by Heather Long
He didn’t even have coffee. I don’t know where he got it from that first morning, but I couldn’t find any now. At. All.
What kind of hellish place did angels live in that they didn’t have coffee?
I paused mid-stanza and considered my sandwich, then the lack of entertainment, coffee, or wine. I had food to survive on and a place to bathe, as well as plenty of water to stay hydrated. But I was bored.
B.O.R.E.D. Bored.
It really was hell.
Picking up where I left off, I finished my song as I cut the sandwich in half.
As the last word faded away, a knock struck the door, and I let out a scream and nearly dropped my sandwich as I spun to face the door.
It was the only door other than the doors to the balcony in the place that wouldn’t open. Ergo, it was the exit.
A thrill went through me. Had my plan worked? Setting the sandwich down, I brushed the crumbs off my hand and hurried toward it. The ripped denim shorts and bright pink t-shirt I had on were hardly appropriate attire, but I’d skipped the whole get dressed nicely thing on day three of being trapped.
At the door, I paused. I couldn’t open it. Or, I hadn’t been able to before. Also, I had no idea who was on the other side of it. Seth wouldn’t knock on his own door, right?
Clearing my throat, I said, “Who is it?”
“A friend,” came a woman’s voice, and I blinked. A friend? I didn’t have any friends here. Maybe she was a friend of Seth’s.
I instantly disliked her, and I didn’t even know her.
Very uncharitable of me.
Apparently in my near-not-yet-quite-dead state, I’d become mercurial.
Sue me.
“Seth’s not here.” Bitch.
A soft, tinkling laugh. “I know he’s not. That’s why I’m coming over. You have to be bored.”
Suspicion edged through me. “Who are you?”
“I told you, a friend.”
“Uh huh. My friends have names.” Not that I cared if Seth’s did. Her beautiful almost lyrical voice promised a sexy, voluptuous woman—angel? My ego was far from fragile, but I didn’t need to see the competition up close.
Get it together, Dahlia. Maybe she can get you out.
“Well, we haven’t been formally introduced yet, and it would be quite awkward to do it through a door.”
She had a point. “I don’t know if I can open the door,” I admitted. “It wouldn’t open before.”
“Oh.” The handle wiggled. The sound of tumblers ground and clicked then popped. “Try now.”
Had she picked it from the outside? Why didn’t she just open it herself?
“I can wait while you have the debate, but I can’t let myself into Seth’s place. I have to be invited.”
Eyes narrowed, I took a step back. “I thought only vampires had to be invited in.”
“That’s a myth,” she said airily. “And I have to be invited, because the security won’t let me in otherwise. It’s a very effective system.”
“Can’t be that effective if you just unlocked the door.”
She laughed. “I adore you.”
More curious than anything else—especially about whether the door would open—I wrestled with the desire to test the theory.
“C’mon, you know you want to open it.”
“That’s just creepy,” I informed her.
“How is it creepy?” Oops, did I offend Miss Happy with the sexy voice and the probable voluptuous bod?
“Because you’re telling me what I want as well as telling me you can’t come in without an invitation. How do you know I can even give you the invitation? I could be a thief in here, ransacking the place.”
A choke of laughter ending on a snort greeted my response. Then there was silence. For a really, really long time. I’d given up and turned to go back to my sandwich when another knock hit the door.
“Hello?” I called.
“Hi. I’m back, I’d say Avon calling, but I think that would just create a whole other set of issues. I went and grabbed a couple of coffees. Will you let me in now?”
Oh, I’d donate a kidney for a cup of coffee, and I rubbed my suddenly damp palms against my shorts. One step from the door, I hesitated.
Wait.
What was the worst thing that would happen? The angelic version of Fatal Attraction? As disturbing as that thought should have been, I laughed. I was already dead. Seth had only prolonged the inevitable.
Fuck it.
I wanted the coffee.
I pulled the door open, and the woman standing there gave me a dazzling smile. Her violet eyes gleamed, the color so perfect, it made me jealous. My dark eyes had never had that kind of effect. The color coordination alone would have been a blast.
