Lila couldn’t keep the smile from forming on her lips. “Better than good.” She shivered at the memory of Arien’s touch. “He’s amazing. I’ve never come like that before.”
“I’m so happy for you,” Angie said, and gave Lila a quick hug. “Does he make you happy?”
“Yeah,” Lila said softly. “Yeah, he does.”
“Then why won’t you let yourself love him?”
“Because what if he doesn’t love me?” she asked, voicing the fear she had desperately tried to keep buried. “What am I supposed to do then?”
“Oh honey, how could he not?” Angie said.
“He thinks I’m his Master,” Lila said.
“That’s sooooo hot. Does he take commands well?”
“Actually no, but that’s not the point,” Lila said. She shook her head violently. “This is madness. Love? Come on. This is stupid. I’m being stupid.”
“All right,” Angie said carefully. “You just met him. Fine. But, Lila, do me a favor? Just…keep yourself open, okay? Wait and see what happens. And for once, let yourself
feel
. I know you hate to do that, but maybe it’s time you started. The worst thing that could happen is that he’ll break your heart, and while that’s tragic, it’s not going to kill you. But think, Lila, think of how wonderful it could be if he didn’t.”
Lila opened her mouth, her head shaking in negation of everything Angie said, but her friend held up her hand, halting Lila’s words.
“Okay, look, here’s the deal. You’ve got a gorgeous man out there who looks at you like you were Aphrodite herself. Don’t waste your time with him being afraid of what might be. Just go with it, all right?”
“Since when are you a romantic?” Lila asked.
“A romantic, huh?” Angie said, her voice contemplative. “Who would have guessed?” She smiled. “Maybe the magazine has done something to my brain.” Turning serious once again, she met Lila’s eyes and held her gaze. “Will you at least try?”
Lila let out a long breath and closed her eyes. Maybe Angie was right. Maybe it was worth the chance. The risk. “All right,” she said finally.
“Good. Now that that’s settled, let’s get back out there,” Angie said, taking Lila’s hand. “I have to ask your demon if he has any friends he’d like to introduce me to.”
“What about Dyne?” Lila asked.
“Please,” Angie said with a toss of her head. “He’s nice for a night, but he’s hardly a demon lover. Now
that
is something I’d very much like to check out.”
Lila could only shake her head and laugh as she followed Angie out of the bathroom.
* * * * *
“What are you doing here, Dyne?” Arien asked as soon as the women departed.
“You’re in trouble, Arien,” the former Cherub said.
“Am I?”
“They’re after you. I got word right before I left. Everyone did.”
“So?” Arien asked, folding his arms across his chest.
“You needn’t worry about me,” Dyne said with a vicious smile. “I’ll not interfere. This is far too entertaining.” His face turned thoughtful. “Though I would like to know why you did it. Why bother answering a call outside our authority when so many weak and corruptible hearts beg for our aid? Was it the challenge that appealed to you? You always were too brash for your own good.”
“You still haven’t said what you’re doing here,” Arien said. Even if he wanted to, which he didn’t, there was no way for him to put into words how much her call had affected him. How he couldn’t have refused the sound of her voice even if he had known what it was she was asking for.
“This one,” Dyne said, indicating the body he was currently occupying, “wanted much but lacked the strength to take it. I was only too happy to be of assistance.”
“I don’t think that woman you’re with will bend easily,” Arien said. “I would not include her in my plans if I were you.”
“She is merely the proverbial icing on the cake,” Dyne said. “Her friend, on the other hand, holds much power.” He favored Arien with a sly grin. “Power enough to summon a demon, I’d wager.”
“You stay away from her,” Arien growled.
“You care for her,” Dyne said, his eyes widening right along with his smile.
“Don’t make me repeat myself, Dyne.”
The other demon laughed. “I don’t fear you, Arien.”
“You should.”
