Twisted Luck

by Mia Downing

  “We can do that next time.” A smug smile played at his lips as he jingled change in a soft, merry rhythm. “For now, I’ll enjoy thinking of you on my desk during the next meeting with Samuel.”

  “You meet here?” I walked around the desk, admiring the antique clock on the hutch that lined the back wall. Like Samuel’s, his office lacked anything personal, like pictures or mementos like a bowling trophy. Not that I could see him bowling. Or doing any team sport for that matter.

  He shrugged. “He often pops in.”

  I plopped down in his leather office chair and spun around once. My, my, this was comfortable. I ran my hand over the simple oak desk and the leather planner that had dug into my back. Everything was neat and tidy, right down to the scratches on his note pad. The dirty part of my mind pictured me straddling his lap in this comfortable chair. How many women had done just that? “You have sex here often?”

  “Actually, you’re the first woman—human or demon—I’ve had sex with here. And I haven’t had sex with anyone but you since I met you.” He arched a brow. “Surprised?”

  I spun in his chair to hide the shock, able to merely shrug when I returned to his scrutiny. “I thought you were all about the raging orgy.”

  “Usually.” He glanced around. “My office isn’t big enough for a raging orgy.”

  I had no clue if he was joking, but then he cracked one of those devilish smiles.

  I smiled back. “You don’t bang the secretary? I assume you have one.”

  “I do have a secretary, and she’s Samuel’s office fling. Not mine.”

  “Ew.” I wrinkled my nose, even more upset for my mother.

  “Yes, well.” He cleared his throat, and the change jingled in a new pattern. How odd I could tell his mood just by how those coins clattered in his hand. “Trust me. You don’t want him banging your mother.”

  “So he’s not— They’re not— I mean, ah—” I don’t think my nose could wrinkle any harder. “Humans don’t really enjoy the thought of their parents having sex.”

  His lips twitched. “Samuel and Muriel, on his desk—”

  I shoved my fingers in my ears and sang, “La la la.”

  He laughed, relishing in my discomfort as he walked around his desk to loom over me. “No, they’re not intimate.”

  For some reason, a sense of relief washed over me.

  He extended his hand. “We should get going.”

  I took his hand and rose, pleased with the events that went along with one hell of an orgasm. We’d shared some banter, he wasn’t screwing anyone else, and he’d shared his personal space with me. I wanted to believe that was a huge first step toward my goal of him loving me. The cherry on top came with learning Samuel wasn’t getting busy with my mother. I’d take it and run.

  “Olivia.”

  A touch to my elbow stopped my thoughts in their tracks, and I looked up at him.

  He cleared his throat, his expression one of all business and no pleasure. “Just because you’re mine means nothing more than that. You’re a possession. I have no problem in keeping you. I also have no issue in calling in your contract when it’s time. Your life is mine, to keep or extinguish.”

  Something stabbed deep in the region of my heart, and I breathed around the pain not to let that show.

  I must have failed in hiding it, because he cupped my cheek, brushing his thumb over my numb skin. He cleared his throat again. “It’s nothing personal. Just business.”

  I gave an awkward nod of understanding.

  His hand dropped. “Let’s go.”

  So much for thinking I’d gained any ground.

  Chapter Eleven

  Whoever said dire issues would look better in the morning should be shot by firing squad without a cigarette or blindfold.

  I woke at seven with a blinding headache that the luck somehow missed. But the day before had been a whirlwind of drama that would exhaust a soap opera, and the morning did not put my issues in any better light.

  Maybe I deserved a headache to help put the whole mess into perspective. First my meeting with Babu, then desk sex with Leo. If I didn’t have my mother to worry about, I would have just demanded the firing squad take me and get it over with, but that would never be an option.

  I rolled in my bed, the opposite side empty. The evening had ended with Leo dumping me unceremoniously at my door before he blinked away. I hadn’t really wanted him to stay anyway.

  Your life is mine, to keep or extinguish.

