Demon Warriors 3: Rainerio (2 page)

“That depends on whether we are walking out of here or if you are using the shadows.” The warriors used shadows to get from one place to the next. Any darkened corner would do. They had brought Dillon to the demon realm through a shadow, and he had tossed his cookies afterward. He preferred to travel the normal way, using real doors.

Phoenyx chuckled. “We can walk.” He held the front door open for Dillon.

“That’s a relief. I wasn’t looking forward to hugging the toilet.”

And he really wasn’t. The whole
walk through shadows
thing made him queasy, and it wasn’t something Dillon cared to be.

His eyes widened and his heart beat faster when he spotted Rainerio leaning against the wall right outside of Kane’s apartment.

His arms were crossed over his chest, and he had a scowl on his face.

“You could let someone know when you leave.”

“I was tired of ogling you.” Dillon felt his face flush as he looked down at his shoes.
Damn mouth.

He heard Phoenyx chuckling behind him, and Dillon wanted to turn around and punch the guy. It wasn’t funny. He glanced up at Rainerio to see a thick brow arched in the air. “You still should have told someone.”

Dillon crossed his arms over his chest defiantly. “I made it across the hall without having to fight my way to Phoenyx’s door,” Dillon quipped. “Although I had a close call from the bug that crossed my path halfway through my harrowing journey.”

Dillon could hear Phoenyx laughing hysterically behind him. A hand landed on his shoulder and shook it slightly. “You’re funny as hell, little man.”

Dillon narrowed his eyes on Phoenyx. “Don’t call me that. I may not have grown to epic proportions as you obviously have, but five foot nine is an average height for a human male.”

Phoenyx’s eyes widened as he continued to laugh. “You are
not
five nine, my man. More like five six.”

“Three stinking inches, big deal.” Dillon began to walk down the steps, feeling both men staring at his back. Who cared? He was the odd man out here, and he knew it. They didn’t have to keep reminding him. He grabbed the handrail and walked down the numerous flights of steps until he came to the exit.

That was another bizarre thing. Anyone could walk out of the exit, but there was no way in. If anyone stood outside of the building, they wouldn’t see the door at the bottom of the steps. The only way in was through the shadows. Coming back was going to be fun. Dillon groaned. He had forgotten about that when he agreed to go with Phoenyx to the store.

Dillon exited out onto the street, waiting for Phoenyx to catch up.

He was surprised when he saw Rainerio exit with the warrior as well.

For someone who wouldn’t give him the time of day, Rainerio sure stayed glued to his side. This confused the hell out of Dillon. It was as if Rainerio had personally assigned himself the role of Dillon’s keeper.

Well, he didn’t need a keeper. He needed something more. Too bad Rainerio wasn’t willing to be that
more
.

“Can we stop at Jake’s Java? I’m very thirsty, and they have that new flavor out, Peach Delight,” Dillon asked as he headed toward the coffee shop without waiting for an answer. His friend Chris worked here. He liked Chris. The demon was very friendly to Dillon.

“Sure, why not,” Phoenyx said as he walked behind Dillon. Once they entered the coffee shop, Dillon hurried to the counter. Knowing Rainerio was right behind him was unnerving. He reached his right foot up and scratched his left calf as he placed his hands on the counter.

His calves itched every time he became excited or nervous. It was a strange reaction his body had since childhood. At one point, he thought he may have gotten fleas from Tulip when he met Rainerio and his calves itched every which way from Sunday.

He had tried various moisturizing lotions, but nothing seemed to help. “Hey, Chris.” Dillon smiled at the demon. “Can I try one of those peach drinks?”

“Dillon, my man.” Chris smiled at him. “Of course you can. One peach smoothie coming right up.”

Dillon tapped his fingers on the counter as he waited for his drink.

When Chris brought him a very large cup filled with a smoothie and whipped cream on top, Dillon’s eyes bugged. “That’s pretty dang big.”

Chris chuckled as he waved Dillon off. “On the house, buddy.”

“Thanks.” Dillon plucked a straw from the container on the counter and peeled away the white wrapper. That reminded him. He needed to find a job. If he was going to stay here, he needed funds.

“Are you hiring?”

Chris looked at him in surprise before a smile crossed his face.

“You’ll have to ask Jake, but I’ll put in a good word for you.”

