Page 1 of The Devil and His Goddess (Sinners Do It Better #2)

Perseus

I TWIRLED THE KEYS AROUND my finger as I walked leisurely through the building I’d just closed on. The smell of mildew wafted up from the carpet as the chipped paint and out-dated design assaulted my eyes.

With a nod, I gestured at all of the seats and the stage around me. “Yup. We’ll change it all.”

Rupert chuckled next to me. His salt-and-pepper head shook, not surprised by my declaration. “Of course you will.”

Smirking, I nudged the older man with my elbow. “My company and its patrons deserve the best, don’t you agree?”

“Of course, of course.”

I turned to the silent, meek man who waited behind us. The janitor, one of my many new employees as of today, smiled softly. “I can’t wait to see your new vision, sir.”

I glanced at the name on the badge attached to the pocket of his yellow shirt before returning the fairly young guy’s smile. “Thanks, Drake. And thank you for walking us around. I’ll have different teams coming in to redo things, so just take the time off until we return for the upcoming season, okay? It’ll be paid.”

His muddy brown eyes widened. “Wow. Okay, sir. Thank you.” He jumped like he’d just remembered something and turned to grab multiple bags from the last row of seating in the dimly lit theatre. “Before I forget, here are the last three years worth of recordings from the shows Silverlight has done. I collected them for you as requested.”

I accepted the bags with another thanks and followed the two men out of the theatre. Out in the parking lot, I stared up at the stone and glass building and couldn’t help but smile. It was mine. All fucking mine.

I was the new owner of the Silverlight Ballet Company. It had been a dream of mine to have my very own ballet company one day, and seeing as how my life had recently gotten less busy, I thought now was the perfect time to try being owner and artistic director. All of the ideas I had for the place bounced around my head as I returned to my new home.

New company, new home.

They were signs that life had … changed in the last little bit. Sinners Do It Better, the rock band I was a member of, was at our peak. We were doing endless concerts, getting invited onto countless TV and online shows, and having fucking awesome parties every weekend.

But then the leader of the group and fellow Incubus, Zagan, got himself bound to a human. The parties stopped, and the need to move to Tennessee arose. So now I was here. To top it all off, Zagan announced he wasn’t able to write music at the moment, which meant we were on hiatus.

I needed something to occupy my time, now more than ever, so when I looked into a ballet company around here and found Silverlight, it was pure luck. Until I’d seen it. The once reputable and thriving company had seriously declined.

The previous owner felt the company had a good chance of making a comeback because of a ballerina that would be full-time this year. The ballerina was supposedly a treasure of her time. Of course, I’d be the judge of that. Regardless of the special dancer, I wasn’t too worried about the current decline of the company. I had great plans for it, just as I had big plans for this pristine mansion that carried hints of Greek architectural influence. I’d only been here for one day, yet it already felt like home with the wall of windows, outdoor pool, marble features, and art gallery.

Seeing as I was still getting settled, all I had for furnishings in the marble and stone home were my couch, TV, bed, and my music equipment. Not that I needed too much else. I had a very “less is more” approach to filling and decorating my home.

I deposited the bags of recorded performances onto the white couch before pulling my phone out to call Xander, one of my band mates and closest friend.

The Mischief demon answered on the first ring. “Pers. You back home?”

“Just got here,” I answered, running a hand through my long golden curls. “You still coming over to watch these recordings with me?”

Seeing as how I was taking over an entire dance company, I felt it was necessary to acquaint myself with the current dancers and talents there. I hadn’t witnessed any shows by this group, so I was eager to study the quality of ballerinas and danseurs now under my supervision. Xander, who was always down to get into something, offered to watch them with me, if for no other reason than to not be alone.

“Yeah, I’m coming,” Xander replied. “Can you grab us some food and coffee while I finish up here?”

The multiple giggles and brief moan told me exactly what he was finishing. Not wanting to keep him and the numerous girls he had with him from enjoying their fun, I let him go and went back out into town to complete his request.

The town wasn’t all that busy, seeing as it was midday during a work week. When I walked into the coffee shop, there were only two workers behind the counter and a single woman in a green dress ordering a drink.

The minute I walked in, the patron looked over her shoulder at me. Her dark brows rose, and she stood up a bit straighter, popping her hip out to accentuate her figure. There was no missing the intense smell of her desire as it tickled the back of my throat with the need to pursue the easy prey.

