Page 4 of The Devil and His Goddess (Sinners Do It Better #2)

Harper

I FINISHED SCRUBBING AT MY top in the sink and held it up. The dried substance was gone, and my skin was clean now, too. My torso had been covered in a white, dried something when I woke up, and I was baffled as to what it could’ve been. I swore it looked like dried cum, but there was no way, seeing as I’d gone to bed partnerless.

That wasn’t the only thing bothering me that morning. I’d woken up to another text from … someone . I still didn’t have a clue who my distant admirer was. The person had been reaching out to me for two years now, and I was no closer to figuring out their identity.

The interactions had started two years ago when I got a silent voicemail from an unknown number. I’d disregarded it, even as they became more frequent. Eventually, the person left one that contained the unmistakable sounds of breathy groans and fleshy slaps, like they were masterbating on the call. That one had unnerved me enough to go to the police, but there wasn’t anything they could do. The person wasn’t threatening me, so I was sent home with an invitation to come back if I was in “real” danger.

The voicemails were sporadic and came at random times of the day. Sometimes I’d get them multiple times a week, and other times, I wouldn’t hear anything for a month.

The silent and sexual voicemails stopped being enough for whoever it was, because they started sending texts, too. They’d shower me with compliments or tell me something they’d like to do to me. Each message had aggravation unleashing in my stomach, but I still dismissed a lot of it. For two years, it had only been voicemails and texts, which had me questioning how serious it was. A large part of me was convinced it was one of my teenage brother’s friends messing with me. Horny teen boys were like that—dumb.

This morning’s text had been one word.

Beautiful.

Just as I did all their messages, I deleted it with an annoyed mumble. “Stupid teenagers.”

With a sigh, I gave up on the mystery of the cum-like substance on my clothes and the mystery texter, hanging up my pajama set to dry. I made my way downstairs and was thrilled to see Aiysha already down there and pressing brew on the coffee pot.

“Morning, gorgeous,” I greeted, slapping her butt on the way by. I dug through the fridge for a water. “I’m surprised you aren’t still asleep since it’s a Saturday and you just flew back in.”

“Believe me, I wanted to,” Aiysha laughed, hopping up on the island. She ran a hand over her black hair and met my eyes. “But I wasn’t sure what your schedule entailed today, so I wanted to get up to make sure we got to hang out. I need to refuel my Harper battery.”

I laughed and leaned on the counter across from her. “I missed you, too. A week without you sucked .”

She and I had both gotten back yesterday after taking trips to see our families. We’d grown up here in Tennessee, but our families no longer resided here. My dad had gotten relocated to Florida for work during my senior year of high school. Seeing as I was almost done with school and had an entire life of dance here, mine and Aiysha’s parents decided I could live with Aiysha and her family. I missed my parents and little brothers like crazy, which made every weekly phone call and occasional visit all the more special.

The house I shared with Aiysha was one of her family’s numerous homes. Her parents mainly resided in California these days, but they had a couple houses throughout the country, depending on where they wanted to stay during different times of the year. This was the home Aiysha grew up in, which meant this place had always been my home away from home, too.

We’d been best friends since the age of four, so I’d practically lived here half the time growing up until I really did live here starting senior year. The Jacksons thought of me as a second daughter, and I considered them my second family.

“So what’s the plan for today?” Aiysha asked.

I ran a hand through my long black hair and started pulling it up into a ponytail. “Work starts back on Monday, so I planned on doing some harder training today and tomorrow. You know, getting my body ready for a new dance season. Other than that, I figured I’d go along with whatever you had in mind.”

Aiysha hopped off the counter as the coffee finished brewing. She grabbed two mugs and poured the hot brew in each.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve done a full day of stretching and dancing. I think I’ll join you. Want to order in dinner tonight?”

Brightening at the idea of dancing with Aiysha all day, I nodded like a bobble-head gone wild. “A thousand percent, yes!”

I accepted my coffee. We clinked our mugs and each nursed our drink as we prepped a ballerina’s breakfast for the strenuous day ahead. Even though Aiysha no longer had to stick to a dancer’s diet, she followed my lead and ate the egg atop the avocado and sourdough toast.

It had been four years since Aiysha quit ballet. She and I had been dancing together since we were four, and I missed having my partner in crime in the studio.

