by Brandi Bell
“This isn’t a strip club; it won’t be as easy. We will have to work to make this one happen,” Dayson explains, rubbing the back of his neck. “We might not succeed.”
“I’m a Trulove, I don’t fail,” I growl at him then continue on into the building.
Once I’m inside, I notice everyone is wholesome. Crap! I see a banner hanging from the ceiling announcing it’s Saint Mary's Church social. This isn't going to go well for us. Christians are the hardest to corrupt. I would get brownie points with Daddy if we could pull this off. That is, after he yells at us for changing the mission.
I open up my lust and concentrate on pushing the pheromones out into the crowd, walking around as I do it. Dayson follows me doing the same. Thankfully, I was right. We cancel each other out. I don’t feel any more compelled to jump his bones than I did initially.
At first, despite the lust in the air, everyone is resisting. The most we see are people dancing a little closer, a few more touches. I close my eyes and focus on pushing everything I have, and then, it happens. It starts with a few stolen kisses then clothes start flying. I stand back and laugh. I wasn’t sure if we were going to be able to do it, but we did. We just started an orgy at a church social.
We leave as things get in full swing, the grunts and groans coming from these people show they’ve repressed a lot of sexual energy over the years, even the younger adults. When we get outside, Dayson loses it and falls over laughing.
“What’s up with you?” I ask, giving him a strange look. It was funny but not that funny.
“We shouldn’t have been able to do this. We need to go tell you father now. He will get a kick out of this, even if we did screw up the mission,” he says when he catches his breath.
We make our way back to where the portal dropped us, and Dayson knocks on the asphalt four times with his shoe. I see the pattern now for when I go out on my own. Graden opens the portal back up, and we’re back in hell.
“How did it go?” Graden asks, not bothering to move from where he’s slouched in his chair.
“We need to get everyone together, I only want to tell this story once. I don’t think my sides can take telling it more than that,” Dayson laughs, holding his stomach.
“It went better than anticipated,” I wink at Graden. I don’t know what compelled me to do that. Now, I’m flirting with the sloth demon too.
I take my phone out and call my father's office to see if he’s still there. The secretary answers and let’s me know he is working late, so I tell her we are coming in to report on the mission.
We walk over in silence. Dayson because he is trying to collect himself, me because I am getting ready for the yelling he’s about to do at us. I’m ready for anything he can throw at us by the time we enter the office building and sit in the reception area.
We barely sit down before the office door flies open, and my father rushes us in.
“What went wrong?” he booms, his face turning a deeper shade of red than normal.
“Please listen to the entire story before you scream at me?” I ask in a meek voice, trying to appeal to his fatherly side.
“Fine, spill now.”
“So, we got the address wrong and ended up at a community center. There was a bunch of cars there so we decided to try to corrupt them instead and inside was a church social.”
“So you failed to corrupt anyone tonight!” he screams.
“You said you would wait to yell. For your information, we caused the entire church social to end in an orgy,” I reply staring him in the eye, my chin held high.
He starts belly laughing, which was the opposite reaction than I was expecting. I watch with my jaw hanging open as the man who is normally so serious and stern loses his shit.
Cliona
After my father recovers, he has a look in his eyes that tells me I’m in trouble.
“Dayson, call your buddies. I want to see what my daughter can do paired up with the other sins on missions,” he demands, waiting on Dayson to do what he says immediately.
Dayson’s face pales, like he doesn’t like the idea, but he knows better than to refuse a direct order from Asmodeus. He calls the guys and lets us know they will be here right away. I sit in one of the office chairs and wait quietly while Dayson and my father talk shop. It’s painfully obvious Dayson is one of my father’s favorite demons the longer I listen.
The guys arrive as a group, and my dad lets them in the office and directs them to sit down. He paces back and forth a couple of times before he begins to speak.
“My daughter had such a successful night paired up with Dayson here, that I would like her to go out on a mission with each of you to see how she does paired up with another sin,” he explains meeting the gaze of each man.
The guys break out in a series of agreements and start arguing on who would take me out when.
“Quiet!” my father booms, effectively silencing the room. “I will come up with a schedule and let you know. I want her paired with envy tomorrow night; you can come up with something good, Holdon. Now, you’re all dismissed.”
We file out the door, and the guys remain quiet until we get outside. Then, they all start talking at once animatedly asking Dayson what happened today.
“Let’s go get a drink, and I’ll tell you the story, it’s a good one. You coming, Princess?” he asks, looking at me for an answer.
“Right behind you, Sugar Britches,” hopefully this will annoy him as much as princess annoys me.
Dayson gives me a look but doesn't comment about the nickname. I will continue to use it unless he likes it then I'll need to come up with something else. I follow the group to the bar for a drink. I'm determined I'm not going to get drunk this time.
As I'm sitting down, the waitress arrives at our table for drink orders. “I'd like something fruity,” I tell her.
The rest of the guys place their drink orders and the waitress walks off. It takes a whole minute before it starts. “So what happened to cause your dad to decide you need to be with all of us for different missions? You must have went above and beyond his expectations.” Holdon blurts out.
