FOURTEEN

Azeroth

Elodie's desire is a wild, screaming banshee right now. Even from the other side of the building, it belted in my ears, pulled on my horns, twisted my guts in directions I didn't know they could twist.

She needs to be satisfied.

I need to satisfy her.

I've never needed anything more than I need this, and I've needed a lot of things. It's my own damn fault, though, isn't it? I deliberately teased her, stoked that flame of desire until it was a wildfire. Then once again, I snuck into her dreams to harvest them, only to find I strung myself up for torment right along with her. When it came right down to it, I couldn't bear to take what I wanted.

I harvested her desire, of course. I'm no saint.

But when she offered—begged me to fuck her, I couldn't go through with it. I rub at the strange ache in my chest and glared at my computer screen, struggling to wrangle my brain to do anything other than lurch right back down that familiar path, revisiting her dream once again.

I don't want dream Elodie. I want real, flesh and blood, desperate and needy, and enthusiastically consenting Elodie. I want her to know it's me she wants. I want her to know it's me really making her feel better than she's ever fucking felt in her life. I want to really, truly please her.

Which is fucking ridiculous, but there it is.

With her here in my office, I can barely concentrate on anything. I bungle the call to the bank, which means I'm going to be behind on capital. I was hoping to procure another two billion to fund the next few projects I'm planning. Of course, I could liquidate some assets and front the cash myself, but I'd rather hang onto those for now.

Looks like I have to choose.

I hate having to choose.

I fling myself out of my chair and pace to the window, staring down at the cityscape without really seeing it.

I only notice her mood has shifted, when a soft voice behind me makes my tail flick. "I'm sorry. This is my fault."

I sigh, turning and trying to moderate my body language so she doesn't run screaming. I'd only have to chase her after all. "It's just part of the deal. It's not your fault. This is a delicate case. We're just taking longer than I anticipated—"

"Yeah, about that. I feel terrible. You know I never really thought about the fact that I'd be summoning a real person. I mean a demon. I mean—you know." She shifts uncomfortably in her seat.

Walking to my desk, I perch on the edge and look at Elodie. So sweet. Even now, she's worried about me, not realizing I'm really stealing from her. When we're done, I'll have to yank a piece of her soul and use it to pay a stupid debt. She's worried I'm mad with her, when really I'm angry with myself. If anyone has reason to be angry, it's her. I'd rather not admit that, though. I'm nowhere near done with this.

"If you want to call it quits..." she begins.

My heart runs a fucking sprint and I have to tell myself I'm being stupid. "Can't be done." I shake my head. "The only way to break the summoning is for you to feel satisfied." And to surrender a part of your soul to me.

She looks down at her hands in her lap. "Because I don't really care about making him jealous." She sighs.

I don't know why I'm not expecting it. We've been talking about the summoning after all. All of a sudden, before I can stop her, she blurts, "Let's smash his car. He has this stupid Chevrolet Camaro that he's crazy about. I swear he loved that thing more than me. Maybe I'll feel better if we smash it."

Shit.

The words are barely out of her mouth when the compulsion hits me. Socks me in the guts more like. The drag of the pull to satisfy her will only get worse the longer we wait until I'll have no choice.

"Elodie, I'm not sure you're going to like this." It has to be done, though. I grab her hand, concentrating for a moment as magic spreads through me. Thanks to all the power I've been harvesting from her recently, the transportation is a smooth one. I reach into her mind and locate the image of Dustin's car and his garage. Moments later, we're standing on the gray, windy sidewalk, staring at the metal roller door beneath the apartment building they apparently used to live in together.

Elodie's hand tightens in mine and she sways a little on her feet a little. The first few times are always the worst. I watch her carefully for signs of nausea, but she seems alright.

"More magic?"

"Here we are to take your revenge." I gesture around us.

Her eyes widen as she properly takes in our surroundings. "How did you know?"

"Magic," I sneer. God, I'd rather be anywhere but here. She's not going to like this one bit. I hate that I've rushed her into this move with my foul mood.

Elodie's expression hardens. "Let's do this. If only I still had the key."

