Twisted Luck

by Mia Downing

  His bedside table drawer was cracked open a few inches, and it bothered me because it was out of place in the obscene order of things. I leaned to close it. Curiosity had me open it instead, nosy to see what things Leo had stored inside.

  An old Tupperware container held change and a few odds and ends, like stubs and stamps that were foreign to me. In the back were a few of the personal hygiene products I’d gotten him, plus a hair gel he picked up himself somehow. Maybe the magic wanted his hair to look good on the weekends.

  A pencil and a kneaded eraser caught my eye, both part of the art set I’d given him. The pencil had been sharpened several times, the kneaded eraser wadded and black in places from use.

  My breath caught in my throat, and I opened the cabinet beneath the drawer. The art supplies were still neatly stacked but not in the order I’d left them. The pencils sat in the plastic case minus the one in the drawer, all of them shorter than they had been when I’d purchased them. He had to be drawing, and excitement surged at the idea of him finding himself again. My hands trembled as I picked up the sketch pad and opened it.

  The first page was covered in rusty test studies that were still better than my practiced ones. Patches of graphite went from light gray to black in one corner in a shading exercise. A looped line scribbled over to a shaded ball, a shadow reaching out across the page.

  The next pages wrenched my heart in my chest. He’d drawn…me. Quick sketches filled the paper, capturing my essence without great detail. Me sleeping, my eyelashes fanned out on high cheekbones.

  One of only my hand, clutching a sheet. I knew it was my hand because of the scar on the knuckle of my ring finger.

  One of the curve of my naked body as I lay on my side, arm over my head. That one was just a hurried sweep of lines, but the eroticism and beauty took my breath away.

  I turned the pages again and again, and the drawings became more detailed. Me laughing in profile. Me curled on the couch. Me in front of the stove in just his shirt, my legs looking much longer and more slender than they really were, the curve of my backside more seductive than I ever imagined. Me at the lake, looking out at the water, my chin resting on my knees, my eyes full of sadness and longing.

  And on the last page, a drawing of me at the kitchen table in my bathrobe, smiling with lust and longing in my eyes. Just enough cleavage showed along with just enough thigh to be seductive. If I didn’t know it was me, I’d be floored by the beauty and raw sexuality that jumped from the page.

  Did I really look like that? Is that how he saw me? Because when I looked in the mirror, I saw ratty blonde hair and a nose that was too small over too-plump lips. I started from the beginning and tried to be objective as if I viewed drawings of a paid model from an art class. I found nothing but beauty in every line, every crease of cloth, every angle of my face and body.

  A key rattled in the door, and I slammed the book shut. My heart accelerated in a different tempo as I shoved everything back. I made it to the hallway just as the door shut.

  Leo didn’t look like Leo. He heaved a sigh as he turned the lock, his shoulders slumped. He turned his head, and oh, the sadness…weary lines etched his face and around his eyes, the corners of his mouth turned down.

  But two blinks later, the emotion fled, those brown eyes demanding. “You have an issue?”

  “You’re late.” I didn’t mean for it to come out accusatory.

  “You look guilty.” He inhaled, and I did the same, wondering what he’d smell. His eyes narrowed. “You smell like me.”

  “Well, better you than some strange guy, right?” All I smelled was Chinese food, probably wafting up from the paper bag he held in his hand. I forgot that though the magic dimmed during evenings, that didn’t stop him from still being different in many unusual ways.

  We locked gazes for a moment more.

  “You’re a horrible liar,” he said.

  My cheeks tinged with heat. I could only lie to save my ass, obviously not to save my soul. “So where did you go?”

  “I went for a walk after work. And while walking, I became famished. Hence the takeout.” Turning, he took the bags into the kitchen and set them on the counter.

  I followed and began to gather plates and napkins. The boxes were from a place around the corner, so he hadn’t gotten too far before hunger hit. “I called you.”

  He glanced up from the boxes and shrugged, so much colder and more distant than usual. “I forgot to turn my phone on.”

  Leo had bought enough Chinese food for a horde of hungry demons, never mind one and his human. I grabbed the menu and surveyed what he’d selected. “You got me General Tso’s chicken.”

