Cole awoke to the sound of his screeching alarm clock. “Damn it!” he grumbled. Was it time for work already?

Last night had been especially rough on him. His head throbbed full-force because of the large knot on the back of his skull. He could barely lift his stiff legs from the bed. Penny certainly did a number on him, one he would not soon forget.

Slowly he walked to the bathroom. Well, waddled, actually. He took a pained piss, stripped off his underwear, and hopped in the shower.

Cole’s head sagged against the shower wall as lukewarm water flowed down his back. His entire body was sore; the beating water from the shower did little to ease the pain. This would be a long day.

Cole jumped when he felt a slender hand touch his shoulder. He turned with a quick twist that strained his aching muscles even more. “Ow!” Next to him in the shower was the sexy succubus Zafira, completely naked but with her trademark wings, horns, and tail hidden.

“Jesus! Why do you do that?” he scolded.

“Do what?” she asked.

“Scare the living hell out of me!”

Zafira frowned. “I was just trying to massage your shoulders to help with the pain. You’ve helped me in the shower before, remember?”

“Yeah, I remember,” Cole sighed, “and I appreciate it. Next time though, give me some kind of warning before showing up out of nowhere.”

“I’ll try to remember that next time.”

Cole turned back around where he was and leaned his head against the shower wall again. He felt Zafira’s gentle touch on his shoulders, rubbing her thumbs along his neck.

“So when did you get here, anyway?” Cole asked. “I didn’t hear the walls shake.”

“I never left,” Zafira said, moving her hands up and down his back.

“Really? Why?”

“I like to watch you sleep.”

“That’s a little creepy.”

“It’s not like you would have known if I hadn’t told you.”

Cole felt Zafira’s breasts press against his back. Her hands reached around him, massaging his chest.

“You’re pretty good at this yourself, you know,” Cole said.

“I learned from the best.”

Cole smiled as he shook his head. Her hands felt wonderful on his aching skin, leaving tiny goose bumps. He breathed a deep, relaxed sigh.

“Give me the soap.”

“Why?” Cole asked.

“Isn’t the goal of a shower to get clean?”

“I suppose you have a point.” Cole handed her a bottle of body wash over his shoulder. Even that motion was painful.

Cole stood as still as possible while Zafira lathered-up and worked her slick hands over his back and knotted shoulders. Her touch did wonders for his pain, seemingly numbing everywhere she touched.

She leaned in again, pressing her large breasts against him as her hands washed his front. He felt her hard nipples poke into his back like two tiny alien probes. With every move of her supernatural hands, her breasts slid and swayed across his back. Cole really enjoyed being massaged from both sides simultaneously.

Zafira’s hands cupped her breasts. She slid her tits slowly down his back, then up again. Her fleshy mounds felt wonderful, like two large soft sudsy sponges. She swirled her boobs all over his back as she slowly descended to her knees. Her hands then worked on his legs starting at his ankles. She worked her way up his legs, digging her palms in deep.

This is exactly what he needed. The pain in his body had mostly gone. Mostly. There was one part of his body that ached more than the rest, especially now that it stuck straight out.

“Turn around,” Zafira ordered.

Slowly he turned around. Cole’s erect cock was only a few inches away from Zafira’s mouth.

“My, my! Somebody is happy to see me!” she joked.

“You’ve always had that effect on me. Unfortunately, this time it hurts too much to enjoy.”

Zafira observed Cole’s battered penis. His skin was painfully chafed and cracked from the many hours of rough sex he endured the night before.

“Let me fix that.”

Zafira put her hands together. She hummed an incantation under her breath and her hands began to glow, radiating a bright actinic light.

Cole retreated. “What are you doing?”

“Relax. I’ll be gentle.”

Zafira placed both glowing hands on Cole’s stiff aching cock. Her hands vibrated with mystical power that sent tingles through Cole’s entire body. The longer she held her magic hands on him, the more the pain in his penis began to fade. His skin quickly healed, relieving him of that agony.

“There, good as new.”

Cole was amazed. Something like that would normally take days to heal. She did it in mere seconds. And all pain in his body had disappeared.

“Thank you! I never would have guessed demons were capable of curing ailments.”

