Hell Inc.

by C. M. Stunich

  “I apologize,” he said, still managing to sound arrogant. “I decided to sleep in here to make sure that you were safe.” I didn't really care that he'd slept next to me. In fact, I was grateful for it. He had just saved me from a fate worse than death. The thought of Liam's hairy chest pressed into my cheek made me shiver with disgust. I forced myself to take a deep breath and tried to relax into the pillows.

  For the time being, I was safe. I checked for my watch but realized the vampires had taken it, too. Sitting up, I tried not to let the pain I was feeling in my back show on my face while I checked the clock on my nightstand. It was three fifteen. I groaned and fell back into the headboard.

  I had a date in less than four hours. Somehow, I didn't feel like going on one anymore; the death of a parent will do that to a person. But then again, it would be nice to see Terrence. I needed to see a friendly face. Levie always looked so arrogant. He never smiled at me, and the sphinx always just came across as expressionless. I sniffled and tried not to cry again. Tears just didn't suit me. Ginger Malloy does not cry. Besides, it seemed silly to ball my eyes out with the sunlight streaming in the window and across my bedspread like liquid gold. Everything in my room just looked so cheerful that it sort of made me feel ill.

  What I hadn't expected and what shocked me into jumping were the gentle arms that wrapped around my shoulders and pulled me close. I felt Levie's breath in my hair, warm and comforting. Muscles in my lower belly tightened, and I was ashamed at myself for having even one iota of sexual thought when all I really felt like I should be doing was crying.

  “I am sorry about your mother,” Levie said softly, the haughtiness in his voice reduced to almost nothing, like the glimmer of city stars behind the smog; they were always there, even if you couldn't see them. “I was too late to save her. Can you forgive me?” Forgive him? What on earth was he talking about? He didn't need to be asking for my forgiveness, Liam did. He needed to beg for it and then die a horrible death. That was what I wanted, and I told Levie so.

  “I want Liam to pay, Levie. Not just for what he did to my mother, but also for what he was trying to do to me. Did to me.” I touched fingers to my neck and felt yet another wave of nausea at my own wretchedness. The bite still felt good, like that last packet of Ho Hos that you know you shouldn't eat, a guilty pleasure. Only Ho Hos don't have breath that smells like rotten onions and decomposing apricots. Plus, they don't try to rape you. I looked up at Levie. His face was thoughtful. “That's what I'm going to use my last wish for. I want to destroy Liam. And maybe Nathaniel, too. Can you help me phrase it just right? I'm sort of tired of screwing things up.” Levie shook his head, and my heart sank.

  “You do not need to waste your last wish on that. I will take care of them for you. Men such as that worthless lump of coal, Liam, deserve to be castrated and then killed.” He said it with such ferocity that I felt heat rise in his skin. Fearing flames would engulf my entire bed, I sat up and turned to face him.

  “There's no way that you could take out both of those guys, Levie. Look at you,” I gestured at his stomach wound. “You're hurt enough as it is.” Levie scowled.

  “That was an unfortunate accident. I was careless.” I looked at him skeptically.

  “Then why did you run away?” I asked. “From a senior.” Levie rolled his eyes.

  “That man is powerful, despite his age. And I did not run away as you so poorly phrased it. I was removing you from the situation. I could have killed both of those fools but feared what they might do to you when I was otherwise occupied.”

  “Why didn't you incinerate them then?” I asked. Levie blushed.

  “They were resistant to my magics. Both will require more forceful means of elimination.” Forceful means? I decided it was probably better not to ask. Either I really was calling him on his bluff, or there was something more deadly than incineration. Whatever the truth was, I was not in a place to want to know.

  “Well, it doesn't really matter anyway. I'm just glad that you got there when you did. I don't know if I could have stayed sane if he'd gone through with ... with that.” I shivered again and fought back the tears that threatened to overwhelm me.

  Since when was I ever this pathetic? I hadn't cried in front of anyone since I was a kid and now the waterworks wanted to start again. In front of this arrogant demon no less? Fantastic. I rubbed at my eyes frantically.

