They knew me better than I wanted to admit, and Chaos was determined to win me back. I might’ve shut him down the last time, but he was right about so many things. Malice, too. I had to be strong enough to keep Lucifer at bay, so I had to feed, but I wasn’t ready to fully let them back into my body or heart yet. Unfortunately for all of us, the best way for me to feed would be to do just that. It was so much more satisfying when my partner finished inside me. Not only did I stay full longer, the power it gave me was exponentially greater.
But doing that opened doors to other things. Namely feelings. I didn’t want to end up with my heart even more broken by the time these four were done with me. They’d already hurt me deeply. Could I withstand anything else?
Then there was the not-so-small issue of the devil I knew. As in the literal devil, currently holding me captive. Was I really willing to stick to my guns and risk Lucifer forcing himself on me? My gut said he wouldn’t take anything that wasn’t offered,but my gut also told me the horsemen were my mates, and we saw how that turned out.
As confident as I was that Lucifer wouldn’t force the issue, and that my current lack of bun in the oven was a point in my favor, I also wasn’t one hundred percent sure. Would it actually be safer for me to continue with the original plan?
The truth was, I just didn’t know anymore.
The one thing I did know? Nothing would change until I figured out where I was. That was priority number one. Well, technically priority number one was staying alive, but the two sort of went hand-in-hand. Which was why I was brushing my hair and giving myself a final critical check in the mirror. It was time to face the devil.
I didn’t want this upcoming chat to seem like a complete about-face after avoiding him for the last two days, so I really needed to play my cards right, or he would see straight through me. That would probably be the case anyway—he was a clever fuck—but I didn’t need to make it easy for him either. Maybe I could get him to slip up and give me some clue as to where he’d hidden us.
I half expected him to be waiting outside my door, ready to pounce as soon as I stepped into the hall. He wasn’t. The house was quiet, cozy, and just as inviting as it had been when I first arrived. A far cry from the prison it really was.
I padded down the hall, warily checking for any hint as to where he was hiding. I swear to God, if that asshole jump-scared me, I would punch him in the dick so hard. It was the soft click-clack of keys that gave him away. Following the sound, I found him at his desk, spectacles perched on his aquiline nose, fingers typing away.
Before I could stop myself, I snickered, causing him to look up at me.
“So you’ve decided to come out of your room. Miss me, did you?” he said, a smirk tilting up his perfect mouth.
Ignoring his question, I focused on the one thing I could pick at. “Glasses, huh? I wouldn’t have guessed you’d need them.”
“One should always dress for the role they desire.”
“Uh huh. And what role are you dressed for? Asshole of the Year?”
He chuckled, removing the glasses and setting them on the desk beside his typewriter. “Award-winning author, obviously.”
“Why bother carrying on the facade?”
“What facade? I decided it was high time to write my memoir. Can you think of a more widely anticipated book?”
“Who’s going to be left to read it? If you get your way, everyone will be dead.”
Lucifer smiled at me, far too amused for someone I was trying to offend.
“What?” I snapped.
“Can’t a man appreciate a woman?”
“A man, sure. Not you.”
“Well, truthfully, I’m so much more than a man.”
I rolled my eyes. “Ugh. That’s something only a man would say. Next you’ll tell me you’re God’s gift made special for me.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “It would be true if you flipped it on its head. You’re made for me, my sour little crabapple.”
I’d been called a lot of things in my camming days, but that was a new one.
“Crabapple?”
“I am rather fond of apples, as you know, and you’re just so delightfully prickly.” His expression turned contemplative. “I suppose you can be my prickly pear if you prefer.”
“No. I don’t want to be your anything.”
He gave me an almost comically exaggerated frown. “Well, it’s a bit late for that. You may not have signed up for it, but you were born to be myeverything.”
