“He’s not feeding—at least, not enough. If this keeps up, he’ll starve to death. I know he can be a pain in the rear end at times, but nobody deserves to go that way.”
All of a sudden it felt as if a lead weight had settled in Mina’s stomach. A shaft of pain lanced through her chest and she rubbed at her breastbone, but this wasn’t something she could brush away.
She hung her head as she made a startling realization. Damn it to hell, she actually cared what happened to Jedd Madison. Worse, that teenage crush hadn’t died as she’d assumed. Her gut suddenly tightened and excitement fizzed through her veins at the thought of seeing Jedd again. Heat swamped her face and she kept her head down so her aunt wouldn’t see.
“Will you do this for me, Mina?
Without
fighting me?”
Mina dragged her hand through her hair, dislodging the pins that kept her unruly locks in a tight bun at the base of her skull. How in the name of all that was holy—or unholy, for that matter—could she coach
anyone
about dating? She couldn’t even handle her own love life—or lack thereof. And she sure as hell couldn’t stand the idea of Jedd making fun of her efforts if she screwed up. It had hurt enough when she was seventeen, had left her lacking in confidence when it came to the opposite sex. If it happened again…
“I’m not…” Mina struggled to find the right words to sway her aunt. “I’m sorry this is happening to Jedd, but I’m not equipped to do this. I just can’t.”
Luce arched one eyebrow as she stared at Mina. “I’m not asking you. I’m telling you.”
“Um, you just asked me.” Mina grimaced.
Oh shite, great way to rile Aunt Luce up
.
“Don’t be a smart-mouth. Just get the job done.”
With another one of those god-awful sonic booms, her aunt disappeared in a flash of light. Mina waved her hand in front of her face as she tried to clear away the smoke and the smell of sulfur. Just like her aunt… Always needing to have the last word.
“Goddammit!”
“I heard that,” a disembodied voice shouted. “Just get the job done.”
With a scowl, Mina sketched a half-assed salute to the smoky atmosphere. “Your wish is my command, Aunty Lucifer.”
* * * *
Jedd swore a blue streak as he dragged himself from the bed. Who the frick was pounding the crap out of his door at…?
He squinted and glared at the wall clock as he passed through the living room. “Shit, it’s not even seven o’clock. This had better be fucking good.”
With another inventive curse, he wrenched open the front door, prepared to give whomever this was a bollocking. Before he could say a word, someone—or something—slammed into the shinbone of his left leg.
“What the hell…” Dropping his gaze, he glared at the imp who stood there. “What the shit did you do that for?”
“And a good morning to you, too, oh sexy one,” the imp intoned, his deep, gravelly voice a surprise in one of such diminutive stature.
It was only then that Jedd realized the tiny demon in front of him sported the colors of Lucifer’s herald. The red and gold made him look like a clown from a circus, the type the kids went crazy over.
Jedd frowned. Nah, not this one. With that dark scowl on his face, and the pointy red horns sitting either side of the elf-style hat he had on, he was more likely to scare the kids to death.
He shook his head. Why was he thinking about that when there were more important issues, like…
“Brel-ez, you want to tell me why you’re getting your jollies kicking the shit out of my door at this ludicrous hour? Ever think that some people might like to sleep in on occasion?”
The imp glared right back at Jedd. “How else would I wake you up? You want I should knock with my itty-bitty fist? Think you’d hear it?”
He lifted one hand and demonstrated, punching out wildly with a clenched hand. Jedd saw the danger just moments before it connected. Given the demon’s head barely reached mid-thigh on Jedd, the blow smacked right into his genitals.
“Freakin’ bloody imp, you might be small, but you sure pack a hell of a wallop,” he wheezed, as he covered his jewels with his cupped hands. Shit, his balls felt as if they were about to explode, pain lancing through his nether regions. His breath hissed through clenched teeth and he squeezed his eyes tight and tried to ride it out.
“Oops.” The imp grinned, his eyes alight with glee. “Slight miscalculation there, I guess.”
Then the grin disappeared and the scowl returned as he reached out and grasped a handful of satin boxers—all Jedd had on. “Enough of this fooling around. Her Evil Holiness wants a word with you.”
