“Hi.” I smiled and leaned closer to her. She smelt like roses.

Her fingers brushed against mine. “What would you like tonight?” she asked, leaning over to give me a clear view of her cleavage.

“Heaven,” Eros said, shaking his head. He lifted his finger, telling her to stand. “Don’t seduce her.”

Unlike the previous waiter, she nodded respectfully at Eros and took our drink orders. We both asked for Passion Delights—because I didn’t care about winning or losing any game anymore—but she only returned with one for Eros. Passion Delights were only reserved for a select few people, and by people she definitely meant demons.

I watched her retreat to the bar, then gazed at Eros. “What’s so special about Passion Delights?”

He sipped it, then inhaled deeply. “They give incubus or succubus demons a kick.”

“A kick?”

“It makes them more sensitive to someone’s arousal.”

My cheeks flushed, and I sipped on my plain water. “So, if I was aroused right now, you’d know?”

“I can always tell when you’re aroused.” He tapped his ring on the glass, making it clank.

“You can?”

He chuckled and sat back, gazing at the bar. “I could tell that our waitress turned you on.”

I gulped and glanced at her. Her blonde curls bounced on her shoulders as she walked back and forth behind the bar, pouring sex-crazed demons more Passion Delights. For a moment, her eyes met mine, and I dug my nails into Eros’s thigh. “She’s attractive, but that doesn’t mean she arouses me.”

He trailed a finger down my cheek. “So, given the chance, you wouldn’t want to fuck her?”

My eyes widened at the thought. “No, I’m dating you.”

Eros smirked. “That’s not what I asked,” he said. I took a long sip of my water. Was it getting hot in here or was it just me? Eros sat back. “If we weren’t together and you met her at a bar, would you go home with her?”

I pursed my lips. “Come on, Eros. I don’t sleep around with people I meet one time.”

“Look at you, getting so defensive over it.”

“I’m not getting defensive over it.”

Eros leaned closer to me, his fingers slipping under my dress. “You’re wet just thinking about it.”

I pushed his hand away, cheeks flushing. Damn him. Why did he always have to put me on the spot? Didn’t he know that I was an anxious mess all the time? I cleared my throat and tried to push away the thoughts of the waitress. “So, the other night when you ordered a Passion Delight, did you intend on losing the game?”

He shrugged as if losing meant nothing to him. “I knew I wasn’t going to be able to resist you for much longer.” He curled a finger around my hair. “You don’t even have to try. It comes so naturally to you.”

I snorted. Hell, no. I had to learn the tricks from Kasey, had to repeat them hundreds of times so I wouldn’t forget them.

Eros chuckled and leaned closer to me. “But, let’s be clear, I did not lose.”

I playfully slapped him on the chest. “What? I totally beat you at your own damn game. Admit it.”

He took another sip of his Passion Delight and shook his head. “I will not. I had you curled around my finger since the day I met you.”

Well, there was no denying that one. He hooked me on cinnamon like an addict. I smiled, thinking back to that Sunday morning. I was so naïve, thinking I could ever resist someone like him for the rest of my life.

I brushed my fingers over his ring. “You could haunt anyone,” I said. “Why did you choose me?”

“First, demons don’t haunt people. We’re not ghosts,” he said, eyes cloudy.

I smiled. “Sorry—possess then.”

“Second, you chose me.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Come on. You don’t think other demons haven’t tried to possess you before me?”

I clutched Mom’s pendant. Other demons? Like Javier or even Kasey? My nose wrinkled. “I don’t remember the others.”

“That’s because you didn’t let them possess you.” He leaned forward onto his elbows, ring shining under the dim table light. “In order to be possessed—in order for a demon to take full control of your body and your emotions—you have to agree to it.”

“Who would willingly be possessed?”

“You.” He chuckled and ran a hand across my back. “You wanted me to make you cum, so you told me that you wanted me. You gave me possession of you.”

“Sneaky,” I said, nodding. “That’s how you did it.”

“That’s not sneaky compared to most. If you didn’t like something, other demons wouldn’t care. They would’ve continued using your body for their needs,” he said. I gazed around at the other demons in the bar, lingering on the male waiter. He seemed like one of those types. Using people until he didn’t need them anymore. Hell, Javier was that type—using Trevon for his own needs, letting him become a damn demon, throwing him out when he was finished.

“So”—I glided my finger across his ring, watching a streak of red follow my finger on its black canvas—“if I didn’t want to do anything with you or if I wanted you to stop, you would?” I asked, and he nodded. “How do I know you’ll stop?”

“If you don’t like something, say heaven and I’ll stop.”

“Heaven,” I whispered to myself. The word sounded bittersweet—like the past few weeks of sinning had sealed my fate for an eternity in Hell, but Mom was standing up in the clouds, calling my name for me to come home someday.

The candle between Eros and I flickered against his glass, and I smiled—thinking back to the times when Mom used to drink red wine while we binge-watched cartoons on Tuesday nights in the living room. My five-year-old self would always inch close to her, bat my lashes, and ask for one tiny little sip. Desperately wanting to know what the big deal was about those fancy cups and the sour smelling happy juice inside of them.

Eros pushed his Passion Delight in my direction. “You’ve been eyeing it all night.”

My eyes widened. “Really?”

He chuckled. “One sip.”

I gazed around to make sure nobody was watching, then took a larger-than-intended sip. It burned the back of my throat, the sourness making my nose wrinkle. “This is gross.” I placed the glass on the table and pushed it back to him. “I don’t know how you get a kick out of that.”

“It’ll hit you,” he said, standing. He grabbed my hand, tossed some type of paper money—Joss he called it—onto the table, and led me out of The Lounge. Instead of taking the route back to the car, we walked along the sidewalk, watching small snowflakes melt on the ground.

A bus pulled up to the corner of Sixth and Penn, and Eros grabbed my hand, pulling me towards it. “Come on. Let’s go somewhere.”

“Where? Are we just leaving the car her—”

“Trust me, Dani,” he said, tugging me along before the bus pulled away. “We’ll come back for the car later.”

The bus was crowded even for a Friday night. Eros guided me to the back, near the last pair of exit doors, and I held onto the handrail as the bus lurched forward. “Where are we going?” I asked again.

Eros stood behind me, one hand on the handrail beside mine, the other on my shoulder. “Patience,” he said. I sighed and gazed out of the window, watching Dr. U’s office building whizz by us. We were headed outbound toward the Liberty Bridge.

The bus stopped a few more times, letting more people on. Eros tapped his fingers on my shoulder, his breath on my neck.

“Shouldn’t you be watching for the stop?” I asked. “And not me?”

He chuckled and pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “We’re not getting off at a stop.”

“Then where are we—” I grasped the rail tighter, my core suddenly tightening and pulsing quickly. What the—

“You okay?” Eros asked in my ear. His fingers were trailing down my sides.

That drink, that damn drink was doing this. And Eros knew it would. I took a deep breath, trying to suppress my growing excitement.