One Handsome Devil (13 page)

"That kind of person always finds a reason to hold on."

"I'm not a Saint, for God's sake."

Jack's eyes widened in horror and he winked from sight.

Sara sat, naked and alone on the side of the road in the middle of an Oklahoma prairie. Of course she couldn't have him forever, but she hadn't been ready for him to vanish from her life. She needed more time, more lovemaking, maybe even a few more gas finds. Still, she'd known Jack couldn't stand the ‘G’ word and she'd used it carelessly, hurtfully. She'd driven him away.

Emptiness engulfed Sara like a physical force, squeezing on her lungs until she felt she couldn't get enough air.

She sat still for a minute, waiting for something to happen, for Jack to return as a friend, or at the head of an army of demons to rip her to shreds. Only the shimmer of crickets chirping in a distant streambed marred the perfect silence.

Sara pulled a tissue from her purse, wiped a couple of tears away, and looked around her car. When Jack had been there, her nudity had been safe. Jack would have protected her from anyone who saw her and wanted to do something about it. Now, she was alone and felt more exposed than ever in her life. The drive back to Dallas would take an eternity.

She yanked up the floormats and made a crude poncho out of them using binder clips to attach them at her shoulder, huddling down as far as she could behind the steering wheel. It wasn't much, but it was all she could think of.

As she'd known it would be, the drive home was miserable. Her poncho slipped off every time she shifted, its hard rubber prongs dug into her skin, and she missed Jack.

Still, she managed to get in a little after dark and hightailed to her apartment.

"Feel the power in that Jaguar engine,” Derrick effused. “Sixteen cylinders of pure power. Costs a fortune, but trust me, it's worth it."

Katra moved Derrick's hand off her breast for the hundredth time. She'd almost taken a taxi back from Joe T. Garcia's and now she wished she had. Derrick was following the stalker pattern to the letter. He'd finished the nice guy act and was already playing possessive. Well, Katra was her own person.

Derrick slid his hand from her breast to her upper thigh. “I missed you today, baby."

"You said that.” Only about fifty times tonight. He'd miss her even more soon since Katra didn't intend to repeat this experience, ever.

"You were cute the way you walked around the school like you were some sort of queen."

Her blood froze. “You
were
there?"

He'd denied it when she'd asked casually. He'd lied.

"I wanted to see who you were working with. I don't like you having to work with a bunch of losers like that. God, do you remember how butch Lena Bovade used to be."

Stalkers tried to cut your connections with your friends. Check.

Derrick pushed the button on his CD changer and put on something sappy. “Did I ever tell you about my art collection?"

Only a thousand times, thought Katra. “I'm not that interested in art."

Her answer didn't phase Derrick at all. “You know, neither was I until I started collecting. I mean, some of those paintings look like a three year old got mad and splattered paint all over. Trust me, that doesn't float my boat."

Katra didn't want to know what floated his boat. “You'd better take me home now. I've got to be at school early tomorrow."

Derrick cackled. “That's where you're wrong, baby. I called in sick for you. We can spend as long as we want."

Her blood chilled. The minute she'd mentioned Jack the Demon in passing, the Reverend Bob had lost interest in Derrick. Yet this was exactly the type of behavior Bob had described. “I can't believe you did that."

"Don't worry, I'll make up any money you lose.” His hand wandered higher on the inside of her thigh.

She jerked at his hand but he didn't move. Unfortunately, the man was strong. Strong and scary. “I have a job and a responsibility. And get your hand off my panties."

Derrick laughed, but he didn't sound amused. “You know, baby, anyone who took a look at that dump where you live would have to agree that you've failed at your responsibilities. So maybe you'd better take the advice of someone who has actually done something with his life."

"Yeah? Well, maybe you'd better just take me to my dump and drive away.” She used both hands to force Derrick's probing fingers away from her crotch. Why hadn't she worn jeans?

"You almost sound like you're ordering me around.” He softened his voice. He'd probably seen that trick in a movie but it worked. A chill of fear ran down Katra's back.

