Twisted Luck

by Mia Downing

  Finally, she broke free from her research to stare at me through those turquoise glasses. Down the bridge of her nose.

  I sat taller, my heart practically in my throat. “Y—yes?”

  “You’re screwed.”

  I sagged against the chair, a sob bubbling up in my throat. The fountain roared in my ears, the birds outside a cacophony. I drew in a ragged breath, afraid to ask. “And my mom?”

  Babu’s gaze returned to the cups to recheck her facts, I guessed. “She’s screwed, too.”

  I bit my lip to keep down the bile that tasted of orange and spice. My world spun in Babu’s sitting room, and I feared fainting at her feet.

  “Unless...” Babu consulted her book again, flipping through the pages slow as first, then with increasing speed. The dust floated from the tome and into the sunshine, circling over Babu’s head like a creepy halo.

  My heart picked up the pace, too, and I sat a little taller.

  “Unless…” She read another line with silent lips that gaped open. Her neck cracked with the speed she lifted her chin to stare at me with finality.

  “Unless?”

  “You can make him fall in love with you.”

  Chapter Eight

  “Back up. You said I was screwed.” I held up my hands to ward off the idiocy going down in Babu’s little sun room. I couldn’t make Leo love me. “What’s this nonsense?”

  Babu sat back in her chair, satisfied, that circle of dust still lingering over her head now enshrouding her like glitter in the sunlight. “You are screwed. You sold your pure soul. There are holes in your contract, and your mother’s soul is in grave danger. The web he weaves is one she won’t be able to escape.”

  “And you come up with—” I couldn’t even say it.

  “You need to make him fall in love with you.”

  “Love?” I stared at her, the book, the cups, the clumps of tea inside with sick fascination that bridged on horror. “I have a better chance of catching leprechauns under your couch. How does one make a sexy monster fall in love? It’s like a sick fairytale. And how do you even know that would work?”

  “I don’t. But…” She spread her hand over the books in front of her. “These writings hint of holes in his very own existence.” She leaned forward on her elbows. “Was he human once?”

  “Yes.” I thought back to the pie making. “He had a memory from his human days, something that he hasn’t had happen before. Memories of his mother making meat pies. It rattled him.”

  Babu nodded. “Your good luck wish, it makes holes in the magic. Like Swiss cheese.”

  I didn’t want to look more stupid in front of Babu since she’d already accused me of that once, so I mulled that over, searching for the direction she wanted me to take with that cheesy analogy.

  “So…” A dim light began to dawn in the edge of my brain. “Because I seem to be able to change things, change the rules slightly, I should be able to make larger holes in his magical armor. And if I do that, there’s a chance he could fall in love with me.”

  It sounded fairytale stupid coming from my lips, one my romantic mother would embrace.

  “Exactly.” Babu nodded and smiled as if I had removed my dunce cap and sat at the table like a big, smart girl.

  “But…how? All he wants is sex and for me to make him money.”

  “All men want sex and money.” Babu cast a scornful frown and waved a hand. “They think with their deeks.”

  I think she meant dick.

  She leaned forward. “You find the holes, yah? Find the way in. You said he remembered food. Food is the way to a man’s heart. It’s no lie.”

  Since food wasn’t a necessity, I didn’t see how that would happen. I sighed and brushed an errant lock of hair from my face. “If I make him fall in love with me, what will happen?”

  Babu glanced at the book before her, looked up, and folded her hands together on top of it. “I don’t know.”

  I blinked rapidly, speechless. How could she not know?

  “But I do know you have no other option.” She pointed a finger at me. “You try.”

  I couldn’t tap down the bubble of a laugh riding the horror up my throat. “This isn’t…borscht or caviar or whatever the Old World tries. This is my life. I have to succeed, or I lose my mother. I am committed to this, and I have no clue how to even begin.”

  “Okay. Then don’t try.” Babu nodded with a genuine smile this time, one that showed off white dentures and gave sparkle to her light blue eyes. “You succeed. I will do what I can to help you from here, with charms and spells. That is Annie’s wish of me.”

