Adrian returned a couple of times in the weeks that it took Elizabeth Crenshaw to regain some footing to iron out the details of the deal with Geneva. 

        He'd made sure to keep at least five feet away from her at each occasion and made a point to move whenever he thought she was too close. But in any room alone with the delectable Cupid was immediately too close regardless. She exuded a very demanding and flamboyant aura that both uplifted and overwhelmed him.

        Geneva agreed to give him the name of the man that Elizabeth was destined to love. Adrian agreed to allow Elizabeth enough time to regain her health. And Elizabeth promised to do well in her physical therapy. The Cupid also promised that, once Elizabeth was well again, he would be immediately notified. 

        The silly girl had even asked for his cellular phone and Death could only laugh at her assumptions. He chuckled so long that Cupid joined in once she understood the humor behind her request. 

        But of course, he didn't have such modern comforts. He'd shown her how to contact him, a letter addressed to Death, Adrian and stamped with blood. If she left it out at night, he would receive it. This promise seemed to satisfy her although her hazel eyes still sparkled with humor at his arcane habits. Truthfully, Adrian detested those beeping pocket imps the modern world called cellulars. They were hard to understand, too small to read, and each year, they were the cause of so many untimely deaths. 

        Adrian visited Elizabeth only a few times, but he visited Geneva endlessly. He never entered her home, or skulked about outside. No, he preferred chancing upon her at the grocery store by her favorite coffee shop. He liked to watch her socialize with others. Watching her work was incredibly fascinating to him. 

        Geneva was almost always smiling. He learned to recognize her smiles in the many slow weeks that past between meetings. Her lips curved over any common stranger. She was warm and eager with acquaintances. She laughed often with her friends, of whom were plenty, and hugged and touched them often.

        She was a tactile creature, Adrian discovered. She used her hands as frequently as she used her eyes. And she was fearless in the things she touched. He'd seen women back themselves into a corner before going into a room with a spider. Geneva could pick one up and cradle it in her palms like delicate porcelain, in order to transport it to a safer, quieter place. 

        She had powerful hands. At cafés, he watched her type furiously on her laptop computer. He didn't know what she did for a living. She wasn't human, but she lived like one. She ate and drove and paid for things with crumpled bills and credit. She sometimes treated herself to ice cream and he'd watched her on numerous occasions when she'd guzzle large paper cups of steaming coffee with heaps of cream and sugar. 

        Adrian was obsessed. 

        Not only did spying on her teach him about his enemy, it also revealed to him his inadequacies when held in comparison. 

        She might not be skilled in her magic, but she was much more modern than he was. Adrian was still dressed in the vestiges of his era. Doublets, breeches, and cravats had never seemed to shame him before. But Cupid wore soft loose sweaters and tight pantaloons, and smooth flat shoes in all the colors of the rainbow. 

        Her hair, the curly inky cloud that, in his era, marked a field slave, was proudly worn. It sprung from her head like a lion's mane. That lock of white, a stark reminder that he could have killed her. He wished she'd color it like other women do, but she wore it with casual whimsy, as if it were nothing more then a barrette. 