  “You mentioned you liked it.”

  Aww, maybe he did care. Maybe the drawings meant something. Happiness settled into my step as I grabbed paper plates and silverware.

  He rooted in the bag and started piling the containers on his side of the table. “I didn’t get it for you, though. Have to start somewhere in trying a new food.”

  So much for caring. I slapped the plates down, fisted my hands on my hips, and shot him a glare. “So I’m not allowed to eat? That’s greedy, Leo. Even on your hungriest day, you’re not eating all of that.”

  “Greed and gluttony, at your service.” But he sat and shoved the containers my way.

  I slid into a chair and accepted the containers. “Watch it. Sharing is almost Cardinal Virtue territory.”

  “I needed more room.” He made a show of setting fresh containers in the vacant spot on the table.

  Though his words were typical Leo, something drastic had changed, and I had no way to classify it. It was as if the magic had taken his spark, too.

  I floundered for something to say and finally pointed my chopsticks at the assortment heaped on his plate. “When you’re done eating all of that, sloth will kick in.”

  “I’d rather enjoy some prideful fornication.” He didn’t smile as usual, though. He withdrew chopsticks from the bag and contemplated them. The chintzy wood dully snapped as he scissored them, his brows scrunched in deep thought.

  After a few dismal attempts of spearing his food that ended in a brutal mess across the table, he sighed. Pure dejection and defeat lined his face, his shoulders slumped as he set the chopsticks beside his plate.

  “Bad day, huh,” I offered.

  “Yeah.”

  When he glanced up, I lifted my hand that held the chopsticks and showed him where to place them. He mimicked me and then watched intently as I did a few experimental air snaps. I took a bite and gestured he do the same.

  After a few dreadful attempts, he figured it out and tweezed his chicken like a pro. He didn’t say thank you. That wasn’t Leo. But his shoulders lifted and the heavy lines disappeared from his beautiful face.

  It also wasn’t Leo-like that he had no comments for his dinner. Lately, dinner had consisted of him joking and picking on me blended with moaning in sheer joy over the flavors and textures.

  Gluttony, he’d told me before, took form in more than just food. Drink, wealth, or anything over-indulged in to the point of waste counted. I figured demons didn’t usually enjoy human food because they’d probably pop from stuffing themselves. There were times when Leo had no sense.

  But today, he stirred his vegetables into the rice and poked at the chicken more than he shoveled into his quiet mouth.

  I cleared my throat. “Sometimes when you have a bad day, it’s good to talk about it. You know, to get things off your chest.”

  He swallowed and wiped his mouth. “Well. I suppose I can share Samuel’s latest demand.”

  “Oh?” All bad days had to lead to Samuel.

  “I’m to ‘pop the question’ tomorrow. Or else.”

  It took me a moment to catch up mentally, and I fought not to choke on stray rice I’d sucked in. I finally wheezed, “To me?”

  He shot me the “stupid, hairless monkeys” look, full of disdain and contempt. “Yes, you. We discussed this on the Ferris wheel. Remember?”<
br />
  “I remember. I had hoped it was all a bad dream.” And now it was happening tomorrow. Panic crawled under my skin and lodged in my throat.

  “Breathe, Olivia. It’s just another level of a contract.”

  I didn’t realize I was hyperventilating until I made myself breathe. I expected him to be amused, and instead, I found something that smacked of disappointment in his watchful gaze.

  But then, Babu had me conditioned to think he’d grow to love me. I had searched for proof of it everywhere and had thought I’d found it in some drawings.

  I gulped like a fish out of water and finally found my voice. “I can’t lie to my mother like that. I’ve told you that an engagement is more than a ring and a promise. This isn’t some arrangement from ye grand yesteryear when you roamed the Earth. Nowadays, it’s based on love.”

  “Why did you settle for the dickweed?” His gaze burrowed into mine as if he tried to search my soul.

  Jaw dropping, I blinked and looked away, the embarrassment creeping along my skin in a way that made me feel dirty. Unclean. “I didn’t settle.”