"Look, I had a good time, but it's over.” She hurried on before he could react. “Obviously a trailer park chick like me doesn't belong in your world."

"Culture is a simple matter of training,” Derrick explained patiently. “I intend to train you."

He exited the freeway and headed north. Away from Katra's home. “Oh, and I told your mother not to wait up for you. Not that she would.” He laughed.

"What is that supposed to mean?” Katra let him leave his hand on her breast this time while she looked around for some means of escape.

"Nothing. I just gave her a little present."

Katra thought she'd been mad before. Now rage bubbled up in her. “What did you give her?"

"Nothing special. A half gallon of vodka."

"She's trying to stop drinking.” The inside door handle had been removed. She'd thought Derrick had been being a gentleman when he'd walked around to open the door for her but now she knew better.

"She can try to stop later.” Derrick squeezed down harder on her breast. Why is it that men thought of breasts as squeeze-toys?

Trying to keep her movements as inconspicuous as possible, Katra depressed on the electric window switch. Nothing. Darn.

"What do you intend to train me for?” She softened her voice, put a little throat into it.

"I thought you might like the idea. Chicks like to know who's boss."

"You mean you'd spank me?” Gag her with a spoon.

"Training has its reinforcements, yes."

"Oh, my.” She paused for a moment, then fanned herself with her hand. “I'm getting a little warm. Do you think you could open the sunroof?"

"It's dark."

"I like to see the stars."

"If you make a scene, you'll regret it."

"Why would I make a scene?"

The answer was fairly obvious but Derrick couldn't come up with it. He powered the sunroof open.

"Satisfied, baby?"

"Not completely satisfied, but it's a start."

He kneaded her breast even more roughly. “Oh, no. We haven't even started. Yet."

"I hadn't realized what a turn-on a forceful man could be.” She couldn't believe she was saying this. Of course she couldn't believe she was enduring this either.

"You do seem more responsive than some of the girls I've had."

There didn't seem to be an end to the disgusting things Derrick would come up with, but there had to be an end to this trip. Soon.

She unfastened her seatbelt.

"What are you doing?” Well, he had every right to be suspicious.

"It didn't seem fair that only one of us was getting all the attention.” She stared at his crotch.

"Oh. You're interested in a little suck?"

It probably
was
a little sucker but she wouldn't have been interested if it had been a footlong. “Do you want to unzip yourself, or should I?"

"Do it. With your teeth."

That would be the day. With all she'd spent on braces, she wouldn't even do that for a guy she liked.

"Oooh. That sounds sexy."

Derrick reclined his seat a few inches, clearing a little headroom between his lap and the steering wheel. Obviously he'd been here before.

She put one hand in his lap, the other on the arm rest and shoved hard on both, leaping to her feet.

Derrick's moan changed to a shout as she increased the pressure.

Another shove and grab and she was on top of the car out through the sunroof.

Derrick accelerated, possibly reflexively because of the pain or possibly because he wanted to knock her off. It didn't matter. She rolled off the car and kept rolling. Then she got to her feet and ran.

She was going to kill that demon.

Sara flipped through the pages of her mother's spell book, then threw the thing against the wall. It wasn't fair. The one man in the universe that was both her ideal lover and her perfect business partner was a demon who'd vanished.

After a minutes reflection, she stood, walked across her living room, and picked up the book. She was going to cast a spell. Later, she'd decide whether to lock Jack back up in Hell for good, or to try and summon him another time. Both ideas held considerable appeal.

She was in the kitchen gathering spell supplies from her spice cabinet when she heard the hammering on her door.

Jack. He'd returned. All thoughts of revenge vanished as he ran to open it before he changed his mind and disappeared again.

Her visitor was about ten inches shorter than Jack, had a lot more curves, and looked like she'd been playing demolition derby somewhere.

"Katra. What are you doing."

"Let me in, quick."

Her friend's normally sedate red hair flew out in every direction, her sexy black dress was half-torn from her chest, and blood dripped from her knees and elbows.

Katra almost pushed her aside in her hurry to come into Sara's apartment, then slammed the door behind her.

"I...” her voice broke off as Katra sobbed.

