Devilishly Sexy by Kathy Love

impressed look. “Well, I suppose it’s good you aren’t waiting too long to get back in the saddle. But then, after thirty-three years ...”
    “Exactly,” Michael agreed.
    “So what’s confusing?” Elton asked. “I can’t imagine anything has changed much in that department.”
    “No,” Michael agreed slowly, trying to explain exactly what had him confused. It definitely hadn’t been the act itself.
    “The hookup went fine, better than fine. It was amazing.”
    Elton nodded approvingly, another wide smile spreading across his face. “Very good. Very good.”
    “It was what happened afterward. She—she just kicked me out.”
    Elton’s smile withered.
    “No explanation. No warning that something was bothering her. Just literally—get out.”
    Elton studied him for a minute, then gave a helpless shrug. “You know, maybe I’m not the one to talk to. After all, I’ve been with my Dolores for nearly fifty years. I can’t even remember my hooking-up days.”
    Michael chuckled, although he was a little disappointed. “That’s okay. Maybe there just isn’t an answer.” But even as he said that, he knew it wasn’t true. There had to be a reason Liza’s demeanor had changed like that, and so suddenly.
    He returned to his mailroom work, although his thoughts were still on what had happened with Liza.
    “Maybe she was honestly just looking for a one-night stand,” Elton said, giving Michael a regretful look.
    Michael didn’t think so. And even if that were the case, he didn’t think Liza would react the way she had. He could see her apologetically telling him she couldn’t get involved. Maybe even making a joke of it, but she’d been emphatic, almost desperate, for him to leave right away.
    “Or maybe she was hiding something. Something she didn’t know how to tell you about.”
    Of course! She’d woken and remembered her soul contract. She’d made a pact with the devil. That was a pretty heavy burden, and certainly something she couldn’t share with an average guy. Hell, an average guy wouldn’t even believe her.
    That had to be it.
    “Like maybe she’s seeing someone else,” Elton added. “Or she wasn’t that into you.”
    Michael frowned at the old man.
    Yeah, he liked his theory better.
     
    Liza let her head fall back against the back of her office chair, closing her eyes, exhausted. Her temples pounded, and she just wanted to close her eyes and sleep, but she couldn’t do that without another massive dose of Benadryl. And she was growing more concerned about taking so many of the allergy meds. She had been noticing her heart racing more and more lately, and she knew the drugs were affecting her heart rate and blood pressure.
    Although a massive heart attack might be preferable to this.
    Rah, rah, ah, ah, ah
    Roma, roma, ma
    Gaga, ooh, la, la
    Liza gritted her teeth, determined not to scream. But Boris had been singing at the top of his lungs since he’d fully come to last night, both furious that he’d been drugged yet again, but also that he’d missed sex.
    And Lady Gaga had been his preferred torture of choice. Over and over. And off-key to boot.
    “Stop it!” she cried out. Not for the first time, but apparently even Boris was getting tired of it, because he trailed off just as he got to the part of the song where he wanted her psycho, her vertical stick.
    When are you going to learn, darling? Drug me, and you will pay.
    Liza was tempted to tell him it was well worth hours and hours of awful singing, but when she thought about how tired she was and how badly her head hurt, she wasn’t sure anymore.
    Then she thought of Michael. No, that had definitely been worth it. Unfortunately it really had been just a stolen moment.
    And I missed it.
    Liza closed her eyes again, frustrated that she was so tired, she couldn’t keep her thoughts hidden from him. Sometimes she could, but masking her thoughts took a lot of energy and concentration, neither of which she had much of