Page 16 of Midnight with the Devil

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 saidnotto 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 reached 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 goingdownto 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 ofhim. 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.

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