The Redeemable
By

Grace McGinty

Copyright © 2017 by Madeline Young

Writing as Grace McGinty
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof
may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the author
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

First Printing, 2017

Chapter One

Today was a brittle day.  My body felt like it would fall to pieces at any second, leaving me a gory mess of plasma and regrets on the pavement. 

Almost home now, just hold your shit together, Ace said. Ace was complicated. Complicated in that she was merely a voice in my head.  My calm voice of reason crossed with the attitude of the angst ridden preteen I'd been when I'd first heard her.  Like an imaginary friend who bitched a lot, but had my back. The psych’s said I'd developed her to cope with the traumas of my childhood and the combined blows of my parents’ death. But despite the cocktails of drugs and therapy, she persisted, and deep down I was glad. 

I pushed my way through the turnstiles and down the stairs to my subway platform. Groaning, I pushed my hands to my temples as I took in the scene. A fight had broken out, and the crowd had formed a circle around the dueling businessmen. This was New York, so fighting stockbrokers wasn't the weirdest thing I'd ever seen, but it was unusual enough to draw an audience.

I pushed my way around the crowd, desperate to make my train. The musty smell of the tunnel was gusting from the darkness, the silent harbinger of my train’s imminent arrival. I edged way too close to the safety line, but there was no other way around the ring of spectators. People behind me jostled and shoved, and I plowed into the back of a man standing in front of me.

Despite the force of my meager weight pushing into his back, the man didn't shift an inch. He didn't even turn, so I could politely ask him to move.  Dammit.

He was huge and muscular, not someone I wanted to annoy, but he was in my way. 

“Excuse me,” I yelled over the shouts of the fight. 

This time the man turned, and I took an unconscious step back. I took in his tense jaw, not-so-straight nose, and his flinty gray eyes. Small scars littered his face. His hair was shaved so close it may as well have been a five o’clock shadow to match his beard. It all added together to make him look rough and cruel. Plus, he was a behemoth, must have easily been six and a half feet. Those gray eyes stared down at me with an intensity that made my sluggish heart beat faster. 

“What?” He said the word softly, at odds with his hard expression. I pulled together the shreds of my dignity and tried to stop staring. 

“Excuse me. This is my train and I can't get past you. Could you please move?” I gave him a polite smile as my headache began to thump.

“You have to be fucking kidding me. You?” He looked over my head, towards the crowd watching the fight. “Ri, get the hell over here.”

He still hadn't moved, and his eyes were back to my face.

“I'm sorry? Do I know you?” I was very sure I didn't. He wasn't someone you'd forget.

An equally large man joined him, but this one had caramel colored skin inked in dark black patterns from his neck down. Dark brown curls were cut close to his head and his eyes were the color of whiskey. 

“Lux, what's up man? The fight was just getting good. One guy just hit the other with his briefcase.” His voice was smooth and deep and his grin was guaranteed to melt the panties of any straight woman under a hundred.

“It's her,” the behemoth said, and the new guy's face lost every trace of mirth as he looked down at me with the same intense expression as his friend. 

“Are you sure?”

The behemoth placed a warm, gentle hand on my cheek, and I found it oddly comforting. 

“Holy shit,” the new guy muttered.

Snap the hell out of it, Arcadia. Random strangers are touching you in the subway. Do you not remember any of those after school specials we had to watch as a kid? This is not normal. Ace was beginning to sound very un-calm.

I moved my face away from the behemoth’s outstretched hand as the whistle of the train echoed down the tunnel. 

“That's my train. I really gotta go.” I edged around the behemoth, but that just put me in front of the new guy, the one called Ri. The train blew its horn again and I could see its lights coming out of the tunnel over his shoulder as he moved to do the same thing as his friend. He reached up and put a hand on my cheek, his full pink lips parted as he just stared down at me, mute. 

From what I can piece together, several things then happened at once. My heart began to thunder in my chest until the edges of my vision began to blur, and I could hear Ace yelling in my head to stay upright until I was on the train, but her yelling was only making my head thump more. Simultaneously to this small problem, the fight had shifted closer to me, and I turned at the last moment to see a briefcase connect with a face in a spray of blood, and the overly soft body of an office worker lurched toward me. As the office worker connected with me and my body toppled sideways towards the track, I remember thinking only one thing as the darkness replaced the bright lights of the train. There were worse ways to die.

I woke up on a leather couch that wasn't my own, a set of light blue eyes staring down at me from a chair placed beside it. My brain was foggy, but Ace was loud and clear. 

You've been abducted. How the hell did we end up here? She sounded worried, but I just couldn't summon the energy to care.

“I need my meds.” My voice was rough. The man beside me held up my pill bottle and a glass of water.  Helping me to ease into a sitting position, I realized there were more people in the room with us. Five more men to be exact. 

Shit. You are about to become a late night repeat of America's Worst Crimes.

I scooted away from the man, and perched on the edge of the couch. I shook out a couple of pills from the bottle and dry swallowed them. They could've put anything in the water.

“What am I doing here?  Where am I?”

“You passed out in the subway. If Lux hadn't grabbed you when he did, you'd probably be dead. When they realized they couldn't rouse you, they brought you back here to me. I'm Dr Elias August. These guys call me Eli.”

I finally noticed the stethoscope around his neck as he pulled it on and placed the end on my back.  I took a deep breath out of reflex.

Great, a doctor. At least the cops will be able to appreciate the mark of a professional when they find your dismembered body in a dumpster.

“I'm Arcadia. Everyone calls me Cady. Who are those guys?” So far the other people in the room had just been standing quietly at the edges of the room, staring at me with an intensity that was both confusing and a little scary. 

“We'll get to them in a second. Don't worry, they are completely harmless to you.” He placed the stethoscope on my chest. “Any pain?”

“No more than normal.”

“Diagnosis?”

“Severe dilated cardiomyopathy.”

“You're on the transplant list?”

I shook my head sadly. No matter how many times I repeated this bit, it was never any less of a blow to my soul. 

“I'm in remission for Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The transplant board said no.”

Eli placed his hands on his thighs, his fingers coming under and flexing hard. He had nice thighs.

A totally inappropriate thought to be having right now, in this situation, Ace groused. 

“So you are dying?” Eli sounded stoic and professional, but someone else in the room sucked in a breath as if they'd been sucker punched.

“Essentially, yes. But hey, at least it wasn't today!”

“You can't be any more than eighteen.” Eli shook his head. 

“Twenty actually. I have a baby face.” I gave him a tight smile and stood. “I better be heading home. Thank you for doctoring me,” I said to Eli, and turned to find behemoth, or Lux I guess his name was. “Thanks for saving me.” He was even better looking in this light, his face less harsh when he wasn't under the fluorescent lights of the subway. I gave myself a few seconds to really drink him in. 

“Didn't really save you, did I?”

I shrugged. I knew the look he was giving me all too well. I'd seen it far too many times in my life. Frustrated hopelessness.

“You can't save them all, right?” I walked around Eli’s chair towards the door. “Can someone point me to the nearest bus stop?”

Lux said something to Eli in a language I didn't understand and had never even heard before. “What language was that?”

“Latin,” a voice said from somewhere in the room. I peeked around the couch to find another guy lying on the ground behind the backrest, like a lost dollar. He had a full red beard, long hair that was tied in a messy bun on top of his head, and a red check shirt. He looked like a sexy lumberjack. His hands were linked behind his head and he was grinning at me without the intensity of the rest of the room’s occupants. 

I raised an eyebrow. “Who speaks Latin, anyway?”

“Rich private school kids and those two. Definitely not me. I barely speak English with any kind of fluency. I'm Oz by the way.”

“Cady.”

“You're cute. Kinda like a pixie.”

“Uh, you too?”

Eli and Lux finished arguing in Latin, and Eli turned toward me. “Lux will drive you home. Is there someone there to take care of you? Parents?  A boyfriend?  A roommate?”

“Uh, no. My parents are both dead. But my friend calls me every day to check on me. She'll know if I'm missing.”

Great save, Arcadia. Smooth. Let's not tell them that she's actually working in Cambodia right now, nursing orphans.

Lux smothers a smirk, and Oz openly laughs from his spot on the floor.

“I understand, but I'm worried that if you have another episode like the last one, you may fall and hurt yourself. Would you perhaps think of staying here until you are well? We have a big house and I promise you'll be completely safe. We would be overjoyed to have you.”

My automatic response is no. They were strangers, and I was being reassured that they are good people by another stranger. Besides, I would never be well again. No was the right answer.

The only answer!

But I looked around, and instead of feeling scared to be in a room of guys, I feel a level of comfort that's just bizarre. Earnest reassurance comes off them in waves, and I find that I really want to say yes.  I have two years left in my life, did I really want to spend them home alone watching HBO? Do I want to take this chance?

Have you gone mental? How are you even contemplating this? You might only have two years, but the wrong choice could make Chemo seem like a resort spa. Haven't you ever seen the Saw movies? Ace was outraged in my mind, but lucky for me she was just a voice.

Seeing me obviously vacillating, Eli comes to my rescue. 

“You don't have to make your decision now.  Stay for dinner, Valery is a three hat chef. He's making something extravagant I'm sure. No one else is allowed in the kitchen.” He turns to look at a man who is leaning against the doorjamb. He was shorter than the other men in the room, but still inches taller than me.  He had floppy blonde hair and a smile that made his eyes crinkle at the corners.

“Unfortunately, I was only making Mac and Cheese,” he replied, his voice had a slight accent I couldn't place.

Oz scoffed. “Mac and Cheese with blue cheese and some other fancy shit. Not like you poured it out of a box, Val.”

Valery smiled wider, dimples creasing his cheeks. He was very cute. Actually, they were all kind of hot. So weird.

I smiled back at him. “I'd love to stay for dinner.  Thank you.” They did save my life. It would be rude to turn down their dinner invitation.

How have you even survived this long?

Valery looked like all his Christmases had come at once. “Excellent. I shall be in the kitchen,” he said and left.  His accent made him sound like he was saying ‘keeshun’ and it was adorable. Maybe French?

I took a better look at the room I was in. It had high exposed beam ceilings. There was a massive flat screen TV in the center of one wall, and the leather sectional sofa was positioned around it. A glass bookcase held a small collection of books, some very old from what I could see. Everything was tastefully minimalist in muted tones of silver and navy. It was definitely a bachelor pad. There wasn't a throw pillow in the place.

“Please. Sit.  Everyone can stop loitering around now,” Eli said, and everyone converged toward to the sofa. “Oz, put on some music please.” I leaned over the back of the couch, to see Oz hadn't moved from his comfortable position. 

“You aren't coming up here?” There was something about Oz that made me want to tease him.

“Nope, but you can always come and join me down here.” He gave me a wink and I blushed.  It didn't help that I could see a small strip of his flat stomach from where his shirt had ridden up.  “Mini-Oz, play ‘Pretty Girl Dinner Party’ playlist,” he yelled at nothing, but sure enough, the sound of Frank Sinatra started to pour softly into the room from hidden speakers.

“That is seriously amazing.”

“Voice controlled home management system. The pinnacle of technological laziness.” He grinned widely at me and I grinned back.

“Well, I'm impressed.”

“You shouldn't encourage him,” a soft voice said from beside me. I whipped around to see the most beautiful man I'd ever laid eyes on, sitting mere inches away on the couch next to me.  He must have been hiding in a dark corner or something, because I definitely would have been dumbstruck before now. Thankfully the guy ignored my unhinged jaw and continued. “He's hidden the remotes, so now the channel can only change on the TV if he tells it too. It's super annoying.”

I could only nod as I took in the man's midnight blue eyes, high cheek bones and ash blonde hair. He looked like a Scandinavian super model. 

“I'm Sam,” he held out one huge hand. I took it, and tried not to sigh contentedly as it's strong, soft warmth enveloped by own. 

“Cady, nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine. I wanted to introduce myself before I had to head out to take Ri to work.” He nodded toward the pretty guy from the subway station with the golden skin and the tattoos. And the voice like raw sex.

I gave Ri a little wave, and he smirked back. “Nice to see you with some color in your cheeks, Beautiful Girl. You scared the hell out of me back there.”

“I'm sorry,” I said, meaning it.

He gave me a sad smile. “Me too.”

He picked up a leather jacket from the back of the couch and threw it over a black jeans and tight grey shirt combo that sculpted his body like a liquid. My mouth physically watered.

“Well, I better get to work, I'm already late. But if I turn up with the great Sam Sigurdsson, they'll forgive me once the pictures start hitting Instagram and Twitter. Free press.”

Sam Sigurdsson. The name rang a bell.  Hang on. “Oh my goodness. You're the Calvin Klein model from the side of the bus.”

They all laughed, and someone muttered something about five foot junk.

“Hopefully you're still here when we get home. But if not, I hope to see you again soon. Take good care of yourself.” He took my hand in his and kissed it. I forgot to breathe. Ri winked as he followed Sam out the door.

Now Sam had left, I could see the person sitting down on the couch beside him. My mouth swung open again. “You're the Armani suit guy from the Time Square billboard. What the hell is this place? Mecca for models?”

Oz man-giggled from behind the couch. 

The Armani model slid his perfectly proportioned body up the couch toward me. His face showed signs of a mixed heritage, but I couldn't guess what. He had beautiful golden skin, not quite as dark as Ri, a smooth square jaw and almond shaped eyes.

“Tolliver. Nice to finally meet you.”

Odd choice of words, but then he smiled and I was distracted by the shiny white perfection of his teeth.

“Hi,” I squeaked. “Aren't there any trolls amongst you at all?”

“Comparisons have been made between Oz and Bigfoot.” Tolliver sounded amused, but he didn't crack a smile. “Would you like a tour of the mansion?”

“Wait, mansion?

Chapter Two

Apparently, I was being invited to live in SoHo, on my own floor of an apartment building owned by these guys. These seriously mouthwatering guys.

I'm pretty sure you are dead and this is just your version of heaven.

Somewhere around the gilded marble bathroom the size of my apartment, Ace had gotten over her general distrust of the guys and was enthusiastically in favor of moving into this place. Well actually, I'd be moving into the pool house, which was basically a full apartment on the floor below the rooftop pool.

