The tail thrashing on the ground? Another pair of hands—meant to hold me up or keep me close.
And the chaos beneath his dark skin, winking in reds and oranges, wasn’t frightening anymore.
It was warmth—something to lay against, to fall asleep beside.
In another world, in another time, or place…
Maybe if he’d been a monster to begin with, instead of a fallen angel, he wouldn’t have the desperate need to escape this world.
He would have found me first—and loved me.
All the things I pictured, all the things I could feel myself yearning for—they would have been our reality.
Not this one.
Not a world where my father was created just to keep a balance, to ensure the Devil could never escape.
We wouldn’t be enemies in that other life.
Not even close.
He would have been my lover.
And he would have loved me for all the times he wouldn’t allow himself to in this one.
“Did you hear me?” he asked, brows furrowing.
No, I hadn’t heard a word he said—which, of course, pissed him off.
He growled. A normal person would’ve been frightened by the sound.
It only made me want to crawl into his soul, if I could.
“You almost died twice. You’re not going.”
I snorted, the burn in my throat intensifying.
“You’re going to let me fade away. What’s the difference?”
Bringing up the any-time-now future always made his attitude worse.
Veins protruded along his neck as his body stiffened.
Hope twisted through me, coiling tight around my heart. If I kept pressing—kept angering him—maybe, just maybe, I could squeeze something honest from him.
His chest finally deflated as the tension drained from his shoulders.
“Try to leave,” he said, voice low and firm, “and I’ll bind you with my tail. That’s not a warning—it’s a promise.”
I shook my head, even as my clit tingled.
“You’re never going to be honest with me, are you?”
“Me and you…we’re full of lies,” he said quietly. “You’ll do anything to protect your family. And I’ll do anything to get what I want.”
He dragged a claw down the front of my shirt before hooking a finger inside the waistband of my pants, teasing the skin at my hip.
“No, Luke. The only one lying is you.”
