to love.
We sat in silence until he touched my cheek. “You seem pensive.”
“I miss Grace.” My ex-husband had taken my daughter to France for ten days, and there were seven more until she returned. At times, my heart felt like a stone in my chest. If I hadn’t been able to use the otherworld doorways to peek in on her, I don’t know what I would have done.
“She was fine this morning,” William said. “I think they’re going to the Louvre today.”
“You checked on her?” I asked, shocked.
He shrugged, embarrassed. “After you told me about your cad of an ex-husband, I wanted to make sure your daughter was all right.”
The William I’d first met couldn’t be bothered to remember that I had a daughter, much less check on her wellbeing. But ever since he’d rescued Grace from a berserker demon, he’d been paying more attention to my family.
Since he was showing me his softer side, I decided it was time to have the talk I’d been rehearsing in the mirror every morning for the past week.
I took a deep breath. “William, I have a request…”
“Slip out of those clothes, and I’ll do anything you want.”
Okay, so maybe he hadn’t changed as much as I’d hoped. “Be serious,” I said.
“I am serious.” He smiled seductively and caressed the back of my neck, sending pleasant shivers down my spine. “We have the mountain to ourselves.”
As much as the invitation tempted me, I pulled away. “If you’re not going to be a gentleman, then I’m ending this conversation.”
He sighed. “I’ve been a gentleman for weeks.”
“A few weeks is a tiny span when you’re over a hundred years old,” I reminded him. “Now, are you going to listen to me or not?”
He nodded and looked adorably contrite.
“Would you come to dinner tomorrow night?”
He blinked. “At your place?” When I nodded, he said, “Are you introducing me to your family?”
I did want William to meet my family, but not yet. I needed him to understand that I wanted a connection with the real, human William, not a lust-ridden one-night stand with his incubus. If he wanted me as badly as he claimed, he could wait a little longer. As could I. “No, it will only be the two of us.”
He frowned. “What about that convalescent who lives with you?”
William meant Tommy Lefevre, my – well, since there isn’t a single word in the English language to describe our complicated relationship, I’ll go with friend. William never hid the fact that he didn’t like Tommy. Not only did Tommy’s spirituality disgust him, he also hated that the two of us had once been intimate. “Don’t worry,” I said. “I’ll make sure he’s out of the house, too.”
William’s impish smile returned. “So the two of us all alone and unchaperoned? Why, Ms. Straight, what are you proposing?”
“Chicken Florentine.”
“Are you certain that’s all?” His eyes sparkled. “In my experience, when a woman tells a man she’s cooking for him, she’s planning on sharing a very sweet dessert.”
“Well, be prepared to have a new experience because the bedroom door will be staying shut.”
He sighed, resigned. “Okay, dinner it is.” He put his arm around me. “Patrick always said you were a good cook.”
I was about to tell him what time to come, but the sound of footsteps cut me off. A young man wearing a sweatshirt, shorts, and a pair of wraparound sunglasses climbed up the trail. He was in his early twenties and was clearly a veteran hiker. His boots were good quality, but well worn, and his shorts showed off his muscular calves. He carried his bulging backpack like it was filled with feathers.
A moment later, another hiker followed him. She, too, appeared experienced. Her tank top was soaked with sweat, and her face was red with exertion, but she smiled widely as she crested the mountain. She pushed her bangs out of her face and touched the young man’s arm. “This view is amazing!”
Her companion nodded and walked back to where the trail disappeared. “Jenny! You coming?” he shouted.
The young woman frowned. “Jenny’s holding us back,” she said. “We’re going to have a hard time making the shelter before dark if she doesn’t get it in gear.”
The man shrugged. “It’s her first time. She needs to find her rhythm, that’s all.” He cocked his head, listening. “You hear her yet?”
“No.”
My succubus pricked up her ears at the hint of jealousy blowing in from the young woman. Dark emotions always interested my inner demon. Settle down, I told her. This doesn’t concern us.
A few minutes passed, and still the missing hiker didn’t appear. “Why don’t you go on ahead,” the woman said. “I’ll wait for Jenny.”
The young man rubbed his chin, thinking. “Maybe I should wait, too.”
The woman shook her head. “No. If you get to the shelter first, you can start the fire.” Once more she touched his arm. “You’re the expert fire maker, after all.”
Finally, he smiled at her. “Okay.”
For a human, the girl was a darn good seductress.
Once the man had disappeared, William glanced at his wristwatch. “Show time,” he told me and stood up. “I’ll be right back.”
He approached the woman. “Gorgeous view, isn’t it? My companion and I have been enjoying it very much.”
At first, the woman narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but when William fired up his incubus demon, she began blushing and smiling.
The realization that William was on assignment and once again doing the Devil’s dirty work took the shine off my afternoon. A few minutes before, the mountaintop had felt special, almost holy, but suddenly, Helen had me back under her thumb. I shouldn’t have been surprised – after all it was William’s and my life’s work to tempt human beings – but I was disappointed. Our time together had been spoiled.
I folded my arms over my chest as I watched William work. The Devil had picked well when he’d chosen William to be an incubus. William was the embodiment of temptation. He acted as if the hiker was the only woman on the planet who interested him. When he said something, she threw her head back and laughed, making me want to strangle her with her own sweat-stained bandanna.
William never looked in my direction, but he knew I was watching. When his victim moved closer to him, he stepped away, mindful to maintain a proper distance between them. When she touched his arm, he gently removed it. He was on his best behavior, but it didn’t stop the incubus from doing its dirty work.
The woman offered William a small bag of trail