  “R—really?” I had no clue if this was my good luck charm working, or if Babu liked me, or if my friendship with Annie had tipped the tables. Tears of joy dampened my eyes, a shudder of relief wracking my shoulders.

  “I can’t promise much. As I said, you’re in deep sheet.” Babu lifted her fork, cut off a dainty hunk of pie—crust and filling—and slid it into her mouth. She chewed for a moment, closed her eyes, and set the fork back down with a distinct click. “I help. You bring pie again. Deal?”

  “Deal.”

  A half hour later, filled with pie and mentally clutching Babu’s promise to help, I got into my car and drove out the driveway and down the road. A weird numbness unsettled me, so I pulled over into a little green park with children playing and a pretty pond in the distance. Laughter and sunshine filled my car.

  But instead of bolstering me, it felt like a hand reached in and gripped my heart, squeezing it until it constricted in my chest. The first sob ripped through my throat, followed by another, and the full dam of tears I’d been holding back since that revealing dinner with my mother finally burst.

  I’d never have the life I wanted. The screaming kids, the dog peeing at the hydrant, the handsome dad wiping snot with a tissue, the broken cookies smeared onto a pudgy fist. My mother would never spoil her grandchildren with cookies and kisses. I’d never cook a crappy Thanksgiving meals for ungrateful in-laws. I’d never walk down the aisle to a man I loved.

  David’s wedding picture surfaced in my mind, swirling, reminding me of how this all started in the first place.

  I couldn’t get a mere mortal to love me on my own schedule. How the hell was I going to snare a sexy, horny demon with a heart of stone and a taste for caviar?

  Babu was right.

  I was screwed.

  ****

  After Babu’s sunroom tea party and my breakdown in the park, I pulled it together since people had started staring in the direction of my car. God help me, I didn’t need a cop knocking at my window. The more practical, positive side took over, and I found the strength to drive, taking the scenic route home.

  My mind spun with disbelief as I fought for a solution. I had no clue how to make a demon fall in love with me. These guys wanted Waterford crystal, tailored suits, foie grasse on imported crackers, and champagne from France. I wanted to eat my frozen pizza in the peace of my affordable apartment. I couldn’t make a human male love me, never mind a demon.

  I was screwed.

  I let myself into the solitude of my apartment, turned on the oven, and dug out the package of refrigerated, chocolate chip cookie dough. I needed cookie therapy in the form of forbidden raw dough and cooked warm, gooey goodness. I began to unwrap them, only to be startled by a pounding on the door.

  I wiped my hands, went to the door, and peeped in the viewer to find a distorted brown eye staring back at me.

  “Let me in, Olivia.”

  Leo.

  The chain lock slid off into my hands, and Leo burst in, brushing past me with a force of wind.

  “This is unacceptable,” he muttered.

  I shut the door. “Yes, it is. Your rudeness as you burst into my home needs to change.” I followed as he stomped down the short hall into the kitchen.

  He turned, his brows creased. I did a double-take. Leo still wore the jeans from last night, his black T-shirt untucked and tight against his chest and
biceps. The dark color suited his olive complexion and dark brown eyes, giving him an air of danger he really didn’t need at this point. The denim clung to his thighs and hips, deliciously accentuating the slight bulge in the crotch area. My ovaries ate up his sexiness as heat swirled through my belly and settled in a sweet ache.

  “Quit staring at me like I’m your next meal,” Leo snapped. “I feel naked without my suit.”

  “So put it back on.”

  “I can’t.” He ran a hand through his spiked hair. “I can’t get into your house, I can’t put on a suit, and I couldn’t find you. I don’t like being unable to find you, Olivia.”

  “I didn’t know you could,” I lied. Babu had said he’d be able to track his possessions. I didn’t realize that extended to me. I assumed the suit issues had to do with the cufflinks.

  “And now, I can’t even read your mind. It needs to stop.” Leo’s frown grew to a snarl. He paced the small space between my oven and kitchen table. “I couldn’t show up at work in this, and Samuel was pissed as hell. Remember, the rule is not to piss him off.”