  His words kept ringing in my ears. Yesterday, his comment had left me numb and feeling overwhelmed. Today, I was pissed. I didn’t like this possession nonsense. I wasn’t a bug on his proverbial windshield.

  That boy was going down, and I didn’t mean on me.

  I got up, did the morning thing in the bathroom, and rustled for pills to pop. As I downed a glass of water, I lamented having no game plan in place. Granted, not even twenty-four hours had passed since Babu had handed down her decree.

  But I was a woman of action, and thankfully, Annie had texted the night before. A glimmer of a plan dawned. I texted back, and we agreed to meet at the library at ten. It was as safe a place as any in case Leo decided to pop in and say hi. Even a possession could look at books.

  I showed up at ten with a chai latte for Annie, who was no longer vegan, and a plain coffee with milk for me. We made our way to a back table in a private but open corner in the nonfiction section. Only a few patrons milled about the fiction area on the other side of the library, leaving us blissfully alone.

  I quickly filled her in about tea with her great-grandmother and about the meeting with Samuel, being careful not to mention names just in case.

  “So you need a plan of attack.” Annie rested her chin on her hands, her elbows on the table. “Any ideas besides hunting down a modern-day Cupid?”

  “Do those exist?” I held up a hand to stop her answer. “Just don’t tempt me. I couldn’t make a human fall for me on my own time line. I don’t see this working in two months.”

  “Don’t be negative. We can figure this out.” Annie reached over to grab my hand and squeeze it in her cold fingers. “What does he want in life?”

  That was easy. “Sex.”

  Annie rolled her eyes. “Besides sex.”

  “Work and money. Well. The underworld version of it.” I had no clue what their currency consisted of, and I wasn’t going to ask. “Money aside, we don’t have very much in common except the sex. And the fact that his line of business is why I’m here in the first place.”

  Annie frowned. “That doesn’t give you much to work with.”

  I shook my head and tried to find inspiration in my to-go cup.

  “Okay. So let’s see if any of these have ideas.” Annie slid a stack of magazines over and pulled one off the top.

  I pointed to the cover with disbelief. A half-dressed actress leered at me while the headings boasted having all the solutions to my relationship and sexual problems. Oh, and I’d become a better cook, too. “You expect me to find the answers to my issues in a women’s magazine.”

  “Don’t be judgmental. It’s a place to start, and you have no ideas.” She leafed through the scented pages to find an article. She scanned it with a frown. “Most How to Keep a Man Satisfied articles harp on giving him space and being yourself. The way I see it, he has way too much space.”

  “Seriously.” The little wheels in my head turned as I schemed. “I’ve already banned magic in the house. Now I need to set some rules. He needs to fake playing the prospective boyfriend if my mother is going to believe that aspect. But what else?”

  Samuel wanted Leo to work his around the clock shifts and somehow court me to Muriel’s satisfaction, too. Daddy demon couldn’t have it both ways.

  “What if you made him come home every evening?” Annie suggested without using Leo’s name. “Be home at six, have a meal and whatever together, and then he’s free to leave at say…eleven. That would give you time to get to know him while satis
fying his work obligations.”

  “That might work, though I’d have to actually talk to him. I don’t think my body can take a four-hour sex marathon each night after dinner.” I wrinkled my nose. This scenario was an introvert’s nightmare. I needed my alone time to recoup energy. “Maybe ten would be better. No, nine.”

  “I know how much you like to entertain—not—but you need to put on the big girl panties so you can charm him. You just need to find something in common.”

  “He owns me. That’s what we have in common.” I toyed with the stirrer. “He reminded me that a possession could be extinguished.”

  Annie pursed her lips. “On the playground, little boys always pick on the girls they like. Toss rocks at them and call them names. I think he likes you.”

  He had cupped my cheek after he’d said it was business, his thumb brushing my skin. I shook my head. “Threatening my existence is a lot more than tossing rocks.”

  “His playground is much bigger and a lot more deadly.”

  Annie had a point. I sighed. “You’re right.”

  She smiled. “So keep that in mind as you lay down the law. Find something in common with the sexy beast.”

