To Hell and Back (Mel Goes to Hell Series Book 4) (17 page)

"Let me take a picture," Luce begged, holding up his phone. He'd never used its camera before, but how hard could it be?

"Of what?"

"How lovely you look tonight," he replied, tapping the button which he hoped would take a picture. "You know I love you, right?"

She laughed and blushed. "And I love you, Luce."

Mel looked absolutely beautiful. Her cocktail dress was gold silk that shimmered and her only jewellery was a string of creamy-gold pearls that he'd never seen before.

"Where did you get those?" he whispered, caressing her neck. They were definitely real, but such an unusual colour.

She ducked her head. "They were a gift from a friend, a long time ago. Every time I've tried to part with them, they always seem to return to me, so I've decided to keep them. They feel almost like old friends themselves, after all this time."

Luce mentally kicked himself for not having bought her jewellery. He'd never seen her wear any before, but now that he had, he could correct his mistake. Hopefully. "A friend? Or a lover? Was it Patrick? Or Koyane?"

Mel laughed softly. "No, none of them. They were a gift from a grateful human leader."

They moved up in the receiving line until they faced their hosts.

"Han-san, may I present Murielle-san, who you already know, and Mr Luce Iblis, the CEO of the HELL Corporation?" Keiko said.

Han inclined his head in a disinterested bow and turned his attention to the people behind them. At his side, the Korean girl dressed in something pink and frilly stared avidly at them, wiggling as if she was trying to dislodge a spider that had slipped inside the pink dress. Keiko repeated her introduction to Sun-Hee, who erupted in a fountain of giggles that grated on Luce's ear. It didn't help that this girl could have passed for Persephone's sister.

"Call me Sunny, Mr Iblis," she simpered, stretching up to kiss his cheeks. She dropped her voice to a whisper. "My friend Keiko says you're a dick. I'd like to see that." She reached down and squeezed.

Luce pried her fingers loose and stepped back. "Mrs Han, that will land you in a world of trouble that you can't handle."

This only seemed to excite her further. "Oh, I love trouble, Mr Iblis. In fact, I'm often a very bad girl."

Though he tried to resist it, the image of Level Two in Hell popped into his head and wouldn't leave. "Be careful, then. I know the punishment for bad girls."

"I bet you do," she breathed. "I'd love you to show me some time." She gave him a smouldering look until Luce wanted to upend a jug of cold water over her head. Stupid human had no idea.

Sunny had only a bored bow for Mel before turning her attention to the next guest.

Mel took Luce's arm and walked him over to a waiter, who offered them drinks. Mel sipped her ice wine until the waiter moved out of earshot, when she whispered, "Looks like Sun-Hee took quite a shine to you. I'm sure with all your wit and charm, you'll have no problem persuading her to speak to her husband on our behalf. When we get home, I'll be able to tell everyone that you're the angel who averted nuclear war."

His perfect angel in gold silk or her irritating cousin's doppelganger – what a choice! As he stared at her longingly, Mel winked. "Just as long as you come home with me tonight. I admit I've been thinking about sharing a futon with you since I first booked the flights." She reached for a waiter's tray and snagged another glass of wine. "Here, go take her a drink. She looks lonely and bored. Just make sure she enjoys her night."

"What about you?" He wasn't sacrificing Mel's night for some woman he didn't know.

Mel smiled. "I'm working, too. I figured you'd be spending the evening with Mr Han, businessman to businessman, but if you're taking care of his wife, then I'll have to do my best to take your place. The sooner we get this situation sorted, the sooner we can go home."

It sounded so simple. And Mel was never wrong, right?

Luce winked and headed for the listless-looking Sunny, who lit right up the moment she saw him. "You look like you need a drink," he said, offering her a wineglass.

She snatched the glass from his hand and beamed back. "Ah-ah-ah, Mr Iblis, I think you're trying to get me drunk so I'll tell you my husband's secrets."

Luce grinned. "Actually, I was hoping you'd spill some of yours."

Her shock was faked, he was sure of it. "Mr Iblis! I'm sure I have no secrets." She smiled coyly. "Oh, maybe just one or two."

He stood beside her, sipping his drink, waiting for her to continue. He had no idea how to make small talk with a woman like this. He was much more comfortable ordering them around.

"You're not like my husband or any of his boring businessman friends. I bet you're not like them in bed, either. I bet you know exactly what you want and just how to get it." She punctuated the last few words by poking him in the chest.

He brushed her hand away. "Mrs Han, no man's as good as me in bed, on the desk or occasionally even up against the bookcase in my office. And if you touch me without my permission one more time, I might just have to get the handcuffs out."

