by Emma Castle
“We have a contract, Diana. He’s safe as long as you abide by the terms.” Lucien’s voice stirred inside her mind, and she shuddered.
“Leave me alone,” she hissed under her breath.
“You’re mine, remember? Or do I need to show up in person and remind you just what is at stake if you break the contract.”
“Diana, let’s go for walk,” her father said. His hopeful expression was too much to ignore. Getting outside would do her some good. Get her mind off deals with the devil.
“Sure, sounds fun. Mom?” Diana reached for her light jacket.
Her mother smiled and nodded at the door to her . “You guys go on. I have some catching up to do. The laundry won’t fold itself, and I’ve got a million emails from the office to answer.”
Diana knew her mother had taken a lot of time off work recently when it became clear that her father wasn’t going to get better.
Her father put on his coat, and Diana followed him outside.
“Can you believe this? Wonderful sunshine, light breeze, fresh air.” Hal’s joy was infectious, and Diana couldn’t resist basking in the glow of his happy mood. He looked like he was two seconds away from skipping down the sidewalk like a little kid, and she couldn’t help but grin. Was this really happening? She and Hal walked to the park, just like they used to do on the weekends before he’d fallen ill. Yet part of her feared this was all an illusion. She’d heard that some people with cancer suddenly got better before relapsing and dying shortly after. Maybe the treatments the doctors had been trying worked and…
She shook the thought off. She knew the truth deep down. But it didn’t mean she had to face it—or the devil—today. Today was about her father coming home.
Thinking about her bargain with Lucien was something she could put off for another day. Yet she found her thoughts straying back to him—and the increasingly erotic dreams she had—over and over. In her dreams, he would do things to her, dirty things that made her cry out with pleasure, and she’d wake up trembling, her panties soaked with her arousal. She was going to have to meet him, sleep with him in just two days. She was so not ready for that. No one could be ready to have sex with the devil, right?
“You seem preoccupied,” her dad said when they reached the end of the street.
Diana glanced at the cute row of houses, some with the proverbial white picket fences, others with gardens and big trees. She’d always loved his neighborhood. It was the place she’d grown up, the place she called home and felt safe.
“I guess I am a little.” She wished she could talk to him about everything on in her mind, but she couldn’t. You didn’t ever tell your father that you’d sold yourself to the devil to save him.
“I know you and your mother are worried about this cure being temporary, but even the doctor said he couldn’t find any evidence of the tumors.”
“I know,” she admitted. She never really kept secrets from her parents, not big ones, but a bargain with the devil was as big as it could get, and she couldn’t tell her father about her deal. Guilt ate away at her, but this was one thing she had to keep a secret, even if it hurt her to lie.
“Talk to me, Di.” Her father’s gentle but focused gaze dug the knife deeper in her heart. “You never were afraid to talk to me before.”
They crossed the street and headed to the small park. A few children ran about the sand pit and climbed on brightly colored equipment. She and her father stopped at the edge of the sand pit and watched the kids play for a minute.
“Dad, have you ever agreed to do something you didn’t want to in order to make sure something else, something good happened?”
“Hmm…that depends. Is what you’re doing going to hurt someone else?”
“No! No, of course not…except maybe me.”
Hal sat down on the park bench, and she joined him. He looked away, a frown curving his lips down.
“What kind of hurt are you talking about? Because few things in life are worth getting hurt over.”
“Maybe hurt isn’t the right word.” A little girl climbed up the ladder and then went down the slide, giggling. The innocence of the child and her joy soothed Diana. “I think it’s more that what I do might be wrong.”
“Unethical? Illegal or immoral?”
“Maybe immoral,” she said. “But it only affects me. No one else.” Her father’s face morphed before her eyes, the curiosity ebbing away as his eyes narrowed and his lips turned down at the corners. Guilt gnawed at her insides for worrying him, and she nearly took her question back, but then he spoke in his thoughtful way.
“I guess you have to ask yourself if the price of betraying yourself is worth whatever good comes out of it.” He put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. “I know you think you have to protect yourself and keep secrets sometimes, but let me help. I can offer sage advice—that’s the benefit of being a parent.” He winked at her, and she smiled.
“I know. I know how supportive you and Mom are.” They were the kind of parents most kids would die to have. But the bargain she’d made wasn’t something they would ever understand. This is something I must do alone. “But I promise everything is fine, okay? If I had a real problem, I promise I’d come to you for help.”
Hal sighed and closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and breathed deeply. The lines of worry were gone, and he looked years younger. It was strange to see him looking so good and healthy again after everything. The grief that had weighed her down was fading the more she looked at him.
“You’re really feeling better?” she asked.
He nodded. “It’s like I had a black cloud all over me, choking me, pressing me down. Every bone hurt, every muscle was so inflamed that I could barely think past the pain. But now? It’s like I’m twenty years old again. I feel strong, I feel…” He fisted his hands. “I feel like me again.”
If it really was because of the bargain she had made, Diana would pay any price for this, to see her father happy and healed. Even if that meant facing the reality of what her dark and frightening erotic dreams with Lucien promised.
