It would figure that things went bad between us on a beautiful, sunny day. I remembered it distinctly. I had wandered over to the church he ministered out of and sat with him in the vegetable garden. I stayed clear of the dirt, conscious of the yellow silk dress my bishop had just had made for me. Andrew, less concerned, worked on his knees, unhesitatingly digging in—literally—and cultivating the church's small crop.

  "Don't you have other people who could do this for you?"

  Squinting up at me in the bright light, he smiled. "Nothing compares to the satisfaction of doing something yourself."

  "If you say so."

  He returned to his work, and I continued to sit quietly, watching him and the lazy vista of that golden afternoon. Not far away, the sounds of daily hustle and bustle carried over. I liked this town—it was a nice break from the large, busy cities I'd spent most of my succubus time in. Eventually, though, I knew I'd grow restless and move onto some place with a little more excitement.

  I turned back to Andrew. "Thomas Brewer just got back from Cadwell. He says they're all getting sick there."

  Andrew nodded. "People are getting sick everywhere. There have been outbreaks in a lot of the western towns."

  "Are you worried?"

  He shrugged. "What comes will come. None of us can change God's will."

  I grimaced. I'd heard about this illness, what later generations would call the Black Death. The rapid onset. The blackened skin. The swollen lumps. Even if it couldn't technically hurt me, I didn't want to see it spread here.

  "I don't think God can be as merciful as you say in mass if He's inflicting something like that on his people."

  "It's a test, Cecily. God is always testing us. It makes us stronger."

  "Or dead."

  He didn't respond.

  "What will you do if it comes?" I pushed. "Geoffrey says he'll leave. Will you go with him?"

  His dark eyebrows rose in surprise, like I'd asked if the sun would take tomorrow off. "Of course not. I mean, as bishop, I'm sure Geoffrey must…do what is necessary to continue fulfilling his duties, but me? I serve the people. I will continue to serve the people. If they're sick, I'll tend them."

  My sarcasm gave way to shock, and I leapt to my feet, striding toward him. "You can't do that! Haven't you heard about this? People don't come back from it. The only thing to do is get out and let it run its course."

  It was true. Call it cruel, but as I'd told Liam on our post-auction date, that was the way the world had dealt with epidemics for a lot of human history. Certainly, some people cared and ministered unto others, but when disease grew really terrible, with no clear answer in sight, ignorance and fear reigned supreme. Most people of that era saw the simplest solution as putting as much distance as possible between them and the illness.

  Andrew stood up as well, wearing an expression so annoyingly wise and serene as he faced me. "If that's what you must do, then you must do it. My place is here."

  I didn't even have seduction on my mind when I reached out and grabbed his hands. He flinched with surprise but didn't let go.

  "It's stupid," I told him earnestly. "You can't stop it. You'll die, and I—I can't watch that."

  "Then go. Go with Geoffrey. Or go…out to the convent. It's isolated. You'd be safe there."

  I scowled. "Not that again."

  "I just want what's best for you, that's all." One of his hands reached up and cupped my chin. "I don't want to see you suffer either."

  It occurred to me then how close we stood. The heat building between our bodies rivaled that of the sunshine pounding down on us from above. Andrew, realizing this too, started and tried to pull away. I held on to his hand, anger flaring up in my chest.

  "So that's how you'll let it end then? You spend your whole life living in poverty and chastity, only to die in a pile of stinking corpses with oozing sores and rotting skin?"

  "If that's what God—"

  "Stop it," I said, leaning forward. "Just stop it. Don't you get it? God doesn't care. He's not even paying attention."

  "Cecily—"

  I didn't let him finish. Instead, I pressed my mouth against his mouth, molding my body to his. I don't know if he'd ever kissed anyone else before, but if not, he was a quick study. He didn't break from me. In fact I would have sworn there was an eagerness to his lips as they explored mine, willingly letting my tongue stroke and dance with his.

