“Lucy?” He smirked. “She gets a big kick out of earthlings thinking she’s a dude. Lucy’s the boss and always has been. She’s wicked hot, and yeah, what she says goes. So watch yourself around her. She’s one of the judges for the contest. One lucky winner joins the HHB, gets his dick back. If he’s lucky, he’ll spend the rest of his days plowing the demonesses of hell. It’s one extreme or the other down here.”
“Did you ever try out?” I asked.
Steve rolled his eyes. “I did about sixty years ago, kid. Didn’t make it past the first round. Now, depending on what you want, you’ve got a choice to make.”
He pointed to a line on the right where four or five other depressed souls stood, clearly no more thrilled about their final calling than I was.
“You can join that queue and get assigned your end-of-days living. It includes your housing, meals, and work assignment. Or you can join the line on the left and audition for the HHB. It’s up to you.”
“Where do I sign up?” I croaked. And my fate was set.
CHAPTER TWO
IVY
I’ve never liked mirrors, not in heaven, and definitely not now. The girl staring back at me wasn’t the golden, untouchable angel sheused to be.No shining feathers. No smug halo humming above her head. Just me—wings burned away in a blaze of shame, shoulders scarred, and an expression that screamedfallen.
A knock rattled the door. I snapped the mirror closed and shoved it into my desk.
“Come in,” I muttered, not bothering to rise.
Lucy swept into the office like the diva she’d always been, in a form-fitting black gown, showing far too much cleavage for daytime, and red satin five-inch heels. I felt a rush of affection for her the moment I saw her—my aunt, the queen of hell, ruler of demonesses, and poster child for everything I’d never be. Tall, voluptuous, flawless. She practically oozed sex and power. Of course, she also plopped herself down on the corner of my desk like she owned the place—which, technically, she did.
“There’s my favorite niece,” she purred with a smile.
“I’m your only niece,” I said, deadpan.
“Details.” She flicked her wrist like facts were beneath her. “How’s my newest demoness adjusting?”
“Badly,” I winced. “Lucy, I feel like such a fraud. I’d like to crawl into a hole and stay there.”
Lucy arched her brow. “That’s not what holes are for, darling.”
My cheeks flamed. “It might be too soon for sex jokes?”
“We are in hell, love. It’s never too soon for sex jokes.” She leaned closer, lowering her voice to that dangerous purr that could melt stone. “Listen to me, Ivy. You didn’t fall from heaven because you were weak. You fell because you were strong enough to choose desire over repression. Heaven never rewards honesty. Down here? I do.”
My hands knotted in my lap. That should’ve been comforting, but shame still burned hotter than any fire I’d walked through on my way down. My nose prickled, warning me tears weren’t far. “I broke the rules. I was supposed to remain pure. Mother will never forgive me for this.”
“Baby girl, your mother has a stick so far up her ass she’ll never admit that things aren’t fair up there. And as for your seducer, he’s been trying to get into your pants for decades. It’s a load of shit that you were punished and he wasn’t. You were seduced, plain and simple.”
“He didn’t make me do it.” Heat scorched my face. “It was consensual. Please don’t say it like that.”
Lucy smirked. “By Gabriel, no less. The original choir boy. He struts around like he invented foreplay. He’s been trying to bring our family down since the beginning of time. Only he didn’t shame you, dearest. He liberated you. I’m honestly not sure whether to scold you or applaud.”
“I’m sure he didn’t invent foreplay,” I muttered. “He’s just… practiced a lot.”
“Exactly.” Lucy winked. “Of course, it’s fine for men to have sex in heaven, but not unwed women—Misogyny in the highest degree. So you had sex and got caught. So what? You’re not ruined, Ivy—you’re free. Sex isn’t evil—it’s delicious. And, to be honest, it’s the only way you can survive down here. You should never be embarrassed by wanting it.”
I slumped in my chair. “Easy for you to say. You rule hell. I can’t even walk down the hall without some other demoness whispering ‘angel-slut’ under her breath. And the HHB is coming to service me? I could just die of embarrassment.”
“They’re jealous,” Lucy said simply, her tone flat and certain. “I can’t make them respect you, love. You’ll have to do that yourself. Hold your head up. We feed from the sexual exchange with the HHBs. Their cum is modified to help the succubus side of our demonesses thrive. You can draw a samplefromthe HHB if you feel it’s too embarrassing to fuck them—but that’s not nearly as fun. Besides, I’m giving you something better than shame. I’m giving you the HHB Games. You’ll have the first pick of whomever you want to serve you.”
My stomach sank. “Please tell me this isn’t one of your schemes.”
“Oh, it’s not just a scheme—it’s the scheme of the century.” Her grin was a knife, sharp and dazzling. “Sex got you into this mess, so sex will be your reward. Welcome to the Hellbound HuBull Games. It’s my gift to you, darling.”
“My gift?” I scoffed. “You think I want to watch a parade of cocky men strut around like they’re God’s gift to demon-kind, with their dangly bits on display?”