  “Yes, I recall.” I couldn’t say I didn’t see how this was my fault since it sorta was. “Did he offer any helpful suggestions to the issue?”

  “Besides redeem your contract and get rid of you?”

  “That’s not a viable solution.”

  “He suggested I keep some clothes somewhere easily accessible like a common human.” Leo shuddered.

  I really didn’t want to know about demon living arrangements. Wait. Maybe I needed to know about this to further my cause. “So what do you need, Leo? A place to stash some clothes? Since I’m your Sugar Mama, I guess I should be stepping up to the plate.”

  He glowered mid-pace. “You are not my Sugar Mama. You are the vessel for the soul I own.” He turned on a sneakered heel and stalked my way. “And I have a residence. I just don’t keep clothes there. If the magic fails, it’s too far away.”

  I tossed up my hands to ward him off. “Point taken.”

  “Is it? Because I don’t think you understand the full scope of the issues at hand.” His finger chucked me under the chin and raised my head to meet his gaze.

  “I do.”

  “Oh, no.” His breath warmed the skin of my cheeks as his hand slid to my hip, tugging them closer to his masculine heat. “You have an incredibly smart mouth and way more pride than a possession should have. Your head and mine are on the chopping block if he doesn’t contract Muriel’s soul. This isn’t a game.”

  “No, it’s not a game. And it’s not my fault you screwed up and contracted me earlier than Samuel wished.” I bristled. “I warned you, Leo. You picked the wrong girl to mess with.” Anger surged as I wrenched out of his grasp.

  I whirled, putting space between us by circling to the other side of the table. I leaned on the chair, my knuckles turning white as I gripped the ladder back. Fury mushroomed into an inferno of rage, and I shook with the force of it. I wanted to lash out at him, hit him, make him pay for stealing my life from me. I wanted to slap him and shake him and demand he set me free. I sucked in ragged breaths, struggling to remain in control.

  “Bring it, Liv,” he taunted, his voice whiskey-smooth and just as inviting as a shot. He raised a hand, his fingers beckoning in a come-hither motion. His dark eyes glittered, reminding me of a snake waiting to pounce on the country mouse who dared to wave a threatening paw.

  Hatred and stupidity whispered that I could win if given the chance. I released the chair and took a step toward him.

  Fool, Babu’s voice chastised in my brain. This is a trap.

  Anger struggled with the common sense Babu thought I lacked. All I needed was an iron knife laced with salt. That killed demons on TV. My gaze flickered to my counter top and the demon hunting supplies I’d left out from before.

  But he needs to fall in love with you…

  My mother needed me. Fury faded as common sense took center stage, victorious. I licked my parched lips and sighed as I returned a much calmer gaze to his.

  The droop of my shoulders must have confused him, because his demeanor changed, too, his stance relaxing to one of disappointed unease with one sexy hip cocked.

  Attacking him wouldn’t serve my cause. If I wanted him to fall for me, I had to find the holes in his armor. Keeping a demon in my proverbial pocket would get me a lot further than being at odds with him.

  Now calm, I drew a deep breath and conceded, “I’m sorry.”

  “Lucifer take me,” He snapped to attention with an accusatory point of his finger. “You’re not supposed to be sorry. You’re supposed to try to kick my ass so I can take you down.”

  “Oh, so you bated me magically?” I didn’t know if I should be pissed he’d done this or proud I’d resisted.

  “Of course.” He shrugged a careless shoulder. “Wrath tarnishes your soul.”

  “I didn’t take you for the kind of guy to hurt women.” As whacked as this whole situation was, it unsettled me a little to think I’d never feared for my physical safety. He could have raped me and forced me to sign that contract, but he hadn’t. As much as I hated him at times, I was also grateful he’d made my first time one of the best nights of my life.

  “I’d never harm you.” He shot me an offended and hurt glance. “I would have pinned you, kissed you, and fucked you until you remembered who you belong to.” That dirty grin returned and lifted his lips. “Angry sex is fun, Liv. I bet I can still piss you off if you want to give it a go.”