        Death would need to better steel himself against Love's treachery. 

~~~~~~

        It was a month and a half into Lizzy's healing. She'd had a broken leg and arm, a concussion, and a couple cracked ribs. Geneva took care of her friend, staying with her four out of the seven nights and Lizzy's insurance paid for home care the other three nights. 

        Lizzy's days were spent reading, whining, and trying very hard to do her job with one hand and doped up on pain killers. Her boss did finally believe that she was injured, and he'd sent her a multitude of gift baskets. Lizzy only seemed to care about Bilbo and talked about that dog incessantly when she was loopy from her pills.

        When Lizzy napped, Geneva worked on her advice column. She'd given love advice for as long as she could remember. Long before she ever fell in love, she knew how two people should come together. It had been an unusual calling for a young black girl growing up on the border of the ghetto just at the end of White Flight. 

        During the first weeks of Lizzy's recovery, Geneva had fallen behind. She'd taken any and every opportunity to catch up on her workload but had also made sure that Lizzy was well taken care of. 

        On a few occasions, she visited Brian at Lights. He was flirtatious as usual, but seemed more distracted. He got her order wrong and he'd never done that before in all the time she'd known him. 

        It wasn't too much of a surprise though. When your soulmate is injured or emotionally distraught, you know it. Poor Brian. If she could solve that anxiety for him, she would! Lizzy would certainly heal faster if Brian were closer to her. But no. She visited him to make sure that he was as far away from Lizzy as possible. 

        "That cute blonde at the end of the bar keeps checking you out," she murmured quietly when he slid her drink over.

        Brian glanced to the bombshell she'd gestured to with her eyes an smiled that brilliant empty flirtatious smile. 

        "She is cute. But I'm not into blondes," Brian said affably. 

        You will be, Geneva thought before crushing that mental seed. No! She would not be hooking him with Lizzy. 

        "I like curly dark hair," he said suggestively and Geneva laughed. 

        "What a coincidence! I have curly dark hair," she replied as she fell into her casual banter.

        "Well, most of it is dark. I like this new addition. Makes you look edgy," Brian said, reached out to tug at the white curly lock. 

        "Oh, thank you," Geneva managed with a smile. Whenever she thought of Adrian, she got so tense. She felt like an oaf around him, all hands and lips. And she was also very much aware of the fact that her friend's life balanced precariously between Death and Love. Because of this rivalry, Geneva knew she should be wary of Death, and most of all, control herself around him. But Geneva had never been one for control.

        In fact, she was boundless energy, unfocused. She didn't know how to reign all of that in. When she thought about that Reaper, she was goofy and warm all over. She wanted to do all sorts of cliched things with him. Run to him across a sandy beach, make out with him in the rain and night, show up to his house in nothing but a trench coat. All of her fantasies ended up with wild animal sex. 

        For a while, she couldn't figure out what it was about him. He was good looking in a dreary, depressed, aristocratic way. He had a patrician nose and pale blue eyes the color of glass. His mouth was sensual, with a shapely upper lips that Geneva wanted very much to trace with her tongue. His bones were carved from granite, overlaid by very pale Portuguese rose marble. His eyebrows were sharp and heavy brush strokes, darker than his blonde hair, and expressive. 

        She'd seen hotter guys on the covers of GQ, but Adrian was different. He dressed like a Lord. Totally outlandish in his coat and polished boots. But he carried the look with a grace that revealed his heritage. He probably was a Lord once upon a time. And when the world around him changed, he remained steadfast, as constant as a mountain.

        It was his stability and his unavailability that drew her to him. Now that she knew, it was easier to filter her desire for him. The space would do them good. She struggled with her urges when he was around.

        "Hm?" Geneva mumbled, startled by the expectant look on Brian's face.

        "I said, did you want to go someplace quiet after my shift?" He cocked a brow at her and canted his head, confusion mixed with incredulity on his face. It was rare that he was turned down by anyone, but rarer still that he didn't hold a woman's complete attention when he amped up his charm.

        Before Geneva could answer, a cool chill brushed up beside her. 

        "Sorry, I'm late. traffic was killer," said Death with an icy smile.

        "Adrian," Geneva whispered, in awe of his appearance as if her salacious thoughts alone summoned him. 

        "Oh, sorry, didn't realize you were on a date. What can I get you?" Brian asked, moving through his awkward semi rejection with breezy ease. 

        "I'll have some brandy, thanks."

        "What...What are you wearing?" Geneva asked, her voice tinged with the edge of hysterical laughter.

        Geneva stared him down, taking in every detail of his change. He wore black jeans, well fitted but not as conforming as those black breeches. He had on a sexy charcoal sweater with a gray button up beneath. Adrian looked scrumptious and cozy. 

        If hugging an ice sculpture in a Moreno wool sweater was cozy. 

        "Clothes. You said this place was casual," Death replied. His eyes sparkled with mischief and Geneva found herself itching to grab his arm and drag him into her car.

        She thought his stability and unavailability made him so irresistible, but here he was, different and so very available. Geneva quaked under the burden of her physical interest. 

        Brian returned with Adrian's drink and the men shared a moment of quiet masculine rivalry.

        "So, how do you know Genny?" Brian asked, still so perfectly friendly but clearly also sizing Adrian up. It flattered her that he was interested, but she knew who he really belonged to. 

        "She's my girlfriend. We met at the hospital three months ago." 

        Cupid choked on her Cosmopolitan. 

 __________________________________

Author's Note: An update! On schedule but later in the evening than I anticipated. This work is unedited but any and all feedback about grammar and punctuation are welcome. Any feedback on everything else is also welcome. Please comment, vote, and add this to your reading lists! I would be so honored!

In the mean time, I've got an adult Book Club and I'm looking for more members. If you're interested, or know someone who is interested in R-rated book clubs and reading materials, PM me for more details!