  And oh, God help me, he was so very good and noble that I tasted a sunburst of energy just from that kiss alone. It poured into me like honey, glorious and sweet.

  And surprisingly, it was me who finally broke the kiss, though I still stayed pressed against his body, my arms encircling him.

  "Don't you see how stupid it is?" I whispered, our lips so close we shared each other's breath. "Are you going to die without having lived? Without having tasted everything that's out there? Are you really just going to rush into death like that?"

  His eyes weighed me, his own hands resting on my waist. "I don't need fleshly pleasures to complete my life."

  "You're lying," I told him. "You want to."

  "Wanting and needing are two different things." He stepped away from me, and I suddenly felt incomplete without his body against mine. I had a fleeting flash of some connection bigger than both of us, and then it was gone. "A long life means nothing if it's empty and has no purpose. Better to live a short one filled with the things that are important to you."

  "You're a fool," I snapped. "I'm not going to stay and watch you die."

  "Then go."

  And I did.

  CHAPTER 17

  The next day was only a partial shift at work for me, but when I saw how busy things were, I suspected I'd have a hard time dragging myself away. Seth wasn't working in the café, but I found a note on my desk. He'd apparently already been there earlier.

  Thetis—

  Have some errands to run, but I'd like to see you later. I miss you and don't like how we left things. Come on over later when you get the chance. I'll be home all night.

  Love,

  Seth

  I had some things of my own to take care of, and after reading his note, I suddenly wanted them done as soon as possible so that I could go see him. As I was about to leave, Maddie caught a hold of me and covertly led me into the history books. To my astonishment, she pushed down her shirt collar, baring her shoulder.

  "Whoa," I joked. "Don't you think things are moving kind of fast?"

  "Look," she whispered, pointing at the lacy bra strap that had been revealed. "It's red."

  "That it is," I agreed, still a little puzzled.

  "It's number one."

  "What?"

  "My three adventurous things. I bought a red bra."

  I stared in astonishment. "I thought…I thought you said my idea was ridiculous?"

  She averted her eyes. "I thought it was…but then, well…I heard about Seth. What happened to him. You were there, right?"

  My favorite topic. "Yeah, I was there."

  "Didn't it freak you out? I mean…right there in front of you: life and death."

  "Yeah. Kind of."

  Shaking her head, she looked back up at me. "Hearing what happened to him just kind of shook me up. I told you it wasn't that easy to be adventurous, but suddenly I decided that maybe it was. I just had to take control."

  I smiled. "With a red bra."

  She flushed. "Hey! All your lingerie may be red and edible, but this is the first bra I've ever bought that isn't white or black."

  I reined in my humor and gave her a genuinely pleased smile. "I'm proud of you, Maddie. I really am."

  "Don't patronize me," she warned.

  "I'm not. It looks great. You get matching underwear?"

  Now she really looked embarrassed. "A thong."

  I repressed the urge to whistle. "Nice work, soldier."

  She wandered off, back to the registers. Moments later, I felt an immortal signature and a touch on my shoulder. Spinning around, I found Tawny's enormous chest practically shoved into my face. I'd heard little from the succubus since I'd called to tell her she had a job at Simon's. Niphon's presence at the poker game had been the only indication that she still hadn't bagged a guy.

  "Georgina—" she wailed, lower lip trembling.

  "No, no," I interrupted. I grabbed her arm and dragged her toward my office. "Not here."

  I managed to close the door just before she burst into tears. I groaned.

  "Now what's happened?"

  "I met a guy last night." She flounced into my chair, and it was a wonder her breasts didn't hit her in the face.

  I leaned against the wall, crossing my arms over my own chest in a sort of protective gesture. "Okay…that's not a bad thing."

  She swallowed a sob, and it was all I could do not to clean up the mascara smudges on her face. Honestly, how much did that woman wear? "We had a great time…had drinks and talked and all that."

  "That's not a bad thing either."

  She shook her head. "But at the end of the night, he told me he just wanted to be friends."

  "He—wait. You got the friends line from someone you just met?"

