Jane sighed as she rested her elbow on her knee and plopped her chin in the palm of her hand. She ignored the enthusiastic sounds of sex underneath her as she sat on the roof of her charge, Alexander.

Loki appeared beside her, dressed all in black, one foot on the curve of the roof and the other extended behind him as though he were in the middle of a stretch. He grinned at her, tossing his dark black hair off his face with the shake of his head and exposing his little red horns. "Why didn't you stick around for the festivities? Is your Creator so much a Puritan that he deems sex crass?"

Jane shot him a look. "No, Loki, he is not. I just know how base you are and that the bedroom is the one place I have no control over Alexander. All his blood travels south of the border and you tell him all those kinky things to do to his girlfriends...or random lovers as the case may be."

She stood and straightened her long white dress. She unfurled her wings, equally as white, and prepared herself to fly off. There was nothing more annoying than a victorious Loki. Devil that he was, he'd convinced Alexander to sleep with that girl and ruin his chances with Denise. Denise was such a good girl and Alexander truly did love her, but then that girl had come around and Loki had slipped right in.

Men and their gosh darn libidos.

She just hoped Archangel Michael wouldn't be too upset with her for failing to stop Alexander from giving into that other woman.

"Now, now, Jane. Must you fly off so quick?" Loki asked her. "Losing a round doesn't become you. You did stop Alex from keeping that money that old lady dropped on the ground last week. You got him to give it back to her despite my best efforts."

Jane lifted her chin. "I believe that Alexander is inherently good. It didn't take much coaxing on my part to get him to do the right thing."

Loki guffawed at that, his green eyes taking on that glimmer when he was about to argue with her. Of course he didn't call it arguing. He called it a "discussion".

"And what is the 'right thing', Jane? He didn't have enough money for his electric bill and that fifty would have helped him."

"Denise helped him with his bill. I believe that was part of the plan—"

"Oh, here we go with the 'plan' again. Great Beelzebub, Jane, do you ever think that maybe Michael is blowing smoke up your ass?"

Jane's wings fluttered in annoyance. "Loki, you are very good at your job—"

"Did that burn you to admit?"

Jane rolled her eyes. "No. I tell the truth. It's what I do. As I was saying – you are good at what you do, but pray do not use me as a target. I am not so easily swayed."

"You don't think so?"

She extended her wings and got ready to take flight. "Goodbye, Loki." She shot up, but didn't make it far before she felt something on her ankle, pulling her down. She looked down and found Loki with a cane crooked around her foot. "Let go!" she demanded.

"No, I'm not finished talking with you."

"Well, I am finished talking to you." She was aware that she sounded like a petulant brat but she couldn't help it where Loki was concerned. It wasn't that she bought into any of the garbage he spewed about "the right thing", but it was the fact that arguing with him made her feel things she wasn't comfortable with. It excited her. Sometimes he would get really close to her, so close she could feel the heat of him on her skin. She wasn't supposed to be excited by him. It was wrong.

"Jane, please. I promise I won't arg—discuss with you anymore about 'the right thing'. Just come down here."

"I don't want to stay here any longer, Loki," she told him. "Alexander and that woman will be at it for a while after all the things you've no doubt whispered to him, and I don't care to hear it anymore."

"Then come with me somewhere."

She narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

"I'm asking nicely."

That wasn't an answer. She folded her arms across her chest.

"Do you have any idea how beautiful you look when the sun hits your hair? It shines like a carnelian stone in the sun and matches your eyes."

Jane gaped at him, speechless.

His smile fell and he looked absolutely solemn. The only other time he looked this solemn was when he'd tried to get Alexander to shoot the guy that had broken into his apartment. He had been angry when Jane succeeded in convincing Alexander not to. "Please, Jane. Spend some time with me."

Archangel Michael would tell her that she should use every opportunity to help the lost find the light. Loki was a devil, and a darn good one, so it was possible that he was utterly lost to the cause, but Jane was nothing if not committed. Loki said she was as stubborn as a bull and never let up. Neither did he, so what did he expect? Trying to guide a human through life was hard work – especially with a devil like Loki as her opponent. One had to be perseverant.

"Where do you want to go?" she found herself asking.

"Let's go somewhere you like. All the places I prefer you wouldn't sully your wings flying into."

He was right about that. Crack dens, racing tracks, some alleyways…nope.

"The park across town. The one Alexander likes to go to. I want to feed the ducks," she said.

He smiled. "Meet you there."

xxxxxxxxx

It was odd to sit on a bench with Loki and not argue with him. It was odd to be anywhere with him and not have him open his mouth and ruin the peace and quiet.

"Do you think me terribly kinky, Jane?" he asked finally.

She looked at him. "Pardon?"

"You said that I no doubt made Alex do kinky things with what's-her-face. What sorts of things do you think I'd make him do?"

"I'm not answering that," she said and looked back at the ducks.

He stretched his arm out along the back of the bench and stretched his legs out before him. "How about I guess? If I name what you think kinky, you just nod. Deal?"

"Loki—"

"Blow job."

She sighed and just stared straight ahead.

"Cunnilingus."

She still said nothing.

"Handcuffs."

She looked at him with narrowed eyes. He grinned. "How about…anal?"

She looked at him sharply and he laughed. "Well, I can tell you that he—"

"I don't want to know!" she exclaimed and got to her feet. "Why do you do torment me, Loki?"

"I'm a devil."

"I know, but you don't have to talk to me. Our job is Alexander. We don't have to speak to each other. We sometimes spend more time arguing—"

"Discussing."

"—than we do doing our jobs. I'm not your job!"

"That's never stopped you from thinking that maybe you could change me though, has it?

She clamped her mouth shut.

He stood. "There it is. You have. The difference, Jane, is that I do not wish to change you, but you wish to change me."

Her brows furrowed. "Why wouldn't you wish to change me? Wouldn't that be a big coup for you to convert an angel?"

He nodded. "Yes, it would. But converting you would mean losing what I love most about you."

Jane could do nothing but stare at him in shock. She was rooted to the spot, even has he glided forward and claimed her mouth in a searing kiss. Jane couldn't decide if he kissed like a devil or an angel. All she knew was that she found herself clinging to him as all the years they spent together, and all the years she had tried to avoid thinking about this very thing all collided at once and caused her to kiss him back as passionately as he was kissing her.

He broke the kiss first and what they'd just done – what she's allowed herself to do crashed in on her. She'd kissed a devil! She'd kissed him like a wanton! She clamped a hand to her mouth. What would Archangel Michael say? What would he do to her?

"Jane," Loki said. "Don't blow a gasket."

"I have to go," she said and flew off before he could stop her.

Loki watched his angel soar above the clouds and his eyes narrowed as a determined and predatory smile spread across his face. "You can run, my Jane, but you will never be able to hide from me."