His story sounded plausible. It also sounded convenient.
“Mhmm. I see,” I said, snatching up a clipboard that was hanging from a nail on the wall. It had the schedule for the entire staff for the next two weeks marked down. There were still quite a few familiar names from when I had worked here, including Sara, the little human who had almost gotten Lilith into trouble with her ex-boyfriend.
I remember that night fondly. I had stalked John to his next destination while Ramel took Lilith home, and then the two of us had taken our time ripping him to pieces in that alleyway. He had been much moresubmissiveafter I tore off the arm he hit Lilith with out of its socket.
Ah. Good times.
I took a mental note of when Sara would be in. Unlike Lilith’s plan, I didn’t need an angel to take down Voodoo. I just needed to give a human a homicidal idea. The thought of little innocent Sara planting a bomb in this shithole of an office was entertaining enough that my mask almost slipped. Keeping my thoughts to myself, I placed the clipboard back on the wall where I found it and returned my attention to Gabe.
“I want you at the feast tonight.”
“I have to work.”
I raised an eyebrow. If I had been in my cat form, my ears would have flattened.
“Excuse me?” I asked, stepping forward. I wrapped my hand around his jaw, jerking his head up to look at me. His citrine eyes burned with annoyance, but he didn’t try to pull away. “Are you telling me that you’re prioritizing Yahweh’s orders over mine?” I increased the pressure of my fingers until I was rewarded with a small, but clear, wince.
“He’ll unmake me if I push Him any further,” Gabriel said. He kept his voice calm and level, but I felt his Adam’s apple brush against my knuckles as he swallowed, causing me to grin. Leaning in, I placed my lips directly next to his ear, lingering long enough to map his scent. He smelled like bergamot and fresh air.
“And what do you think I’ll do to you, Gabriel, if you pushme?” I pulled back and made sure he saw the threat in my eyes as I tenderly brushed my thumb across his jaw. I held his gaze for a long, tense moment before he finally conceded.
“Fine. I’ll find a way to be there.” He sounded bored and annoyed. It made me want to fuck the contempt right out of his mouth but now wasn’t the time. I had too much to do before tonight. Putting Gabriel in his place would need to wait.
“Good boy,” I said, firmly smacking him in the side of the face twice with an open palm. “Don’t be late. And if you show up wearing white, I’ll personally make you regret it.” I winked over my shoulder before sauntering out of the office, leaving him staring after me with a potent mix of hatred and arousal simmering in his eyes.
There were forty-one Voodoo locations in operation across the country. I had six hours to plant seeds in the human employees at as many locations as I could manage before I needed to get back to Hell to keep an eye on Lilith and Jezebel.
Whistling to myself, I strolled out the back door and into the hustle and bustle of the city streets. There were four locations right here in Gravestone. I would start with those. A smirk spread across my face. If everything went according to plan, tonight’s festivities would be…explosive, to say the least. I had made sure to make a point of inviting Gabriel to the feast because the look on his face when the bombs detonated would tell me all I needed to know about whose side he was truly on. It didn’t have anything to do with not wanting him to get caught up in the explosion.
Nope. Not at all.
I almost laughed out loud at myself. Ah, who was I kidding? I definitely didn’t want to blow him up. I wanted him to suck my fucking dick. Hard for him to do that if he was trying to regenerate from being blown into a fine pink mist.
I grinned as I came to the decision that it didn’t matter whose side he ended up being on. I would be burying myself in him either way. The only difference would be whether or not he was a prisoner or a free angel while I fucked him. The evil in me almost hoped things didn’t turn out in my favor. A little bit of hate always made the sex so much better.
“I’ll stop wearing black when they make a darker color.”
—WEDNESDAY ADDAMS, THE ADDAMS FAMILY
After I promised Ramel I would stay, he managed to work up enough of an appetite to try my cooking. I watched him carefully as he took the first bite I offered him, wanting to see his genuine reaction.
I’d never had anyone to share my cooking with, and outside of the pumpkin gnocchi we had shared in my apartment that night, I hadn’t had many opportunities to really cook for him.
My heart squeezed as he wrapped his lips around the spoon I held up for him, his gaze never leaving mine as he let me feed him the curry. His lip twitched as I watched him swallow.
“That’s fucking delicious, deathtrap.” He praised me, and my stomach flipped.
“Really? You’re not just saying that?” I asked, suddenly feeling shy.
He shook his head. “Have I ever been one to sugarcoat shit? If I say it’s good, you know I mean it.” He was right about that. I had never looked at his ruthlessly blunt nature through that lens before. I may not always like what he was telling me, but I could at least trust him to give it to me straight.
After we ate, I snuggled into the nook under his arm, and we watchedThe Fall of the House of Usher.
“I can’t wait until we get to the cat episode,” I told him. “We should watch that one with Shem; he’ll love it.”
Ramel chuckled, tucking me in closer and dropping a kiss on my head.
At some point between episodes one and two, I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew, Ramel was gently shaking me awake.
