“Well?” Tula pushed.
Zac cleared his throat. “I think-I think you shouldn’t—”
“You’re absolutely right! I shouldn’t hold back. Thank you, Hilbert! You got the bill, right?” She didn’t wait for him to process what just happened.
Tula sprang from the table and headed for the door.
“Wait!” Zac called out.
“Hilbert, I have to go.” She pointed toward the door.
He slid from the booth and rushed to her. “Don’t go.”
She frowned at him. “Why?”
“This is why.” He grabbed a chair from an empty table to his side, got on top of it, grabbed her by the shoulders, and pressed his lips to hers.
In the background, he heard the patrons gagging and ewwwing. Someone might’ve actually thrown up. He didn’t care. Having the woman he loved in his arms again was all that mattered. Touching her made his soul sing and his heart glow. In his head, her nasty demon shell melted away, leaving behind just him and her. Two souls mated.
He pulled away, seeing his blue-eyed Tula standing before him despite the hideous shell the rest of the world saw.
She stared into his eyes. “Hilbert, what are you doing?”
What the hell? Tula still didn’t know? “I am trying to connect with you on another level.” He winked.
“Well, don’t. I love someone else, and kissing me means you want to be more than friends.”
“Maybe I do. So what?” He shrugged.
“Pfft!” Tula turned and left.
Zac huffed, reached into his sporran—yes, yes! He still wore his kilt! Okay? Not a lot of choices—and pulled out a twenty. He dropped it at the register on his way out.
The moment his feet hit the sidewalk, he felt the earth beneath his feet shifting. Something was happening. A giant crack opened up in the sidewalk, swallowing him whole.
CHAPTER TWELVE
When Zac woke, he was back in the desert near that bubbling little hole in the ground, his head pounding. “What the hell?” When this was over, he was going to kill the demon king.
He glanced over at the portal and gave it the bird. “You hear that, Maury! Kill you!”
Zac then noticed his hands. Large manly digits and perfectly manicured nails. Holy hell. I’m me again!
He looked down at his naked body. Six-pack! Olive skin! Oh! And come to daddy, you! Zac gripped his large cock in his hand, stroking it affectionately. “I missed you!” He couldn’t wait to have an erection.
“Look away, Judy!” said a strange male voice.
Zac turned his head to find an older couple with wide-brimmed hats and Hawaiian shirts, sitting in an ATV.
“I think he belongs to one of those weird Vegas cults, Harry,” said the woman. “Let’s get out of here before he tries to recruit us.”
The man revved the engine and started to turn.
“No. Wait!” Zac got to his feet. He had to get to Tula. Gods only know what’s happening to her. Maury was up to something!
The couple began zooming away.
“Wait! I need a ride! Don’t…go…” Zac’s voice faded. Why had Maury done this? They had a deal. He was to stay in Hilbert’s body and prove that Tula would still want him.
“You failed, God of Temptation. The bet is over.”
Zac swiveled on his bare feet, the hot desert sand burning the new, sensitive skin. “Maury…” Zac growled at the man with amber eyes, dressed in a black suit.
“In the flesh.” He held out his arms. “Well, actually, not in the flesh. This is just my spirit.”
“What’s going on?”
“You failed. Now it’s my turn.” Maury flashed a devious grin.
“I didn’t fail. I’m supposed to have two weeks.”
“And so you have.”
“That was two days.” Who did Maury think he was kidding?
“Wrong. You were on Earth in Hilbert’s body for two weeks. You simply took a little longer than anticipated to wake up.”
See! Right there! Never trust a demon. “That’s cheating.”
“Is it? Because I don’t recall you having to be awake for the entire two weeks as part of the deal.”
Zac narrowed his eyes. “Well, we both know I didn’t lose. She was coming around.”
“Oh.” He chuckled. “I saw. I especially liked the part when she ran out of the diner and vomited on the bus stop bench. You probably missed that part, but not me. Hysterical.”
Had Tula really thrown up? “I don’t believe you.”
“No matter. You can ask her yourself when you see her.” Maury turned and started walking away.
“Where are you going?”
“To go through the portal and get my body. See you soon, friend.” Maury disappeared, and Zac screamed toward the heavens.
What have I done to deserve this?
Of course, no one answered. The heavens were empty.
Fine. At least he had his manly, irresistible body back. I’m taking off the gloves now. He would make Tula his, and Maury would rue the day he decided to mess with him and his woman.
Game on, demon. Game on.
Twenty hours later, Zac arrived at his penthouse in LA. This time it had taken even longer to catch a ride. Mostly because everyone who stopped was a giant horny pervert and wanted to know where the porn shoot was.