  Tawny nodded.

  "What did you say to him? Like…did you proposition him?"

  "Yeah…I asked him if he wanted to meet me in the bathroom and try out this edible mint chocolate warming gel I have."

  "You—what?"

  Tawny reached into her purse and started to pull out a tube of something. I waved her off.

  "No, no. I don't need to see it."

  "What went wrong?" she cried.

  "Well…" I wasn't sure if I should laugh or weep. Tawny was never going to pull this off. Never. "You might have come on too strong. And honestly…that gel thing? That's just weird."

  "I thought guys were into that kind of thing."

  "Some are…but, I don't know. What kind of guy is he? What's he do for a living?"

  "He's a cashier."

  "Hmm. Okay. That's not too bad."

  "Over at Blessed Images."

  "Over at—you propositioned a guy who works at a religious supply store?" I exclaimed.

  "I wanted a good one," she told me. "There's no better place."

  "Oh my God. Tawny…" I didn't even know where to start. There were so many nuances to seduction, so many tactics and strategies. She didn't know any of them, and seriously, I didn't even know if she could learn. "I got you the strip club job…why are you trolling religious supply stores? Guys should just be coming up to you after your sets." Something troubling occurred to me. "You do still have the job, don't you?" I believed Simon would stick to his word, but one never knew for sure with his type.

  "Yeah…" she mumbled. "But those guys aren't—"

  "For the last time! Forget the good ones. You can't afford to be choosy." I studied her. She was clearly low on energy again. Frowning, I recalled my date with Liam. "So…Tawny…things really didn't work out with Nick the auctioneer?"

  She took a tissue from the box on my desk and blew her nose loudly. "Nope. I told you. I called, and he said he wasn't interested."

  I was good at reading people, very good. It was, well, what made me a star succubus. And looking into those teary blue eyes, I searched for some sign of deceit. Any sign. I found nothing. So who was lying? Tawny or Liam? And why would either one of them lie? Liam had no reason to—not about Tawny. Tawny, I supposed, could be in league with Niphon. Maybe he wanted to prolong things simply to annoy me. That was a dangerous game for both of them. His animosity couldn't be strong enough to risk pissing off Jerome. And I knew Jerome would be pissed off if he found out Tawny's orientation was being used for ulterior motives.

  There was also the fact that Tawny's energy had shown no post-sex glamour the day after Liam saw her and Nick together. She hadn't gotten any. That was my only hard evidence in all of this.

  All of these thoughts flitted through my mind in a heartbeat. If Tawny really was pulling a poker face on me, she'd soon learn that she wasn't the only one who could do it. Keeping my expression exasperated and unsuspecting, I said, "Tawny…I…I just don't get this. Any of this."

  "That's it?" she asked. "You're my mentor, and that's all you've got for me?"

  "I got you the job! I don't know what else to do. Maybe we can go out together and…God help me…do a three-some or something." I could imagine few things more horrible than that, but these were desperate times. The expression on Tawny's face showed similar sentiments.

  "I don't know about that," she said. "I don't think I really do that."

  I rolled my eyes. "In another century or so, you'll find you do everything."

  She blew her nose again. "Well…I want to keep trying on my own before anything like that. Until then…do you think…do you think you could…"

  "Could what?"

  "You know."

  "No, I really don't." From her, a request could be anything.

  Tawny gulped. "The kissing thing again."

  "No! I told you that was a one-time deal."

  "But…but…I'm so low…"

  She burst into tears again. And yeah, she was low on energy. Really low. By tomorrow morning, she could be in danger of losing her shape again. Fuck. This wasn't possible. I had to be getting played here, but why and how? Was all this hassle worth it to Niphon, just to keep irritating me? Fuck.

  "This is the last time," I growled.

  She stopped mid-sob. "Really?"

  I sighed. "Come here."

