Ethan would never have thought it before, but Hell … or a magical simulation of it, anyway … was pretty. Not beautiful.
Nope.
He reserved that word for the woman beside him.
Ruby wore a tight white dress under which he could see the outline of a white bikini. Her long red hair was loose, but she had pinned half of it to the back of her head. It put her heart-shaped face on full display, and he could see it every time she blushed. She blushed surprisingly often for a succubus, but he had to wonder if it was more a condition of her red hair than any sort of impact he could have on her.
They settled on one side of the boat as Portia walked around, chatting with every couple to see if things were going well. Ethan noticed that a few of the pairs were different today than they were yesterday. He wanted to point it out, but he figured Ruby would only say that was pretty damn normal in such a place.
“You gotta hand it to Lucifer. He doesn’t do things by half measures. This is actually amazing. I’ve been in many resorts over the years, and I can safely say that this is the most beautiful one.”
“It’s powered by magic, right?” Ethan asked. “Is that why it just always seems perfect?”
“Probably,” Ruby replied.
His heart sank a bit, but only because he wanted her to reply something super cheesy likeit’s you that makes all the difference.
She gripped his arm and straightened her back. “You see that woman there? She’s a witch.”
“I knew that,” he grumbled, his mood sour because they had lost the flirty tones completely.
“We should try to approach her,” Ruby suggested.
Ethan was in Hellscape to save his pack. He knew Ruby’s suggestion was the right thing to do, but he didn’t actually want to go talk to the witch. He wanted to stay right where he was with Ruby and get to know her better.
“We could,” he kept his voice light and suggestive, adding a shrug for good measure.
“We’ll have to be sly about it, though. Not too obvious but obvious enough that they don’t think we’re trying to get a four-way going.”
He sputtered and coughed. “What?”
“Ethan, you’re surrounded by demons and all kinds of beings.On holiday. Nothing is illegal here. I’m sure some things like murder are frowned upon, but you’re literally in a holiday resort for paranormal creatures. We misbehave for a living. What did you think this place would be?”
“I’m not super okay with sharing.”
Ruby giggled. “That’s good to know, Ethan, but we wouldn’t actually be coming on to them or suggesting a four-way.”
“Oh, right. True.” His face flushed red hot.
“Let’s do this.” Ruby stood and waited for him to join her.
“Shouldn’t we …” He took a deep breath. “I don’t know, come up with a plan? With something to say?”
“I’ve got it.” She winked and tossed her hair over her shoulder.
He watched her hips sway as she made her way to the witch and the greed demon. Ruby really was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Succubus or not. Magic or not.
If someone had asked him to describe his perfect woman a week ago, before he had ever even heard of this place, he would have said a short and curvy redhead.
In his mind, he would have added hazel eyes that sparkled and a mouth made to do dirty things.
That was Ruby.
He was wary, however. One of the very first things she warned him about was the allure of the succubus. Men got her low-grade magic confused with real love all the time.
He might never try to save his pack and lose his soul in the process.
Not going to happen. Ruby wouldn’t hurt us.His wolf sounded a lot more sure than Ethan was. Go figure.