  “Shit. I hate women who cry all the time. It makes us seem so weak, you know?” Levie said nothing and didn't move while I got my emotions under control. “And screw you for letting me sleep when I might have had a concussion,” I babbled at him while inside, I was still trying to push down the vestiges of fear that I'd retained from last night.

  “What did he do to you?” Levie asked quietly. I groaned.

  “Don't bring it up again, please. I just want to forget about it for now, okay? Why do you care anyway? Preventing me from being raped isn't in your job description.” Levie's eyes hardened to flints of steel.

  “What did he do to you?” he repeated. I hadn't the strength of will to argue right then, so I gave in.

  “He bit me and fondled my tits. That's pretty much it. You happy now?” Levie grasped my upper arms and pulled me roughly against him. I froze in complete shock. What was this? What was going on here exactly?

  “No, I am not happy at all,” was his only answer. I raised my head to look into his eyes.

  “What are you doing?” I asked him, rather confused at his abrupt change in character. Levie appeared uncomfortable.

  “Are you not enjoying this?” he asked me. I thought about it. I really thought about it and decided the answer was that I kind of was. I glanced over at the sphinx who just stared blankly back at me.

  “Um, can you go away?” I asked it. I wasn't positive about what was going to happen, but I was pretty sure that I didn't need an audience. The sphinx stood up and stretched.

  “Why might the captain of a ship give his wife the final space on the life boat?” it stressed at me and then turned and trotted out of the room. I looked back at Levie. He had a rather interesting expression on his face, part his usual hubris and part something else. It could have been desire, lust, what have you, but I wasn't sure.

  “Don't you hate me?” I asked him and received a look that relegated me to the level of idiot. “Well, you've certainly told me how much you disliked me and how annoying you found me on numerous occasions.” Levie glared at me.

  “Ginger,” he stated, speaking as if to a child. “A real man does not go about randomly kissing maidens on the lips when he has no interest in being with them.” That was the first time I had heard that one. Maybe Levie was a chivalrous knight in his own way. I laughed, delighted at his view of morals.

  “Well, Levie” I said. “I wish all men were as noble as you.” I chuckled again. His words were just too good to be true. It had to some kind of demonic joke. I tried to push away and call him on it when he tightened the hold of his arms and brought his lips to mine. My body responded instantly, and I lost my desire to speak. His mouth was surprisingly soft, and his tongue was a welcome distraction from the horrible memories that were tickling my brain with greedy fingers. Warm hands traveled down my back and over my ass, choking the life and all resistance out of me. I pulled back just enough to speak. “Levie,” I whispered. “I have to tell you something.”

  He cut me off with another kiss, and it took great effort to force myself to stop a second time. Desire burned in his orange eyes, and I bit my lip, unsure if I really wanted to mention my embarrassing little secret. It was kind of important, true, but I didn't want to ruin the mood. I shrugged and took his face between my hands, kissing him with a ferocity that surprised even me. The area between my thighs was beginning to moisten, and I shifted so that I was lying atop him instead of next to him. Levie grunted in pain, and I remembered his belly wound. “Oh no.” I sat up suddenly. “I'm sorry, Levie.” His expression was all desperation and hopeless, ridiculous desire. Is that for m
e? I wondered, rather ignorantly.

  “Stupid girl, what do you think you're doing?”

  “I forgot about it. I'm sorry, really.” Levie grit his teeth at me.

  “I didn't mean that,” he all but snarled. “I meant, where do you think you're going?” I blinked at him. Oh.

  “We can't do ... um ... anything like this, can we?” I gestured at our bloody, ripped clothing. Levie rolled his eyes and put a hand to his forehead. “Look,” I said. “I'm sorry. But you're injured, okay? How can you even ... you know ... with an injury like that?” Levie raised an eyebrow at me.

  “How can I what?” I leaned in and whispered in his ear.