  “I guess I’ll find something. We could always talk about…sex.” I mulled that over, remembering the sparkle of mischief in his eyes after desk sex. “He seems to have a sense of humor.”

  “Funny is good.”

  “And he’s starting to remember things from his past.” A patron walked into earshot, so I leaned forward and lowered my voice. “Things like what he liked as a kid. Maybe something will surface that gives us common ground.”

  “See, you’re already thinking more positively. Team that with your good luck, and you have a fighting chance.” The patron left, and Annie leaned forward. “Babu will kill me for asking, but is he at least hot?”

  My cheeks heated like they had back in college when we’d talk about guys. I could almost feel the cheap bed underneath me and smell the haze of Annie’s pot indulgence mixed with the cheap air freshener to cover it up. “Beyond hot. Tall, dark, and handsome doesn’t even touch him. He is sin in a suit.”

  “You always had a thing for suits. And older guys.”

  We laughed. Back then, I had a crush on my professor while Annie crushed on the drummer of the latest Indie band.

  Come to think of it, it had probably been since college that I’d giggled and whispered about a guy, too. David had been good looking, but I’d always felt he was out of my league for some reason. I’d met him at a party—he had been a friend of Jessie’s first.

  But I’d never whispered about him with Jessie. Maybe because my then-best friend only gushed about guys interested in her. Hell, maybe she’d been doing David back then.

  And now, I had bigger issues.

  I cleared my throat. “He’s definitely eye candy. I don’t have any pictures. Are they allowed, or will that invoke him somehow, too?”

  “I can ask Babu. I definitely want to see, and meeting him would be too risky. But he has to be something special to make you act like this.”

  I frowned. “Like what?”

  She sat back, scrutinizing me as she waved a hand. “Your cheeks are flushed with excitement, and your eyes are sparkling a different way. You’re still you, but you’re…different.”

  “It’s the contract. I don’t think he foresaw signing it with my virginal blood as quite the issue it has become. If he were a real man—as sexy as he is—he wouldn’t give me the time of day.”

  “You’ve always underestimated yourself.” She leaned closer again, her cheeks a little flushed as she whispered, “Is he…good?”

  We’d had enough discussions about sex in college to be able to go there. Granted, the discussions had all been one sided since I had been a virgin. Annie’s sex life had been quite adventurous enough for me to live vicariously through her discussions. But finally, I had something to share.

  I cleared my throat, a hot blush creeping to my cheeks. “He’s every woman’s wet dream and then some, but he’s a demon. He’s probably wonderful because he has magic on his side. It would be interesting to see how he performs without it.” The dirty girl in me argued he’d perform just fine. My throat tightened, and I cleared it again. “But I can’t lie…I love the multiple orgasms.”

  “Goddess, what would I give for multiples? You don’t know what luck you’ve fallen into if that’s your norm in the first few days of sexual activity.” Fanning herself, Annie sighed with obvious jealousy. “How will you go back to a human when this is over?”

  Yeah, good question. “I can only pray I’m given the chance.”

  ****

  My mother lived around the corner from Samuel’s restaurant in a little cape cottage overlooking the marsh and the sound. The cedar shingled exterior had been sealed to preserve the distinct, yellowish-red color that complimented the marsh tones during all seasons—from lush green of summer to the dead, yellow sea grass blowing in the snow during winter.

  I got out of the car and opened the gate to a picket fence with old-fashioned roses climbing over it, the flowers long gone. Flower beds lined the path, the pea gravel dotted with crushed white seashells. I loved that simple touch, loved Mom’s entire house.

  I didn’t want to contemplate what would happen to it if she married Samuel.

  Inside, her old coffee pot sputtered and hissed as the robust aroma of coffee wove my way. The small dining table just through the open kitchen was laden with more swatches, brochures, and even a little platter of cakes.

  Mom gestured for me to come in, her gaze intent on her laptop as she scrolled some website. “Samuel had these little cake samples flown in from that resort in Costa Rica so we could try them. He wants them for the reception we’ll have here, after we’re married. They’re labeled.”