  Leo snorted. “Deep down, you had to know, Liv. He didn’t hit you. He didn’t raise his voice. He never left a mark. But that didn’t make him right for you.”

  “You don’t know me.” My throat constricted again, cutting off precious air as I stared in growing horror.

  He didn’t blink, his face cold as if carved of granite. “I know you.”

  My fingernails needed dire inspection as I struggled with his claim. I tried to recall the joy when David had gotten to one knee, the elation, the love…and instead I found the bliss of pure relief. A broken child could turn out normal. Someone like me could live the fairytale.

  How could a fucking demon be right?

  I steeled myself. “So just do it now. Get it over with.”

  “I told you, I wanted this to be special. I have something planned, but from your reaction, I’m not sure if I want to go through with it.”

  Despite hating him, that sparked my curiosity. “What did you plan?”

  His shrug shrouded him in an aloof air. “You’ll have to wait and see.”

  “Okay.” I shoved food from one side of the plate to the other, the delicious food no longer tasty.

  Leo surprised me by rinsing his dish and placing it in the dishwasher. The guy had to be stressed with the weight of Samuel’s demands weighing down.

  Unable to help myself, I said, “I’m sorry Samuel’s demand ruined your day.”

  He paused, stone still for a moment before rising and shutting the dishwasher door. Turning, he cocked his head with a hint of sadness. “Actually, it was the best part.”

  That surprised me. Big time. I’d underestimated the whole engagement thing from his side. Maybe… Just maybe, I had made headway. “Your day was really shitty, then.”

  He narrowed his eyes, his jaw working. “Yeah.”

  ****

  We didn’t have sex before bed that night. In fact, I didn’t even expect him to come in and sleep with me as I crawled between my cold sheets alone at the eleven o’clock curfew.

  But a few moments later, he came into the darkness and stood by my side. I’d never asked if his eyesight was better than mine though I supposed it so even in magical absence.

  Just as I thought to invite him in, he lifted the covers and slid under them on his side. His soft breath warmed my neck, and I waited for him to wrap his arms around me as he usually did. One hand finally lifted and hovered, the blankets rising from my side, but he withdrew.

  After long moments in the dark, he cleared his throat. “You awake, Liv?”

  “You know I’m awake.”

  “Maybe talking would be good.” He swallowed loudly in the darkness. “But I’m not sure where to start.”

  The unease in his voice conjured a pang of sadness. “You don’t have to worry about that, Leo. I’m your friend. What’s wrong?”

  To my surprise, that wasn’t a false statement. The way I’d dithered during his tardiness proved that. The concerned ache growing in my chest confirmed that, too.

  He cleared his throat again. “For the most part, everyone admitted to Hell belongs there for whatever sin they committed. Even those souls that I’ve purchased belong there, because instead of believing in the divine path their god chose for them, they decided to go for the quick fix for their problems. Unlike you, they seek me out and ask for a contract. They want what I have to offer, and it’s my job to give it.”

  Though I wanted to bristle, his words made sense.

  “And though Hell seems like unleashed chaos, it’s not. There are rules, and being a demon is black and white. You follow the rules or you are demoted. Contracts are signed and followed to the letter. Loopholes are allowed because they’re not covered in the contract. There are no emotions to confuse and mix the black and white to make gray.

  “But today…” He drew a deep breath and blew it out. “Today, I called in a contract that was…gray. Just like yours.”

  Every hair on my body stood on end with eerie attention. I didn’t want to take the mental leap as to where this conversation was going as I was always wrong. Instead, I slid over on the bed until I connected with his chest, my arm slung back over his body in an offering of silent comfort.

  “Unlike you, this pure soul did ask for her contract. But that didn’t change the fact that she didn’t belong in Hell. I’d never seen it as a gray area before, but something changed my view. Maybe the lack of magic I’ve experienced lately. Maybe the touch of your twisted luck. I don’t know.” He placed a hand on my hip, and it trembled slightly. “What I do know is this soul did not belong in Hell. And there was nothing I could do.”

