had to do with his incubus. Because of his demon, William could play to every fantasy. Over the time I’d known him, I’d seen him act strong and silent, dark and brooding, humble and helpless. The man had literally seduced angels out of Heaven.
Seeing my ashen complexion, William said, “It looks like someone was taken to the woodshed.” His tone was jocular, but his eyes expressed concern. “Are you all right?”
“Helen and I had a little disagreement, that’s all.” I forced myself to smile.
William quirked his eyebrow at my use of Miss Spry’s first name, but said nothing.
Deciding the drama was over, Delilah turned her attention back to William and said, “Don’t you have somewhere to be right now?”
Over the past few weeks, William had been using all of his charms on Helen’s new assistant, hoping to melt her layer of ice. Every day, he sent her bouquets of flowers along with boxes of candy and other treats. He chatted with her, complimented her, and asked questions about her life before death. Delilah, however, must have had an entire glacier surrounding her because she barely gave him a smile.
“I’m free for lunch,” he told her. “Care to join me?”
She glowered. “Get your damn butt off my desk.”
William stood up. “Most women love my damn butt. Isn’t that right, Lil?” He winked at me.
“Don’t kid yourself, William.”
He stopped smiling. “You are a coldhearted she-demon.”
“It’s better than being an egotistical, condescending know-it-all,” I retorted.
“Stop it!” Delilah glared at both of us. “If you two are going to start fussing at each other again, then get out of my office!”
William, sulky, left without saying goodbye. I waited exactly five seconds before following him.
Just as I’d hoped, he was standing around the first bend in the hallway. My heart lit up when I saw him, but I couldn’t let my affection show. Not here in the middle of Hell where all could see it. If Miss Spry ever found out my true feelings for William, she’d take him away from me just to laugh while my heart broke.
“‘Egotistical know-it-all’?” William said. “That was harsh, Lil. Very harsh.”
“What about ‘coldhearted she-demon’?”
We began walking. I let the backs of my fingers brush against his and wished I could hold his hand. “Technically, you are a she-demon,” he said. “Whereas I am not a know-it-all.”
“Says you.”
We entered yet another, much longer, corridor. This one was lined with dozens of doors. In front of one lay a small backpack, the kind a day hiker might use on an outing. William stopped and picked it up. “Did you get my note?”
“I did.” In fact, I’d tucked it under my pillow so I could fall asleep dreaming about him.
He was trying very hard not to smile. “And are you wearing comfortable shoes this time?”
The last time I’d ignored his advice, I’d ended up playing eighteen holes of golf in high-heeled wedges. “Of course.” I lifted the bottoms of my jeans to show off a pair of hiking boots.
“Good!” He put the backpack over his shoulders and opened the door. “Ordinarily, I’d say ladies first, but this one could be tricky. Be careful.” He stepped through, then took my hand and helped me cross from Hell into a magical place on Earth.
The corridor had disappeared, and we now stood on a footpath in the middle of a woods. The air was bracing and fresh, a welcome relief from the stale hallways of Hell. The trees, mostly spruces, were randomly dotted with quarter-sized balls of brilliant colors – gold and tangerine, and even a few shimmering turquoises. To my surprise, the balls were actually slugs. The creatures’ sliminess gave them a strange luminescence too beautiful to be disgusting.
William took my hand and gently kissed it. “Are you sure Helen didn’t hurt you? You seemed upset when you came out of her office.”
William’s concern touched me, but I couldn’t discuss the terrible thing Helen wanted me to do. The pain of it was too fresh. Instead, I said, “I’m fine.”
“Good.” He flashed his brilliant smile, the one that always made me weak in the knees. “I’ve been looking forward to this.”
I had too. In fact, it was all I had thought about for the past two days. Since he’d come to my rescue a few weeks before, I’d been falling for him. Hard. Barely a moment passed that I wasn’t thinking about him. I wanted him so badly, yet I was afraid to show it. It wasn’t only because of Miss Spry; it had to do with William as well. He was an incubus, a master of seduction. As much as I wanted to trust him, I worried that he was intending to make me another of his conquests.
William’s eyes twinkled as he led me up the trail. “You’re going to love this, but you’ll have to work hard to earn your reward.”
“Bring it on,” I told him.
His smile widened.
The narrow path made it impossible to walk side by side, so he went on ahead while I followed as best I could. It wasn’t easy. The rutted trail climbed steeply. Even with the added benefit of my demon’s strength, I was winded. When we reached the third switchback, I had to stop and rest. Sweat soaked my T-shirt, and my leg muscles burned. “I don’t think I can make it,” I confessed.
“What’s wrong, Lil?” William teased. “Do we have to work on your endurance?”
I glared at him. I hated when his arrogant demon came to the forefront. I started up the trail again, determined to go the distance.
I almost lost my resolve when we scrambled up several immense boulders. The sheer drop made me worry about plunging over the edge. Seeing my uncertainty, William grabbed my hand and helped me up. “Don’t worry. We’re almost there.”
Sure enough, we soon climbed above the tree line and crested the mountain. The level spot was as naked and alien as the face of the moon, but the view was magnificent. The swells of distant mountains stretched away for miles. A gray ribbon of highway lay far below. “It’s beautiful,” I breathed.
He put his arm around me. “I had hoped you would like it.”
I leaned against him. “I feel like we’re on top of the world!” He was right; it had been worth the climb.
We sat on one of the rocks, and William handed me a bottle of water and a granola bar from the backpack. Clouds rolled in, and a clammy mist settled over us. Seeing me shiver, he took off his fleece jacket and put it over my shoulders. I buried my nose in the fabric, drinking in his smell.
I hadn’t been this besotted with a man since meeting my ex-husband. But because Ted had turned out to be a cheating bastard, I worried about getting my heart broken all over again. Still, it was growing harder and harder to resist