They remained on the park bench for another half an hour before they decided to walk home. Her mother was waiting and had the pot roast ready. Diana felt like she was a teenager again, being home with her parents and just sharing dinner, but when her mother offered her old room upstairs for the night, she waved a hand.
“I think I ought to head home. Seth has been acting weird lately, and I don’t want to leave him alone for too long.”
“Weird?” Her mother paused in the act of putting some of the dishes from the sink into the dishwasher.
“Yeah.” Diana leaned against the kitchen counter. “He’s been hissing at the air and running away from nothing. It’s just weird.” She was pretty sure she knew what was upsetting her cat, but she wasn’t about to tell her parents that the devil was visiting her in dreams at night and fucking her into oblivion.
“Huh?” Her mother shrugged. “Cats,” she said, as if that one word was enough.
“You leaving, honey?” Her father came into the kitchen and joined her mom by the sink.
“Yeah. I’m heading out. I’ll see you guys in a few days, okay?” Diana hugged them before she left the house and got into her car. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t remember driving the entire way back to her apartment.
This time when she pulled into the driveway of her apartment complex, she knew immediately that something was off. Like that weird sense she was being watched. She climbed the stairs to her apartment, wanting to escape the strange feeling, but as she turned into the hallway toward her door, she froze. There, on her welcome mat, was a black velvet box tied with a crimson ribbon.
“What the”
She picked up the box, studying it. It had a solid weight, and she gave it a cautious shake. She heard some indistinct rustling. Diana took the package and tucked it under her arm before she unlocked the door and slipped inside. Seth rushed up to meet her, but when she removed the bo
x from under her arm, and he hissed and flattened his ears.
“Oh!” In a flash, a thought struck her. The cat had reacted to the letter from Lucien’s attorney and now this box. Was he reacting to…the devil? If that was the case, had he been here last night when she was reading?
“Oh God…” What else had he seen? Holy crap, can he see me naked?
A metallic taste filled her mouth, and she panicked.
Calm down. This might be a good thing. Seth could be my canary in a coal mine. If he’s freaking out at nothing, it might mean I have an invisible visitor. That would be good to know…I think.
Diana set the box on her kitchen table and slowly pulled at the red satin ribbon. Lifting the lid on the box, she gasped. A red-and-cream lace dress was delicately folded in the charcoal-gray tissue paper. There was also a pair of black heels, incredibly sexy ones, with a black leather strap that went around her ankles and a strap across her toes.
A velvet pouch resting on the dress contained diamond earrings in the shape of teardrops and a diamond choker. By the clarity of the stones and the weight of it in her palms, it felt way too real to be costume jewelry.
“Holy shit.” Diana dropped the jewelry back into the pouch and picked up the note card that was tucked between the shoes.
Diana,
You will wear this outfit on Friday night. Do not disobey. Remember, pleasing me means your father remains alive.
Sincerely,
Lucien Star
Seth crawled out from under the couch and stared at the bag with an all too feline look of contempt. Diana put everything in the box and put the lid back on it. Then she carried it over to her coat closet, set it on the top shelf, and closed the door. She hoped, perhaps foolishly, that if it was out of sight, she could somehow forget it until Friday.
For the next few hours, Diana busied herself with her summer classes on macroeconomics. But her gaze kept drifting back to the closet and the box.
Do not look at it. No doubt that’s what he wants. Have you all upset over it and lose focus on what matters. And right now, homework matters.
Another half hour passed, and with a frustrated little growl she retrieved the box and stepped into her bedroom. Seth followed, his glowing amber eyes disapproving as he leapt on the bed and sat like a sphinx.
“I’m just going to try it on. There’s no way he could know my size, and it will be fun to send this back telling him that.”
She stripped out of her jeans and sweater before she pulled on the red-and-cream lacy dress. It fit snugly, but it wasn’t tight. The fabric seemed to move with her body. The sleeves were cold-shoulder in design, which was nice. She put on the heels and the jewelry next, just to get the full effect, and then she walked over to the full-length mirror and gazed at herself in awe. The dress hugged her body like a second skin except for the skirt, which flared in a movie star sort of way. A dress like this made a girl feel gorgeous and sexy.
Diana fingered the diamond choker against her throat, feeling for a moment like a collared dog, a pet that belonged to the king of hell. Most of her cringed in revulsion at the thought, but there was a tiny, soft voice in the back of her mind whispering thoughts she always did her best to ignore.
What will he be like in bed? What pleasures will he show you?
She didn’t want to know, at least that’s what she told herself. She stared at her reflection in the mirror for a long while, doubts assailing her. Friday night was only two days away.
Just two days before she spent time with the devil.
5
What hath night to do with sleep? —John Milton, Paradise Lost
The first midnight
* * *
It was time.
