"Come to me, my darling."
Isra concentrated on creating a fantasy in her mind of the two of them together. In his mind, he would think it was just a dream. She tried to envision something different from the earlier dream she’d inspired in him. That one was too dark, too rough. He imagined his Camille to be sweet and innocent. If he really were dreaming about her, this is how he would see her.
This time she imagined herself in a flowing white lace negligee, her blonde hair spilling around her bare shoulders. She stood just out of his reach, her perfect breasts showcased by the deep v-neckline of her gown.
Seth watched her as he stood a few feet away. The gold in his eyes grew more intense as he surveyed every inch outlined by the silk and lace. His bare chest rose and fell with uneven breaths.
Isra let her gaze travel down the rippled muscles of his chest to settle on the low riding waistband of his pants. She had to admit, she enjoyed her work. By nature, she was a purely sexual creature. There was little she wanted more in this moment than to unbutton those pants, and not just to steal his soul. "Come to me," she whispered.
Seth took a step forward and Isra took a step away to maintain her distance. She couldn’t let him touch her. Not yet. He frowned as she moved back and out of his reach.
"Don’t you want me, Seth?"
"Yes," he growled, his hands balled into fists at his sides. He took another step forward and again Isra retreated.
"You know what you have to do, don’t you?"
Seth’s furrowed his brow as he tried to make sense of their dreamy world. "No."
"You have to let me out. We can’t be together until you unlock the door. Do you have the key?"
Seth shook his head, his desires and his faint recollection of reality clashing. "I can’t let you out." His words seemed anything but certain.
"Yes, you can. You are a big, strong man. You can do anything you want to. Don’t you want this?" Isra ran her hands over the slippery fabric to outline every luscious curve of her host’s body.
"Yes."
Isra nodded and slowly started stepping further and further away from him until she was back in her cell. "Then let me out, Seth."
Isra strained to maintain the fantasy in her mind. She could hear Seth as he got up from his chair and made his way over to the cell. He was sleepwalking, his eyes open yet not seeing anything but what she chose for him to see. If she lost her concentration, he would wake up. She was too close to screw this up.
Seth pulled a set of keys from his pocket and fumbled with them in his fingers.
"Yes, yes..." Isra urged. "We can be together now."
He slid the key into the lock, his hands shaking ever so slightly with the desire overwhelming him.
"Open the door," Isra whispered.
At that, the keys slipped from his fingertips and fell to the stone floor with a loud clank. Both Isra and Seth jumped out of their trance at the sound echoing in the stone-encased room.
Seth shook his head, gripping the cell in an attempt to shake the sleep that was clouding his mind. As his eyes focused on Isra, sitting naked in the cell, they grew wide with surprise.
She lunged forward, trying to blow him a pheromone-laced kiss in the hopes that she could still ensnare him in his groggy state. He leapt back, snatching up the keys and taking three more big steps away from her.
"Tricky," he yawned, wagging his finger at her. "You are very, very tricky."
8:29 P.M.
Seth cussed all the way up the elevator. How in the hell had he let that happen? He almost let a demon walk right out of her cage. He gripped the package under his arm even more tightly and brought another can of energy drink to his lips.
Not enough sleep, he supposed. He was immortal, but he wasn’t without his weaknesses. He had to eat and sleep. Maybe not as much as a regular human, but if he didn’t get enough his condition would suffer. He’d been up for days tracking and subduing the last creature from Hell Michael funneled his way. He’d awoken this morning after only three hours of much needed sleep.
When the demon fell asleep, he went to sleep. Simple as that.
It was stupid of him. He couldn’t make that mistake again. From the very beginning this assignment had been trouble, but he should’ve known that the minute Michael told him he was being deliberately targeted, and why. Whoever orchestrated this scheme to steal his immortality had been wise to choose Camille as the host. He wasn’t detached. He was too invested in Camille to do the work properly.
He almost wished Michael had sent another immortal on this assignment. Then again, he didn’t. The mere thought of another man seeing Camille’s naked body on crude display made his blood start to boil.
Seth could handle this. He just needed to take additional precautions.
The doors of the elevator opened, letting him out into the warehouse. The door sealed tightly behind him, but he needed to hurry. He didn’t want her left alone for long. He wouldn’t have left her alone at all if it weren’t absolutely necessary. At least the break and the fresh air would clear his mind and smother his arousal.
Seth jogged to the opposite side of the warehouse, opening the small door that was closest to the front entrance. From there, he could spy the courier truck parked outside the gates of the property. He used this company for all his shipping and delivery needs. They were quick, reliable, and most important, discrete.
He called and asked them to come after he’d been able to shake off the sexual haze Camille had trapped him in. They said they would meet him outside the gate at eight-thirty. Seth glanced at his watch. They were right on time.
He jogged across the parking lot and handed the package through the gate to the courier he recognized as Jeff.
Jeff accepted the padded envelope, eyeing the label in confusion as he went to scan it with his tracking gun. "You want me to deliver this back here?"
Seth expected the confusion. "Yes. Deliver it back here tomorrow morning at exactly six. I’ll meet you at the gate."
