Demons Like It Hot (Demons Unleashed #2)(18)

“Shopping problem.”

“I like to shop.”

“A lot of women enjoy shopping. I think the term is shopaholic.”

Serah snorted out a chuckle. “That’s putting it mildly. But you just put a recovering shopaholic in undiscovered territory.”

He’d been warned about her uncanny hobby of buying anything under the sun. He just never thought it would include men’s clothing. “But these clothes aren’t for you. You can’t possibly get enjoyment from that.”

“Trust me. I can.” She plopped another shirt on her mound of clothes. “I’m just amazed they have clothes big enough to fit you.”

“I don’t know whether to take that as an insult or a compliment.”

Her sapphire gaze sparkled. “Take it however you want.” With that she turned and flagged down the salesman. “We need a changing room. I hope there isn’t a limit.” She turned to Matthias and leaned in. “If there is, you can use that enrapture thing on him.”

Matthias reeled. Back in the day he’d have had no qualms about using the demonic skill that allowed him to get humans to bend to his will. But now he was a Paladin. Skills such as temptation and enrapturement could only be used when times were dire. Trying on clothes did not constitute a dire need to alter the human psyche.

“Paladins only use their demonic talents in an emergency.” He hefted the pile up. “Buying a wardrobe, although necessary, isn’t urgent.”

The salesman nodded and ambled toward them, swinging his key chain. “We normally have a limit.” He examined Matthias from head to foot. “I can make an exception for a fellow serviceman. I used to be a Marine.” He stood tall and saluted. “Semper Fi. Hooah!”

“Thank you,” he mumbled.

“You’ll have to forgive him. He’s been in the field too long. Right, Matt?”

“Something like that.”

“So what division are you?”

He did not come to this store to share war stories. And he sure as hell had stories that would curl the man’s teeth as it were. The less these humans knew, the better.

“Special Forces,” he said, his voice firm. “I can’t talk about it.”

The clerk nodded, a secretive spark in his eyes. “Oh! Off the grid. Fair enough.”

Matthias offered a stoic nod and crossed his arms. No words were necessary.

The salesman pointed toward the back of the store. “This way, please.”

“Jeez. Can you be any ruder?” Serah asked under her breath. She brushed past him, leaving the heady scent of orchids mingling with spice behind her, invading his space. That damn fragrance. It was too intoxicating. His body reacted accordingly. Muscles tensed, blood flowed. Things became hard. Too damn hard.

Serah stopped at a rack and thumbed through the garments. “Hmm.” With a curious gaze, she snatched up a pair of red-and-black polka-dot silk boxers.

Matthias blinked. Hell and damnation, no. Just the thought of her running her fingers through something worn so close to his intimate parts sent jolts of excitement pounding through his body. And he’d never worn such exquisite fabric ever. Even when he was human. He was born a commoner, after all—not a prince.

He yanked the garment from her hands and shoved it back on the rack. “I’ll choose my own undergarments, thank you.”

Rolling her eyes, she turned away and reached for something on another display table. “Fine. I should have known you’d be a tighty-whities kind of guy.” With that, she threw a plastic package of men’s briefs on top of his already overabundant stack of clothes.

Bloody hell. He couldn’t even pick out his own underwear? Then again, he didn’t know what the hell he was doing. “Those seem, umm… confining.”

“Oh, so you take this commando role seriously huh?” Serah twirled a curl around her finger. “Doesn’t surprise me one bit.”

“You aren’t surprised often, as you’re so apt to point out.” Curiosity got the best of him, and he promptly inserted foot. “Why doesn’t it surprise you?”

“Rafe’s a commando guy too. Must be a demon thing.”

Had she been intimate with Deleon? The man was attractive enough. He gritted his teeth. Fire burned inside. Not a fire of desire, but something more animalistic. Jealousy? What the hell was coming over him?

“You’ve seen Deleon naked?”

Serah’s eyes widened and her mouth gaped open, then she threw her head back in roars of laughter. “Heck no. Lucy would have my hide. We’re best friends. We do talk. Don’t you have any friends?”

“No.”

“That sucks.”

“I lived a solitary life. It’s the mercenary way. Fewer people to trust.”

Not that he hadn’t had acquaintances over the centuries, but people—including demons—changed over the years. It was better to keep his distance.

“I’m sure that isn’t the Paladin way. You’re not a mercenary anymore.”

“Part of me will always be a mercenary.” With that, he brushed past Serah—not before sneaking a pair of those silk boxers into his pile.

Tighty-whities? Not all the time.





Chapter 7


He stormed into the tiny compartment the salesman held open for him. The flimsy door crashed behind him. A grunt of frustration reverberated against the walls as hangers clanked against each other. And Serah thought Lucy was a grumpy shopper. Matthias was ten times worse—if not more.