Diana fastened the diamond earrings on her earlobes with trembling fingers, betraying her nerves. All day long she’d counted the minutes. Seconds had crawled by, and yet time ran forward in an instant and she faced the myth-turned-reality of her bargain. The lace dress slid seductively against her skin. It brought back vivid memories of her dreams about Lucien touching her. Her body flushed with treacherous heat, and she hated herself for reacting to him and the dreams. But damn…he made her so hot, so hungry with his hands, his mouth. His entire body seemed designed to tempt a woman to leave all rationality behind.
And tonight she was going to be with him for real. Dread and fascination warred within her, and she drew in a shaky breath.
It’s going to be okay. It has to be.
Headlights flooded the driveway below her second-story window, and she knew, without even looking, that the car had arrived. Precisely on time. The devil’s in the details…
Grabbing an overnight bag, she hesitated at the threshold of her apartment. The note hadn’t said not to bring anything, but if he expected her to stay a whole night, she damn well wouldn’t be dropped off in the morning wearing this dress, which was nothing more than an exquisite glorified negligée.
Stiffening her spine and her resolve, she gave Seth one last scratch behind the ears and shut the apartment door behind her, head high as she made her way down the stairs and out the front door to the waiting car.
She hesitated a moment, knowing that once she got into the car, she couldn’t go back. Finally she gripped the handle, opened the door, and tossed her bag in. The driver made no chivalrous move to open her door or help her with her bag. But that made sense. The devil probably didn’t employ nice guys.
She buckled herself in and peered at the driver through the space between the two front seats, her heart pounding as she knew she was one step closer to meeting Lucien again.
“Welcome, Ms. Kingston.”
The driver seemed so normal—medium build, gray eyes, not unattractive. He caught her eyes in the rearview mirror and smiled slightly. Was he a demon? Or a human like her?
Now that she was thinking about it, what did demons look like? Could they appear normal? It would seem they could. After all, they were supposed to deceive humans, right? For a few minutes she was able to distract herself from the idea of sleeping with Lucien by focusing on even scarier ideas like demons existing in the world.
The driver didn’t interrupt her thoughts as he drove through the bustling city of Chicago. Suburbia turned to urban warehouses and buildings, and the sky kept darkening from purple to endless black outside of the glow of streetlights.
And then suddenly, the boom of music brought her out of her musings, and the car stopped in front of a club. Hellfire Rising. Of course, the name of the devil’s home.
The driver broke the silence while he parked the car. “I’ll take you inside.” He got out of the car, and a flood of loud music, people chatting, and cars honking in traffic filled the interior until he closed the door. Alone and in complete silence, the weight of her decision to go through with her deal pushed down on her shoulders, making her slump. She had one last chance to escape. But then…her father… She didn’t dare break her promise to the devil now.
Her door opened, and the cacophony of sound surrounded her again. Diana grabbed her bag, exited quickly, and followed the driver inside the club only to discover an empty interior, which made no sense at midnight on a Friday.
Unease prickled down her spine like invisible fingers playing a sinister melody. “Where is everyone?” she asked the driver.
“Mr. Star closed the club tonight because he wishes to have no distractions while you’re here.” His chuckle was slightly teasing, but there was a look in his eyes that seemed to be…pity?
Diana swallowed hard, her nerves making her edgy, and her knees knocked together.
“This way please. You will use this elevator to reach the penthouse each time you come.” The driver took her to a set of gold-and-black elevator doors and pressed the call button. The doors slid open, and the driver came into the elevator with her. He pointed at a flat panel by the door.
“Place your right palm on the scanner, and it will allow you to access his penthouse.”
After a moment’s hesitation, she reac
hed out and did as he instructed. The panel glowed green beneath her hand, and the elevator doors closed. They rode up ten floors in silence, and she had the sudden urge to laugh. Shouldn’t she be going down to see the devil?
She wasn’t sure what she expected, but the suite of rooms she stepped into was beautiful. The furniture was sleek and dark, the carpets crisp and white. A glass-and-rock fireplace burned in the corner of the main room. It was stunning and seductive. Did you expect pits of fire and blood everywhere? He may be the devil, but he wants to seduce you, not scare you off.
“You’ll be all right,” the driver said behind her, and then he hit the button to take himself back down.
She set her bag down. There was no sign of him. She walked into the room and paused when she reached the bookshelves along one wall by a tall, wide window. Several books that appeared more than a hundred years old peeked out from the shelf. Their gold-lettered spines glinted in the firelight. An exquisite grandfather clock in one corner struck midnight as she approached the bookcase.
Dante’s Inferno. Not a surprise. She read more titles, discovering Edgar Allan Poe, Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, and even a few paperbacks, along with one she’d read, Susan Hills’s The Woman in Black. The story was poignant, beautiful, and terrifying. She trailed a finger along the spine and then moved farther down the row of mahogany bookshelves.
A glint and a flash of light near the window caught her eye. She found a clear square display case, and the contents left her breathless.
A single white feather hung in the air, floating under the glass. Shimmering particles swirled slowly around the suspended feather like silver dust. Pale creamy moonlight illuminated the snowy feather, mesmerizing her. She gripped the glass and lifted, ready to touch the feather, but a voice from behind her sent her heart racing.
