Carnal (Her Dark Desires #1) (3 page)

I
could hear the theme music for
Mission Impossible
playing in my head as
I sneaked through the empty lobby and made for the stairs. Being the sole
reason I’d worn ballet flats instead of heels, I climbed the stairwell to avoid
notice, particularly by one devilishly sexy warlock that served as the Boss from
Hell. If I was lucky, I could creep over to my cubicle and avoid notice.

Ten
stories later, I was out of breath and my side hurt as I emerged into a narrow
hallway that led to the breakroom. From there, I’d slip through another door
and climb the last story to the beehive, or “hot pink cubicle land,” as I liked
to call it.

Times
like this, I wished I could just call in sick.
If only paranormals got sick
,
I thought wryly as I scampered through the desolate breakroom and into the last
stairwell. When I reached the top of the stairs, I poked my head out and looked
both directions. Good. It was a ghost town.

Deciding
to get going while the going was clear, I glided along the wall toward my
cubicle at the center of the room.

Almost
there.

Rounding
the corner, I shrieked as someone whirled around in my chair with a perky, “Oh
good! You’re here early!”

“Gah!”
I clutched at my chest, eyeing the startled, elderly secretary with
bewilderment. “Edith, what are you doing in my chair?”

She
adjusted her glasses, that cheery smile returning to her face. I never
understood old people being so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at such an ungodly
hour. “Why, waiting on you of course.”

“Whatever
for?” I asked cautiously.

“Oh!
Mr. Hex wants to see you, straight away. He said it was of the ‘utmost
importance’.”

My
heart dropped into my stomach. Well, there went my Operation Avoid Satan
mission. “I’ll be right there,” I mumbled, and dragged my feet to the elevator,
taking it up to the top floor, where Elias’s man cave/office was located.

I
cursed my stupidity. What was I thinking? Of course there was no way to avoid
him, because he’d be coming in early for the next few weeks. After all, his
negotiations with a big sex toy company was coming to a close.

Sighing,
I stepped off the elevator.

I
swore the colors turned grayer the closer I got.
This is it. He’s going to
fire me, I just know it.
Maybe he would grant me the mercy of allowing me
to keep my autographed Hector Aurelius calendar. It was like the ones
Chippendales sold, only better, since it was nothing but near nude pictures of
my crush.

Vixens
was owned by the Brothers Hex - or as the ladies called them, “The Brothers
Hot” - and Elias, the youngest warlock of the Hex clan, was in charge of the
whole operation. Being the rogue Red Warlock in the family earned him a quirky
job, I supposed. Male warlocks with a gift for fire
and
love potions was
a rarity in the witching world. Gruff as he seemed, I knew he enjoyed it. I saw
that exited sparkle in his eyes at company meetings whenever he’d bring up a
new product. Plus, he was so damn sexy.

And
scary as hell.

I
gulped as I stopped by the secretary’s desk. She waved me through, and I
hesitated in front of the big wooden door to Elias’s office. Not wanting to be
a complete chicken, I raised my hand and knocked.

“Come
in,” called out a deep, irritable voice.

I
cringed.
Down the rabbit hole we go.

Opening
up the door, I walked inside. The air smelled of leather and vanilla, a scent
that seemed to tag along with Elias wherever he went. Fine leather furniture
sat about the room, which had an electric fireplace in one corner, a large
mahogany desk in another, and tall windows taking up almost an entire wall.

Elias
was tall, with dark auburn hair and olive-colored skin. Add to that his broad
shoulders and glistening ice-blue eyes, and he was a real heart-stopper.

Too
bad he was such an asshole.

“You’re
late,” he remarked from behind his desk. He kept scribbling, not bothering to
look up from his paperwork.

I
glanced at my watch. “It’s not even eight.”

“And
I said I wanted you here by seven today to file away those order forms from
last week.”

I
nearly slapped my palm over my forehead. Crap. Being nearly eaten by a starving
vampire and saved by someone I was pretty sure was a psychopath had proved to
be pretty big distractions.

“Sorry,
my alarm never went off,” I lied smoothly.

“Bullshit,”
he said, setting his pen down and leaning back in his chair to look at me.
“You’ve been avoiding me since you walked through the door.”

I
cringed, eyeing the scrying mirror beside his desk. It looked like something
out of a
Dracula
film. It was “better than any fancy camera equipment or
security system,” of which the building had ample supplies, because the mirror
allowed him to find someone no matter where they were. It didn’t matter how
sneaky you were, so long as he was thinking of you. I don’t know what madness
made me think I could escape its notice. Desperation?

He
crossed his arms and arched a brow, as if daring me to deny it.

Damn,
that sports jacket looks good on him. Er, focus, Sally!

“I…”
My shoulders hung. “It’s been a rough week.”

“Tell
me about it,” he said dryly, waggling a stack of papers at me. “These are the
most pitiful surveys I’ve gotten in yet. All well below the unsatisfactory
range, as thoroughly commented on by your clientele. I’ve had to send backup succubi
in just to cleanup your messes so we don’t start developing a bad reputation.”

“Oh,
come on. I can’t be that bad.”

He
stared blankly at me.

I
sighed. “Crap!”

“‘Crap’
is right,” Elias said, getting up and going to the window. Sunlight spilled
onto his face, picking up the threads of scarlet in his hair. How could
something so nice to look at be such a party-pooper?

“Your
ineptness at seduction,” he began. “It doesn’t have to do with what happened in
your human life, does it? The night you became mine?”

My
throat went dry and a sliver of fear crawled into my chest. “No,” I rasped,
swallowing my nerves as I forced that memory - or rather,
nightmare
-
back down from the hellhole it came. “No, of course not. I’m over it.”

