Hell Inc. (17 page)

“No,
no, no,” I soothed, trying to reassure his damaged ego. “I
didn't mean it like that.” He gave me a look that said he was
having none of it, and I glanced down to see that his erection had
practically disappeared. I moaned and put a hand to my forehead,
sagging against the wall of the shower. “I sure do know how to
ruin a good thing, don't I?” I asked him. Levie sighed and his
expression softened a bit.

“I
believe I can now fathom why you remain untouched.” I glared at
him, my own ego beginning to feel rather bruised.

“You're
a jerk,” I spat at him and stormed out of the bathroom, not
bothering to grab a towel. As luck would have it, the phone was
ringing. I snatched it from the nightstand. “What?” I
snapped. The person on the other end was silent for a moment.

“Ginger?”
It was Terrence. I sighed and sat on the edge of my bed, leaning
over so that my head hung down between my knees.

“Hey
Terrence,” I said, softening the anger in my voice. As annoyed
as I felt with Levie, I could feel little butterflies in my stomach.
Terrence had a tremendous effect on me. It was just plain weird, and
I didn't understand it at all. I knew less about him than I knew
about Levie.

“Are
you okay?” he asked me, and I thought about how to answer him.
In a way, I felt like I'd betrayed him, but that was stupid. It
wasn't like we were an item or anything. Water dripped from my hair
and fell in a puddle on the wood floor. Suddenly, the sphinx was
there, lapping it up. I hadn't even heard it come in. I grabbed a
blanket and covered myself with it, doubting all the while that the
sphinx was even capable of those kinds of thoughts.

“Yeah,
I'm okay.” I clutched the black throw against my chest and
watched the doorway for Levie, expecting him to appear at any minute.
“I was just having a fight with my – ” What
exactly was Levie to me? Just a caseworker? Not after what had
happened between us. True, we hadn't actually had sex, but I still
felt like there was a possibility that it might happen. Did I really
have any right going on a date with Terrence now? This unanswerable
question was racking my mind; I wasn't used to situations like these.

“Ginger,
are you still there?” I shot a glance at my clock. It was
almost four, so there was still plenty of time to cancel our date. I
wasn't feeling in a date like mood with what happened to my mother
and then Levie and I ...

“Yeah,
sorry. I was just having a fight with my roommate.” Levie
chose that moment to appear in the doorway, still naked and dripping
wet. It was a rather erotic sight. The spell on his wings was gone
and even as tightly as he had them tucked against his back, they
still barely squeezed through the door. The look on his face said
he'd already guessed who was on the other end of line, and he wasn't
happy. “Um, I don't think I'll be able to make our date
tonight.” The look of triumph on Levie's face was almost enough
to make me reconsider. I scowled and turned away from him. Terrence
remained silent, and I felt the hurried need to explain myself.
“Something, uh, came up with my family. Maybe we can
reschedule?” I really didn't think he needed the details of
last night. He probably wouldn't believe me anyway.

“Actually,
that's why I was calling you,” he said, relief apparent his
voice. “Unfortunately, I have some business matters to attend
to. I wouldn't have been able to make it tonight either.” I
cringed at that. Of course he had 'business matters,' I had gotten
him fired after all.

“God,
Terrence, I'm so sorry. And don't worry, I'm working on our little
problem. I'm sure I'll figure out something soon.” As if that
wasn't a complete lie. I hadn't even had time to think about that
little fuck up. For some reason though, I felt the need to soothe
him. It bothered the hell out of me. “But let's reschedule.
How about tomorrow?” I could almost hear the smile in his
voice when he replied.

“That
would be perfect, Ginger. Same time?” I nodded, realized he
couldn't hear me and replied.

“Sounds
great, Terrence.” We said our good-byes, and I clicked the
phone into the receiver, pausing for just a moment to stare at the
sphinx's face. Its eyes were a lovely amethyst, and it blinked full
black lashes at me.

“A
sinking ship of gold may have cargo more precious than is obvious to
the naked eye.” It was the first riddle that it had given me
that had not been a question. I'm sure that it was trying to impart
some epic bit of knowledge that would make my life a whole lot
simpler, but I still didn't get it. Levie came around the bed to
stand in front of me, and I had to look up at his face to avoid
looking at certain other things.

