bad. I was happy with Dustin.

Azeroth is giving me a scrutinizing look. "What does this guy have to offer? Was he at least a good fuck?" He holds up his hand. "You don't have to answer that. Forgive me. I'm doing my best here to understand why you regret him breaking up with you at all. Seems like he did you a favor."

I clench my fingers more tightly, knuckles going white, while I force down the rising ache in my throat. It's not that I think he's wrong. It's that I feel so stupid for not seeing it until recently. Why did I let Dustin treat me so badly? What's wrong with me that I'm still cut up about losing him?

"Hey." Azeroth's voice is softer now. I look up to find him leaning over the counter opposite, dark brows knit into an expression of concern. "Don't beat yourself up for not being an asshole. The world would be a better place if there were more people like you in it."

I scoff. "Sure. People would be summoning demons left, right, and center."

He chuckles. "It would keep me busy, I'll admit."

I don't know what to say next. It feels like we skipped the small talk phase of getting to know each other and jumped right into intimacy. I really hope I'm not imposing.

Azeroth sighs. "I think this calls for ice cream and girlie films doesn't it? Let me get you the remote."

I smile. He's so sweet. Hard to remember he's a demon when he's acting like the fluffiest cinnamon roll ever. "So there's no Mrs. Azeroth?"

He laughs. "No. Demons don't fall in love. Far too selfish."

I study him as he fetches the remote control for the enormous flat screen TV that emerges from a concealed panel in the wall with the touch of a button.

I'm not convinced he's being completely honest. Perhaps he doesn't realize how thoughtful and kind he's been to me ever since I summoned him, but I can't help noticing. I keep right on noticing when he lets me choose the movie and sets me up on the sofa with a hot cup of tea and promises to order in frozen yogurt. I should probably be thinking about how to take revenge on Dustin. After all, I'm sure Azeroth wants me out of his hair as soon as possible, despite how patient he's being with me.

Only, it's pretty darn comfortable here in Azeroth's fancy apartment on his huge soft sofa watching his giant TV. Would it be so bad to take a little longer than necessary to think about how to make Dustin suffer and enjoy it? Just for a few days.

Yes, Elodie. The answer is yes.