Her excited gasp told him he'd guessed right. "Mr Iblis! Why, I'm shocked. I'll tell you what. I'll trade you a secret for one of yours."

Luce shrugged. "Sure. You first. Why would a happily married woman flirt so outrageously with a businessman she barely knows?"

She smacked his arm lightly. "What a naughty question! I'll tell you, but not here. How about in the library?"

Library? This woman didn't seem like much of a reader. Not like Mel. She devoured books on her phone like he couldn't believe. He followed Sunny out of the reception room and through three sets of sliding screens before they reached a timber-floored passage. The passage ended in another screen, which slid sibilantly aside to reveal walls lined with bookcases. A desk stood in the middle, pushed up against a pink chaise longue that looked exactly the right size for the diminutive woman in front of him.

She spun on the spot, waving her hands at the shelves. "This is where I keep my CEOs, billionaires, Navy SEALs, rock stars, bikers…ooh, and MMA fighters. Every one of them strong and masterful, powerful enough to bend any woman to their will."

Luce looked more closely at the shelves. If he didn't know better, he might be in the harpies' private library on Level Seven. The books were all tattered paperbacks full of men the likes of which he'd never met. "Fictional heroes. Men who don't exist outside of books," he dismissed them.

"You're here. And you're not in a book," she teased.

"Are you going to answer the question I asked earlier? Now we're here in private and all?"

Her little pink tongue darted out and wet her lips. Between that and the playful look in her eyes, she reminded him of a kitten. A tiny, cute-looking bundle until it sank all its needle-sharp teeth and claws into you for daring to touch it. Luce hated kittens almost as much as he'd been scared of swans.

"My marriage is one of convenience. I made him wait until after marriage for sex, because I believed it was the correct thing to do, but it appears he only agreed to it because he never wanted me in the first place. I stand at his side in functions like this one, but it's a sham, Mr Iblis. I married a man I thought would have the power to take me as hard as any of these book heroes, but he never has. Not even on our wedding night – he never came to my bed." She grabbed the hem of her black dress and jerked it up to her waist, revealing black stockings and bare skin, before bending over the desk. "You're man enough, aren't you, Mr Iblis? Take me. Take me now."

She could have been Persephone's sister for sure. What was wrong with her? And what would Mel think if she saw this?

"Mrs Han, I can't. I have –"

"Ten seconds to bury yourself balls deep in my cunt or I'll call security and tell them you forced me. Japan has strict penalties for rapists."

Mel would kill him. No matter what he did, she'd kill him. So which was the lesser of two evils? Taking his pleasure of this willing woman and turning her into an adulterer, or getting arrested and ruining Mel's evening, as well as any chance they had at getting on this crazy woman's good side?

"What about foreplay?" Luce asked weakly.

She yanked open a drawer beside her leg, revealing an impressive array of vibrators and other toys. "As long as you fuck me, you can do anything you want. Do I have to beg, Mr Iblis?"

Ugh, no. Mel had told him to make sure this woman enjoyed her night. Charm her, she'd said. This woman didn't want charm. She wanted to be fucked roughly like some nameless PA on his desk, like he'd done when he was a demon.

"Please, Mr Iblis," she simpered, giving him a look that she probably thought was sweet.

Swallowing, Luce strode forward and placed his hand at the back of her neck. "Keep your head down. No eye contact until I say so. Hold on to the edge of the desk with both hands. Brace yourself. I'm going to fuck you so hard, you'll be feeling my cock all week." Imagining it, more like, he thought as he picked up a dildo from the drawer.

"Murielle-san, it's been a long time."

Mel turned with an automatic smile for the man behind her. "Director, I'm sure it's only been two years since the tsunami."

Han Dong-Suk frowned, filling his plate with items from the buffet. "The tsunami? I forgot you were there. I was so busy handling press about that nuclear power plant that got hit…and then having to upgrade all the facilities on the mainland. It's been a very busy few years. But good ones, for that's how I met my wife, Sun-Hee. She was at a fundraiser to assist those left homeless by the tsunami. I am afraid I've had eyes for no other woman since." He smiled, but still seemed sad.

"I heard that you'd finally discovered love. Congratulations, Director. I'm very happy for you. I sincerely hope you'll both be very happy together." She couldn't say that she knew, for the future of this couple was clouded. Perhaps by her own interference, she thought uneasily.

He sighed heavily. "So do I, but Sun-Hee is not the girl I fell in love with. She's changed, grown cold. And I have no idea what I've done."