  Chills ran up my spine and across my arms at the desolation in his tone. Afraid to move, terrified I’d break the spell that had gotten him to talk, I remained silent and still, wanting to hold him tighter.

  That strong arm curled around my waist, grasping me as if I’d disappear, the heat of his skin branding me as his. “You don’t belong in Hell, Olivia.”

  No, I didn’t. The tightness in my chest grew until I feared my heart would be crushed in the process.

  He kissed my neck, his lips lingering at my ear for a long second. “I regret luring you into a contract you would have never agreed to unless it was to save your mother’s life. Granted, you would have died if I hadn’t, and I can’t change that.

  “But you should have been given a choice—die or live with your soul as mine. No matter how much I wish it, I can’t undo what was done because we both would suffer the consequences. But I regret it.”

  I couldn’t stop the tear from rolling from my eye to his hand. That was as close to “I’m sorry” as I’d ever get from Leo.

  And it meant the world.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “You have today off, yes?” Leo asked me as he entered the bedroom freshly showered and sporting the gray suit I loved so much. He looked incredibly handsome though a tad nervous, which wasn’t a word in Leo’s vocabulary.

  “I do. I take it you’re headed to work.”

  “Actually, I’m not. I have a surprise for you.”

  “Oh.” The dreaded engagement loomed. Though it hadn’t been discussed in detail, it had to happen at some point before dinner at seven with my mother and soon-to-be stepfather. Our flights left first thing tomorrow morning for Costa Rica. Today was it on that front.

  I cleared my throat. “If you want to skip formalities—”

  He adjusted his tie in the mirror over my dresser. “I need you to get up and get dressed. Wear something elegant. How about the dark blue dress you wore to work last week? With the geometric scarf. And the black fuck-me pumps you have in the back of your closet.”

  Leave it to Leo to porn-out business elegant. And to find the four-inch heels I had stashed away. “How do you know about those?”

  “I just do. I spent time measuring what height of a heel you’d need to be wearing so I could lift your skirt
and fuck you easily. Those are perfect.”

  I blinked rapidly to clear the fog from my brain. Other areas didn’t need waking up, since the image of him pulling down that zipper and filling me had the naughty bits tingling. “Let me get this straight. You want me to get dressed so you can take me somewhere and fuck me in those shoes. And give me a ring.”

  “Eventually to both.” He turned from the mirror to shoot me a dirty grin. “But we’ve got business to attend to first.”

  I rubbed my mussed hair and yawned. “Leo—”

  “You’ve shown me lots of interesting things lately, Olivia. I’ve decided today is my day to squire you about.”

  I groaned and flopped over.

  Leo walked to the bed, his cologne tantalizing as he leaned over. “Now, now. Get your lovely ass out of bed.” He smacked said ass, and I yelped. “Get those fuck-me shoes on. Time is of the essence.”

  A half hour and a shower later, I was dressed in the prescribed outfit, the fuck-me heels clicking down the hallway as I placed the last pin in the quick chignon at the base of my neck.

  Leo emerged from the living room, change jingling in his pocket as he perused my outfit with a dirty lift of his brow.

  “Do you approve?” I asked.

  “Of course.” He presented his elbow.

  I hesitated. “Where are we going?”

  “We’re going on a magical tour that you’ll hopefully enjoy.” He took my hand and kissed the back of it with warm lips that shot tingles up my arm and through my body. “Just trust me a little.”

  “The last time I trusted you, I signed my soul away.”

  He laughed. “I promise that only happens once.”

  ****

  After a walk down the hall and the whirl of magical essence, Leo and I entered the real world on a cobbled walk outside of high stone fences and an iron gate. The stone, two-story building behind the gates bespoke of an ancestry of money and prestige. Before I could ask where we were, Leo pushed open the gate and knocked at the wooden door.

  Not a second passed before an older, gray-haired gentleman answered with a smile as wide as the Atlantic Ocean on his face. He rapidly greeted us in what I guessed was Italian, shaking Leo’s hand and mine with his wrinkled one as he nodded and chuckled. He beckoned for us to follow him into the foyer, closing the old wooden door behind us.