From what I could gather, they were all friends, though they were sketchy about how they met. Whatever.  Maybe they all met at Hooters.

They left me to explore the pool house, and I discovered it has a galley kitchen, a walk in wardrobe, a flat screen TV and a king size bed. And that bathroom! It was bigger than the kitchen and living room combined in my current apartment. I walked up the stairs that were just outside the front door, and onto the rooftop.

The rooftop had been professionally landscaped, and there was a full herb garden and patio sized lemon and lime trees. A wide deck hugged the edges of the lap pool. I smoothed down the back of my dress and dipped my toes into the cool water, watching the summer sun set over the city.

Would it be crazy to live here? To live with strangers?

Yes, but I was going to do it anyway. The door locked and my medical bills were crippling. When I'd asked Tolliver how much the rent would be, he'd made a slightly disgusted noise and insisted there would be no need to pay rent. They were all loaded. Eli was an elite neurosurgeon. Tolliver and Sam were both highly paid models who flew all over the world together. Lux was a champion UFC fighter and Valery owned a famous restaurant in Brooklyn. I wasn't sure what Oz did except fill out his Levi's like a boss.

Someone cleared their throat and I turned. Lux stood behind me, wearing loose sweats that hung so low on his hips that I was literally praying he'd step on the hem and I'd get an eyeful. His T-shirt had the name of some Martial arts Dojo in the Bronx. I couldn't tear my eyes away from his chesticles.

You need to get laid. Ace wasn't wrong.

“Val said dinner is ready if you'd like to join us?  We try and all sit down together at night, whoever in the house that is.  Sometimes there's no one here except Oz, depending on our schedules.”

It was the most I'd ever heard him talk, and I was again shocked by how gentle his voice was, although it was rough. It felt like I've water over heated skin. Delicious but shocking. He spoke quietly and with a kind of hesitancy that made me think he was worried I'd spook and hightail it out of here. 

Ha, no chance. At this rate they'd have to pry me out with crowbar.

“I'd love to.” I stood a little too fast and wobbled dizzily. Lux grabbed for my arm, steadying me again. 

“Sorry. Dizziness is a side effect of pretty much everything.” Lux still hadn't let go of my arm, and the aura of comfort I'd felt back at on the subway platform enveloped me again. I stared up into his luminescent grey eyes, and held my breath.

Lux shook his head and stepped back, letting me walk past him toward the door to the lower floor. Although he didn't touch me again, I could feel the warmth of his hand hovering just above the flesh of my lower back, ready to catch me again if I needed it.

We rode down to first floor, which was apparently Valery's apartment. The couch I'd woken up on had been in Eli’s apartment on the 4th floor. 

The smell of cheese and butter met me in the doorway and I followed the delicious smell into the kitchen. And then I stopped dead. 

It wasn't just a kitchen. It was the kitchen of my dreams. An industrial oven and cook top. Double door Smeg fridge with built in touch screen. Stainless steel benches with copper bottom pots hanging from the pot rack above the island bench.

“I think Cady just had a big O, and it was Val's kitchen that got the honor,” Oz laughed from where he was setting the table in the formal dining room.

Lux whacked him over the back of the head.  “Be respectful.”

Oz just smirked at me, completely unrepentant. My face was flaming.

Lux pulled out a chair for me in the middle of the table, and I sat down. The table was a long farmhouse style. A small vase of daisies sat in the center. It was shabby chic in the middle of upper-class Manhattan. I was interested to see who sat at the head of the table in this household of large men with, from what I'd seen so far, large egos. 

Oz plopped in the chair to my left and Tolliver sat directly opposite me. I was unsurprised when Eli and Lux took either end of the table.  That left a spot for Valery, who was carrying in a huge casserole dish of mac and cheese. He placed it on the table in front of me, then returned with a bowl of steamed greens and chicken mignon's piled high on a serving plate.

“Sorry it isn't anything too fancy. Next time I will plan better,” Val apologized, and I had the urge to lean over the delicious food and kiss him for his thoughtfulness.

“This looks amazing. Seriously, I was going to go home and eat cheerios out of the box for dinner.”

Valery clicked his tongue against his teeth disapprovingly. “No more. From now on you eat with us, no?” His eyes twinkled as he passed the bread rolls to Tolliver.

“Arcadia hasn't chosen to live here with us yet, Val. No pressuring her,” Eli admonished, but there was a hopefulness in his eyes that I didn't really understand. It was almost as if they wanted me to live here with them. 

Oz broke the silence before it got awkward.  “Oops, forgot dinner music. Mini-Oz, play ‘Dinner party music to impress a pretty girl’ playlist.”

I laughed as light piano music played in the room.

“Do you have a playlist for every occasion?”

“Almost every occasion, I think.” He passed me the greens.  “I'm still working on one for the apocalypse.”

Finally my plate was loaded and I was staring down at my food like it was sent from the heavens. I couldn't even remember when I ate anything that even smelled as good as this did. With rent and medical bills, I didn't have a lot of money left for non-essentials like food, so I ate mostly grilled cheese sandwiches and cereal. I once experimented with combining the two for variety, but it wasn't a good outcome. 

Unusually, both Valery and Oz ate with single minded focus, ignoring the table conversation and their fellow diners. I could understand it.  My first bite of Valery's Mac and Cheese was basically a biblical experience. Luckily, my other three dinner companions were happy to pick up the conversational slack. 

“What kind of work do you do?” Eli asked as he sipped his wine.

“I work for a temp agency, mostly administration stuff. It isn't overly exciting but it pays the bills. Well most of them anyway. I'm not anyone's idea of a perfect employee candidate.” I cleared my throat awkwardly. “So Lux, when is your next match? Game? Fight thing?”

A small smile curled his lips, and there was something about his hooded eyes and that sexy ass smirk that went straight to my ovaries. “It's called a fight. The next event is in 12 days. You should come. A couple of the guys always come watch, I'm sure they'd be happy to bring you along?”

He looked at Tolliver.

“Unfortunately, Sam and I are in London for Fashion Week.” He actually sounded regretful to be flying to the other side of the world to attend glamorous parties and wear beautiful clothes in lieu of watching two grown shirtless men beat the hell out of each other. I surreptitiously perved on Lux out of the corner of my eye. Yeah, it'd be a tough choice for me too. 

“I'll bring her,” Oz said through a mouthful of food. Tolliver's brows rose high, and even Eli looked surprised.

“You never go to these things,” Valery said, and I couldn't work out if it was a statement or an accusation.

Oz gave me the weirdest look before taking another mouthful and answering. “What can I say, I'm feeling more energized.”

“Have you been sick?” He looked healthy as any six and a half foot man with full ginger beard and shoulders the size of a Mack truck could look. 

“You could say that, I guess.  But nothing for you to stress about,” he hooked an arm around my shoulders and gave me a quick side hug that felt way too nice and was over way too quickly.

I needed to go home so I could separate my hormones from my sense of rationality, though apparently my rationality had abandoned me in my hour of need.  What was the point of an imaginary voice in your head if she let you do crazy things because of a few hot guys and a pretty house?

Seven hot guys, Arcadia. And there is a rooftop hot tub by the pool. A hot tub! Ace was beginning to sound a little unhinged, which was never a good sign. 

We finished off the main, and I helped Valery clear off the plates, much to everyone's protests. But I stubbornly persisted.

Carrying the dirty plates to Valery's kitchen, I rinsed them and placed them in the state of the art dishwasher. 

“I have some serious kitchen envy right now.” Val laughed, “You are welcome to come down and use it at any time. The pantry is always fully stocked,” he said, pulling a tray of ramekins from the oven. Each one contained the perfect chocolate soufflé.

He transferred the dishes to a tray quickly. “Grab the chocolate sauce from the warming rack and the clotted cream from the fridge.” I hustled to do as he said, though my eyes never left those light chocolate creations. 

Ever since I was a kid, I loved food.  I guess it was probably because my parents were a little older and very well off when they had me, and they basically treated me like a third adult. We went to fancy restaurants and the opera and other places that don't typically see a lot of four year olds. That slowed of course when I got cancer at twelve and stopped altogether when my parents died when I was sixteen.

But those years eating in the finest dining establishments had given me a lifelong Iove of good food. 

“We should tell her. We don't have much time,” Tolliver whisper-shouted, as I rounded the corner into the dining room.

“Tell me what?”

Ah dammit, I knew it was too good to be true! Ace pouted.

When I was met with only silence, I asked again. Predictably it was Eli that answered. I was beginning to sense he was unofficial leader of this strange collective. “There are some small details you should know about us, but I'd prefer not to say until Sam and Ri get back. Lux is texting them now.”

I edged toward the door. “Shit, Ace was right about this. You guys are serial killers or something.”

“Ace?” he was on his feet, walking slowly towards me.

Argh, I was getting frazzled and everything was starting to slip. “Never mind. I'd like to go home now.” Although I did throw one last longing look at the soufflé. Until we meet again, Soufflé.

“Of course, Lux will drive you home, if that's what you wish. But I beg you to stay until we can explain everything. I swear on my Hippocratic oath that we would never do anything to harm you in anyway.” Eli seemed so earnest and sincere, I found myself wavering and he could see it. “After the other guys get here and we tell you our story, if you still want to go home, we will put you in a cab and you will never have to see any of us again.”

I bit my lip hard, torn and confused by his sincerity.  So I did something I hadn't done in years. I asked Ace for advice.

Oh she talked to me a lot over the years, handing out unsolicited advice and opinions like candy on Halloween, but I hadn't spoken back to her since I was eighteen and onto my fifth psychiatrist.

Do you think I can trust these guys? I asked, and I could sense Ace’s shock and surprise.  Or was it my shock and surprise?  See, this is why I stopped talking to the voice in my head. 

I think so. There is something about them that feels, I don't know, like home? Familiar even. They haven't done anything untoward except feed you and offer you a place to live, which sounds suss but may be completely altruistic. If they wanted to do anything awful, just Lux could have tied you up and killed you by now, burying your body its drum in the basement.

I screwed up my nose. Thanks for the visual, Ace.

I tuned back into the room to see Eli looking at me like I was an enigma he couldn't quite figure out. Welcome to the club, buddy.

“Fine. I'll wait and hear you out. But I want to go home after that.”

“Done.” Eli placed a hand on my elbow and led me back to the table. “Please sit.”

Valery placed a ramekin on a small plate in front of me. He held the chocolate sauce above the plate, pouring it from the jug in a long steady stream of chocolatey goodness.

If they murder me, I hope someone put on my headstone, ‘Died for the world's most perfect soufflé.’

Ace snorted. Consider it done.

We ate in silence, just the sound of Oz's playlist and the tinkling of cutlery echoing around the room. I was just scraping the chocolate from the bottom of my bowl when the door opened and Sam and RI walked in. 

Ri gave me a big smile, his dimples and white straight teeth practically blinding in their perfection. It was enough to make my broken heart stutter. 

“I'm so happy you are still here, Beautiful Girl. I was worried this lot had blown it all.”

I swallowed hard and consciously tried to calm my heartbeat.  Sam looked nervous, and for some reason that was amping up my own anxiety.

“Everyone's here. Get to it.”

Lux, who'd been suspiciously quiet until now, looked me straight in the eye. 

“We are all dead.”

Chapter Three

I blinked. My mouth opened and closed, but I had nothing to say to that. Ri rubbed his hand over his face.

“Fucking hell, Lux. This is why we let Eli do the talking.”

“Do you guys mean metaphorically or something? Are you a doomsday cult?”

Oz laughed and Eli shook his head. “No, we aren't a cult. Valery, get the book.”

Valery stood from the table, walking with heavy feet to the living room. He picked up a heavily gilded tome from the bookshelf and brought it over. It was a beautiful leather-bound book that I instantly wanted to stroke. The title was in French.  He flicked to a page in the center and handed it to me. 

Staring up at me from the pages of a book that had to be at least a hundred years old, was Valery, and dressed in a powdered wig with rouged lips. Underneath, in beautiful looping script were the words ‘Marquis de Roux, 1788’.

Valery looks good in that shade of lipstick. I wonder if he'd share.

I looked at Valery. “Is this an ancestor of yours?” I asked hopefully, ignoring Ace again. 

“No, that is me,” Valery said.

“Wow, you look good for 220 odd years old there, Val." I sounded like a bitch but I hated that they were making a fool out of me. “Look, this is ridiculous. If you don't want to tell me, just take me home.”

Valery sat back down on his chair with a great sigh. “It is the truth. My name was Valery de Lyon, the last Marquis de Roux. I died during the French Revolution, guillotined in the streets of Paris because I ate sumptuous feasts every night while the people of my fiefdom starved to death in the fields. A portrait I commissioned hangs in the Louvre. I was loaded and hedonistic and I died horribly for it.” He sounded sincere but he couldn't possibly be telling the truth.

“Yet here you sit, your head completely attached. Eli must be one hell of a surgeon.”

“I am, but I died a hundred years before Valery was even born.”

I was beginning to think that this whole day had been a prank, an elaborate scheme for someone to post on YouTube for hits. If that was the case, they better cut me in on the money they made at my expense

I pressed my fingers into my temples. “Okay. What about you?  When did you supposedly die?” I asked Lux.

“Around 70 BC by the Julian calendar.”

“You are all insane. I mean I thought I was nuts with the voices and all, but you guys are certifiable.”

“Voices?” Eli asked, instantly in doctor mode but I ignored him. 

“Let's put aside reality for a second and pretend you are all super old yet literally look like models-”

“I only died in the seventies. Just sayin’,” Oz interrupted.

I gave him a hard look and he mimed zipping his lips.

“As I was saying, you all look pretty youthful to me. And alive.  So what are you?  Immortals? Vampires?”

Tolliver physically winced, and Sam shook his head.

“This is going to sound crazy no matter how gently you break it to her. Maybe Lux had it right, just put it all out there and rip the Band-Aid off,” Ri suggested. “I'll get the brandy.”

He disappeared into Val's kitchen and returned with a bottle of brandy and eight glasses. Not that I was going to get drunk around these guys. I still wasn't convinced they weren't some kind of cult going to lock me in their basement as a way to reproduce come the Zombie Apocalypse. Though they totally chose the wrong girl if that's why they were going to all this effort. 

