Page 87 of A Chip on Her Shoulder

There were worse ways to go, including being poisoned by a fucking asshole. “I’m going to require a full demonstration of your prowess, and what I should look out for if you’re not giving me your best.”

“But I only want to give you my best.”

“You’re going to be stubborn over this, aren’t you?”

“Absolutely. But maybe if you beg me, I’ll make some sacrifices for the sake of tormenting you until you understand the mistakes you’re attempting to make.”

“So, basically, you would be extending your seduction of my person? I am not seeing the problem here. Isn’t more for longer better? You can give me linked demonstrations of your enthusiasm for a full experience.”

“I suppose it isn’t neglectful if I am showcasing the various ways in which lesser men would frustrate you.”

“Exactly.”

“I haven’t even converted you yet, and you’re demonstrating you’re quite capable of being a naughty kitty.”

“I have, through careful consideration of my situation, determined naughty kitties are rewarded.”

“My naughty little kitty is definitely going to be rewarded.”

I purred. “That’s my cue to finish my steak so we can get onto the evening entertainment.”

Chapter Sixteen

They believed victory was within their grasp.

When the Devil asked for the bill, the waiter brought back a small dessert box along with the receipt. Curiosity ate away at me, but Lucifer guarded the box with great care, keeping it out of my reach so I couldn’t peek. When the limousine picked us up, the box went with the driver, who promised to guard it.

The Devil toyed with me, and something delicious likely lurked within that box, and after having sampled several of the restaurant’s desserts, I would do a lot of things to gain access to the treat waiting within.

The Devil didn’t have to cheat to lure Gallo and his accomplices to a secondary location. Any other day, I would’ve viewed being taken to a secluded and dark stretch of woods to be creepy at best and downright terrifying at worst. In a way, I almost felt badly for the quartet of idiots following us.

They believed victory was within their grasp.

“They are waiting for us to be distracted before paying us a visit. They are planning to use their poison on us, as they have the antidote and won’t have to worry about me at all within a few hours.” The Devil shook his head, wrapped his arm around my waist, and pulled me closer to him. “Should all go as they plan, you’ll be poisoned, but it will be addressed quickly.”

“Before I get another one of those headaches type of quickly, or I should be bracing for a terrible few hours type of quickly?”

“You will not get another headache from their poison.”

I decided if I wouldn’t be inconvenienced with a headache, I didn’t care if I was poisoned again. Eliminating the main culprit would be sufficient, and if I suffered through some more poisoning, it would be a small price to pay. However, I’d found a very nice silver lining to having been poisoned, one I wanted to experience again. “Can we have a repeat of the part where I got to sit on your lap and use your chest as a pillow without the headache? Being honest, I liked that part.”

“My darling, you’re going to run out of juice at some point. When you do, I will be pleased to serve as your pillow. Frankly, I have no idea how you’re still on your feet and so energetic for that matter. I’ve been waiting for you to pass out all night long. I was hoping you’d pass out so I could have handled this without worrying how you’d complicate matters, but no. You’re stubborn. Well, I have some news for you. You’re mine, and they’re not going to live long enough to apply what they’re about to learn.”

Maybe I’d taken over the Devil’s hell, but somehow, I’d allowed him to perceive ownership of my person. Worse, I couldn’t think of a single reason to refuse him. “You’re being possessive again.”

“Yes, I am.”

“Why?”

Chuckling, the Devil tucked me against his side. “Because I said so.”

“That’s your justification for most things, isn’t it?”

“You will have a wonderful time attempting to curtail my bad behavior, but I will reward you well for your frustrations. And on the days I come into your office, influence you to abandon whatever work you were doing, and take you wherever I feel like, I will say it’s because I felt like it, and I will be above reprimand.”

I spent a moment wondering where I might get devil repellent, if he had an off switch, if I actually wanted to make use of an off switch, and how I’d cope with my new lot in life, flitting from seduction to seduction with some meaningful work mixed in. “At least you admit you’re going to be frustrating.”

“You enjoy making your life as orderly as possible and planning for every contingency. I have minions to handle the contingencies, except they enjoy screwing things up to annoy me. My poor hells are going to be turned upside down once you really get started taking them over and situating everything to your liking. I’m not going to have to declare you to be my queen. You’re going to show up, start knocking heads together, and create your own authority. And because I am who I am, I’ll enjoy it immensely.”