Chapter 30

Julia

Both Mel and Evie had tried to talk me out of it. They’d each said I was crazy for even considering something of this magnitude. Each had argued I’d soon regret my decision. Not one to easily give up, I’d insisted the familiars would all be fine. How much trouble could four familiars get into? Both Sam and Oliver knew the rules of the office, and they could surely convince their friends to behave. I’d been horribly mistaken.

In my defense, this had been the first time Oliver had gotten along with Sam, and he’d even made friends with the irritable Jezebel. When he’d pleaded for more time, I’d been unable to say no to his adorable puppy-dog eyes. Things had been quiet in the conference room where the familiars were sequestered a mere ten minutes before the first crash echoed throughout the offices. Even down the hall in my office, I could hear more crashes accompanied by Oliver’s howl.

Excusing myself from my clients, I raced into the conference room just behind Gryph. Allie was having lunch with Dylan at his office. I immediately realized what had gone wrong, and I groaned for not having checked the bag Mel had packed for Mr. Whiskers. Scurrying around the conference room were those horrid enchanted bunny slippers. The slippers were also chirping and hissing at the familiars who were trying to catch them.

I tried to shut the door, but I was too slow. One slipper bounced out of the room with Jezebel hot on its trail. Gryph’s lips were twitching, a sign he wasn’t going to use his scary alpha werewolf voice to get the familiars under control. For all I knew, that only worked on Oliver, anyway. I quickly raced out after Jezebel as Sam darted around my feet to catch her. Based on the noise behind me, Gryph was trying to lift Mr. Whiskers off the ground to stop him from flapping his wings and knocking things over. The distraction gave the second slipper time to bounce out of the conference room with Oliver barking as he chased after it.

Thankfully, Persephone was out to lunch. I’m not sure she would have continued to work for us had she witnessed Jezebel sliding across her desk, scattering the contents onto the floor.

“Oliver!” Gryph barked out as he emerged from the conference room just behind Mr. Whiskers.

Oliver dropped to the ground immediately, but we still had two cats and a condor terrorizing the office. The elevator dinged and the doors opened. I froze and stared in shock at the two men who’d just walked in. Both were powerful creatures, not to be toyed with.

Lucifer was nearly Gryph’s height with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Dressed in a crisp black suit, his dark brown hair was pulled back from his angular face. When people talk about Lucifer being the most beautiful of the fallen angels, they really aren’t doing him justice. He was gorgeous, with full lips, crystalline blue eyes, and a neatly trimmed beard. It was difficult to stop myself from gawking at him—a normal reaction when faced with the Angel of Darkness.

Jezebel was the only one in the room who didn’t stop moving. Instead, she sidled up to the man at Lucifer’s left, purring until he picked her up. Rainer Vigil was not what anyone would describe as beautiful, but he was definitely striking. With harsh features and a five o’clock shadow, Rainer was just over six feet tall. His broad-shouldered frame was also encased in a black suit.

“Are you doing business with the mafia, Sass?” Gryph asked. Apparently, he wasn’t nearly as affected by our visitors.

Lucifer chuckled softly. “This is why I like werewolves so much, Rainer. Few recognize me. It’s refreshing.”

“I know who you are,” Gryph told him. “It was a joke.”

Lucifer’s lips twitched as he regarded Gryph. “Are you a Bliss employee?”

“He’s my bodyguard,” I began before realizing that made it sound like that’s all Gryph was to me. “We’re also dating.”

When I looked over, I caught Gryph’s slight smile.

“Good for you,” Rainer praised. “Too many witches get caught up in bullshit witch social rules. It’s nice to meet a witch with a brain in her head.”

Jezebel’s purring got louder, and her ears pressed back against her head as she regarded me, making me wonder if she didn’t want Rainer talking to me. That cat was strange.

Shaking myself out of my inner-musings, I reminded myself that I had a business to run. While I didn’t have them on my schedule, they could be here to employ Bliss for some purpose.

“Is there something I can help you with?” I asked with a pleasant smile.

“I was hoping you might be able to help me with a project,” Lucifer began.

“We’d love to help you set up a getaway sure to wow that special someone,” I said brightly.

“Sadly, I don’t have a special someone,” Lucifer replied with a sigh. “That’s what I’m hoping you can help me with. As I’m sure you already know, the preternatural community has no dating services. With yours and Alana’s unique talents, this might be a good area for you to delve into.”

“Why would you need help finding a date?” I practically gasped.

“I’m wondering that, too,” Gryph added. “In your position, I’d imagine you have no trouble finding willing demons.”

Lucifer shook his head. “I’m having trouble finding the right type of woman, a woman who’ll be a good influence on my daughter.”

“That’s not an area we’re interested in exploring,” I began as diplomatically as I could.