Lux took a deep breath. “Just try to think outside the box, okay?” I shrugged and he continued. “We are the physical embodiment of the seven deadly sins given a redemptive second chance at life because the big guy is not so bad.”

“The big guy?  You mean God?”

“No, the Devil. Who we were in our former lives meant we were relegated to his domain,” Sam explained.

“The Devil is the good guy? This isn't thinking outside the box, Lux, this is thinking outside the stratosphere.” I was beginning to understand how Alice felt in Wonderland; I was definitely tripping my way down a rabbit hole right about now.

Oz had moved away from the table and laid on Valery's couch. “I wouldn't say that he was a good guy. He's still the Devil. He's just a lot more forgiving of humanity's foibles than the other guy. But he isn't someone I'd trust in a bar fight, you know?”

Uh, no. I didn't know. I'd never been in a bar fight or met the Devil. There was literally nothing in that statement I could relate to.

“Just a quick recap guys, just to make sure I've got this all. You are all dead, as in formerly alive people.”

Lux nodded.

“You all went to hell and met the Devil.”

This time Eli nodded too.

“And now you are zombies back in the world to atone for your sins, so you decide to become models and UFC fighters?”

Tolliver laughed mirthlessly and shrugged. 

I sighed and stood up from the table, walking over to the couches where Oz was lying. I was tired, mentally and physically. Today had just been too much. I could hear the scrape of chairs as everyone stood to follow me. I eyed the only sofa and Oz moved to sit up, offering me his spot. It was kind of sweet. I sat down where his feet had been, tucking my own feet under me.

“Other than some musty old books, can you prove what you are saying?”

Eli sat down on the armchair opposite me.  “Well yes and no. Normally, if we went out amongst the humans, we would instill part of our sin in them, causing them to act a certain way.”

I frowned.

Say what, now?

Oh, good. I wasn't the only one who was confused as hell about this.

“I'm not explaining this well. Think of our sin as contagious. We infect those around us with it.” He pointed to Ri.  “Take Orion for example-”

“Wait, Ri is short for Orion? That's… a pretty nice name,” I quelled my enthusiasm a little.

The man in question gave me a lopsided smile. “Thanks, Beautiful Girl.” His eyes looked at me as if he wanted to devour every inch of my body with his tongue, and my body was a very willing victim right now.

Oz gently took my feet out from under me and placed them on his lap and I turned so I was more comfortable as he began massaging. No sane woman turned down foot massage, especially when it felt so good. I bit my lip to hold in a sigh of pleasure. Zombies gave great foot massages apparently. 

Eli cleared his throat. “As I was saying, Orion was sentenced to hell for the sin of Lust. Now, if he goes into a crowd of humans alone, people will stop what they are doing and immediately start fornicating with each other, despite their mental consent. Or if there is no crowd, they will try to have relations with Ri himself. If one of us goes out with him, the results of two Sins together seems to dampen the effects of either one. So while the human would still feel lustful, they wouldn't be inclined to act on the sensation against their will. ”

Okay. Ri was Lust in the Seven Deadly Sins. My body's willingness to jump on him and ride him to Timbuktu kinda made sense now.

I stared at Ri, who stood there and let me peruse his body with smug grin. His body was broad and strong, with thick muscular thighs, and an ass that would make grown women weep, strong arms and biceps wrapped in swirling tribal tattoos and that face. Strong jaw, dimples, and eyes that promised your every naughty fantasy would be fulfilled.

Yep, I could see how he would be the sin of Lust. He certainly set my libido on fire.

“I can see that.”

Ri grinned so wide I thought his face was going to crack. I was drawn to him like a moth to a neon sign.

“Ah, you see, that's where you come into this.”

I turned back to Eli, pinning him with my gaze. This was the part I needed to know. The rest of this story had been cuckoo, but I had no idea what it had to do with me.

“The redemptive part of our deal with the Devil states that we have to find the One, the Redeemer, and that she will help us find our redemption and be our salvation. We will know her because she will be immune to our sins.”

I could feel the eyes of every one of them burning against my skin, but I needed a minute just to wrap my head around this madness. Oz had stopped rubbing my feet, but was still clutching them tight like a life buoy.

“What makes you think it's me? I mean, I seriously want to jump Ri’s bones, so I can't be immune to his Lust juju or whatever it is.”

Orion smirked again.

Lux made a strangled noise from where he was sitting on the ground beside the couch. “I knew it was you because you were polite to me in the subway. I confirmed it when I touched your face and you didn't try and take my eyes out. I am Wrath.”

I studied him, his warrior body and gentle voice, his face marked with old silver scars. Wrath. Vengeance. Such negative emotions in such a beautiful package.

“So you think I'm the Redeemer, because I have good manners?”

“Coupled with the fact you didn't press yourself into Orion like a cat in heat when he touched you. That confirmed it. What you feel for him now is just ordinary attraction. It has nothing to do with his sin.”

That explains the smirk. Ace sounded smug.

That's all you have to say to this whole thing? This doesn't sound crazy to you?

Ace snorted. 

Okay, wrong choice of words.

Look, Arcadia. There had to be a reason I was saddled with you, and maybe this explains it. Maybe you are this ‘Redeemer’ character who is meant to help them find… whatever it is they have to find, and maybe you aren't. But, girl, you're already a dead woman walking. What do you have to lose?

She was right. I could just be a temp worker until I eventually dropped dead from heart failure, or I could help these guys and go out with a bang. 

Hopefully literally and figuratively with a bang, Ace purred. My unholy attraction to them all was a problem for another time. 

I mentally scrabbled for any knowledge I had on the Seven Deadly Sins. Lust, Wrath, Sloth... Bashful? No that was one of the Seven Dwarfs. 

A small giggle escaped my lips and turned into a full blown belly laugh as I imagined them each as a dwarf.

“I think you guys broke her,” Oz/Dopey said.

I took a deep breath in through my nose and out through my mouth, trying to get the giggles to subside.

“Sorry, sorry. I was just trying to remember all the deadly sins and thought of something funny.” I pointed to Ri and Lux respectively. “So you're Lust and you're Wrath.”

I pointed to Eli.

“Pride,” he said.

Hmm, made sense. 

“Valery?”

“Gluttony, of course.” He gave me a self-deprecating smile. There was a quiet brokenness to Valery, his eyes permanently sad even when he smiled. I wanted to fix him. But later.

I pointed to Sam and Tolliver, who were being super quiet, letting the whole thing play out.

“One of you guys has to be Envy, but you are both ridiculously beautiful I can't tell which one.”

Sam laughed. “I'm not sure if I should be flattered or insulted. I'm Envy, Tolli is Greed.”

Tolliver shrugged and stared at me in the eyes,  daring me to judge him for it, hurt and anger simmering beneath he's outwardly beautiful exterior. I wanted to hug him, but I'd sooth his hurts another day. I looked at Oz.

“I can't remember the Seventh Sin.”

“It's Sloth. I am Sloth.” There was an anxiety in his face, a fear of rejection. I pulled my feet away and watched his face fall but I quickly swiveled so my head was lying on his lap instead. “I think better when someone's playing with my hair.”

He smiled down at me through his ginger beard, his green eyes sparkling with an emotion I couldn't name. But he obligingly started running his fingers through my short hair, it was still growing back from my chemo, his nails gently scraping against my scalp. I resisted the urge to purr.

I stared at the ceiling, sorting through everything I'd learned.

“Okay.”

“Okay?” Tolliver echoed with disbelief.

“Okay, I will help you guys. But I'm not sure how you think this will work.”

Oz pulled me up into his arms like I weighed nothing and held me tight against his body. “We’ll take care of you too. You'll never feel lonely again.” I pulled back and looked into his face. He was surprisingly perceptive for the joker of the group. I gave him a smile and let myself succumb to the insane urge to snuggle into his chest. Just for a little while.

“I think I'm ready for that brandy now.”

Chapter Four

I'd never been good at math but apparently if you get seven buff guys and tell them to empty an apartment, they can do it in two hours, including spackling the holes where my paintings had hung.

After they'd dropped me home last night, I'd fallen into a deep dreamless sleep, the best sleep I'd had in a decade. Then I was up at dawn, more resolute than I'd been the night before.

I couldn't explain it, but it was like I knew these guys, that we were all part of a matching set, except I'd been the missing piece up until now. I knew things about them instinctively; their hurts and their hopes, although their stories were still a mystery. It was the feeling of completeness I had around them, the magnetic draw that I felt to each one, which had convinced me to abandon caution and commit to their offer.

I'd given notice to my landlord, who'd grunted his assent and handed me paperwork to fill out before slamming his door in my face. I'd packed up all my worldly belongings, which equated to six boxes, three of which were just books, and left my old life behind before lunchtime.

Although they hinted that I could quit my job and they would take care of me, I refused. I would take a sabbatical from accepting any temp jobs for a couple of weeks, but I was going to stay on their books because I wasn't an idiot. I'd made up some lame excuse about travelling Europe and my boss was excited for me. I only felt a minor guilt for lying. She would never believe the truth, or even the watered down version of ‘seven rich hot guys I met yesterday asked me to live with them and they'd bankroll me out of the goodness of their hearts’.

I called Clary and told her voicemail that I was moving, and gave her my new address. 

And that was that. My old life was stored away in less than twelve hours.

I was putting my books onto my new bookcase, in alphabetical order, when there was a knock at my door. When I pulled it open, Oz was standing there, his shirt untucked and his hair in messy waves to his shoulders. He held a cardboard box in his hands.

“I brought you your own home management system. You can use it to access any technological features of the apartment.” I ushered him into my apartment and he pulled the little round machine from the box and placed it on my hall table.

“The guys have all given permission for you to have complete access to their apartments, too. You just have to say ‘Mini-Oz, let me into user: Oz’s apartment’ and it'll unlock the door. No one has the permissions for your apartment though, I promise. It's also programmed with everyone's phone numbers, control over the TV and lights, and I gave you permission to my entire iTunes collection. I just need to program your speech patterns.” He pressed some buttons.  “Okay, now say ‘the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog’.”

I repeated the sentence into the speaker of the sphere.

“Now say, ‘chicken soup’.”

“Chicken soup.”

“Now say ‘Oz is the hottest, most amazing person I've ever met’.”

I laughed. “Dude, have you seen Sam? That guy is basically a wet dream made real.” Oz pouted. “But you are definitely the sweetest, hot guy I have ever met, and you are definitely amazing.”

An automated voice came over the surround sound. “User: Arcadia has been identified.”

This was so exciting. “That's some pretty sophisticated tech you have there.”

Oz fiddled with the buttons to finish calibrating my machine. “Thanks, I wrote the code for it myself.”

“Is that your job? Computer programming?”

He gave me a wan look. “Sweetheart, my sin is Sloth. I don't have a job, per say. I make my money by creating YouTube vlogs of me playing video games. Twitch TV on occasion as well.”

“People pay to watch you play video games?  Are you naked?”

A giant laugh burst from his body like a sonic boom.

“No. You can't see me, just the screen I'm playing on. God, you are so damn cute. Okay all set up here.” He took a step back from the bench. “Give it a whirl.”

“Mini-Oz, turn on the TV.” The TV turned on. “Mini-Oz, turn off the lights in the living room.” The lights went off. “It's like something out of a sci-fi movie.”

Oz just shrugged one shoulder self-consciously. “Someone else made the tech, I just built on it. I've programmed it so if you say the word ‘Help’ twice, it will send an alert to everyone. You don't need to say ‘Mini-Oz’ just ‘Help’. This is the only time we'll be given permission to enter the apartment without your say-so. Mini-Oz text the guys to tell them I'm running a test.”

“Text sent,” came from the speakers.

Oz walked out, and I watched the tight muscles of his back move as he left. The door shut and I heard a muffled “give it a try!” from the other side.

“Uh, help!  Help!”

Nothing happened, but I could hear Oz's phone ringing and the lock on the door clicked open. He strolled back in, a pleased smile on his face. “Worked perfectly.” He reached back into the box and pulled out a bright pink wristband. He looked… nervous.

“Are you gonna propose or something with that thing?”

He laughed and went down on one knee. “Not a bad idea. Cady, will you wear this wristband which monitors your heart rate and blood pressure, so death don't us part?”

“Why?”

“It's connected to Mini-Oz and will send the help signal and your GPS coordinates to us if your heart stops or your vitals seem like you are in distress, no matter where you are. If I sync it with your phone, it'll work wherever you have phone reception.”

I chewed on my lip as I looked down at him on his knees. I could understand the concept of it, but did I want them to be able to track me all the time? 

It was the earnestness on his face that sold me. He was doing this because he genuinely cared, and didn't want me to drop dead tomorrow.  Besides, if I didn't want to be tracked, I could always take it off. 

I put my hand out and he strapped it on. “It's waterproof and shockproof. You shouldn't need to take it off unless you want to.”

I pulled him to his feet. “Did you just have this lying around the house?”

“Nah, I picked it up this morning on my way to your apartment.”

Sloth, my ass. He was going above and beyond for me. I closed the distance between us and wrapped my arms around his chest. “If you are Sloth, how are you so damn buff?”

I could feel his chuckle vibrate through my cheek, and his arms came around my back, holding me close.

“If I go to the gym with Sam and Eli, enough of their sins rubs off on me to get me lifting weights for about half an hour or so a day. Wrath needs a sparring partner who doesn't need a pretty face to make money, so that's either me or Ri. Val keeps me on a calorie controlled diet and voila, this couch potato remains a red hot spud.”

I groaned at his bad pun. I looked up into his eyes, and felt the warmth of his body against mine and suddenly I desperately want him to kiss me. Maybe more.

He leaned down, brushing his lips lightly against mine, his beard tickling my chin. Then be pulled back.

“You just got here. As much as I want to kiss you right now, then lift your beautiful body onto the bench and make love to you like you deserve, it wouldn't be right.”

I pouted, but I knew he was probably correct. Still…

“Mini-Oz, play ‘songs for sex’ playlist,” I called out to the room. 

“Did you mean ‘songs for sex with a pretty girl’ playlist?”

I raised my eyebrows at Oz. “Is there a ‘songs for sex with an ugly girl’ playlist?”

“Access denied. This playlist does not apply to user: Arcadia,” the automated voice replied.