She finished her order and moved aside to wait for it as I placed my own. I flashed her a charming grin and adjusted my gray button-up with my heavily ringed fingers. She watched my every move, and even without looking at her, I felt her paying special attention to my lips as I finished mine and Xander’s coffee order. That wasn’t something I could miss in my line of work. Incubi were sensitive to human desires and their fascinations, and being as experienced as I was, it was easy for me to tell what she was thinking.

I moved to stand near the human woman, who had undoubtedly soaked her underwear by this point. When her drink finished, she took it, and she cast me a small glance as she started to walk by. I saw the plan form in her mind, even before she pretended to trip right beside me. Playing along, I reached out to swiftly catch her before she and her coffee fell to the floor.

“Are you okay?” I asked with mock worry.

Her face flushed as she stared up at me in awe. “Y-Yes. Thank you.”

I smiled at her as my own drinks finished. I reached out both arms to grab them, caging her in briefly between my body and the counter. She swallowed hard, and the spike in her sexual desire was impossible to miss.

“No need to thank me,” I replied smoothly.

And there truly wasn’t. Because I didn’t do it for her. I had no interest in looking out for humans if I gained nothing from the interaction. My charm and kindness were acts I put on to better myself, and this act that she’d put into motion with her own was about to gain me a meal.

I placed the two drinks in a to-go container and started out of the coffee shop. I kept my pace even as I looked up at the overcast sky outside and counted quietly, “Three … Two … One—”

The door of the coffee shop jingled behind me before a female voice called out, “Excuse me!”

Smirking triumphantly, I stopped walking. I dropped the cocky grin just as I turned to wait for her to catch up to me. Her short brassy hair blew gently around her freckled chin, and her coffee-free hand tucked some of the hair behind her ear.

“Um,” she started sheepishly, “I-I wanted to thank you again for helping me. I was raised to repay kindness with kindness, so I was hoping I could treat you. Are you free right now? I’d love to get you a bite to eat.”

Oh, don’t worry. You will, human.

“That’s so thoughtful, but there’s no need,” I dismissed with feigned sweetness. “It was my pleasure to help. You have a good day, okay?”

She frowned, but the determination to see her little plan garner fruit had her reaching out to grab my forearm before I could walk away, nearly jostling my coffees in the to-go carrier.

“No food, then! That’s no biggie. What if I repaid you in a different way?”

I faced her fully again and raised a brow. “What way would that be?”

Her sultry eyes traced my body. She stepped into my space to rub her breasts against my chest as she nodded her head toward the parking garage down the road. “My car is in there. It has quite a bit of room in it …”

Got her.

Minutes later, I found myself seated in the middle row of this woman’s SUV in the dimly lit parking garage with my pants pulled down only enough to allow her to bounce on my dick. My arms were draped over the backs of the seats on either side of me as I blandly watched her round, freckled breasts bounce in front of my face while she screamed out praises about my cock.

I’d expected this to be a hot, steamy fuck, but instead, I had a goddamn wanna-be porn star trying out for an invisible board of casting directors. I wasn’t one to shame someone on their skills or kinks. I loved all sex, regardless of experience or style, but some humans were still too much for me, specifically the ones who pretended and put on a show rather than authentically enjoyed the art of sex and pleasure.

Kind of like this woman.

Seeing as how she’d concocted the whole damsel-in-distress situation to get me here, I had wrongly assumed that meant she was confident in her skills in bed. Why else would she try so hard? Eager to get a meal in, I’d expected this to be a scenario where I could sit back and enjoy the ride … but no. She was moving in a way that wouldn’t give either one of us that pleasurable high we were here for.

Her sexual essence was sign of that. Her minute bursts of pleasure practically teased my gut as I absorbed it like a desperate sponge gradually soaking up water. As she chased her distant release by riding me harder and faster, I waited for that feeling of fullness, but I knew it was a lost cause. The taste was bland. She was about as delicious as white bread, further evidence that she didn’t know how to make herself feel good, let alone me .

