Page 73 of Devil Inside
“So...” I start. “Let me see if I’m getting this correct: Whenever you want to go out for a night on the town, you pick whatever body you want and just... slip in?”
“In a sense.” The way Lilith says it, the words sound like one—innocence.
“No long, drawn out I’m-hearing-voices-in-my-head,am-I-going-crazy-or-is-there-really-a-demon-inside-me kind of possession? Just in and out?”
“If you say so.”
“Casual demonic possession,” I say. “Unbelievable.”
“Belief.Have you lost your faith in us already, Jordan?”
I don’t know how much faith I had to begin with, to be honest, but this all sounds absolutely batshit. “Would you believe any of this if you were in my shoes?”
“I’d be in more than just your shoes, Jordan. Trust me. I’d be all over you.”
“Wait,” I say. “No possessing me without permission, got it?”
Her head springs up. Something within her expression shifts. I can’t tell if she’s startled or guilty, but her eyes widen just so, like she’s in trouble. “Are you drawing a line?”
“Stay out. My body is not up for grabs, okay?”
She drops her head back down against the pillow, hiding her face. She releases the slightest sigh. Into the bed, I hear her muffled voice pout, “You’re no fun.”
“I’m still trying to wrap my head around all of this, to be honest...”
“If last night doesn’t make a believer out of you... I don’t know if anything will.”
“Why me?” I have to ask. “Why pick me? Of all the men—”
“Or women,” she slices in.
“You came home with me.” I rub my hands over my face. “Why?”
“I’m not sure I know,” she says. “I’m still trying to understand that myself.”
I give her a gentle nudge under the covers, what little cover I have left, sliding my knee along her thigh. The warmth of it. “So... am I a sex exorcist now?The Sexorcist?”
“You’re not nearly as charming as you think you are.”
“What kind of demon are you?”
She hesitates. Takes us in, as if there’s something to be scrutinized in what we just said.Are you for real?She studies my expression, like she’s waiting for me to take it back.
“Are demarcations really that important?”
“I feel like in this case, yeah... A bit. I want to know what I’m sharing a bed with.”
“What. Not who? Is that how little you think of us?” Is she hurt by this? She’s teasing, but I can sense the slightest sting lingering in her voice. She’s trying to play it off.
“I’m trying to understand this. All... this.”
“Have we deceived you?” Lilith asks. “Lied to you in any way?”
“Isn’t the devil called the father of lies?”
She laughs. A genuine laugh. Full-bodied. There’s a sultriness to it, hoarse in the morning. All husk. Probably from all the screaming last night. I don’t mind, to be honest.
“You have seen too many movies,” she says. “You’ve read all the wrong books.”
