“Of course you don’t. But wouldn’t it be fun to have help?” He leaned toward her ever so slightly.
In the close space of the car, he smelled like cinnamon and smoke.
She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned awkwardly toward the driver’s side door. “Maybe,” she said, sweeping her hair off her back and pulling it over one shoulder.
He placed his hands lightly on her shoulders. His thumbs kneaded her shoulder blades as his fingertips pressed away the tension in the thick muscles of her shoulders.
Erin felt her shoulders come down from where she had been unconsciously holding them up. His touch really was quite fantastic, and the added heat of his hands melted the tightness away. She pushed away the strangeness of receiving a shoulder massage from a demon, and leaned back into his touch.
“See? I’m helping you already. A little TLC, and you’ll be right as rain and fighting fit, ready to give your ex-husband the humiliation he deserves.”
Erin bit her lip to stop a deep sigh from escaping. Slowly, she relaxed until her head tilted sideways onto the driver’s seat headrest. Her eyes drifted closed.
Andy continued massaging her shoulders thoroughly with exquisitely intuitive hands.
A knock at the window startled Erin so badly she jumped and banged her knee against the steering wheel.
A uniformed police officer stood next to the car, peering into the window at Erin and making a sign to roll down the window.
In a flash, Erin realized what she must have looked like: sick, drunk, or despondent, lolling sideways against the seat of the car with no one else in sight, considering the demon’s currently awkward state of invisibility. She rolled down the window.
“You all right, miss?” asked the officer. He leaned down and looked around the inside of the car, probably in hopes of spotting drug paraphernalia or an open container of alcohol.
“Oh, yes, officer. I was on my way home and I felt a little tired, so I stopped to rest for a minute. I’m fine. Really.” Erin opened her eyes wide and hoped that she looked alert, sober, and nonthreatening. She didn’t dare look behind her to see what Andy was up to.
Probably making bunny ears behind her head.
“You sure you don’t need a doctor or something?” The police officer looked genuinely concerned.
“Oh, no. Really. I’m fine.” She was repeating herself out of sheer nervousness.
“Okay, then. Take care, now. You have a good day.”
“You too, officer. Thank you.” She rolled up the window and faced forward.
Andy snickered.
“Shut up, demon,” Erin said as she turned the key in the ignition.
He patted her shoulder. “We’re getting into trouble already. Can’t you see? This is going to be great!”
Erin’s cheeks flamed as she turned back onto the main road.
“I am sorry I didn’t get to finish, though,” added Andy in a more thoughtful tone. “How about when we get home?”
“When ‘we’ get home? Who said you were staying at my house?”
“I won’t be a bother,” said the demon.
Erin gripped the steering wheel even tighter.
Andy relented. “I’m only teasing. I’ll stay out of your way. I’ll make the coffee. I’ll even do the washing up. Whatever you like. All the shoulder massages you can possibly handle. And we’ll make the best revenge plan ever, I promise.”
At the stoplight before her neighborhood, Erin turned to look at Andy.
He looked back at her with undisguised mischief in his eyes.
She returned her gaze to the red stoplight.