I half expect Dayson to tell the story, so when he doesn't jump in, I decide it's up to me. “Well, my father decided that I needed to learn more advanced techniques, so he arranged for Dayson and I to go to a strip club to create an orgy. Unfortunately, we got the address mixed up with a community center. Imagine our surprise when instead of a strip club it was Saint Mary's monthly gathering that became an orgy. I heard my father laugh for the first time in years when he found out. He wants to see what I'm capable of with the rest of the sins. Luckily, he decided that you guys get to be the ones I go out with. I think it's going to be fun.”
“I can think of worse scenarios to be in; imagine all the trouble we can cause, Lovely,” Tanas's baritone voice glides over my skin. All the guys are giving him a look for some reason.
“I'm going to be the envy of all my envy demon friends, that's for sure. Wait until I tell them.” Holdon gloats.
“I can't wait to go earthside with you by my side, only you have to wear one of those corset tops that you wore when we met. I think we will paint the town red.” Zadkiel looks down at me with his blue eyes, and my heart skips a beat. I feel my face flush as I look for the waitress with my drink.
“I think I can do that,” I reply, my face still hot.
“I wish your father would have picked me to go first, but I’m excited to get you all to myself,” Maddox grins from across the table.
I notice each of the guys giving the others dirty looks. What have I walked into?
“It will be interesting to get to know each of you, I think,” I reply trying to stay out of any arguments.
“It will be nice to spend time with you, but I hate missions,” Graden admits, giving me a sheepish smile.
Kannon is the only one who keeps quiet. I wonder if he’s pissed off he has to go on a mission with a new demon like me. I give him a small smile, but he just
continues to scowl.
As if she can sense my unease, the waitress appears with everyone's drinks. I personally feel uneasy for some reason, so I hastily drink my fruity drink and make a quick retreat. After saying my goodbyes, I hurry home to talk to Mom about all of this.
I open the door to the apartment and yell up the stairs, “Mom, I'm home!”
“In the kitchen,” she yells back from the back of the house.
“You'll never believe what Dad did; the next six missions I go on, I have to go with partners. He wants to see how well I work with the rest of the seven deadly sins. I did so well with another lust demon today that he was impressed. Mom what am I supposed to do? All the guys I'm supposed to go on missions with are hot as sin.” I make it to the kitchen by the end of my rant. I know she heard me while I was making my way there.
Mom's mahogany hair is tied back in a ponytail cascading over her shoulder and her amber eyes glisten with laughter, no doubt at my expense. “Honey, it's going to turn out fine. Your father would never do anything that could possibly hurt you. He wants the best for you, so even though they are hot they also are probably some of the best at their vice.”
No sooner than I get comfy in my chair at the bar then the doorbell rings. “I'll be right back, Mom.”
I walk as fast as I can to the door. I look through the hole to see the familiar back of Meghan; her dark gray velvet skin and slightly curved short horns adorable. I open the door for her to turn toward me, her white eyes questioning. “I'll tell you all about it when we get inside.”
“You had your first major mission today, how did it go?” I forgot to tell her about Dayson. Oops.
“Well, Dad thought I needed help so he had me team up with a senior lust demon for my mission. We were supposed to cause an orgy at a strip club but knowing my bad luck, instead, we caused an orgy at a church outing at a community center. Apparently, Dad was impressed because he has me teaming up with some of the other sins to see how well I work.” Okay just enough information but not too much.
“Wow, that's a lot of responsibility, if you think about it. I don't think I'd want to be in your shoes.” There’s the selfish demon I'm used to. “At least tell me the lust demon you got paired with was hot.”
I can't help but laugh. “Yes, he was hot. A bit of an arrogant prick, but hot all the same.” If she only knew.
“So I have a favor to ask; I have a date tomorrow night, and I want to borrow that corset top you have with the black flowers on it,” she says, twirling her hair with a finger. Ah, there’s the real reason she stopped by.
“The purple one?” I ask, knowing the one she’s had her eye on for a while.
“That’s the one,” she smiles, knowing I’ll give in.
“Come on. Let’s go upstairs, and I’ll grab it,” I sigh, unable to say no, even though I was planning on wearing it tomorrow.
I go into my closet and find the top and hand it to her. “You’re a dear! I have to get going, kisses,” she says then takes off before I have a chance to respond.
I shake my head, that girl is always in a hurry to get somewhere. I change out of my clothes and into my fuzzy pajamas, lay down, and fall asleep almost instantly.
Dayson
Clio just left, so now, I can say something to these guys. I can’t believe they would all blatantly flirt with her in front of me. We agreed to the no dating policy.
“What the hell is with all the flirting?” I ask through gritted teeth.
“I couldn’t handle it; she thinks I hate her now,” Kannon growls, his eyes burning with frustration.
“It was harmless, and I couldn’t help myself. But you’re right; we should tone it down. She ran out of here like a scared mouse,” Tanas admits, looking down at his hands.
“I didn’t mean to; it just happened,” Zadkiel says, his skin turning rosy.
“It’s done now; Princess will just have to get used to you all,” I sigh, hoping they don’t scare her away.
