“So you like it?”
I nodded. “Very much.” I let go of his arm and grabbed one of the aprons hanging on the wall by the prep table. “What should we make?”
He barked out a strangled laugh. “Who is thisweyou speak of? I can’t cook for shit.”
I smirked at him and tossed him an apron. “No, but I can. Looks like you’ll be taking orders from me for once, Mister.” I teased, and he gave me a dark look before cracking a playful grin.
“Mmm, yes ma’am,” he purred, hooking the loop of the apron over his head and wrapping his arms around my waist. He tugged me in close and pressed a slow, intimate kiss on my lips. I moaned and melted into him, inhaling his familiar frankincense scent and enjoying the peppermint on his breath.
Finally, he pulled away, his eyelids heavy and hooded. “What is it you would like me to do, deathtrap?” he murmured, his voice husky. “I’m at your disposal.”
I leaned in close, just grazing my lips against his, my own eyes hooded from the intimacy of the kiss. “I want you to…”
“Yes…?”
“Get to work carving up that pork shoulder. We need it cut into two-inch cubes. After that, mince up some garlic and onion. I’ll get started on the lemon grass curry.”
He barked out a surprised laugh and shook his head, but to my delight, did exactly what I asked.
Together,we finished preparing a Thai pork curry that even Gordan Ramsay would have been proud of. Once it was simmering merrily on the stove, I stepped back with a satisfied smile, inhaling the sweet scents of lemongrass and coconut milk. My gaze caught on a small frame mounted on the wall above the industrial stovetop, and I gasped.
Pinned against the black velvet interior of the frame was the spoon I had engraved for Mike. Ramel immediately noticed my change in mood, and before I knew it, he was curled around me from behind, his chin resting on the top of my head. We looked up at the little framed spoon together, and I held back tears as he traced featherlight circles across my abdomen over my apron.
“It was Shem’s idea. We wanted to give you this space so you have somewhere to go when you’re missing him.”
My whole body felt like it was buzzing with electricity. Somehow, my blood still felt cold in my veins, and my breath seemed permanently caught in my chest. I turned slowly in the circle of Ramel’s arms and looked up at the demon who had brought me so much pain but was now clearly trying to do everything in his power to fix what he had broken.
“I know I can’t bring him back, Lilith.” His words settled over me, and I shuddered against the weight of them. There was no reincarnating immortals who wereunmade. Once they were gone, it was over. It was forever. The tears that filled my eyes shivered but didn’t fall. He ran his thumb over my cheek anyway, as if he could brush the phantom tears away. “I know nothing can make it better. But I hope this at least helps you feel like you’ve honored his sacrifice.”
I swallowed and once again, found myself at a loss for words. With shaky fingers, I reached up and touched his stubbled cheek, sure that he could hear each beat of my pounding heart.
“Thank you,” I whispered, and he gave me a dark, sad look.
“Don’t thank me, deathtrap.”
I frowned at him, and his hazel eyes darkened further. He pressed me tight into his chest and kissed the top of my head firmly.
“I haven’t even come close to earning it, but I will,” he promised, and for the first time since I had learned who he truly was, I believed him.
Alexa, play‘Let it go (With Lø Spirit)’by Chandler Leighton, Lø Spirit
“I’m not a smart man, but I know what love is.”
—FORREST GUMP
Lilith informed me that her pork curry took a few hours, so I instructed one of the chefs to watch it for us. She hadn’t wanted me to bother one of the busy demons with the task, but I brushed her off.
I had a few more to-do’s on my list that I wanted to check off before I needed to leave her to meet with Gabriel and Art. She would get used to the fact that all these demons were literally here to servehereventually.
“So, what are we going to do now?” she asked, turning to me with an easy smile. My heart squeezed in my chest. I still wasn’t used to her looking at me like that. As if she liked me and actually wanted me around.
“You’re going to have a bath and read your book, then we’re going to eat your curry and watchThe Fall of the House of Usheruntil Jezebel and Shem get here.”
I watched her face carefully, not wanting to miss one single second of her reaction. The slight widening of her eyes and the rise of her brows as she processed what I had said. The subtle twitch of her mouth as she realized she was going to get to chat my ear off about another one of her favorite shows while eating something she had made with her own two hands. Especially the excited flush to her cheeksand the slight softening in her posture as I reached out and tucked a strand of caramel hair behind her ear.
I waited for her to flinch away, but instead, she tilted her head into my hand. It was subtle, but it was there, and it made my stomach flip.
“That sounds amazing.” She beamed at me.