I knew the day would come when Aiysha set aside her pointe shoes in favor of heels, but a part of me still broke the day of our final dance competition together. We’d had a duet that day, and as if the universe knew what the performance meant to us, we won, not only in our category but the entire competition. We’d hugged and cried, our stage make-up running down our faces, but we didn’t give a damn. She was saying goodbye to dance, and I’d been saying goodbye to my rock.

Despite missing her like crazy in the dance world, I couldn’t be more proud of her as she went to school to become a child psychologist. She was a badass of the greatest kind, and I couldn’t wait to see the impact she had on the youth of the world.

We cleaned up breakfast and each changed. I put on my favorite blush-colored leotard with tights and pulled on a small jacket to wear until I warmed up. Down in the home studio, I pulled on my flat shoe and got to stretching. Aiysha quickly joined me in her own athletic attire, her dark hair pulled back in a bun now.

“Shit. My muscles aren’t used to this anymore,” Aiysha groaned as we worked through the warm-up stretches.

Laughing, I continued stretching my legs and feet. “You’re welcome to work those muscles with me anytime.”

Aiysha’s brown eyes locked on mine as we shifted into a split. “So tell me how the party went last night. I passed out before you got back, so I’ve been dying to hear the juicy details all morning. You know, what everyone wore, who got wasted, what the new director was like. Tell me everything !”

At the mention of the party and the director, I groaned. The mortifying night came rushing back. “I’m doing all this work right now, but honestly, who knows if I’ll still have a job come Monday.”

Aiysha’s eyes widened. “Why? What do you mean?”

“I flirted with my new boss,” I admitted, grimacing in shame.

Aiysha’s jaw dropped, and for a moment, it seemed I broke her. No words came out of her, and she didn’t even breathe.

I nodded, completely understanding the shock. “Yeah. I didn’t know who he was at first, so I said stupid stuff. Danced with him. It was hot, Aiysha. He was hot. Like, hot . I literally planned on hooking up with him since it’s been awhile for me. Until I realized who he was. Then, in an even more idiotic turn of events, I told him he wasn’t my type.”

Aiysha slowly shook her head in disbelief. “Oh, girl. You’re so fucked.” Her laugh filled the spacious room, and I shoved her over as I hopped to my feet. She laid on the floor, laughing at my misfortune.

“I’m glad you find my probable unemployment funny.”

I turned on a classical music playlist and found my place at the barre by the mirror. Aiysha joined me, still chuckling over the situation.

“I’m just picturing how you’re going to function at work when you have the hots for the director.”

Perseus’s charming grin and perfectly ripped body resurfaced in my mind. I hadn’t gotten to see all of it, but the little I had seen had been toe-curling delicious. The sliver of desire trying to settle between my legs warned me that thinking of him was dangerous, so I tried thinking of anything else to replace him— Swan Lake , zebras wearing rainbow onesies, balloons shaped like penises—but the golden-haired man stayed at the forefront of my mind.

Why did he have to be so damn good-looking and a great dancer?

“Work is going to be torture,” I huffed.

“Are you going to sleep with him?”

“Absolutely not!” I screeched, going into a plié and then a relevé. “Mandi already made her lovely comments about me trying to sleep my way to the top. I do not need to give her more ammunition against me.”

Aiysha peeled her lips back in disgust and rose with me back to first position. Her form wasn’t as sharp as it once was, but she still managed to move through the motions with me.

“Mandi is probably just pissed because you made a move on him before she could,” Aiysha grumbled.

Mandi had danced with us since middle school, and while she’d been friendly enough at the start, her true colors soon came out. She’d hated when Aiysha or I got picked for solos or featured parts over her, and she’d do petty things out of spite—snip holes into our tights, throw away our brand new make-up, steal our snacks. Once, she’d even slipped laxatives into Aiysha’s drink before a performance.

We never had proof that she was the one behind all of the issues, but Aiysha and I always knew it was her. Between her snide comments or the gleeful look on her face after an incident, it was more than obvious she was the mastermind. She always looked like she was eagerly waiting on us to notice the latest stunt she’d pulled.

In an effort to not lose our breakfast, we dropped our talk about Mandi. Instead, we continued moving through the barre exercises. It wasn’t long before my body warmed, and I shed my jacket so that I stood in only my leotard and tights.

Aiysha caught me up on how her parents and two siblings were doing out in California. Her mom, a well-loved actress, was prepping for a new film, and her dad was directing a documentary. Her younger brother was dominating his eighth grade classes, and her sister was eager to begin her final semester of senior year. I missed all of the Jacksons, so hearing about them now warmed my heart.