A terrifying suspicion reared in Sara's mind. She had seen Jack look at that waitress, knew of his sexual appetite. “Is Jack responsible for this?"

Katra nodded mutely.

"I can't believe it. First he wore me out and then he tries to rape my friend. I swear I'm going to yank his heart out and eat it."

"He...” another sob. “He didn't...” Katra couldn't finish.

Sara filled in for her. “He said he didn't have to create pain, that people could do it themselves. Well, I guess he was a liar after all. I didn't think he'd stoop to raping my friend."

"Did you really do him?” Katra stopped sobbing as the impact of Sara's words penetrated. “My god, how long has it been since you had a man?"

All right, so Sara wasn't the most desired commodity on the dating market. “Not as long as he said it had been for him. The rapist."

"Jack didn't do this. At least not directly."

Sara froze. “Don't try to protect him because of my feelings. Trust me, I'm over him."

"I said he was responsible, not that he did it.” Katra pointed to herself. “I did most of this myself jumping out of Derrick's car."

A chill of suspicion crept over Sara. “Derrick who?"

"You remember, Derrick Benton. He was a couple of years ahead of us in school. Cute."

"Derrick Benton was a jerk. He pulled wings off of flies and ripped pages out of library books.” That, to Sara, was one of the highest sins. “He also wasn't very nice to his girlfriends."

"I didn't know that.” Katra looked surprised that Sara knew anything about high school that she hadn't known.

"Remember when Kate Longbow was my lab partner in physics?"

"The cheerleader twit?"

"Yeah. She was smart, though. She dated him for a while. She said he tapped her phone to find out if any other guys were calling her."

"I wish I'd known that.” Katra stomped across Sara's floor and opened the refrigerator. “I'm going to open this wine."

"Pour me some too."

Katra fished out two large tumblers and filled both to the rim with Sara's cheap Zinfandel. “Derrick hasn't gotten any better. He snuck into my school to check on me and then he wouldn't take me home after dinner. I think he was planning on tying me up or something."

Sara tried not to think about what she'd done to Jack the previous evening. “Not very nice."

"Totally gross."

"But what were you doing with him and how is it Jack's fault?"

"I was with him because he was the boyfriend Jack the Demon set me up with. And when I get my hands on that man,” she paused a beat, “I mean, uh, entity, I'm going to rip off important parts of him. And don't worry, I'll leave his heart for you."

"What do you mean, he set you up?"

"You remember my three wishes."

Katra rubbed her forehead. “He told me you weren't going to be happy with them."

"Thanks for letting me know."

"We were a little distracted this morning with your car, remember."

Katra nodded, at least partially mollified. “Three wishes and what have I got. A broken down car, a winning lottery ticket that isn't worth squat, and a stalker-pervert boyfriend from planet X. I'd have to say you made the right decision not to make any wishes."

Sara felt the heat rush to her cheeks.

"What? Don't tell me you did wish."

"No. Not out loud, anyway. He just happened to fulfill my wish. Or at least I thought so."

Katra rubbed her eyes wearily. “Don't tell me you fell in love with the creep. He's spooky."

"It wasn't love.” It couldn't have been although it had felt as close as anything Sara could remember.

"So where is he?"

"I let him go."

Katra collapsed onto Sara's couch. “If I bleed on this, I'm sorry. I can't believe you let him go. Haven't you seen any movies? Don't you know he'll go through Dallas like some sort of brimstone tornado? I wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow's
Morning News
has an article about a mass famine or something."

"I think famines are always mass. Otherwise it's just someone hungry."

"Don't get picky."

Sara took a sip of her wine. Its overly-sweet flavor only reminded her of what Jack had done to the wine they'd shared yesterday. This didn't compare. “Well, he's out of our control now. Seriously, though, have you called the police about Derrick?"

Katra laughed bitterly. “Oh, yeah. He'd already reported me. Said I assaulted him on our date when he hadn't even kissed me. The worst part is, it's mostly true. But he meant what he said and he's scary."

"You know what I think?"

"I think I'm not going to like this."