Sweet Revenge (Dueling with the Devil) (3 page)

Eyes wid
e,
the girl noticed Bell for the first time. She had every reason to be afraid
.“
Oh my God. I’m so sorr
y,
ma’am.

What can I get you
?”
Bell revealed her most menacing scowl
.“
Just bring the bottle and two shot glasses
.”
The waitress hurried away. Bell’s irises flashed red as she cursed the waitress under her breath. The girl returned with the orde
r,
scurrying away when Bell snatched the bottle from her hands. The fiery liquid flowed
s
m
o
o
t
hly down her throat.

After several drink
s,
the actions of the enthusiastic host and tart of a waitress still crawled under her skin. She was losing her edge. There was a tim
e,
a few centuries ag
o,
when she commanded respect and invoked fear in almost everyon
e,
especially the humans. In today’s It’s-All-About-Me worl
d,
people were no longer smart enough to sense dange
r,
even when it’s in their face. No one hit on a man when she was in the vicinity. Too bad the days of smiting in public were long gone. It’s all law
s,
rule
s,
and secrecy. Damn video cameras and YouTube.

“
Hey
!”
Xavier rapped on the table.

Bell raised a bro
w,
as she redirected her attention
.“
What
?
”

He rattled the empty bottle of Vodka against his glass
.“
We’re out
.
”

“
And…whaddaya want me to do about it
.
”

“
We getting another or going somewhere else
?”
The light from the sconce morphed his eyes to a light jade.

I must be shit-faced. Every time I see that stupid gri
n,
I get hot.
“
Let’s get food. I think you’re drunk and I refuse to haul
y
o
ur
b
i
g
a
s
s
b
a
c
k
t
o
t
h
e
h
o
t
e
l
.
”

“
Fuck yo
u
,
”
he slurred.

“
I would take you up on that. It’s been a while. But I’m holding out for something a little less trailer trash. The bus boy was kinda delicious though
.”
A giggle escaped her lips when she witnessed the indignation written on his face.

Yep. I’m d
e
f
initely
d
r
un
k
.

A low rumble. Flash of heat. Her head spun. When she gathered her sense
s,
she realized Xavier sat so close to her she could hear his heart race in its cage
.“
I may be low clas
s,
but I can show you things those Legion officers couldn’t even imagine
.”
His harsh whisper smoldered against her ski
n,
sending a shudder through her core.

She gripped the edge of her chair when his fingertips grazed her thigh. The thick denim of her jeans offered little protection from the scorching effects of Xavier’s touch. She was sloshe
d,
but drunk didn’t mean stupid. She swallowed har
d,
slowed the frantic beating in her ches
t,
latched on to his nads and twisted. His high-pitched yelp of pain sobered her up and brought her back to reality.

Her cheek flushed to hi
s,
her free hand braced on the back of his nec
k,
she murmured in his ear
.“
What the fuck did I tell ya about touching me
?”
She brushed kisses along his ja
w,
as she squeezed harder.

“
Let go of m
e,
bitc
h
,
”
he muttered through the pain.

She twisted the delicate sacks again
.“
Whatcha call me
?
”

“
Stupid
bitch
.”
He fought to move away without drawing additional attention.

The little doe-eyed waitress appeared. Concern or disappointment furrowed her brow
.“
Um. You two want to order some food
?
”

Bell smiled as she released him
.“
Sure. I’ll have the shrimp poboy. And
…”
She considered the angry demon sitting at her side
.“
He’ll have the same
.
”

“
Okay. It’ll be out soon
.”
The girl took off without looking
b
ac
k.

Xavier rose out of his chai
r,
adjusted his damaged good
s,
and sat back down
.“
I’m a big boy. I can order for myself
.
”

“
Looked like you were having some trouble
.”
She scooted her seat back around the small table. Xavier was an unstable creatur
e,
best to keep her distance and an eye on him at all times.

The food came and went much to Bell’s dismay. A meal this tasty was hard to come by in the Underworl
d,
so when she surfaced Topside she tended to indulge. Lucky for he
r,
she had a high metabolis
m,
one of the perks of her demon heritage.

“
So what now
?”
He drummed his fingers on the table in front of her.

She blinked
.“
Huh
?
”

“
Food’s done. S
o,
what now? I don’t feel like being trapped up in that room with yo
u,
watching Basketball Wives again. What’s up with you and that show
?
”

She scrunched her nos
e,
amused. Gotta love babymama drama. Especially the rich and famous variety. Plus those females are cattier than you and your brother locked in a cage match
.”
Her comment drew a chuckle from him. Xavier’s most common animal form was a panthe
r,
Jac a white tiger. The last time they me
t,
it was a fight to the death. Xavier’s death.

