“You might not mean to, Lothar.”
“I would never do that, Urs.”
One of her shoulders lifted and dropped. “I hope not. I’d really hate to have to slice you up.”
We stared at each other for long moments, and though there was no way in fucking hell I would hurt Rox, for some reason Ursula thought it was a possibility and I didn’t know how to convince her otherwise. So I gave her the reassurance she needed. “I give you my word.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” She swirled her finger in her glass, mixing it, then sucked off the liquid.
“What did you put in your drink?”
“Poison,” she said and downed it in one.
“The fuck?”
She grinned. “That’s my specialty.” She winked. “Among others.”
Well, fuck me. Again, I’d had no idea. “You’re Lucifer’s taster?”
“I am, and if you tell anyone, I’ll have to kill you.”
I watched as she repeated the process with three different vials. Micro dosing herself with different poisons, maintaining her immunity to them. “How do you detect the poison if you’re immune to it?”
“I can taste the smallest dose no matter how diluted. If any of Lucifer’s enemies slipped poison into his food or drink or any other way, I’d know.”
“What does he do while you’re away?”
“He stays close to home. Only handmaids will prepare and serve his food. My services are mainly required when we travel out of his quadrant anyway. He surrounds himself with only those he trusts implicitly. We also keep an eye on everyone who has access to Lucifer, until we’re positive of their loyalty.”
Roxy’s laughter reached me from across the room, and my gaze slid back to her. She was on Asmodeus’s lap now, her arm thrown around his thick neck, while she ran the fingers of her other hand along one of his horns.
Another growl rolled out of me, and I had no fucking clue where it came from. It was as if the beast in me was acting alone. That wasn’t how it was for a hound, there was no separation between beast and man.
I was the beast, and the beast was me, but right now, the animal part of me was reacting in ways I had no fucking control over.
Chapter
Six
Roxy
* * *
Asmodeus pressed his mouth to my ear. “How long do I have you, my dear?”
I cupped his face. “Just tonight. I’m needed elsewhere.”
He nodded, but looked disappointed. “That is a shame.”
“I’ll be back before you know it.”
He pressed a kiss to my temple. “I do hope so, Roxy. I honestly do.”
“You know Luci keeps me busy.”
He made a grumbling sound. “Since I only have you for one night, will you join me in my bed this evening?” He trailed his fingers along my spine. “It has been too long since I’ve held you in my arms, my sweetest one.”
My stomach tightened. Lucifer had instructed me to seduce Asmodeus and gain his favor a very long time ago. It had never bothered me before, sex was just another weapon in my arsenal, but with Lothar here, with his glowing golden gaze burning into me like I felt him doing now, I wasn’t sure I could bring myself to do what I needed to.
