A knock sounded on the door. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to pretend I hadn’t heard it, but it would do no good to ignore my new boss. If I kept this up, there was nothing to stop him from firing me. With a heavy sigh, I pushed off the bed and padded over to the door. When I pulled it open, Asmodeus was nowhere to be seen.

Frowning, I began to push the door shut again but stopped when something glimmered in the corner of my eye. I dropped my gaze to the floor, and my stomach twisted. He’d left the plate of food there for me.

I glanced around the dark, silent penthouse. He must have left to go to his club for the night. And he hadn’t tossed out my plate. I knelt, grabbed the food, and then toed the door shut.

“This doesn’t mean I like you,” I muttered out loud to no one but myself. But then I had that same skittering feeling down my spine again, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d heard me after all.

7

“Sign here.” Asmodeus pushed the clipboard across the desk and leaned back into his office chair. My eyes flicked across the paper. It was the end of what looked like a twenty-page contract. I flipped through it all, eyes blurring. A spot for my signature sat just beneath his, next to that same Infernal symbol etched onto the door.

“This seems a bit over the top,” I finally said, setting the clipboard onto the desk. “And I should probably read through all of it.”

“It’s a standard employment contract,” he replied, frowning. “Take your time, if you’d like. Unfortunately, that means you won’t be able to start tonight. I’ll have to put you on the roster for another day later in the week instead.”

I sighed and picked up the pen. “It’s fine.”

As I scribbled my name across the line, a strange zing went through my body. Almost like someone had shot an electric charge into my arm. Wincing, I finished signing and tossed the pen onto the desk.

“What’s wrong?” Asmodeus asked with a smile.

“Nothing, I think I just got a shock.” I wrung my arm and pushed the clipboard toward him. “There. Happy now?”

“Delighted.” He stood and motioned for me to follow him into the hallway outside his office. That afternoon, he had fulfilled his promise and had taken me shopping. In the end, we’d argued about every little thing until he’d angrily bought me three outfits I was to wear when I danced at his club. I hated each and every one of them. They were little straps of black fabric that highlighted my curves, but one wrong move, and I’d have a serious case of wardrobe malfunction on my hands.