  “You know, thrust.” He let out a short bark of laughter and flipped me onto my back. He was smiling, Levie was actually smiling.

  “Do you want to find out?” My heart flip-flopped, and I was having a difficult time swallowing. I felt like a sixteen year old girl about to get it on for the first time with her high school sweetheart. What was wrong with me? I was a twenty year old woman, but I was acting like a kid. I felt like I couldn't control myself and that freaked me out. I frantically tried to find a way out of it. It wasn't like I didn't want to do it; I just wasn't sure that I should. Once my wishes were over, Levie would leave, and I would never see him again. I wasn't exactly the type to sleep around casually. I swallowed around the lump in my throat.

  “You know, we really should shower first seeing as how we're both covered in dried blood and all.” I had meant separately, really, I had, but Levie's smile turned even more wicked.

  “That sounds exquisite,” he replied, rolling the word across his tongue like chocolate and kissing me so fiercely that I had a hard time catching my breath. How am I going to survive this? I wondered as Levie scooted off of the bed and stretched his wings as far as the bedroom walls would allow. I followed him into the bathroom and stared at the shower quizzically.

  “How are your wings going to fit in there?” I asked him. My shower was good sized, big for an apartment like mine but not that big. Levie grinned at me and the expression was no less arrogant than usual, just a bit more pleasant looking.

  “That, stupid girl,” he replied, the insult taking on an affectionate tone. “ Is what magic is for.” He didn't whisper an incantation or make any hand motions, just stepped into the shower, his wings passing through the shower door as if they weren't even there.

  “What did you do?” I asked him as he turned the water on himself, still fully clothed.

  “Can't this wait until later?” he asked me, holding out one, red nailed hand. I hesitated, but my insides were aching fiercely, and I wasn't sure if I could say no anymore. I took his hand and stepped into the rapidly warming water.

  Levie wrapped his hands around my ribcage and grasped the fabric of the shirt between his fingers. I raised my arms above my head, and he pulled it up and over, tossing it carelessly above the shower doors. I fought back the blush that was attempting to rise in my cheeks. He'd seen my boobs before anyway, right? But this time was different; he wasn't ignoring them now. I tried not to gasp as Levie reached up and pushed my bra up and over my breasts, causing them to spill out beneath the wires.

  “Is this the part where I'm supposed to say nice ta-tas?” Levie asked me with complete and utter seriousness. I laughed so hard that my belly began to hurt. When I looked back up at him and wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes, he was glaring at me again.

  “No, Levie, that's okay. Thank you anyway.” Levie shook his head.

  “This is why I hate humans; they make no sense to me.” I tried not to laugh again and distracted us both by removing his shirt. Unfortunately, this made his injury all the more obvious. The wound looked clean enough, but I had no way of knowing how deep it went. My heart sank in my chest.

  “God, Levie, I'm so sorry.” I reached a hand down and hovered it over his belly, not wanting to touch. “This is kind of my fault, isn't it? If I hadn't wished for my mother to ... ” My breath caught in my throat, and I pushed down the negative emotions. Levie cupped my chin in his hand and kissed me again.

  “I am a demon. That wound is but a scratch, it will heal quickly. You are far more injured than am I ... ” His voice trailed off, and I finally remembered to notice the pulsing in my head over the pulsing in my ... well.

  “I'm fine,” I lied. My ribs and back were on fire, but if I told him that, he'd stop, and I really, really didn't want that. “I feel much better.”

  “Then please,” he murmured, his voice catching. “I don't think I can handle many more distractions.” I followed his gaze down to his groin. Oh. Did I do that? Suddenly, I was nervous again.

  “Levie?” I whispered frantically. He moaned and grabbed me by my shoulders, lightly pushing me against the back wall of the shower. He reached for the back zipper of my skirt, tugged on it, and then slid the wet fabric over my hips, letting it drop to the floor. “Levie.” This one came out more as a moan as his hand slipped between my thighs and began to slide across the wetness of my underwear. “Levie,” I insisted. He stopped and placed his hands on either side of my head.