Zafira tossed Cole a smug smile. “I told you once before that there wasn’t much I couldn’t do in my prime.”

“I’m curious — what would it take for you to be as powerful as you once were?”

Zafira shook her head. “You don’t want to know the answer to that.”

Zafira poured a dollop of body wash into her hand.

“Now then, you’re still dirty.”

She put her lathered hands on Cole’s fully erect cock. She delicately stroked him up and down, occasionally stopping to play with his soapy balls. Her cock-pumping felt amazing, especially considering the pain he was in moments ago.

He had no reason to worry about his soul now that he knew exactly what would damn him and what would not. “Touching doesn’t count,” he remembered. He stood quietly, enjoying what she was doing to him. But he did keep a watchful eye on her to be sure that was allshe would do.

Zafira’s soapy hands stroked Cole with a pleasurable hand-over-hand technique. As soon as one hand slid past his swollen tip, the other appeared at his base. The wonderful pleasure he felt from her continuous milking was rivaled only by the non-consensual blowjob she gave him the night before. His balls swelled the more he thought about his cock being inside this sexy demon’s mouth.

It was a shame it would never happen again — unless he wanted to damn himself for eternity, that is. Cannot rape the willing; and Cole was all too tempted now that he knew what exactly he was missing. In order to stay alive, he had to block those thoughts from his mind.

Zafira gazed up into Cole’s eyes, obviously plucking from his mind every dirty thought he had of her. She removed one of her hands and placed it between her thighs. The bathroom air thickened with Zafira’s sweet smelling pheromones as she played with her demonic pussy while stroking Cole’s engorged human cock.

The path to Hell felt like paradise. The constricted confines of his bathroom forced more of her beguiling aroma into his nostrils. Her scent was overpowering; he was losing control. She pumped his swollen cock much faster, leaving his mind begging for more.

He wanted to fuck her so badly he could taste his desire. His mouth salivated at the thought of bending her over in the shower, eating out her delicious cunt, then fucking her until he had nothing left to give. To Hell with finding Maria’s killer!

For a brief moment, Cole came to his senses. It was his brain’s attempt to make his body react to the danger at hand. If he did not do something, he would surely give in to his temptation.

“I-I… th-think it’s clean!” Cole stuttered.

Zafira stopped. “Hmm, I suppose so. But what about me?”

“What about you?” Cole inquired.

Zafira stood, grabbing the bottle of body wash. She squeezed an excessive amount of the soapy liquid all over her large breasts.

“You’re not the only one who’s dirty,” Zafira said with a suggestive smile.

Cole could not resist. He rubbed his hands all over Zafira’s silky smooth tits. His cock twitched with every gentle squeeze he gave, which quickly turned to firm kneading and licentious groping. She breathed heavily while Cole played with her well endowed mounds. Thick suds coursed across her flat stomach. Cole was completely enthralled by her body. His willpower was gone.

Zafira smiled as she leaned to Cole’s ear. “You want to be inside me, don’t you?”

“Yes,” he responded.

Zafira grabbed one of Cole’s hands, then slid it down past her stomach to her slick soapy pussy. His index and middle fingers penetrated her hungry sex without a second of hesitation. Her insides were warmer and tighter than he had imagined. She placed her arms around his neck while he sawed his digits in and out of her pussy. Pulling against his neck for leverage, Zafira ground her pelvis against his fingers. He thrust them in and out of her rapidly, making a loud wet clapping sound when his palm slapped her mound.

Cole increased his pace; Zafira’s moans encouraged him further. He finger-fucked her as fast and hard as he could. Cole felt her pussy tighten around his fingers like a vice as she let out a deafening cry. Her intense orgasm covered Cole’s fingers in a thick layer of warm slick juices.

She stopped momentarily to lean into Cole’s ear once more. “Do you want to fuck me?” she asked.

“Yes,” he replied.

“Then fuck me Cole, however you please.”

Cole was completely under her spell. He could fuck her any way he wished. In that moment, he wanted to fuck her every way possible. At the forefront of his mind, however, he wanted to experience that blowjob again. He knew where this would end, and he no longer cared.

Cole pushed down on Zafira’s shoulders, signaling her to kneel before him. On her knees and with her mouth open, her horns extended and her eyes glowed red. The taboo nature of fucking a demon added to Cole’s arousal. He positioned his cock in front of her, ready to thrust it in her mouth.

