Chapter One
Chloe
“The terms of our original agreement are no longer sufficient. We need to renegotiate.”
Chloe snorted at the demand. The demon must think she’d been born yesterday. “Wrong, Kent. Our agreement stands as it is. If you don’t like losing, perhaps you shouldn’t make bets.”
A smooth growl came over the phone. “You scammed me and you know it.”
She laughed at the accusation. “Wrong again. I didn’t scam you, I schooled you, and if you don’t like learning hard lessons, then don’t play games with me.”
“Do you realize what you’ve done to my life? Do you honestly fucking grasp what I’ve had to do to cover my marker from this ridiculous goddamn bet?”
Little did the people in her life realize, Chloe did feel regretful about some of the things she did. This particular situation was one of them. Because Kent was right, she had turned his whole life upside down over a bet. It hadn’t started out that way for her. No, that night, a little over a month ago—when they had run into each other at the McPhee owned bar—Chloe would have never guessed that she’d walk away owning a marker from the demon, but he’d challenged her, dammit. And she’d won that bet fair and square.
Chloe had been sitting at the bar, minding her own business and watching some douchebag treat his girlfriend like shit, when she’d realized that someone was watching her. Looking around to see who her admirer was, her eyes had stopped on a drop dead gorgeous man with brown hair, cobalt blue eyes, a five o’clock shadow with a panty melting grin, eyeballing her from his side of the bar. The demon who was only known by his last name, Kent. She’d first laid eyes on him in that very bar just days before when she and her two sisters had confronted Gage Ivanov about his sister, Lulu’s, whereabouts.
He’d caught her eye even then, yet she hadn’t truly found him interesting until she’d gone home and done a little research. Her sisters might think she was an airhead, but that was only because it was the persona she liked to play. The real Chloe was an information whore. She wanted to know who everyone was, what they were doing, and the dark secrets they stored in their proverbial closets. So when she’d pulled up her aunts’ notes on demons in the area and did some extensive late night reading, imagine her surprise when she discovered that laid back, playboy Kent played a cop by day to avoid his rather influential, wealthy and demanding family.
Why would a man walk away from easy living to play cops and robbers in real life? With a little more digging, she’d figured it out. Kent’s family was big in the demon hierarchy and politics. He was the first born son, and therefore, expected to take his family’s seat on the Ninth Circle Council. For reasons she couldn’t discern yet, Kent had done his best to put off those obligations.
Interesting information, but not necessarily useful. Yet. Chloe had learned over the years that information was the best kind of weapon a girl could have because you never knew when it would come in handy.
That information had been beneficial a lot sooner than she would have expected it to, as well. She thought back to the night that had put this whole clusterfuck into motion.
It seemed like a crime to ignore Kent’s appreciative glances to keep track of the douchebag boyfriend who was berating his poor, sweet girlfriend in front of his friends. Chloe hated assholes like him and loved to make examples of them. She was just waiting for her opportunity to do so.
She was so engrossed in staring at the douchebag as he joked with his buddies that she didn’t notice when Kent sat down on the stool next to her.
“Do you have a thing for men that are taken or something, sweetheart?”
The sound of his voice near her ear almost made her fall off her seat it startled her so badly.
Placing a hand over her hammering heart, she turned to glare at him. “No, I do not have a thing for men who are taken. Do you usually scare women in bars half to death?”
Kent shook his head. “Didn’t mean to scare you, but you’re staring at that pencil dick over there pretty hard. I was just trying to figure out if you wanted to jump his bones or something since you won’t give me the time of day.”
Chloe snorted in disgust. “I’d rather tell him to take a flying leap off a tall building than give him the time of day. Have you seen how mean he’s being to his girlfriend?”
“Yeah, it’s a shame, too. Pretty girl like her could definitely do better than him. She’s probably with him for his car.”
Chloe gave him a confused look. “His car?”
“Yeah, sweetheart, his car. Saw him getting out of his Ferrari when I pulled in. That pretty little girl probably took one look at his car and thought she was hooking up with a high class man. Instead, she hooked up with an idiot.”
Chloe pursed her lips in thought as she stared at the miserable girl. The poor thing looked as though she wanted to be anywhere other than there. Maybe Chloe could help her with that.
