One Handsome Devil (3 page)

"You'd better get before your new boyfriend gets bored waiting for you,” Sara observed.

Katra looked worried. She got.

Sara walked to her kitchen, grabbed an old bottle of wine out of the refrigerator, and poured herself a tumbler full. She swigged down half the glass. The liquid felt harsh going down, reminding her of why she didn't drink. She took another large slug and felt a little more in control of herself.

"I'm waiting,” the demon reminded her.

A horrible sense of guilt swept over her. Her grandmother had raised her with Southern manners. “Would you like a glass?"

He shrugged. “I'm waiting for you to free me."

She poured him a glass, set it next to the ward, then lifted it up with a fireplace tongs and handed it to Jack. “Cheers."

He didn't look happy but he took a sip. His face twisted in distaste. “Demons are hard to poison."

"I only use it for cooking. I don't really know what's good.” She took another sip, using the time it bought her to think about the insane ideas that were going through her head, about whether she dared set him free, and whether she would have the strength to send him to Hell. Even if he was a demon, he probably had friends, maybe little baby demons waiting for his return from a day at the office. Or did demons have babies? Or wives? The idea of a girl-demon waiting for Jack to come home made her distinctly uncomfortable.

"Don't waste your pity on me,” Jack told her. He made a small gesture with one hand. “Try it now."

She took another sip from her glass. The flavor had completely changed. Her heart sank like the Titanic. Until now, some part of her had still wanted to believe Jack wasn't what he appeared to be. Turning her kitchen wine into a taste sensation convinced her in a way nothing flashy would have. He was the genuine article.

"That wasn't a wish,” she protested.

"Merely a repayment of hospitality.” He raised an eyebrow. “I didn't want you to sicken before you free me."

"I liked you better before you got nice.” What was she doing? She couldn't be flirting with a demon she had caged up in her living room.

"Don't count on it."

Well, that squelched that. She plopped down on her couch and stared at the demon. He had to be getting uncomfortable. She and Katra hadn't been thinking of anything so large when they'd drawn the wards.

"I don't know what to do with you,” she admitted.

"Make your wishes and I'm gone. It's easy."

"Why am I suspicious that Katra's wishes won't turn out the way she thinks?” Sara had read this plot before. Wishes always came with strings. Until she knew which of them was the puppet and which the master, she wasn't going to touch the bait.

The supposed demon stared at her. His eyes glittered like the darkest, bluest sapphires—in fact, she could actually see the star in them. His body almost trembled with anticipation. He ran a tongue over his lips—a tongue without a fork, Sara was glad to see. She didn't know what she would have done if he had a snake tongue to match his bat wings.

The sensuous quiver that passed through her body could have been fear, or it could have been a purely sexual response to the intense maleness he exuded.
Probably a little of both,
Sara admitted to herself.

"I can't be responsible for your suspicions.” He paused for a moment, staring at her. “Sara. It's your turn. Three wishes. Then set me free."

She decided to ask her question again. “Will Katra be happy with her wishes?"

Jack looked sad. “Demons cannot create happiness. That comes from within and, uh,” he glared at the ceiling, “elsewhere."

She'd already noticed he had a way of avoiding questions he didn't want to answer. “All right, did she wish wisely?"

"She wished for what anyone would want. Enough wealth for comfort, love and family, and freedom."

The more he evaded her questions, the more he convinced Sara he was hiding something—something important. “And will she get those?"

"Does anyone—"

"Answer me yes or no."

He considered her for a moment before answering. “No."

Sara collapsed to the floor. “I was afraid of that."

"Could you release my bonds? It would be more comfortable to discuss your wishes if I was freed from this cage."

Each time Jack moved, he brushed against the blue lines that contained him. Each time, his body convulsed in pain.

She'd never been able to stand seeing a bug in pain, let alone a handsome male. Still, her brain warred against her heart. She'd read enough of her mother's book to know that setting loose a demon in the middle of Dallas would be like launching a nuclear strike.

