The Darkest Joy by Dahlia Rose

good-naturedly, because when her shift was over, he would be at her house waiting for her.
     
    She replayed how he had stood on her doorstep, shivering in the rain with a look of pure agony on his face. What could he be going through? As he fell asleep, Caim had said he needed her to save him from the dark. She didn’t know exactly what he meant, but it felt so ominous that hearing what he had to say scared her. But she couldn’t not hear him out, because if she could, she would take his burden and make it her own. I love him. I have to help him.
     
    On her way back to her office, Amber passed her by with an armload of files. She stopped Bliss in the hallway with a big grin on her face. “What are you doing, collecting the men of GQ magazine or something?”
     
    Bliss gave her a blank expression. “Huh? What are you talking about, crazy woman?”
     
    “I mean the other hottie that you have sitting in your office waiting for you,” Amber said. “If you want to share this one with me, give him my number.”
     
    Apprehension made butterflies do a dance in her tummy. She didn’t know who could possibly be waiting for her, but her instinct told her that it had something to with Caim . Bliss pasted a bright smile on her face. She couldn’t let Amber know that something was very wrong. How could she ask for help anyway when she didn’t even know what was going on herself?
     
    “I’ll make sure to send all available hotties your way,” Bliss said, teasing her with humor she didn’t feel. “I gotta go, sweetie. I’ll call you later.”
     
    Bliss hurried down the hallway. She raised her hand to wave when Amber called out her good-byes. Outside her door, she hesitated with her hands on the handle. She took a deep breath and stepped into the room. The man who turned to her was nothing if not magnificent. He turned when Bliss entered the room. The blond hair he had just seemed to capture every piece of light in the room and left it dim. Looking into his eyes was like falling into a pool of blue, and when he smiled, she could almost hear a tinkle as he showed off rows of white teeth. No one man should be this beautiful, Bliss thought. But even as she stared at the hunk in her office, she could feel something about him that made her cringe.
     
    “Can I help you?” Bliss asked hesitantly.
     
    “Bliss, isn’t it?”
     
    “Yes, do I know you?”
     
    “No, but we have a mutual friend in Caim . I’m Belial.”
     
    “That is an unusual name. How do you know Caim ?” Bliss walked over to her desk, trying to give Belial a wide berth. He made her uncomfortable, and just being behind her desk where something was between the two of them made her feel safer.
     
    “Let’s just say we work the same place,” Belial replied mildly. He sat in the chair opposite her desk and leaned back casually as if he were meant to be there.
     
    “So if you guys work together, why are you here?”
     
    “I wanted to see the woman who was taking his focus away from his job.” Belial’s eyes met her directly and made her feel like squirming in her seat. “He’s in a lot of trouble, you know.”
     
    “H-he is?” Bliss stammered. She took a deep breath. “Listen, whatever you guys do, I don’t want to know, but I want him out. I have some money saved. You can have it. Just leave him be.”
     
    “You are willing to give up all your money just to save him?”
     
    Bliss could hear the curiosity in Belial’s voice, along with something else. His smile reminded her of a shark when it smelled blood in the water.
     
    “I’d give up a whole lot more for him if I had it,” she said firmly.
     
    “Would you give up your soul for him?” Belial asked softly.
     
    The question sent fear through every fiber of her being, and she whispered, “What are you?”
     
    “Hmm.” Belial closed his eyes and turned his head as if he caught a whiff of a pleasurable scent.
     
    When he did, Bliss caught a glimpse of his true face, and