Suddenly his brain came back online again. “You’re about to fuck yourself to death, idiot!” He needed release. He needed to fuck her. He was past the point of just walking away, and jerking off in front of her again would not do.

Cole had an epiphany! He stuck his cock between Zafira’s soapy breasts and squeezed them together tightly with his hands. He thrust his hips forward like a madman, desperately trying to cum as fast as possible.

“Mmm. You’re always so clever. No one has ever been able to resist me. It is one of the things that turns me on so much about you. Fuck my titties, Cole, and cum all over them!”

Zafira pressed her breasts higher around Cole’s cock, tightening their hold. His shaft rapidly slid up and down the soapy valley of her cleavage; his tip was barely visible when he thrust forward. Despite being thwarted once more, Zafira enjoyed having her breasts parted by Cole’s thickness. Her forked tongue grazed his tip when it reached her peak.

Cole’s pleasure mounted. Her soft mounds felt incredible around his cock, better than any pussy he remembered. His orgasm was imminent.

In his sex-crazed stupor, Cole grabbed Zafira by her horns and thrust as fast as he could between her tits. With a loud bestial roar, Cole erupted up and out of Zafira’s cleavage. His enormous load splashed her in her face, inside of her mouth, and down her chin. Zafira swallowed every sweet drop, then licked the remnants from her breasts before the spray from the shower could wash them away.

Cole stood weak-kneed. That was too close, he thought. However, walking this thin line led to the most intense sexual pleasure of his life.

Zafira stood up. “I could never get enough of your delicious cum.”

“I could never get tired of making it for you.”

“Is that so?” Zafira smiled. “Maybe I shouldn’t try so hard to corrupt you then.”

“I would appreciate that! Not that I don’t enjoy what you do to me, I just don’t want it to abruptly end either.”

Zafira looked at him inquisitively. “Are you saying you enjoy having me around?”

“Maybe,” Cole replied, dodging the question.

She stepped from the shower. “Well then, tell me what it is you ‘maybe’ enjoy the most about me.”

Zafira crossed her arms under her breasts, displaying them as if they were sitting on a shelf. “Is it my tits?”

She quickly turned around, shaking her perfect round ass at him. “Or is it my ass?”

She bent over further then spread her pussy lips with her fingers. “Or is it my pussy?”

Cole felt another twinge in his loins as Zafira modeled her body for him. “Honestly… you being a demon. Sure, all your ‘assets’ are absolutely perfect. Your wings, tail, and horns however… they are your best traits. It’s what makes you, you.”

Zafira looked at Cole blankly. “In centuries gone by, no one has ever told me that. Usually when a person sees them, they are terrified.”

Cole laughed as he toweled himself. “Well, the fact they come out when you’re about to devour their soul might have a lot to do with it. I guess I’m just lucky enough to have seen them more than once.”

Zafira blushed. “You’re disgustingly sweet sometimes.”

She hugged her naked body against his. She unfolded her wings, then wrapped them around Cole, encasing him in a tight cocoon.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

“You’re welcome.”

They stared into each other’s eyes, enjoying the embrace. Their hearts pounded against one another in their soft warm shell. They each leaned in, their lips meeting in a soft passionate kiss. Fireworks exploded in their minds as their lips repeatedly pressed together. This powerful kiss was not one of physical need, but rather emotional desire.

Zafira abruptly broke the kiss and quickly retreated backward. “I… um… Don’t you have to be at work soon?” she said, completely flustered.

Cole eyes widened as he came back to reality, “Shit! I’ll be late for sure!” He dashed haphazardly around his apartment looking for clothes.

“By the way,” Zafira said, “I need dinner tonight.”

Cole stopped in his tracks. “Um, I’m supposed to go out with Vince tonight after work. Guys night out, that sort of thing.”

Zafira crossed her arms. “We have a deal, remember? I’m sure you don’t put off eating when you’re hungry.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll find someone. It’ll just be later tonight, okay?”

“Fine. But don’t keep me waiting forever.”

Cole grabbed his keys and rushed for the door.

“Where are you going?” Zafira inquired.

