Boswell was the last addition to my collection. I had birds, chihuahuas, opossums, ferrets, and every rodent you could think of. My prized possession, though, was Coca-Cola Carl.
I eyed the eight foot, one-hundred and fifty pound polar bear standing in the corner beside my live Virginia pine tree and sighed in total bliss. Other than the tree, he was my last decoration to complete.
I dove into the box reserved for Carl, humming along to the classic eighties Christmas song playing as I pulled all of Carl’s bells and whistles out. “Scarf, check. Bedazzled Coke can, check.” Arms full to overflowing, I straightened and–“Oof!” The breath whooshed from my chest as I collided with steel.
Hands gripped my biceps, firm but not crushing, and kept me on my feet. Woodsmoke tinged whiskey hit my nose, and I knew before his lips ever touched my ear who stood behind me.
“Steady, Dany.”
Heat slid low, my knees went soft, and my breath hitched before my brain could catch it. Ridiculous, how one scent and two words could strike flint against everything I pretend is fireproof.
“Luci,” I panted; a sound I’d take the time to be embarrassed about later.
“You almost took quite the fall there.” His lilting accent sent a riveting chill straight down to my core.
I didn’t recover as quickly as I wanted to. Seconds felt like millennia as they passed while I tried to find some sense of composure. “Well,” I mumbled, trying not to squeeze my legs together to ease the instant ache his proximity caused. And then failing miserably.
“Does the cat have your snappy tongue, Dany?”
No, but I wish you did.
He laughed, low and controlled as if he’d heard my thought, the rumble of it vibrating my back where we touched. Every synapse in my brain misfired as a result. My back arched and, just as I could feel the start of him at my ass, Lucifer stepped back and left me wanting.
I refrained from looking at his face because I knew there would be a stupid fucking smirk on it and there was no telling what sort of lust heated my cheeks. As much as I wanted to think that he didn’t realize what his presence does to me, I knew it was a damning lie. He was the Devil, and sin was his five course meal.
I swallowed and took a deep breath, reaching for my deflection skills until I could get my shit under control around him. “Have you come to let me sit on your lap and read my Christmas list? Because I have to warn you, Santa, I’ve been a very,verynaughty girl this year.”
Carl’s scarf slipped between my fingers, but I didn’t stop to pick it up. If I turned around now and saw his face, I’d likely combust.
“Dany,” Lucifer said.
“Mmm?” I hummed in response, paying way too much attention to how the Coke can was positioned in Carl’s paw.
He stepped toward me slowly, awareness prickling at my back with each dying inch between us. Fabric bristled and in seconds, Lucifer loomed behind me, wrapping the knitted red scarf around Carl’s neck.
“I’ve never seen a bear wear a scarf. Is this correct?” he asked and smoothed the edges.
I couldn’t answer. Couldn’t even think past the way he seemed to envelope me without even touching.
“Dany?” he tried again.
“Luci?” I answered breathlessly.
“I am sorry,” he whispered. “I was unkind to you–”
“Why?” I asked, turning on my heel and faltering when our noses almost touched. Judas help me. He was so close. His faded green iris marred by the scar crossing it from forehead to cheekbone shone just as beautifully as the other. “Why did you yell at me? Move up the deal?”
It was the question burning in my mind since that night. I’d been dead for thirty years Joe wasn’t my first fuck. Because, that’s all it was. A girl had needs, especially when she was using it as a BandAid for self-loathing. Never, though, had Lucifer punished me for it.
I had a theory though. One that made me breathless.
Say it,I begged.Jealous. You were jealous.
Fine muscles in his jaw jumped as he contemplated his words as if he were chewing on them. When he finally spoke, he said, “He’s not right for you. The life he dangles in front of you, it’s not real. And I…” he looked away before meeting my gaze again. “I will not stand to see you hurt for it.”
The words weren’t a claim, but they pulsed like one. Maybe jealousy. Maybe just him drawing a circle around me and daring the world to step in. Either way, I felt it.
“You yelled,” I said, softer than I meant to. “You moved the deal.”
