Devilish Deal by Jenna Wolfhart

16

We took a car back to his building when the meeting was over. It was late, the club would soon shut, and there was little else we could do tonight. The Legion had been tasked with detailing a plan of attack. We’d go over it tomorrow before I had my second shift at the club.

When we stepped into his penthouse, tension punctuated the silence, so thick it was impossible not to notice. I felt it, anyway. I wasn’t sure about Az. For the past several hours, after finding out the real truth about who he was and what he was doing in Manhattan, I couldn’t help but see him in a new light.

A demon, trying to make his mark on the world. In a good way. It boggled the mind. It also made him a tiny bit less of an asshole than I’d originally thought. Not that I would ever in a million years admit that to him.

Yeah, I’d keep that thought to myself.

Despite all his attempted good, he’d still trapped me in a demon deal without telling me what it was. For that, I would never forgive him.

“Today has been a long-ass day.” I sighed as I trailed through the darkened penthouse. This was the first time we’d been truly alone since I’d discovered Az was a Prince of Hell—and some kind of vigilante demon revolting against Lucifer himself. Logically, I should be pretty freaked out about the whole thing. Instead, my bones wanted to crawl into bed and sleep.

“Yes, and we need to have a serious talk.” He slid a key into his room’s lock and twisted it to the side. Before he whispered inside, he cast me a quick glance. “Did you bring a swimsuit?”

I blinked at him. “Excuse me?”

“A swimsuit. I need to wind down after what happened tonight.” A darkness churned in his eyes. “We lost someone, and the killer is still out there. I’m going to take a dip in the hot tub, and I need you to join me so we can discuss a few things. Did you bring a swimsuit?”

“The hot tu—” I flushed. “No. I didn’t pack a swimsuit for my stay in a million-dollar penthouse as a demon’s fake girlfriend.”

He didn’t even quirk a lip at that. Tonight really had gotten to him.

“Fine. Give me ten minutes. You can perch on the edge in your clothes if you want, but you’re welcome to join me. A bra and panties is close enough to a swimsuit anyway.” He vanished into his room and shut the door.

I swallowed hard as I stared after him. “No, it’s not.”

I mean, it really wasn’t. There was something so much more…intimate about underwear. Still, a soak in a hot tub sounded like a hell of a good idea. Soothing, warm, relaxing. My pent-up nerves were about to pop right out of my skin, and if I went to bed now, I’d just stare wide-eyed out the window until the sun came up.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I slipped into my room, yanked my dress over my head, and pulled a fluffy white robe over my body. One Az kept in the closet for guests. I wondered if any other girls had worn this thing.

“What a stupid thought,” I muttered to myself.

Suddenly, my phone rang. I pulled it out of my purse and checked the number. Serena. My heart squeezed. She was probably worried sick about me.

“Hey, Serena,” I said as soon as the phone hit my ear. “Sorry I didn’t call. I’m okay.”

“Thank heavens,” she whispered back. “I’ve been worried sick. I can’t explain to Noah what’s going on, and he thinks I’ve lost my damn mind. Where are you?”

My stomach twisted. She didn’t know I’d faced the killer in the alley. And I couldn’t bear to tell her. “Az’s apartment.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but good. Stay with him, okay? Just until the killer is caught.”

“I will, Serena. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“Not happening. I’m going to worry about you until this whole thing is over.” She sighed. “I’ve got to get some sleep. I have work in the morning. Text me tomorrow?”

I squeezed the phone tight. “Always. Love you.”

I found Az out on his balcony in the hot tub. Steaming water bubbled around him and droplets clung to his stubbled chin. He’d beaten me to it, which meant I wouldn’t have a chance to see if he had a tail. On the other hand, I could definitely see his bare, sculpted chest. The guy looked as if he could bench press an entire car.

Maybe he could. How strong, exactly, were demons?

He arched a brow as I hovered nervously beside the hot tub. “You coming in?”

“Yeah, I just…” A flush crept up my cheeks. “Wow, it sure is hot.”

“That’s kind of the point.”

“Yeah, I know, it’s just, well, you know.” Ugh. What was wrong with me? With an inward growl at myself, I turned my back to him, pulled off the robe, and quickly dipped into the tub before Az could get an eyeful. As the hot water engulfed me, I met his gaze. The intensity in his eyes shook me to my core.

