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with it. She arched up into him, meeting his thrusts with thrusts
of her own. The muscles of his back tensed and bunched under
her palms, and a thin sheen of exertion formed on his flesh as he
worked to bring her joy.
Over and over, deeper and deeper. He pushed them both to
the brink of consciousness. His breathing grew ragged, and he
moaned as he approached climax.
He d come with her this time. The two of them would reach
heaven together. Already, she felt the pressure building inside her
again. The aching, throbbing readiness.
She gasped with each thrust and whimpered her surrender as
his movements grew wild and urgent. They merged into one be-
ing as she closed her eyes and welcomed the orgasm. His, hers,
theirs bigger than both of them together.
When it hit her, it sent her to another place. There was only
Sam, plowing into her as she spasmed. Sam, roaring as his own
climax hit. Sam, spilling his soul inside her in one last, massive
thrust.
And then, Sam, collapsing on top of her while their bodies
were still fused.
 Sam, she whispered.
 My love, he murmured back.
 That was&  She hesitated. How could she put a word to
what had just happened between them?
He pushed himself up on his elbows and stroked her face.
 Unworldly.
 Yes. She looked up at him, at the glow in his eyes. Every-
thing here was impossible the house, the gardens, the man. He
stared down at her, his gaze moving from her hairline to her eyes
66 Alice Gaines
and finally down to her mouth. Such intensity.
 Why are you looking at me like that? she asked.
 Like what?
 As if you want to memorize my face.
 You have a beautiful face, he answered.
 But you can look at it any time, she said.  Unless& 
He sighed and looked away from her.
 Sam?
He pulled his body from hers and sat up, facing away from
her.
She reached over and trailed her fingertips down the crease at
the center of his back.  Talk to me.
 We ve you ve accomplished what you came here to do.
 Which was? she prompted.
 To learn to love yourself.
 I ve fallen in love with you, I know that, she said.
 Loving yourself is more important.
 I love you, Sam, and I think you love me, too.
He tipped his head up and bit his lip.
 Don t you? she said.
 I care about you, more than I m supposed to.
 Love, Sam. Say it.
 I love you, Cynthia, he said.  And it s time for you to go
back.
There it was. He d send her away. After everything they d
shared. He d made her love him, and now he d send her away.
 Don t do this, please. Her voice wavered and threatened to
break. She clenched her jaw until it hurt. She would not cry. But,
oh& he was sending her away.
 I have no choice, he said.
 You can come with me.
 No, I can t. I don t belong in that world.
 Why not? she asked.  What are you?
 You don t have a word for what I am. I m sort of a cross be-
tween a fairy godmother and a guardian angel.
 I don t want to lose my guardian angel. A sob escaped her
chest, even though she tried to hold it in. Tears filled her eyes, and
her chin wobbled.
THE DEVIL, YOU SAY 67
He looked at her, his own eyes moist.  Don t cry, love.
Please.
 What am I supposed to do? I ll never see you again.
 You ll always have me. I ll be inside you.
 Not the way that matters, she said.  I need you with me.
Physically with me.
 You have everything you need to be happy now.
 No, she said.
 Trust me on this, Cynthia, or nothing we ve done here mat-
ters.
 Sam, she cried. Damn, she didn t want to beg, but the man
was breaking her heart. He was a fairy godmother or a guardian
angel. He had to be able to make things right. He had to.
He stared at her, his face a mask of pain. And determination.
 Do you trust me?
 Yes. No, no, no.  Of course, I trust you.
 It s time for you to go back.
She let the tears come then. As if she could have fought them,
anyway. She lay there, looking up at the man she loved while his
face grew dim.
Everything around her darkened starting at the edges of her
vision and working inward. The posts of the bed, the lace of the
curtains, Sam s shoulders, and then his face. Only the glow of his
eyes lingered until everything had gone black.
 Cyn. Jenny s voice.  Cyn, what s wrong with you?
 Huh?
 You zoned out on me, and now you re crying.
Sure enough, her cheeks were wet. She brushed away the
tears with both hands. What in hell had made her start bawling?
Something sad, for sure. Something heartbreaking, as if someone
had cut a hole in her chest. But who or what? Could losing a pro-
motion have made her that miserable?
 What is it, hon? Jenny asked. She looked frantic with wor-
ry.
 I don t know. Something inside her knew, though. Some-
where in the back of her mind was a link to something. Or some-
68 Alice Gaines
one. If only she could find that link.
 You can t let Stewart get to you like this, her friend said.
 Stew the Poo? Cyn answered.  Screw him. He s an insignif-
icant worm. He s a parasite in the gut of an insignificant worm.
 He had you upset enough to consider this. Jenny lifted the
crumpled mess of a brochure. The one from the weight loss sur-
gery clinic.
 Screw them, too, Cyn said.  I m not going under the knife
to make other people like the way I look.
 Well, thank heaven for that.
 I don t know what even made me consider it.
 Losing the promotion? Jenny asked.
 Screw the promotion. Screw the company. Screw every-
thing. She d lost something more important than any of that, if
only she could remember what.
Jenny s eyes got wide.  Are you sure you re okay?
 Never better. To prove it, she dug her fork into her enchi-
lada and took a huge bite. Boy, did that taste good.
 All right. Jenny tossed the wadded brochure over her shoul-
der. It landed on an empty table behind them, luckily, and not into
someone s frijoles refritos.  After this, the ice cream s on me.
 When I m through demolishing this lunch, I won t have
room for ice cream. Let s get a newspaper, instead, so that I can
look at the help wanted ads.
Jenny raised her hands in the air.  Glory, hallelujah!
 Amen, sister! Stew the Poo has taken advantage of me for
the last time.
That caused a bit of a murmur as other customers glanced over
to see what the celebration was about. Including one very interest-
ing and attractive man sitting all alone at a table in the corner. His
blue gaze focused on hers for a moment, and he smiled.
She smiled back. Why not? A little flirting never hurt any-
one.
He lifted his water glass in a toast. His eyes sparkled, and his
nostrils flared.
Well, hot damn& actual male interest. What had gotten into
her? She never flirted.
Cyn blushed and looked back at Jenny.  Maybe we should
THE DEVIL, YOU SAY 69
celebrate a little more quietly.
 Let the whole world stare, Jenny said.  I ve been waiting
years for you to come to your senses.
 I guess I finally have. I m going to find a better job for more
money so I can buy a house.
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