TEN

Azeroth

I snatch my hand away from my mouth and tuck it under my thigh when there's a noxious puff of smoke and Mordicus appears in my bedroom.

"Fuck me. What now? I'm doing it!"

Mordicus sniffs.

My tail flicks the bed. I don't like the way he's eyeing me.

"Have you... have you got someone here?" He chuckles, but there is nothing pleasant about the sound. Mordicus stalks around the bed and peers inside the walk in closet as if he thinks I might have her hidden there.

"Can you leave, please? I was just about to have a wank, but the sight of you has killed my boner." No lie. My dick is now as limp as a wet noodle.

Mordicus sneers. "No, I don't think I will."

On the outside, I maintain calm, but inside my thoughts are flying. If I admit someone is here, will that assuage his curiosity or will that just make him look for her? If I say no, will he believe me? He knows I haven't finished the summoning, so he must know the human who summoned me is close by.

It takes a lot of magic to teleport. It also takes a lot to teleport someone else. Especially, if they're resisting. It's not something I would usually bother trying against a demon like Mordicus. Most nights, he'd overpower me easily. Tonight, though...

Tonight, I've feasted on Elodie's desire and I'm feeling more powerful than I have in a long time. Tonight it might be worth a shot.

Mordicus sniffs again. "You do, don't you? I wondered what was taking you so long to complete this bargain."

I pause in the act of reaching magically for the cord that tethers Mordicus to wherever it was he came from. "What do you mean?"

He sneers. "I mean why haven't you sealed the deal? Delivered the request, and claimed that piece of soul?"

I stiffen. "Because I have some class, you dick. I take pride in my work. If I'd known you wanted a blunt object for this job, I would have recommended you outsource elsewhere."

Mordicus looks around the room. I can see him eyeing the bedding, as if someone might be hiding under the sheets or under the bed.

I sigh. "Mordicus, she's sleeping, alright? I thought you didn't want this job. If you'd like to revise the conditions of the contract..."

He snorts. "No such luck. You'll do it like you agreed. Don't try to wriggle out of it."

I pray he doesn't call my bluff. I'd just as soon hand over this job to Mordicus as cut off my own tail. "You sure? You seem mighty interested for a job you didn't want. If you're here to piss me off, mission accomplished. Now is there anything else?"

Mordicus smirks. "No. Good to see I'm getting my soul gem's worth at least. Would hate to think I outsourced a simple twenty-four-hour job."

Dramatically, I roll my eyes. "Yeah. Simple this job is not. Be glad it's me and not you."

"Well have fun with that." He takes a final look around the room. Unable to spot Elodie, he glares at me down his long nose. "Don't spend the rest of eternity on it."

I give him the sneer that comment deserves as he disappears again.

Good riddance.

I glare at the space he vacated.

I do need to get cracking on this job, if only to keep Mordicus out of it. I do not need him getting anywhere near Elodie.

Tomorrow is Sunday. Surely we can arrange something lavish and showy. Post something obnoxious on social media to make her ex wildly jealous. Any sane man would be jealous to know what they'd lost. Shame I'm not convinced Dustin has any sense.

I should do the deal, take that piece of soul, and leave well enough alone. I tell myself that, repeatedly. I also plan an elaborate and very public date.

Deep down, though, I know that won't do it.

I might have stretched the truth a little when I explained the bargain to her. She has to feel satisfied enough to willingly give her soul to me. Or the piece I've earned, anyway. In a summoning, you walk a fine line of client service, trying to wrangle the most out of them, while also extracting the largest payment. To do that, they have to feel satisfied right up until the point they pay you. It never lasts, though.

Tonight, I got a good taste of what she's craving and it has very little to do with revenge, and a whole lot to do with being good and railed by someone who knows what he's doing.

The only question is whether or not it's going to be me.

I lick my fingers again. Yeah, it's going to be me. I know myself and my staggering lack of willpower.

I will try to hold out, though. If anyone was worth it, she is.

The next morning, I'm still having inappropriate thoughts about my employee. Thoughts fueled by the snooping I did in her dreams last night.

