Sloth

by L-J Baker

  Harley pursed her lips and took a few heavy breaths. She wanted to argue, but she couldn't. It wouldn't do her any good. Uriel was staying.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  "I heard you've been a naughty boy, Cupid." Michael stalked closer, like a lion with a gazelle in its sights.

  Cupid tried to flash himself out, but he was blocked. He wasn't surprised. Michael had mages in his pocket for a long time. The walls were lined with sigils, likely the thing keeping him in place. He never wanted to be in the middle of this war. Sure he was pissed at Lucifer, and he wanted to hurt him, but this had gone too far.

  "I don't know what you mean."

  Michael slunk up and got in Cupid's face, so close that his breath warmed the chills Cupid developed when he first saw Michael enter. "You spoke with Lucifer."

  It wasn't a question.

  Cupid nodded, suddenly unable to find his voice.

  "He trusts you."

  Again, not a question.

  Again, Cupid nodded.

  "Good." Michael smiled and ran one finger down the front of Cupid's chest. "You can follow directions after all."

  When Michael approached him, Cupid was sure he'd found the perfect way to get even with Lucifer for all the self-righteous crap he'd slung at him over the years. It didn't take long to realize that he was in over his head. Now, he was just trying to survive, and if that meant playing both sides of the fence, then he was damn well going to do it.

  "You will go back and see him."

  "But I—"

  Michael put one slim finger up to Cupid's mouth and narrowed his eyes. "It wasn't a suggestion. You will go see my brother. You will ask for protection, to stay there with him. I will lend you one of my mages. Tell him she will put protections on his place, make it so I cannot enter, so you are all safe."

  It wasn't Michael's idea to warn Lucifer about Valerie's safety. Cupid risked his own ass to try and keep that girl safe. Michael knew, of course, but lucky for Cupid, he thought it was all part of the plan to gain Lucifer's trust. It had helped in that department, but it hadn't been Cupid's plan.

  "What if he says no?"

  Michael's fists tightened at his sides. He didn't like to be questioned. Like his father, he wanted complete obedience. Spending most of his existence on Earth, Cupid wasn't used to obeying anyone. This time, he had little choice.

  "Then, you will convince him. You're the King of Bullshit, Cupid. I am positive that you can find a way to weasel yourself into Lucifer's good graces. Saving his little tramp was a good start. You get one point for initiative. In the future however, I would prefer you do not go behind my back like that." Michael grabbed Cupid by the throat and squeezed just enough to cut off his oxygen. "Understand me?"

  Cupid nodded. What else could he do?

  After Michael released Cupid, he dared one more question. "Once I'm there, with the mage, what do you want me to do?"

  "Nothing at all. For now. I'll let you know the next move when you need to know it."

  With that, Michael disappeared from the room. Cupid slid down onto the floor and scrubbed his hands over his face. He was in the middle of a war between two archangels and there was nothing he could do about it.

  He was screwed.

  ***

  "You really are doing amazing work, Tal. I can't believe how fast you code. You're like some sort of super-computer."

  Toby watched her work. It was a little unnerving, if Talia was being honest. She had no problem with millions of nameless, strangers watching her play games online, or watching her tutorial videos, but up close and personal wasn't something she was used to anymore.

  "Thanks." She didn't look up.

  Luc walked by and Talia could feel his eyes burning into the back of her neck. She fought the urge to look up, to meet his eyes, to see that sexy smile he was sure to flash her. He'd texted her a couple times since they saw each other last, but she'd avoided responding. She didn't know what to say to him.

  She'd kissed him.

  Sure, it wasn't anything romantic. Just a peck on the lips, but it was a kiss. He'd been almost as surprised as she was herself. He would have been more so if he'd known how much she wanted to pull him down and kiss him properly. It was all she could think about the whole next day.

  He probably thought she was some sort of nut case.

  And she probably was.

  "He keeps looking at you, ya know?" Toby elbowed her in the side and shot her a goofy smile.

  "Who?" She tried to play it cool, but was failing.

  "Did something happen between you two?" Toby pulled the laptop away from her and demanded an answer. Not that it was any of his business, or if anything had happened, she would tell him.

  "I'm here to work, not gossip."

  "So, that's a yes, then?" His eyes widened.

  "No."

  "So, nothing happened?"

  "It's an I'm not getting into my personal life with you. Do you want me to finish this section of the program today, or not?"

  "Nah. I'm tired and this place is gonna start filling up soon. We can call it quits for now so I can squeeze in a short nap before I need to start doing my real job."

  "What are you so tired from? It's only noon and you had all weekend off."

  "Zach." Toby's smile widened and filled out his whole face. "He has the stamina of a long-distance runner."

  "Eww. I did not need to know that." Talia closed the computer and gulped down the rest of her water. "You could have just said you were up late."

  Toby shrugged. "I could have, but since you're not telling me what's going on with you and my hot boss, I figured I'd do a little sharing."

  "Next time keep it to yourself." Talia stretched her arms over her head and yawned.

  "Looks like someone has been keeping you up, too." Toby started packing up his gear and Talia fought the urge to flick him in the head.

