He arched a brow like he was thoroughly amused by my comment. Clearly, he wasn’t used to critiques. “No?”
“No. You’re crushing the ice too thin, which will water down the drink, and you used a lime twist. It’s supposed to be lemon to garnish.” My smile pulled up high on one side, morphing into a teasing smirk. “No wonder humans aren’t coming to your bar. You can’t make a drink to save your soul.”
From the corner of my eye, Melanie looked absolutely horrified. I would be, too, if I had any interest in being polite to this guy. But if I knew anything about him, it was that he was a cocky bastard. And as infuriatingly sexy as he was, I loved taking cocky bastards down a notch. The fun ones loved it just as much. Okay, so I might have had a thing for jerks, or at least my vagina did. Jerks were historically the bomb in bed. Especially if I spent most of our night antagonizing the guy. If things escalated to the bedroom, the guy would usually have something to prove and a bit of a chip on his shoulder. Polite lovers were boring. And since I never had time for a boyfriend, I didn’t have to worry about all the negative shit.
Lucifer’ faltered, but amusement glimmered in his eyes. “Well, fortunately for me, Jessica, I’ve got no soul that needs saving.” He gestured to behind the bar. “But by all means, show me how to make a ‘proper’ cosmopolitan.”
His invitation had an edge to it, a challenge.
“Jessica, don’t…” Melanie warned, but I barely heard her. Before I even realized what I was doing, I was already behind the bar, as if some part of me had little control over my actions. I was ready and eager to obey him.
Admittedly, there was something very snake charmer-esque about him. But instead of setting off any alarms like he appeared to be doing for Mel, I was completely enticed and curious to figure out exactly why he had this effect on me. It wasn’t just his dastardly good looks. Maybe it was the way he looked at me with intrigue and hunger, despite my wrinkled scrubs. It was like he was looking deeper into a part of my being no one else could see. And whatever it was he saw there, he liked it. He liked it a lot.
As the go-to girl for a drink that wasn’t trash at all the keggers and ragers we went to, I knew my way around a bar.
With his back against the smooth veneer of his bar and his arms folded over his chest, Lucifer watched me with an intensity that had my heart beating so hard I could feel it in my mouth.
“There, a perfect cosmo,” I said after a mere few minutes, topping off my creation with a lemon garnish. I held out the glass for him, and my breath hitched as his fingers brushed against mine when he took it.
What happened when his skin grazed mine was something similar to an electrostatic shock. But it was something different, something warmer and more pleasant. Then the sensation was gone so fast, I wasn’t sure it had happened at all. It left me wanting to touch him again just to make sure I hadn’t imagined it.
He rose the glass as if to toast, then brought it to his lips and sipped on the pink liquid with all the sex appeal of Dionysus sampling wine for the first time.
“It’s delicious,” he said after a moment’s consideration, looking surprised by the fact. “As it so happens, I’m currently looking for a bartender. A human who knows how to make human drinks. And having a human on staff might do wonders for creating a more er—relaxed atmosphere.”
His words had me crinkling my brow in confusion as I scanned the club, looking at the dancers and servers just a little closer. Other than how outlandishly beautiful they all were, they all looked human.
“They’re succubi,” Lucifer said, answering the question that I assumed must be written all over my face. “Another form of shifter.”
“Demons?” Mel piqued, her voice trembling.
“But of course. Where there are angels, demons are never too far away.” The corners of Lucifer’s mouth curved into a mocking grin, fitting the devil himself. “But don’t worry, loves. I keep all the naughty demons locked up downstairs, and I only let the most angelic of my hellish brood out to play on the surface.”
Mel shuddered. I couldn’t believe she was buying into this stupid fantasy he was selling. Humans that could shift into animals was one thing, but demons and angels who could shift into humans? I’d never heard of that, save for out of this guy’s mouth, and he might as well have a forked tongue with all the lies that were slipping off it.
But his offer was tempting as hell. It sent a thrill of excitement through me, and I had to reign in that impulsive part of me from excepting on the spot. I had to think about this for a sec.
Accept. You can trust him,my inner voice told me. Jesus. Maybe I should rename Reckless Jess and call her Laura Palmer instead because if I listened to her, I was going to end up dead on a beach wrapped up in plastic.
The guy was really doing it for my impulsive side. That meant I was probably about to do something stupid if it meant getting into his ridiculously expensive pants.
Okay, so Lucifer Morningstar was a bit of an enigma. And while I didn’t believe for a second that he was who he said he was, he definitely wasn’t human. An energy rolled off him that electrified the air and made my skin tingle in the wake of his power. Whatever it was, he was dangerous. Not to mention the sort of clientele he catered to.
Humans were afraid to come here, and there was a reason for that. Most of the supernatural population we were aware of in this area consisted of the Tacoma Wolf Pack. They were dangerous dope-dealing assholes. And they seemed to have a strong liking for this place.
But working all the double shifts the hospital had me working lately was killing me. If the offer was a good one, maybe working here would mean I could spend more time with my dad. At this rate, who knew how much time he had left.
But could this Morningstar guy really be offering me a job on the spot? He knew nothing about me. And I wasn’t exactly dressed to impress.
I let out a nervous laugh while shaking my head. “You’re funny. I won’t lie, working here would be wild, compared to the long shifts I pull at the hospital.”
“Indeed. Exactly why you should come work for me. I’ll only work you half the hours they are. Besides,” he began, tapping his stubbled chin in thought, “I want you so badly that I’m willing to throw in something extra special as a sort of sign-on bonus. How about that?”
I gapped at him in slack-jawed amazement. Was he serious? God, was that offer appealing. But this whole thing just screamed strings attached, the kind of strings that had reasonable, Sane Jess on edge.
“What kind of sign-on bonus?” I asked, caution underscoring my question.
“If you come work for me, I will double your current salary the hospital is paying you.”
