“I… I didn’t think he meant much to you.”
“You know what they say about assumptions,” Lucifer says. He walks a little closer to Drugon, grabbing the chain from his hand and holding it out to me. I take it in my hand, and the woman looks up at me with a mixture of terror and relief. But clearly, I’m the lesser of two evils as she scurries to my side.
Lucifer grins at the king, and I barely notice the way his fingers shift into long claws. Faster than the crack of thunder, he reaches inside the king’s chest and twists. A smile spreads across his face as he says, “I’m sure Elvor will be excited for the family reunion.” With that, Lucifer pulls out the fae king’s heart, a slash of blood spraying onto his face and all over his pristine suit.
It should be horrifying.
He just ripped out the king’s heart in front of his entire village. And he smiled while he did it. I can’t help but smile as I watch him drop the heart. It thuds with a squelch on the tile as he wipes his bloody hand on the clothes of the now-dead fae leader.
“Do not summon me to this shit-hole unless it’s warranted. Do you understand?” Lucifer says calmly to the crowd, completely nonchalant about his act of violence.Why is that so hot?The fae who just watched their king die at the hands of this demon with very little effort nod their heads, and it’s so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
“A little help, Barbie,” Asmodeus sasses, holding out his wrists to show his shackles still tight against his skin.
I shrug. “I don’t know how to take them off.”
He tilts his head and assesses me. “Interesting.”
“What?” I’m still holding onto the girl’s chain leash, not knowing how to get her out of it, but also making sure no one takes her from me.
“Lucifer wouldn’t usually bring fresh meat to something like this.”
I grimace. “Gross.”
“No, you know what’s gross? Having to be here for a decade and not knowing why.”
“Let’s go,” Lucifer growls. I put a hand on the girl’s arm, and Lucifer takes hold of both Asmodeus and myself.
We’re brought to his study, and Lucifer snaps his fingers, causing the chains holding back Asmodeus and the girl to immediately release themselves.
“Can… can I go home?” the girl questions softly.
Lucifer nods and looks over to Asmodeus. “Take her back to Earth. Then take some time off but report back in two weeks.”
“Thank you, my lord,” Asmodeus says, collecting the crying girl and portalling her to wherever it is she belongs.
Lucifer takes two steps towards me, backing me up against some furniture as he cranes his neck to look down at me.
“You disobeyed me,” he says softly. His brown eyes are intense as he stares me down. He still has blood on his face, but somehow he still looks put together.
“I needed to get her out.”
He places his hands against the wall behind me. I feel like a caged animal, and my heart beats rapidly against my chest. I’m surrounded by nothing other than him. His scent is thick, like clove and teakwood. I’m guessing he’s expecting an apology, but he isn’t getting one. It’s not like I can think with him this close anyway.
“I would have gotten her out,” he says. He doesn’t touch me, and I hate myself for wishing that he would. That he would glide his massive hands down my side and show me just how strong he is. I wish that I could tangle my hands in his bloody hair and kiss him. I lick my lips with the thought, and he tracks my tongue before his gaze snaps back to my eyes.
“Do you like riling me up, Lilith?” he asks softly, almost like a taunt instead of a reprimand.
I shrug my shoulders in response. All thoughts leave my head except how close he is, how much larger he is, and how I can’t stop thinking about how much I like it.
His hand is caked in blood as he touches my hair. I couldn’t stop the shiver that wracks my body if I tried. “So beautiful, so defiant,” he says, bringing a ribbon of hair to his nose. He inhales and lets the hair go. His fingers touch the stone of my necklace, his fingers lightly grazing my chest as he smiles at me. “We’ll work on that. Goodnight, Lilith.”
I don’t even have a moment to question him or to reply. He’s out of the room before I can even come back with a sassy retort. My breathing is heavy as I think about what just happened. My first thoughts are about how sexy he is and how he’s far more complex than I ever imagined.
Then the guilt creeps in. The fact that I don’t know if he was honest about Diana being an angel and how her last words to me were about me being evil and a monster.
I’m attracted to the fucking Devil, and I’m finding that perhaps it’s more than just attraction. I like this job, being around him all the time. It’s not just genuine curiosity either, it feels like he’s the opposite side of a magnet, and no matter my resistance, he’s going to pull me right back towards him every time.
I sigh, rubbing at my face and wishing for one fucking second that I could forget about the last conversation I had with Diana. If I could just speak to her one more time, we could clear the air, and then maybe I could start living this new life that I want. The life that I feel guilty for wanting.
