Empire of Lies

Right…

The waitress set down two cups of coffee and the first tray of treats. The non-death sentence ones. I immediately picked up a cookie and stuffed it into my mouth.

“How do you feel about performing a few anal tricks on me?” Be

“Excuse me?”

“Like, with a dildo and a few other fun toys I have at home,” he said. “This is going to sound intense, but bear with me.”

I looked down at my phone. Please save me, Gillian.

I’d like for you to push each toy inside of me as deep as you can, and after you’re done, I want you to lick everything off and let me do the same to you.”

I picked up the mug and chugged the coffee, pushing down the vomit that nearly left my throat. I was getting the hell out of here within the next few minutes, emergency call from Gillian or not.

“Do you think you can handle doing that, Meredith?”

His question hung in the air, but he didn’t wait for a response. He launched into yet another one-sided conversation. I didn’t even pretend like I was listening anymore.

I turned my head to the window and watched more cars pass by. I started counting the number of red cars that rolled by and vowed to get up and leave once I reached the number eight.

As I was getting to lucky number seven, a sleek, midnight-colored sports car pulled next to the curb, and the driver’s side door swung open.

A man dressed in a black trench coat stepped out, holding his phone up to his ear. His eyes met mine and his full lips parted, the recognition immediate.

The Devil…

The butterflies in my stomach took flight, and my nipples hardened under my blouse. My mind raced a mile a minute, stu

Keeping his eyes locked on mine, he said a few more words into his phone and ended the call, tucking it into his pocket. He stared at me for several seconds, looking as if he wanted to fuck me on the spot. Like he was tempted enough to crash through this café’s glass window and bend me over the booth right now.

His lips curved into a smirk, and he looked me over one last time before walking to the entry doors.

I watched him as he slowly strolled over to the counter, as every waitress froze and blushed at the sight of him.

His lips were moving and he was pointing up at the menu board, but they remained standing still, staring at him.

As if he could tell that he had them under his spell, he smiled and revealed a set of pearly whites—pulling them in a bit deeper.

“So, I’ll bend you over the desk and spank you a few times.” Be

“Excuse me,” The Devil said, his deep voice cutting off Be

“What?” His face reddened and he glared at me. “You said via the chat that you were ‘beyond single’ and down to fuck after one night! You said you wanted me to fuck you so hard, that you passed out!”

My cheeks reddened. The rest of the café became a lot quieter, and the other patrons softly whispered and stared.

“So much for that, huh?” Be

He walked away, and I slumped down in my seat—absolutely mortified.

The Devil’s lips curved into a smile as he sat across from me. He pulled off his dark leather gloves, revealing a series of black tattoos that were inked on all of his knuckles. Within the intricately drawn spider’s web were four small skulls, and the most valuable chess piece—the queen. The tattoo was the same on both of his hands, and upon a second look, I noticed faint flames burning between a few gaps in the web.

“I um…” I felt my cheeks burning as he stared at me. “I’m not sure what to say right now.”

“I think, ‘Thank you for saving me’ will suffice.”

“What exactly do you think you saved me from?”

“A terribly boring date, for one. For two, I saved you from wasting more of your time on someone you clearly aren’t interested in.”

“I was definitely interested in him.”

“If you were, you wouldn’t have been staring at me,” he said. “And you damn sure wouldn’t have invited me to come.”

“I thought you were a fake sock-puppet.” I couldn’t stop staring at this man if I tried. “I wasn’t expecting you to actually show up and be real.”

“You have a very odd way of saying, thank you.”

“Thank you,” I said. “For the record, all of that stuff he was saying about me being single and down to fuck after a night weren’t really true. They’re um—”

“The exact words that are written on your profile.” He smirked and lifted his hand, signaling for the waitress. “Those are the tamest ones, though. If I were him, I would have flipped any of the other ones before saying them aloud. Something like, ‘I want to devour your pussy until you come on my face,’ or ‘I want to bury my cock so deep and hard inside of you, that no other man will ever compare.”

“Those lines aren’t on my profile.”

“If you’d ever fucked me, they would be.”

I crossed my legs and tried not to react to that.

“Yes?” The waitress approached our table, her cheeks still red. “What can I get for you this evening?”

“A fresh cup of coffee and a brownie. No peanuts, please.” He pulled a few hundred dollar bills from his pocket and held them out for her. “I also need to pay for whatever food was ordered before. Keep the change.”

She nodded and walked to the kitchen.

He untied the scarf and I noticed another tattoo inked low on his neck. This one featured a raven and the king chess piece, twisted in a smaller and far more intricate web.

What do those tiny letters under the web say?

“I bet it’s hard to get a corporate job with all those tattoos,” I said, admiring the work. “Dare I ask what you do for a living?”

He smiled, and I was immediately wet. He didn’t answer my question, though. He just sat back as the waitress served his coffee.

She took a little too long to set it down on a plate, u

“They really are stu

“Several more.” He brought the coffee to his lips and took a long sip. “Do you have any?”

“A few. They’re hidden, though.”

“What was the point in getting them, if you were going to hide them?”

“I guess I like keeping them hidden because it’s like having something for myself. Something other people will never know.”

“Well, there’s something I’d like to know,” he said. “At what point in all your conversations with other men online did you say, ‘I’m down to fuck, let’s set up the date?’ Since I was flagged for being a fake account and only received left swipes from you, I’m truly curious.”