Thirty-Eight
LUCIFER
Coming to in the middle of the kitchen with my trousers wet and cold from the nocturnal emission Merri pulled from me was disorienting to say the least.
Her little stunt had fury brewing within me. There was no way I could let her get away with such a betrayal. I’d thought I had her right where I wanted her. I thought everything was finally coming together. She’d bamboozled me. No one bamboozled me.
A reckoning was at hand.
Getting to my feet, I took a wobbly step, then another before I had to reach out and steady myself on the kitchen island. Pain lanced my palm as the sharp edge of a chef's knife I’d carelessly left out sliced into tender flesh.
“Fucking hell, what did you do to me, crabapple?”
I hadn’t felt this weak since I was unceremoniously shoved out of heaven.
A glint of red had me doing a double-take. Blood?! I was bleeding?
What fresh hell was this?
“If you prick me, do I not bleed?” I intoned, more from shock than anything. Just as quickly, I snarled, my head snapping up and eyes narrowing with a single-minded focus. “No one makes me bleed my own blood.”
Taking a steadying breath, I balled my hand into a fist and stumbled out of the kitchen, lumbering down the hall toward my target. “Merri!” I bellowed. “I know you’re in there, you naughty, naughty girl.”
The door to her room was already ajar, stealing some of my steam. So much for my dramatic entrance.
I pushed it open with as much flair as I could muster, but instead of finding Merri poised and ready for a fight, she was out cold on her bed.
“Well, now I can’t be angry at you. Look at you. So innocent when you’re unconscious.” I stepped into the room, interest piqued. Perhaps this was my moment. She’d taken from me. I could take from her... if I wanted to. A kiss wouldn’t be so terrible. We’ve done it before. And everyone knew you woke Sleeping Beauty with a kiss.
Moving to her side, I propped a knee on her mattress, one hand on either side of her face.
She really was ridiculously beautiful. Equal parts innocent and seductive all at once.
“Come on, crabapple. I need you to wake up so I can scold you properly.”
Was I whispering tenderly at the woman who’d just tried to kill me?
Hmph.
My brain must be more dysfunctional than I’d realized. Somewhere along the way, I’d equated attempted murder with grand gestures. I suppose the key word was attempted. She hadn’t actually gone through with it, and part of me knew, as ensnared as I’d been, she certainly could have.
As furious as I was, there was also a grudging amount of respect. No one had pulled one over on me like that before. Not even Lilith.
Leaning down, I brushed my lips over hers, a twist in my heart betraying how much I enjoyed showing her affection.
She sighed, and her eyes fluttered open, finding mine instantly.
“There you are. Now, it’s time we had a chat about your choices.”
There was a delicate flare of her nostrils followed by a sharp inhale. Before I could so much as draw breath, Merri’s eyes transformed from a lovely shade of blue to pure, endless demonic black.
Startled, I sat back, but she followed me, snapping upright.
“Mate,” she hissed, licking her lips.
For one second, all I could do was stare at her. Then a wicked smile stretched across my face.
“Well, isn’t this a delicious turn of events?”