  With a sense of dread, I kissed her again. My discomfort had less to do with the act of kissing her than it did with me realizing I'd just pushed myself into dangerous energy limits. I was the one who'd need a fix before morning now. And if I got an energy fix, it was likely my dream stalker would return….

  With the influx of life, Tawny was able to shape-shift away her disheveled appearance. "Thanks, Georgina! You're the best!" She started to hug me, and I jerked away.

  "Just go out and get laid, okay?"

  Doug stuck his head in just then, asking for my help. He didn't seem to have heard my charge to battle, thankfully. His eyes widened when he saw Tawny. I shooed her out, warning her not to forget what we'd talked about.

  "Is she single?" he asked, watching her walk away. Her pleather pants were riding up.

  "Yeah," I said. "Very. But she's high maintenance."

  After I finished my survey of the bookstore, I went off to take care of assorted errands. When I finally made it to Seth's place, I found him lying lengthwise on his couch, laptop open as usual. He sat up and closed it when I stepped inside.

  "Hey, Thetis," he said.

  "Hey," I said.

  I sat down beside him, and silence fell as we regarded each other. The air between us wasn't angry, but it wasn't bursting with love either. It was speculative. We were sizing each other up. He reached into the V-neck collar of my sweater, and I flinched. Then, I felt his fingers brush by the chain I'd been wearing his ring on. He pulled the ring out and ran his fingertips over the dolphin.

  "Around your neck, huh? What is this, high school?"

  "Might as well be," I said, "seeing as how we haven't even made it to second base yet."

  He smiled and released the ring, moving his fingers up to my cheek. "Yes, we have." He sighed. "We sure do seem to be fighting a lot lately, huh?"

  "Yeah." I settled back into the couch's softness. "It's not even about sex anymore."

  "I noticed that. It's boring stuff, actually."

  "Boring?"

  He shrugged. "You know. Typical relationship stuff. Spending time with each other. Trust. Communication. Love isn't always about grand forces of the universe keeping us apart."

  Unless, I thought, you considered the difference in length between a mortal life and an immortal one. I didn't know why Seth's lifespan was bothering me lately. I'd understood the complications on an intellectual level when we'd first started dating, but I hadn't really had such visceral reactions until recently. Him getting shot hadn't helped, I supposed. And speaking of which…

  "I never thanked you," I told him.

  "For what?"

  "For risking your life for mine."

  "But you can't di—"

  "Yeah, yeah. We've already established that, like, a hundred times. And the wisdom—or lack thereof—of your actions aside, it was sweet and brave and…and, well, thank you."

  Seth moved his hand over mine and squeezed it. "There's nothing to thank me for."

  I stood up. "Well, now that we've got the sentimental stuff out of the way, let's get down to business. Take off your clothes."

  Seth started. "Wai—what?"

  "Well," I amended, "except for your boxers."

  "Are we going to second base after all?"

  "Just do it."

  While he stripped, I gathered some things from his kitchen, as well as from a tote bag I'd brought. When I returned to the living room, he was sitting in the center of the couch in boxers only. They were soft gray flannel. Adorable.

  I sat down on the floor in front of him, moving a bowl of warm water beside me. After dipping a washcloth into the water, I slowly began rubbing it over his feet.

  Seth was quiet for several moments. Then: "You getting Biblical on me? Didn't somebody wash Jesus' feet?"

  I rewet the cloth and began moving up one of his legs. "Don't worry," I told him. "I don't expect you to turn this water into wine. At least not until I'm done." I moved the washcloth over Seth's calf. It was leanly muscled, covered in tawny brown hair. "The foot washing tradition is bigger than the Bible. You find it everywhere, long before New Testament times, in lots of other cultures. Kings. Generals. They all got this treatment."

  "You wash a lot of kings' and generals' feet?" he teased.

  "Yeah, actually."

  "Oh. Well. I don't think I'm really in that league."

  I smiled and moved on to the other calf. "Not true. Poets and bards used to have as much prestige as kings. Lots of them got this too."

  "I miss the good old days. Now we're lucky if we get paid."