Jedd tried to straighten up. “She hears you call her that and you’re in deep shit, little man.” He dragged in a breath and released it slowly as he finally made it upright. “And Her Evilness can wait a moment. I need to get some clothes on.”
He started to retreat into his apartment, but a new blast of pain hit him… Right in his already abused gonads. “Ahh, crap.”
The smell of sulfur, pungent and gagging, swamped him and all he could do was cradle his genitals again and try not to puke. Before he’d even managed to get his breath back, the hallway outside his apartment exploded with a ball of light. The world around him dimmed and the only thing Jedd was really conscious of was the pain in his testicles and the little imp clutching at the fabric of his boxers. Then it felt as if every molecule in his body had shattered.
Jedd’s journey ended in the blink of an eye. He found himself down on his knees, hands clutched between his thighs, nursing his balls. “Ahh, hell,” he groaned.
“Oh, definitely Hell, my dear, and it’s so nice of you to visit me.”
A pair of shapely calves and the highest heels Jedd had ever seen appeared in front of his slightly out of focus gaze. He blinked a few times and raised his head, following the line of those legs. “Couldn’t you at least have waited until I got dressed?” he muttered. “If I’m going to be dragged back here to Hell, I’d much prefer to be fully covered.”
“Hmm, I think
I
much prefer you this way.” Luce walked around him, trailing her very long, very crimson-painted nails festooned with yellow happy faces across his bare shoulders.
Jedd shuddered at her touch. This was a dangerous woman—one he wouldn’t want to cross. She might look like a kindly old lady, but this was one tough broad. And, damn it, he didn’t want to appear in any way weak in front of her.
Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself upright. Well, as upright as he could be while still holding onto his crown jewels. If he had to face Lord Lucifer, he’d rather do it on his feet.
He bit back a groan as a twinge of pain niggled between his thighs. Dragging in a sharp breath, he dropped his hands and stiffened his spine. Hopefully, this wouldn’t take long and he could go home and see to his poor, bruised assets.
“You appear to have a slight problem there,” Lucifer said. “Want me to rub it better for you?” Hand outstretched, she moved closer.
Jedd blanched and backed up a step. “Ah, no… Um, no problem here, My Lordship. Perfectly all right, although I would like to know why I was summoned so early. Must have been important if you wouldn’t even allow me enough time to get dressed.”
“Oh, it’s definitely important, but I brought you here like that so I could check out the goods.” She walked a lazy circle around him again, dragging those smiley-faced talons across his bare skin.
Hmm, okay that was strange.
What in the name of all that was unholy was Lucifer up to? If he didn’t know better… Nah, not Lucifer. She never dallied with the lower ranks and she certainly wouldn’t employ the services of an incubus.
“I have a job for you and before you ask—no, you don’t get to have a say as to whether you do it or not.”
Jedd raised his eyebrows but remained silent. He’d find out soon enough.
“You’re the most powerful of all my incubi and you owe me for letting you live permanently on the human plane. So I want you to seduce my niece, Araminta.”
What the fuc…?
He shook his head, positive his hearing had failed him. “Holy crap, boss, what did you just say? I don’t think I heard you correctly.”
“Araminta. I want you to sedu—”
“Yeah, I heard you.” Jedd took a deep breath and opened his mouth to say more, then snapped it shut.
Lucifer’s lips tightened. An angry scowl marred her forehead. He needed to stop being an arse and answering her back. It would only piss her off even more.
“Well, I don’t want you to actually sleep with the girl. In fact, I expressly forbid it. No, I want you to teach her to be a woman. She’s acting more like a dried up old prune than a vibrant woman of twenty-five. Hasn’t had a lover in years. She needs someone to teach her to loosen up a bit.”
Jedd shook his head. This was getting weirder by the minute. “Ahh, I’m not certain I understand.”
In fact, I know I don’t.
He dredged up the last solid image he had of Araminta Tempest. She must have been seventeen or so, so shy she could barely get a word out when she was in company. He’d been a cocky twenty-seven-year-old, full of his own importance. He’d known at the time that Araminta had had a crush on him—hell, most of the teenage girls around the halls of Hell had followed him around like a bad smell—and it had fed his ego. He’d just accepted it as his due.
