“I was waiting to see how long it would take you to come out this time. Not even a full twenty-four hours. You’re obsessed with me.”
“You want to talk obsession? Who is holding whom captive, Lucifer?”
“Semantics.”
“Details matter. I hear that’s where the devil lives.”
“If we’re being technical, I have a very lovely castle in hell, as well as a condo in LA and a penthouse in Helsinki.” He lifted a hand and started counting on his fingers. “All of Manhattan. An adorable little pub in Glasgow. Plus the high rise in Dubai. A couple of islands.” He snapped. “Oh, and that sheep farm in New Zealand.”
“Not Vegas? That seems right up your alley.”
He sneered. “No, thank you. Too obvious.”
I opened my mouth, but shut it again immediately when he sucked in a sharp breath.
“I almost forgot the best one of all. My koala sanctuary in Australia.”
“I’m sorry, did you just say you have a koala sanctuary?” This had to be a lie. Why would Lucifer Morningstar rescue anything?
“Koalas are going to be extinct in the wild in your lifetime, Merri.”
“The world is literally ending. Everything is going to be extinct in my lifetime.”
He waved a hand. “But not because of chlamydia.”
“And that’s an upside because . . .”
“They deserve better.”
I stared at him. Was the devil actually debating the finer points of koalas with me? It was so reminiscent of the time Colewent off about camel mating facts that I had to blink a couple of times and force myself to focus.
“Don’t look at me like that. All they do is eat, sleep, and fornicate. That’s all. They’re the most innocent of creatures.”
“I guess I’m just . . . confused.”
“About what?”
“About who you really are.”
He grinned and held his arms out wide, as though he were sayingI’m here, you’re welcome.
“My darling little crabapple, I contain multitudes.”
I was starting to see that, but saying so out loud felt like surrender, so instead I didn’t say anything.
“I don’t see why you struggle with the reality of me so much. I know everyone makes me out to be the bad guy?—”
“Youarea bad guy.”
“—the root of all evil,” he continued, as if I hadn’t contradicted him. “But I’m so much more than that. Just like you are so much more than a sex demon. No one, not even the most beautiful of angels, is only one thing.”
My head was spinning as I attempted to process and filter the truth from his well-crafted lies.Washe all bad? Surely he must be if the horsemen were working so hard to keep me from him, to defeat him.
“Stop trying to talk circles around me. I see what you’re doing.” I shoved past him, holding my breath so I couldn’t inhale the scent of him. He had this delicious manly campfire thing going on that I absolutely refused to admit I enjoyed.
“And what is it I’m doing? Besides getting to know the future mother of my child?”
I spun back around and shoved my finger in his chest. “No. I am not your future anything.”
