"Yes."

"Baiting you."

"Yes."

Angel cleared her throat. "His soul was clean, my Lord. She had no authority to claim him."

As Daun pondered that, I threw in, "And then there's Alecto..."

At the Fury's name, Daun hissed, and Angel murmured a prayer. Oops. Very few creatures blithely speak the name of an Erinyes. Being friends with Meg for so long must have burned away that automatic reaction of avoiding all things Fury. Yet another thing for me to hold against her.

Meg, you stupid thing, why did you submit to the King of h.e.l.l? What is He doing to you?

Angel's voice cut through my despair. "What on Earth does the Erinyes want with you?"

"Nothing on Earth." I told them about Alecto's visit, how she'd given me time to consider her request, how hours ago she'd practically begged me to return to the Abyss. When I finished, Daun shook his head as he chortled. "You gave the b.i.t.c.h the boot, eh? Good for you, Jezzie. You've got b.a.l.l.s."

Now. Now, while his mood is good, and he's impressed with me.

"b.o.o.bs, not b.a.l.l.s," I said. "And I've changed my mind. I'm going to h.e.l.l. I'm going to help Meg."

Daun's laughter shriveled and died.

"And I'm going to save Paul."

By the sofa, Angel muttered something under her breath.

"And then I'm going to march up to the King of h.e.l.l and tell Him to leave me and mine alone." Here we go. To Daun I said, "But to do this, I need you to seduce me and kill me, so you can lead my soul to h.e.l.l. And," I said to the angel, "I need you to do the Snow White thing to my body, so I'll be able to return when I'm done."

Daun glanced at the sofa, and I could feel him and the angel exchanging a look. You know it's got to be bad when a celestial and an infernal share the same thought.

"Definitely insane," Angel said.

The demon nodded. His eyes shone as he regarded me, his finger tracing a line over my jaw. Beneath him, I lay on my back, waiting for his reaction. I wished I could rip off my shirt and jiggle my t.i.ts to encourage him, but his elbows still pinned my shoulders.

"So," Daun said, rubbing his shaft against my belly, "I want to be sure I understand this. You want me to kill you so that I can take your soul to h.e.l.l?"

"Right."

"I'll seduce you, and you won't fight me? You'll kiss me willingly, let me f.u.c.k you? You'll surrender completely?"

"Yup."

"And all so that you can go to h.e.l.l?"

"Exactly."

He grinned, showing a mouthful of fangs that would have made any momma shark proud. "Sounds like a win-win to me."

"Jesse Harris, your plan makes no sense." I heard the adorable pout on Angel's lips, even if I couldn't see it. b.i.t.c.h. "Even if you were to go to h.e.l.l, how would you save your lover and your... friend? How would you return?"

On my left wrist, the Rope of Hecate rested. I felt its weight even as I felt Daun dry humping me. The Hecate knows much, Caitlin had said. Nothing is hidden from Her. Maybe the bracelet was just gold, and I was making a huge mistake. Maybe not. Was I willing to bet my soul on it?

My answer was lying dead on the sofa.

I said to Angel, "I have an idea about the return part."

"An idea ... ?"

"As for the rest, I'll figure it out. Bless it all, this is something I have to do. Don't you get that? They've taken Paul. They've taken Meg. I mean to get them back. Which is why," I said to Daun, "I need you to promise me that when we're in h.e.l.l, you'll cut me loose. Swear that you'll sever the soul bond."

A bemused smile played on his lips. "And why would I do that?"

"Unless you're planning on helping me, it's going to be hard to make with the rescue mission if I'm tied to you."

"Hmm. I'll have to think about it. After all, we have time."

I glanced at the sofa, at Paul's arm dangling lifelessly. "No, we don't."

"We do. But him? You're right about that. He's slowly rotting. That's what happens when meat pie goes bad. It rots."

b.a.s.t.a.r.d.

Daun's eyes sparkled with wicked thoughts. "Your decaying meat aside, if you want me to do you properly, it's going to take time. Incubi aren't about the wham, bam, thank you ma'am. It takes time to do it right."