No longer finding enjoyment in the situation I’d found myself in, I rolled my eyes and grabbed her hips to position her where she’d like it best. Her eyes lit up like she had no idea that spot I now reached existed inside of her. I fucked her hard since she also seemed to like that. After all, the better she liked the sex, the better I ate. It wasn’t even two seconds after I’d started jacking into her that she came with a scream that was better-fitting in a horror film than when orgasming.

“That was amazing,” she gasped once we’d finished. She pulled her green dress back on and slid off of me with stars in her eyes. “I wish we had more time.”

I tucked my dick away. “Unfortunately—” Not “—I’ve gotta go.”

I reached into the front of the vehicle where mine and Xander’s coffees waited. I slid out of the SUV, eager to be done here, but the human waved her hand at me.

“Wait, wait! I think we had great chemistry.” She reached into the center console and pulled out a business card to hand to me. Batting her eyes, she purred, “Here’s my number. Call me so we can do this again, okay? I’m free tonight.”

I accepted the card with a tight smile. The moment I was out of her field of view, I curled my lip in disdain and flicked the card to the ground. No fucking way was I wasting my time with that snack again. Chemistry my ass . I did all the goddamn work.

The failed meal had my previously boisterous mood turning sour, and it only got worse when I returned home to find Xander on my couch, already watching one of the performance recordings.

“ Ruan Yitang ,” I snapped, reserving his Chinese name for times when I was pissed at him, and this was one of those moments. I took the food and coffee to my kitchen, which shared the vast main room with the living space. “Why did you start without me?”

I glanced at the TV, noting he’d put on one of the Swan Lake recordings. It was only in Act One, showing Prince Siegfried and his courtiers celebrating his birthday. I didn’t care that it was early in the show. The fucker still hadn’t waited on me. These were my dancers, and I was the one who needed to study them.

“Sorry,” Xander puffed out, rubbing a finger under his black hoop septum piercing. Half of his dark hair flopped into his eyes as he tilted his head, while the other half of his head was closely shaved. “It was too quiet while I waited, and you know I can’t sit in silence. What took so long, anyway?”

Frowning, I unpacked the Chinese food. “I mistook a rather dull treat as a sweet one.”

“Bummer,” Xander pouted before quickly perking up. “We can go out later to make up for it.”

I grabbed our coffees, which were cold now. That only made my irritation over the situation worse. Still, I stood behind the couch and reached over his shoulder to hand him his drink.

I’d gone out of my way to catch that human when I could’ve let her fall on her fucking ass since I knew what she was plotting. And what did helping get me? A very lack-luster reward. That wasn’t a gain in my opinion. It was a pain . When my plans at feigning politeness to garner some sort of advantageous result went awry, it often kept me in an irate mood, which was unfortunate since today was an exciting one.

I sighed and looked up at the distant ceiling as I tipped my coffee back.

“Wow,” Xander whistled. “I don’t know shit about ballet like you do, but she’s pretty.”

Recognizing the song coming from the TV as the White Swan’s entrance in Swan Lake , I lowered my cup to look at the screen. When my eyes landed on her, lightning struck me square in the chest. My lips parted on a hard inhale. I lost the grip on my cup, dropping the cold beverage to the marble floor. Xander jumped and looked back at me to see what was wrong, but I barely noticed. I was locked onto the vision before me, transfixed by the stunning ballerina who commanded the stage as her own.

Her hair, pulled into a ballerina bun, was the color of a moonless night sky. Her eyes were the shade of a clear lake on a winter day. Her skin was that of porcelain.

The lights over the stage lit up her petite form as she fluttered about the screen, every bit as beautiful and graceful as a swan. The longer she danced, the more I found myself forgetting what I was doing, where I was, or even who I was. I was wholly hers, enraptured by her magic.

Without tearing my gaze off her, I snapped my fingers at Xander. “Hand me the cast card that goes with this disc.”

He grumbled about my wasted coffee but did as I asked and handed me the paper. I barely managed to wrench my eyes away from the screen to find the name I needed. The White and Black Swan in this show was …

“Harper Ashwood,” I muttered under my breath.

I tattooed the name to memory before focusing on the ballerina on screen once more. Her blue eyes seemed to look through it and right at me. The blood rushing through my veins heated before gathering in my cock. My body ached in a way it never had before, and I knew there was only one way to fix it.

Harper Ashwood , I thought with an excited hunger. You will be mine.