Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
“ N ext,” I stated dryly as I waved off the human woman in front of me who had applied to be my new house manager. The frumpy and middle-aged woman had smelled funny, too much like a squeaky shoe.
I stared down at my notes from each candidate I had interviewed.
Too squirrely.
Voice pitch is too high.
Has uneven freckles.
Can’t whistle Dixie.
A minute later, another presence sat down in the seat across from me.
“Name?” I asked, without looking up, as I readied my pen.
There was a slight pause before a deep chuckle broke the silence.
“Rookamus Destiel Von Deutsche,” the familiar British voice responded. There was a slight pause before he added, “The fourth.”
I lifted my head as my eyes found Rook casually sitting in the chair in front of me, his leg crossed with one ankle on top of his knee. One of his elbows hooked on the back of his seat with a cocky smirk on his face, and a twinkle in his eye.
There was a brief moment of silence as I considered which question I wanted to ask him first. I tilted my head to one side as I observed him. “Von Deutsche?” My brow perked up in curiosity.
His smirk remained on his face. “Picturing me in Lederhosen, aren’t ya?”
Before I could even generate the thought in my head, Rook waved his hand off to the side like he was wiping a window clean. A translucent image appeared– much like a projection – of Rook standing there with a stein in hand, wearing the traditional German outfit. The projection was akin to watching a short reel, with his image looking around and drinking from the container in his hand. I swore that I could almost hear the folk music in the background.
I cracked a smile at him before shaking my head. “What are you doing here? I’m trying to find my replacement for Christina.”
Rook waved his hand again, and the vision he had created vanished from the air.
“You have found your replacement.” He flashed a huge grin.
When I stared blankly at him, his grin faltered slightly.
“It’s me, love. I’m humbly accepting the offer you’re about to give me,” he boldly declared.
He then raised a finger to pause me the second I opened my mouth. “There’s one condition of my employment, of course. I’d prefer to go without the historically official naming convention that your prior house managers had bestowed upon them.”
The pen in my hand felt like a dead weight by now, so I dropped it onto the notepad.
“Since when do you know anything about managing my affairs around the house?” I asked, certain he was less than qualified for the position.
That’s when his smile came back in full force. “Well, love, if you must know, I am more qualified than most.”
“Oh?” I let the surprise linger in my voice, with an amused smile tugging at my lips.
He nodded at me before uncrossing his leg and leaning forward so both his elbows were on his knees as his fingers laced together.
“I know each one of your adorable quirks and kinks. I’m a bit more hearty than your previous human employees. Any tasks that are required of me can be done in the time it takes me to snap my fingers. And let’s not forget my culinary skills.” That charming smirk returned to his handsome face.
As I leaned back in my chair, I gave it some thought. My eyes drifted over his features, considering his usefulness. There was no pressure to make up my mind as he patiently looked at me, waiting to hear my decision.
Finally, I let out a small sigh in an attempt to sound indifferent, but the corners of my mouth betrayed my feelings on the subject as a small smile pulled at them.
I finally voiced my decision. “Consider yourself gainfully employed.”
The way Rook’s face lit up, you would have thought he had just won the lottery. He leaped up from his seat in excitement.
“I knew you had it in you, love.” His smile was damn near infectious.
He spun around to call out, “Hey! Atlas! You owe me fifty dollars and a jar of peanut butter, mate!”
Atlas appeared in the doorway of my office, his fingers rubbing over his eyes at the news of his lost bet as his shoulder leaned against the frame. His other hand tucked into his pocket casually.
When he finally dropped his hand away from his face, Atlas bashfully smiled at me after that the little wager had been revealed.
Tension filled the air around us in the office. After my carnal reunion with Atlas, things had been strained. I had been emotionally distant, knowing that the woman he had fallen in love with so long ago was a weaker version of myself. I had grown into my authority as Lucifer’s right-hand angel. I saw humans for who they truly were: disposable pets.
My eyes settled on Atlas’s form, admiring the casual look he had going on for him that day. From his dark blonde locks hanging down freely, just barely gracing his muscular shoulders, to the jeans and grey tee he had on. All of it together made for a delicious package that had my insides stirring.
No, Kinley, you’ll give him false hope. He wants the old you, the one he can handle.
The dark voice in my head echoed inside my skull. The Devil never did seem to sleep these days.
Needing a reprieve from the suffocating and unspoken tension, I stood from my seat. I looked at Rook, who undoubtedly looked like he was ready to gloat about his interview skills for the next year or perhaps the next ten.
Atlas pushed away from the doorway, taking several steps into the office so the three of us stood in the professionally designed space.
Although his voice was gruff, it was like silk against my soul. “Guess I will have to ante up.” The words were directed at Rook, but his body language was directed at me.
His eyes met mine with a heat that could melt all the ice in Antarctica. I was certain that the shiver that zipped down my spine was designed to make even the most chaste of women cry out Satan’s name in pleasure.
Shutting the notepad on my desk closed, I looked at both of my men. “You two settle the score. I have some things to take care of.” After everything I had been through lately, I needed a little bit of self-care.
