Page 3 of Sin

“I’m going to remind you that you said that, Sinclair. Sooner than you think.”

I was able to ignore the impulse to roll my eyes yet again, but only just. The constant bickering and one-upping were just a few of the many reasons I despised interacting with demonkind. Everything was a fucking competition. I wasn’t any better, far from. I’d just long ago learned that Death always won in the end, and that took most of the fun out of it.

The deeper we went down the darkened hallway, the louder the pulse of house music became. Sin stopped at the side-by-side doorways, each one with staircases going in opposing directions.

“Mmm, you’ve created quite a smorgasbord for yourself here, Lilith. The energy coming from either of these could feed me for a week.”

Lilith stopped and cast a glare over her shoulder. “It will feedme. Don’t get any ideas, Sinclair. I’ve already told you.” Her gaze flitted to me. “It’s a little different than it was the last time you were here, isn’t it, Daddy Death?”

I bristled and offered her a grunt in response.

Those shrewd eyes trailed my body, stopping at my bare hands. “Where are your gloves? Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten the rules. It’s not like you to miss such an important detail.”

The rule she referred to she’d set in place the first time I’d been invited to a, let’s call it a business meeting, at her sanctuary. Fair enough, I supposed. Sitting around a table with Death could hardly inspire comfort. The only way she could get the others to agree to attend was if I promised to wear gloves.The fact that they believed that would stop me from reaping their souls if I so chose was laughable, but it made them feel safe. The important detail to note was the gloves would prevent me fromaccidentallykilling someone who might be stupid enough to brush up against me.

“I’ll be on my best behavior.” My hands wouldn’t leave my pockets the rest of this visit.

“What’s downstairs?” Chaos asked, peering into the stairwell, its red-hued ambience making it clear exactly what we’d find.

“Sex,” I muttered. “More than you’d know what to do with.”

“And my special rooms.”

“Special rooms?” Malice asked. “Like torture chambers?”

Lilith’s blood-red lips quirked into a wicked grin. “If required by the user, yes. My rooms give their occupants every fantasy they can dream up.”

“I’m in the wrong line of work,” Sin said, closing the distance between himself and the staircase. “You guys can handle this without me, right? I just want to see?—”

“No,” I barked. “Keep going. We need to get this meeting over with.”

Lilith’s throaty laugh carried through the hall as she continued forward, stopping when she reached a nondescript door. Turning to Crombie, she said, “Now, you wait out here while I tend to business. We are not to be disturbed, pet. Not even by you.”

“Aren’t you going to give me a kiss before you abandon me yet again?”

“Aw, is my poor prince feeling neglected?”

“Regularly.”

Lilith’s laugh was like the tinkle of a bell. Instead of giving him the kiss he’d asked for, she brushed her knuckles downthe side of his cheek. “Need looks good on you, pet.” Then she sashayed into her office, leaving him pouting in her wake.

“I feel like I should be taking notes,” Sin murmured as we filed into the room after her, the door whispering closed without anyone touching it.

“Of course you should, darling. Everything I do is noteworthy.”

Lilith fell gracefully into the chair behind her desk, kicking her stiletto-clad feet up onto the polished wood top. The golden chain connecting her to the man outside glittered in the light, and I wondered about the magic binding them.

Apparently Malice did as well because he asked, “Why is it you have a chain instead of a regular demon mark to represent your deal?”

“What makes you think we made a deal at all?” she countered with a lift of one perfectly sculpted brow.

“Because I know you. Deals are your forte.”

She lifted one shoulder in an elegant shrug. “I can only assume it has something to do with his fae nature.”

“You didn’t think to press the issue?” Chaos asked.

“Why bother?” Lilith replied. “What’s done is done, and I have much bigger fish to fry.”

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