“Hi,” I said. Yeah. Weak, I know.
“Hello,” she said, and held out a venti cup of coffee. The scent pulled me like one of those cartoon characters floating on air to reach the source of the delightful cloud. “I think I got it right, triple espresso Valencia mocha with just a hint of the orange shavings.”
My mouth watered.
“Low fat milk, of course.”
“Oh, I might want to offer to have your babies,” I told her. “If I were going to have babies. Which I’m not. But I almost want to say I’d have yours.”
She laughed again. “Thank you for the charming offer. I’d have yours too, if you brought me my favorite after being stuck in stuffy old Seth’s boudoir for days.”
He wasn’t stuffy. He wasn’t even anal, if you went by his library. Tall, so tall. Fierce. Raw. Unbridled. Devastatingly sexy. Yes to all of those things.
Course, I didn’t like him at the moment so… “You have no idea,” I told her, and closed my fingers on the coffee cup. The heat of it and the scent were a mini-gasm waiting to happen. I couldn’t wait until it hit my tongue.
After the first sip, I sighed. So. So. So. Good.
Still smiling, my coffee angel waited for me to come back to…I’d say Earth, but to wherever I was. “Did I get it right?”
“You did,” I told her. “You so did. Come in, please. Save me from the tedium.”
Pure delight seemed to cascade over her, and she stepped inside. Raising her coffee cup, she said, “Thank you. I am so very happy to meet you…”
“Dahlia,” I supplied, and held out my hand. “What should I call my savior, who brings me the nectar of the gods?”
Emitting a fresh swell of laughter, she reached out her own hand toward mine. “You can call me Karmen, Dahlia.” When she clasped my hand, I felt like I’d found a new best friend, the rush of emotion filling in all the parched crevices. “I’m so very happy to have finally met you.”
“Me, too,” I admitted. As much as I’d wanted to tear out that door now that it was open, I didn’t want to be rude or leave her hanging. Especially after days of no one to talk to. “I was just about to have a sandwich. Want to split it with me?”
She waved a delicate hand. “No, thank you. I already ate. I really only came to check on you.” Without waiting for me, she walked toward the kitchen. Her gait was so smooth, she nearly floated. Hell, her dress went all the way to the floor.
Maybe she was floating?
Thoughts of ghosts popped back in my head. Nah, I wasn’t going to think like that. No sense scaring myself.
“Well, I’m here. And bored as fuck. I wish I had more to tell you, but that’s all that’s currently going on in my life.” Unfortunately. I had hoped to spend my last weeks in carnal bliss.
Bastards.
“I figured as much. When I first heard Seth saved you, I thought for sure you were going to shake things up. Instead, the three idiots are running scared.” Karmen turned her head to the side and muttered under her breath, “And running out of time.”
“What was that?” I went straight to my sandwich on the counter as I tried to avoid eye contact with this crazy. She hadn’t come across like that at all when I first opened the door, but her Sybill Trelawney
was showing. I loved Harry Potter, but everyone knew that teacher was nuts. Gifted, but nuts.
Her light blonde locks swayed as she shook her head. “Nothing, I was thinking out loud. What do you say we fuck shit up? I’ll get you out of here for a few hours, and Seth will never have to know.” The grin spreading across her face scared me a little bit.
She was clearly the devil I didn’t know, but you know what?
I needed to get out of this house, or I was going to lose my shit. That wouldn’t be pretty for anyone. Especially for me living it.
“I’d love to. What did you have planned?” I took a big bite of my sandwich and hoped like fuck this angel woman—because she had to be one, she had an ethereal beauty and was able to visit Seth’s lair—wasn’t a serial killer.
“Maybe we can go dancing. That’s always a good time.” She nodded her head like it was decided.
But a part of me felt like she had this all planned out before she walked through the door.
“Okay, but I’ll need to finish eating and get ready. These aren’t really dancing clothes.” I held my sandwich to the side to glance down at my outfit. Denim shorts and a tee weren’t something I ever would have worn out dancing in my past life.
