by Nikki Prince
They’d settled into a nice routine over the last few weeks, and Eva began to wonder if she’d ever see Liliana again. She went to work as she had before, and she hadn’t seen any sign of her ‘earthly’ sister. Clay had told her that Liliana was with Samael and had given no further information. She could only assume it was because Liliana still didn’t want any contact with her.
She’d been seeing a lot of Jess and Remiel, but no Lili and Samael. Remie she knew was hanging around because he had the hots for Jess. Their relationship was developing slowly, but it was beautiful to watch young love. It made her yearn for something she didn’t want to begin to think about. Focus, Eva.
She had her back to the door when she heard it open and close. Guessing it was Jess coming in to tell her something, she turned with a smile of greeting.
Her heart started pounding when she saw who it was—Liliana. Damn, did that old saying ‘speak of the devil’ fit in this moment.
She looked beautiful as always, though the scowl on her face didn’t bode well for Eva.
“You’re looking well, Eva.”
It sounded as if Lili thought Eva had been tarred and feathered. Eva wanted to say something smartass, but considering the circumstances, she figured she’d better not.
“Thank you, Lili. So do you. I was just doing some pricing. If you need the office, I can go out with Jess.” She didn’t know what to say to her sister. Right now she sounded like a babbling idiot.
“Have a seat, Eva. We’re going to have a talk. Sort of your ‘come to Jesus’ kinda talk.”
Eva wasn’t going to get away that easily. This was expected, and she also recognized that it was needed. For the last few weeks she’d been waiting for this to happen. It was way past time, so she didn’t put up a fight.
Eva nodded and settled in the chair behind the desk, as it was the closest to her, and waited for Liliana to sit as well. Liliana didn’t sit; she went to the small fridge in the room and pulled out a bottled water. She opened the bottle, took a drink and then turned, holding herself erect.
She looked so proud, so hauntingly beautiful, and all Eva wanted to do was beg for forgiveness. She was finding it hard to look at her, but she forced herself to do so. She owed Lili that at least.
“I’ve been avoiding you for a lot of reasons.”
“I know … and I’ve deserved it. I’m so sorry, Lili.” She wanted to defend herself, but more than an apology was due.
Lili raised her hand, effectively cutting off anything else that Eva wanted to say.
“No, please no more apologies right now. I want you to hear what I have to say.” Liliana took another sip of water and then turned to look into Eva’s eyes.
Eva stopped trying to speak. She needed to just listen to what Liliana wanted to say to her. She watched the emotions flowing over Lili’s face. There was pain, anger, and even love. All things she recognized, but all things that had the power to pull Lili even further away from her. She stopped analyzing what the possible outcome would be as Lili spoke up again.
“For as long as I can remember I’ve looked up to you and loved you. When the memories came back and I realized that you’d made it impossible for me and Samael to have anything outside of our nightly visits, I wanted to hate you. In fact for a few moments I thought I did.” Lili choked up again and took another sip of the water. Pain filled her eyes. She blinked several times as if to fight back the tears.
Liliana turned away from her and moved off to stand near the door. She had one hand on the knob. Eva could tell she was about to leave. She jumped to her feet and propelled herself over to Lili and then placed a hand lightly on her sister’s shoulder. She could feel Lili’s muscles tense. She took her hand away and backed off.
“Lili … please don’t leave. Yell at me. I deserve it. But please don’t walk away.”
If she didn’t keep her in that room, they’d probably never talk this out. Eva thought Lili was going to disregard what she said and still leave, before she saw her shoulders slump. She turned back. She didn’t move all the way back into the room, nor did she walk out. That at least was something.
“You’re fucking right you deserve it. You were my sister, Eva. Yet you let so long go by without telling me the truth. You could have freed me from the curse. You chose not to. Why?” Eva noted that Liliana managed to keep her voice lowered so they weren’t heard.
“I was selfish and angry. I wanted to punish you and Samael.”
“Did it ever occur to you that I didn’t want Adam and in fact I still don’t want him? I left. I made the choice to walk away. That should have counted for something.”
“No, I was blinded by jealousy and rage,” Eva admitted.
“I have to ask. The love that I had for you—still have for you. Did you ever have that for me? Do you even know what love is?”
She’d known Liliana was going to ask that sooner or later. Eva ran her hand through her hair and chose her words very carefully so as not to wake the lioness within Liliana. She had to make sure she didn’t piss her off with what she said. She wiped tears from her eyes, squared her shoulders and jumped in feet first.
“I thought I knew what it was, when I met Adam all those years ago. I’d tried to please him, yet it always felt as if you were the one he wanted. I accepted that I could never compete or add up to what he wanted in a wife. So I went after the object of his affection.”
“Me, or who in your delusional state thought was the object of his affection. Once I left with Samael, I had nothing to do with him. I didn’t want him then, and I don’t want him now. Samael is the one that I love and will always love.”
“I know that now. I couldn’t have been more wrong. You have always shown me love, and I treated you horribly. All I can do is prove to you that I am sorry and I do love you.”
“You still haven’t answered me on that subject. Do you even know what love is? You say it so easily and if I didn’t know what you’d done, I’d believe you.” That meant there was some hope for things to change. She had to keep trying.
