Sarah fell into a deep sleep with nothing more than a basic sleep command in her mind. It allowed me to return her to her home and not have anything untoward happen to her. Why she had so foolishly followed me into the darkness of the night I'll never know. Beyond what dangers lie in her own species, I know of so much more that could cause problems for her.

New York had a real vampire problem, not that they knew it. I could say something to the elder that oversaw the vampires in this particular territory but it wasn't my place to. I was neither seen nor heard, merely a figment of a human's imagination if I chose. For a vampire, though, that was different. When they first learned of me I couldn't say but now they had and they always used the underworld as a safe passage from one area to the next. There was something about the red sun in the underworld that they could walk freely under but not the orange sun of this world. I let them do as they pleased so long as they didn't disrupt the souls or tamper with the trees.

The other major issue for those that like to walk freely of a night time is the lycans. Their feeding habits are rather ruthless and a little stomach churning. I didn't ever want to come across one of them feeding.

I pulled back the sheets and laid Sarah onto the bed, removing the shoes and jacket. She was left in jeans and a shirt, her night clothes were on a chair to one side of the bed. My mind tormented me, telling me that it was better to have her think it was a dream. That I should put her in her night clothes and hope that she believes it was her imagination.

But that meant taking off her clothes. I delved into her mind, finding her usual routine and dressing habits. Dirty clothes in the hamper, nightwear and nothing else. I gulped hard as the panicked sweat trickled down past my temple.

Do I leave her as is and brave the questions tomorrow? Or do I change her and see so much more than I had intended?

How strange it was, for me to be like this was indeed peculiar. Ordinarily, I didn't bother with knowing the finer details of a woman before bedding her. Demon women didn't care for small talk, all they wanted was for the job to be done so they could do the other things that they liked.

I sighed, weary of this night. So much to do and I am stuck here, debating with myself on what is right.

"Forgive me, Sarah, I cannot have you remember such things."

Retrieving her night clothes, I undid her jeans and pulled them down. My heart thumped hard, as I looked up her svelte frame. The tiny cotton underpants with little pink flowers were not what I was used to. Lace, sheer material, nothing at all. That's what I saw on a regular basis. Never cotton and definitely never with little flowers.

I pulled the bed pants up and took a moment to catch my breath and hope that my heart slowed down its frantic tempo. The next part was the killer. I could already see that she had a desirable proportion, now all I had to do was not touch.

Her body sagged as I pulled the shirt away, flopping into awkward positions and generally making life difficult. The last step was the bra, crazily it matched the underpants. Her breasts swelled from the cup making beautiful, creamy colored mounds.

I couldn't look. I didn't even dare to come close. Pulling the shirt over her head I wondered how it was possible to wrangle the shirt and the bra and not get them tangled.

"This is ridiculous," I whispered angrily.

With a huff I reached behind her back and undid the bra, removing it completely. In that moment I knew that it was a mistake. Carnal hunger ripped through me as I stared at her breasts. I quickly finished dressing her and ensured everything was set in accordance with what was in her mind. Then I fled her apartment.

The cold of the night burned against my skin. I stopped and soaked in the noises of the city.

"My lord."

I turned to the soft voice of a woman beside me, her eyes glowed a soft red in the light from the street lamp.

"What brings you to New York?"

"Business."

"Can I be of assistance to your need?"

My mind could not decide, it flipped between no because of Sarah and yes because of the demon woman before me. Like all of them, she was incredibly beautiful and had curves that were made for this man's hands to hold onto.

"As always it is for you to decide my lord but you know it is not wise to go without. Our kind is made for desire. My apartment is on the upper east side, should you change your mind."

"Delano, wait."

She turned and looked at me.

"Yes my lord?"

"I want to..."

"But you have feelings for the human girl, I know. I can see it even from this distance and with such little time as well. You have my congratulations, my lord. Finding love is difficult for our kind, we are so self-centered that we do not care to find true love."

Delano walked closer, her hips swinging with the movement.

"Forgive my crudeness my lord but if you do not wish to partake in the delights of the flesh now that you have a love interest, maybe you should try a little self-love."

She shot me a wry smile, turned on her heels and walked away.

Thankfully my path was in the opposite direction, I did not want it to seem like I was following her. I hadn't been to the apartment in such a long time, bought when it was a mere thought being etched onto a plan. The white walls seemed far too angelic for this man. Who would have thought that the devil would own an apartment in the clouds? Most would see him in the pits of a fiery chasm, poking people with his pitchfork. I don't own a pitchfork but I am a bastard.

The phone was ringing before the doors to the elevator had even opened, I could hear the ear piercing shrill from outside the apartment.

As I pushed through the door I pressed the button for the loudspeaker, turning the volume down.

"Yes, Nolia."

"Good evening my lord, I thought you might want a progress report."

How she knew where I was I don't know but I guess it wasn't too hard to figure out. I had been seen by demons and demons love to gossip.

"Of course, carry on."

"Incoming is on course, Taino has taken over your appointments and dealt with them. Outgoings are as usual, Nicolas has left as expected. All is ready for the night staff. Will you be back for the morning?"

"Yes though I cannot stay long, I have a meeting. See to it that Taino and Nicolas are waiting in my office for me at nine am."

"Of course my lord. Is there anything else that I can assist you with?"

"No, that is all. Thank you Nolia."

"My pleasure." she purred down the line and then hung up.

I pulled the figurine out of my pocket, tossing into the air. Cerberus barked as he came to life, pounding his heavy paws to the tiled floor.

"You can stay but you know the rules."

He whined as he sat, his head looked down but those big brown eyes looked up at me.

"Don't burn my apartment, that's all I ask. You'll have to open a portal to do your business, I can't be dragging you down to the street every time you want to drop a brimstone dookie and you're certainly not doing it in here."

Cerberus whined again.

"And do not use the bathroom again. I don't need to be wiping memories of the humans just because you've managed to burn the bloody pipes. I don't care if you learned how to use the damned thing. Open your portal, understand?"

He barked and panted happily, his tongue hanging out one side of his mouth. I sighed as I flopped onto the lounge.

"Why New York eh Cerberus? Why not somewhere a little rural where you could run around in a back yard? Then I wouldn't have to worry about you burning down an apartment building."

His head rested on my leg, looking up at me with sadness.

"Why her? Sure she's pretty and she's..."

I found my hands in front of my chest, thinking about her naked again.

"Do you think she could handle a demon life? And what about my past, no woman wants to face a partner's former lovers on a regular basis. She'd be faced with so many."

It sounded like a groan, a rather pained groan. This was how my life has been, there was nothing I could do to change it. I had always been a man that lived the carefree life, didn't care to settle down and was happy with the way things were. All of that changed with one little question.

Do you not wish to hold a life in your hands and look at the child and think, I created this, in this child is my flesh and blood?

I didn't answer Rowan that day but I knew my answer without even having to think about it.