Page 2 of Nightmares and Numerology

Boy, would I. It had been a long time since I’d... ahem... climaxed with a partner. Rodney had never been spectacular inthat arena. Once in a blue moon, I could get there, but it was usually never something he worked at. I pitied Andrea her sex life. Maybe I wasn’t the one losing the competition after all. I hadAngelowaiting at home, and she didn’t. That made me the winner, didn’t it?

“Principal and schoolgirl?” I asked skeptically. “Please tell me you don’t want me to wear a ridiculous skirt.”

“Only if you want to,” he answered, his lips quirking into a smirk that could evaporate a nun’s underwear at thirty paces.

I fiddled with his tie after a moment’s thought. “I think I prefer secretary and CEO, personally.”

Angelo’s eyes gleamed with challenge. “Me too. I have the keys to Hallowed Homes. It should be empty after midnight. I have averyspacious desk, and my door locks.”

Alone in his office and at his mercy. It had possibilities. Enough to face the model girlfriend? Maybe.

“Take me to dinner first,” I challenged.

“Gladly. Then you return the favor. I say we celebrate your divorce properly.”

My mouth felt dry, but I managed to force the words out, breathy with anticipation I couldn’t suppress. I didn’t think all of it had to do with his pheromones.

“It’s a date.”

His dazzling smile made my heart squeeze. The fluttery feeling in my stomach was more than pure lust. I wanted more from Angelo than he might be able to give me. I wanted... a relationship. With a non-monogamous demon who needed sex to survive. It was enough to give a girl a complex.

“Good,” he said, genuine warmth in his voice. “Now, march your sexy ass into that courtroom and show that limp-dicked asshole who’s boss.”

I snapped off a salute, only half-mocking.

“Yes, sir.”

Chapter Two

Lydia

“That gutless little weasel,” I hissed. “He did this on purpose!”

Vin chuckled, brushing power over my skin effortlessly. It was an occupational hazard of working alongside an incubus. Vin had only been my lawyer for a few weeks, but they’d been the most productive weeks in court I’d had in years. Rodney delighted in gumming up the works, dragging the proceedings out for as long as possible just to spite me.

I’d never understood that. It wasn’t like divorce was a pleasant experience for him, either. What was it about some men that made them willing to cut off their nose to spite their face? Why was Rodney so determined to keep me in the miserable mire with him? We’d both moved on. There was no point to this.

And yet, Rodney had managed to get one last dig at me without lifting a finger. The jerk hadn’t shown up to court, despite saying he would. He’d gotten me worked into a furious lather and then left me hanging yet again. The judge had already found him in contempt of court, but it didn’t seem nearly enough. I had to return to courtagainto sort out the small details before the divorce could be finalized. Rodney had done it on purpose, just to prolong the process one more time.

“Take it as a compliment, Ms. Morton,” Vin said. “It means you’re still under his skin.”

“Exactly where I don’t want to be.”

He nodded. “I’ve been in this business for over a century. Believe me, women are not the pettier sex. Rodney’s acting like a child. If he can’t get your attention the way he wants to...”

I sighed. “He’ll throw a tantrum, so I have to pay attention, anyway. It’s so idiotic.”

“Agreed,” Vin said, his voice dropping an octave as hepaused a moment. “I’d… uh, I’d like to speak with you before you leave with my cousin. It shouldn’t take long.”

That sounded ominous, spoken in the husky timbre most incubi possessed. I still preferred the dulcet sound of Angelo’s voice. In fact, it felt like Angelo had ruined me for most other men. Vin had been flirting relentlessly with me and giving my aura small, probing touches for a while, but it barely tingled. I knew it was happening, but it was more of an irritant than a turn-on. It felt oddly like a fly buzzing near my head, and I had no idea how to swat it. Indigo, my annoying witch sidekick, might have been able to tell me how to get his psychic mitts off me, but she’d been MIA for the last forty-eight hours.

After a select number of witches in town became aware of my predicament, they’d been working on solutions. The potion they concocted after a few weeks essentially put Indigo to sleep for days at a time. It didn’t solve her problem, but it provided temporary relief for my side of the equation. It meant I’d been able to go on a date with Angelo without Indigo’s constant commentary, and that had been glorious. I’d almost thought we’d fall into bed that night, but the timing hadn’t been right. There’d been more divorce nonsense, which had soured the mood. And now the bastard was doing it again. He was... oh my God, Rodney was cockblocking me!

Well, not today, I decided.

Rodney didn’t get to ruin my mood or the fun I had planned for tonight. Sure, Angelo wasn’t trailing rose petals up to a king-size bed with silk sheets. He was planning to give me something better—something I’d craved for years, but Rodney had never been willing to provide. You can joke all you want about the naughty librarian stereotype; but sometimes it’s true. Sometimes all a girl wants is to be bound and gagged after reading a good book. And Angelo wanted to make me feel good, and I desperately needed the distraction. No more overthinking.I was going to ride that train right into nirvana, and my ex’s shitty intentions couldn’t stop me.

The judge, a balding, middle-aged man I was half-convinced had some troll DNA in him, nodded wearily at me as he descended from his seat and disappeared into the office. It was a clear dismissal, and I had to resist the urge to kick the table on my way out of the courtroom. I still wanted to throw things, but I compromised by stewing about it for the next half hour. After that, I wasn’t going to let this spoil the day. That would play right into Rodney’s hands, and I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.

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