Jeff was trained not to ask too many questions, and Seth paid enough to soothe his curiosity. "Yes, sir." He turned on his heel and climbed into his truck.
Seth watched him disappear into the distance before he started back to the warehouse. He was filled with newfound confidence as he waltzed back through the safe house door and sealed it behind him.
"You look pleased with yourself," Camille noted.
"I am." He slammed back the last of his energy drink and crushed the can in his hand before tossing it in the trash. He let a smile spread wide across his face as he plopped into the chair at her cell and leaned in. "Wanna know why?"
She seemed confused, but still curious. Camille approached the edge of the cell, gripping the bars and poking her face through. "Why?"
"Because I’ve won," he gloated.
Camille wrinkled her freckled nose as her confusion increased. "You mean you think you’ve beaten me already?"
"I don’t think —— I know."
"And what makes you so certain, Seth? What makes you think that in the next nine hours you’re not going to open that door and make passionate love to me the way you want to?"
"I know," he grinned, "because I no longer have the key."
The color drained from Camille’s face. "W-what do you m-mean?" she stuttered.
"I mean it doesn’t matter how much pixie dust you blow on me or how badly I want to bend you over that table and give it to you. I can’t let you out. The one and only key is gone."
"But what about Camille? Are you just going to leave her in here?" Her voice cracked. The demon’s low voice now had an edge of hysteria building in it.
"The key is coming back, but not until tomorrow —— and not until after sunrise." Seth got up from his chair and flipped the television back on. "Enjoy your last few hours on Earth, Honey."
10:13 P.M.
Isra needed to think of a way out of this cage. She was running out of time. Even if she couldn’t seduce her initial target, if she could get
away, perhaps she could find another man in time. Maybe his heart wouldn’t be quite so hardened to her charms. That would buy her another day. And then maybe she could outsmart Seth.
She needed to come up with something. Something he wasn’t expecting. He was an immortal warrior of the Archangels after all —— he’d probably seen every trick she knew to throw at him. She had been told he was the oldest and strongest, and therefore the one they had to target first before they got suspicious and raised the alert to what they were really trying to do.
But battling the oldest and strongest meant she had to be at the top of her game. She was chosen because she was the best. Isra had to find a way to knock him off his guard.
"He’s not going to let you out of here." Once again, Camille fought her way into Isra’s mind. Once again, she had something smart to say. It was annoying, but she appreciated her spunk. "He can’t, even if he wanted to."
"Oh, shut up," Isra pouted.
"What’s that?" Seth peeked around his chair again.
"Nothing."
Seth sighed and came back around to the cage. He lowered himself onto the chair and propped his elbows onto his knees.
Isra watched him, her mind racing with options. Her instinct was to smile and start the seduction game again, but she was growing weary of this game. It hadn’t gotten her very far anyway. Instead, she flopped to the concrete floor, hugged her knees to her chest, and ignored him.
"What’s your name?" Seth asked.
"Camille," she answered automatically, resting her chin on her knee.
"No, I mean your real name, not your host’s name."
What did it matter? The clock was ticking away and she’d be right back in Hell before too long. And this time, she’d return a failure. "I’m just one of many in service to the Dark Lord."
Seth sat quietly for a moment and then seemed to give up trying to talk to her. He stood and sighed, turning to walk away from the cell.
"My name is Isra." She spoke the words suddenly as he moved away. She needed to keep him as close and engaged as possible. What could it hurt to talk? Perhaps gaining his trust could get her somewhere.
"Isra?" Seth sat back down. "Tell me about yourself, Isra."
She couldn’t help but wrinkle her brow in confusion. He wanted to make small talk? Okay. She could do that. She liked the way he said her name, anyway. "What’s there to tell, really? I’m a demon. It’s not exactly like I can tell you about my childhood and my aspirations to be a country music star."
Seth laughed, and Isra grew more confident in her ability to befriend him. "What about Hell? What do you do down there?" he asked.
"We play a lot of strip poker." Isra smiled. "Seriously," she added as the smile slipped away, "there’s nothing that goes on down there that is appropriate for polite conversation. As I said before, there’s a reason we fight to get out, even if for just a day."
"How often do you manage to get out?"
Not nearly often enough, she mused. "If we’re lucky, once a decade or so, although the passage of time is sort of fluid down there. I haven’t been out since the late nineties. I got to stay on Earth for a whole week that time."
Seth’s eyes shot up in surprise. "How’d you manage that?"
"Well, the first twenty-four hours are the biggest hurdle. Once you capture a man’s soul, you can stay for several days until you have to do it again. Of course, the more souls you consume, the stronger you are and the longer you can fight Hell’s pull on you. And you need to be strong to fight Michael’s warriors. Otherwise, they’ll overpower you and exorcise you back to Hell."
"Is that what happened to you?"
"On numerous occasions." Isra frowned. "How come you haven’t tried to drive me out of Camille?"
Seth leaned back in his chair. "Well, to be honest, the process is draining and dangerous for me and the host. I’ve been around a long time and learned a few things in my years at work. If I can keep you from stealing a man’s soul before sunrise, I can skip the theatrics. It’s easier that way." He looked over his shoulder and Isra followed his gaze to the countdown clock. About seven hours left.