I shake my head. "That would be obvious. We need you not to get caught."

Her mouth opens into a little ‘o' of surprise. She is so innocent she hadn't even considered how to avoid criminal ramifications.

"Right. Um... how do we do this?" She looks around, perhaps searching for a weapon.

With a snap of my fingers, she's dressed in something all black and ugly. A travesty since it hides her delicious curves. I reach out and pull the hood of the nondescript sweatshirt over her head and pull up the scarf I've magicked over her mouth. "Take this." I hand her a baseball bat.

A little spell will disguise our features and make us unrecognizable on any security cameras the guy might have set up.

She takes it from me, but I can tell her heart's not in it.

With a flick of my wrist, the door rolls up. We wait side by side, listening to the clunk, clunk of the door in its runners.

When it stops, there's a moment of silence.

A lowered red Camaro sits staring back at us from the garage. Its paint is shiny. Someone has clearly spent a long time polishing it. The tires look like they have very little wear. I wonder how often he actually drives the thing.

Elodie huffs. She sets her shoulders. "Let's do this."

I open my mouth to tell her to wait, but Elodie strides forward. I can visibly see her steel herself, square her shoulders, gripping the bat. I'm still not prepared for the vicious way she raises and swings it. It impacts the wing mirror with a crack and I duck to avoid being smacked in the face with flying debris.

Crack. Crack. Elodie smashes the bat down over the hood, denting the metal as she connects with force.

The car alarm starts up and the beeping echoes in the narrow space of the garage.

Thump! Elodie rounds on the door.

I take a hesitant step forward.

Then I throw up my hands as glass flies everywhere. A little magic deflects it away from my face. Elodie makes short work of the windows. With a howl, she climbs onto the car and raises the bat over her head. She brings it down, destroying the windshield.

"Fuck you!"

She raises the bat and brings it down again.

"Fuck you, you useless prick."

Smash!

I can't work out what the strange choking noise is until I catch a glimpse of her face. She's crying. A knot twists in my guts at the sight, and I leap onto the car behind her.

When Elodie raises the bat again, I catch her wrists. "Stop."

"No." She pulls against me, but I'm too strong.

"Stop, Elodie."

"No." Got to admire that she's still trying.

One hand still holding her wrists, I lower the other to her waist and lift her off her feet, hopping down to the ground. The bat drops and clatters to the floor and I turn her, tucking her into my chest. It feels odd holding her like this. Trying to keep her against my front and away from all my spikes. She just fits here, beneath my chin, sobbing into my ugly nondescript sweatshirt. Better than my expensive suit, I guess.

She's soft. So incredibly soft. It steals my breath for a moment. Has it been that long since I sampled all the joys of flesh and stopped bothering? I've held her in her dreams, but that wasn't real. Not like this is.

A huge shuddering sob and she is shaking in my arms.

I stroke her back. "Shhh."

"It hurts so much." She's clutching her chest and that stab of guilt is back.

With a snap of my fingers, I get rid of the bat.

"Why does it still hurt?"

I can't bear to tell her it will hurt more when she has to pay for summoning me to give her this worthless gift. Her soul is worth so much more than this. Instead, I press a kiss to her head. "Come on. We're done here."

She doesn't protest.

I gather her close and transport us away from the scene. Rather than taking her back to work, I pick my apartment so when we appear, I can lead Elodie to the kitchen and guide her to one of the tall stools at the counter. "Are you hungry? Food always makes me feel better."

She shakes her head.

I'm not sure what else to do, though, so I stride to the cupboard and fling it open, searching for answers. "Come on. Bread? Everyone likes bread. Toast? Fuck, there's so much food in here. Remind me to go shopping more often."

A quiet sniff comes from behind me. "I'm sorry. I'm sure this isn't part of the bargain. I'll get my things."

Turning, I stare at her. "What?"

"I'll get my things." She's already climbing down from the stool. I hurry over before she can move, trapping her in place with my hands on either side of her. "Wait. Don't go." Usually at this point, I'd be trying to make the human ask for more, forfeit more of their soul to me. This time, I just don't want to give her up yet. Not when I haven't tasted her yet.