The day turned into evening, and the glow from the fading sun lit the dance room in a fiery glow.

I downed some water and tried to catch my breath after finishing a long day of working on techniques. Aiysha, who’d done a lot of it with me, braced her hands on her knees, panting hard.

“Fuck,” Aiysha gasped. “I’m out of shape. I’m also starving. Ready to order food?”

I nodded, finishing off my water. I followed her to the kitchen where she called in dinner for both of us. With time to kill, I bounced upstairs and hopped into the shower. The warm water felt great against my body after an all-day workout, and I stood there, even after I’d finished washing off.

I soaked in the feel of the water and let my mind finally drift to what life at the studio was going to be like. I was sure I was overreacting—Perseus wasn’t going to fire me. But that company was my home. Was it going to be weird now, not only because of the new ownership, but because of my attraction to said owner? I wouldn’t know until I started back, but the nerves were there all the same.

I finally stepped out of the shower and slipped into my fluffy pajama bottoms and sweatshirt. I could hear the water still going in Aiysha’s bathroom, so I headed down to the living room to wait for her and the food. I made myself at home on the leather couch and pulled up the reality show she and I watched together, finding the episode we’d left off on.

That was when movement outside caught my eye. Hopping up from the couch, I started toward the window to see if it was the delivery driver with our food, but I stopped dead in my tracks. A figure clad in black pants and a hoodie stood in the driveway, facing the house. A fine layer of sweat broke out on the back of my neck, and a jolt of fear froze every muscle in my body. I couldn’t move, couldn’t scream, couldn’t breathe .

Until I heard footsteps bounding down the stairs.

“Aiysha!” I yelled, racing in her direction. I met her at the bottom and gripped her arm tightly as I pointed toward the living room window. “A-A man! There’s a man outside!”

“What?” she asked, her brows slamming down in confusion. “Why are you freaking out? It’s probably the food.”

She crossed the floor to the front door, so I held onto her arm, trying to pull her away. “Aiysha, stop! There’s—”

She swung the door open, and standing there on the porch was a smiling teenage girl with our to-go orders.

“Perfect timing!” the girl said. “I was just about to ring the doorbell.”

I peered around Aiysha and the door frame as she took the food and tipped the girl. I scanned the front yard and the distance of unobstructed ground between here and the woods beyond. There was no sign of a man decked out in black.

“You didn’t happen to see anyone as you drove or walked up here, did you?” I asked the girl with a slight panicked edge in my voice.

The blonde looked around her, peering over her shoulder to where her idle car waited. “No. It’s just me.”

I nodded slowly and followed Aiysha back to the living room like a robot on autopilot. She sat the bag of food on the coffee table and looked at me with a teasing smirk. “So no scary movies tonight, obviously.”

I went back to the window and watched the girl drive away. There was no evidence of any other presence having been here, nor was there any dark-cladded figure lurking in our yard. Maybe I hadn’t seen anyone. It happened so fast. The delivery girl’s car was dark. Maybe my mind caught the flash of her car and jumped to conclusions. The reasoning sounded crazy, even to me.

“I swear, I thought I saw someone,” I insisted, turning to my friend again.

With a worried shiver, I wondered if it was whoever was behind those voicemails and texts. They’d never approached me. Their interactions were always done from a distance, which had been a huge part of why I thought it was a harmless prank by teenagers.

But seeing that dark figure outside had me requestioning that idea.

“I’m not denying you saw someone,” Aiysha said as she set her food in front of her place on the couch and my meal in front of mine. “You probably saw that girl. She was walking up with our food when you saw someone, right?”

Could that have been it? It was just the girl? She’d been about my height of 5’4” and slim. The person I’d seen had been like a giant and wide across the shoulders. Not to mention, the girl was blonde and had been wearing a red jacket and jeans. I’d clearly seen all black and a hoodie pulled down to hide what was beneath.

But maybe I was wrong. My mind was playing a trick on me since I’d received that text this morning. Because the girl who’d been outside and had a prime view of the front of the house hadn’t seen anyone coming or running away. If there truly had been someone there, she would’ve seen them.

With a reluctant sigh, I sat down next to Aiysha. “You’re right. I guess I overreacted.”

“No biggie, girl.” She nudged me gently and sat back with her pad thai in her lap. “Now start the show. I’m dying to watch more of my favorite polygamist family.”

In agreement, I grabbed my food, pressed play, and let the drama on screen rid my mind of figures lurking in the dark.