I bit my lip, bringing a splash of pain and blood to my mouth. Bless me, he was right. I was still thinking like a succubus. Female Seducers had one chance to approach their clients, give them the ride of their life, then whisk their souls down to h.e.l.l. Quick (relatively speaking), fun, and, unless the client was into masochism, completely painless.

But the incubi worked differently. Every succubus fresh out of Seduction 101 knows this. Like their female counterparts, the male Seducers had one chance to lure a mortal, trick her into offering him a kiss. But there the similarity ended. Once a human willingly kissed an incubus, game over-she was his, completely, in mind and body. And once she called his name while under his power, her soul was his as well.

From there, the incubus stretched his seduction to last for days, even weeks, giving his entranced lover undivided attention as he saved his own hunger for their final bout between the sheets. With every encounter, the human grew more dependent on the demon until she lived only to be loved by him. And every s.e.xual act stripped her more and more of her energy, her very life force, until she was a sh.e.l.l of who she'd been. And only then, when the female was on the brink of death, her demon lover would come to her and love her and kill her.

Mars and Venus, Seducer-style.

It had nothing to do with a difference in technique. An incubus's sperm acts like a cancer in a mortal woman's body, ravaging her from the inside. It's immediate, effective, and incredibly brutal. The Marquis de Sade would have given his left nut to learn how to mimic even a tenth of the torture caused by an incubus's s.p.u.n.k. The male Seducers see their prolonged seductions as a gift to their clients-instead of ending such intense pleasure with unbearable suffering, they slowly leech a client's sustenance until she can't feel the agony of their consummation. Then, already beyond the ability to feel pain, the client dies with the incubus's c.u.m scorching her thighs.

And then she goes to h.e.l.l.

I didn't have time for standard incubus operating procedure. But Daun, being who he was, would insist. Therefore, I had to p.i.s.s him off enough to do what I wanted, but not enough so that he walked away completely. A finely honed skill. Luckily, I'd had a few millennia to practice.

"A talented demon like you can't bring me to o.r.g.a.s.m in one sitting?" I smiled sweetly. "You must be getting old."

He leaned in close, stopping only when his mouth was inches from my own. "You think so little of me. Perhaps I should just leave you with your empty flesh puppet."

s.h.i.t.

"Ah, look at that. Such pain in your eyes. You wear it so very well." He grinned. "Fine. I'll do you in one session. I'll enjoy watching the agony eat you alive."

I felt the blood drain from my face. What's a little mind-numbing torture? I was getting what I wanted. Yay me.

"Do you really think he's going to do as you ask?" The angel's voice brimmed with disbelief. "That he's going to release your bond to him once you're in the Underworld? He's a demon, Jesse Harris. He won't help you. It's not in his nature."

The scorpion will always sting, King Lucifer said, his mournful voice replaying in my mind. That's its nature.

Daun chuckled. "Ye of little faith. Here, I'll even swear it on my name." A lazy smile playing on his face, he said, "I, Daunuan, do swear to release your soul when we are in h.e.l.l. Agreed?"

Too easy. But what other choice did I have? I wasn't exactly in the position to ask him to put it in writing. "Agreed."

He leaned down and kissed me, his saliva mingling with my own, the blood on my lip sealing the compact. The barest flick of his tongue on mine, then he pulled away. "Done."

One down. "What do you say, Angel? Will you help me?"

A pause before she answered. "I do not sanction this, Jesse Harris. What you wish to do is suicidal at best, and will probably d.a.m.n you to an eternity in h.e.l.l."

"I like to live dangerously."

"This has nothing to do about living." She sighed, vexed. "But what your former Queen did was wrong. The rules are there for a reason. Your desire to save your lover is n.o.ble, Jesse Harris." Another pause, longer this time, before she said, "For this reason, I will aid you."

My eyes closed as I released a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding. This could work.

This would work.

"Well now, babes," Daun said, his breath hot on my neck, "shall we begin?"