“Think it would make her night if she got to drive his car? Then maybe she’d have at least one good thing about tonight she could remember.”
Kent laughed. “There’s no way in hell you’re getting that guy to let her drive his car.”
Well now, she did love a good challenge.
Leaning into his personal space, she crooned back, “What would you give me if I walked out of here with his car keys and the girl so that she could drive his car?”
“Anything because there’s no way you’re pulling that shit off.”
She gave the demon a small, flirtatious smile. “And what do you want if I lose this little bet?”
“You, in my bed, any way I want you for twenty-four hours straight.”
She didn’t even have to think about it. Not because she wanted to have marathon sex with Kent, although she had to admit the idea was appealing, but the truth was, she was that confident in her abilities. He should never have blindly walked into a bet. His mistake would be her gain, though.
And really? Twenty-four hours? Why did men always try to bullshit about their stamina? Chloe doubted there was a man, or Other, on the planet that could have a sexual marathon for twenty-four hours.
Running one of her manicured fingers down the side of his face, she whispered, “Remember this was your bet, demon. When it comes time for me to cash that marker, I’ll contact you.”
She got up off her bar stool and walked away from Kent, who was watching her with a curious face as she sashayed over to her mark’s table. She’d seen a hundred guys just like him, and they never failed to disgust her; the privileged, over-confident and atrocious jackasses that liked to treat women as objects instead of people.
When she reached her destination, she pulled up a chair and invited herself to sit down. Every single man there was already leering at her, and half of them weren’t even bothering to look at her face. The only one unhappy to see her was the douchebag’s date, however that was okay.
“Hello, boys,” she purred. “Who wants to buy me a drink?”
Two of the four men were up and out of their chairs so fast they were practically tripping over themselves to get to the bar and do as requested. Douchebag was one of the two left behind. Chloe turned herself sideways in the chair and crossed her legs to give him a view of her tan limbs and red high-heeled, fuck me shoes.
As usual, Chloe was dressed to kill. She was wearing a black sheath dress with an overlay of red lace that clung to her pin up figure and had a low, square neckline to show off her abundant D cups.
She leaned back a little to thrust her breasts out and watched her mark’s eyes zero in on her assets. This wouldn’t be hard to pull off at all. She was almost disappointed at the lack of a challenge.
Chloe spent the next hour coyly flirting with four men that she’d rather pour gasoline over and set on fire, yet she was determined to win the demon’s marker. She could feel Kent’s eyes on her, and a part of her wondered if it turned him on to see her schmoozing other men. Maybe losing the bet would be worth it? Her pride, however, wouldn’t let her throw the bet for a bit of pleasure.
Douchebag was practically drooling all over their table at the thought of getting in her panties and he’d all but forgotten that he had another date sitting there with them. All she had to do was make her move now.
Excusing herself to use the restroom, she got up from the group and walked down the hallway to the women’s bathroom. She went in, dug her lipstick out of her purse and touched up her lips with her favorite luscious red. Then, she fluffed her hair and checked her figure in the mirror. Satisfied that she’d wasted enough time, Chloe grabbed her purse and walked out of the bathroom where she found Mr. Douchebag himself—real name John—leaned up against the opposite wall waiting for her.
He grabbed her arm and pulled her into his body, sliding his hands down to rest on her ass. “Hey, sexy, you ready to get out of here and have some fun?”
Did he not care that he had a date sitting at the table?
Ignoring her disgust for him, she bit her bottom lip like she was considering it. “Why do we have to get out of here to have some fun? We could sneak into the men’s bathroom and you could bend me over the sink instead. Wouldn’t that be hot?”
The man’s eyes widened and he smiled widely, like he’d hit the sexual jackpot. “You want me bad, don’t you, baby? Can’t even stand to wait for me to take you home. Fuck, yeah, let’s go in the bathroom and I’ll fuck you so good they’ll hear you screaming in the bar.”
Chloe ran her finger down the front of his chest teasingly. “There’s only one little problem, stud. I’m not excited yet, at all. I have a hard time getting hot and bothered, if you know what I mean. My psychologist says I’m a nymphomaniac with an adrenaline rush problem and dangerous tendencies.”
Douchebag’s eyes glazed over a bit and he started panting a little. Chloe could guess that jerk-wad had a serious thing for what he thought might be crazy pussy.