Laughter bubbled up and Oz looked amused. 

“Even your AI has great pickup lines!”

The moment passed, and I took a small step back but still kept an arm around Oz’s waist. I didn't know what it was about Oz, maybe it was because he was born in modern times, but I felt the most comfortable around him. Like we could be besties. I missed having a bestie around since Clary took her post overseas last year. I hadn't ever been able to keep close friends. I missed a lot of school as a teen, so I never had a chance to make that lifelong clique. Besides which, it took a certain kind of person to befriend someone who was inevitably going to die and break your heart. Same with boyfriends. I hadn't ever had a boyfriend that lasted more than six weeks. They ran as far and as fast as they could when they learned I was dying.

I hadn't even told Clary the full extent of my myocardiopathy, because I was petrified deep down that it would just be too much. I didn't want to die alone.

I looked over at Oz, who'd moved over to unpack my dinnerware into the small kitchen. He'd promised I would never be alone, and I trusted that he meant it. I would break his heart, but he didn't care.

“Mini-Oz, give Oz permission to enter my apartment at any time.” He looked at me and gave me the most radiant smile I'd ever seen and my heart swelled with an affection I didn't know could happen so fast.

Trust went both ways.

Dinner that night was a more subdued affair. Valery had left a coq au vin in Sam's oven, as he had to be at his restaurant Epicurean for the dinner service, and Oz was his designated pair. Ri and Lux had training and then Lux had to go with Ri to work in order to dampen the effects of his Lust juju. I discovered they rarely went anywhere alone, except Eli. Apparently neurosurgeons all had god complexes anyway, so the effects of his sin didn't register too much amongst his peers. He had also negotiated little to no bedside contact with his patients.

That just left Tolliver, Sam and I to drink way too much red wine and eat dinner in Sam's beautifully designer apartment. His Nordic genes really shone through, with white and a pale grey being the primary color scheme, from the walls to the carpet. His cabinets and his table were a pale Norwegian wood. It was like stepping into an interior design magazine. I was petrified I was going to spill red wine on something.

Every time either one of them smiled at me, or flirted (which Sam did a lot, he was an incorrigible flirt) my heart raced and I lost concentration. It was inevitable that I was going to spill something in the plush white carpet.

They made great dinner companions, telling me all the gossip of about the New York Fashion scene, of which there was a lot. I now knew who was suffering from an eating disorder, who got blacklisted from all high end fashion magazines for sleeping with an editor's husband, and who got told they were too fat to be a Victoria's Secret angel. The fashion scene was a battlefield that I was glad I didn't have to play on.

What really struck me was that Sam and Tolliver seemed so close, like the flip sides of the same coin. They finished each other's sentences, laughed at the same jokes. I wondered if they were a couple.

We all retired to Sam's living room after dinner, and I was so full my belly bloated into a little food baby. They sat either side of me on the couch, the bottle of wine close by on the coffee table.

What I wouldn't give to be the meat in that man sandwich. Ace had been quiet for most of the day, but apparently this was too much. I blushed, and Tolliver quirked a brow. I hoped one of their superpowers wasn't reading minds. 

“So tell us about your family? I know your parents are deceased, but there is no one else? ” Sam asked, sipping his third glass of wine. His lips were perfect. Full and shaped like Cupid’s bow. They looked soft and almost feminine in a face that was all male. 

“My parents died in a road accident when I was sixteen, and the lawyers tried to find some living relatives, but either there were none or they didn't want to be found and saddled with a chronically ill teenager. So I petitioned to become an emancipated minor and my trust funds were released and I've been on my own ever since.”

“My condolences,” Tolliver said, and I was beginning to think that his accent was part Brazilian, with his golden skin and square cut jaw. But his almond eyes, dark straight brows and dark black hair hinted at Japanese too.  Whatever the combination, he was the epitome of male beauty.

I realized they were waiting for me to say something and instead I was staring like a goofball.

“Thanks. It was a long time ago now.”

Tolliver bit his full lower lip, and I physically had to drag my eyes away.

“And you've been alone ever since?”

I shook my head. “I decided to move to New York to be closer to all my specialists. I answered a ‘roommate wanted’ ad for a tiny apartment, the other occupant being the youngest child of a huge Irish family from Boston, who'd run away to become a singer at eighteen. Her name was Clary Mulligan and after twelve failed auditions, and sitting with me through round after round of chemo, she decided to put herself through school and become a nurse instead. Now she's a nurse for Doctors without Borders.” I couldn't help but smile anytime I thought about eighteen year old Clary. She was something else. She didn't take shit from anybody, which is why she would have hated the entertainment industry but loves being a nurse. When the chemo was bad, she'd sat beside me while I hugged the toilet bowl, gagging every time I puked but refusing to leave me without any support. She’s the best.  “I would have been lost without her those first couple of years.”

They were both giving me soft looks of polite pity.  “Well, she has our eternal gratitude,” Tolliver said in his usual stuff tone. There was something haughty and autocratic about him that made me desperately want to know what his previous life was like, but I held my tongue. They'd tell me when they were ready.

“You should remember that, because she is going to have a shit-fit when she finds out I've moved in with seven hot guys who were basically strangers. Not to mention the fact that you guys are all basically zombies.”

Sam laughed and Tolliver looked indignant.

“I am not a zombie!”

Sam launched himself at me, making chomping motions at my faces. “Brainnnsssss!”

I squealed and scooted back onto Tolliver's lap to escape. Sam squashed me between them, miming snacking on my forehead. I couldn't breathe from laughing. Maybe the wine had gone to my head, but it was nice just playing around.

“Don't worry, I'll save you,” Tolliver whispered against my ear, his lips brushing against the sensitive skin.

I shivered. I wasn't laughing anymore, but I definitely didn't want to move. I looked up at Sam, and saw the heat I felt mirrored in his eyes. He knelt on the floor between my knees. The buzz of excitement ran through my body as Sam lowered his mouth to mine. 

“May I?” his voice was just a low rumble, and it went straight to my lady parts. 

“Yes,” I breathed back. What was it about these men that sent my hormones into overdrive?

“And me?” Tolliver asked, sweeping my hair from my nape and placing a lips there. 

“Yes.”

Then Sam lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me, softly at first, sipping at my lips. Then harder, his tongue running along my lower lip before plunging into my mouth.

I don't think they're gay.

Pleasure blocked out Ace. We'd always had an agreement that she mostly stuck to. She stayed the hell out of my head during sex. It was like having someone watching me otherwise. Not another participant, but a commentator. It was not fun. So we'd come to an agreement after I'd chucked a hissy fit.

The force of Sam's body pressed me back into the hard torso of Tolliver, who was trailing kisses from my ear down the curve of my shoulder.

A hand crept up under my shirt and I held my breath as gentle fingers ran up over my ribs to tease the edge of my breasts. 

Sam pushed his long lean body between my thighs and I could feel the evidence of his attraction pressing against my leg. 

There were hands and lips all over my body, and Tolliver was whispering something to me in another language that I couldn't understand but set my body on fire anyway. Someone was moving my T-shirt up over my stomach, higher until Sam moved his mouth away from mine and trailed his lips down to the swell of my breasts. I felt light headed, my breaths coming in pants.

Sam's front door banged open and we flew apart like guilty teenagers. I jerked away quickly and banged the back of my head into Tolliver's chin, and he let out a yelp of pain.

Oz and Valery stood there, worry etched on their faces. As they took in the scene before them, Oz’s expression morphed into amusement.

“Your health alarm went off. I thought you were about to have a heart attack. I think we are going to have to recalibrate your wristband. I better cancel the alert before the rest of the cavalry arrives.”

Sam swore. “Too late.”

I looked behind Valery and Oz to see a stormy looking Lux. Uh oh.

Chapter Five

“What were you two assholes thinking?  Hey, it's our only chance at redemptions first night in our place, how about we get her naked and have a threesome, I'm sure her weak heart will be fine? Are you completely stupid?”

Lux had been walking back and forth in front of the couch for ten minutes chewing out Sam and Tolliver, only stopping every so often to unconsciously run a hand over my head, as if he needed to reassure himself again and again that I was okay. Then he'd start up again.

“I had to leave Ri alone at the club and it's probably turned into a massive orgy that'll get the place shut down or at least create a scene that could get us noticed. All because you guys couldn't keep your hands or your dicks to yourselves.”

“Don't be such a prick, Lux. I've seen how you look at her, you want her just as much as we do. It's like a physical ache that I can't get rid of,” Tolliver argued and I whipped my head towards him. They felt the pull too?

“Of course I want to make love to her, she's beautiful and sweet and brave and her soul calls to mine in a way that can only be preordained. But I have something called restraint, maybe you guys should try it sometime? It's not that damn hard!”

Oz laughed, “I bet something is damn hard.”

Lux gave him nasty look and he just smirked back. No fear of Wrath.

I studied Lux’s face, searching for the truth. He couldn't know that I was any of those things in the 24 hours we'd known each other, and I wasn't actually very sweet, or beautiful or even brave. But he'd sounded so sure.

“You guys really feel that way? I mean, I am hopelessly attracted to you as well, but I just thought it was my hormones and the fact I haven't gotten laid since I moved to New York. To be honest, I was feeling a little guilty that I was so ready to jump into bed earlier with Oz, and now with Sam and Tolliver. It's not like me. I don't do that kinda thing! This feeling has to be something else, something to do with your Sins.”

Lux swung a dark look at Oz, who put up his hands in a placating gesture. “It was just a little kiss. I didn't think it was a good idea to put moves on her the first day she was here.”

Sam groaned. “Thanks, man.”

Tolliver rolled his eyes at the guys in the room. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me tight against his body. “Never feel guilty for your desires. They let you know you're alive. Especially not your desire for us. We feel the same need you do, probably worse. Lux is right, we should have had better control. But I'm not sorry about what happened.” He leaned in close and whispered, “I can't wait to get you naked and under me. Or over me.” He pressed a small kiss to the corner of my mouth. “Soon, when the Doc gives his approval, though between you and me, he isn't all that unbiased either. Not that I think he'd risk your health or anything.”

I leaned back against the couch and looked at the men in the room. My gaze stopped on Valery, who'd been quiet since he got back.

“You too?”

He nodded slowly. “Very much so.” Hunger warred with the sadness in his eyes.

What a quandary. You have seven hot guys lusting after your body, who want to turn your life into the porn version of Snow White and the Seven Buff Dwarfs. My heart bleeds for you. Ace could bludgeon you to death with her sarcasm sometimes.

I let out a little frustrated huff. But what if they don't want me, it's just their response to me being the Redeemer or whatever? Some predestined attraction that would happen even if I looked like a swamp troll.

Ace let out a sigh so heavy, it was a wonder the guys couldn't hear it. Who the fuck cares? You like them, you think they are hot, they are all nice guys. They seem to like you, if the bulge in Tolliver's pants is anything to go by. So why the hell not, already? And if you die getting banged against the wall by some ancient fucking warrior, all the better. Geez, you can be such a damn over-thinker sometimes.

I hated it when Ace was right; it made her smug and completely unbearable for a week.

The door to Sam's apartment opened once more, and Ri walked in. He took one look at our faces and cocked his head to the side.

“Did I miss something good?”

“We walked in on Tolli and Sam getting it on with Cady, Lux chewed them out for their poor timing and bad manners. Then Cady found out we are all attracted to her,” Oz summarized, taking a seat on the couch. 

“Hell yeah we're attracted to her. I've been walking with a hard on like a Steel bar since I touched her cheek on the subway. I've tried to make myself scarce so I don't overwhelm her too early though. I find it hard not to touch her.”

Lux pointed a hand at Ri and glared at Sam and Tolliver. “See, restraint.” He turned back to Ri. “How was the rest of your shift?”

“I don't envy the clean-up guys. Get a black light in there and the whole place would light up like a messed up Rorschach inkblot. But it was no worse than Saturday nights, so I think it'll be fine”

“Saturday nights are S&M night at the club,” Tolliver informed me.

Ri looked at me, his eyes hooded and a slow smile curling his face. “You should come one Saturday. I'll take you. It'll be lots of fun.”

He made fun sound like the dirtiest word in the world and my eyes got even wider.

Lux clapped his hands together so loudly, I jumped in my seat.

“That's enough. I'm escorting Arcadia to bed before you all give her a heart attack. Breakfast meeting in the morning with Eli so we can talk this out like adults instead of horny teenagers.”

Oz snapped a salute, and Sam gave him the finger.

Valery came over and gave me a light kiss on the cheek. “Bonne nuit, Cady. Sweet Dreams.”

I don't know how those simple words managed to sound like the promise of pleasure, but they did. 

Lux gave a frustrated grunt, took my hand in his and pulled me towards the door, muttering obscenities under his breath.

We rode the lift up to my floor in silence, though Lux still held my hand in his. When the elevator groaned to a stop, he walked me to the door. 

“Mini-Oz, unlock User: Arcadia’s door,” he said loudly.

“Access denied. You do not have permission to unlock this door.”

Lux grunted. “Good. Those horny bastards won't be able to sneak in in the middle of the night.”

“Are you really worried that would happen?” I asked, manually unlocking the door with my key.  Old habits.

“No, but it makes me feel better anyway.”

I stood in my doorway and looked at Lux in the dim light of the hallway. 

“Did you mean what you said or were you just making a point? About wanting me? Do you want Arcadia or the Redeemer?”

He reached out and grabbed my arms, pulling me gently against his chest. He stared down at me, his eyes molten silver with heat. 

“It was the truth. I feel an attraction to you as the Redeemer, I'm sure, but you are irresistible to me as Arcadia. It's taking everything in me not to lift you against the wall and worship your body one inch at a time,” his voice was soft, but I could hear the gravelly need in it.

“What if I want that too?”

A groan tore from him and in one swoop, he had his hands under my ass and my back against the wall. I wrapped my legs around his waist instinctively and gasped at his hardness pressed against my core.

Then he kissed me, gently but with so much feverish passion that I was breathless. He sucked on my lower lip, biting it gently before flicking his tongue over the tiny hurt. I moaned, my body desperately trying to push closer to his.

He drew away, panting hard. He buried his face in the curve of my neck and I ran my head over the soft spikes of his hair.