She blinks. "You don't want to be rid of me?"

I can't help it. I finally give in to the urge and lift my hand to her cheek, trailing my thumb across the full lips I'd like to kiss. "Of course not. Besides, do you feel done? Do you feel like you got what you wanted?"

"No." Her lower lip quivers, but she doesn't cry. "I just feel bad."

"Oh, sweet." I can't stop touching her, staring at the slope of her neck and the angle of her nose.

"What's wrong with me?" She lets out a shaky breath.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I just haven't given you what you really want yet, have I?"

She stares at me, eyes wide and lips gently parted.

She's staring up at me like I might be seeing through her, into her. I mean I have. I've seen her fantasies, or at least some of them. How much should I tell her? I don't want to spoil the moment. She's so vulnerable right now.

"And what do you think I really want?" Her cheeks are flushed, but now she holds my gaze. My hands are still on her face. We're so close the soft whisper of her breath teases my lips. I'm so tempted to drop my head and claim the kiss hanging in the air between us.

I don't, though. "I think you want what you deserve. What he never gave to you."

If I didn't already know the guy was a loser, the way her pupils dilate and her eyelids flutter at my words writes it in stone. No wonder she's been having such vivid, erotic dreams. No one has ever truly satisfied her before.

Her gaze drops to my mouth. "Azeroth?"

"Mmm?" She's inches away. Plump and soft and so sweet.

"Kiss me."

Her words tug on the summoning bond, reinforcing the depth of her need. My head is spinning when our lips finally meet. A groan rips from my chest as the slide of our mouths and tongues pushes me quickly to the brink of distraction.

We've done this many times over the last few nights in her dreams. That's nothing compared to what it feels like with really in my arms, her sweet breath mingling with mine.

My claws thread into her hair and I hold her closer, angling her face so I can plunder her mouth. When her legs wrap around my body, I'm dangerously close to lifting her onto the counter, tearing off her jeans, and really tasting her.

God, the filthy things running through her mind. It's been a long time since I've been hungry like this.

"Azeroth?" She breaks away and I'm already chasing more.

I bury my face against her neck and trail kisses down to her shoulder.

She shivers. "Azeroth, is that your phone?"

Fuck. The buzzing finally registers.

Reluctantly, I pull away. Then I spot the time!

The call is from Valorie, my PA. I don't even have to answer. I know what it's about. My twelve o'clock is waiting for me. Is it really that important?

I flick my tongue over Elodie's skin again.

Really not important. I toss my phone away.

The call ends, but starts again immediately. My phone rattles around on the counter.

I keep going, slide my lips along her neck and nibble at her jaw. She is delicious! The way she squirms under me is everything.

But then— "Azeroth this can wait. I can wait."

I pull back and look down at her. She is flushed and glowing. Her lips are slightly swollen and her hair has fallen from where she'd pinned it back in tiny tendrils. She doesn't look like she can wait.

Elodie puts her hand over my mouth when I try to swoop in for more kisses. She pushes me back. Gently, but it's clear she's putting on the brakes.

I sigh and straighten, looking us over. We're both still wearing the ugly outfits I magicked up when we destroyed Dustin's car. Shit. She still hasn't fully processed that either. She's such a pure soul. It will hit her hard. I just need to wrangle my way out of this meeting quickly, and then I can devote my attention to Elodie properly.

With a snap of my fingers, we're both back to our work clothes and looking so much better. Naked would be better, but I'll work on that later. I lift my phone to my ear and answer my PA's fourth call.

"Yes, I know. I'll be there in a minute. Just get them a coffee and keep them distracted." I hang up without even waiting for Valorie to reply. My eyes are still on Elodie, watching her expression, gauging where she's at.

"We're not done here."

That earns me a smile as she tugs her lower lip between her teeth.

I grab her hand, intending to transport us straight back to the office. I'm already drawing on the magic when she turns her head to look up at me. Instead of the regret I saw there before, there's only longing. Her desire burns so hot it's almost a tangible force.

Fuuuuuuuuck.

Good thing I left my office door closed.