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Ben gives me a strange look. “I dunno what they taught you about humans…down there, but we aren’t all bad all the time, you know. Besides, I’m getting a place to stay and, if everything goes according to plan, I’ll get you too.”

“Youwantto be my host?” I ask, startled by his response.

“Not particularly, but I do want to help Theo and…I’ve got nothing to lose at this point. You and I deserve each other anyway. A sinner and a demon.” I recognized Ben’s lust the night before, and now I see even more familiar feelings pass across his face: guilt, regret, pain.

“I am your atonement,” I say softly. “What sins have you committed, Father?”

“I don’t really think you’re qualified to be my confessor,” Ben replies with a dark laugh, “but, we can start with greed…lust…wrath. I’ve lied and cheated and stolen. Hurt people I cared about.”

“I was under the impression that these are standard human behaviors.”

“Ah, so theydidtell you that we’re all bad.”

“Yes…they did.”

“Well, it’s a little true,” Ben sighs, “but there’s good people too–more than you think there are. Little bits of light, like stars in a dark sky.”

“And Theo is one of them?”

“I think so, and I’m not gonna let one of those lights go out. So, if you’ve got something to take out, take it out on me. Alright? Not him.” He looks down and adjusts the bracelets on his wrist.

“Is this why you wear the Patron Saint of Lost Causes?” I ask, reaching up to touch his chest. “Because that is how you see yourself?”

He wraps his fingers around mine and gently pulls them away. “You saw my Saint Jude?”

“I came to your room last night,” I say casually. His expression is a mixture of amusement and alarm. Perhaps it is not appropriate to confess that I watched him sleep, but I am capable of feeling shame.

“To do what, exactly?”

“I was curious. I do not sleep and do not understand the…mechanics.”

“Oh, sure,” Ben drawls, his arrogant smirk returning as he straightens up. “I think maybe youwere looking for something.”

“You have not answered my question about Saint Jude.”

“If you wanted another kiss, you could’ve just woken me up,mi amor.”

I fight back a smile of my own. “Your kiss was hardly enough to leave me wanting more, Benjamin.” He angles his body toward me, reaching an arm around my shoulders and resting it on the back of the bench.

“Is that a challenge, Annie?”

“Perhaps it is,” I reply, turning toward him. A fierce burning sensation grips my chest, then rapidly spreads to my limbs and core as his dark eyes search my face. He really is very handsome…for a human.

“Well, that was–” Theo’s voice breaks between us, and I move away from Ben. He clears his throat and looks at Theo, who is staring at us with a peculiar expression.

“It went well?” he asks, standing up and leaving me at the mercy of the cold air.

“As well as it could have,” Theo says. “At least I talked her down from driving over here and fussing.”

“Good! Good,” Ben says, running a hand through his hair. “Why don’t we walk a little more, and then we can try another one?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Theo replies with an anxious smile. He looks at me next. “Are you coming along, or are you going to sit there and pick out your next victim?”

I stand and saunter up to him, moving closer than necessary. His eyes are light to Ben’s dark ones, but they take in my face in much the same way: half fear and half intrigue.

“I already have one in mind,” I say softly, “so we can continue.” I begin to walk away and hear them muttering to each other behind me. Let Theo imagine what he wants, and let Ben lie to him. None of it will matter soon enough.

I quickly realize that I have no idea where I am walking, and must allow them to overtakeme. If I did not know any better, I might say Theo would like to put me on a leash with how often he glances back to ensure I am still following. Ben glances too, but his looks are at least accompanied by brief smiles, which I return every time.