“Soon.” He lowered me to the ground and left without another word.

The morning was beautiful, the warm sun biting into the skin that was exposed along my shoulders, my pretty blue sundress not hiding much of them from the sun. We sat at a large glass table on the deck near the pool. A plunger of some kind of fancy coffee sat in the center of the table, along with pastries from a local bakery and an array of fresh sliced fruit. I felt like I was living the life of a movie star. 

Lux and Eli were swimming laps, and I was watching them like a hungry piranha. They were swimming while we waited for Oz to arrive.

Finally, Oz dragged himself up the stairs to the roof, wearing nothing but faded tartan pajama pants that were one stiff gust of wind from falling around his thighs. He scratched his beard and rubbed his eyes with his forearm. His chest had a dusting of strawberry blonde chest hair that glinted in the sun, trailing down over abs and thickening just above the waistband of his pajamas.

My brain melted. He walked over and kissed the top of my head. 

“Mornin' Cady.” Then he reached for my coffee cup and emptied half of it in one swallow. 

“Hey!” I punched his abs, which only resulted in me hurting my hand and him laughing.

“I'll make you a fresh one.” He leaned past me and grabbed the pot, and I was momentarily transfixed by the two dimples that sat on his lower back, just above his ass.

He stuck the mug back under my nose, smug satisfaction on every feature when he busted me perving.

“Get over it. You know I think you're hot.”

He laughed and sat down beside me. Lux pulled himself out of the pool, and Eli followed suit. Jesus. 

I was gonna go blind.

They sat down at the table and grabbed a pastry.

“How are you settling in, Cady? Your first night sounded… eventful.” Eli sounded far more amused than Lux had. Though he hadn't walked on me about to get busy.

“I'm almost all unpacked. The apartment is beautiful. I can't thank you guys enough for letting me stay here. Are you sure I can't pay you guys rent, or help out in some way?”

Valery returned holding a small silver dish and handed it to me. I lifted it to my nose and breathed in the smell of dark, rich melted chocolate. He passed me a plate of fruit and pastries. “For dipping,” he said with a smile, sitting down the end beside Eli. If Valery kept feeding me this way, I'd be the size of a house by Christmas. 

Sam laughed. “You are saving our immortal souls. Pretty sure that's payment enough.”

Lux grunted his agreement.

Eli nodded. “Quite. That brings up my next point. I'm not entirely sure how exactly you are meant to redeem us. Lucifer was a little vague on the details. I assume we have to make amends for the sins of our former lives, but how we are meant to do that and where you come into the equation I do not know.

“All we know for certain is that you are immune to our influence and mute their power over us completely when you are in our vicinity, which has been a blessed relief. I am fairly certain that you would nullify them completely if you are touching one of us when in a crowd of humans. I think that is the cause of this insatiable need to be with you, in the biblical sense. It is nature's way of telling us that we need to touch you.”

I screwed up my nose. “So you guys don't really like me, it's just your nature's telling you that I am what you need.” I wasn't sure I liked the idea. It made me feel used. 

“No, don't look at it like that. All attraction is nature's way of showing us that, ‘hey, this person has what you need to make a good mate and reproductive partner’.” He looked at me, three little lines creasing his forehead. “Love is a different force altogether. That is something greater. But all love usually starts with attraction.”

I leaned back in my chair and thought about what he was saying. Did they have something I needed too?

I chewed my Danish, and let the silence settle.

“So what's the plan?  Tolli and I fly off to London tomorrow and I'd like to have this settled before we leave.”

“We'll have to play it by ear. We have to assume that now that Cady is here, fate or divine intervention will lead us down the correct path.”

“And her health? I don't know about you guys, but I'm not going to just sit with my thumb up my ass waiting for her to die,” Tolliver said.

I just gaped. Of all of them, Tolliver struck me as the prim one, even when his hands were doing naughty things. Hearing him cuss just seemed weird.

He must have noticed my surprise. “This has been the first time since I died, maybe even before, that I've been entirely at ease. I mean, I wanted to share you with Sam. That's huge. I'm Greed. I don't share anything. And yeah, I want to have sex with you without wondering if I'm going to give you a heart attack. Even if it is just to prevent another lecture from Lux.”

Lux gave him a flat look, and Eli had his doctor face on.

“If it's acceptable to Cady, I'd like to get some of my associates to take a look at her and run some tests as a favor to me. Maybe see if we can't appeal the transplant board’s decision. But I don't think she should be exerting herself too vigorously until I run some tests to see the exact function levels of her heart.”

Tolliver nodded. “Spare no expense, I'll pay. Bribe them if you need to.”

Only an idiot or a rich person turned down free medical care. I was neither. “Sure, I'd appreciate some second opinions. As for the other thing, I'm pretty good at knowing my limits, so, uh, it should be fine.”

I was the focus of every set of eyes on the rooftop, and they all looked hungry. I was beginning to know how a gazelle felt.

“Be that as it may, you've only been here a day and known us for two. It may not be wise to rush anything.” Eli was gentle but firm.

Tolliver sighed and shared a look with Sam.  “Fine, but we want Cady time before we leave. If we can't impress her with our bedroom performance, then we are going to have to woo her with the next best thing,” Sam said, and he looked at Tolliver who had a smirk on his face that I didn't quite trust.

“Oh yeah.”

“Makeover day,” they said in unison.

Everyone turned towards Oz. He had a milk moustache on his ginger beard and his man bun had shifted to the side in a serious case of bed hair. He looked up and brushed the pastry flakes off his beard self-consciously. 

“What?”

Oh, this was going to be fun!

Chapter Six

Oz was a red herring. Oh sure, they groomed him to within an inch of his immortal life. They'd trimmed his beard and cut his hair, although they kept it long at both mine and Oz's insistence. Now it sat to his shoulders in long, lazy waves. He looked practically edible now but let's face it, he was hardly a lost cause to start with. 

Oh, the real lost cause was me apparently. The guys had gone out, buying me spa treatment after spa treatment until I walked out of the day spa on wobbly legs, totally relaxed and buffed until I shone like a lighthouse in the sun. They then chauffeured me to a salon, in Tolliver's state of the art Range Rover. The guy had some serious cash. The underground parking at the apartment building was filled with luxury cars, bikes, and speedboats.

“Did you make all your money modelling?” I asked. He shook his head.

“No, I made all my money by flipping companies.  The modelling I do because Sam needs a pair, and it was easier if we were both in the same industry. Plus, I own the agency we are signed to, and we have quite a few top models on the books. Big names. Not that anyone knows that.  It's all run under my umbrella corporation.”

I wondered how he ended up in hell, and then here, forever immortalized as Greed personified. I was burning with curiosity, but other than Valery, none of the guys had been very forthcoming about their life before the redemption deal. I didn't really want to ask. On a scale of one to ten in awkwardness, asking someone how they got damned to hell was probably a twelve.

We pulled up to a warehouse, its windows tinted, a roller door padlocked shut. In all honesty, it looked like a chop shop for stolen cars.

“Is this the part where you guys kidnap me and sell me to the Yugoslavian mob, because this doesn't look like a salon?”

Oz patted my hand from the seat beside me. “I wouldn't let them sell you to the Yugoslavians. The Russians pay better.”

Sam rolled his eyes and turned in his seat. “Seriously, Oz. That's not reassuring. This is a pop up salon. Only those on The List get coordinates. It's a hipster thing. But the stylists are some of the best in the city.”

“Is this really necessary? I'm happy with the spa treatments. You guys have spent enough.”

Tolliver got out and walked around to open my door. 

“If you get in there and don't want anything more than a manicure, that is okay with us. You are beautiful without all this stuff. If you get in there and decide you want to walk out looking like Jessica Rabbit, we can do that too. We didn't end up in hell by being shining examples of human generosity, so please let us show our affection in the best way we know how.”

How could a man, who knew some of the most gorgeous women on the planet, think I was beautiful? Compared to their peers, I was a gnome. I was having such a hard time reconciling the fact that not only did they think I was beautiful, but they wanted me on a deeper, physical level and I found it intimidating.

I mean, I wasn't an ugly duckling, I guess. My clothes came from a thrift shop, but my slight hourglass figure meant most styles sat well on me. My eyes were a little too big for my face, and my short blonde hair made me look like a little like an elf, something that was exasperated by my short stature. The overall package was waifish, but not unattractive. Well that's what Clary says anyway, but her style is somewhere between Janis Joplin and Charlie Chaplin.

I could see myself with Oz, or even Lux, because they were perfectly imperfect. I'd be still batting way above my average, but it wouldn't make people stop and stare in the street like it did when I walked to the car between Sam and Tolliver. Even Eli, Valery and Orion were way out of my league, but it would still be within the realms of possibility. But Sam and Tolliver? Strap me in a space suit because they were so far out of my league we weren't even in the same solar system any more.

Sam walked around to stand beside Tolliver.

“Hmm.” He nudged Tolliver out of the way, lifted me out of one car like I weighed nothing, shut the door and pressed me against it.

Then he kissed me. Holy crap, did he kiss me.

One arm around my waist holding me hard against his body, the other tangled tightly in my hair as his tongue stroked mine. The kiss deepened as his hips nudged against mine, his hand sliding down my side until he wrapped a hand around my thigh and lifted me up so I could hook a leg around his hips. He sucked hard at my lower lip until it felt swollen. When I was sure I was going to suffocate from a combination of desire and lack of oxygen, he pulled back. 

“I didn't like the look of self-doubt on your face. You have a lot to worry about, but don't ever worry that I don't think you are as sexy as sin.” He pressed his hips against my core, and I let out a little moan at the rigid length pressed against my aching center.  “Tolliver’s better with words. I'm more of an action kind of guy.”

“So we all see,” Tolliver said dryly. “Now if you're done with the PDAs, we have an appointment to keep. Anyone would think he's Orion,” he muttered at Oz. 

“Since Cady has arrived, I've come to feel a little more sympathy for Ri’s plight, that's for sure,” Oz said, shifting his jeans. “This was totally the wrong day to wear skinny jeans.”

Tolliver took my hand and tugged me to his side. “Don't let them fool you, those two are more alike than you think. Absolutely no manners and they think that chivalry is a type of whiskey.” He tucked my hand in the crook of his elbow. “Let me show you how you're meant to treat a queen.”

He escorted me to a bright red door and knocked twice. A young girl with long platinum blond hair opened the door. Seemingly bored, she stared down at her clipboard.

“Name?”

“Tolliver Matteo.”

Well, that made her look up. She stared at Tolliver, then Sam who was looming behind us, with Oz at his side. Her mouth swung open with an audible click. I knew the feeling.

The girl finally looked at me, and noticed my hand on Tolliver's elbow and Sam's possessive hand on my hip. She looked between the four of us, as if trying to work out which one I was banging and then appraised me as if she could discover my secret to getting three hot guys.

Sorry lady, you're going to have to find your own hell spawn. I gave Ace a mental high-five. Too right. 

“Sure, come on in Mr. Matteo, Mr. Sigurdsson. I'm a huge fan of your work.”

“And his package,” Oz said and the girl blushed bright red.

“No, I mean yes. I mean, I like your Calvin ad, Mr. Sigurdsson.”

Sam nodded politely, but showed no further interest in the girl.

Fortunately, Tolliver helped the girl out. “This is Cady. Tell Anna-Maurice that she gets what she wants, no matter what it is.”

“Sure thing, Mr. Matteo.”

“We’ll head over to wardrobe,” Tolliver said, and strode away like he owned the place.

The girl let out a breath. “So hot. But so intense. I feel like my ovaries are going to explode just being in the same room.”

“Preach, sister. Preach,” I muttered as she led me through a curtain to my doom.

I stood in front of the door where Akoko, the blonde door girl, said wardrobe was. That was her name, though not the one she’d been born with I'd be willing to bet.

She sounds like French poodle.

No shit.

I’d been in the torture chamber with Anne-Maurice for four hours. Long enough to discover that Anne-Maurice wasn't a single person, but a duo of stylists that in turn, lead a whole team of other stylists. I'd been preened, plucked and perfected until I was basically unrecognizable. But I was also smoking damn hot. Like, I could light a crotch fire from a hundred paces. Now for the reveal.

I pushed open the door, and stepped inside. Oz looked up, then back at his phone, before his head snapped back up with a near comical look of surprise on his face.

“You look… you're so… holy hotness, Batman!”

I smiled so big at his shock that I probably blinded him with my freshly whitened teeth.

Sam turned from where he was looking at a rack of dresses.

“You look smokin’ hot,” he moved toward me for a kiss. I held up a hand. “No kissing off my makeup until Tolli gets to see it.”

As if he’d heard his name, Tolliver strode through the door with a tall blonde man. He stopped short, and his eyes perused every inch of my face.

“Stunning. You always look beautiful, but right now you're a work of art.”

The tall blonde man stopped in front of me. “Oh my, la swoon! I see Anne-Maurice did a beautiful job like always. My name Is Pierre, and I am your wardrobe consultant. Let's see if we can't find a bow to put on that pretty package, shall we?” He walked me to the rack that was jammed with clothes. “No. No. Yes. Tolliver, sweetheart, come here and hold these dresses for our beautiful Cady. No. Yes. Hmm. No. Who chose this dress? Were they blind?” Pierre went on like that down the whole rack, occasionally holding a dress in front of my body before either discarding it back on the rack or handing it to Tolliver, who was rapidly getting lost under the mountain of clothes.

Sam came over and pulled a dress from the end of the rack, putting it on top of the pile.

“This one.” It was the same dark blue of Sam's eyes, and covered in sequins. Well what there was of it. It was a romper suit. Like the kind you wear when you are four and prone to exposing your butt to the postman every day. But this one had a neckline that plunged almost to my navel.

“Oh yes. Oui. This is the one. Tolliver drop that pile, we won't need them anymore. Cady, you must go put this on immediately. I have just the pair of Louboutins,” he swanned out of the room

I looked around desperately for a change room or a curtain and found nothing.

“Need a hand?” Sam grinned.

“Maybe two?” Tolliver's lopsided grin melted my heart. But not enough that I was going to get undressed in front of them. I didn't have that kind of self-confidence. I looked over at Oz, but he just waggled his eyebrows.