He shook his head at her
.“
You’re a strange female
.
”

She took him in for a moment
.“
You just don’t know much about females. I guess no male does
.
”

“
Let’s find a club. It’s only ten-thirty. Maybe we can find some entertainment to bring back to the hotel with us
.”
H
i
s
d
im
p
l
e
d
s
m
i
l
e
e
n
t
i
ce
d
h
e
r
to
s
a
y
y
e
s
.

Laughin
g,
she answere
d,
“
It’s not smart to keep hanging around town. Someone will see us and run back to your brother and his crew. I’m not ready for that yet. We have the element of surprise. Everyone thinks you’re in Hel
l,
paying penance for all the suffering you’ve caused
.
”

“
Forget my brother. And remembe
r,
your brother is a part of his cre
w,
too. What a pair we make. Both plotting against our peeps
.
”

Her mood darkened at the mention of her brother
.“
Leave Laurent out of this. He will not be harmed
.
”

“
Then you need to keep him
o
utta my wa
y
,
”
he retorted with a flippant wave of his hand.

CHAPTER THREE

The buzz of her cell phone stopped Bell from smacking the smug grin off Xavier’s face. He had to be the most annoyingly arrogant prick she’d met in a long tim
e,
and that was saying a lot. Dating assholes was her specialty.

She snatched the device from her purs
e,
hitting the green answer button on the screen
.“
What’s up
?
”

To her horro
r,
Xavier yawned and put his feet on the table. She swatted at the oversized boat
s,
mouthing a few un-ladylike phrases. She focused on the voice on the other end of her call.

“
Nuh-uh. I can’t come tonigh
t
,
”
she replied.

The idiot across from her continued his immature behavior
.“
Hold on a minut
e,
Laurent
.”
She put the phone against her leg to muffle the sound
.“
Loo
k,
shithead. Stop acting like you’re five
.
”

He poute
d,
oozing sex with his slightly tussled hair and lips
l
u
s
h
e
n
o
ugh
to
b
i
t
e
.
“
I’m bored
.
”

“
Okay. Get the check and we’ll leave
.”
She brought the phone back to her ear
.“
Sorry ’bout that. Why do you need to see me tonight
?
”

“
Bel
l,
I’m worried about you. I haven’t seen you since the night you found out Jacque was getting married. I know you’re not okay. Please tell me you haven’t killed or maimed anyone
.”
Concern tainted her brother’s voice.

“
Naw. I’ve left no bodies in my wak
e,
at least not yet
.”
She glared at Xavier as he flirted with the waitress.

Static made her strain to hear Laurent’s whining
.“
Come o
n,
S
i
ss
y
.
Meet me for one drink and I’ll leave you alone
.
”

She hated when he did that. She could never tell him no
.“
I’m not sure. Let me think about it
.
”

“
All right. I’ll be at Utopia around eleve
n,
so stop by
.
”

Her face flushed with hatred when the server’s high-pitched laughter rang through the room as she accepted Xavier’s credit card
.“
I’ll see what I can do
.
”

Bell fumed as Xavier grazed his hand up the back of the waitress’ leg. The girl leaned i
n,
sharing a private conversation with the demon. Again with the stupid laugh.

“
Yeah. Yeah. I love yo
u,
too. Uh-huh. I’ll try to make it. Alright. Look. I gotta run
.”
She hit the ‘End Call’ button hard
e
n
o
ugh
t
o
a
l
m
o
s
t
b
r
ea
k
a
n
a
i
l
.

Xavier tilted back in his chair and placed his hands behind his head
.“
S
o,
who pissed in your Wheaties
?
”

“
What’s wrong with you
?”
she snarled.

His grin brought out the demon in him
.“
What did I do
?
”

“
Do you have to act like a sub-level demon? I know you’re from the Wasteland slum
s,
but I’m sure you can muster some class. And stop feeling up the help
!
”

“
Aw. I’m touched. You’re jealous
.”
He chuckled at his own insincerity.

She kicked him under the table
.“
No one’s jealou
s,
but that doesn’t give you permission to be disrespectful
.
”

Bell glared at the serve
r,
when she returned with the credit card. Her eyes flashed demon-red for just a secon
d,
causing Ms. Giggles to stumble back a few steps
.“
Y’all have a good nigh
t
,
”
she muttered in retreat.

“
You didn’t have to scare her off. She could’ve been some entertainment for the rest of the nigh
t,
since you’re not in the mood for any fun
.”
He pocketed the receipt and stood.