“Who’s Jake?” Dillon asked, and Chris pointed to a very handsome man talking with a customer. “Is every man drop-dead gorgeous here?”

“Thanks, I didn’t know you found me hot.” Chris giggled.

Dillon rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“Most of the men are, but don’t tell Hondo I said that.” Chris winked at Dillon before starting another order.

Dillon sucked on his smoothie as he walked over to the proprietor of Jake’s Java. “Excuse me, are you hiring?”

The man stopped talking to the guy standing next to him and glanced down at Dillon. “Have you worked in a coffeehouse before?” he asked.

No. Dillon had worked in a boring cubicle before, and he never wanted to go that route again. “I’m a fast learner.” He beamed up at Jake. “And Chris is my friend.” Dillon pointed over to Chris, who gave Jake two thumbs up.

Jake looked hesitant as his eyes swung from Chris to Dillon. “I’ll give you a try. Why don’t you come in tomorrow morning at eight? We’ll see how things work out from there.”

Yes! Dillon began to dance around. Jake stared at him with a bewildered expression on his face.

“It’s called a happy dance.” Dillon giggled and then sucked on his smoothie.

Jake chuckled, his eyes lighting up as he stared at Dillon. “I’m aware of what it’s called.”

Dillon heard a low growl behind him. He spun around to see Rainerio staring daggers at Jake. This was interesting.

He ignored Rainerio as he reached his hand out and shook Jake’s.

“Thank you for giving me a chance. You won’t regret it. I hope.” He winced at his honest tongue and then hurriedly walked away before he could say something else stupid.

“I got a job,” he said excitedly to Phoenyx as he raised his arms into the air and did his dance once more.

“Good for you. Do I get free drinks now?” Phoenyx asked as he opened the shop door for Dillon.

He snorted as he pointed a finger at Phoenyx from the same hand that was holding his drink. “Let me get in good with the boss first before you show up wanting anything free.”

Rainerio growled again, but Dillon ignored him. Why should he care? It wasn’t like Rainerio showed the least bit interest in him. He sucked on his smoothie as he followed the warriors to the grocery store. He was in heaven thinking about his new job when someone grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks. “Hey,” he shouted.

“You’re human.” The man sneered at him as his grip tightened.

“And you’re an ass. Now let me go.” He tugged, but the man held firmly onto him.

“I’d let him go if I were you.” Rainerio’s face was pulled back in raw anger as he stalked back toward Dillon.

Dillon was transfixed by Rainerio’s expression. It was powerful and frightening. Hell, he wanted to let the man go who held
him
. It was that damn scary.

The man hesitated for a split second before common sense prevailed, and he released Dillon. “I wasn’t aware he was
with
you.”

“He’s not
with
me,” Rainerio snarled. “That doesn’t mean I will let you go around grabbing people.”

Dillon’s heart sank. If he had just one thread of hope of being with Rainerio, the warrior had just cut the string. He openly rejected Dillon, letting everyone in earshot know that Rainerio didn’t want him.

Dillon tossed his smoothie into the nearest trashcan and walked away, heading right into the store. He was humiliated and hurt. All the times he had thrown himself at Rainerio came flooding back to him.

Dillon wanted to crawl under a rock from the embarrassing way he had displayed his attraction to the warrior.

“Wait up, buddy.” Phoenyx caught up with him.

Dillon shoved his hands in his pocket as he began to walk down the aisles aimlessly. “Don’t you have shopping to do?” He wanted to be alone, lick his wounds in private. He felt the tears prickling at his eyes but refused to allow them to fall.

Phoenyx snagged a loaf of bread from the shelf. “Done, now let’s get you home.”

Dillon knew that all the warriors were aware of how he felt about Rainerio. Phoenyx must be feeling sorry for him, and that was the last thing he wanted. Pity was something Dillon hated. “Do your shopping. I’m fine.”

Phoenyx grabbed a few more things and then insisted he was finished. Dillon shrugged, feeling indifferent about the whole situation. He was tired of throwing himself at a man that didn’t want him. So what did it matter?

He could feel Phoenyx watching him. He knew he was being a big sourpuss right now. Dillon had just been ecstatic about his new job only to have his euphoric bubble burst by Rainerio’s denial. It had hurt more than he cared to admit.

“Is there anything you need or want while we are here?” Phoenyx asked as they walked down the aisle.