“Out, the lot of you. And if you see Pierre, hold him out there too. I'll call you when I'm dressed.”

Sam pouted like a little boy who got his favorite toy taken away, but he left when Tolliver pushed him out the door.

I slipped off the straps of my dress letting it fall to the floor. Holding up the sparkling concoction, I had to admit it was pretty. It had long, gauzy embroidered sleeves, the blouse section was billowy and light, and although the shorts lived up to the very definition of the word, they flared out to create a kind of skirt effect.

I stepped into it, thankful that I could pull it up rather than mess my new hairstyle. I shucked my bra and appreciated my small boobs for the first time ever. There was no room for a bra, or modesty, with this outfit.

I looked in the mirror, what the room lacked in changing facilities it more than made up for in mirrors, and gaped.

The girl in the mirror wasn't the one I was used to seeing.

You look like Tinkerbell decided to ditch Disney and do porn.

I laughed, because she was kinda right. Anna-Maurice had given me this messy pixie cut, keeping close to my natural golden yellow but added highlights and lowlights. Their makeup artists had given me what they called a ‘natural’ look, but involved contouring my face until I was transformed. They'd widened my eyes and artfully applied liner to make my lashes look thicker than they really are.

In short, they were magicians. I'd never be able to recreate any of this.

The only thing marring the perfection of my outfit was the long surgical scar running down my sternum. I'd come to terms with the puckered scar that was still pink even after all these years. I'd even become accustomed to the occasional stares I inevitably got when I wore low cut tops. I wanted to wear this amazing outfit, scars be damned. The guys would love them or hate them, but they were a part of me.

“Okay, you can come in now.” I took a deep breath and stood tall. The only person who entered was Pierre, a shoebox cradled in his arms.

“You cannot do a grand reveal without the shoes. Especially not without these shoes. Normally I would suggest a classic pair in nude, because every girl needs a pair of those, but for this outfit, we needed something with a little more attitude.” He lifted the lid and revealed a sky high pair of bootie heels the color of my dress, but heavily studded with spikes. “These will add a little spice to your sugar, if you know what I mean.” He sat me on a chair and knelt before me, sliding my foot into the Louboutin like I was Cinderella. I kind of related to Cindy right now.

“Now you may come in,” Pierre shouted as he helped me to my feet. I wobbled a little unsteadily as I got my balance on the heels, and prayed they came with reinforced ankle support.

They all walked in and Sam whistled long and low, and Oz’s gaze fell to my cleavage and stayed glued there. I could tell by the heat in his eyes that it was definitely my boobs that had him so intrigued, not my scar.

“How do you feel?” Tolliver asked, his heated gaze running a slow perusal up my body.

“Surreal. And a bit like a princess.”

Tolliver walked towards me and leaned in, kissing me gently. “You look like a goddess.”

Oz murmured his agreement, and Sam came over, wrapped an arm around me and dipped me backwards, kissing me hard on the lips.

“Irresistible.”

Oz smiled and came over, pulling me away and kissing my temple.

“I think she is beautiful. This is just window dressing.”

My face flamed with embarrassment, but I couldn’t deny that their praise made me feel hopelessly pleased with myself.

There was a great sigh from the other side of the room.

“Wow,” Pierre moaned as he looked between my men.

My men, is it? You jumped on the polyamory bandwagon awfully quickly.

I ignored Ace and concentrated on the look of wanting on Pierre's face. “Are you sure one of them isn't gay?”

He sounded so hopeful I couldn't help but laugh. They could be anything their hearts desired, as long as I made them mine.

Chapter Seven

They hustled me out the door before I could even consider changing back into my sundress. Which was lucky, because by the time we left the warehouse it was well past dusk, and the sky was a deep purple color.

“Okay, one more stop, and the Tolli and I have to catch the red eye out to London,” Sam said, helping me into the back of the SUV while Oz and Tolliver put countless bags into the cargo hold. I had no idea what was in the bags, and I was pretty sure that I wouldn't even get a peek inside them until Sam and Tolliver had left the country and I couldn't insist that everything be returned. Devious bastards.

Sam pushed me over to the center seat and climbed in next to me. Tolliver climbed in the other side so I was sandwiched between them.

“Good evening, everyone. I'll be your chauffeur for tonight,” came Oz's sarcastic voice from the driver's seat. “Actually, I'm a little excited. Tolliver never lets me drive his cars. He never lets anyone drive his cars. Buckle yourself in boys and girl, this is going to be fun.”

He peeled out of the lot on a squeal of tires. He took the next corner too fast, and I slid into Tolliver's side.

“I regret my decision already,” Tolliver said, wrapping his arms around my shoulders, his fingers lightly playing with my collarbone. I shivered as the butterflies amped up in my stomach. “Well, maybe not too much regret.” I was pretty sure that if he looked down my top right about now, he could see to my belly button. He smelled like a woody musk, and vanilla.

Oz took the next left so fast the rear tires slid out and Tolliver allowed me to slide back into Sam's side.

“Slow down. We aren't in Grand Theft fucking Auto.”

“We’ll be stuck in traffic soon enough, so Hakuna your Tatas,” Oz said with a massive shit-eating grin on his face.

Sam reached over and wrapped a strong hand around my thigh. “Maybe I just need something to hold on to.” His hand slid upwards until his fingertips lightly drummed the sensitive flesh of my inner thigh. He brushed beneath my shorts, his hand running along the edges of my underwear. Actually, my underwear was one of the reasons I made them leave so I could change clothes. My practical, adult underwear had a picture of a panda wearing sunglasses on the ass. When they illustrated the dictionary, there would be a picture of me in my white panda panties next to the definition of unsexy.

I sucked in a breath and held it as he slipped a finger under the elastic.

“Do you want this? All you have to do is say no and I’ll stop. We’ll stop. No harm done,” Sam said quietly, studying my face.

Tolliver murmured his agreement.

The problem wasn’t that I didn’t want to do it. Because, boy did I want to. It was a burning ball of need in my gut that refused to die down and only got worse whenever I was close to any of them. The only thing that held me back from throwing myself headlong into the moment was the conditioned shame that I knew I should feel. I mean, I was about to get off in the back seat of a Range Rover, pressed between two hot guys while another one drove in the peak hour traffic. Logically, I knew that I should probably feel ashamed of my thoughts and actions, but I didn’t. All I felt was this overwhelming need, a need that grew every hour I was close to them. I didn’t know if this wantonness was something that had always been a part of me but had been dormant until I met the guys, or if it was the weird ass situation that I now found myself in or even something more… magical. I didn’t care. I wanted, I needed and I was going to take.

Fuck shame.

“Yes. Please.”

Tolliver laughed. “Always so polite, even when you are asking us to fuck you. You are the sexiest adorable woman I have ever met.”

He kissed me as Sam slipped his fingers beneath my panties, pushing them to the side and finding my clit like it was magnetized. I moaned and pressed against his hand.

Tolliver turned so he could kiss me, hard, his tongue plundering my mouth. His hand moved beneath the neckline of my playsuit, finding my nipple and rolling it between his fingers. I made a tiny mewling noise as I arched into his grasp as white hot sensation ran through my body. Sam’s fingers circled rhythmically, building the desperate heat in my body, his eyes watching my face even as my own eyes closed against the pleasure. He slid one finger inside of me, stroking slowly, and my body moved against his hand, wanting so much more.

Tolliver moved down my body, pushing aside the neckline of my playsuit a couple of inches and taking the aching bud of my nipple into his mouth.

“Oh.” I twined my fingers in the inky soft blackness of his hair, holding him close as he sucked and lapped at my breasts, the steady pull sending heat straight to my core.

He lifted his head. “I am buying you a hundred of these suits, just for the ease of access to your beautiful breasts.”

“Speak for yourself. All I want is to taste her, but she’s trapped in these things until I can get her naked,” Sam groaned. With that, he plunged a second finger inside me, and I moaned.

“If you guys don’t quit talking and fucking make her cum already, I’m going to pull this car over and do it myself. Those noises she’s making are driving me crazy. I’m going to crash the damn car,” Oz whined from the front.

Tolliver dragged his teeth along my nipple and Sam started pounding into me, stretching me until I thought my heart was going to thump out of my chest. Sam leaned forward and kissed me, before trailing kisses and taking my other breast in his mouth.

I looked down at the top of their heads through pleasure hazed eyes, one dark and one light and both completely focused on my pleasure. They both sucked hard, and Sam pulled out his fingers out of me and flicked my clit before thrusting them hard back in me. It was too much and perfectly enough. The sounds of my orgasm echoed around the car. Wave after wave of pleasure left me, and the guys didn’t lift their heads or remove their hands until I lay limp in their arms.

The car swerved hard to the left and someone honked. Oz groaned. “I definitely chose the wrong day to wear skinny jeans.”

It turned out that the guys were taking me to Epicurean for dinner with the rest of the Sins. Although a stranger wouldn’t be able to tell what had happened in the back of that SUV in peak hour traffic, the rest of the guys around the table knew instantly.

Lux’s eyes appraised me, from head to toe, lingering on the small love bite I had on the side of my left breast from Tolliver's over-enthusiasm. “Are you okay?” He asked, his voice quiet enough that only I could hear it over the hum of the restaurant.

“I’m great, Lux. Don’t worry. I know what I am doing.”
“Do you?” he asked softly.

I couldn’t tell if he was chastising me or if it was an actual question. I decided I’d pretend I couldn’t hear him.

Valery came to the table, dressed in his chef's jacket and a pair of tight grey jeans that hugged his thighs. He even had one of those tall hats.

“Good evening, Cady. Tu es belle. You are beautiful.”

I blushed. “Thank you, Valery. Your restaurant is wonderful.”

“All the more so for you being here. Tonight, I have assembled some of my best dishes for you, rather than the table scraps I normally feed these heathens when they come into my restaurant. I have developed a nine course tasting menu just for you. They say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, but I think the way to woo a woman is not so different.” He poured me a glass of white wine. “I must go before the kitchen burns down without me. I will send out the first course momentarily.” He kissed my cheek and hustled back through the swinging doors to the kitchen.

I hadn’t spent as much time with Ri and Valery, except on that first night, and I felt a little embarrassed that they knew I’d gone to second base with two of their friends. Hell, I was even at first base with Lux and Oz. How awkward. But I couldn't help but feel drawn to them anyway. It was definitely something ‘other’ sitting inside me, reaching out for them whenever they were near, and just wanting to ride them into the sunset.

Don’t blame me. I think they are cute and all, but the pretty boys aren’t my type. I like them darker, more damaged, Ace mused. 

It was odd to think the voice in my head had a type other than my own. Maybe I should talk to Eli about Ace.

As if he could read thoughts, Eli turned to me. “I have gotten you an appointment with two of my colleagues. The best oncologist in the US, Dr Martha Yan, and a cardiovascular surgeon, Alrich Herchstein. They have agreed to a conference about your condition next week. I have taken the liberty of booking you in for tests at my hospital. Is that fine with you?”

I thought about my complete lack of insurance. “I don’t think my insurance will cover that.”

Tolliver gave me a look. “We’ve covered that. I will pay for anything you need done. I will have them bioengineer you a heart if that is what it takes. Don’t think about the cost. Think about getting well.”

I nodded and gave them both a small smile. My life was like a weird dream/fantasy right now. Like everything my teenage self had ever hoped for. The fleeting worry that I was rushing into everything and making a huge mistake washed over me. I wasn’t the kind of person who rushed into things. My life was a measured in tiny steps, not monumental leaps. But I shrugged it off. I wasn’t going to live my dying days in fear of making a mistake. It wasn’t like I’d have to live with those mistakes for long, anyhow. Silver lining.

Nine courses later, including two dessert courses and coffee, I felt less like a svelte goddess in my playsuit and more like fat Elvis before his death. I was a little worried the bulge of my drum tight belly was poking out of the plunging V of my outfit.

“I’m never going to eat again,” I groaned. The guys just laughed. I swear, they just inhaled each beautifully presented, tiny work of art that came before them. I wanted to take a picture of each dish before I took a bite.

“I could go a burrito,” Oz said, and Sam agreed. My eyes bugged out. Where the hell did they put it all?

Valery returned for coffee and sat down at the empty seat beside me.

“How was your meal?”

“Epic. Possibly even biblical,” I gushed. Because words could not describe the frothy little dessert the melted on my tongue as if it was made from air.

“I am glad you enjoyed it. These swine would not know good food if I slapped them in the face with a fresh Icelandic trout.” 

The guys joked, and Oz teased and I wondered what my earlier worry was about. Somehow I fit with these guys, like they each held a little piece of my soul and now I was home.

Chapter Eight

I kissed Sam and Tolliver goodbye on the footpath in front Epicurean, the flash of waiting paparazzi dazzling me.

“Don’t worry, my scarf means that none of their photos will be usable,” Sam said, kissing me one more time. I'd wondered about the odd shimmery texture and pattern of his scarf, but I had just thought it was some odd fashion statement. I still didn't know anything about fashion, even after today's makeover.

The valet brought around the SUV, and Oz, Sam and Tolliver climbed in. Tolliver was back in the driver's seat, unsurprisingly. Oz was going with them to bring the car back to the apartment; Tolliver didn’t trust other people with his precious cars.

I stood between Ri and Lux, having said goodbye to Eli, who was on call for the ER again tonight, and was going to nap in Valery’s office. Valery still had three more hours of the dinner service before he could go home.

“Where’s your car?” I asked the guys.

Ri grinned and took my hand, leading me around to a side alley behind the restaurant. Sitting under a street light are two mean looking Harley Davidson motorbikes.

I looked down at my outfit, and smoothed a hand over my tousled hair. I could do this. I’d always wanted to ride a motorbike.

Lux grabbed my other hand. “She rides with me.”

Ri smirked, and held up his hands. “No problems. As long as I get the first dance.”

“Dance?”

“We are going to Dante’s.” His grin got wider.

“But it’s not Saturday.”

Ri chuckled. “Holding out for S&M night, were you? Don’t worry, Beautiful Girl. We can go tomorrow too, if you want. I’ll take you any night you like.” He winked and threw a leg over his bike, pulling a black helmet down over his head. I appreciated his muscled thighs and the way his leather jacket pulled tight across his shoulders. That guy was just pure sex. There was no way I could ever null his lust abilities.

