I strode into the foyer, setting a load of packages on the marble floor and easily hefting a huge bunch of flowers into a nearby vase. I’d enjoyed making every purchase, imagining the look on Lilah’s face as she saw the exquisite jewels and beautiful clothing I’d chosen for her. Of course, she could shop wherever she chose, but I wanted to surprise her with a wealth of gifts.

Bartholomew appeared instantly, clucking with disapproval. “Master, I could have procured all this for you.” He began organizing the purchases.

“This was something I wanted to do myself.”

Bartholomew looked wounded, so I followed it with, “But next time you must come along and help me with the bags.”

Bartholomew perked up at the idea, and I clapped him on the back appreciatively. “What would I do without you?”

After smoothing Bartholomew’s ruffled feathers, I headed for the stairs. Treating Lilah like the priceless treasure she was felt so good I was grinning like a madman as I took the steps two at a time, a ruby and diamond necklace clutched in my hand. I would fasten it around her lovely neck, though she would put it to shame. The thought of her wearing the necklace and nothing else caused my heart to beat a little faster. The added thought of the necklace bouncing against her skin as she rode me had me quickening my pace.

She should be done with her newest chapter by now. Though the book was secondary to my true goal, I was keenly interested to see her progress. I wanted to see myself through her eyes, stripped down to my essential elements. I had hidden nothing from her, giving her access to my soul and telling her of my most wicked deed. But she had still seen fit to choose me above all others. And I hadn’t forgotten our deal: once she was finished, I got her for an entire night, to do with as I chose. I only hoped she was a fast typist.

The incubus lounged contentedly inside me, though I could sense it longed to see Lilah once more. Never before had I known it to return to a single female. The only way Corinne had become a mainstay was her ability to commune directly with my demon. She was a succubus bred of the Underworld. Not only inhabited by a demon, Corinne was the demon. She could give the incubus what it needed, like a mainline of energy plugged into the darkness inside me. But Lilah, she put even the succubus to shame. Lilah was awash in power, which was made manifest through her sexual desire. I was still charged from her but couldn’t get enough. Knew I would never get enough.

In truth, I had been afraid I would have to fight the incubus to return to her. But the incubus was just as pleased with her as I was. It was almost too good to be true. If I were the whistling sort, I would be tweeting like a lark. Instead, I sprinted down the hallway to her door. I expected to hear the tick tick tick of her adroit little fingers hitting the keys on her laptop, but instead there was silence.

I knew the room was empty before I even swung the door open. The furniture and closet were stripped of her meager belongings. Only her lovely scent lingered in the hollow room. I went to the bed and tossed the sheets aside before going through every one of the drawers. She’d left no trace. In her closet I found some everyday items, but nothing that was especially hers. When I realized her daggers were missing, I knew she was gone for good.

“She left hours ago.” Corinne’s voice grated on my ears. She had been lounging against the door frame, watching me search for any sign of Lilah.

“Where did she go?” I approached her with unbridled aggression. I would never harm a woman, but Corinne was a demon, one who would meet her death if she hurt Lilah.

“Don’t know. She packed her things and left. Good riddance. Now it’s just the two of us, like it should be.” She reached out to stroke my face.

I caught her hand and squeezed it roughly for emphasis. “There is no ‘us.’ Not anymore. And if I find out you are lying to me, you’ll wish for your death before I’m finished with you.”

Her eyes blazed. “You don’t mean that.”

My voice was as cold as the death I’d promised her. “Oh, I do. Now tell me where she is.”

Corinne huffed. “I told you, she left!”

Her voice was free of subterfuge, but I wasn’t sure she was answering truthfully. The incubus, however, sensed the demon’s sincerity and told me as much. I was relieved Corinne had done nothing to hurt Lilah but was still worried some harm had come to her.

“Come to my bed. It’s been so lonely without you.” Corinne placed my hand on her breast.

I pulled it away as if it burned. I couldn’t blame her for being a succubus, but it was time to part ways. Lilah was my future, no matter the consequences. I stroked Corinne’s blonde hair, though it nagged at me that it wasn’t soft and dark like Lilah’s. “I will provide for you, but you and I are no more.”

Corinne’s honey voice turned into a shriek of rage, and she stamped her spiked heel into the wooden floor. “You need me!”

“For a time, yes, I did.” I took a step back. “But I don’t need you any longer. And if you’re being honest, you don’t need me either.”

She flew at me, clawing my face and sinking her fangs into my shoulder. I didn’t want to hurt her, but every minute spent fighting her was a minute wasted when I could have been looking for Lilah.

I dislodged her and flung her onto the bed, but she was already on her feet, coming for me again.

“I know why she left.” Her tone was like a dagger to the heart. “She was disgusted by you.”