Dillon shook his head. “Nothing that I can think of. Kane pretty much bought me all the things I would need.” He had everything at home as well in the human realm, but no one would let him go back and retrieve anything.

“Then I guess we are officially finished here.” Phoenyx paid for his items as Dillon headed for the door. Rainerio was standing there as if he were guarding it. Dillon got a devilish idea and walked back over to Phoenyx.

“There is one thing I do need.” He picked the item up and placed it on the conveyor belt. Phoenyx raised a brow, but Dillon ignored him. He plucked the item up once it was scanned and headed back toward the door, Rainerio watching his every move.

“Here you go, big boy. We’re going to need these once you get your head out of your ass.” Dillon dropped the box of condoms into Rainerio’s hand as he walked out of the store. He giggled once he was out of earshot. Rainerio may have publically denied him, but Dillon wasn’t giving up. It had thrown him for a loop, but he was back on track now.

Nothing was going to deter him from getting the man he wanted.

Not even Rainerio himself.

The warrior was going down. Dirty images plagued Dillon’s mind at that thought. God, he hoped Rainerio would go down. It would be such a tragic waste to not have those kissable lips wrapped around his cock.

That image lead to another as his hole clenched at the thought of having Rainerio fuck him senseless. It had been too long, and Dillon was going out of his mind with want. If Rainerio didn’t get his act together soon, Dillon’s cock would fall off from so many jack-off sessions. It wasn’t working anymore. He needed a rock-hard cock to play with—that wasn’t his.

Dillon cursed when he realized he needed a warrior to get back into the building. So much for his dramatic exit.

He waited a block over as Phoenyx and Rainerio caught up to him. Rainerio was staring at him strangely, but the box of condoms wasn’t in his hand.
Oh well, can’t blame a guy for trying.

He glanced up at Phoenyx and saw a smile tugging at the guy’s lips. So he had seen what Dillon had done. Good. Maybe that would make Rainerio take notice and do something about it. His balls were going to fall off it he didn’t get some of that hot-ass warrior soon.

Dillon groaned. Why was he acting like a sex-starved pervert all of the sudden? That wasn’t him, and that wasn’t who he was. Rainerio was driving him mad. Dillon turned onto King Kennedy and headed for the apartment building.

It was dark out, but it was always dark out here. The sun never came out in the demon realm. That didn’t bother Dillon. He was one of those rare humans who actually liked the nighttime. If he didn’t hate the damn cold so much, he would have moved to Alaska where it was dark all the time, or mostly. He had heard somewhere that it was.

“Are you ready to go through the shadow?” Phoenyx asked as he held his hand out.

“Hell no. I need to get some of those queasy pills to take whenever I have to.” Dillon raised his hand to take Phoenyx’s when Rainerio inserted his hand in between, grabbing Dillon’s tightly.

Well, well, well, maybe the condom trick really did work.

Dillon began to dance around. “Happy dance.” He beamed up at Rainerio when the warrior quirked a brow. “I knew you would come around.”

Rainerio snorted as they walked to the side of the building. Dillon smashed his eyes closed as the familiar feeling of wanting to vomit overtook him. There had to be a better way. His free hand clamped onto Rainerio as dizziness swamped him.

“You’ll get used to it over time,” Phoenyx informed him as he set the grocery bags onto the countertop.

Dillon hated to let Rainerio’s hand go. It was large, warm, and felt oh so good wrapped around his. Rainerio tugged, and then tugged again, trying his best to extract his hand.

“But I don’t want to.” Dillon pouted but released him.

“Spoilsport.” He grabbed a few boxes and helped Phoenyx put his groceries away. Dillon had to use a stool to reach the cupboard, but at the moment, he didn’t care.

“Can I speak with you out in the hallway?” Rainerio asked Dillon.

“You can do more than speak with me.” He sat the box down and looked over at Phoenyx. “I’m going to follow him and see if I can’t get laid. Sorry to run.”

Phoenyx shook his head as he waved Dillon off. “Good luck with that.”

Dillon walked around the large island and happily followed Rainerio out of the door. As soon as Rainerio shut it, he had Dillon against the wall. Rainerio grabbed Dillon’s wrists, pinning them to the wall behind him as Rainerio inserted his leg between Dillon’s thighs, making his eyes roll back from the pure pleasure he was experiencing.

Rainerio leaned close and growled into Dillon’s ear. “I don’t know what you are up to, but you are playing with fire, human.”