He revved the bike and sped out of the alley, the steady vibration of the motor’s purr thrumming in my chest.

“Ugh, he is so ridiculously hot it’s not fair. I feel like he should come with a warning label. Warning: will have incendiary effect on your panties.”

Lux just grunted and handed me a helmet. “I’ll take your word for it.” He shrugged out of his leather jacket. “Take this too.”

I slipped my arms into the sleeves, appreciating the lingering warmth of Lux’s body, and the smell of leather and man. It was a heady mixture that spoke straight to my libido.

He hopped on to the bike and patted the seat behind him. Thank goodness my Louboutin’s were bootie style. The spikes actually look a little badass biker-esque.

“Where’s your helmet?” I asked, running my fingers over his scalp. I felt the tiny ridges of old scars running in a criss cross pattern across his skull.

“Don’t need one.”

“Are you guy’s immortal?”

I had wondered this one and off for a while. Could they die? If I redeemed them, would they die again? Just fall to the ground in a pile of ash? I needed answers to these questions before we worked out how I was going to help them. I didn’t think I could become so invested in them, only to watch them die at the end.

Huh, I wonder if that's how people thought about me?

“Yeah. We can’t die by most mortal means.”

“What if I strapped C4 to your chest and detonated it?”

“I don't think any being can come back from that.” He sounded amused. “Is there a chance you might do that?”

“Well, no. But it’s nice to know where the line is.”

“Just get on the bike,” he grinned, and I couldn’t help but smile back. I threw a leg over the bike and kind of half shimmied, half dragged myself onto the back. It’s not as easy as it looks in the movies, especially when you are as short as I am. Even with the fuck-me heels.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed my torso tight against his. When he turned on the bike, the rumbling sensation went straight between my thighs.

“Hoo boy. Why don’t more women ride bikes?”

“Hang on.” With that, he revved the bike twice and tore out of alley, my arms becoming steel bands around his waist. I could feel every hard nuance of his abdominals, the strength of his back and the wetness between my thighs. Woah.

We tore through the traffic, weaving in and out of cars, going so fast that the lights blurred in my peripheral vision. I couldn't hear anything over the roar of the engine, even when we had to stop at the lights. I loved it.

We rolled past Dante’s, the line to get in snaking around the block. The sign was lit up in blood red neon, flames licking around its edges. The club was apparently called ‘Dante’s Seven Circles’ but everyone just shortened it to Dante's. We pulled into the staff parking lot around the back. Ri was there, leaning up against his bike, looking as sexy as… well sin.

“How was your ride?” he asked, double entendre fully intended.

“Invigorating,” I smiled coyly back, and he laughed.

“Welcome to Dante's, Beautiful Girl. Let your corruption begin.”

We pushed through a back fire exit and into a long dark hallway jammed with people lining up for the bathrooms. Ri led the way and Lux was at my back, a hand on my hip.

When we finally got to the main room of the club, the place was packed, probably past capacity. There was hardly any room to move without rubbing up against a stranger, and the dance floor was a writhing mass of bodies.

From what I could see over the heads of supermodels on teetering heels and gym jocks with shoulders as wide as a VW, the club was set in circles. In the center of the room was a round bar, a dozen leather clad bartenders behind there. The women wore tight bustiers and leather mini skirts, and the men wore tight leather pants and no shirts. Not one of them had an ounce of fat on them and they definitely looked sinful.

Around the bar was standing room, people talking, flirting, and in one spot doing a drug deal in a rather obvious manner. Beyond that was the dance floor, a slightly sunken circle of smoke, flashing lights and grinding people. Above us was a balcony that circled the room in curving arches, and more people were jammed up there.

“We’ll go up. That's the VIP area. We’ve got a table,” Orion yelled over the heavy bass of the music.

We climbed a curving set of stairs, and Ri led us to the back corner of the VIP section, where three plush black sofas sat in a U shaped on a raised dais, a long glass coffee table in its center. Lux guided me to the couch that was up against the wall, and sat down next to me. We looked down over the rest of the VIP like overlords on their fiefdom.

“Um, isn’t this a little over the top? We aren’t royalty. Why isn’t anyone else sitting here? I’m pretty sure that kid over there made like seventy million dollars last year and had six number one songs? And isn’t that the guy from the superhero movie? You know the one with the really awesome arms? Shouldn’t the club put a big name here, rather than just… well us? A bartender, a fighter and a nobody.”

Ri let out a huge, booming laugh then and even Lux cracked a grin. “What made you think I was just a bartender? Tolliver owns this club, and he is co-owner of Epicurean and a bunch of other businesses around the world. The guy is seriously loaded. This is the owner's table. We definitely get to feel like King Shit up here. If we aren't using it, which is most of the time, we let some of the more elite clientele up here. But tonight it's reserved for our Queen.”

People were naturally giving us the side eye, and I wasn't very comfortable being the center of so much attention.

“Would you like to dance, or maybe a drink?” Ri asked, motioning to a waitress in tight black pants and a torn white tank that barely covered the underside of her boobs.

I was even less comfortable on the dancefloor sober. “Tequila and lemonade, please.”

The waitress nodded at me. “Sure thing.” Her eyes skimmed over Lux’s body. “How about you, Lux? What can I get you?” The invitation in her voice was pure sex; she may as well have just asked if he wanted to fuck right there on the couch.

“Grey goose. Bring the bottle.” He placed his hand on my thigh and I resisted the urge to punch the air in victory. Take that super-hot waitress with perfect boobs.

She looked at his hand, and Ri’s arm still around my shoulder, and curled her lip ever so slightly. Apparently, I had been found wanting.

She left with the orders, and I sank back onto the couch between their bodies. “People are going to think I am sleeping with you two.”

“So?” Orion whispered in my ear, and I shivered. “That waitress thought I was a slut. A slut completely unworthy of your attention at that.”

“I don’t give a shit what other people think. Yours is the only opinion I care about,” he licked the outer shell of my ear and I nearly came right there on the couch.

“You are dangerous, Orion… uh? What's your last name? Actually, I don’t know your last name either, Lux. I can’t believe I’ve thought about having sex with you, but don't know your last names. The waitress was totally right.”

“Pfft. Raquel just thinks she’s the shit. Want me to fire her?” Orion asked, in complete seriousness.

I wasn’t that petty. Okay, I had to seriously think about it, but in the end my morality won out.

“No. It’s fine. It’s something I’ll have to get used to if we are going to do...this.”

“This?” He asked as he kissed his way down my neck.

“Helping you and the other sins find your redemption, or whatever,” I looked down at my feet and mumbled, “and the sex.”

“What was that, Beautiful Girl?” I could tell by his smirk he knew exactly what I said. I raised my chin and looked him dead in the eye.

“I said if the eight of us are going to be fucking, then I will need to get used to the slut shaming. I mean, I probably am, by definition, but I don’t care.”

Lux grabbed my chin and turned me to face him. “You will not speak about yourself in such a derogatory sense. You are a beautiful, sexual woman and we fully intend on worshipping in the way you deserve to be worshipped. Yes?”

God, I drowned in those eyes every time the focused on me. There was something arresting about them that drew me in and kept me trapped until he chose to release me.

“Yes.” It was a breathy whisper.

Unfortunately, Raquel returned at that moment, placing the tray of drinks on the table with a hard crack. She unloaded them slowly, her ass toward Orion and her breasts towards Lux. If I wasn’t so annoyed, I’d be impressed by her ability to twist like that and still look natural.

“Is there anything else I can get you? Anything at all?” Wow. She couldn’t take a hint

Ri went to reply, but I cut in. “No thanks, Rebecca, we’re good here. Really good.” I gave Lux a smoldering glance, my tongue darting out to lick my lower lip. His pupils dilated as he watched the movement, and Raquel was all but forgotten.

Orion chuckled and dismissed the waitress.

“Well now, the little lamb has teeth,” Ri chuckled. I shrugged and my cheeks tingled as I blushed. “If we are going to do this, I want monogamy from you guys. I don’t share well. I was an only child.” I stared into Orion’s amber colored eyes, just so he knew I was serious. He was the Sin of Lust. If anyone was going to have trouble with my terms, it was him.

His brows drew together, and I knew this was an important moment. If he could agree to this, it might mean that I could help him, help them all.

“I will try and help you find your redemption regardless of your answer, but I can’t sleep with you, share something so intimate with you, if you are sharing that same intimacy with every other woman who breathes.”

“And men,” Lux whispered.

My eyebrows shot up. Why would lust be confined to some cookie cutter version of western social ideals? But the same rules applied. “No men either. Just me.”

Orion nodded, but he didn’t agree or disagree. He stood and I tried to quell my disappointed. Six out of seven wasn’t bad.

“Would you like to dance?” he asked instead, and I gave him a tight smile.
“Sure.” I downed my drink quickly and stood, straightening my outfit so I didn’t accidentally have a nip-slip. Tolliver had shifted the fashion tape that was holding it all together earlier, so it wasn’t as secure as it could be.

Lux said he would wait at their table, so Ri took my hand and led me past the VIP tables, teeming with rich kids and rappers. One table was full of rich kids who looked like Abercrombie models and were generally treating their waitress like crap.

Ri stopped beside her. “Tell Raquel I said to swap tables with you,” he said, and she looked grateful. I didn’t think Raquel would feel quite so positive about the move.

He led me slowly down the stairs and we flowed with the crowd onto the dancefloor. We moved through the crowd, closer to the DJ booth that seemed to be suspended halfway between the two floors. There was a definite energy on the floor, and electricity that flowed through all the bodies swaying and grinding, and in the case of one couple to our left, fucking.

My hips began to sway to the beat as the music consumed me. Ri stood close, our bodies moving together as he slipped his thigh between my legs and put his hands on my hips. It was a fast beat and we moved with a frenetic energy as songs changed seamlessly. He turned me and we danced, my back to his front, our movements so provocative that my mother would have locked me in my room until I was forty if she’d been alive and had seen the spectacle. But I was caught up in the music and the scene and the hard feel of Ri’s body swaying into mine. And boy, the guy could dance. His movements were like liquid, and the press and swirl of the whole thing just made me think of sex. Hot, sweaty, dirty sex.

Another song came on, and everyone began to jump around.
I got jostled away from Ri, who was turned toward the DJ booth like everyone else. I got dragged backwards, further and further away by a set of hands. I called to Ri, but he couldn’t hear me over the music or see me in the press of bodies. I turned, trying to see the person pulling at me, but I had to concentrate on not losing my footing. Eventually, we stopped, still on the dancefloor and two bodies pressed into me. I recognized two of the guys from the Abercrombie Jerks table.

“Come dance with us. We can see you like two dicks at once and we are so fucking down with that,” said the one in front, although his words were slurred and his breath smelled like stale beer.

“No, thanks. I’d like to get back to my boyfriend now.”

“Don’t you mean boyfriends? You are a dirty little whore, aren’t you?” said the one behind me, holding me tight as I tried to wiggle away,

My heart started to thud wildly, unevenly, and sweat began to run down my spine as I realized that even though we were surrounded by people, no one here was going to save me.

Stink breath in front of me ran a finger down the vee of my top, between my breasts and I squirmed away, but that only seemed to excite the guy behind me.

“Calm down, we just want to dance,” Stink Breath said, pushing his body into mine so tightly that I could hardly breathe let alone move. Panic started to choke me. I couldn't move my arms or raise a knee to pulverize some balls. A hand slid up under my shorts and I tried to squirm away futilely.

“We are going to have so much fun.” The guy behind me grabbed my jaw, squeezing it tightly until extreme pain made me open my mouth. I tried to scream as Stink Breath forced a pill into my mouth, the sealed it shut with his hand, and the other guy behind me moved his hand from my jaw to my nose, pinching it tight so I couldn't breathe and was forced to swallow. As it slid down my throat, terror settled like a lead weight in my chest.

“I'm going to-”

Stink Breath didn't get to finish his sentence as a scarred fist wrenched him away by his hair. The same fist grazed past my face and into the nose of the guy behind me in bizarrely slow motion. His head snapped back in a deafening crunch, and then his arms were gone and I was frozen as I watched Lux fall onto the guy who was behind me, pounding his face in a sickening barrage of violence. Stink Breath was on his feet and trying to escape through the crowd, but Lux roared a sound that made a primal part of me want to run in fear. He was on his feet and he dove at Stink Breath, pushing him forward until the other man landed on his face. Lux was on his back, straddling his waist in an instant.

He grabbed the back of Stink Breaths hair and smashed his face repeatedly into the floor until the other guys face was an unrecognizable mess.

My head began to spin, my legs and hands going numb. The drugs were starting to kick in. 

“Lux.” My voice was strangled because my tongue felt fat. “Help.”

His head snapped around, his hands still holding the guy's head, although Stink Breath’s face was mangled and blood dripped in a river onto the dancefloor.

I wondered if he was dead, if the thing that looked like Lux, but with flat dead eyes, had killed him. 

Chapter Nine

Lux’s face had been the last thing I remembered about last night. When I opened my eyes the next day, it was to see Eli hovering over me. The anxiety coiled in my body instantly relaxed.

“We gotta stop meeting like this Doc.” I smiled, and then groaned as the pounding in my head made me instantly regret my mirth.

“I wholeheartedly agree. Despite popular opinion, I don't enjoy having you unconscious on my couch.” He shined a tiny light in my eyes, and then checked my pulse, his warm, strong fingers pressed against the delicate skin of my wrist. I realized I wanted to know what those fingers felt like in other places. I wanted Eli to kiss me. When had he gone from reassuring doctor to potential sex partner in my brain? I didn't matter, because I was having all sorts of torrid doctor/patient fantasies now.

My pulse must have jumped a little, because he looked away from the clock on the wall and back at my face, his concerned look melting away when he saw the heat burning in my eyes.

He leaned forward and gently brushed a kiss across my lips. It was a promise of something more. But not right now.

“I don't think you've suffered any lasting effects of the rohypnol. I'll give you something for the headache.”

He stood and I sat up on the couch. I expected the room to be full like last time, but none of the other guys were there.

“Where is everyone?”

Eli handed me to paracetamol and a glass of water. “They are… out.”