The two men stared at each other, locked in a silent battle of wills. Finally, Dyne looked away. “Choose your path wisely, my friend,” he said. “Don’t throw away your position in hell for something fleeting.” His glance shifted toward the restrooms. “Humans are only entertaining for so long.”
“If I wanted your advice, I would have asked for it,” Arien said though gritted teeth.
“You truly do care for her,” Dyne said, and then laughed maliciously. “Oh Arien, you have sealed your own fate. There isn’t a pit of hell deep enough for you now. When they come for you, they’ll make her pay as well.”
“I won’t let that happen.”
“I don’t see how you’ll have any choice,” Dyne said.
“I’ll do what I must,” Arien said. He would not see her harmed. Especially not on his behalf. He only hoped his feelings for her weren’t as transparent to whoever came for him as they seemed to be to Dyne.
“How does it feel, Arien?” Dyne asked. “How does it feel to be a participant rather than the hand in the shadows, scheming and manipulating? How does it feel to reap the rewards of what you once orchestrated?”
“I never knew,” Arien said softly. “But I think I finally understand why you all did it.” He noticed the bathroom door open and his eyes locked on Lila as she and her friend emerged. The craving, the need, the fierce desire to protect her above all else welled within him at the sight of her. “I won’t leave her, Dyne,” Arien said, resigning himself to whatever consequences may come. “I won’t go back.”
“As you said, you’ll do what you must. But be careful, Arien. Her devotion may not mirror your own.”
Arien regarded the other demon silently. Dyne would know. After all, the object of his desire had ended up refusing him, damning him without ever having known the comfort of her touch. Was this pity he felt? The emotion was so strong, so foreign, he needed to put a name to it. Empathy, perhaps? He didn’t know. He tried to imagine what Dyne must have faced when she rejected him. The pain was immediate. Biting. Immense. He didn’t know how Dyne had survived it. He didn’t know if he could if it came to that. “How did you ever overcome the pain?”
Dyne let out a harsh laugh. “Who says I have?”
The women were close now and the demons stepped away from one another, ending their conversation.
“Come on, gentlemen,” Angie said. “I’m feeling frisky tonight. Let’s get out on the dance floor and show these posers how it’s done.”
His Lila smiled up at him, a wide, beautiful grin and wrapped her arm around his. He raised his eyebrow to her, silently asking if this was what she wanted to do. She nodded and he inclined his head to her in acquiescence. Her soft body pressed against him, and while he reveled in her warmth, the conversation continued to gnaw at him, haunting his thoughts.
“Who says I have?”
Dyne had said, and the pain in the other demon’s eyes, the deep, burning, unquenchable longing, spoke louder than any words ever could.
Chapter Nine
“So,” Arien said as they entered her loft. “I’ve been thinking…” He embraced her from behind, his arms tight around her waist. “All night,” he said, and kissed the back of her neck. “About those ‘plans’ you mentioned earlier.”
He shifted his hips and she could feel his erection pressing into her. Smiling to herself, she pushed back against him, making him emit a low moan. “All night, huh?” she asked. “That’s an awful lot of thinking.”
He rocked her slowly in his arms, a gentle side-to-side sway. “Yes, it was.”
She spun around, stood on her tiptoes and threw her arms around his neck. “Well, I think I’m going to make you prove just how long you can really last.” She smiled up at him. “What do you think of that?”
Chuckling, he rubbed his nose against hers and slid his hands down her back until he was cupping her bottom. “I think you’re a very naughty girl,” he said, and gave her ass a loud smack.
“Hey!” she said, trying for indignation, but her wild giggles ruined the effect. She pressed her hips hard against his and wriggled slightly, extremely pleased when she heard him suck in a sharp breath. “I guess I’m in pretty good company then.”
“The very best.” A wicked grin curved his lips as he focused in on something behind her. She turned her head to see what it was and he let go of her. He walked across the loft, stopping before the floor-to-ceiling windows, and opened the curtains wide. He looked back over his shoulder at her and held out his hand.