“I
have no intention of allowing you to go on a date.” His hands
were planted on his hips, and he looked ready to pick a fight. But
there wasn't going to be a fight because I was going, whether he
liked it or not. I didn't need to argue. It was my life.

“And
why is that?” I asked him, ignoring the urge to reach out and
stroke the sphinx's golden fur. I was starting to think of it as a
cherished pet. Not good. It would only hurt me in the end.
Supernatural beings had a habit of doing that. I tried to remember
that bit of advice as I argued with the naked demon.

“Because
the last time that I let you be, at your own request I might add, you
were kidnapped and nearly ravaged.” He had a point there.
Terrence wouldn't be of any help if those vampires decided to come
after me again. I might even get him killed. This thought reminded
me of my mother, and I felt my throat constrict. “What do you
intend on accomplishing with this date? Is this Terrence attempting
to court you?” He sounded angry and if I wasn't mistaken, maybe
even a little worried. I looked up at him, and even after our
argument, my body still twinged longingly. Levie had on his usual
egotistical face but was still quite the sight, standing there as if
he'd either forgotten he was naked or was sure that the lack of
clothing enhanced his appearance. I was going to assume the latter.

“Terrence
is going to help me figure out how to get rid of this wish.” It
was a rather pathetic excuse, and I was sure he would see right
through it, but I wasn't going to up and admit that I was attracted
to Terrence after I'd almost slept with Levie.

“And
you think he is more qualified to help you with this than am I?”
Levie had me all figured out. Fuck.

“Okay,
so I'm attracted to him.” I glared at him, really glared at
him.
I dare you to challenge me on this.
I tucked a strand
of soggy hair behind my ear.
He would be gone as soon as I'd
made my wish and considering how quickly the first two had gone, I
didn't think it would be much longer before I made the third,
intentionally or not. Levie's posture became stiff, and if I wasn't
mistaken, the room temperature rose a couple of degrees.

“What
does this ungracious fop have that I do not?” Levie gestured a
hand in front of himself.

“Don't
call him an ungracious fop. And for starters, he actually lives in
this dimension.” Levie stared angrily down at me, his brows
knit together as if he was considering telling me something. He
shook his head, giving me a light spray of water in the face. I
scowled at him and wiped at it with the blanket.

“Then
why did you – ” Levie stopped speaking suddenly and sat
down next to me on the bed. He looked at me out of the corner of his
eye and brushed a piece of his textured, black hair away from his
face. Full lips twitched into another smile. Two smiles in less
than an hour, hot dog! “You may go on this date, but I shall
accompany you. For your protection, of course. I will not face the
river because you are too full of impracticalities to do what is in
your best interest.” His words held all of his usual
overconfidence, but his face was rather cheeky. “And we shall
see what solutions this Terrence has to offer.” I wasn't sure
if he was talking about solutions to the wish or to something else.
I decided not to ask.

“You
can come, but you can't interfere unless I need help. Deal?”
Levie looked at my outstretched hand as if he were offended by it.
Then the cheekiness returned to his face, and he placed a warm hand
on my naked thigh. I shuddered at the rush of sensation that small
touch brought me and bit my lip to keep from gasping as he slid his
hand up and brushed it teasingly over the hair there. When I didn't
pull away or protest, Levie slipped two fingers inside of me. This
time, I couldn't control myself and a gasp escaped my lips. He
pushed me down onto the bed, and I refused to let him see the pain in
my face when the wound in my back ached at the pressure of him lying
mostly on top of me; I was afraid that he would stop if he thought he
was really hurting me. His face was inches from mine, and his orange
eyes were sparkling with amusement. “Do you think you're some
kind of stud now?”

“No,
I know that I am,” he replied loftily and pressed his lips to
mine. I grabbed a handful of his hair as he pulled his fingers
slowly in and out. I could feel the wetness spreading down the
insides of my thighs. Goddamn, my fingers never felt that good.

“Levie,”
I whispered, my heart pounding as I questioned my decision to even
bother to go on a date with Terrence. At that moment, it just seemed
stupid. When I was with Levie, any attraction I felt towards
Terrence just seemed silly.