  I rolled my eyes and jutted my chin with stubborn pride. “Back to our original conversation. I’ll get you a key to the apartment, and if it will help with pretenses, I’ll allow you to live here.”

  “Live here?” Leo jerked in surprise, his brow arching. “Allow?”

  “It’s my home, Leo. You want a place to store some shirts. We need my mother to think all is happy in relationshipville. If you remember correctly, that’s what you proposed on the restaurant patio.”

  He scowled. “Yes, but—”

  “Then you’re on board.” I smiled sweetly. “You’ll have to abide by some simple rules to keep me happy and helping you.”

  A muscle in his jaw flinched as he ground his teeth. “Olivia—”

  “You’ll live in the spare room.”

  He snorted. “I don’t think that will last long. We both have needs. Don’t forget what I own.” That lascivious gaze took in my tingling breasts, slid down my belly, and locked on the juncture of my crossed thighs.

  God help me, I squirmed as need pulsed straight to my wet core. I waved a hand in weak dismissal. “So we make conjugal visits.”

  “Oh, I plan to do more than visit.” Victory never looked sexier on a man. He licked his bottom lip, and I wanted to taste it, too. He took a slow, deliberate step around the kitchen table. “Get ready to scream my name, Liv.”

  Just as the rage had taken hold, desire now ruled every nerve and cell in my body. My knees knocked, and I gripped a nearby chair tighter to stay upright. That smug grin returned to his lips, the same he’d worn when he’d taunted me to attack.

  He had to be manipulating this instant lust, too, just as he had with the fury I’d felt. I couldn’t have that going on if I wanted him to fall for me.

  I blurted out, “There will be no magic in my home.”

  That stopped him mid-stalk. “No magic.”

  “None. Unless you ask permission to use it.” I had no clue if this would work or not, but I had to do something.

  “Permission,” he said like it was a curse.

  “This is non-negotiable. I’m going to conduct my life as normally as I can. Your magic doesn’t help. If you’re going to spend time in my home, it will be on my level since I can’t get magic to be on yours.”

  He blinked. Opened his mouth and closed it. Then shook his head. “Samuel isn’t going to like this.”

  “Why does he need to know? Tell him we’re working on something that will get Muriel to the altar.” Nothing like being in cah
oots with a demon.

  “You’re asking me to lie.” Instead of the shock I expected, he chuckled with amusement. “You have mixed up morals, Olivia.”

  “You’re a freaking demon! Lying should be the first commandment in your dirty book.”

  Leo sighed, his shoulders slumping as he shot me a sad frown. Gah, the man worked pouty just as well as he worked dark and dangerous. “Fine. No magic in the house.”

  “That’s it?” Suspicion made me squint at him. “You’re not going to fight me on this.”

  “I’ll get around it somehow. I’m the king of the loophole.”

  I shook my head in disbelief. “You are one cocky bastard.”

  Mischief sparkled in his eyes. “You love that part of me.”

  I huffed again and hoped to hell my good luck would seal his damned loopholes. “I’ll allow you to magically transport whatever you need here, if that’s how you plan to move in.”

  “Okay,” he agreed. A heartbeat later, a stack of boxes arrived in my foyer, a pile of clothes heaped on top.

  I blinked and reconsidered the magic thing for a tiny second. That man could come in handy, zapping in groceries, cleaning the bathroom, scrubbing the floor with a blink of an eye.

  I shook my head and banished that thought. “You can send it to the guest room.”

  The boxes and clothes disappeared.

  “Well then.” I glanced down at my package of dough. “You want some cookies, roomie?”

  “You want me to eat…that.” He pointed like there was a venomous spider on the counter.

  “What’s wrong with these cookies?” Okay, maybe they didn’t look so good since they’d been out on the counter for a bit. But he didn’t need to be a snob about it. “Seriously. Life does not revolve around champagne and lobster.”

  His look of disdain seemed to melt the poor cookies more. “You could let me use magic and—”

  “Unless you’re going to make a meal with your bare hands, it’s not happening.” I squelched the longing for a really good steak. “I may have my job back, but I don’t have extra money to waste.”