I shrugged. “Well, you just looked so sad and pathetic. I couldn’t justleaveyou like that,” I joked, and he snatched up my chin, forcing my head up to face him. The forcefulness of his grasp was betrayed by the playful smirk on his face as he leaned forward and pulled my lower lip into his warm mouth, sucking on it gently. He released me and used his thumbs to pull the swollen flesh down to expose my teeth to him.
“Get in the shower,” he ordered softly. “I’m going to wash this blood off, fuck you, then take you to dinner so you can tell me about your day.”
Despite the zip of excitement that seemed to always rush to my pussy every time Ramel informed me he was about to defile me, I felt myself laugh.
“You were with me all day. We were only apart for a couple of hours.”
He draped his arm around my shoulders and ushered me toward the bathroom. “And I want to hear about every second of those two hours… after we shower.”
“Knowledge is a weapon. I intend to be formidably armed.”
—MAEVE MILLAY, WESTWORLD
As discussed, I spent the next few days in the library. Ramel usually came with me. We would get breakfast together, and then he would lead me through the stacks, showing me where he thought would be a good place to start my research for the day. Shem rarely joined, claiming that books weren’t really his scene. Besides, Samhain was fast approaching, andsomeonehad to make sure preparations stayed on course.
“Do we really think Samhain should be the focus right now? If Yahweh truly is planning to take over Hell, maybe we should put a pause on the preparations.” I said one morning as Ramel and I were getting ready to leave for the day.
“The show must go on, Lilith.” Shem smirked at me, dropping a kiss on my nose. “The veil will continue to thin whether we want it to or not; we need to keep up appearances. We’ve held this feast since Hell was founded. If we cancel the festivities, it will be pretty clear that we’re up to something.”
Both Shem and Ramel had informed me that it wasn’t uncommon for citizens of Heaven and Hell to mingle when the veil was at its thinnest. Angels often attended the dumb feast and the ball, and demons tended to branch out to prowl Earth to fuck with mankind.
“Alright. Try to stay out of trouble, at least.” I narrowed my eyes on Shem, and he barked out a laugh.
“Never.” He winked, sliding off to do whatever it was cat demons did all day.
Ramel and I grabbed a quick breakfast to-go, and I munched on my egg burrito as we made our way to the library for the fifth day that week.
“I won’t be able to stay with you all day today,” he informed me as I settled into my usual seat. I had chosen a large table that sat in an alcove on the second floor. It overlooked the heart of the library and was surrounded by texts that mostly covered the history of Hell, Heaven, and Earth. The table was still piled high with books from the day before, and I was anxious to get back to them. I glanced up at my demon husband, and genuine disappointment welled through my chest. Since I had earned free range of the manor, I resented him less, and I found I was even beginning to enjoy his company.
I tried not to wonder if my growing affection for my two captors was a product of Stockholm syndrome or if my feelings were being projected by the other version of myself that was becoming an increasingly prominent entity in my mind.
It was nice not to hate them. It was nice to enjoy the sex, and it was nice to not feel like a prisoner, so I resolved to do my best to just roll with it.
I let Ramel see the genuine disappointment in my expression. “Oh, that’s too bad. Why not?” I asked, and he leaned against the table, facing me. Reaching out to touch my chin, he smiled at me.
“I love it when you look at me like that.”
“Like what?” I asked, frowning.
“Like you might actually miss me when I’m gone.”
Feeling my cheeks flush, I tugged my chin out of his grip and turned my focus onto my books, chewing on my fingernail anxiously. “Well, it’s nice to have someone to help with all the research.”
He chuckled softly but didn’t push the topic. “I have a meeting with Shemhazai and one of our informants. If you need help, I can see if Art and Jezebel are available.”
Almost every day this week, I spent the afternoon at Jezebel’s bar, spending time with her and Art. I had never had a girlfriend before, and Jezebel seemed more than happy to fill the role.
I scrunched up my nose. “No, it’s okay. I love Jez, but I’ll never get any reading done with her here. I’ll just catch up with her at the bar later.”
Ramel nodded and planted a kiss on my head. “Alright, deathtrap.”
I returned to my book,‘Divine Tapestry: The Eternal Odyssey of the Olympian Pantheon,’expecting Ramel to leave for his meeting. However, after a few moments of him continuing to hover by my side, I looked up at him with curiosity.
He was staring at me like he wanted to say something but was…nervous?How could that be possible? Ramel was never nervous.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked incredulously.
He cleared his throat. “I have a gift. For you.”