"I'm very sorry,” she told him. “I'm afraid to let you go."

He stared at her, letting his sapphire-blue eyes explore her form until they seemed to peer deep beneath her surface. “You have claustrophobia, don't you?"

He really could see within her. She'd never admitted her weakness to anyone, but that was part of the reason she'd chosen to become a petroleum geologist—so she could spend her life outside. Of course her promise to her parents had also played a major role. Had they suffered from a similar problem?

"Maybe."

"My feelings are similar. I can't stretch, can't extend my wings, can't really move. I must get out."

"But—"

"If you don't let me out, I can make your life quite unpleasant."

All of the sympathy she'd started to feel vanished at his threat.

She put her hands on her hips and stepped toward him. “Listen, if you think you can—"

Almost imperceptibly, his body tensed as she stepped closer. If she hadn't been quite so attuned to his muscular chest, his sexual frown, she might not have noticed. At the edge of the glowing blue line, she stopped short.

"You tried to trick me, into stepping across the barrier."

He sighed. “Of course."

Jack sensed time getting away from him. It was an unusual feeling. With all the time in the universe to contemplate their fate, demons learn patience. Being trapped in a cage so close to freedom was worse than any type of claustrophobia Sara might understand. Something would discover him, held helpless, before too very long. When it did, he would be in trouble. In that case, the best he could hope for was an angel to send him straight back to Hell. The worst was that he might be discovered by another freed demon.

"How come you can change my wine and grant Katra's wishes, but you can't hurt me?” Sara demanded.

"Your wards keep me from leaving. They don't hold in my powers. If I wanted to hurt you, I could.” If he wanted to spend a painful part of his existence trapped in a magician's wards while every demon and angel under creation tortured him. He had to get out of here.

"Why won't Katra get what she was hoping for?"

At least Sara was still interested in her wishes. He kept looking for the strings he needed to pull. “I'm compelled to find loopholes."

She seemed puzzled. “Can you give me an example?"

"Do you wish me to?"

She laughed. “You must think I'm pretty stupid. I'm not going to waste a wish on that."

He shrugged again. “Then this one is free. Let's suppose you wished for peace on earth. Since
peace
sounds exactly like
p-i-e-c-e
, I could grant your wish by having sex with you lying in the dirt. Piece on earth. Your wish is gone. It's simple, really."

Sara backed away from the wards as if they would burn her rather than him. He couldn't believe he found this human female sexually attractive but, quite obviously, he did. He was probably echoing Sara's obvious desire. It was the kind of weakness that could get him destroyed.

Pull yourself together, girl,
Sara urged herself. There was no way he could know she'd temporarily lost control of her fantasies.

"Of course that is what you were thinking of wishing for, isn't it?” For just an instant, Jack's eyes seemed to hold all the wisdom of the universe, and a sadness that would crush any woman's heart.

"I suppose you read my mind?"

"It isn't hard. I could teach you to do it, for a wish."

Sara had imagined loving a man who could actually know her desires without her having to ask. Now she knew she wasn't ready for it in real life. Not all of her thoughts needed to be shared with the entire world. Certainly she didn't want to be bombarded by the thoughts of those around her. That was probably the loophole here. “What else can you see?"

"I see that you're looking for a man.” He shook his head. “Finding the right man won't be easy."

"Why? What's wrong with me?” Sara might never be asked to pose for the cover of
Glamour
, but she didn't think she was that hard on the eyes.

"You won't settle for a guy just because he's cute and willing. Also, you don't put on the little-girl-lost act like your friend Katra. You intimidate the men you meet."

"I'll have you know that I'm very easy to get along with,” Sara flared. She'd always worried that she could come off a little too much the intellectual. That didn't mean Jack had to rub her nose in it. “I have a lot of friends and I have interesting hobbies, and I'm a geologist so I make good money and meet a lot of people through work."

"Oh, yes. Let's not forget about that little thing you have with your temper."

"That's ridiculous.” Sara stepped toward the exasperating male, her fists in balls. At the glowing wards, she stopped abruptly. “I don't have a temper."