Mel was surprised by his confession for he barely knew her, but perhaps his desperation had made him forget that. The man definitely did look desperate. "What do you mean, cold?"

Mr Han hesitated before exclaiming, "You're a woman, Murielle-san. You understand love. Perhaps you can explain to me why a woman who spent months kissing and flirting with me, building anticipation that on our wedding night she would be mine – it is no exaggeration, for she said those words, many times – would completely avoid my bed once we were married?"

Advising a man on marital relations with his wife? Mel blushed deeply. She wished Luce were with her. He'd know what to say. Possibly even offer a few tips from his extensive experience. Where was Luce? She glanced around, but didn't see him. She didn't see Mrs Han, either, so she figured he must be off taking care of her.

She coughed discreetly. "Director, do you think perhaps it was because she was surprised by her first relations with you on your wedding night?" She didn't dare say that his performance might have been lacking, though she knew it was the most likely source of his wife's dissatisfaction.

He laughed harshly. "What relations? She gave me a kiss full of promise and said she would change clothes. I retired to my room, specially prepared for us with all sorts of strange things – rose petals and candles and all manner of romantic ideas – but she never came. I thought of going to her room to ask what kept her so long, but a lady likes to take her time and my Sun-Hee is no exception, so I waited. When morning came, I had those infernal petals stuck to my body instead of my lovely wife. She never came." His voice wavered as if he might cry.

Mel tried to hide her shock. "What did you say when you saw her the next morning?"

He reddened. "I was furious. I wanted to demand to know why she would tease me and yet do nothing, but I was summoned to work before she awoke. When I saw her that evening, she avoided even looking at me and I knew I couldn't be angry at her, as I must have done something wrong."

"Have you tried just asking her?"

He guffawed. "Me, a crusty old businessman, ask my young flower of a wife for sex? Never. I am too proud to beg, even of the woman I love. And I will not force myself on her by demanding her submission – that sort of thing is for barbarians. She once joked that she was marrying the most powerful man in Korea, but she holds my heart in her fist and I am powerless against her. Do you think I am just a silly old man, Murielle-san?"

He was only ten years older than his bride – and hardly an old man, though not a young one, either. Mel shook her head emphatically and said, "No, Director. Love makes fools of us all. Have you not asked her?"

"I tried to ask her once whether she regretted marrying me. She grew angry and told me she would not regret it if I proved that I was the powerful man she thought I was. So I looked for a way to show this power that would demonstrate to my disappointed wife that I am worthy of her. What could no other man do? Why, I could level the islands where her illustrious ancestress and namesake lost her love, as a fitting memorial to the man who should have been her ancestor." His eyes blazed as if reflecting the flash from the atomic blast in his imagination.

Mel shivered. She'd seen what those blasts did to people – no, more than seen it. She'd felt the agony of flesh searing through her bones as her shadow burned into stone in Hiroshima, then again in Nagasaki. Then rebuilt her body a third time to seek Japan's surrender on behalf of those who'd died screaming with her. She'd seen suffering the likes of which no one else had, for the souls of those who died had continued to broadcast their pain even after death. And she'd stayed to coordinate the army of escort angels who had come to claim their souls.

"Director, have you ever visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial? I find the pictures there quite haunting – the effects of an atomic blast are horrifying. It shows what too much power can do when it's used as a weapon."

He grunted. "I don't have time to play tourist when I'm in Japan. Not when I'm here on business."

"I'd call it professional interest, if nothing else. If you intend to level the islands of Dokdo, I recommend that you find out more about the power you wield."

His eyes narrowed. "So, it's true. You are here for the negotiations. May I ask whose side you're on when it comes to Dokdo? Whoever has engaged your valuable services usually emerges victorious, I've found." His tone made it sound like a joke, but his eyes were deadly serious. Han Dong-Suk was a shrewd businessman who knew which way the wind was blowing – and if he didn't, he certainly wanted to.

Mel ducked her head. "I'm just an adviser, Director. My clients pay for my advice, but it doesn't mean they have to follow it. The mediator on this matter is my friend, Koyane, who brought me in to assist. My client is Keiko Taniwha – the proponent whose proposal invoked this furore. Like Koyane and Keiko, I seek only a swift resolution."

"So do I, Murielle-san. And I find actions speak louder than words. Please excuse me, I must see to my other guests." He bowed and hurried away.

Mel sighed. When it came to a man's ego, his bedroom skills and his heart, he was as unreasonable as the next guy. She only hoped Luce was making better progress with the man's wife.