I've been around humans in the modern world long enough to know I should probably say something to Elodie about the fact I can enter her dreams and also that I did so last night in order to feed from her.

Can you blame me, though, when I don't?

It would go down about as well as a warty ogre dick goes down the throat of a virgin choir girl.

Elodie's all disheveled when she wanders into the kitchen in her pajama shorts and fluffy slippers. Her hair has more curl in it and hangs loose down her back in a way that makes me want to gather it up and comb it with my claws.

Instead, I stay on the sofa with my feet on the coffee table. "Good morning, sleepy head. Go shower. Get dressed. We've got a full day of fake dating ahead of us. No time to waste."

Her eyes widen. "Oh! Really? What are we doing?"

I make a shooing motion with my hands. "Get ready and find out."

It's silly, but I gain immense satisfaction from the look on her face an hour later when the car pulls up outside Knock on Wood, the trendy hipster cafe in the city everyone has been talking about. She looks out the window, then back to me, then back to the cafe. "We're not... you didn't."

I grin. "Oh, maybe you'd rather go somewhere else? I do hear their French toast is a bit overrated."

"Are you kidding? How did you even get a booking here?"

I shrug. "I'm on their list. I've been meaning to check it out for a while, actually. You're really doing me a favor."

A little smile curves the corner of her mouth as we climb out of the car. It does ridiculous things to my own expression that I can't keep in check. I'm already enjoying this arrangement far too much. I just hope Elodie feels the same.

You know, because that will mean it wraps up sooner. Obviously.

Not because the way her smile lifts the end of her adorable button nose makes my heart melt a little. Come on, I'm a demon, for fuck's sake. We don't do adorable.

The place is as packed as you would expect for a venue that normally needs a booking three months in advance. Of course, there's a VIP list they hold tables for. On a Sunday, though, even someone on the VIP list can wait an hour, but when I called ahead and mentioned a sizable tip I might be prepared to offer if they could prioritize our booking, I was assured we would walk right in.

Elodie leans close as the waitress hands us our menus. "Oh, my god. That's Jordan Wolf, isn't it? I'm sitting in the presence of entertainment royalty."

I nod my head to another table behind her. "Don't look now, but I'm pretty sure that's half the members of Steel Axis. I hope you're suitably satisfied."

She grins. "Listen, if I had known this was what I'd get for summoning a demon, I'd have been doing it long before now." She opens the menu and her face falls. "Except I can't afford to eat any of the food here. Sheesh. Nearly thirty dollars for bacon and eggs. That's daylight robbery."

I smirk. "I think their clientele don't mind. Besides. I'm paying. This is your fantasy date, remember." Technically I could magic up some extra cash for her and make her pay with her soul to have it. I don't, though. I'd rather spend real human money on it and not do that to her.

For a little while we're both silent, looking over the menu. I order the French toast, because I do actually want to taste for myself. Elodie orders spicy baked eggs. When the waitress leaves, Elodie gives me a shy look.

"Are you sure you don't mind all this? I feel a bit bad about it. You didn't choose to be summoned. Do you get anything out of it?"

This would be the time to tell her that, yes, I very much get something out of it. Like the harvest I took last night. Memories of which are fresh in my mind when she looks across the table at me under long dark lashes. Now might also be a good time to mention the cost to her.

Instead, I brush off her worry. "Don't worry about me, cherie."

Elodie frowns. "How does it work, though? Why do you do it?"

I sigh. "Long story. Basically a series of boring paperwork and legal obligations. All power has a cost. So getting anything done means making deals to make it happen."

I think she's going to ask about what our deal will cost then, but she doesn't.

She nods as if filing the information away. "I see."

I hurriedly change the subject. I'm not quite ready to give up on her smiles or her cooking. There's no way she'd smile at me like she did in her dream if she learns I'm cheating her out of a piece of her soul. "So, if it's not too painful, tell me about this ex of yours. Let me understand so we can shake this ghost."

She tells me, but even then I struggle to see any redeeming qualities to this bastard.

I don't think I've ever worked on a summoning I wanted to do more. Yet I don't think I've ever had one I wanted to complete less. The strange dichotomy tears at me even while I enjoy one of the coziest mornings I've spent in a long time.