"Do you want something to drink?" Seth got up and went to the kitchen.
"Sure."
Seth returned and slid a juice box through the bars. "No sharp objects," he explained.
Isra accepted the box of fruit punch. "I guess you think I can’t gouge your eyes out with my plastic bendy straw."
"It’d be a feat if you could." He laughed and sat down with a can of soda. "How does one get out of hell for these excursions of yours?"
"Sometimes you can slip away without being noticed. At sunrise and sunset the fabric of this world thins and it’s easier to pass through. You have to get through the guards, though."
"Guards?"
"Mean sons of bitches. Hairy, smelly, and very strong. Their breath is like hot, rancid broccoli. They’re there, primarily, to keep the souls inside, though. Demons escaping are the least of their worries. Especially since so many are deliberately sent out."
Seth listened to her with unexpected interest. "So did you break out this time or was this an assignment?"
"Do you normally interrogate your captives?" Isra countered. She’d never been asked so many questions. It was usually a "seek and destroy" mission for both sides. Hopefully she wasn’t giving away any vulnerabilities in her attempt to befriend him.
"Sometimes. I’m usually a lot meaner, though."
Isra sighed. She couldn’t tell him the truth. They might suspect her motives, but if they didn’t, she wasn’t going to tip Michael off. "I did this on my own," she lied. "I was trying to prove myself to another demon. My big mouth gets me in trouble, sometimes. He challenged me to take one of Michael’s warriors. I took the bet."
"Why did you choose me and Camille?"
She shrugged. "I watched several of you that I suspected to be in Michael’s employ before I made my decision. You were the biggest risk, but you obviously had the biggest vulnerability in your neighbor. I thought using Camille would give me an advantage. It almost worked."
"What if you lose and have to return empty-handed?"
She shook her head. That was not an option. "You don’t really want to know. I’ll just say that I’m not in a hurry to go back." Isra turned to the clock, watching the red digits tick away the time she had left. "I don’t have long and it’s obvious I’m not getting out of here. What do you say to some dinner? I’d like to eat as much pizza as I possibly can before I go."
12:20 A.M.
Seth couldn’t believe how quickly the time passed while he was talking to Isra. They’d eaten more pizza and chatted about a number of different topics. They had both lived the long, storied lives of immortal creatures, but from very different perspectives. The things she’d seen and experienced in her lifetime were often dark, but fascinating, and he couldn’t help but keep asking questions.
She had more in common with Camille than she would probably care to admit. They were both smart and witty. He almost liked her. Well, as much as one could like a demon set on sucking your soul into the pits of Hell.
At the very least, it killed two more hours and didn’t involve her getting naked again. He wasn’t sure his heart could take it.
"Seth?"
He dumped their dirty plates into the trash and returned, dusting crumbs off of his hands. "Yeah?"
Isra frowned, her brow knitted in thought. "Would you like to speak to Camille again?"
Seth was surprised by her offer. "What’s the catch?" He almost felt guilty for suspecting her of a trick, although it was highly likely that it was.
She pouted, her bottom lip sticking out seductively. "No trick. I just..." her voice faded out. "I just thought it would be a nice thing to do. You’ve been kinder to me than you had to be."
Seth tried not to chuckle at the pained expression on her face. She didn’t seem to enjoy being nice, but whatever bit of conscience she had was getting the best of her. "Okay," he agreed and settle
d back into his chair. As an afterthought, he slid the seat back another foot or so.
Isra curled up beside the bars and closed her eyes. An involuntary shudder came over her, followed by a deep sigh. "Thank God," Camille’s voice echoed in the steel cell. She opened her blue eyes and smiled at Seth. "I don’t think I can take much more of this."
Seth returned her smile. "Hang in there. It won’t be much longer."
She nodded and looked down at her hands. "It's a little weird being a spectator to your own life. Not having control over anything I do or say. I honestly can't believe some of the things she's done tonight. It's so embarrassing." A flush rushed to her cheeks that was a little unexpected considering all the thing she —— Isra —— had done tonight. Without making eye contact, she said, "Seth, can I ask you something?"
Seth had hoped she would pick up their last conversation where it left off, but didn’t push the issue. "Sure. Anything." After the door to this world had been so violently kicked in, people usually had questions. Some he could answer, some he couldn't. But he did his best to comfort the demon's victims.
"Do men really like women like that?"
Her question caught him completely off guard. He was ready to explain the structure of Hell, the mission of a succubus... but not this. "Women like what?"
"Like her? So blatantly sexual. Wanton. Kinky, even. Do men really want a woman like that?"
Seth wasn’t sure what to say. "Well," he stalled, "yeah, I guess. Men aren’t very complicated. They’re easily distracted by sex. But at the same time," he argued, "we’re also territorial. We don’t want to share our woman with another man. I guess that’s the allure of a woman who can be a lady to the casual observer, but wild in bed."
Camille listened and nodded. "That makes sense. I never really looked at it like that. I’d always strived to be the kind of woman a man wants to marry. The kind you’d be proud to take home to your mother. I guess I missed the point. Men want the best of both worlds."
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