He shook his head. He’d been such an arrogant little prick back then. Hopefully, he’d learned some sense since then
and
had developed a level of humility. He never again wanted to be on the receiving end of the shattered, pain-filled look that Araminta had turned on him when he’d shot her down in flames after she’d put the hard word on him.
He’d tried to find her and apologize after the fact, but she’d disappeared and nobody had been able to tell him where she was. Since then, he’d only caught the occasional glimpse of her when she’d visited her aunt, and she’d always managed to avoid being around him.
Had to say, though, she intrigued him. At seventeen, she’d been on the edge of womanhood, but had already exuded a sex appeal that could have flattened any guy, whether demon or human. He’d figured she was too young for him, which was why he’d given her a set-down. Well, that and his own puffed-up importance. What he’d seen since then made him wish he’d explored the possibilities when they were younger. Who knew where it might have led?
And now Lucifer wanted him to seduce her niece?
His brain told him she wouldn’t give him the time of day. His cock? That good old boy had its own ideas. It was standing up and practically begging.
“Are you paying attention to me, Jedd?” Lucifer snapped.
He dragged his mind off his body and back to the matter at hand—namely, seducing Araminta Tempest.
Ah, isn’t that the same thing, old boy?
With a bitten-off groan, he focused on the boss. “Don’t you think your niece is going to be a little pissed off when she finds out you’ve set her up?”
“Ahh, but you’re not going to tell her.” Lucifer glared at him. “Are you?”
“No, Ma’am.”
“Don’t you ‘ma’am’ me, young man. Now, where were we?” She strutted around the room before dragging to a halt in front of him. “You will
not
let on to Araminta that we’ve had this talk. Instead, you will put yourself in her hands. Follow her lead. And generally get her to relax and remember she’s a woman.”
Damn it to hell, I still don’t understand what she means.
“I think I’m missing something here.”
“Oh, didn’t I mention it? I told Araminta you’ve been falling down on your quotas and sent her out to audit you.”
Jedd frowned. “Hang on a moment. You and I had a deal. A contract. You said if—”
“I know what I said back when we renewed your contract,” she cut him off. “The same still applies. But Araminta thinks you can’t cut the mustard as far as getting women goes. She’s about to become your dating coach.”
“What the…?” Jedd stared at her. He’d never heard anything so screwed up and open to failure in all his life. Lucifer must be crazy. “Araminta will crucify the both of us if she ever finds out.”
“So don’t let her find out. And if you hurt her, I’ll rip your balls off and feed them to the imps. She is, after all, family and I look after my family. Why do you think I asked you to do this? Now, get out of here. I have work to do. ”
With a flash of light, Jedd felt the molecules in his body begin to vibrate. His last thought before he disintegrated was that his cock had woken with a vengeance and had tented the front of his boxers.
Araminta Tempest?
Oh yeah, baby
.
Chapter Two
“I’m Araminta Tempest and I’ve been sent to—” The words were cut off as Mina found herself yanked into the apartment with the door slammed shut behind her.
Jedd tugged and Mina followed, her mind blank, conscious of nothing but the warmth of his hand on her upper arm. It wasn’t until they hit the door of the bedroom that she had the foresight to object. Despite her four-inch heels, she planted her feet and dropped her briefcase so she could use her free hand to brace herself against the doorframe.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? Let go of me this instant. I’m Araminta Tempest and I’m here to—”
“I know what you’re doing here. That’s why we’re headed for the bedroom. If you’re quick, we can get it over and done with before seven. I’d really like to watch the news tonight. And there’s another good show on right after that, a documentary I’d like to see.”
He kicked her briefcase out of the way and dragged her farther into the bedroom. Then he pulled her suit jacket off her shoulders and let it slip to the floor. Before she could protest, he undid the floppy bow at her throat and started on the buttons of her blouse.
Mina blinked, her gaze focused on his fingers. An errant thought flashed through her mind, so fast she barely managed to catch it.
Oh my, Jedd’s dexterity and speed in accomplishing this particular feat is amazing.
And why wouldn’t it be? He was, after all, an incubus. Seducing women was his stock-in-trade. Or at least, it used to be, before he started falling down on his quotas. It was her job to find out what had happened to him and standing here like a dummy while he undressed her wasn’t the way to do it.