LITMIR.BIZ

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a moment, he hesitated, and I thought he’d be honest. But something scared him off, and in a flash, his pompous, egotistical incubus was back. “I regret nothing.” He smiled lasciviously. “Now, let’s get back to the reason you called me here.”

      I was about to argue that I wasn’t the one who’d called him, but when he moved closer, the words died in my mouth. He smelled delicious, and my fingertips tingled at the prospect of running them down his chest. What difference did it make if William and I weren’t a couple? I’d had a hell of a night, and if a little fun could take the edge off my sorrows, then who was I to hold back?

      “Well?” he asked.

      Instead of replying, I kissed him. He immediately drew me into his arms, and kissed me back with an urgency that made my heart race. When I murmured approval, he stood and gently tugged my hand, leading me into the bedroom. We laid down on the bed, and he slid my shirt up over my stomach, feathering kisses along the waistband of my shorts. Groaning, I ran my fingers through his thick hair.

      This was a good idea, I told my succubus. Nice job.

      William unfastened the button on my shorts with one hand and traced the other up and down the inside of my thigh, making the muscles in my lower belly clench.

      “Now, isn’t this better than wallowing?” he murmured.

      It certainly was. My back arched when his fingers found the delicious spot between my legs. A night of passion was just what the doctor ordered.

      But what about the morning after, my conscience asked.

      Stop it, I scolded. Don’t overthink this.

      That’s what you said when you seduced Tommy, it reminded me.

      At the thought of Tommy, the pleasantly fuzzy feeling from the alcohol sharpened into common sense. I clenched William’s hair in my fists, yanking it tight.

      “Ow!” He lifted his head and rubbed his scalp. “What was that for?”

      “Sorry.” My mind was spinning, but not because of the alcohol. I did want sex with William. More than anything. Then again, sex would never be a panacea. Not for me at any rate. I needed a deeper kind of intimacy.

      “William?”

      “Hmm?” He’d gone back to his lovemaking by kissing my lower jaw, the stubble on his chin a pleasant friction.

      “How do you do it?”

      “Do what?”

      “Live without regrets.”

      He moved away and propped himself up on an elbow. “Do you want to talk or make love?”

      “Both.”

      “Well then, let’s start with the second and move on to the first.”

      I pushed him away. “Just tell me how you do it.”

      “I’m the perfect incubus, Lilith. I simply know how to keep myself under control at all times.”

      I didn’t believe it. “What about when you first started?” I pressed. “Did you make any mistakes then?”

      Again, pain flashed in his dark eyes, but he laughed it off. “I was always a ladies’ man. I was seducing women long before I met Helen.”

      I believed it. He worked his job like he was born to it.

      He traced my lips with his finger. “Don’t worry, Lilith. You’ll learn eventually. It’s just that the learning curve is more difficult for women than for men.”

      I stiffened. “What do you mean by that?”

      He sighed. “Don’t let your twenty-first century sensibilities mislead you. It’s a known fact. Men are hardier than women.”

      “And by hardier, you mean…?”

      He rolled onto his back and ran his fingers through his already deliciously mussed-up hair. “Emotionally stronger, okay? More in control of themselves. Not slaves to their emotions.”

      I narrowed my eyes. “You’re on dangerous ground.” Once again, he was arrogant. Arrogant and proud of it!

      “Relax. Women have their virtues as well.” He leaned in for another kiss, but I pushed him away.

      “And what, pray tell, are a woman’s virtues?”

      His face reddened. “Did you call me here in order to argue?”

      I was about to tell him that I hadn’t called him at all when an otherworld shimmer of energy brought me up short. When Mr. Clerk called my name from the kitchen, William jumped off me like he’d been burned. I buttoned my shirt and fastened my shorts as footsteps came up the stairs. With a miserable look of disappointment, William disappeared through the otherworld doorway in my bedroom. When Mr. Clerk knocked on my bedroom door, I uttered a cheerful, “Come in.”

      That had been far too close for comfort. Not just because Mr. Clerk nearly caught us, but because I’d nearly done something I would have regretted.

       Chapter Five

      Surprisingly, Mr. Clerk didn’t look much better than I felt. Normally, he was impeccably groomed, but now his white T-shirt was badly wrinkled and there was a coffee stain on his pants.

      “Tough afternoon?” I asked.

      “You don’t know the half of it,” he said. “Helen won’t leave me alone. I haven’t seen her this worked up about a client in years.” He paused, thinking. “Make that decades.”

      “But you scheduled a new appointment?”

      He gave a tired smile. “Yes.”

      “Let me guess. That time would be now.” Going on an assignment was the last thing I wanted to do, but there was no way to avoid it. In the past six months, one simple rule governed my life: Always do what Miss Spry said.

      “Yes. And you’ll need to change.”

      “Something backless and sexy?” I asked. “With strappy sandals?”

      “No.” Like a magician performing a trick, Mr. Clerk reached behind him and pulled out a large white box topped with a shiny red bow. “I’ve brought you something else.”

      Presents always thrilled me. Especially presents wrapped as nicely as this. I tore off the bow and opened the box, expecting a lovely treat from one of my favorite designers. That’s not what I found. “Is this a joke?”

      “No joke.”

      I held up a pair of jean shorts so small that they might not have fitted Grace. “These aren’t my size.”

      His eyes sparkled. “They will be. Come with me, and I’ll show you something new.”

      Because Mr. Clerk claimed that I stank of booze, I showered while he sat on the toilet and shouted advice. I’d objected to him coming into the bathroom – “Boundaries,” I’d reminded him – but he’d rolled his eyes. “Lilith, I promise that you don’t interest me in the least.” Because I’d seen him fawning over William, I knew he wasn’t lying.

      “You’ve already approached your client looking like yourself, and if you show up in the same form, it will make him suspicious,” Mr. Clerk said. “You need to look different.”

      I stepped out of the shower, wrapped in a towel and dripping wet. “What do you want me to do?”

      “First,” he said, “I want to work on your height.”

      “My height?” I laughed. “You’re expecting me to grow taller?”

      “No. Shorter.” He looked completely serious. “How tall are you? Five five? Five six?”

      “Five

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