He sat up, his hands locked onto my shoulders, his hips over mine. An impish grin lit his face as his gaze crawled over my prostrate form. "So many ways to start," he purred. "I'm giddy with antic.i.p.ation. The things I'm going to do to you, Jesse Harris." He leaned down, whispered in my ear, "I'm going to show you what love really is." He punctuated that with a flick of his tongue on my lobe.

Hooboy.

At least I'd die with a big, fat smile on my lips.

Like Paul did.

"My Lord," the angel said, clearly uneasy, "perhaps you would care to use the bedroom? I believe that's the designated area for copulation."

"Here's good. Besides, I want you to watch." He winked at her. "Maybe learn a thing or two."

I didn't have to see the angel to feel her blush.

"Now." Daun's hand cupped my cheek, then trailed down my jaw, my neck, my chest. His fingers flowed around the swell of my left breast, pausing to gently squeeze the mound of flesh as if testing for ripeness. He slowly rubbed his thumb over my erect nipple, sending delicious shocks down to my groin. "Let's get these clothes off of you."

Beneath his hand, smoke wafted. The smell of burning cotton p.r.i.c.ked my nostrils. "What're you-"

My shirt and bra burst into flame.

f.u.c.k! I swatted madly at the fire, but before the heat touched my skin, the clothing flaked away. Cold air enveloped my exposed upper body, peppering my flesh with gooseb.u.mps. I didn't know if that was from the quick temperature change or from the momentary horror I'd felt when I thought I was going to burn alive.

Daun's eyes twinkled. "I keep forgetting how s.e.xy you are when you're terrified."

"You know, sweetie," I said, my voice a high-pitched squeak, "this isn't exactly getting me in the mood."

"No? Fear used to get your sweet spots."

"That was when I didn't have to worry about spontaneous combustion."

"Hmm. Point taken. Let me kiss it, make it all better." He leaned down and took my nipple into his mouth. My breathing quickened as his tongue lapped at the nubbin of flesh, stroked it with wetness before he sucked. Groaning, I thrust my chest up, pushed myself deeper into his mouth. His fangs grazed the sensitive k.n.o.b, and I gasped from the tiny flare of pain.

He broke suction to kiss the underswell of my breast. "You're about to combust again."

"Huh?"

My jeans caught fire. This time I felt the heat on me, in me, before the denim magicked away, taking my underwear and stockings with it.

"Don't you dare burn my boots," I said, my voice thick. "These are Jimmy Choos."

He paused. "I'm about to seduce you and kill you, and you're worried about your boots? I swear, for a creature four thousand years old, you are such a girl..."

"Girl, nothing. They cost me over seven hundred dollars."

"Fine," he said, "you take them off. I'm busy anyway." He attacked my other breast, and as I writhed beneath him, I slid my legs up and unzipped my boots, then kicked them off.

Mission accomplished. "I'm good."

"You are? Let's see."

Daun kissed down my belly, around the dark triangle of my pubic hair, spreading my legs apart to kiss my inner thigh. Eeee. If I had still been wearing panties, they would have been soaked.

"Yes," he whispered. "You're very good..."

My s.e.x throbbed, demanded to be touched. I grabbed his hair and directed him up to my crotch. His tongue darted against my inner fold, searched for the magic spot-yes, there!

I bucked against him, my head rocking from side to side as a quivering wave of pleasure rolled over me, cresting...

... until I saw Angel watching, fascinated, as Daun ate me. Next to her, Paul's lifeless form sprawled, his chest unmoving beneath her hand.

Paul. My poor Paul. He's lying there dead, and here I am, about to experience the ultimate big-O o.r.g.a.s.m.

The wave pulled back, rippled away into nothing, but I barely noticed as I stared at Paul's hand, dangling off the sofa. Paul, I swear to you, I'm not betraying you. I'm going to h.e.l.l to save you, love. What's happening now, that's just how I'm going to get there.

It means nothing to me.

Daun's la.s.ses stopped. "Babes? What happened?"

I heard his words, but they washed over me as I silently told Paul again that s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g Daun meant nothing. I love you, Paul.

Please don't look.

"Oh," Daun said. "Never mind. I get it."

I turned back to face Daun, who was straddled over my hips, watching me. I said, "Get what?"