“I
beg to differ,” he muttered. He sighed and ran a hand over his face.

I
held my breath. This was it. He was firing me for sure. Oh, God, what was I
going to do? I wouldn’t be able to find work. I’d lose my friends, my income. I
was just starting to fit in, too. I hadn’t been a succubus long, a mere six
months. I was the baby of my demented little demon family. Not to mention if I
was exiled, I’d be shunned by the whole Underworld, an embarrassment to our
kind.

I’d
lose my identity. Being a succubus was what I was. What else - who else - could
I be?

When
Elias didn’t speak for a long while, I began to grow antsy. I chewed on my lip
and tapped my foot.
Oh, for crying out loud! What kind of a douche likes to
draw out the tension? Bet the bastard is enjoying watching me squirm.

About
on the verge of telling him to spit it out already, he spoke in grave tones.

“I’ve
given a lot of thought to this, Sally. But at the rate you’re going, you’ve
left me no choice.”

I
froze. No. No, anything but-

“I’m
afraid there’s nothing left to do but send you to Elysian for reformation.”

I
let my breath out in one whoosh. So not as bad as I was thinking.

He
eyed me with hawk-like scrutiny. “Unless, of course, that’s too subtle a
punishment?”

“No!”
I said at once. “No, I’m so grateful you’re not firing me.”

Being
a subpar succubus, the laughingstock of the succubi community, would damn me
for sure. At least this way, I had a chance to prove myself, to turn things
around before I was completely toast.

It
felt like a frickin’ miracle.

I
don’t know what possessed me to do it, but I actually went over to Elias and
hugged
him
.

He
went stiff at my touch. “Thank you so much!” I gushed. “You have no idea how
much this means to me! Really, I’ll make you proud!”

“I’m
sure you will,” he gritted out. “Now please, get off of me before I really
decide to fire you.”

“Oh.”
I let go and backed up, close to tears I was so happy. “When do I leave?”

“Day
after tomorrow.” Elias sat back down and proceeded to type on his swanky
computer. “Edith will inform you of the details of your transfer.”

When
he didn’t speak after that, I assumed that meant I was dismissed. Typical Elias
fashion, to not say goodbye.

I
didn’t care if he’d cussed me up one way and down another. I wasn’t getting
fired!

I
almost did a little dance out of his office when his warning stopped me cold.

“Let
me make it crystal clear this is your last chance,” he said. “Any screwups and
I shall show you no mercy.”

It
took a moment to find my voice. “I understand, sir. And I am grateful for this
opportunity. Thank you again.”

I
left, feeling shaken and drunk from adrenaline.

But
mostly, I felt excited.

Really,
really excited.

With
my thoughts consumed by what the future would bring, I boarded the elevator and
nibbled on my lip. If there was a way to screw something up, I usually could.
Clumsiness spilled over into other areas of my life. Could I really pull myself
together to convince the people at Elysian I had what it takes to be a kickass
succubus?

I
was so distracted I didn’t hear the screaming until the elevator stopped a few
floors early, and the doors opened. Sound rushed in, slamming into me with the
force of a freight train. I blinked, startled at the chaos before me.

Women
were everywhere, but I couldn’t quite make out the tall figure walking toward
me because the women’s flailing arms obscured the man’s identity. Plus, he had
his back turned to me.

“Please
give me an autograph!”

“Sign
my breasts!”

“Can
I have your little demon babies?”

What
the hell?
Not
wanting to be trampled by fangirls, I debated on making a run for it when the
stranger broke free of the crowd and slipped through the elevator doors right
as they were starting to close.

He
leaned against the wall and let out a breath. “Whew. Your timing was perfect.
Thanks, love.”

My
jaw nearly hit the floor as I looked over my new companion.

It
can’t be
,
my brain argued, on the verge of a meltdown.
No way could I get this lucky.

He
was without a doubt the most perfect man I’d ever seen. At nearly six foot
five, he towered over me easily. With long, dark wavy hair that hung around his
face in a flyaway look, and an open button-down shirt that showed off his
impressive, tanned chest, Hector Aurelius was as gorgeous as gorgeous came.

And
way out of my league.

He
leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. “Ah. The silence is so nice.”

I
blubbered for something to say. “I… that is…”

Hector’s
eyes opened and he looked at me, like,
really
looked at me. A weird
expression came over his face as his eyes glided over me, taking in every inch
of my body before arriving back at my face. He looked… surprised.

The
air thinned. Or maybe that was because I was about one gasp away from
hyperventilating.

Shaking
his head, the most endearing smile came over his face. “Hi,” he said, stepping
forward with his hand outstretched. “I’m Hector Aurelius. And you are…?”

Coming
to my senses, I took his hand. “Sally. Sally Sanders.”

The
moment our hands touched, a warm tingle went through me that had nothing to do
with static electricity. It wriggled down my arm, then to my chest, and I felt
a weird tug toward Hector, like his touch was familiar somehow.

Hector
must have felt it too, because his grip tightened slightly. “Um,” he said,
finally letting go and shaking his hand out. “Nice to meet you, Sally. You work
here?”

“Yeah,”
I said, feeling a little dazed from whatever it was that had passed between us.
Weird
. “I do. Succubus by night, cubicle bitch by day.”

Hector
laughed outright. “I sure don’t miss those days. I don’t know how much longer I
would have been able to hold out doing phone sex jobs for horny eighty-year-old
men if I hadn’t been promoted to full-time Incubus.”

“You
were a phone sex operator?”

“Don’t
look so surprised,” he said wryly. “Us Incubi have to start somewhere too. It’s
not restricted to just you fine women. I’ve been everything from a model to a
sex toy salesman.”