“Well, people like the doormen kind of do,” said Raini. “You co-own the Underground now, which makes you sort of their boss.”
The elevator came to a stop with a chiming sound, and the metal doors slid open. And there was Keenan, flashing his adorable, boyish smile. One look from his hooded, blue eyes made her senses zing to life – it was beyond her control. The incubus, like Raini, oozed sex and could naturally stir lust in others whether he wished to or not. Nonetheless, no one made Harper’s body react like Knox did, which was why it was easy for Keenan’s effect to become background noise.
Behind Keenan was every demon’s version of heaven. Kind of like the Vegas strip only ten times better. There were casinos, clubs, bars, hotels, restaurants, entertainment venues, and strip clubs. There were also things you wouldn’t find on the Las Vegas strip, like combat circles where demons dueled for money, and dog racing stadiums where hellhounds competed.
“Hello ladies,” greeted Keenan, flask in hand. It could be said that the sentinel had a drinking problem. It wasn’t rare for demons, since their kind had addictive personalities. “I can’t help but notice you aren’t dressed for a night out.” His shoulders slumped. “Tell me you’re not here to shop.”
Harper patted his shoulder. “If it makes you feel any better, I’d rather not go shopping.”
Raini grabbed her arm and pulled her in the direction of the mall. “You need a new dress for the celebration, and we will find you one.”
As they walked down the strip, Harper peeked into each of the buildings – none of which had a front wall, making it easy to see they were all heaving with demons. People were laughing, eating, drinking, and dancing. There was also a little brawling going on here and there, but that was pretty typical.
Reaching the mall, they walked through the automatic glass doors and right into a maze of retail stores, kiosks, coffeehouses, escalators, smoothie bars, hair salons, elevators, and stairways. The place echoed with the footsteps and conversations of the crowd. Bright and airy, it was well-kept and every surface and window seemed to glimmer. Harper’s nose wrinkled at the smell of coffee, perfumes, floor wax, and meat grilling.
Raini pointed at the escalator. “Come on, the first floor has the best dresses.”
Harper was more interested in following the scents coming from the food court. “Fine, but we have to eat before we leave here.”
“Wait, I need to get some cash first,” declared Devon, moving to the ATM with Raini. Keenan stayed with Harper near the fountain, watching Khloë expertly extract a plastic bubble from a coin machine with nothing more than a sharp punch to the side of the machine. She’d always been good at that.
Walking to them, Khloë cracked open the bubble and grinned as she pulled out a small pack of gum. “Yay, strawberry flavor!”
Keenan turned to Harper. “Is it wrong that, despite being a grown man, I want to learn how to do that?”
“No, it is kind of cool,” Harper allowed, smiling as she saw that a group of kids who’d been watching Khloë were now trying the move for themselves. Sadly, they were having no luck getting a free bubble.
Raini sidled up to Harper and linked her arm through hers. “Let’s go find you a dress.”
The next few hours were spent browsing and trying on clothes and shoes. Keenan repeatedly sent Harper “please have mercy on me” looks, but she just shrugged each time. Raini and Devon were on a mission to help her find the perfect dress, and Harper preferred that to dealing with Belinda’s designer-friend. Still, it was easy to feel claustrophobic when the mall was so busy. There wasn’t much that it didn’t sell. Clothing, books, electronics, jewelry, toys, music, shoes, purses, make-up, housewares, furniture – that was just the beginning.
Just as Harper was losing the will to live, Raini brought her to an abrupt halt and pointed to a dress in a window display. “That is perfect for you,” declared the succubus.
Harper bit the inside of her cheek. “It’s a little too… sophisticated for me.”
“No, it’s not,” said Raini, urging her into the store.
A dark-skinned woman approached, smiling politely. “Hello, Miss Wallis. Can I be of any assistance?”
The amount of times Harper had heard that very sentence in the last few hours was unreal. Before she could get a word out, Raini pointed at the peach dress on the mannequin and asked what sizes were available blah, blah, blah.
Harper browsed the rails while they chatted, sliding hangers back and forth on the racks. She paused as she came to a raspberry red, satin, strapless dress. Decorated with little gemstones, it was tight fitted down to mid-thigh, where it then flared out.
“You look great in red,” said Devon. “This is perfect for you.”
“Definitely,” agreed Khloë. “But I’m not sure Raini will agree. She’s got a hard-on for that peach dress.”
It turned out that her cousin was right. The succubus insisted that it was the better choice.
“It’s graceful, silk, and the shade suits your skin tone perfectly,” stated Raini. “Right, Keenan?”
The incubus opened and closed his mouth several times. Then he grimaced. “Why are you involving me?”
“You’re a guy; guys like seeing girls in dresses. This will look good on Harper, right?”
Again, his mouth bopped open and closed. “Stop. Enough. I can’t handle the pressure.”