Cole stopped, unsure of what she meant. “Um, to work?”

Zafira shook her head. She drew a circle in the air with her index finger, making a portal.

“You’ll never make it on time your way.”

Cole looked through the dimensional hole. It led to the basement level of the parking garage next to the precinct.

“Thanks! Yet another reason I ‘maybe’ enjoy having you around.”

They exchanged smiles before Cole stepped through the portal, leaving Zafira alone in his apartment.

xxxxx

“How did I get stuck driving?” Vince asked as he and Cole walked from the precinct after their shift.

“Um, my car is on the fritz. Had to take a cab to work.”

“That’s a bummer.”

Vince rolled his yellow Mustang onto the roadway.

“So how did your date with Penny go?”

“You knew about that?”

“Word travels fast, especially with Frank’s big mouth.”

Cole paused. “Let’s just say it was less than favorable.”

“That sucks, man. I noticed she wasn’t at work today. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her miss work since she started.”

“I noticed that too,” Cole said with a concerned tone. “Would you mind swinging by her place real quick? I just want to be sure she’s alright.”

Vince looked at Cole curiously. “And what did you two do last night?”

“She… may have had too much to drink, that’s all. What’s with the interrogation? That’s my job, not yours.”

Vince laughed. “Just busting your balls a little.”

Vince stopped the car in front of Penny’s apartment complex. Cole made his way to Penny’s front door, knocking several times before he got an answer.

“Whoever you are, go away!” Cole heard from behind the door.

“Penny? It’s me, Cole. Can we talk?”

Penny opened the door. Her appearance was shockingly rough compared to how Cole usually saw her. She was still in her PJ’s; her hair was unruly and her eyes bloodshot.

“Are you alright?” Cole asked, very concerned.

“I should be asking you the same.”

“Mind if I come in for a second?”

Penny stepped from the doorway, inviting Cole inside. They sat on the couch, separated by an unspoken space, both waiting for the other to speak.

Cole cleared his throat. “About last night…”

“I’m so sorry what I did to you!” Penny sobbed, “I don’t know what came over me! I thought maybe you slipped something into a drink, but I don’t remember drinking anything last night. You tried to leave but I wouldn’t let you go. You begged me to stop and I couldn’t control myself. It wasn’t like me at all!”

Tears rolled down Penny’s face. “I remember you saying you would die if I kept going; what did you mean?”

Cole had to think quickly. “Oh… that. It’s just… I have a heart condition.”

“Oh my god!” she sobbed again. “I could have killed you! I didn’t know, I’m so sorry!”

“It’s alright,” Cole said, trying to comfort her with words. “I’m okay. I… just don’t know where to go from here.”

Penny looked up. “Are you going to arrest me or press charges?”

“What?! No! You got carried away, very carried away, but everything is fine. No one needs to know.”

Penny cried for several minutes before regaining her composure. “I need time to figure myself out,” Penny said. “Until then, I think it would be best if we don’t see each other. And we should never speak of it again.”

Cole nodded in agreement. “I think you’re right. It would be for the best.”

Penny looked at Cole. “You know what bothers me the most about this?”

“No. What?”

“I actually enjoyed what I was doing… the thought of that… scares me.”

“Well, sex is meant to be enjoyed. You just need to slow things way down next time. Besides, it wasn’t all bad for me either. If it wasn’t for my ‘condition’, I wouldn’t have had any problems being tied up and ravaged.”

Penny smiled as she wiped away her tears. “That makes me feel a little better. Thank you for taking this so well. I was afraid of how you’d act around me.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Cole rose from the couch. “I must get going. Vince is waiting on me in the car.”

Cole opened the front door and turned back to Penny. “I expect to see your smiling face when I arrive for work Monday.”

Penny smiled. “You got it, Detective. Harvey!”

Cole closed the door behind him and returned to Vince’s car.

“I was beginning to think you weren’t coming back,” Vince said.

“Sorry, let’s go. I need something to put my mind elsewhere.”

“What better way to do that than to see some strippers?”

xxxxx

“Have fun, gentleman,” the muscular bouncer grunted to Cole and Vince as they entered the gentleman’s club named “The Industrial Strip”. The place was packed, typical of a Friday night. Lights were dim except those glaring on the two small round stages at each end of the main floor and a larger half circle main stage in the center. At each stage, a sexy, scantily-clad dancer worked their respective pole.