Both Rook and Atlas looked at one another before directing their gazes at me.
Noting the partially concerned looks on their faces, I stepped around my desk to stand in front of both of them. “I’m just going to get my nails done, maybe a little shopping afterward. Why don’t you two get to know one another better?”
There was a mischievous grin on Rook’s face and a glint in his eye as he looked over at Atlas. When Atlas saw it, he immediately shut down whatever had Rook looking particularly devilish. “Not happening, Rook. There’s only one person in this room I want touching my dick, and it’s not you.”
Rook gave a defeated pout. “Way to squash a lad’s dreams.”
I giggled at the exchange between the two of them. Perhaps having them both under the same roof would be more fun than I had anticipated.
After pulling into my garage, my hands rested on the top of the steering wheel while I admired my freshly painted nails splayed out in front of me. I had opted for my favorite color, scarlet, to help get me back into my typical spirits. I smiled in satisfaction at how perfectly the color contrasted against the paleness of my skin.
As I got out of my car, Rook had already come through the door that led from inside my house. I began to pull several bags from my backseat before he appeared at my side, easing them out of my hands.
“Ah-ah, love. Allow me. I have a glass of wine already poured for you. It’s inside on the kitchen counter.”
Who could argue with this level of service? I let him take the bags from me and stepped away from my car so he could collect the rest.
“Looks like someone is already proving to be quite the helper,” I said with the edge of a tease in my voice.
Rook smirked at me as he pulled out several more bags from my impromptu shopping spree. “What can I say? I’m a mere demon dedicated to living a life of service.”
I grinned and thought about all the ways he could service me.
“Don’t forget about the bags in the front seat,” I said as I headed for the door that led inside my home.
When I stepped inside, I was immediately greeted with the most pleasant of scents. My entire house smelled incredible, much like the warmth and spice of apple pie but with a deeper layer of something like cranberry just underneath it.
It brought a delighted smile to my face; it seemed that Rook had been hard at work, taking his role as my new house manager seriously. I’d have to reward him for a job well done later.
Hearing me come in from the garage into the kitchen area, Atlas looked up from the kitchen table, where he currently chipped away at a small piece of wood. The knife in his hands curled pieces off the block as he sculpted a design into it.
He smiled at me, a sparkle in his eyes. “Have fun, angel?”
I nodded in response. “It turns out that all I needed was a little self-care and a little retail therapy.”
Rook came in with his arms full of all the goodies I had purchased during my outing. He sent them down on the far end of the kitchen table as he began unloading the contents of the bags.
I could see the confusion on his face as he pulled out a set of dog bowls, puppy kibble, a massive dog bed large enough to fit a Great Dane, and a chew toy.
Atlas’s brow perked up at the contents now strewn across the table. He set down both the knife and wood block he had been whittling away at.
Examining the fluffy pink material of the dog bed, Rook spoke with uncertainty. “Um, love? What’s all this?”
Excitedly, I announced my favorite purchase of the day. “I got a puppy!”
Both guys stared at me with blank expressions for nearly a minute straight.
“Angel, where is the puppy?” Atlas slowly rose to his feet.
It dawned on me that I had forgotten all about that part, and I gasped slightly. I turned and ran back into the garage. Rook and Atlas were just a beat behind me. I went to the trunk of my car and popped it open.
A sigh of relief escaped me as I saw my new pet was still in one piece.
Atlas stood on my left, staring in horror. Rook stood on my right, scratching the back of his head.
“Isn’t he adorable?” I looked at each of them, my body giddy with excitement.
Rook cleared his throat. “Love, when you said you got a puppy, I expected something a little more…furry.”
“Kinley, a puppy would indicate something of the canine variety.” Atlas shifted his gaze onto me. His words were nearly fucking judgmental.
I pouted that he didn’t seem to share in my excitement. “His name is Wolff, doesn’t that count?”
On my right, Rook pulled out his cane and poked my newly purchased companion on the leg. “I suppose this is better than a hellhound.”
“Are you fucking serious right now, Rook?” Atlas didn’t even attempt to hide his shock.
In response, Rook shrugged. “The drool stains hellhounds leave behind are a bitch to clean up.”
Shaking his head, Atlas replied, “Sy isn’t going to like this.”
I frowned as I leaned over and grabbed the pink rhinestone-encrusted leash attached to my new pet. “Don’t worry about Sylas; he loves dogs! Besides, Wolff is such a good boy.” I tugged on the leash, and the man in my trunk slowly climbed out wearing nothing but a pair of basketball shorts.
My hand lightly grabbed underneath the man’s bearded jaw, and I leaned in to rub the tip of my nose against his. I raised the pitch of my voice and used a tone like I was talking to the cutest of babies, “Aren’t you, Wolffy? Yes, you are. You are such a good boy.”
I practically beamed with happiness over my new puppy. My powers of persuasion were keeping him such an obedient little pet. There were going to be plenty of fun times ahead.