“I know what it is. I also know I have to prove to you I know what it is and I can feel it. Please, all I’m asking for is a chance.”
Liliana was shaking her head, her beautiful curls making a soft swishing sound on her shoulders. It was an odd thing to focus on, but Eva wasn’t sure she could look in Lili’s eyes and see the disdain there anymore. Fuck, being human sucked. Liliana’s words made her look into her eyes again.
“You’re damned right you’re going to have to prove that shit to me. I’d thought about buying you out.”
Eva knew she meant buying out their joint business. “Why didn’t you?” she dared to ask.
“One reason is because I wasn’t sure if I was going to come in here and kick your motherfucking ass. But the one thing you taught me and I remembered was that we aren’t like that.” One of Liliana’s hands had made it to her hip, and she peered at her beneath long lashes. “One last time, Eva. That is all you get. You fuck this up, and we’re through. You get me?”
“Yes, I got you, and I totally understand.” Eva wiped the tears from her cheeks and sniffed. She grabbed some tissue and dabbed at her nose.
“I do want to say thank you for taking care of our business while I was gone. I found myself needing some time away.”
“That’s understandable.” She was about to say more when Liliana spoke up and effectively ended the conversation. With the circumstances being as they were, she figured it would be better to let it go and figure out everything else later.
“We have a lot to get together. Our east coast client Sharon Dare has requested several cases of those specialty condoms along with the glow in the dark vibrators. It’s for the fetish party that she’s having. I want to see if we can sell something else to go along with that.”
This was pure Liliana Jackson; she rolled with the punches, said her piece and then went straight to work. Eva loved that about her. She was going to prove to her sister that she could transform he
rself into the sibling she should have been. She missed the friendship she had with Lili most of all, and that was where she was going to start.
“We have what she asked for before, and I am sure we can get our suppliers to give us more.” Liliana nodded her head and finished off her water.
“We need to get them out by the end of the week and then our focus will have to be on pushing out the inventory we have before the end of the year,” Lili said.
“This will be a piece of cake. We’ve been doing so well the last few years. I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Do you?” Eva put her head to one side as she fixed her gaze on Lili.
“No, I agree, but it’s better to be on top of things. One never knows when they will be blindsided by something.” Lili cast a glance at her.
“I will get in touch with C&C, or do you want to do that?”
Eva took a deep breath. She’d let what Lili said pass because she was sure she deserved more than just snide remarks. Truth be told though, she wasn’t sure how long before she couldn’t take it anymore. Once again, being human sucked. As a demon she could have done more than just simply nod and agree. Yet at the same time Kamuel had put her in her place to learn a lesson. But damned if that meant she had to take abuse.
“I’ll do it. You’ve done a lot while I was gone. So I will take care of that for us. Oh, I did want to ask, as I’ve not seen him. How is Clay?”
“He’s fine if a bit insufferable.” Eva sniffed dismissively.
“I’m told that they took away your powers as a demon. Is that true?”
“Yes, I am for all intents and purposes fully human and definitely fallible.”
Liliana grimaced, but if she was going to say anything, it was cut short by a knock at the door. Liliana opened the door wide, and they both watched Jess saunter in. She had the biggest grin on her face and was as bubbly as all get out. She held a big sheaf of papers in her hands.
“My two most favorite bosses together again in the same room at last. I’d begun to wonder if we’d ever be one happy family again.”
Both Liliana and Eva laughed as did Jess. Eva wasn’t sure if she knew what had happened between Liliana and her, but she did know she most likely had felt some of the residual tension popping off both women.
“Are you smiling because a certain platinum-haired male has been snooping around here?” Liliana asked Jess.
Jess rolled her eyes and laughed. “Yeah, he seems like someone used to getting what he wants all the time. I’ve decided to let him stew a bit. I haven’t agreed to a date yet.”
“Remie is a great guy, Jess, seriously,” Eva said.
Jess grinned at them. “Okay, being set up by your bosses is kind of a weird situation.”
“Jess, you’re like family.”
“I know, Eva, and I appreciate everything you and Lili have done for me, truly I do. I’ve just had horrible luck in the men department, and I am not sure if getting into another relationship would be beneficial for me.”
“We just want you happy and besides he took a liking to you on his own. Nothing to do with anything we said,” Lili chimed in.
“Again, I thank you two, but I am going to take this slow. Every time I rush, something comes in to mess it up.”
Eva was the first to ask about the papers Jess still held. “So you going to tell us what those are?”
Jess blushed and giggled. “Oh yeah, these just came in. It’s the flyers you ordered Eva to hand out and hang up around town for the big anniversary sale.” She moved over to the desk and set the flyers down. She handed one to Eva and then to Lili. They both thanked her and looked over the flyers.
“I like them. Thank you for ordering them, Eva,” Lili said. “This is grand advertisement for our anniversary month. I appreciate you taking care of this while I was gone.”
