Page 60 of Lust

“I have a question,” Juliette says. “Will it hurt when we swap bodies? I mean, what exactly is the procedure?”

“Zair weel be no pain,” Noémi replies. “You weel not literally be swapping bodies. Eet weel be like you’re wearin' a magical costume. You weel look like zem and you weel talk like zem, but you weel still be yourself. Eet's your job to learn 'ow to act like zem.” She looks down at the watch on her wrist. “You should start now because we only 'ave fifty minutes left. After zat, I weel dismiss you. You should go straight to your room and stay zair alone until tomorrow morning when we meet down in ze atrium at nine a.m.”

The sound of tables and chairs scraping to one side resonates as we clear a space in the center of the room. My initial inclination is to approach Rowena and Juliette and vent my frustration about the task ahead, but with fifty minutes remaining, they're the last two people I should be talking to. I already know their mannerisms. If I look like either of those tomorrow, I would probably be able to pull it off. I will never in a million years have the sexy swagger of Juliette, nor the scathing hilarious tongue of Rowena, but I know more about them than anyone else in this place does. As I talk to the people in the group, some of which I’ve never spoken to before, I try hard to remember the way they speak, their accents and their mannerisms, but with twenty-six people, it’s hard to remember who’s who.

By the time the hour is up, I’ve barely committed anybody’s name to memory, let alone their partners and all their likes and dislikes. I just don’t have the energy to care, so after saying a swift good night to everyone, Rowena and Juliette and I head back to my room in silence. As soon as I shut the door, Juliette throws herself on my bed and exclaims, “What the fuck was all that about? We’re pretending to be someone else now? Does anyone else think that’s creepy?”

Rowena pulls her skirt out flat and sits beside her. “This is Hell. Noémi isn’t as obvious as Anthura, but she’s a demon. We can’t lose sight of that and think about it. She’s giving the people what they want. She doesn’t care about the contestants, but she does care about the people in her tower. She’s got to spend eternity with them. It wouldn’t surprise me if she had this all planned out from the start. She’s a manipulator.”

“What do you think she meant about Twila?” I ask. “She met her. I know she did, and it’s hardly as though Twila is hard to forget.”

“I thought that maybe she was having so much fun with Hades that she’d kinda forgotten us, but now I’m not so sure,” Rowena muses.

“There’s no way Twila forgot about us, but we do know for sure that she was here. If only we could get to the lower level to go and look for her.” Juliette’s eyes turn to me. “Didn’t you say that you had a key?”

“I did in Purgatory, but it disappeared when I was brought down here. Twila is the only other person I know who isn’t a demon that has one.”

Shit.That’s not true.

Rowena searches my face. “What is it? You’re hiding something.”

“Not really.” I sigh and flop onto the bed next to them. “I just remembered someone else who has a key, but there’s no way he’s going to give it to me.”

“Dade Angelis,” they chorus.

I let out a groan.

Juliette sits up. “Go get it!”

Ha!“He hates me. Like hates me to the depths of his soul. There’s no way he’ll give me his most treasured possession.”

Both of them stare at me and my stomach sinks.

“What?”

“Didn’t you tell us earlier that you two did the horizontal rhumba… er vertical? You know what I mean.” Juliette smirks. “You're gonna have to seduce that demon, babe. Take one for the team”

I look at Rowena for support. I don’t get it.

“I hate to say it,” she says, “but if we want to find out what happened to Twila, you might have to go speak to him at least.” She gives Juliette a warning look. “But don’t do what Juliette says eh? Just talk to the guy.”

32

PRETTY DAMN DELISH

QUINN

My heart pounds as I once again find myself heading to Dade’s apartment. The last time I was there, I left in tears and the sharp pain still stings sharply despite what happened between us in the Earthery. There’s no imagining it as he opens his door and it hits me with full force. Anger. Sadness. Pain.

“I need your help,” I pant.

He’s naked from the waist up, which is disconcerting. The memory of the electricity between us as I danced with him, then him leaving me abruptly, is still raw. The contours of his skin catch the red and pink of the stained glass windows behind me, outlining the sinewy muscles and tattoos and making them appear as though they are on fire. It’s a breathtaking sight, and one I don’t want to contend with right now. I concentrate on his messy hair, glad that at least part of him doesn’t look so fucking perfect. Then I realize it’s probably mussed up the way it is because I’ve just dragged him out of bed.

He glances at his Hell Cell, then shifts his gaze back to me. “It's eleven o'clock at night.”

“I’m painfully aware.” I heave out. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t need you.”

I catch myself and how that sounds. “Er, your help.”

---