  "I was up working, if you must know. Alone, in my room." She stuck her tongue out at him. "So give it a rest."

  "Hmm."

  "What?"

  "You're tired, Luc has been yawning and making excuses to walk past you all morning, must be a coincidence."

  "He has not."

  "Oh, he has. He's been sneaking looks at you and wandering around like a lost puppy dog for the last hour and a half. If nothing is going on, then he certainly wants it to." Toby shrugged again. "But that's just my observation. I'll see you Thursday?"

  Talia looked at Luc. He was looking in her direction and smiled when he noticed her looking. She turned her head away and hoped she wasn't blushing.

  "Yeah, Thursday."

  ***

  "Stop acting like some sort of creepy stalker and go talk to her." Harley pulled Luc's bourbon away before he could grab the glass.

  "She was working. I don't want to interrupt. Anyway, she didn't answer my texts, so maybe she needs some space."

  "She had some space and she's done working. It's been two days. Talk to her."

  Luc snatched his glass from Harley and drank down the remainder of its contents. "I have to be careful with this one."

  "Why is that?" Harley narrowed her eyes.

  "You researched her, I'm sure you know her history."

  "I do, but I didn't tell you that much. I can't imagine her telling you every detail of her life in a handful of dates." She glared at him for a long moment, then whipped him with the bar towel. "You cheated, didn't you?"

  "Cheated is such a strong word."

  A completely accurate one, but still.

  "Have you been looking in her head?" She pressed her lips together in a tight line.

  "Of course not. You know I don't do that unless it's necessary." Luc reached for the bourbon bottle, but Harley pulled it out of his reach.

  "How should I know what you consider necessary these days? You spent weeks moping around like a broken little boy."

  "I did no such thing." Luc puffed up his chest and straightened his back. "The devil doesn't mope."

  "You mope."


  He reached for the bourbon again, and after a pause, she relented and filled his glass halfway.

  "I don't, and my definition of necessary is very stringent. Everyone deserves privacy in their own mind. Just because I can do something, doesn't mean I should."

  "So then how did you cheat?"

  "Again with the cheating." Luc took a long gulp of his drink and fought the urge to peer over at Talia once again. She had said that he could find her here today, so maybe she was waiting for him to approach her. Women were so confusing.

  "It was the mirror, wasn't it? You were spying on her with that damn thing."

  "I might have used it to gather a little more information, you know, just so I could make the best impression, and not screw shit up."

  "How is that any different than peeking into her thoughts? You're invading her privacy by doing that and you're breaking the rules of the game."

  She wasn't wrong. Luc just didn't want to look at it that way. The game was kicking his ass. Add to that the issues with Michael, and almost losing Harley forever, and Luc wasn't feeling especially confident in his ability to get through this month unassisted. That didn't stop the twinge of guilt he felt with Harley staring at him with that accusing look on her smug face.

  "Fine, it was wrong. I knew it was and did it anyway. What more do you want me to say? It's done and I can't take it back." He finished the remainder of his drink and considered another. The alcohol dulled the ache in his temples, and sent just enough of his stress to the background, to keep him from losing it.

  "I want you to say you're not going to do that again. You promised you'd play fair. You're already halfway through this thing. You can manage to follow a few simple rules until the end."

  Halfway.

  The word rung in Luc's ears in an echo, that lasted just long enough to make him cringe.

  "Okay, I won't do it again. Probably."

  It felt like years had passed since that first day when he saw Ronnie Falcon in the mirror. He hadn't seen her in months. Unless of course, if you counted the times he'd checked in on her with his special mirror. Or that one time he'd showed up at her house in the middle of the night for sex. That wasn't cheating, at least not to Luc. His month with her was over, but he liked to check in on the girls and see how they were getting along. Things might not have worked out for them as a couple, but Luc couldn't deny he had feelings for each of them.

  They were all unique.

  Ronnie and her insatiable need in the bedroom, kept Luc on his toes for their time together. Her anger, no, more like rage, rivaled Luc's own in the days he'd felt trapped in Hell. She had a softer side though. She was fiercely loyal and loved her siblings with everything she had. Ronnie was the kind of girl that could be with the devil and hold her own.

  Amanda was tough. Not kick-your-ass tough, like Ronnie, but she'd built up walls that were hard to get over. The ghosts from her past haunted her and she let them steer her onto the wrong path for her life. Accidentally killing her boyfriend in a car accident was hard. Living her life for him, wasn't going to bring him back. Underneath it all, she had a strong determination that Luc admired, and knew would get her to where she needed to be in life.

  Valerie had it all. Brains, beauty, talent, money, poise, she was a real princess, though not technically in the literal sense. The one thing she lacked was love, not just from her father, but for herself. Her battle with her father, as well as her mother's death, were dark clouds that hovered over everything in her life. He had faith in her though. She would find her way, develop her talent, and make her life spectacular.

  And now Talia.

  Like all the girls so far, Talia had issues. Problem was, her issues were the kind of thing that made getting close to her not only tricky, but maybe even impossible. There wouldn't be much, if any, naked fun time this month. Luc had resolved himself to more of a clothes-on month as soon as he spied on her through the mirror.