“Lace,” he said, arching a brow toward my bra. “Interesting choice.”

“I didn’t have many options,” I replied with a roll of my eyes. “I rushed over here with my single suitcase, and I haven’t done laundry yet.”

“Is that one suitcase all you brought with you when you moved to the city?” he asked lightly, leaning back against the edge of the hot tub.

Instantly, I tensed. “Yes.”

“I meant what I said.” He closed his eyes and relaxed into the tub, the water glistening on his tanned skin. “You’ve been brought into the circle. Trust and loyalty are essential for this to work. They are the most important things to me.”

Suddenly, the hot tub seemed like a terrible idea. Here I was, in a small, enclosed space, with a total asshole. Forget all the good stuff he did. None of that erased the bad. “Says the guy who didn’t tell me what would happen when I signed that contract.”

His eyes flipped open. “I was never going to take your soul, Mia.”

“Then, why make a contract at all?” I fisted my hands, and the water slipped through my fingers.

“Lucifer is alerted every time one of us signs a contract. He doesn’t know the details of the deal, but he receives a rolling tally. If we go too long without a deal, he grows suspicious. We have a quota we have to hit.”

Narrowing my eyes, I folded my arms, hiding my lacy bra from view. “And so that’s all I am? A quota.”

“It was never supposed to mean anything more than that,” he said quietly. “But you are impossibly complicated, Mia. And you’ve made things far more difficult than they needed to be.”

“Gee, thanks,” I replied dryly. “I guess you thought I’d be a good little pet human and fall in line just like everyone else.”

“If it weren’t for Serena, you never would have known. You would have walked away from this happy and content. Soul intact.”

I fell silent at that. Obviously, he was wrong. The angels would have still approached me, telling me everything. But if I hadn’t known Serena all my life, I probably would have run. I couldn’t imagine how it would feel to be totally unaware of supernaturals, and then find out you’d signed a deal with a demon.

Az was right. Most humans would scream and run in the opposite direction.

“There is one thing I like about you, Mia,” he finally said as he plucked a gin and tonic from the table beside the hot tub. He took a long, slow sip, meeting my eyes. Thankfully, the steaming water blanketed the flush in my cheeks.

“Oh, just the one thing?” I asked sarcastically.

He ignored me. “You don’t try to obscure your emotions. You wear guilt, but it isn’t a heavy anchor dragging you into the ground. Whatever you feel guilty about, it’s a small thing. It’s not for something as terrible as manslaughter.”

I stiffened and slammed against the back of the hot tub. Water sloshed around me as my heart hammered my ribs. “What are you talking about?”

“Mia,” he said as his piercing eyes latched onto mine. “You will never move forward as long as you pretend your past doesn’t exist.”

Blood rushed through my head, and my throat closed tight. “You looked me up.”

I should have known it would happen eventually. His ignorance of my trial and the charges against me would only last so long. He might be a demon in a million-dollar penthouse, but he still lived in this world. The one with Google, social media, and clickbait headlines. The only thing I was surprised about was that it had taken so long.

And I bet he still wanted to use me as bait. Why not, right? I was just a trash human who had caused a poor girl’s death. Hell, if I died, it would be no big loss in his eyes.

“I looked you up the night we met,” he said as he took another sip of his drink. He set it back onto the table, edged forward, and took my shaking hand in his. “Mia, calm down. I don’t think you did it.”

“Wait?” I breathed, and instantly, my hand stilled. “What?”

He put his other hand on my shoulder. Tremors tiptoed down my spine. “I wouldn’t have asked you to work for me if I thought you were capable of accidentally killing a girl and fleeing from the scene instead of calling for help. I can see it in you. You’re not guilty of that.”

All my breath whooshed out of me, leaving me lightheaded. And frankly, feeling a little weird. I must have been dreaming. No one had ever said that to me before. No one except for Serena.

“How could you possibly know that?” I asked in a whisper. I didn’t think I trusted myself to speak any louder than that. Basically, I was a glass case of emotion on the verge of shattering into the steaming water. These were words I’d always longed to hear, just…maybe not coming from a Prince of Hell who had lied to me about a demon contract.

He leaned in close, and the hand on my shoulder drifted up to my cheek. I shuddered against his touch, my breath stilling in my throat. His gaze swept across me, piercing and dark and full of a strange intoxicating intensity. My eyes dropped to his lips just as his tongue swept across the bottom one. Shivers raced down my spine.