I wouldn’t have been caught dead, I snickered to myself. But there had literally been no one here, so what had it mattered?
“Has our good friend Seth bought you anything worth going out in, or should we go shopping?” The slight curl to her lips on Seth’s name gave me pause. When I met her gaze, she smiled so sweetly. She reached out and gripped my hand, and immediately, I was soothed, basking in her warmth.
I smiled. “He gave me his credit card when I first got here. Are we going club dancing? Or ritzy dancing? Maybe to a bar? I can do anything that isn’t ritzy. At the time, I didn’t see the need for any of those types of outfits.”
“Bar. I can wait here while you get ready,” she said over her shoulder as she left the room. The living room was probably her destination, but she’d be hard pressed to find anything fun to pass the time. Maybe she brought her phone.
I was almost done with my sandwich when low murmuring trickled through the doorway.
“What the hell?” There was no way she got the TV to work. No way. I looked every-freaking-where for a remote, and nothing.
I jogged to the living room, and there Karmen was, settled neatly into an armchair with her legs tucked underneath her. It made her seem so small and innocent.
And on the wall, Nailed it was streaming all over that fucking TV.
“Where did you…?” I trailed off because I was afraid I was going to gain a sudden case of Tourette’s.
“Oh! Seth doesn’t like clutter. The remote stays velcroed to the back of the TV.” She held up the most complex remote I’d ever seen in my life. There was a good chance I wouldn’t have known how to use it.
I sighed. I couldn’t focus on my wasted three days. This was my chance to get out and have some fun for a few hours. Maybe when she brought me back, I’d ask her to give me a quick tutorial.
“I’ll be right back.” I rushed through my entire routine. What once took me a solid hour, two depending on where we were going, took less than twenty minutes. One time I was invited to a gala for a charity function. It was to fill spots at our company table, but I jumped at the chance. It took three hours to get my hair and makeup just right. Alex had hated every minute of it, but I had loved it. I had never felt so beautiful.
Right now, that wasn’t at the top of mind though. I was ready to have human interaction, so my hair went up into a classy but messy bun on top of my head, and I slipped into a pair of high-waisted skinny jeans with a loose, off the shoulder cotton shirt.
Karmen grinned when I walked back into the room. “You do that sexy messy look so well.”
All right, she was definitely my favorite person. Not only was she busting me from this place, she clearly had good taste.
She hopped up and clutched my hands. “I’m assuming you know all about our mode of transportation?” She winked, and the world went up in a cloud of sparkling rainbow lights, only it was more like light refractions bouncing around than the actual colors. So much different from the others I’d experienced.
Then the back hallway of Sinner’s came into view, and my level of pumped up went down a few notches. What was it with this bar? Was this the only place they knew?
I mean, Alex had loved it here because they had cheap beer, but even he wasn’t so stuck on one place.
“Don’t look so down, doll. This is where all the good stuff happens.” Karmen grabbed my hand and pulled me behind her. It was early afternoon on… I didn’t even know what day it was. That was how out of touch I was with the real world. It was probably Tuesday, maybe Wednesday.
For such a little thing, she was strong. And determined.
“So what kind of fun are we supposed to get up to here? Other than drama from running into any number of men I don’t want to see.” I mean, there was Alex for sure. He was number one on that list, the fucker. Then the cock blocking brothers Tarus, Zhan, and Seth.
“Darling, that’s the best kind, is it not? Good thing for you, none of them are here.” It distinctly felt like she left a yet off of that sentence. “Quetta, grab me a Shirley Temple and my friend here a…” She waited for me to supply my drink order.
“Afternoon delight. I need a redo.”
Quetta grinned salaciously and reached under the bar for some glasses. “Oh, honey. Those boys didn’t take good care of you at all, did they?”
I scoffed. Hell no. They were the worst clit teases I’d ever met. I didn’t even know if that was a thing. Nope, I just made it a thing.