They scouted the room for somewhere to sit. The bar ran the full length of the back wall and was completely packed with patrons absorbing drinks. The small tables far from the stages where also occupied, usually by couples, or by men who had negotiated a table session with one of the lovely dancers.

As Cole scanned the interior, he noticed a variety of dancers chatting-up potential customers, each with her own unique offering. Petite, thick, curvy, tall, short, white, black, brown — something here for any man’s taste. That is, unless that man had developed an acquired taste for the supernatural, as Cole had.

“I see two seats at the main stage — hurry up!” Vince ordered.

They pushed through the crowded dive and took cushioned seats at the main stage. The dancer on stage, a cute brunette in a tiny white string bikini, smiled and made her way to the newcomers. She shook her round, bubbly bottom at them, then stretched her garter out invitingly for contributions.

“See!” Vince said, as he stuffed a dollar in the dancer’s garter, “This was just what you needed, Cole!”

“I guess,” Cole said loudly over the deafening music, also forking-over his dollar.

Several dancers came and went as they sat. Vince was obviously enjoying himself more than Cole, as evidenced by his ample alcohol consumption and the dozens of dollar bills that escaped his grip.

Cole had too much on his mind to focus on the scantly clad performers. Maria’s killer was almost within his grasp. Then there was the scene this morning in the shower with Zafira. He wondered, what was that kiss about? It seemed… genuine. At least the issues with Penny were hopefully resolved, but Cole still felt all too guilty about how things turned out.

“Hey! Stop sitting there like a lump and start enjoying yourself!” Vince said with a topless dancer in his lap, snapping Cole out of his meditation.

“Let’s give a big round of applause for Vanessa!” the DJ announced, signaling the sexy, big-breasted blonde that her stage time was over. She retreated from Vince’s lap, gathered her bra and money that had been thrown on stage, then disappeared behind the curtain.

“You’re really dragging me down, Cole. You never used to be like this when we were in college. Hell, you were the rowdy one.”

“And you have had too much to drink. Give me your keys.”

“Fine, better safe than sorry,” Vince said, handing over his keys.

The DJ spoke into the microphone again. “Alright guys, let’s give a warm welcome to our newest performer! I said warm — got that? Let’s hear it for the super-sexy… Lilith!”

Lights focused on the main stage as a hard rock track ramped-up. Cole’s eyes almost bugged out of his head as “Lilith” made her way to the main stage. While not in her usual attire, he instantly recognized Zafira. She showcased her sexy body in a black sheer halter baby doll with a mesh V-plunge that left silhouettes of her bra, G-string panties, and garter belt underneath. Attached to the garter belt were black fishnet thigh high stockings accenting her pale, supernaturally perfect legs descending into a pair of shiny black patent platform heels.

Zafira sashayed to the stainless steel pole. Parading in front of the pole, she put both hands high above her head, gripped the chrome rod, and swayed her hips. With a sudden kick of her leg, she spun around the pole several times, holding only with one hand, seemingly gliding on air.

Her feet finally touched the ground. She crouched, then jumped up and climbed high atop the pole. With the rod securely gripped between her thighs, she hung upside down and let the sheer baby doll gown slide off her body to the stage below. Her hands gripped the vertical chrome; she released her thighs, flipping upright, and then descended the pole in a whirlwind of skillfully sexy gymnastics.

“Damn! She’s good! And smokin’ hot too!” Vince applauded.

Cole could not hold back his smile. “Yes, she certainly is.”

On her knees, Zafira ground her crotch against the base of the pole. Her eyes locked on Cole as much as his eyes were on her.

“Dude, she’s totally checking you out,” Vince said.

Zafira seductively crawled to where Cole and Vince sat. She motioned with her index finger for Cole to come closer. Playing along, he leaned forward with his elbows resting on the edge of the stage.

She braced herself with her hands flat on the floor behind her and swung each of her legs onto Cole’s shoulders, first left, then right. She bucked and swayed her hips, her crotch just inches from Cole’s face. The tip of his nose registered the heat of her pussy emanating through her thin panties. Her sweet scent once again crept into his nostrils when she balanced herself on one hand, then slightly pulled her panties to the side for Cole to view. The up-close glimpse of her glistening pussy made his cock strain hard against his trousers.