Curious, she took his hand and he pulled her into his arms. He turned her around so that they were both facing the window. The darkness in the loft contrasted with the lights outside, making their reflections sharp and clear. He swept her hair aside and kissed the spot where her shoulder met her neck. “I think,” he said, meeting her eyes in the reflection, “I want to watch you watch me while I show you exactly how long I can last.”
“No way,” she said, spinning around to face him. “We can’t do this.”
“Why not?” he asked, and nipped her earlobe. “Are you afraid?”
She bristled at his taunt. “I’m not afraid.”
“No?” he asked, one eyebrow raised.
“It’s just…” She looked down and out the window, but as far as she could tell, there was no one on the streets below. “Someone might see.”
“You’re right. Someone might,” he said, and then his mouth met hers, his tongue darting in and out of her mouth, his hands slowly raising her knee-length skirt. Unable to help herself, Lila surrendered her weight to him and lost herself in his kiss. He pulled back after a time, his hands high on her thighs, and leaned to the side to glance at their reflection. He shifted his gaze back to her and lowered his lips close to hers, a wide and devious smile on his handsome face. “What will you do?” he asked, his hands moving beneath her skirt until his fingertips brushed the edge of her panties.
Lila was torn. She wanted him—God, how she wanted him!—but there were literally hundreds of people in the immediate vicinity. Any one of them could step out at any time and see them. “Can’t you do some magic power thingy to make sure no one sees us?”
Arien laughed. “I could,” he said. “But where’s the fun in that?”
Her eyes roved over him, the moonlight accentuating the hard plains of his face, and the demanding pulse low in her belly rocketed up a notch. This was dangerous. It was irresponsible. It was…wildly exciting.
He moved forward, pressing her back against the glass, and rested his forearm against the window over her head. The heat of him, his hard, lean body surrounding her, melted the last of her resistance. His smile said he knew it too. He reached out and ran the back of his hand over her cheek, and while his touch was gentle, the action itself was outrageously possessive.
“You are too much,” she said, laughing.
“Not more than you can handle, I hope,” he said, and dragged his thumb over her bottom lip.
She caught his finger in her teeth and lightly bit down. The way he shivered was very satisfying indeed, and encouraged by his reaction, she flicked her tongue over it for good measure. His skin was warm and tangy, a flavor all his own. Blazing heat flooded through her, making her ridiculously wet. Her eyes locked with his, she drew his thumb deeper into her mouth, sucking and licking, letting her tongue flirt and play.
“Stop,” he said with a ragged gasp. He bowed his head, his forehead touching hers, his dark hair tickling her cheek.
“Something wrong?” she asked with feigned innocence.
“No,” he said, clearly struggling for control. He inhaled deeply and then let it out slowly. “Do you have any idea what you do to me?”
“Yes,” she said. “Because you do the same to me.”
“Good,” he said, a smile curving his lips. His fingers traced the line of her jaw, skimmed down her throat, over her cleavage until he was cupping her breast. A tremor rolled over her. Her skin was hot, her nipples almost painfully hard. His thumb lightly teased the erect peak through her shirt and his other arm came down off the window to wrap around her waist. He pulled her to him, his hand snaking down her spine, over her ass. The fire surged within her, her flesh tingling as he caressed the back of her thighs, working his hand up under her skirt. “These have to go,” he said, and plucked the lacy material of her panties. “Take them off.”
She met his eyes and trembled at the fierce desire blazing within their blue depths. She put her hands on his chest and pushed him slightly back. His hands moved off her, falling back to his sides. She glanced out the window again, but the street was quiet, deserted. She was nervous, so incredibly nervous, but the thumping beat between her thighs would not be denied. Reaching under her skirt, she took hold of her panties and slid them slowly down, watching him as he watched her, the air thick with the rising tension between them. She lifted one leg then the other, stepping out of them.
He held out his hand. “Give them to me.” She placed her panties in his palm and he made them disappear.