“I’d rather not talk about it. It’s bringing up bad memories.” I slid onto one of the stools and leaned over the wooden bar top. Karmen claimed the seat next to me, slowly spinning from side to side.
“She needed a night out. So, being the generous bitch that I am, I rescued her.” The tinkling laugh that came out of Karmen gave me all the warm and fuzzy feelings.
“Ha!” Quetta barked. “More like fickle, but we won’t get into that right now either.” The bartender placed a glass in front of me, shining with golden yellow juice. The other glass with the reddish, pink tint of grenadine collecting at the bottom went straight to Karmen.
“No alcohol? What kind of girl’s night doesn’t have alcohol?” It popped out. I couldn’t help asking because really, a girl’s night always included at least one drink.
She shrugged. “Alcohol does nothing for me.”
I opened my mouth to say something else as equally lame as my last question, when the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I knew that feeling. Or at least, I thought I did.
Anytime I was around one of the guys, I got the tinglies. I had chalked it up to attraction, but maybe there was something to it, because there was no one within three or four feet of us.
Noticing my stiffness, she straightened up and shot a quick glance over my shoulder toward the hallway we’d popped into. Pure delight lit up her face. “Remember how I said I adored you? Well, I’m positive you’re about to level up.”
All right, shit. I had to turn around. Who could it be? Someone who was already in the bar, and maybe needed a bathroom break? Did angels need bathrooms?
Trying to maintain my I don’t give a fuck attitude, I tilted my head sideways to catch a glimpse of the hall. And lost my shit.
Seth was coming out of a seedy hallway with a beautiful, tall, slender woman wrapped around his side. Like, she was glued to him.
For the last three freaking days, I’d been stuck in his jail cell of a house, forced to belt out ridiculous love songs to entertain myself, and he was out getting his rocks off in the back of Sinner’s? The pressure inside my head was so strong, I was sure I popped a blood vessel in my eye.
There went Karmen’s tinkling little laugh. Glad to know she was amused by all of this, but honestly, I was glad she brought me here. Better to know what a dic
kbag Seth actually was before there were any more chances for him to kiss and run.
As if he had some internal radar that alerted him to my presence, his gaze went right to me, and all the color drained from his face as he took in Karmen next to me.
Yeah, you should be very afraid right now.
For a second, that long braid from the top of his head flickered into reality, then disappeared. It was like he was some kind of Viking wannabe with that hairstyle. The faint outline of wings appeared behind him, but they were gone before I could even comprehend what I was looking at.
The woman jolted when he stopped suddenly, looking up at him in confusion. Her lips moved, but I didn’t have any clue what she was saying. Probably something like, What’s wrong, baby?
He shook his head and started forward, prowling right for me, the bitch at his side forgotten. That at least gave me a little satisfaction, even if it was only because he was angry that I’d somehow gotten around his jail sentence.
Karmen started laughing so hard, she faced the bar and buried her face in her hands. Seth stopped when his toes touched the metal legs. And the woman, she smiled like she was ecstatic to meet me, and exuded all the kindness in the world.
“Hi, sweetie. What’s your name?” She stuck out her hand as she wedged her shoulder under Seth’s. I looked at her hand, then at her, and finally landed on Seth.
The grimace that crossed his face at her greeting gave me a slight bit of satisfaction.
Without taking her hand, I answered, “Dahlia. Seth’s current sex slave. Too bad for him I escaped the ropes. And who are you?”
Her happiness diminished, but she was trying hard to hold onto it and Seth.
“I—” she began, but Seth spoke right over her. “What are you doing here?”
“Not talking to you,” I said with a flick of my fingers, and focused on the drop-dead gorgeous beauty clinging to him. “You already traded up anyway. Be careful if he offers you to his brothers. He has a real issue with them taking the fruit from his hand.”
The air in the place plummeted to positively frosty levels. Karmen’s laughter climbed, and even Quetta began to chuckle. Shivers raced up my spine, and the tingling from earlier redoubled.