“Yeah, thanks for the heads up about the freaky fuck fest under the tarp, by the way.”
He clamped down, putting his attention back on me, his eyes glittering with dark mirth. “Oh, Kitten, don’t pretend that didn’t turn you on. Your arousal’s stinking up the elevator. If I were to peek into your mind right about now, I’m sure I’d find a few juicy fantasies starring me. Such as one, in particular, involving me fucking you against this elevator with your legs wrapped around my waist.”
My cheeks burned red. “Stay out of my fucking head, Lucifer.”
A dark growl of a chuckle rolled past his lips as he licked them. Then he advanced on me slowly, backing me up against the wall. Fuck, he loved doing that. And I hated to admit that I loved it just as much.
He smirked, baring his teeth like a predator taunting its prey. “You know, Kitten. I would stay out of your head if I actually thought that’s what you wanted. But the truth of the matter is, you love it when I’m inside you. Fight your animal all you want, Jessica. But if you taught me anything, it’s to trust what your instincts are telling you. Your beast won’t lead you astray.”
“I don’t have a beast.”
He backed away with a laugh like I’d just told a funny joke. “We’ll address that in time. For now, you have other questions. A lot of them, so pick out the most pressing ones because I plan on making good on my promise to wrap up this little trip down memory lane by tomorrow evening, and it’s already almost midnight.”
“Alright, first one. Lilith didn’t like shifting to her human form, right? Because of something Abaddon did. What did he do to her exactly?”
Lucifer’s expression darkened. “You’ll learn more about that in memories of the lower floors. In short, Abaddon was an abusive asshole back then. I don’t really know the fine details… She hid many of those memories from me. All I really know is he didn’t like Lilith in her secondary form. He thought it made her look weak, like just another mortal soul.”
It didn’t sit right with me knowing Abaddon had been an abusive partner. Especially not knowing the details. What he’d done to her had to be horrible if she’d gone as far as to hide her memories from Lucifer, who she clearly trusted. No wonder he made me feel uncomfortable when I was around him.
“Okay… So if you think I’m Lilith, why exactly did you let him pick me up to go on our ‘date?’”
“Because an incredible time has passed since you two were together, Jessica. He’s not the same demon. He’s loyal to me now. He knows you’re mine. Even a brute like him can respect The Fates’s wishes.”
“Alright, second question. Why in the heck are we going through these memories backward again?”
“Because I want to end on the memory most likely to jog yours. The most pivotal point in our relationship. The moment we met.”
“Why is that the most important?”
“Because it was the moment I fell in love with you.”
“If you fell in love with Lilith on the ninth level, why did it take you all the way until the second to claim her as your mate?”
“As you saw, I was shutting out that nagging voice in my head telling me the truth. Much like you’re doing now. My beast knew Lilith was his mate the second he saw her. But I was stupidly affixed to Eve because, well, she was my first love. Not that what we had could really be called love. But ‘first lay’ doesn’t really sound as good, does it? Remember, I come from Paradise, where we’re taught to suppress the urges of our true nature.”
“Why?”
“Because they’re hypocrites, love. Hypocrites who think they are better than the animal shifters of the surface realm or the demon shifters of the Underworld. Spoiler, they’re not. Immortal or not, we’re all animals. We all need a mate. And it’s The Fates who have their hand in that, even for shifters not native to Hell. And that doesn’t sit right with Paradise. They like having ultimate control. So what do they do? Create a list of rigid, stuffy rules while I serve as the poster boy for what happens to depraved, filthy little celestials who dare put their own needs and interests above ‘the greater good.’”
“So, God doesn’t determine the fate over shifter kind?”
Lucifer scoffed. “Not as much as He’d like. Wish I had figured that out earlier.”
“Lilith had mentioned that The Fates were her nieces. That means that Nyx is their mother?” I wasn’t an expert on Greek myth, but I recall the Goddess of the Night having three daughters who determined the fate of the world. It was an odd thought, imagining the woman I’d just met as the mother to such powerful triplets.
“Yes, and before you can ask if you can meet them, no, you can’t. No one knows where they are. They aren’t really like you or their mother. Or anyone, really. They are feral; they never shift to their secondary forms. Their beasts are their dominant personalities, and any humanity they have is left to whisper in the back of their minds much like our beasts do with us.”
“How could they have the ability to manipulate people’s futures?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “They’re powerful witches, so powerful much of this realm worship them like gods.” He gave a small smile that touched his eyes, making the little amber flakes in them burn like embers. “You used to joke how you imagined them off in a cave somewhere in the lower layers, huddled over a bunch of voodoo dolls made out of their own pubic hair and teeth.”
“Ha, that does sound like me.”
His brows arched high. “So you’re starting to believe me?”
“No,” I said with a hasty snort. “I’m just admitting that your girl had a bomb sense of humor.”
Lucifer chuckled. The sound was light and airy coming from his smooth, baritone voice, and it made me think of the way he’d been with Lilith in his memories. Exhausted but happy. Those two had clearly been through Hell and back together, and they’d formed the most intimate of bonds I couldn’t even begin to imagine. At least there were parts of it I didn’t have to imagine. He’d shown me a very intimate moment shared between them. And it left Reckless Jessica partially salivating with jealousy.
