Belial stared at her. “I do know that feeling.” He’d practically invented that fucking feeling. It was like she’d read his mind.
“Well, I’ve given it a lot of thought, and I realized that the only way I’m ever going to respect myself is if I stop giving in. I have to put my foot down. I have to strengthen my willpower.”
Bel leaned way over the counter. He felt like he’d stumbled upon a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. “So what do you do? How do you strengthen your willpower?”
“Easy. You use it. You refuse to bend. All those promises you keep making to yourself? You keep them. You say no. It doesn’t matter what the circumstances are, the answer’s always no.”
Belial nodded slowly, considering this.
“So, for me,” Skye continued, “that means when I say ‘no sex for six months,’ I literally can’t have sex for six months. No exceptions. Even if the sexiest man alive walks into the bar and sits right there on that stool”—she pointed right at Belial and raised a brow—“I still say no. Why? Because I made myself a promise, and there are no take-backs.”
“So how do you keep yourself from breaking it? Do you sign a blood— a contract?”
“No, I just choose to keep the promise. Then, I have to avoid temptation and stay away from situations that might tempt me to break it. That’s going to be the hardest part for me, but I’m determined.”
“I should do this,” Belial mused, thinking, yet again, of Naiamah’s perfect ass. Only this time, he was reflecting on the aftermath, when he felt strung out and disgusted with himself.
How many times had he sworn to never touch her again? And how many times had he caved and done just that? He hated her, she hated him, and he hated himself too every time he gave her what she wanted.
Bloody hell, he was her whore, wasn’t he? Naiamah had made him her whore. He’d never thought of it that way before, but now that he had, he couldn’t deny it. He fought down yet another surge of his infamous rage.
He was Belial, King of Hell. Rivaled only by Lucifer himself. He was no one’s fucking whore.
Suddenly full of determination, he slammed his fists onto the bar. Skye jumped about a foot into the air and nearly dropped the glass she was polishing. Unfortunately, he used a little too much force, and the solid wood dented under his fists. He flattened his palms over the holes so she wouldn’t notice.
“I will do this,” he told the startled human. “No women for six months.”
No Naiamah for six months, specifically. He’d use up all one hundred of his remaining favors to keep that promise if he had to, because he wasn’t touching her.
He supposed he didn’t have to swear off all women, but Skye had inspired him. He wanted a fresh start. He wanted to cleanse his palate, as it were.
Since the dawn of time and his infamous fall from Heaven, so long ago he didn’t remember it anymore, he didn’t think he’d ever gone six months without sex. Ever. So, was he totally delusional for agreeing to this now? Probably. Was it going to be the hardest thing he’d ever done? Likely.
Did he have any clue how he was going to keep his anger under control? None at all. Sex had always been the easiest outlet for pent-up energy that could easily morph into rage and hellfire. He supposed he’d be looking forward to a lot of buckets of water to the face, and he inwardly groaned.
Skye grinned. “I’m excited for you! Since we’re both doing it, let’s shake on our promise.”
She held out a hand, and he clasped it, her palm swallowed by his.
“Repeat after me,” she said. “I solemnly swear that I will not touch anyone in a sexual way for six months.”
Bel repeated the vow. It wasn’t a binding promise. There was no magical weight behind it. And moreover, he was a demon. He was supposed to swear things and then do the opposite. Except this time, he didn’t want to.
Skye smiled up at him. “I’m excited for this now, when before I was dreading it. Thank you.”
He nodded, dropping her hand and climbing off the barstool. Standing at his full height, he searched over the heads of the crowd until he spotted Meph and Raum.
“What are you going to do for the next six months?” Skye asked.
Keep my brothers out of Hell. Figure out what’s going on with Ash’s curse. Try not to murder any humans. Get rid of Mishetsumephtai. Try not to burn down the apartment. Stay the fuck away from Naiamah.
“Cooking. I love to cook.”
Her eyes widened. “You actually— You’re—” She shook her head roughly. “Wow.”
“You?”
“I’m in school. I’m going to focus on that.”