“Stupid
girl, just be quiet.” He said it affectionately enough
that I wasn't offended and slowly increased the tempo of his fingers.
His thumb brushed across my clit, and I gasped, finally giving into
the pleasure and relaxing my body beneath his. As the sensations
spread throughout my limbs, I forgot to care about anything else. I
dug my fingers into Levie's back and felt the side of my hand brush
across the area where his wings met skin. The muscles there were
exceptionally toned and firm to the touch, and a sound escaped his
lips when I ran my hands along the top ridge of his wings. So that
was a sensitive spot, who would have known? Thinking that I should
be giving at least something in exchange, I stroked my hands down the
soft, leathery skin.

The
position we were in was incredibly intimate; I could feel Levie's
erection pressed into the side of my leg, and I suddenly wanted him
with more urgency than I'd ever longed for anything else. I opened
my mouth to tell him so but was interrupted by the feel of his tongue
sliding across my nipple. The feelings became more desperate in my
lower belly, and I could feel myself pulsing and clenching around his
fingers. I reached a hand between us, meaning to take him in my
hands again, but Levie stopped me by grasping my wrist lightly. The
laugh that followed was low and sensual, and if I wasn't mistaken,
touched with a hint of cruelty.

“Ginger,”
he purred, releasing my wrist and propping himself up with one elbow.
“I think perhaps that we shall hold off on committing
ourselves to anything more.” Levie removed his fingers from
inside of me and slipped them into his own mouth. Obvious desire was
burning in his eyes and was quite evident in lower places on his
body, making me wonder if he was joking. But there he sat, unmoving
with a wicked smile plastered on his pretty mouth and his hair
tousled from when I grabbed it. My insides were throbbing, and I
resisted the urge to scream at him.

“And
why is that?” I asked, my teeth grit in annoyance. Levie sat
up and stretched his arms lazily behind his head. The silver ring in
his belly button glinted in the light from the dragon lamp on my
nightstand.

“Because,”
he replied, examining his nails as thoroughly as any woman
I'd ever seen. “We do not have a
condom
.”
Levie didn't wait for me to reply, just sauntered from the room as if
he had obtained some great victory. And maybe he had. The feelings
in my lower half were too strong to ignore, and I had to move my own
hand to the overwhelming wetness and rub until I felt at least some
of the ardor subside. Staring up at the ceiling, one hand resting on
my forehead, I belatedly remembered the sphinx. It was nowhere in
the room now, but how long had it stayed after Levie had started
touching me?

I
groaned and rubbed at my eyes. I was still tired after the
excitement from yesterday. It had been, if not one of the most
pleasant, at least one of the single most exciting days that I had
ever had. My life, in general, was somewhat uneventful. That is, if
you didn't count the preternatural sightings I lived every day
staring in horror at like some sort of badly made slasher flick. My
deciding to deal with the Devil had been mostly based on my sheer
desperateness for something,
anything
to happen. I felt like
a character in a movie with everything around me playing out fast
forward while I sat still, staring stupidly in slow motion. But now
that I had excitement, was it really all that it was cracked up to
be? If the incessant feelings in my groin had any say in the matter,
it would most likely be an astounding no. I felt cranky: cranky at
Levie, cranky at myself for denying him earlier, and cranky at my
body for refusing to release me from its wants. I'd never been able
to bring myself to orgasm and right now, I felt like that was exactly
what I needed.

“Stupid
demon prick,” I cursed, rolling over and gazing bleary eyed at
my phone. I needed to talk to someone about my mother's death. Now
that I was, uh, no longer distracted by a very rude but very handsome
demon, I actually had some time to think about it. She'd been
murdered. By a vampire. Calling the cops was out of the question,
but Liam had to pay, one way or another. Levie had said he'd take
care of it but still ... I shook my head and clutched a down
pillow to my chest. Apparently, it didn't matter whether I had liked
my mother or not. The sight of her being murdered was really getting
to me. I needed to get my mind on something else. Like my wishes.
Or maybe how I had wasted two of them and now had no job. Okay,
scratch that.
Think positive, Ginger.
The sphinx stuck its
head back into the room, cocked to the side as if waiting for
confirmation. How polite.