Bell spied the waitress eyeing him from the other side of the room. She rounded the tabl
e,
pushed up on her toes and circled her arms around Xavier’s neck. Feeling the solid pressure of his body against her breast
s,
she tasted his lip
s,
savoring the saltiness of his mouth. He folded himself around her. Thic
k,
strong arms snaked around her waist. His hands tangled in her hair as he explored deeper. Blood pulsed through her body and her breathing became labored. Finall
y,
she brought her hands down his chest and forced him away. She needed to distance hersel
f,
or take him right there in the restaurant. Xavier slowly seeped under her ski
n,
his heady intoxication more potent than the vodka.

As Bell tried to walk awa
y,
he grabbed her han
d,
jerking her back into his arms
.“
What’s that all about
?
”

“
Just showing Blondie who’s running this show
.
”

He stared down at her
.“
Marking your territory
?
”

“
N
o,
no. Another woman isn’t going to flirt with a man in my presenc
e,
whether he belongs to me or not. Just needed to put her back in her place
.”

“
Keep it up and I’m gonna start thinking you like m
e
,
”
he teased.

“
Whateve
r
,
”
she called over her shoulde
r,
heading toward

the door.

The air outside was thick with warm moisture. Bell enjoyed being in this haven for the damned and otherworldly. The humans were wanton and the supes even more so. She inhaled the scent of liquor and sweat trailing off the passing pedestrian
s,
as she weaved in and out of the scantily clad drunkards. Every male she passed turned to take a second glance. Her confidence returned as she commanded attention from her admirers.

She glanced back at Xavie
r,
her eyes softening at the site of his beautiful face
.“
Would you hurry up? We don’t have all night for you to sightsee and ogle the crowd
.
”

His gaze caressed her and settled on her mouth. The passion in his expression ignited the flame of need inside Bell
.“
Ain’t l
i
ke
we
h
a
ve
a
n
y
w
h
e
r
e to
b
e
.
”

She rolled her eyes and huffe
d,
ignoring the urge to touch him
.“
Maybe we do. S
o,
put your ass in gear
.
”

Xavier picked up his pace. He followed Bell through the narrow streets until they reached the entrance of the hotel. They hurried through the posh lobb
y,
oblivious of the crowd.

Once in the elevato
r,
he cornered her
.“
Where are we off to tonight
?
”

The weight of his body pinned her against the wall
.“
Out
.
”

“
Okay. I’ll bite. Out where
?
”

She molded her petite frame into the mahogany wood paneling of the elevator.
G
o
d,
she wanted to kiss him again. She tucked her arms between the
m,
creating needed space
.“
I have to meet Laurent. We’re going to Utopia
.
”

He raised a brow in question
.“
Are
we
not hiding anymore? You can’t leave me behind with this idiotic ankle monitor on me. S
o,
how are you gonna pull this one off
?
”

The silver doors parted and she darted out
.“
Simpl
e,
fool. You’re a shifter. Just change into someone else
.”
She slid the key into the slot to open the penthouse suite
.“
And make sure you’re good looking. I have a rep to protec
t
,
”
she added as she disappeared into her bedroom.

Rummaging through her suitcas
e,
Bell forced the image of Xavier’s beautiful face out of her memory. He had eyed he
r,
as if she was a succulent meal ready to be devoured. It took everything in her to still her heart. She was the predato
r,
not the prey. Bell refused to let him know he had an effect on her. She needed to find someone to release some of her frustrations. Actuall
y,
maybe she should just take the edge off in the shower.

The black DKNY jeans formed to her body. They might be a bit wor
n,
but they were her favorit
e,
making her ass every woman’s envy. She finished the ensemble with a low-cut tank made of delicate ropes of steel. The sides of the tank dipped almost to her wais
t,
showing off her lace
Victoria’s
S
ec
r
e
t
bra. She gave her golden mane a tos
s,
scrunched a little more sculpting cream to hold her natural curl
s,
and painted on a rose-tinted lip gloss.

Bell slid on her
B
l
ah
n
i
k
s and went to the living room. Xavier was still not out yet. Never had she met a man who took more time to get ready than she did. She would say she hated pretty boy
s,
but it would be a lie. She liked a bit of jewelry dangling from her arm. She deserved the best. That was why she had to have Jacque back.

“
Now that’s what I call junk in the trunk
.”
His low chuckle
s
oo
t
h
e
d
t
h
e
b
i
t
e
o
f
h
i
s
w
o
r
d
s
.

She swung around and batted at him with her purse. When he came into full vie
w,
she froz
e,
mesmerized. In front of her stood a magnificent creature only the sun and the moon themselves could contend with. The ric
h,
chocolate brown of his skin radiated in the lamp light. The color was two or three shades darker than his deep caramel she already enjoyed. He reminded her of a modern day African warrior fit for battle. He replaced his dark curls with a low fad
e,
the waves barely noticeable. His lips taunted he
r,
as his tongue ran along the bottom. A familiar fire burned within intense green eyes. She loved he didn’t change the color. The effect was breathtaking.