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“I’ll go pet that cute little dog.” MF headed to the front of the store.
Yes, you do that. She’d soon find herself with a splitting headache and a craving for chocolate—the result of having one’s endorphins leached from their body.
Damien stared at Cimil expectantly, aware that he had to hold his ground but tread carefully. Cimil was not known for being a kind goddess, and she got downright nasty when she didn’t get her way.
“I didn’t come here just because of your background, Greystone. I know about your curse.”
How had Cimil found out? He thought no one knew except for himself and the woman who’d cast it. “All right. And?”
“Andit wasn’t your fault, you know.Shemade her choices. Which is why if you do this one favor for me, I’ll help you end the curse.”
Damien did not want to discuss “her” or what had led to his curse. It wasn’t anyone’s business but his own.
Besides, he knew Cimil was full of shit. He’d spent years researching his curse. There was no cure, and even if there were, he deserved his fate: immortality. But not the fun kind. Watching the world move on while he remained alone, frozen for all eternity, was maddening.
“Well,” he said, “I thank you for the offer, but I am not interested, so I will politely decline. May I interest you in a new pair of lederhosen while you are here?” He hoped this would distract her.
“No. I have fifty pairs already, and my hubby, Roberto, banned me from adding more to my collection. Closet’s getting full. You know, with all the shoes, dresses, and people-pets I have shoved in there.”
People-pets?He cocked a brow. “A shame.”
“Well, marriage is like life: it’s all about compromise. Which is why you’ll do as I say.”
“That is not a compromise.”
“Isn’t it?” Cimil folded her camo-covered arms. “I agree not to send you to the Underworld, where Minky my unicorn will use you like a blow-up sex doll in the pokey-pokey room, and in exchange, you will find out how to bring back all the immortals who were banished from Earth in the blast.”
Pokey-pokey room?That sounded unpleasant. Especially because he suspected he would not be doing the poking.
She added, “And before you give me another one of your excuses, Greystone, I know about the demon.” She flashed a cold smile. “Take the job, or I’ll tell my brethren you’ve been breaking our no-demon rule.”
Fuck.He dropped his head, forcing himself to maintain his gentlemanly façade. There was no use fighting her now. She had him by the cufflinks.
“I will do this favor, Cimil; however, I want something in return. I want you to find a mate for Bonbon.” Cimil and her brother Zac, the God of Temptation, used to run a dating agency for immortals. They weren’t particularly good at it, but Cimil had a way of making things happen.
“You don’t want your curse broken?” Cimil asked. “I think evenshewould have forgiven you by now. Maybe you should try the same.”
Maybe you should butt the hell out of my life.“Bonbon is getting quite old, and I would hate to see him live out his final years in my shop. Also, he pisses on the floor. And wants to be held all the time.” Not really Damien’s cup of tea.
“You are one complicatedhombre, D-Man, but okay. It’s a deal.”
They shook hands.
“Where would you like me to start?” he asked.
“I would say start with you, but I already know why you were unaffected by the blast. So start with the demon. Nothing happened to him. Why?”
Damien wanted to ask why his curse hadn’t been affected, but Cimil never did anything for free, including giving information.Always strings. Always.
“Bonbon won’t be of much use,” Damien pointed out. “His faculties aren’t what they used to be.” In fact, some days, Bonbon actually believed he was a Chihuahua. Other days? A race car driver. Damien always had to keep his car keys out of reach.
“If you say so,” replied Cimil skeptically. “Then your first stop will be visiting a woman who claims she was assaulted by a tiny, winged creature. Apparently, it tried to crawl up her privates while she was trying on swimwear at a mall.”
A sex fairy?
Cimil continued, “Go find the woman, and see if she was telling the truth. If yes, maybe you can track down this naughty little winged perv. It could be the key to getting our immortals back.”
He highly doubted that was possible. If what Cimil said was true, that a unicorn and hellhound getting frisky caused a blast that spanned the globe, the energy had to have been immense. A supernatural nuclear bomb. There was no coming back from such a powerful force, in his opinion.
