Had I just imagined it?
Lucifer pulled Joe’s note from his lap and tossed its charred remains on the floor between us.
Jealousy, my subconscious whispered, but rationality sang a different tune. Distracted, it said. He thinks you’re distracted from his bargain, and the Devil always gets what he’s due.
“Tell me, dearest Dany. Do you think he’s different?”
“What?” I shook my head a little too enthusiastically. “No, I– ”
“Do not lie to me. I can hear it in the flutter of your pulse. I see theway your eyes dart toward the charm when you think I’m not watching.” I felt like he was scolding me, but the easy tone of his voice never changed. “Do you think he’s different?”
I gulped, searching for an answer I wasn’t sure I had. Did I think Joe was different? I never felt disgust sour my stomach when he was near. Joe was funny and didn’t hesitate to put himself between me and harm. While the gift should have come off as creepy, it hadn’t. I found it to be… endearing.
I don’t know what came over me when I answered him. A death wish, probably.
“I think that hecouldbe different. People can be capable of good, can’t they?”
“Are you asking me to prove a point?” Lucifer titled his head and eyed me contemplatively. “Or are you seeking confirmation that you may not end up hurt at the end?”
Yes? No? Both?
For the first time in my life, I was speechless.
The tension in my muscles disappeared as if he’d never had me in a chokehold. I fell back with a flood of relief and scurried backward, snatching the towel to cover my nakedness from his scrutiny.
“I hate it when you do that,” I growled, teeth bared and sneer in place.
“I love it when you pray at my feet,” he countered as he stood. A puff of smoke was the only warning I got before Joe’s note went up in flames between us.
A pang of hurt struck my chest as I watched it burn. “Fuck you, Luci,” I spat.
“In due time, dearest Dany.”
“Are you sure you don’t wanna come tonight?”
“Who’s going to cover the start of your shift tonight if I third wheel your date?” I answered through the phone. “I promise, I’ll hang out with you and the girls and meet your new boo soon, okay?”
“Please,” came a guttural cry from the living room. “I–I have money!”
“What was that? Do you have someone over?”
Motherfucker.
I grabbed the dish towel from the counter, shifted the phone to my shoulder and stomped into the living room where a pathetic string of sobbing wails drifted from the piece of shit bleeding on my carpet.
“No.” Bloodshot eyes widened as I fisted my guest’s hair and crammed the dirty towel into his open mouth. “It’s just the tv. I’m watching murder shit and it is just getting good.” I left him with an ‘I’m-watching-you’ finger point.
“Ugh, Ives, I don’t know how you watch that stuff.” The sound of sheets rustling on the other end made me smile. I could practically see my southern belle rolling over on her back, twirling her hair with one hand and holding the phone the other. “And it’s almost Christmas, so turn off Friday the 13th and find the Hallmark channel for goodness sake.”
“Murder is the reason for the season, Carm. I’ve got to go, though, okay? I’ll see you soon?”
Caramel gasped. “You do have someone there! I knew it–”
Rather than letting her finish the sentence, I promptly hung up to continueenjoying my cozy night in.
“Now, where was I?”
He was fighting hard, dragging the chair an inch at a time across the floor. Pretty sure my downstairs neighbors were composing a hate letter with my name on it.
