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She shakes her head. “No. I’ve never not gone back before. I’ve gone in to the office late plenty of times before, but I’ve never just gone… AWOL.”
My lips curl into a smirk as an idea forms in my mind. “Well… I’ve never been tied to a chair with Red Vines before or had a candy cane up my ass, but there’s a first time for everything.”
Faith lets out a small chuckle as she squeezes my hands tighter. “Fine. I’ll try it. But don’t put yourself in danger if they come knocking, okay? I don’t want you getting involved. The only thing that could make the Pit worse is being dragged to the Pit with the knowledge that something terrible happened to you.”
Ugh. I hate this. I hate this because she already knows me well enough to know that I would absolutely fight tooth and nail for her. Even if it’s against some crazy, twenty-foot demon with claws and razor teeth.
“Remember who’s in charge,” she whispers.
I lean over and press my forehead to hers, then close my eyes. “You,” I whisper back. “Always you.”
“Good boy,” she says, and then leans up to brush her lips against mine. It’s the best kiss I’ve ever had.
16
FAITH
Instead of wallowing in misery or keeping the shop open like I had planned, Byron takes me out for ice cream even though it’s freezing outside. So cold, in fact, it’s started to snow. We sit in companionable silence with our mugs of steaming coffee and pints of mint chocolate chip ice cream—his favorite, evidently—and watch as the snow trickles down from the heavens.
“Hey,” he says, finally breaking the silence between us.
I lick my spoon clean of the ice cream and delight in the pleasant tingle on my tongue, then lift my brow at him. “Mm?”
“Since Hell is real, and damned souls go there to be tormented for eternity, does that mean Heaven is also real?” he asks.
“Yes. Heaven is real. It’s not as nice as you may think, though,” I say. Byron predictably blinks in confusion. “Angels are annoying. They’re sanctimonious, have a bajillion eyeballs so making eye contact with them is impossible, and they tend to speak in cryptic poetry. Basically, they’re a nightmare, especially if you’re an introvert.”
Byron takes another spoonful of ice cream and seems to ponder my statement before saying, “You know any, personally?”
Ugh. I wish I didn’t. Every time we had a department-wide staff meeting, at least one or two angels are present with binders full of bullshit. Paperwork for us to go over. Souls that were wrongfully sent down the pipe and need reversing. Stuff like that. My eyes always glaze over during those meetings.
“Unfortunately, yes,” I say. “Now, can we please stop talking about Heaven and angels? It’s ruining the ice cream.”
Byron chuckles then slides his arm around my shoulder and pulls me in for a hug. When he kisses the top of my head, I shudder, and not from the chill of the dessert. “Yeah. Sorry. I was just curious. We have about ten hours left before we find out if you’re getting dragged back or not. How do you want to spend it?”
My lips curve into a playful smirk as he buries his nose in my hair. “I have a few ideas. Not sure you’ll like all of them, but…”
He tightens his grip on my shoulder and chuckles into my hair. “I’ll like them. There’s not much you could do to me at this point that I wouldn’t say yes to.”
“Okay,when I said all of that earlier? I might’ve been bluffing a bit,” Byron says as I fasten the massive red dildo around my front. “What is that thing even made of, anyway? Because knowing you, it’s not silicone.”
He’s got me there. I lick my finger and slide it along the length of the strap-on before sticking it into my mouth to taste test.
Popping my finger out of my mouth, I murmur, “Cherry gummy bear? Only it’s a gummy cock.”
Byron, cuffed to the bed by his wrists and ankles, lets out a groan. “You’ve got to be shitting me.”
I approach the bed slowly, then hop up onto the mattress and loom over him, dragging the tip of the strap-on gummy across his adorable backside. “No, sweet thing. We’re doing this correctly, so there will be no shitting, never you fear.”
He wriggles on the satin sheets and stares at me, fear and confusion plain as day on his face. “Okay, but let’s be real for half a second, Faith. That’s a food product. Is it even going to hold up once it meets my ass? Because the Red Vines didn’t fare so well.”
I bat my lashes and grab onto my tail, then use it to smack him across his taut abdomen. He flinches, but then he lets out a soft groan of approval as a red streak appears above his navel. “Yes. It will work. The licorice failed because I didn’t account for the food aspect of the ropes in my magic. Since then, I’ve perfected it. Now, I sense apprehension in you… but are you actually okay with this? Remember that you hold all the power here.”
While I swing my tail around in the air, Byron’s face twists from an expression of apprehension to genuine affection. For me. It’s like a kick to the heart whenever he smiles at me the way he does. He strains against his bonds, testing them.
“I thought you said you’re the one in charge?” he asks, arching an eyebrow.
I crawl over to his left wrist and check the rope, then tap it three times. It loosens on my command, and he lets out a soft sigh of relief.