Zafira climbed back on stage and knelt in front of Cole. She reached behind her back, unclasped her bra, and tossed it aside. All eyes in the club were fixated on her perfect double D’s. She leaned forward, grabbed Cole by the back of his head, and pressed his face into her cleavage. He gasped for air as she held him there, wiggling her breasts. She retreated, pulling out the top of her fishnet stocking. Cole, as well as Vince, stuffed several dollar bills inside.

“You lucky bastard!” Vince said to Cole as Zafira returned to gyrating around the pole.

Cole only smiled as he watched, ignoring Vince. With her back against the pole and gripping it above her head, she lifted herself from the floor, her body horizontal with her legs spread wide. Those extraordinary legs ascended; she locked her ankles around the pole and spun gracefully while hanging, inverted.

Her song wound down. Zafira finished by flipping upright, then sliding down the pole doing “the splits” as she met the floor.

“Wow! Just fucking wow!” the DJ yelled. “Let’s make some noise for Lilith!”

Everyone stood and applauded Zafira’s performance, showering her with admiration as well as greenbacks. Cole, Vince, and several other onlookers “made it rain” all over the stage. Zafira retrieved the cash and her strewn garments and vanished behind the curtain.

“Well, that certainly perked you up,” Vince said.

Cole laughed. “Yeah, it did.”

“I need to take a piss; save my spot.”

“Don’t fall over while you’re in there. The last thing I want is to have to carry you out of here.”

“I’m fine! I just have a nice buzz.”

Cole felt Zafira’s slender hand on his shoulder not long after Vince departed. Without asking, she sat in Vince’s chair.

“Hi there, Cole.”

“Lilith, huh?” he inquired.

“Do you like it? It means ‘into the night’.”

“Well, it certainly is appropriate. By the way, you were incredible on stage!”

Zafira smiled, “Thank you! That was a lot of fun. If I had a need for human money, I’d actually consider doing this more often.”

“So what are you doing here? I thought being in public was a risky endeavor.”

“It is, but no angel or crusader would be caught dead in a place like this. The risk here is minimal. Besides, I’m starving, and there are plenty of ‘candidates’ to choose from. Take your friend Vince, for example.”

“Vince?!” he protested. “Are you nuts? He’s perverted, but he’s straight as an arrow!”

“That’s what you think. You really are far too trusting of people.”

“Oh really? Enlighten me.”

“Your friend Vince is a murderer,” Zafira sighed.

Vince? A murderer? Something did not add up. Cole knew in his gut that Vince was a good person. Still, Zafira had never been wrong before. There must be some kind of explanation.

They barely noticed the returning footsteps. “I see you didn’t save my seat, Cole,” Vince said, smiling at Zafira.

Zafira stood. “Oh, I’m sorry! Take it back — or would you rather sit in a chair in one of the VIP rooms? I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Lead the way!” Vince said with enthusiasm.

“Wait!” Cole interrupted. “Before you go, could I talk to you outside for a moment?”

“Now?” Vince replied. “Can it wait?”

“No. It won’t be but a minute.”

Vince turned to Zafira. “I’ll be right back, baby.”

“Don’t keep me waiting too long, sugar,” Zafira smiled.

Cole escorted his friend outside. He did not have much time to get to the bottom of Vince’s dark secrets. Vince’s very life depended on it.

“So what is this about?” Vince demanded.

“Vince, have you… ever done something really bad. Something you’ve never told anyone?”

“You brought me out ‘ere to ask me that? The hell is wrong with you lately?”

Cole ignored his slurred questions. “Please, just answer me. It’s important.”

Vince paused, sensing the seriousness and sincerity in Cole’s voice. “Speaking as friends, correct?”

“Yes.”

Vince collected himself. “I told you once while back in college that I was from Detroit. Before college, I ran with a nasty group of people; petty thugs, really. We did some things that…” Vince stopped, turning his back to Cole.

“Go on,” Cole insisted.

Vince could not look at his friend. He spoke quietly, hesitantly.

