Page 10 of Wreaking Havoc
Sascha’s stomach roiled. He held up a hand. “Please don’t say that word right now.”
“What?” Kai crossed his arms, biceps bulging, a smirk on his face. “Blood? If you mean to master me, you can’t be squeamish, pup.”
“I don’t mean to master anything!” Sascha shook his head, irritated that all his statements were coming out as screeches. “And I’m not a pup,” he said, his voice a little more even. “I’m a grown man.”
Kai looked him up and down, the act of which made Sascha terribly aware that while he may have been a respectably average five foot ten, he was a little speck compared to this massive brute, especially considering Sascha had missed quite a few days at the gym. Like, all of them. Which had never bothered him before—he was naturally thin, and he had no interest in being all muscly—but he was suddenly feeling very…inadequate.
What if this thing wanted tofighthim?
His assessment finished, Kai’s smirk only deepened. “You’re barely grown,pup. Have you even held a sword?”
Something about Kai’s piss-poor attitude had at least a bit of Sascha’s fear dissipating. Monsters were one thing, but he was no stranger to toxic masculinity. He sniffed haughtily. “I wasn’t aware that was a criterion for manhood. Where would I even find one in this day and age?”
Kai’s smirk turned into a frown. He glanced around Sascha’s living room. “What century is this?”
“Um. The twenty-first?”
“Mm.” Kai hummed thoughtfully. “I lost track, I suppose.” He caught Sascha back in that alarming gaze. “Now, about our contract.”
Sascha resisted the urge to step back. “Contract?”
Kai nodded. “You can’t summon without a contract.”
Sascha threw his hands up, giving in to the urge to screech again. “I didn’t mean to summon you in the first place!”
“You really didn’t?” Kai shook his horned head skeptically. “Well, I’m here now, aren’t I? Any enemies in need of vanquishing? Havoc in need of wreaking?”
“No, I—” Sascha paused. Truthfully, he did have enemies. Although, he wasn’t sure if throwing a gigantic, horned, supposed non-monster at them was the way to vanquish them.
He peered up at said gigantic, horned non-monster. “If you’re not a monster, what are you?”
Kai flashed a smile at him, revealing two rows of bright white, pearly,pointedteeth. “I’m a demon.”
Oh. A demon. Of course.
Sascha leaned into the wall, suddenly feeling like standing solely on the strength of his own two feet wasn’t such a good idea. “From—from hell?” he asked faintly.
“From—” Kai said a word that sounded an awful lot like “Muck-lake.” At Sascha’s confused look, he clarified, “The demon realm.”
Right, right. The demon realm. Not hell, then. That was a plus, right?
Sascha noted for the first time that Kai was standing in a circular ring, one that looked almost painted onto the floor, the same swirling blue of his tattoos. And that he hadn’t stepped outof it—not to walk toward Sascha or around the room or anything else.
Sascha peered up at him. “Am I right in thinking you can’t leave that circle?”
Kai eyed him warily. “Not until our contract is finalized.”
“Oh! I see.” Sasha nodded frantically. “Okay, cool. Perfect.”
And then Sascha did the only sensible thing he could do.
He straightened from the wall. He took a deep breath.
And he ran right the fuck out of the house.
Sascha shivered as he speed-walked,putting as much distance between himself and his cursed residence as possible. He missed having a driver at his service. And why hadn’t he thought to bring a jacket during his dramatic exit? Compared to the extra warmth Kai had brought with his arrival, it was practically the arctic outside.
He did an abrupt about-face, turning in the direction of downtown. Sascha would go to the bar, warm up, and call Ivan to get him the fuck out of here. He’d beg if he needed to.