“I’ll behave when we go on our mission tomorrow,” Holdon offers, shrugging.
“If you can resist her lust,” I mutter under my breath.
“Stop arguing and let's drink,” Kannon grunts and waves the waitress over for another round.
We stay at the bar for a few hours, drinking until we are too drunk to walk straight. We ignore the elephant in the room and act like things were before we met the little vixen, but there’s an underlying tension everyone ignores.
When we finally leave, I’m left to walk home and think. I decide I don’t care what the others think, I’m going to fully pursue her. I can’t get her out of my head, and I crave her like a drug. I need her to be mine.
I just hope the others don't try to do the same thing when it's their time with her. Great, now all I can think about is what Holdon is going to do tomorrow when it's his turn to go on a mission with her.
I half think about sabotaging them so I can have more time with her myself, but I'm not sure how her father would take her failure, so I change my mind about that real quick. I want her to be with me, not in trouble.
Cliona
I’m anxious about going out alone with Holdon this evening. I already went to the gym to burn off my nervous energy, but it didn’t work very well. This is going to be my first mission with someone other than a lust demon, and I'm not sure what to expect. What if I mess up again? I shake my head and push the doubts aside. My last mess up was Dayson’s fault, not mine, and it turned out to be a better mission.
There’s a knock at the front door followed by Mom yelling, “Clio there’s someone here to see you!”
I come down the stairs and see Holdon standing in the living room with my mom. My brow bunches in confusion. How does he know where to find me? Then I remember, we didn’t bother to make a plan before I went running out on them so it’s a good thing he did.
“Everyone knows where your father lives. We’ve had to stop by here to get joint missions before,” Holdon explains, noticing the look on my face. He gives me a smile that makes the butterflies go crazy.
“I’ll leave you two to talk,” Mom says grinning like she knows a secret.
“What’s up?” I ask awkwardly. I’ve never had a guy in my home before.
“I wanted to pick you up to grab dinner then go on our mission. We all want you to join our group, and I thought it would be easier meeting some of us one-on-one,” he explains.
“That’s sweet of you,” I say while swaying back and forth. Damn, I’m awkward.
“Let’s go then,” he grins, holding his hand out to me.
I grab it, and we take off to wherever he is planning on us eating.
“There’s a new restaurant that sells long pig; I thought we’d check it out,” he explains as we walk towards the downtown area of our little town.
“I’ve never had human,” I cringe a little bit; my mom is human, so I don’t think I could eat it.
“How stupid of me. I forget you’re half-human,” he gives me a guilty look.
“It’s fine! I know a lot of demons like it. It’s the devil’s favorite meat,” I reply, feeling stupid for reacting at all. “Let’s still go, I can always try it.”
“They serve other things, Buttercup. You don’t have to suck it up for me,” he says in a hoarse voice full of emotion.
“Thank you,” I whisper back, realizing we have quit walking, and I’m still holding his hand.
“Come on,” he chuckles and pulls on my arm so I start walking again.
We make it to the restaurant where there’s a line to get in the door. The outside is very bright in this bland world. White siding with two way glass mirrors so patrons could see out but passersby couldn't see in. On the top of the building, there was a human on a spit with the name Long Pigs in glowing red neon lights. There is a line going about a hundred feet out from the door.
We bypass the line and go straight for the door, garnering some dirty looks until they see Holdon and turn their eyes. Maybe these boys are the next seven pr
inces.
The hostess takes one look at Holdon, and we are whisked away to a table. I take the menu and immediately look at the options. The majority of the menu is long pig, but there are some other meat options. I decide to go with the pork and wait for the waitress to come back.
We spend the time chatting and learning a bit about each other. It turns out Holdon is the golden boy of the envy demons, just like Dayson is with lust. The guys do missions together regularly just for kicks, except Graden; he avoids them whenever he can.
The waitress arrives and takes our orders then we drink our drinks and chat a bit longer until the food arrives. It’s delicious, and I eat everything that’s brought.
Once we finish at the restaurant, we head straight to the portal where Graden is lounging, looking bored. We don our glamours. I can’t help but stare at Holdon when I see his human disguise. His deep red hair makes his eyes stand out. As I look, his eyes change from blue to green and back depending on what angle I looked at him. His body lost some of his muscle tone, but he still looks trim and for just more in a swimmer's type body than his normal muscle bound frame.
“Where are you headed tonight?” Graden lounges in his chair even more, stretching his arms out and resting them behind his head.
“Tonight we are going into the housing district for the casinos in Reno. We’re hoping to find someone to make jealous out there.” Holdon is to the point.
“You’re all set, see ya on the way back,” Graden yawns as he says it.
It didn't take long to walk from the portal when I saw it; the perfect thing, a rebuilt and remodeled 1965 Shelby GT. It didn't take long to realize the owner was an old, married white man in his sixties. Now to find the victim that we are going to cause the envy in.
After scouting out the neighborhood, I think we find the perfect mark. About three doors down is a man in his thirties with a nasty, old car that he's pulling into his driveway. I motion to Holdon that was who I wanted to work with. He nods his head, his red hair momentarily distracting me from what he was starting to say.