“There was a deal that went very bad, very fast. Shots were fired from both sides. I ducked behind a dumpster and fired several times blindly around the corner. After the dust settled, I peered around and saw that a small kid riding his bike down the street had been caught in the crossfire. Judging by where his body was, and the direction I’d fired, I know it was my shots that hit him.”

Vince turned to Cole with a sorrowful look in his eyes, “That day changed my life. I went to trial with several other guys. I was prepared to accept my punishment, but I got off due to a mistrial — all because of how the evidence was handled by the police. It was at that moment I chose the career path that I did. It’s why I’m so thorough with my forensics. I make damn sure no one else gets away with what I did. I hate my job — it reminds me every single day of the mistake I made. It’s my way of repenting for my sins.”

“I had no idea you struggled with such a heavy burden,” Cole said.

Cole felt sorry for Vince. He may have been a bad person earlier in his life, but that is not the person he is now. People make mistakes. It is up to the individual to learn from their mistakes or keep repeating them. Vince felt genuine remorse for what he had done, and that in itself, Cole thought, argued against having his soul ripped from his body.

“I’ve never talked to anyone about it. In a way, it’s kind of a relief. Why did you ask me this anyway?”

Cole had to think. Zafira was waiting for Vince to return inside. Convincing her to spare his life would be a huge undertaking. He thought about leaving, but Zafira would surely find them if they fled. His only option was somehow to convince her to spare him.

“That girl inside, Lilith, she’s an old acquaintance of mine. She’s… bad news.”

“Ohhh, so that’s what this is about,” Vince said as he turned to go back inside. “Afraid something ‘bad’ may happen to me because you and her had a falling out? I appreciate the concern, but I can take care of myself.”

“Vince, I’m serious!” Cole said, grabbing Vince’s arm. “Don’t go near her!”

“Get off me!” Vince said, freeing his arm. “I’m not passing up a lap dance from her. Whatever your issue with her, that has nothing to do with me. So deal with it!”

Vince pushed inside. Cole trailed behind him. Vince powered his way through the crowd to the entrance of the VIP rooms where Zafira awaited him.”

“Ready for your private dance?” she asked with a seductive smile.

“Yes, ma’am!” he replied.

Cole dashed after them. “Zafira! Wait!”

A bouncer of considerable size stepped in Cole’s way as Vince and Zafira walked on down the narrow hallway.

“Look, buddy, these rooms are only for those the dancers invite. You’ll have to wait out here for your friend. If you want to try anything, you’ll get thrown out, understand?”

Cole looked over the large man’s shoulder. Vince and Zafira entered the second room on the right. There was no fighting this guy; that much, Cole knew for sure. His only option was to wait.

“Got it,” Cole replied to the bouncer.

Cole waited impatiently, his eyes glued to that door. He hoped that Vince would step out unharmed, smiling ear to ear, but two songs had already played. Time was running out.

“How long do those dances last?” Cole asked.

“As long as he keeps paying, sir,” the bouncer replied.

“Look, I’m in a bit of a situation here. I don’t have time to explain, but I need to go back there.” Cole reached into his pocket, “Since money talks around here, and obviously I can’t fight past you, you can have all the cash I have if I can just go back there and make sure my friend is okay. One quick peek and I’m back out here.”

The bouncer considered Cole’s offer. “You’ve got one minute, then I’m escorting you outside.”

“Deal!” Cole said, handing over the wad of cash. He rushed for the room Vince and Zafira entered. As he opened the door, he saw a portal finish closing with Vince and Zafira on the other side.

“Zafira! Wait!”

He was too late. The portal closed before he could rush through it.

“Fuck!”

Cole sprinted out of the room past the bouncer and through the hormone-drenched crowd. There was still hope! He had Vince’s keys. He dashed to Vince’s lemon Mustang, started the engine, and then sped off in a banshee scream of squealing tires.

xxxxx

Cole had never driven so fast in his life. He arrived at the underpass Zafira called home after more than a few near-wrecks. He dashed from the car to the familiar concrete wall and brandished the magic crystal Zafira had given him. Her lair’s entrance opened. He rushed in, hoping he was not too late.

“Zafira?” he called as he anxiously surveyed her quarters. He saw her nude form across the room, straddling a naked man crying in sexual bliss. Zafira’s wings and horns were extended; it would not be long before Vince’s soul belonged to her.

