She’d been, quite literally, hot. I’d been with other powerful beings before, but no one had ever called my own Hellfire to the surface like she had. For someone as ancient as I was, even I’d never come across anything like her. I was curious as much as cautious, and now determined to keep her around longer.
For more information, obviously.
I’d half-expected to see flaming wings appear on her back, a phoenix bursting through a mortal disguise. It was almost like her power had taken over and explained why heat bothered her no more than it did me. The sight of her basking in her element was intense, electrifying. I grew hard just thinking about it again.
I slid the next batch of muffins in the oven, then went to cool off in the freezer for a few minutes. Being who I was, my sexual prowess had never been in doubt, but if I’d ever wanted approval, Lexi gave it last night. I’d never seen fireworks—actual fireworks!—during sex before. Her illusion power had been theoretical after the maggot customer, and now with confirmation, I had no fucking clue wherethatpuzzle piece fit.
The front door opened just before five, and a couple seconds later, Lexi walked into the kitchen. Her cheeks were nearly as red as her tied-back hair, but her eyes were alert. She glanced up at me, then around at all the full cooling racks, brow drawing down in confusion.
“Been here long?”
I shut the freezer door and shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep. Decided to come in a little early.”
She pulled her coat on, covering her pale skin, and started inspecting the space. “Well, it looks to me like you’ve already got breakfast covered. Where do you want me?”
Under me.
“Actually,” I began before I could voice my desire, “I was wondering if I could take you to dinner tonight.”
That… was not what I’d meant to say. I frowned, trying to put my thoughts back together, but she replied first.
“I appreciate the gesture, but it’s not necessary.” She gathered abandoned mixing bowls and loaded them into the dishwasher.
Not necessary? Did she just turn me down? Forget the fact that I hadn’t meant to ask her in the first place, but no one ever turned me down. My powers didn’t work on her, she was immune to my good looks and charm, and she took as much heat as she gave back. I needed to dig deeper into Lexi Sutton.
“Please, I insist.” I held my hands in a placating gesture and gave her my best smile. “I may have gone about this in the wrong order and I’d like to make up for it.”
She didn’t look away from her work. “I’m adult enough to know what kind of man you are, Sam. You don’t have to make an exception on my part just because we work together. We had sex, it was amazing, now we can get on with our lives.”
“And that’s it?”
Lexi finally turned to me and lifted her eyebrow. “What else is there?”
“Dinner.” I stepped closer, folding my hands behind my back. “Tonight.”
She hesitated, eyeing me up and down as I took another step. “We both know you don’t date, Sam. Right now, neither one of us do. Don’t feel like you have to do me any favors.”
“No favors.” Another step. “Just dinner.”
“What’s the purpose, if you don’t mind my asking?” She leaned against the counter and smirked, repeating my words from last night.
“Because I realized I don’t know much about you.” One more step and I was in her space. “And there’s a lot more of you I’d like to know. Purely for business purposes, of course.”
Her smirk wavered, a real smile fighting its way through. “So, not a date?”
I tilted her chin up. “Sort of a date.”
Heat flared around us the moment our lips brushed and my traitorous human body groaned. Damn, kissing her was what I imagined human drugs felt like. I didn’t want to stop, but we had work to do. After work, however, was a different story. Her story, hopefully, and then another round in the sheets.
That fight for domination was something else. I’d never submitted to anything in my life—a big part of the reason I’d been booted from Heaven—and my sex life was no different, but the way she just took over… Damn, I’d wanted to see what she did with it, and I wasn’t disappointed. I was actually looking forward to it again.
Throughout the day, I made a couple of phone calls while Lexi was busy in the kitchen. If we were going to have a discussion about her and her powers, then I wanted to show a different side of me to ease her open. I didn’t hand over my trust lightly, but I needed her to trust me before I decided to drop her into whatever plans I made against Abaddon, should I decide in her favor. Whatever secrets she guarded about her abilities, there was no denying her alliance would be invaluable.
The only irregularity in the day was when Lexi’s roommate stopped in. Sophie had been by once or twice, but only to check in on Lexi. This time, she ordered.
“I thought you were watching your carb intake,” I joked.
Sophie grinned. “If Lexi is the one doing all the baking, I’ll suffer through it. Her food has magic practically spilling off of it. It’s way too good to resist.”
