I pulled open the door. Asmodeus sucked in a sharp breath and took a step back, his gaze sweeping across me. His eyes sparked as an appreciative smile lifted the corners of his lips. “You look incredible.”

“Oh.” I flushed, pressing my lips together. He didn’t look so bad himself. A dark suit hugged his muscular frame in a way that should be criminal. The color matched his dark hair and the light stubble that stretched along his cutting jawline.

“No one will question why I’m dating you, that’s a certainty,” he said with a wicked smile.

My flush deepened. I cleared my throat. I’d never had anyone compliment me like this. Did he mean it? Or was it just for show, like everything else we were doing tonight?

“You don’t have to start the fake dating just yet,” I said with a strained laugh. “It can wait until we get to the party.”

Tension bounced between us as his eyes darkened. “Right. I thought it would be a good idea to practice.”

“No need. You’ve got it down, it seems. I’m guessing you probably date a lot.” Rolling my eyes at myself, I stepped into the hallway and pulled the bedroom door shut. Why had I brought up his dating life? I didn’t need to hear about that. He might think I was interested for other reasons, and I very much wasn’t.

I did wonder though…how much did demons date?

“Well, there you’d be wrong,” he said as he led me to the penthouse door. “I don’t date. It’s one of the reasons I made this deal with you. I have no desire for an entanglement.”

An entanglement. His word choice reminded me of the angels who had asked me to spy on him. They were centuries old. Did that mean Asmodeus was, too? Obviously, he had to be. Even his name was evidence of that. So…how old were we talking about here?

I was desperate to ask him, and I hated that I couldn’t. I’d have to admit I knew what he was. And then he’d want to know how I knew. I obviously couldn’t tell him that either. Not unless I wanted to face an angry demon.

And if he really was as dangerous as they thought he was, there was no telling what he was capable of.

“Listen.” He paused at the door, bracing his hand on the wall behind my head. I swallowed hard as he leaned close and the scent of a bonfire wafted into my nose. I’d smelled that once before around him, and now I understood what it was. He was from Hell. I was smelling literal flames. “At the party, you should call me Az. Everyone close to me does. They’ll find it odd if you refer to me as Asmodeus.”