We were here on earth for the time being and I was going to be living with the sexiest man I’d ever seen in my life. I was going to soak up every second we had.
I threw myself onto the plush leather couch and kicked my feet up onto the glass coffee table. Roman leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, watching me soak in the lavish living quarters.
“Make yourself comfortable, Roman. This place is amazing!”
He smirked, shaking his head and taking off his black leather jacket before coming to sit down next to me.
“I’m glad you’re happy, but you have work to do.”
“You mean we have work to do.”
“No, I do believe you’re the one who made the deal with the devil. I'm only here to watch you and make sure you stick to the plan and get shit done.”
“Lighten up, Roman. Enjoy the scenery while you can. I know I sure as hell am.”
“Oh, I’m enjoying it just fine.” He winked, making me blush. “So, what’s your plan?”
I walked into the kitchen, putting an extra sway in my hips just in case he was watching. I secretly hoped he was.
“I know exactly who I want to bring to Hell first.” I picked up the phone that was on the counter and dialed.
“Hello, Bart...I’m back.”
“Holland? I...I thought you were dead? The hospital said you were DOA. Where the hell have you been?”
Where the hell had I been? If only he knew he wasn’t far off.
“Well, I assure you I’m alive and in the flesh. Meet me at 666 Shadow Drive at midnight.” Such a cliche address Satan seemed to have given us.
“I’m kind of tied up tonight, Holland. I wasn’t expecting your call. It’s been months.”
“Make yourself available. See you tonight.”
“Shit. Okay, I’ll be there.”
I could tell Bart was in shock to hear from me by the shake in his voice, but like any man, he couldn’t resist a midnight booty call.
I looked at Roman “See, easy as pie.”
Bart arrived at 12:00 am on the dot. The buzzer at the front door chimed alerting me of his arrival. Roman hid out in his bedroom to give Bart the illusion we were alone so I could work my magic. Bart couldn’t resist me, so I didn’t see there being any problems.
Making a quick stop at the mirror by the front door, I gave my hair an extra fluff, swiped some clear lip-gloss on my plump lips, and smoothed my short black skirt before opening the door.
Bart stood in the doorway with his eyes huge as though I had risen from the dead – which technically he wasn’t wrong. He nervously walked in looking around and taking in his unfamiliar surroundings.
“Wow, nice place you have here. When did you move?”
He followed me into the kitchen as I poured us some wine. “Eh, a while ago. I needed a change of scenery after my little episode. I have kind of been MIA to keep myself out of the spotlight for a bit.”
He looked down sheepishly and walked over to me taking my face in his hands. “Holland, I didn’t know what to do when you overdosed. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you, but once they took you away in the ambulance, I was told you died. Had I known you pulled through I would have been here sooner. Your death was in the tabloids for weeks.”
I put my fingers to his lips silencing him. “Lots of rich people leave the spotlight for a bit, and you know tabloids, they pull shit out of their asses to make for a great story. Let’s not talk about the past; let’s talk about right now and what you want to do now that you are here with me.”
He shuddered when I kissed him, turning to putty in my hands. He picked me up, putting me on the counter, and moved his body in between my legs.
“I’ve missed being with you and feeling every part of your body against mine. When I heard you died, I would have done anything to bring you back.”
Normally I would have been so unbelievably turned on being alone with Bartholomew James, but something felt off tonight. I would have much rather been spending the evening on the couch with Roman and seeing just how good that demon's lips would feel on mine. But I had a job to do because I wasn’t going to waste any time or chance Lucifer reneging on his deal.
“You would have done anything to bring me back?”
“Yes, anything I could have done, I would have. I couldn't get over the fact that I had lost you, and my wife didn’t understand what was wrong with me. I obviously couldn’t tell her so I dealt with it alone and with a lot of alcohol. Why didn’t you call me, Holland? Even your parents said you were dead.”
“I had my own...issues...to deal with. I had to get away from humanity for a short time.”
I felt a weird sensation come over my body and it suddenly felt as though there was a power inside of me waiting to be released.
“You should have called me and I would have helped you with whatever it was you were going through. I would do anything for you, Holland. You know that.”
“Would you follow me to Hell?”
“If that’s what it took then yes.”
With those words I felt the power expel through my fingertips and I placed my hand on his forehead. “I’ll see you soon, Bart.”
A thick black mist rose from the ground swallowing his body inside it, muffling his screams. I watched in shock as he reached his arms out of the blackness that engulfed him, trying to grasp on to me. Once the mist disappeared...so did Bart.
“What the fuck was that?” I yelled out.
Roman had come from his room and was now in the living room looking at the pile of black ash on the ground in front of me.
“Congratulations, that was your first soul dragged to Hell.”
“Holy shit! I didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.”
“All you have to do is get the agreement from them to follow you to Hell, Lucifer’s demons take care of the rest.”
“Shit, this may not be as hard as I thought then. Do you think one soul a day is sufficient? I have a whole slew of rich dickheads I’d love to have follow close behind Bart.”
He laughed. “I don’t think Lucifer has a set amount in mind; I believe he took you up on your offer to get you out of his hair. He has to have some sort of fondness for you though to not punish you for making a fuss.”
“Probably because my dad offered me to him before I was born.”
He looked at me unsure if I was serious or making a joke.
“Alright then, one soul down for my first day so let’s have a drink.” I poured us a glass of wine, toasting to my first damned soul success.
CHAPTER 5
We had been on earth for a month and I had already sent at least twenty plus men to Hell to add to Lucifer’s ever-growing army of darkness. It was such an easy job with a little flirting, promises of sex (sometimes following through with it), and getting them so sexually frustrated and obsessed that they agreed to follow me to Hell with whatever extra seductive powers I had been given to get the job done and sealed.
I had a guy lined up for that evening, but it ended up being a waste of time and I wasn’t going to sleep with him without his soul going to Hell, so I headed home for the rest of the night. I would try again with a new victim tomorrow.
The apartment was dark when I got home except for the dim light flickering from the fire that was crackling in the fireplace. Roman sat shirtless on the plush white leather couch with his legs kicked up on the coffee table, reading a book and unaware I had crashed his night of leisure. I tossed my leather jacket on the counter to alert him I was home so I didn’t startle him.