Corinne danced around just outside my reach, readying her next attack. But her voice was already causing damage. Corinne’s anger seeped into her tone, but her words had a sting all of their own. They were poison.

“She knew you were a demon, one who only wanted to use her up and throw her aside. Just like you’ve done thousands upon thousands of times. She left because she knows you for what you are. Once she found out, she ran. I guess she was smarter than I thought.”

Again, she rushed me, but this time I was ready. I caught her by the throat. It would have been easy to snap her neck, but instead I held her gaze with my own. “You and I are over. If you come near me or Lilah ever again, I’ll send you straight to Hades where you came from. I won’t hesitate.”

The fire went out of her eyes as she realized the seriousness of my words. She gasped, and a tear trickled down her face, the first I’d ever seen there. “Because of her?” Her voice was a dirge, and she dropped her arms to her sides, defeated.

“Yes.” I loosened my grip. “She’s mine.” As if that were explanation enough.

“Can’t you keep us both?” Her eyes were no longer lit with wrath, changing as quickly as a child’s whim. The tears now coming in earnest.

“I’m sorry.”

Corinne’s succubus had saved me from ruining countless lives, but I couldn’t allow her to ruin Lilah’s.

She stepped back from my hold, and I let her go. Without saying another word, she stalked out of the room and down the hall, slamming the door behind her.

“Women, right?” Apollo appeared in the doorway. He whistled the sound of a bomb dropping and exploding. “Looks like I’m going to need to go and uh, comfort Corinne again.” He sauntered off after her.

I turned back to my search, though I knew I would find nothing helpful in Lilah’s room. After one more fruitless effort, I bolted out the door, intent on finding Bartholomew. Luckily, the butler was already at the top of the stairs.

“Master, I was just looking for you. A—”

“Not now,” I silenced him. “Did you see Lilah leave? How long has she been gone?”

Bartholomew tapped his chin with his forefinger. “Ah, I believe she left only half an hour or so after you did. So that would be—”

“Six hours. Did she tell you where she went?”

“No. She did give me a kiss on the cheek, though.” His face flushed with the memory. “But then she wouldn’t let me help her with her bags, which as you know made me a little upset, but it—”

“Bartholomew, focus for me.” I placed my hands on the old butler’s frail shoulders. “Did she say anything or do anything that would give you any idea about where she went?”

“No, master, she didn’t say, and I don’t know.”

“Was she angry?”

“No, but she did seem…” Bartholomew appeared to be at war with himself on how to describe her. “She did seem a little sad.”

“Damnit!” I pounded my fist on the balustrade, shattering the wood into splinters.

Gone without a trace. But why? Corinne’s words came barreling through my mind—“She was disgusted by you.” Had Corinne been right? Had Lilah realized her night with me—the greatest night of my life—had been a mistake? Had I hurt her? Shame overtook me. Of course I hurt her. I hadn’t kept my demon at bay and must have frightened her or worse.

“Oh, gods.”

“Master?” Bartholomew asked, concern shading his tone.

“She ran from me the first chance she got.” I sank down onto the top step, cradling my head in my hands. “She only stayed because she gave her word…but I broke her.”

A chasm opened within my chest and the incubus wailed with pain at the thought of losing her. Find her!

But I wasn’t going to chase her if she had run from me. Couldn’t bear the thought of her fearing me. Though the gods knew I wanted to find her and make her see how much I loved her. I laughed bitterly. Love. Once something I thought as ephemeral as pixie dust had now grabbed hold of me so deeply I thought I might die of sorrow for the loss of it. Misery settled on me like a great weight, stifling any thought of happiness I’d had only moments ago.

“I disgust her.” I’d never felt such regret, not even after what happened to the innocent Delia.

Bartholomew patted me on the shoulder. “No, master, no more of that talk. It was clear she was taken with you.”

Though meant as a comfort, his words only sank me deeper into despair. Yes, she might have been attracted to me, but I’d killed any chance I’d had when she’d seen my true nature. And could I blame her?

I sat at the top of the steps for what felt like hours, running the last few days over and over again in my mind. Imagining her lovely feet on the stairs where I sat. She was born to be here with me, mistress of this chateau. Lost her.

Bartholomew cleared his throat; I’d forgotten he was even there. “Master, I hate to interrupt your…well, your-your thoughts, but I was trying to tell you earlier that you have a visitor.”

I couldn’t care less, even if it was Zeus himself sitting on my fainting couch. I lifted my head slightly and saw Bartholomew looking at me expectantly. No reason to make him suffer along with me. What was left of me humored him. “Who is it?”

“He said his matter was urgent. It’s a goblin, master. Named Cranfel.”