Zafira turned her head over her shoulder. “You got here fast. I’m impressed!”

“Zafira, let him go!” Cole demanded.

“And why would I want to do that? Can’t you see he’s happy? I’ve taken special care of him because he is your friend. It’s a fantastic way for him to die, isn’t it? Besides, my hunger cannot wait any longer.”

“Wait! He doesn’t deserve this! Yeah, he killed an innocent child, but it was an accident. A mistake that he carried on his shoulders most of his life. He truly feels sorry for what he did, and he’s tried to make amends.”

Zafira kept up her pace, sliding her wet demonic pussy up and down Vince’s mortal shaft. “Trying to make ‘amends’ means nothing in the end. His soul is corrupt, and there’s nothing he can do to change that.”

Cole raised his voice. “So that’s it?! If a person makes a single mistake they’re fucked? No hope for redemption?”

“You would be correct,” Zafira said coldly.

“Well, that’s bullshit! Travis, Gabriel, Antonio, those two thugs; all of them didn’t give a shit about anyone other than themselves and their dark desires. Vince isn’t like them! Maybe some people don’t deserve a second chance, but he does.”

Zafira moaned, reveling in her pleasure. “Who are you to decide who is worthy and who is not?”

“Nobody. But I know this: there is good in him, just like there is good in you.”

Zafira stopped in mid stroke. “Wha- What did you just say?”

“This morning, after the shower, that kiss we shared. I-I felt something. Not just from me, but from you also.”

“Are you that clueless?” Zafira laughed. “I was just trying to tempt you some more. You are nothing but a tool to me, a means to an end. At times, you’re also an entertaining plaything. Nothing more.”

Cole froze her with a smug look. “I call bullshit. You may be able to read minds, but I’ve made a career out of reading between the lines. You care about me as more than a ‘plaything’ and that frightens you. You seem to try to seduce me, but I wonder if you’d actually go through with it.”

Zafira’s eyes glowed red, glaring at Cole with Hell’s fury. “Don’t you dare stand there and act like you know anything about me! I am a succubus, a consumer of souls. I am incapable of kindness!”

Zafira resumed her sex with Vince, only now a much faster speed. She was angered, an emotion Cole had not seen out of her before. She slammed her pussy hard against Vince’s helpless body repeatedly.

“Vince! You have to resist her!” Cole shouted.

It was of no use. Vince was completely entranced, focusing only in driving his cock deep into Zafira’s hungry nethers.

Cole had to do something! He knew he could not physically stop her. He had to bargain.

“Zafira, stop! I couldn’t save Maria, but I can save Vince.”

Zafira once again glared at him. “What makes you think so?”

Cole took a deep breath. “I’ll take his place.”

Zafira stopped her merciless fucking. “You, a pure soul, want to take the place of one of the corrupt? I don’t find you palatable.”

“Then corrupt me.”

Zafira was dumbfounded. She climbed off Vince’s erection, then walked over to Cole. Her demonic presence was in full force. “You believe he deserves a second chance that much?”

“Yes.” Cole answered.

“Are you willing to die for that belief? Your soul, your very being, damned for all eternity?”

Cole swallowed hard. By damning his soul, he would not find Maria’s killer. At least he would save a life. His decision was made.

“Yes. I offer my soul in exchange for his safety.”

Zafira’s red glowing eyes glared, staring deep into Cole’s. “Take him and get out of my lair,” Zafira said through clenched teeth.

“Wha-?”

“I said, you two, get out!” she growled, “Before I change my mind and kill you both!”

Zafira was truly intimidating when angered. Cole did not waste time. He grabbed his naked friend off the bed and slung him over his shoulder.

“Um, his mind?” Cole asked.

Zafira grumbled. Her hand glowed as she put it on Vince’s head.

“Done. Now go!”

Zafira opened the portal leading outside. Cole carried Vince, stepping through and out of her sight. She closed the portal, then stood motionless, collecting her thoughts. She walked to the painting with the blonde girl in the blue dress overlooking a cliff at a burning village.

“You’re wrong about me Cole. There is no good in me, not after all I’ve done. And yet…”

THE END OF CHAPTER SIX