Jack laughed. “I'm not saying it isn't pretty, but then again, what attracts me may not attract the human male. What I am saying is that any man who you'd be happy with would be someone special. Someone who can keep you under control."

Had Jack said he was attracted to her? It would be evil to tease her like this if he wasn't interested. Of course, he was a demon. Jack was supposed to be evil.

The rest of what he'd said finally penetrated. Keep her under control? “That's the most sexist, egotistical, chauvinist, ugly thing anyone has ever said to me.” She was angry enough to spit. Unfortunately, all spitting would do was prove Jack right.

"If you say so,” Jack grinned. “I'm not saying I
can't
do it, you know. Just that it'll be hard to find a man for you. One that wants to stick around for a while anyway. But go ahead, make your wishes. I need to get along with my business."

"Don't rush me."

Sara was attracted to him, that was obvious to Jack. Unfortunately, her attraction just made her more suspicious. He'd have to find some way around this block.

"So tell me, what
should
I wish for?"

"How should I know what you want?” He hoped she wouldn't notice he hadn't answered her question.

"You're a demon, and you already said you can read my mind. So tell me. And don't try to twist your answer around, either."

"Maybe you should wish for what your friend wished for. Happiness in love, comfort in her surroundings, and enough wealth to enjoy life and contribute to the betterment of others."

"And maybe I shouldn't, huh? You can do better than that."

"I won't tell you what to wish for."

Sara took one step closer to the wards.

Jack inhaled. Her scent revealed much about Sara. Her confusion, fear, and sexual interest in him all showed as strongly as words on a page. Sara's reaction to him heightened his own sexual awareness of her. He hadn't experienced desire for hundreds of years, but he'd never forgotten.

This could be a very bad idea. Jack didn't trust himself around human women. They didn't play by the same rules demons did.

"What happens when I let you go?"

When Sara had first summoned him, he'd felt a sense of relief so profound it had almost let him forget the tortures he constantly endured. With every passing moment, the wards pressed more tightly against him.

"I promised I wouldn't hurt you."

"But you will hurt others."

"I let people hurt themselves. It's simple, really."

"I'll just bet.” She looked sad. “I can't let you go."

Panic welled over him at the certainty he saw in her stance. “I can't hurt anyone who doesn't deserve it."

She laughed. “You mean you can't hurt the one percent of us who has never done anything wrong? That's not good enough. I'm not much of a church-goer anymore, but I was raised right. Setting a demon free on Dallas isn't the type of thing I was brought up to do."

His wing brushed against the ward and the ethereal shock jolted him again.

"I'll send you back as soon as I can."

Panic shot through him. “No!” He forced himself to take a deep breath, almost as if he had been human and needed to breath. “Imagine the smallest cupboard in your kitchen, one you can hardly get into. Then imagine it pressing in on you until you couldn't breath, couldn't move, couldn't do anything but feel the weight of the earth pressing against you and the heat of the fire burning on your skin. That's what you brought me from. Compared to that, this prison is a vast paradise."

He watched carefully for her reaction. Most humans would see only the power this gave them. If Sara took that path, he might have to serve as her slave for a time, but sooner or later, he would have his freedom and her soul.

Sara's face crumpled. She was thinking about her own claustrophobia, he knew. He'd hit too close to home. “It seems that I'm stuck."

"Not if you can make the right wishes. If you make them ironclad, you can protect yourself and everyone around you.” That was the theory. In practice, it had never happened.

"You think you're pretty smart, don't you?” she demanded.

For the first time he could remember, Jack laughed for real. His surprise was so complete, he pulled himself out of it almost instantly. “You're joking, right? I'm a demon, remember. That means I was involved in the single stupidest decision in the history of the universe. Add to that what happened today. I, a supposed Prince of Demons, was captured by two sex-deprived humans with enough talent between them to, maybe, make a coin flip heads fifty-one times out of a hundred, and I'm being held captive by a hill of salt. Oh, yes. That makes me brilliant."