“It’s both of our responsibilities to take care of the store.” Exasperated, Eva couldn’t help the bite that flowed through those words. Shit, she may have been a sorry excuse for a sister, but she fucking knew how to run Two Sisters Sinful Delights. She watched as Lili arched her eyebrow as if to say she was going to let that one slide. Sweet Jess was clueless as she babbled on incessantly about the upcoming anniversary and what a good thing it would be for the business. Crisis averted for now. Thank the Lord—saved by the Jess.
The rest of the workday went well once she and Liliana got back into the groove of how they’d worked together before. It was actually quite nice to be working with her sister again. One could hope it was a sign of good things to come.
Chapter Six
Liliana paced back and forth in the master bedroom, only stopping when she heard Samael clear his throat.
“Wearing a hole in the carpet isn’t going to help the situation, Lili.”
“I know, Samael, but pacing is better than blowing up, isn’t it?” She studied him beneath her lashes, still so amazed that he was hers.
“There isn’t anything wrong with being angry. It becomes a problem when you hold on to it.”
“I’m not trying to hold on to anything. I want us to be able to move on. It’s been a month.”
“We are moving on, Lili. We still have each other and forever.”
“But until this situation with Eva is resolved, I don’t feel like I can move on. I feel stuck, in stasis. I wonder if we’ll ever have a relationship again.”
“Clay is working on it, Lili. This didn’t happen overnight, so we can’t expect that it will be done just as quickly.”
She observed him with a pout on her lips as he strolled over to her and pulled her close, gripping her below the black t-shirt of his that she was wearing. She fixed her gaze on him and nodded in agreement.
“You’re right this was a long time coming, and it won’t be something that we can fix right off.” She wrapped her arms up around his neck as she peered into his eyes. “It just makes me sad that Eva and I don’t have the relationship that we used to have. I miss having a sister. Though she wasn’t just that—she was a friend too.”
“See now that’s the key. You said, don’t—not can’t. If you’d said can’t I fear you’d be right. Who knows? If everything turns out the way it should, you may have your friend and sister back.” He leaned in and kissed her softly, caressing her ass in fluid motion that had her aching for more. If anything the lust she felt for her dark demon was building, not dwindling.
“You’re right. That’s enough talk about this right now. I need you.” She lifted her head up and kissed him, all the hunger and desire that she felt for him in that kiss. She’d get through this. She had Samael, and it would all work out. Hopefully, just hopefully, Eva and Clay would go along for the ride and be okay in the process as well.
****
Eva found herself seated at her favorite table at Diego’s trying to wait patiently for Clay, who by the time on her watch was about ten minutes late. The place was hopping with the usual crowd and close to being wall to wall on a Thursday night. She could have her pick of the men there, but she wanted Clay. Damn him. He’d promised her drinks and dancing since she’d gone a whole month without, as he put it, causing any issues. It was like he expected her to blow shit up.
The existence they’d settled into was one with sexual benefits and nothing more. She wouldn’t allow there to be anymore. When the situation seemed to get too heavy she either left or she put things back into prospective by turning the circumstances sexual again. It was going to be the only way she could save herself, especially when he decided to walk away from her.
Nursing her lemon martini she glanced around the room, and her eyes met for what seemed to be the hundredth time eyes of the deepest green she’d ever seen. She found herself looking away from him quickly just as she had the last few times. Something about his gaze made her feel a bit disconcerted. She wasn’t sure why that would be.
He was handsome, of course, with pitch-colored hair that curled at his shoulders and a tanned body and damn if that body didn’t fill out that suit well. So why
did she feel as if something wasn’t right? She was being silly. That had to be it, a long day in a human body made for an overactive imagination from this girl. She had the strangest feeling that she knew him.
“May I have this seat?” How the heck did he get over to her so fast? She looked up into those deep green eyes and swallowed. Fuck, Mr. Slick had made it to her table. He was trouble. She could sense it just by looking at his swagger. He was worry that she could ill afford.
“I’m waiting for someone,” she said hastily.
“Well then he won’t mind if I keep the pretty little lady company.” He settled in the chair next to her, and she frowned.
“Little lady?”
“Oh I’m sorry, darlin’. I’m old school.”
“Apparently you are. Women don’t like to be called little lady anymore.”
“Do forgive me. Would you accept another drink from me in apology?”
She held up her glass showing she still had a bit left from her first drink. “I’m nursing my lemon drop martini.”
“How about I get you an apple martini instead of boring old lemon, hmm?”
He raised his hand anyway and ushered over the waitress who happened to be at the next table. He ordered the other martini for her, and the waitress was off to the bar. Before she could protest the waitress had come over and set another drink before her.
“You seriously didn’t have to do that.”
She looked toward the door to see if Clay had arrived and by the time she turned around, Mr. Slick was even closer than he had been before. So close she could see his eyes dilating and for some reason she found that she couldn’t look away. Hell, she didn’t want to look away.
“Oh but seriously, I wanted to do it. Take the drink. I don’t bite unless asked.”
The more she looked in his eyes, the more she forgot what she was looking for and why she was there. She shivered, raised her glass to her lips and drank a bit of courage.
“My date will be here soon.”
“So you said and the time keeps ticking by. My name is Oz, and you are?” Why did it feel like he already knew the answer to that question?