  Luc was enjoying being the good guy though. For each of the girls, he'd been able to step in and help them with major life issues. For most of his existence, he'd been pegged as the bad guy, the giver of punishment, the corrupter of humans. But Luc was misunderstood. Underneath the evil facade, he was still an angel, and helping felt good.

  "You in there?" Talia broke Luc from his thoughts and he found her standing in front of him with her messenger bag slung across her body.

  "Hi. How was the programming?" Luc stood and motioned for her to take a seat before joining her. She slipped out of the messenger bag strap, and set it down on the floor between them.

  "Good. I think I should start working slower before this thing is done and I'm out of a job."

  "You'll just have to come up with the next great idea to work on, because I'm pretty sure Toby can't live without you, now that he realizes how amazing you are." Luc grabbed a glass and held it up. "What would you like?"

  "Just some water. And how would you know what Toby thinks of me?"

  "He told me." Luc reached behind the bar and filled her glass with water, then handed it to her. "We had a whole discussion about how amazing you were."

  "You did not." She elbowed him in the side and he almost fell off the stool.

  "We might have." Luc composed himself in the seat and poured another a water.

  "Water?" She raised one eyebrow and looked at his glass as he took a sip.

  "What, did you think I was an alcoholic?"

  "Could be. All I ever see you drink is alcoholic beverages. Bourbon mostly."

  "You've been paying attention." Luc smirked. "I like that in a woman."

  She gave him a sideways glance and put her glass back down on the bar. "Yeah, well, we're just friends, remember?"

  "Of course. After you kissed me the other day, that was firmly cemented in my head." Luc tried to hide a smile, but she caught on and slapped his arm.

  "It was just a friendly kiss. Ya know, like just friends?" She picked her water back up and took a long gulp. Her cheeks darkened and Luc had to refrain from telling her how adorable she was.

  "Look, I'm fine with being just friends, if that's what you want, but I heard your breath catch when your lips touched mine. I felt that spark, the same as I'm sure you did. Maybe we could be something more, or maybe not. But for now, feel free to give me all the friendly kisses you'd like. And maybe some not so friendly ones, if you choose to."

  Talia looked at Luc for a long moment, then looked away. He felt the battle going on inside her and wished so much that he could help. He couldn't though. This was something she needed to work out for herself. All Luc could do was be there, and give her all the patience, and understanding she needed.

  "Maybe I'll have a beer," she said and pushed the water glass toward him.

  Without a word, Luc dumped the water and filled her glass with beer from the tap. It was something new they were carrying that Amanda brought them. Something from a small brewery that was local to their area of the city. It wasn't bad and it had a cool name. Usually the kind of thing the hipsters ordered, but he figured Talia would like it.

  She did.

  "Not bad. What is this?" she asked, wiping foam from her lips as she spoke.

  "It's called Devil's Tail. Local stuff."

  She drank half the glass down before setting it down on the bar and turning to face Luc. "I'm really not looking for anything serious right now."

  Luc smirked.

  "Or to hook up," she added before he could get the wrong idea. "But you're right. I did feel something when I kissed you. I don't even know why I did it. I know I keep telling you that this is only friendship, then I go and kiss you out of the blue. I'm sure you think I'm a complete whack job."

  "Not at all." He couldn't tell her he understood, that he knew what happened to her, and that her reaction was completely normal. All he could do was try to get her to believe that he wasn't a bad guy, and that she could give him all the mixed signals she wanted, while she figured things out.

  "Why not? I'd think I was cr
azy if I were you."

  "Well, then good thing you're not me." Luc reached over and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "Besides, I kinda like crazy."

  "I better go." Talia left the rest of her beer on the bar and gathered her bag.

  "You sure? We could get some lunch?" Luc stood grabbed her arm before she could get away. He figured they'd have more time together, but she was ready to bolt again.

  "Rain-check. I've got a few things I need to do." She slipped out from his grasp and started heading toward the door, weaving through the bar patrons that had already begun accumulating for the afternoon rush.

  "Okay, when?" He wanted to suggest dinner, or something tomorrow, but in her current state, that was too much pressure, so he left it up to her.

  "I'll be back here Thursday to work with Toby. We can figure something out then maybe."

  Luc didn't like the maybe on the end.

  "Thursday it is then," he called after her as she disappeared into the daylight.

  "If I didn't know better, brother," Uriel said, appearing far too close to him. "I'd think you've lost your touch with women."

  Luc glared at his sister for a brief moment, then pushed past her to go to his office. He wasn't going to explain Talia, or her reason for not letting him close, to Uriel. She would find all of it far too amusing. Luc already had to push the voice in his head down for suggesting the exact thing to him many times over the course of this game. It didn't matter that in all the years of his existence, Luc had never needed to do anything more than smile, wink, or to whisper a few choice words, to get a woman into his bed. This wasn't about that. This was about finding his soul mate and maybe also to do a little good in the world in the process.

  Though he had to admit, he was looking forward to his month with Lust, a little more than he'd realized.

  CHAPTER NINE

  "Where have you been?" Luc wandered out of his bathroom, yawned, and flopped down on the couch next to Az.