The hesitation wasn't lost on me. “And Lux?” I held my breath, having a vivid flashback to the dancefloor and his cold, dead eyes. What if he was in prison?

“Lux is in his apartment. He asked not to be disturbed.”

Oh really? We’d see about that. I stood from the couch. I was still in my playsuit, but the Hollywood tape had lost all integrity hours ago. My left breast slipped out, and Eli’s gaze shot to my chest with naked hunger that he didn't have time to squash before I saw it. 

I stepped toward him, into his arms and his hands pressed me against his body. He leaned forward, kissing me with gentle persuasion, his fingers skimming up over my hip, then my ribs, before he cupped my wandering breast in his hand. His thumb scraped over my nipple and I moaned into his deepening kiss. He plucked at it and I gasped, pressing myself closer.

I wanted nothing more than to succumb to the sensation of Eli, but I had to fix Lux first.

I groaned as I gently broke the kiss, and Eli let me. His hands slid back down to my hips, but he didn't let go.

“We’ll have our moment, I swear. But Lux needs me right now.”

“I look forward to that moment.” He leaned in and kissed my forehead. “Go take care of my brother. He will be feeling this very deeply.”

I hesitated at his door. “What happened to those guys? The ones who…”

Eli shook his head, his face completely closed down. “I do not know.” I looked at the neutrality of his face and knew he was lying, or at least not telling me the whole truth. 

I walked out his door and into the elevator, going straight to Lux’s floor.

Ace, are you there?

Silence. Panic gripped me. What if the drugs had burned her away? Ace and I had our differences, but I needed her. She was a part of me.

Aww, Cady, I didn't know you cared.

I'd never been so relieved to hear that snarky voice.

Yeah you did. We’ve got each other’s backs. I love you.

A long silence again, before Ace spoke.

Love you too, Kid. Her voice was husky and rough.

Do you know what happened last night, after my blackout? I asked.

Yes. Her tone was the coldest I'd ever heard. We owe Lux a debt.

And those men, what happened to them?

That cold flat voice again. They got what they deserved.

A feeling of dread washed over me.

Are they dead? Silence. Ace?

She didn't answer.

Giving up on interrogating Ace, I lightly knocked on Lux’s door but no one answered. I knocked louder, but still no answer.

“Mini-Oz, unlock user: Lux’s door.”

The lock slid across with a snick. I turned the handle and walked into the apartment. I'd never been into Lux’s space, and the heavy curtains shut against the early morning light shrouded the place in pockets of darkness.

But I could still see Lux. Hunched over on his couch, the only piece of furniture in the room, with a bottle of vodka dangling loosely from his fingers.

“Lux?” I called, but he didn't look up. I moved in front of him, but he still wouldn't look at me. I knelt on the ground at his feet, forcing him to see me.

His eyes lazily took in my face.

“You don't kneel in front of me, Arcadia. Never.” He wrapped strong hands around my ribs and pulled me up onto his lap. I curled into the strength of his body, enveloping myself in the warmth of him.

“What happened, Lux?” I asked gently, my hand reaching up to stroke the lines of his face.

“I happened. Wrath. Revenge. You may null our abilities, but we are still the same people who got sent to hell for our sins. I'm still the person who slaughtered whole villages.”

My eyes bugged out in shock. “That may be so, but I don't think the man who did those things in your former life felt such remorse.” He shook his head, and buried his face in my neck. “Will you tell me about it? Your life before?”

He shook his head. “I was a Spartan soldier. One of the army's most brutal. That is all you need to know. The rest isn't… pretty.”

I could see it then, in the hard edges of his face. I could imagine him in the armor, the helmet, holding a sword. My warrior. 

I pulled his chin towards me. “I will save you, Lux. I will be your redemption, if you'll let me. But I think it's fairly logical that you can't murder anyone else, okay?”

One corner of his mouth curled slightly. “I didn't kill those kids at the club. They walked out of there alive.”

I sensed more to that story, but I let it go. I would find out the details later. 

Such pain on his face that it hurt to see. I needed to replace it with something else. 

I turned so I was straddling his lap, our chests pressed together.  “Lux, will you take me to bed?”

Heat roared from his body and strong arms wrapped around me. “Yes.” It was a sigh, a chant, a proclamation, and without hesitation. 

His mouth came down onto mine, hard. He kissed me with a desperation that bit into my soul; that called to me to sooth his hurts and forgive his errors.

I obliged, kissing him back with my own desperation.

He stood, his hands under my ass, lifting me with ease. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he walked me towards what I assumed was the bedroom.

I broke the kiss. “Shower first.” He was still speckled with blood and I wanted to erase any trace of those guys from the club. 

He nodded, recapturing my mouth in another searing kiss. 

We walked into the dark marble bathroom, and he placed me on my feet. 

He reached into the huge shower stall and ran the water before turning back to me. His eyes devoured my body as he hooked to fingers around the top of my suit, and achingly slowly pulled it down, exposing my skin to the cool air inch by inch. My nipples pebbled instantly under his gaze, and he sucked a small breath through his teeth. Stooping a little, he pushed the rest of the suit down my legs until they pooled at my feet. I turned, stepping out of the fabric. 

He knelt in front of me, then he grinned. 

The smile was such a huge contrast I was momentarily shocked.

“There's a panda on your panties. It's wearing sunglasses.”

I groaned. Dammit, the unsexy panda panties.  But they were worth the embarrassment to see that smile.

I whacked him lightly on the shoulder. “Don't judge my panda underwear.”

He pushed them down over my ass, his fingers tracing their path. “Never. I love them,” he said, though his eyes were focused on other things.  He traced his hands back up my legs, over my hips before coming around to grab my butt with a groan.

He stood and moved me toward the shower stall.  

I stepped hesitantly into the shower stream, testing the water with the tips of my fingers. Of course it was perfect. The emotional part of me knew that despite tonight's show of violence, Lux would never do anything to hurt me, even have the shower water too hot. 

I stepped under the steady pound of the water coming from a shower head as big as a dinner plate. Lux stepped in behind, his clothes gone, and the hard muscles of his naked body pressed tightly into my back.

I went to turn, I wanted to see, but he stopped me with gentle hands on my shoulders.

“Wait.”

He moved me out of the water and grabbed body wash from the little alcove in the shower wall, popping open the lid. The smell of Lux filled the stall and I inhaled deeply. Squirting a good amount into his hands, he put the bottle back.

His slippery hands went back to my shoulders, and he slid them down my arms, washing me.  His fingers were firm as they slid down my arms to my fingertips and then back up the sensitive underside, moving over my shoulders and then working in lazy circles down my chest. He leaned forward and trailed small wet kisses down my neck. 

His hands finally reached my soapy breasts and I sucked in a gasp as he kneaded them, tugging my nipples between his fingers, each tug pulling at my core. 

Those rough, strong hands slid even lower, down over my ribs and in big looping circles over my stomach, his finger dipping into my naval, making me suck in a quick breath. Lower, closer to the aching part of me that was desperate for attention.

His hands skimmed over my hips and down to the tops of my thighs, sliding inwards and brushing ever so close.

Instead of giving me what I wanted, he turned me, and I got my first look at Lux naked. He was beauty. Smooth, unforgiving muscle chiseled his body. Sitting hard and proud against his abdominal muscles was the biggest cock I'd ever seen. I swallowed hard in both fear and anticipation. 

“Holy shit.”

He chuckled as he fell to his knees in front of me, working the suds from my ankles upwards, building the tension all over again. His fingers skimmed the sensitive part behind my knees and he worked my thighs in long, hard strokes. Finally, he was back where I wanted him. He pulled me into the warm rush of water, rinsing off the rest of the body wash. 

His fingers grazed over the folds of my pussy, giving my clit a quick flick, making me buck towards him on a moan. 

“You're going to want to lean back for this,” he said and lifted my left leg, hooking it over his shoulder. I took his advice and leaned back against the cool, black tiles. I couldn't breathe as he looked at me, staring at my pussy like it was a work of art. Then he leaned in and licked my seam in one long stroke. 

The breath I'd been holding hissed out of me as he buried his face between my thighs, lapping and sucking like a starving man. My knees wobbled and he reached up, grabbing my other leg and placing it over his other shoulder until he was supporting my entire weight against the wall, two hands under my ass, kneading. And then he feasted. 

Orgasm after orgasm hit me until I was just a screaming mess. 

My body was jello by the time he stood, flicking off the water. He grabbed me up in his arms and carried me to the bedroom, both of us still dripping wet. 

“Our first time won't be in a shower. I want to make love to you right,” he whisper-growled at me. 

He placed me on the bed, his body immediately coming over mine. He traced his tongue up the scar on my sternum, before drifting to suck my nipple into his mouth, making me writhe. I was panting by the time he switched to the other breast.

“I can't wait any longer,” his soft voice was a plea.

“Don't. I need you inside me, Lux.”

He growled, his cock at my entrance in seconds.  He pushed the massive head into me, slowly, my gentle barbarian. The stretch was deliciously painful, but I was wet and ready for him. 

With one powerful thrust, he was seated all the way in me and I'd never felt so full or so right in my life. This was perfection. He began to move, and coherent thought left me as we became a wave of movement and sensation, building and building. I chanted his name on every exhale until the pleasure built so high that I exploded, screaming, and my dodgy heart thundering in an out-of-time staccato.

Lux kept pumping, his rhythm getting ragged as he reached his own climax on a roar.  Everything went black but I came around in seconds. Thankfully, Lux hadn't noticed my temporary lack of consciousness, or he might never give me such a mind blowing orgasm again. 

His body lay along mine, a comforting weight, and I wrapped my arms around his chest, my nails tracing light patterns up and down his back.  “That was…” There were no words. 

“Yes,” he groaned back, pulling out and rolling off me but taking me with him until I was lying on top of him. Stickiness dripped down my thighs. 

“I will clean you in a minute. I just want to hold you while I catch my breath.” His soft, rough voice did something to my heart. 

“I don't mind. It means we can shower again later. I really like your shower, with you in it.” I punctuated the words with a kiss to his chest.  Fuck, he was amazing. I desperately wanted to lick every inch of him, but I was exhausted.

“Sleep, Sweet One. There will be time for more later. Rest.”

His eyes closed, though his fingers traced light lines up and down my back, lulling me into sleep.

Chapter Ten

I flicked through the clothes in my wardrobe. When I'd finally returned to my apartment the other day, after hours of making love to Lux and sleeping in his arms, it was to a sea of shopping bags in my living room. 

Unfortunately, I hadn't had time to go through them right then, I had an appointment to keep with Elias for tests, so I'd thrown on the first casual thing I could find, a halter neck rockabilly dress with a little red cherries pattern and a pair of black ballet flats.

When I'd returned, I'd been so exhausted after a day of tests that I had fallen into bed that night and hadn't woken up until noon. It'd been a long week on an emotional rollercoaster ride and my body had been wrung out. 

I'd put away all my new things with my old thrift store finds. I appreciated my closet, full of clothes still with their tags. I hadn't had one of those since my parents had died. 

Now, Monday had rolled around again, and for the first time in years I wouldn't have to go to work to make sure I could pay my medical bills and rent for the month.

I fingered a soft, pink sweater. It felt like a cloud of my skin. I would have to call Tolliver and Sam, thank them again. I missed them now that they weren't here. How could you miss people you'd known less than a week? But I did. I missed Tolliver's serious face and dry wit. I missed Sam's laid-back nature and teasing sensuality.  Only seven more days until they were home. 

The black jeans with the grey tee, Ace weighed in on my outfit choices.

I had to agree; I'd tried those jeans on and they made my ass look like a peach.

Ace had also flourished since I moved in with the guys. Maybe I was just more accepting of her, or myself, because a voice in my head was no longer the craziest thing about my life. She liked the guys, though they still didn't know about her. Nothing came up in my brain scans when Eli ran them the other day, so she wasn't due to a brain tumor. I decided to keep it to myself for a little while longer. Eventually I'd let it slip, then I'd explain. Well I'd try. I didn't even know how to explain it to myself.

Ace is the badass bitch I wish I could be, Ace mimicked my voice almost to perfection, although it sounded a little whinier than I did. 

“You got the bitch part right anyway,” I teased back. I always spoke out loud to her in private.  It was just too much pressure in my brain otherwise. I could put up with the pain if necessary, but only for a few minutes. It was like my brain was going to war with itself and it always gave me a pounding headache.

I shimmied into my 7 Days For All Mankind jeans, giggling at the irony, and the soft grey T-shirt. I was going to find Oz. He promised to teach me to play Call of Duty today. Whatever that was. It just sounded like a great excuse to sit on his lap.

Give the girl a little lovin' and she turns into a brazen hussy. Gotta say, I'm kinda proud right now.

“Jealous much?”

A scoffing laugh. Hardly. Though, your boy Lux is packing some serious meat in his lunchbox.

I laughed, enjoying our new camaraderie.  There was a knock at the door. I glanced at my pink wristband that thankfully doubled as a watch. Oz was early. Eager much?

I didn't bother with shoes, but stuffed my phone in my pocket. 

I was smiling as I pulled open the door.

“You're earl…”

But Oz wasn't at my front door. It was a stranger. A fucking scary stranger. 

I couldn't pinpoint why I thought he was scary, though. He had dark black hair and dark eyes, a beautiful face with a sparkling white smile. He had a Black Sabbath shirt and black jeans that were torn at the knees. He looked boringly average, if not a tad more handsome than the average Joe. But still a cold shot of fear ran down my spine. 

I stepped back towards the Mini-Oz sphere on the hall table. “Help, help,” I said, praying it was loud enough.

“You must be Arcadia. It's a pleasure to finally meet you.” The man stepped forward into my apartment.

I mentally willed the guys to hurry. My heart was beating too fast and I could hardly breathe. Something was wrong. I willed myself not to give into the darkness again.

“Don't worry about the fear response. It's just the primordial part of your brain trying to tell your nervous system to protect itself. I mean you no harm. My name is Luc. You might know me as Lucifer Morningstar. Or…” he grimaced, “The Devil.”

Ace let out a piercing scream in my brain, the sound sending spearing pain around my skull and making blood pour out my nose. Blackness swamped into my vision and the last thing I saw was the face of the Devil staring at me. 