  “Wow.” I paused in the kitchen to fix myself coffee, glad for the moment to gather my wits. There would be no reception. “Sparing no expense, huh.”

  “He’s so serious about all of this being perfect.” She sighed and laid her hand on her chest right below her throat in her own dramatic display. “I just…he’s perfection.”

  Odd that Mom didn’t say “I just love him.” In fact, never had she mentioned the “L” word when discussing Samuel. Perfection, wonderful, romantic, and the best boyfriend a woman could have…yes. But never love.

  I sat down at the table, the little cakes inches from my elbow. “They look tasty.”

  “I’m skeptical. A friend told me she’d gone on a tour there, and they’d had birthday cake for one of the guides. Not a good experience.” She shuddered.

  “How can cake go wrong?” I lifted a little cake with white icing. It had been sliced open to display white cake and some sort of yellow jam filling. I bit in. It was…different. Less sugary. A little dense. Eh frosting. Not my mother’s style. “Okay, maybe it can.”

  She shot the little cakes an evil eye, her mouth screwing up in contemplation. “It’s got to be perfect.”

  Perfection was one of my mother’s pitfalls, especially when it came to romance. Every man up to this point had failed her expectations with one flaw or another. It surprised me Samuel had made it thus far. Maybe it was the magic. “Maybe you can just use the bakery down the street.”

  “Yes...”

  At her crestfallen expression, I sighed, wishing for a bag of Lindt truffles to get me through the pain of all of this. Wait. Chocolate.

  “Or maybe we can try something different.” I pulled out the packet the Star Network had sent me. “Cacao beans are a huge commodity, and chocolate is a big export product for Costa Rica. What if we use one of these organic chocolatier’s.” I slid her a brochure for one of the businesses outside of San Jose.

  The glum look brightened to a huge smile. “Oh, Olivia. This is perfect.”

  So we made plans for a chocolate feast instead of cake. A few phone calls later, a shipment of handmade chocolates had been ordered and paid for by my ecstatic mother.

 
; She hung up, and her brow furrowed. Ecstasy had lasted about fifty seconds. “What if he doesn’t like chocolate?”

  I didn’t want to point out it was a little late to contemplate that. “He seems intent on making sure every detail is perfect. I think he’d be happy with something fancy like this.” The price tag screamed that hand-made, organic chocolate treats shipped via refrigeration unit would be Samuel’s kind of fancy.

  She settled her shoulders in a relaxed way as she lifted her cup to sip coffee, smiling over the rim. “Good.”

  “So this resort is okay?” I slid the resort brochure forward.

  Man-oh-man, this place was not something I could afford. Black sand beaches on a private cove right at the resort’s back door, beautiful pool, lovely rooms, a gourmet restaurant on site and the promise of Howler monkeys clinging to trees. Destination weddings were their specialty.

  “Oh, yes. It’s lovely.” She set down her cup, lifted her reading glasses and set them on her head so she could scrutinize me better. “But are you sure you don’t want to save that trip? You could go back one day, with Leo.”

  I fought rolling my eyes. “Mom.”

  “Don’t you like him?”

  “Yes, Mom. I do.” I figured this was the right time to tell her the cover story. “In fact, we’ve had a discussion, and I’ve asked him to move in with me.”

  Her eyes lit up with joy, much like a Christmas tree on fire. “Oh, Liv—”

  I held up a hand. “He’s moving in as my roommate. He’s having trouble finding an apartment, and he feels living with Samuel is awkward given your relationship—”

  She shook her head, offended. “I’d never make it awkward.”

  “Of course not, but he’s a grown man, Mom.” I shifted in my chair, fighting the twinge of desire at the memory of the grown part I desired. “He’ll stay in my guest room and help me pay the bills.”

  Her enthusiasm died to a frown. “It doesn’t sound very romantic.”

  “We’ve known each other only a few days. It’s not supposed to sound romantic. It’s…practical.”