  “Speak now, human, because this is your last chance. I'm not going to stop again.” I tried to look at everything in the shower except him. Focusing my eyes on a half empty bottle of shampoo, I took a deep breath.

  “I'm not exactly the most experienced when it comes to these kinds of situations,” I said slowly, still not looking at him. He stared at me oddly, and I felt like I should explain a little better. “I know that most people my age have already ... you know ... they've done this sort of thing a lot, but I haven't really ... you know ... had the full experience.” Levie locked his eyes on mine, and I couldn't look away.

  “I don't understand what you're saying, stupid girl. Please, can you use a more concise manner of speech?” I knew that I was blushing now. God, this was horrible. I hadn't expected admitting my secret would be so hard. And leave it to Levie to make sure that it was as difficult as it could possibly be.

  “You really don't know what I'm talking about?” I asked him, hoping I wouldn't be forced to say it so bluntly out loud. He sighed, and I could see that his excitement was dwindling, if the bulge in his pants had any say so in the matter. “I'm a fucking virgin, Levie. Christ. Thanks for making me spell it out for you.” I tried to shove him out of my way so that I could get out of the bathroom as quickly as possible. He refused to budge. “Move,” I growled, trying to duck under his arms. Levie grasped me around the waist before I could protest and used his body weight to press me tightly against the tile. I could feel the hardness in his pants against my pelvis, and I had to bite my lip to keep from moaning. He nibbled my ear while one hand traveled down and pushed my underwear over my thighs. Levie reached between my legs and cupped me tightly.

  “We're both rather capable adults, wouldn't you agree, Ginger?” he purred, and I shivered in delight at the sound of his voice in my ear. “I think we can manage, don't you?” I nodded, and he let go of me abruptly. I watched, my body nearly shaking with need, as he removed my panties completely and then began to undo his buttons. Levie slid both his pants and underwear down his hips and stepped out of them. Unsure as to exactly how I was to go about it, I reached down and wrapped my hand around his dick. Levie moaned and pressed his body against mine. “I know that we should wait,” he said, undoing the clasp of my bra and pulling it down my arms. “But I'm not sure that I want to. Would you forgive me this once if I were to forgo the foreplay?” This once? That meant he thought there would at least be a second time. That made me feel better for what I was about to do, but at the back of my mind, I kept repeating to myself that he would be leaving soon and that I would never see him again. Did I really want to lose my virginity to someone that it would be impossible to even date? Levie lifted one of my legs and pressed himself against my opening. The answer, at that point, was a definite yes. I knew sex was supposed to hurt the first time, but I figured that I was exempt as I was no stranger to masturbatio
n. I'd gotten my first vibrator at sixteen and hadn't hesitated in sticking the entire thing up where it was meant to go. Granted, Levie was a tad bit bigger than what I normally used, but I was sure it would be fine.

  He began to kiss me again, much more fiercely this time, and suddenly I was struck by a horrible thought. I put my hand on his chest and pushed him away. His face was almost as alarmed as I felt. “What is it?” he asked, his voice cracking with the strain of holding back when he was so close.

  “We need a condom,” I whispered, feeling stupid for forgetting. And I just happened to flush the last one in my possession down the toilet. “And I don't have any.” Levie's alarm turned to confusion.

  “A condom?” he asked. Maybe demons didn't need them, but humans did.

  “Yeah, you know, the latex thing you put over your,” I gestured at him. “Penis. I'm not getting pregnant.” I paused then added, “Or an STD. I'm not really sure which is worse.” Levie let go of me and stepped back, looking enormously offended. I hadn't meant it the way it had sounded; I didn't really think that he had any diseases. I just didn't want to take a chance. I didn't even know if demons could get humans pregnant anyway.

  “Are you suggesting that I am a carrier of ... of ... ” he sputtered, and I watched, horrified, as all of the tenderness disappeared and the arrogant, haughty, ostentatious mask reappeared. “Disease.” He practically spat the last word at me.

  “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.