Page 38 of Midnight with the Devil

“The devil has my phone number. Ugh.” Diana groaned. “And he’s spying on me,” she announced loudly. “Which is the opposite of cool, by the way.” She knew he could hear her. Amara raised a questioning brow.

“Sorry, I know I look crazy, but he can hear me when I talk,” she explained. Her phone buzzed again, and she looked at the screen.

Unknown number: I’m not cool, I’m hot. Haven’t you figured out that by now? ;-)

He finished the text with a pineapple emoji.

What the hell did the pineapple emoji mean? She saved the number in her phone under one word as the name:Asshat. Now at least she could get a laugh each time he messaged or called her.

Diana: What does the pineapple mean?

Asshat: If you don’t know, you’ll never guess.

Diana: That was nice and cryptic.

“Are you all right to drive home?” Amara asked.

“Yeah, thanks again.” She gave Amara one more hug and headed for her car. It was going to be a long week if Lucien kept texting her over and over.

Asshat: Where you going now?

Diana stared her phone screen as she sat in her car.

Diana: Stop texting me. I’m about to go to the grocery store, and I won’t text and drive, not even for you. By the way, I hate emojis.

Asshat: The person who created emojis has a spot reserved in my workplace. Don’t worry, he’ll get his comeuppance.

Diana snorted, a little surprised he made her laugh. She put the phone on silent and tucked it into her purse before she started her car. This afternoon she had a barbecue at her parents’ house with her parents’ neighborhood block, and the last thing she needed was to be bothered with the devil.

11

He ended, and his words, replete with guile, into her heart too easy entrance won. - John Milton, Paradise Lost

The little supermarket Diana stopped at was a high-end one that her mother liked. Armed with the list her mother had sent her, she parked her car and retrieved her purse before she exited the vehicle.

“You weren’t kidding.” A dark voice chuckled, and she jumped. Lucien was leaning against the side of her car.

“How the heck did you—you know what? Never mind.”

Lucien chuckled. He still wore a black suit and his signature red tie. He looked so intimidating and out of place in the parking lot of the store. She couldn’t help but remember how he’d used that red tie to bind her wrists while he tortured her with pleasure in his bed. Her thighs clenched and her womb throbbed to life at the memory. She’d never look at red ties the same way again.

“I don’t even have to read your thoughts,” he murmured silkily as he stroked his hand over the tie and then flashed her a wicked look. “I’ll be sure to use it again. The next time I’ll fuck you so hard you’ll be hoarse from screaming.”

Diana blinked, unable to speak for several seconds, and then she shook off the erotic enchantment his words had cast over her.

“You have to stop saying things like that…at least in public.”

“Noted.” He glanced around. “I’ll be sure to tell youeverythingI’m going to do to you once we’re alone.”

They stared at each other, the electricity sparking between them until a car alarm made Diana jump and Lucien’s focus break. A woman nearby had hit her alarm on accident and was frantically trying to get it to stop.

Lucien rolled his eyes, and with a snap of his fingers, the alarm turned off.

“So, let’s go shopping. I’m curious to see how mortals grocery shop. I never usually watch humans do much of anything unless it involves lust, money, or power.” He waved to the woman walking past them pushing a cart full of food. She glanced at them, frowning.

“Maybe you should cool it on the wholemortalthing. If people think you’re crazy, they might call the police.”

Lucien flashed her a devastating grin. “Oh, don’t tempt me, darling. I’ve got handcuff fantasies on the list for next Friday night.”

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