Suddenly, I realized exactly where I was, what I was doing, and who I was with. A demon, in a hot tub, on a balcony overlooking the sparkling city lights. His wet chest glistened, and my soaked lace clung to the curves of my breasts. Heat flickered between my thighs.

Oh shit.

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.

Was he going to kiss me? And was I going to let him? No, surely not. Nothing about this was real. We were in a fake relationship so we could stop a murderous group of supernaturals who wanted to sacrifice humans to Lucifer.

Wow, that sounded totally insane.

Still, I didn’t budge an inch.

Slowly, his hand dropped away. “I’m a demon. I can read guilt. You have some, Mia, but it isn’t for that. If I were to guess, it’s because you’re protecting someone else. The person responsible for Audrey’s death never got caught because you wouldn’t speak their name aloud. You wouldn’t tell anyone who really did it. Loyalty, it is an admirable trait.”

I sucked in a breath and stood. Water streamed down my exposed stomach and thighs, but I forgot all my worries about letting him see my skin. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He gave me a sad smile. “You let the world attack you because you were covering for someone else. And I have a good guess who it was.”

Unshed tears burned my eyes, as hot as lava. “No, you’re wrong. I don’t know who did it. No one does. And if you think I want to talk to you about this, you’re an even bigger asshole than I thought.”

But I was lying. And he knew it. It really wasn’t that hard to guess. That night, my little sister had visited me at college. We’d gone to a party, she’d gotten drunk, and then she’d raced off in my car. She’d hit Audrey, killing her instantly. And then she’d fled. I never told a single soul. Not even Serena.

Disappointment flickered in Az’s eyes. “Maybe I was wrong about you.”

I climbed out of the hot tub, anger burning away whatever soothing warmth I thought I’d felt before. “Yeah. Maybe you were.”

Gritting my teeth, I stalked back into the apartment and left a trail of dripping water in my wake. Normally, I would feel bad about messing up his pristine floor, but it served him right. He’d snooped into my past. Far more than a cursory search if he’d gleamed the truth. Asmodeus knew what had really happened.

Fuck.

What would he do with that information? Would he tell someone? Did he want to punish my sister for her terrible mistake? I pinched the bridge of my nose and tried to calm my racing heart. This couldn’t be happening. I’d ripped up my entire life just to protect her. It couldn’t all fall apart now. Because of a demon.

I stepped into my bedroom and immediately screamed. A note had been taped to the outside of the window, facing in. The words were written in red ink…that I had to admit had the dark, sickly color of dried blood.

My hand flew to my mouth.

You didn’t escape me. You’re next.

Az charged into the room, his eyes wild. He threw his body in front of mine and faced the window. Several unwelcome thoughts flashed through my mind all at once.

First, and most importantly, there was absolutely zero sign of a tail. He wore a skintight pair of black boxer briefs that would have made it very apparent if he did. Instead, they hugged a round, perfectly buff ass that would put Henry Cavill’s to shame.

Second, it became very clear that Asmodeus had the most magnificent body I had ever seen in my life. This fact was made even more apparent by the way rivulets of water trailed down his skin. It was difficult not to stare.

And finally, it was impossible not to notice the way he’d rushed in to save me within seconds of my scream. A growl shook through his body, and his fisted hands made him look like he was ready to rip apart the entire world.

“The bastard,” he breathed as he stalked toward the window.

Oh right. The note. The serial killer who wanted me dead. I’d almost forgotten. My mouth went dry.

“Um, so,” I said, clearing my throat nervously. He was practically naked in my bedroom, brimming with pure, unbridled demon energy. And it was trying to suck me in. “How easy would it be for him to get inside this apartment? Should I be worried about him, like, teleporting in here while I’m asleep?”

He turned and regarded me for a moment. “Normally, I would say no. These walls are warded against most magical attacks. But we’ve never understood this killer’s powers. It might be best if you stay in my room tonight.”

I swallowed and took a step back. “I’m sorry. Did you say…did you say your room?”

The room he’d locked me out of? The room where Az himself slept? Um…

“You’re not staying in here.” Az grabbed my suitcase and motioned for me to follow. “He knows where you are. If he wants to get to you, he’ll have to go through me.”