“What does that mean?” he panted.
Sticking her bottom lip out, she playfully pouted. “It means I have to do something that gives me a rush before I can get off. I saw that beautiful Ferrari you drove here. If you let me take it for a spin around the block, I bet my panties would be soaked by the time I got back.”
“Really?” he squeaked.
Chloe nodded. “Really. I’m getting excited just thinking about your car. The engine purring, and when it revs up, how I’ll feel the vibrations between my legs. God, that’s just so sexy. So hot, even, that I’d be willing to park the car around back and let you bend me over the hood and fuck me fast and hard. Can’t you just picture it, baby?” Chloe pressed her body tighter into his and put her lips against the shell of his ear to whisper. “I’ll get out of the car and you can push me down all rough-like on that hot hood. The warmth from the motor will burn my nipples a little through the fabric of my dress, but that’s okay because it’ll feel sooooo good. Then you can push my dress up over my hips, rip my thong off and slide right in because I’ll be wet and hungry for you. You’ll be able to fuck me nice and hard. What do you say, sexy?”
Douchebag had his keys out of his pocket and in her hand so fast it was laughable. He started physically pushing her down the hallway, back into the bar’s main room.
“You go for that spin, honey. Hell, take it around the block twice just avoid a speeding ticket or wrecking it. I’ll be waiting for you around the back when you’re done.”
Chloe turned around and put a hand on his chest to stop him for a second. “I don’t want to go by myself, though, so I’m going to take the other girl with me. We’ll be right back, sexy. Have your dick out and waiting for me.”
Douchebag stood there with his jaw hanging open while she grabbed his stilted date’s hand and dragged her towards the bar’s entrance.
Before she walked out the door, she turned her head to look at the bar, finding Kent’s eyes on her. She waved the keys in the air and gave him a finger wave before walking out with the other woman.
“Are you fucking listening to me, Chloe?” Kent snapped through the phone, bringing her back to the present. “You and I both know that I had to go above and beyond walking into that meeting and accepting my family’s seat to get Lulu the time and reprieve she needs. You’ve got to admit that my debt has more than been paid and now I’m stuck in the very situation I’ve been avoiding for decades, dealing with uptight, sniveling politicians. You owe me for this, Amazon, and you owe me big.”
He was right, however that didn’t mean she was going to admit it.
Heaving a bored sigh, she asked, “What exactly do you want to even the score, demon? Depending on what it is, I’ll consider it, even though I technically don’t owe you a damn thing.”
She waited for Kent’s response, but he didn’t say anything right away. Thinking perhaps he’d gotten mad and hung up on her, she pulled the phone away from her and checked the screen. The call was still active, so she called out his name.
When he answered, his voice was a seductive croon that sent tingles down her spine. “I want a night with you. Dinner, wine and more.”
Chloe felt the sting of disappointment. She didn’t know why she’d been hoping Kent would be different from any other guy she’d dealt with, yet for some odd reason, she had. Why did all men think that just because she had a pretty face paired with a body that had all the right curves that she’d just fall into bed with them? She was sick and tired of men thinking she didn’t have anything to offer besides what was between her legs.
And she wasn’t a whore. She’d never once slept with a man to get something and she never would. Mr. Douchebag had learned that the hard way when his stilted date had driven his Ferrari back after dropping Chloe off at her house. Chloe had asked the girl to pass on the message that neither him, nor his car, had been hot enough to get her excited at all. Then Chloe had firmly told the woman that she was young, beautiful and intelligent and she didn’t have to settle for dickwads like him. If she didn’t treat herself with respect, no one else ever would.
Reeling in her disappointment over Kent’s request, Chloe mentally placed him in the ‘Just Another Jerk’ list in her head.
“Not happening, demon. You come up with a reasonable request that doesn’t involve trying to get me on my back and I might consider it. ‘Til then, keep Lulu’s ass off the Ninth Circle Council’s radar. Elena and Gage are still working on getting the evidence they need to fully clear her. Besides that, we have nothing else to talk about.”
Chloe hung up and tossed her phone on the bed with a discouraged sigh. One day she would meet a man who was good looking and had a heart of gold; someone who would see her for who she really was and not what the outer packaging looked like. It’d just be nice if that one day would hurry the hell up and get there.
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