“Ugh,” I groaned with an exaggerated eye roll. “The best I haveeverhad. So fucking good, in fact, that I snuck back in every Wednesday night after service and stole a few bags from their storage cabinets. The blessed ones, that way it was authentic.”
“Stealing from a church? That sort of blasphemy will get you sent straight to Hell, Dany.”
“Oh, definitely. And I don’t go anywhere without snacks. So I went home, threw some butter and marshmallows in a pot, melted it down, sacrificed a bag of Christ, and bam! Rice-Christy Treats. Here,” I said a little too perky, snatching another square from the baggie and handing it over. Lucifer looked at it skeptically. “Don’t be such prude. Take the fucking dessert.”
His lips thinned into a fine line, but he did take it. The skepticism grew as he turned it over, inspecting every gooey inch before lifting it to his nose for a sniff.
“It’s not poisoned.”
“Wouldn’t matter if it were,” he grumbled matter-of-factly. “I cannot be sickened, injured, or killed by humankind.”
“Is that so?”
“Mmm,” he hummed in confirmation.
I watched him like a hawk on bated breath as the treat drew closer to his mouth. At first, my pride was hanging on whether or not he liked it, eager to soak in every reaction and analyze it down to the micro-features on his face.
That was where it ended, however.
As soon as his lips parted, I was tempted by sin.
Two subtly pointed canines appeared as he opened wider for a bite. I wondered if they served a purpose, or if they were just another sharp feature fitting of the Devil.
Waves of heat rolled over my body of their own volition when he finally bit into it. Small strings of sticky goodness fell on his lower lip and chin from where I was maybe a little too liberal with the marshmallows. I silently thanked our lord and savior Judas Priest that I had when his tongue snaked out to lick it off.
Sodom help me.
“Why do you do this to me?” I asked, breathy and genuine.
“Do what?” He answered around a mouthful.
“Have this… effect on me? It’s like everything I am falls apart when you’re around.”
Lucifer stopped chewing as if he could sense the raw honesty in my voice. It was a vulnerable part that I’d never meant to show. With him, in this moment, though? I was feeling kind of tired of the unknown.
Something that looked an awful lot like disappointment deepened the shadows of his features. “I am the epitome of sin, Dany. Temptation. All humans fall to temptation, no matter how large or small.” He handed the treat back over to me and wiped his hands. His eyes looked everywhere but at me.
“I didn’t mean it like that. I’d definitely fuck you again in a heartbeat, for sure,” I laughed, the huff quiet and halfhearted. “But, it’s not what I meant.”
Still not looking at me, he whispered, “Then how did you mean it?”
“I.. I don’t really know.” He head whipped toward me and I could feel the rising irritation in the space between us. It only made even more stupid,jumbled words flow faster. “That sounds stupid, I know, I just don’t know how to explain it. At first it’s definitely a physical reaction. I would be lying if I told you it wasn’t.” My hands wrung nervously in my lap where I kept my gaze trained. “That reaction is the equivalent to…” I trailed off.
I didn’t allow myself to entertain the end of that sentence even in those dark moments of silence where it was just me and my thoughts. Was I really ready to not only think it, but speak it out loud?
“The equivalent to what, Dany?” He spoke so soft and quietly.
My fidgeting worsened as the slow pump of adrenaline quickened my heart. I looked out the driver window and exhaled shakily. The heat of my breath fogged the window and made me feel even more trapped.
And then…
Fuck it.
“The first step toward a chasm. And every time you leave, I get closer to the ledge.”
He didn’t respond immediately and, when he finally did, it was only, “I see.”
I see?