“I would be willing to pay well for your services,” Lucifer added.

“I’m sorry,” I told him. “It’s just too far outside what we normally do.”

Lucifer nodded before handing me a business card. “Please, let me know if you change your mind.”

I nodded and took the card.

“I’ll wait for you downstairs,” Lucifer told Rainer before stepping back into the elevator which just happened to open the moment he stepped in front of it. It seemed even the elevator was afraid of making Lucifer angry.

“Jezebel seems very fond of you,” I remarked, noting that Jezebel was the only familiar who’d abandoned her pursuit of the enchanted slippers. She seemed happy to bask in Rainer Vigil’s adoration.

“I’ve always had a knack for making Evangalina’s pussy purr,” Rainer replied in a dark tone. “Since Jezebel is here, I have to assume my witch is close by.”

His witch? My brain blanked when I heard those words. I knew Evie had avoided dating since college. I also knew she avoided all council meetings unless she was forced to attend. Even then, Mel had told me her sister asked for the list of attendees first and often found an excuse to miss the meeting after seeing the list. I suddenly understood why. It definitely sounded like Evie had been involved with Rainer at some point, and she’d been the one to end things.

Rainer wasn’t nearly as scary as Lucifer, so one could miss what a powerful predator he was when he stood by his employer. Alone, it was easy to see this wasn’t the type of man you wanted on your bad side.

“She’s not here,” I told him. “I’m watching the familiars.”

“When will she be back to collect Jezebel?” he asked in a smooth voice.

“Evie’s sister is picking up their familiars later today,” Gryph answered for me.

“Perhaps, I should take Jezebel for her,” Rainer mused with a smirk.

“No,” I replied. “I’m not sure what game you want to play with Evie, but I won’t let you take Jezebel with you.”

In response, Jezebel hissed at me with her claws on one paw extended.

“Easy, Jezebel,” Rainer soothed. “I’m not about to run off with Evangalina’s familiar. Just tell her I’d like to see her. She can either call me, or I can stop by her place.”

On those words, he put Jezebel down and headed to the elevator that also opened for him as soon as he stepped in front of it.

After the doors closed, Gryph blew out a whistle. “Damn, Sass. You might want to warn Evie about that Rainer guy. What did he mean about her being his witch? Were they a couple before?”

I shrugged. “I don’t really know Evie that well, but it seems that way. No, we have to be missing something. There’s no way Evie could have kept something this big from everyone. It was probably just a fling.” Not a wise choice for a fling, in my opinion.

“You’re probably right,” Gryph agreed. “That meeting was strange.”

“Yes, it was,” I agreed. “We’d better stop the familiars before they destroy the office.” When I turned to face Gryph, the expression on his face made me suck in a sharp breath.

“Not so fast, Sass,” he murmured as he reached out to pull me closer. “You just told the devil we’re dating.”

“Because we are,” I stated, but I knew what he was getting at.

“Thank you,” he uttered before leaning in to kiss me. His mouth moved against mine in a slow kiss. I could feel the tension radiating from Gryph. My magic immediately reached out to him, flowing along his body. He growled low in his throat at the contact and deepened the kiss. His tongue slipped past my lips to explore my mouth. I moaned as his hand settled on my hip, guiding me closer to his erection.

The chaos of the familiars and the enchanted bunny slippers faded into the background as our bodies pressed together. I couldn’t get close enough to him. Beneath the surface of Gryph the man, I sensed the wolf clawing his way toward me. Without thinking, I thrust my magic into Gryph, allowing it to slide along his wolf side.

“Excuse me.” My client’s nasally voice cut through the haze of magic and lust. I couldn’t believe I’d actually forgotten I was working with clients.

“I’m so sorry,” I began when Gryph released me so I could pull away.

“Please, don’t apologize,” the iridescent blue demon with the sparkling horn at the front of her head said. “I can see why you got distracted. That’s exactly what we want.”

“What is?” I asked.

“That kind of passion,” she clarified. “We want to feel that deep connection of both love and lust.”

Clearing my throat, I stepped away from Gryph just as the elevator opened and Allie entered the lobby. With one raised eyebrow, she looked around before asking, “Bunny slippers?”

“You got it,” I confirmed.

She nodded. “I’ll help Gryph gather up the kids while you finish with your client.”

“Thank you,” I told her before turning back to my client with a shaky smile. “Shall we head back to my office?”

The demon nodded before casting one last wistful glance Gryph’s way. “I’ll bet he tastes delicious.”

With some types of demons, I might have assumed she meant that in a sexual way, but not this one.

“You know our rules,” I reminded her.

“I know,” she said with a sigh. “No eating werewolves or lesser demons at your office or during any of the fantasies you create for us. Such a pity.”