by Melody Rose
“Why don’t you get yourself together, and I will meet you in the dining room in, say, thirty minutes?” I didn’t want her to leave, but I knew our peaceful morning would have to end, eventually.
“Sounds perfect,” Evelyn replied as she slithered her way off of my chest and over to the edge of the bed.
I watched her as she retraced our steps from last night, collecting her belongings and getting dressed. She really was gorgeous. I recalled the feel of her soft skin beneath my calloused fingers and the warmth of her body against mine. I silently willed her to come back to bed, but she was already in the doorway.
“Thirty minutes,” she called out. “Don’t be late.”
After she walked out the door, I collapsed back onto the bed, my head spinning with the events of last night. I rolled to my side and realized that my pillowcase still smelled like coconuts.
I got up and threw on a pair of jeans and a dark blue t-shirt. As much as I loved my suit, it did tend to get uncomfortable after a while, and I welcomed the airy fabric of my shirt. I ran my fingers through my hair on the way out the door and almost ran right into Lilith when I entered the hall.
“Whoa!” she cried, just barely saving her coffee mug from a devastating tumble to the ground.
“So sorry!” I called out, standing there helplessly as she regained control over the mug. “Sorry. My head’s up my own ass right now.”
“Ooh, there’s a nice idea for the torture list.” Her eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning.
I chuckled. “Don’t forget to invite me. I need to see that.”
“Done,” she replied before changing her tone.
“So?” Lilith sang. “How was last night?”
I grinned. “It was perfect.”
“Ooh,” she squealed. “Do tell!”
“No,” I insisted. “That’s between her and me.”
Lilith pouted. “Okay, first off, that’s crap, I need to know, I encouraged this, so my reward should be the details, right? Secondly, I know you don’t kiss and tell. So! Your silence tells me all I need to know.”
Lilith had a knowing smirk on her face. I had to hand it to her. She was good.
“Alright, so you have me all figured out,” I threw my hands up in fake annoyance. “I’m still not talking, though.” I shoved my hands in my pockets and started meandering down the hall toward the dining room.
“Boo,” she responded as she fell in step behind me. “I’m sure you’re heading to breakfast, I’ll catch up with you later to talk shop though, alright?”
“Sounds like a plan,” I sang as she turned a corner out of sight.
I entered the empty dining room and walked through to the kitchen area, where a few of my kitchen demons were already starting their morning prep. Dagon was there also, in the back corner finishing up a fresh batch of muffins.
“Devil’s Food chocolate muffins!” she shouted from her corner.
“Cute!” I called back.
“Get two meals prepped for twenty minutes,” I told the line cook before making my way back to the dining room. I sat in my chair and helped myself to a cup of coffee.
Evelyn strolled in after a few sips, looking fresh and much more awake than I felt. Her jeans and white t-shirt matched the comfortable vibe I had been going for this morning. She pulled up her chair next to me and immediately dove into coffee preparation.
“What’s for breakfast?” she asked.
“No idea, it’s a surprise today,” I replied, smiling over at her.
Evelyn took a few small sips of her coffee. “Exciting,” she said over the steam coming out of her mug.
She set her mug down and turned to face me.
“So, I have to say, the wings threw me off a bit last night,” she said with a chuckle. “I mean, I had no idea what I was supposed to do with them.”
I started laughing. “I mean, nothing really, they’re just wings.”
“Just wings?” she started laughing harder now. “Seriously? Your wingspan is the size of a house. What am I supposed to do, just ignore them?”
“Well, you know what they say about a man with a large wingspan,” I said with a wink.
“Oh, yeah?” she said, the snarky tone back in her voice. “What’s that?”
I full-on belly laughed. “I don’t know, more feathers?”
We both chuckled together, and then Evelyn turned to me.
“You said earlier that we are just getting started,” she said.
“Yes?” I waited for her to finish.
“What does that mean, exactly?” Evelyn’s hands were wrapped around her coffee mug tightly, and I could see the tension in her grip.
“I think you know what it means,” I teased. “I don’t want this to be a onetime thing. Besides, don’t you want to keep reliving last night? Because I still can’t catch my breath.”
“No, it’s not that. I mean, yes, I’d love to keep reliving it, but I was more so referring to you being immortal and all. I mean, not only will you outlive me, but you will stay looking like this,” Evelyn gestured at me as she looked me up and down, “while I grow old and wrinkly. So what’s your answer to that?”
“So, here’s the thing…” I replied carefully. “You won’t age as long as you’re in Hell.”
“Really?” Evelyn asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah,” I nodded. “I mean, Lilith isn’t dead either.” I shrugged. “So, consider it a perk, I suppose.”
“Interesting…” Evelyn mused.
Our breakfast came out, and we ate in silence for a while, appreciating each other’s company. When we had mostly cleared our plates, I looked over at Evelyn. “So, you’re staying?”
“Yeah, I’m staying,” she said with a smile. “Although you have to show me how to get out of this place on my own, I do need to go grocery shopping from time to time.”
I laughed. “I can certainly do that for you. Come on, I’ll walk you back to your room.”
Evelyn and I walked in a comfortable silence back to her room. When we got to her doorway, I reached out, grabbed her hand, and pulled her into me. She looked up into my eyes with a smirk on her face.
“What?” I asked, holding her close and looking down at her.
“You’re different than I thought you’d be,” she said.
“Yeah, don’t tell anyone, though,” I laughed.
“No promises,” she chuckled, wrapping both arms around my neck and pulling me in for a kiss.
I knew then that Hell would never be the same.
A Note from the Author
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