“That wasn’t a compliment.”
“It sounded like one to me. Now, when do we start setting this delightful little trap of ours? We have our advantage for now, but if the horsewomen discover the existence of these weapons, we will lose our element of surprise.”
I cleared my throat, calling everyone’s attention to me. “Lucifer is correct. The longer we wait, the greater the possibility of discovery becomes. Tonight you all should take care of whatever you need to do in order to fuel yourselves. Rest, recuperate... feast.” My eyes locked on Merri. “You too, pet.”
“Feast tonight.” Remi cleared his throat, standing in what I assumed was his version of a heroic pose. “Because tomorrow we die.”
Asher slapped the back of his head. “No, you ass,theyare the ones who are supposed to die.”
“Right. That’s what I meant. Tomorrowtheydie.”
Chapter
Thirty-Six
MALICE
The moment I walked through the black door, I realized I’d been pulled into a dreamwalk with Merri. The room I entered was vaguely familiar, somewhere I’d been perhaps a handful of times in my long existence. But instead of multiple lust-filled patrons in various states of undress, I found only my four partners in destiny.
“Iniquity?” I asked, glancing around at the dimly lit walls draped in rich fabrics and strategically placed tables and booths used for all manner of dark deeds.
The pulsing, sensual beat of music only added to the ambiance. It was a low and sexy song I couldn’t quite place, but it fit the mood perfectly.
“Where is she?” Chaos asked, looking far less relaxed than the rest of us.
Lucifer gestured to the five chairs in a loose semi-circle around the protruding edge of the stage. “I think she wants us to take a seat so she can make a grand entrance.”
Grim clearly balked at the prospect of following anything resembling an order from him.
Lucifer sighed and placed his hand firmly on Grim’s shoulder, moving until they stood eye-to-eye. “Is this going to be a problem, Grimsby? Because my very presence here clearly illustrates that this is what Merri desires.”
The reminder that she’d brought all five of us into her dreamscape seemed to shake him out of his territorial posturing. For Merri, there wasn’t much any of us wouldn’t do. Even make friends with the devil.
I made my way to the closest chair, taking a seat with anticipation humming in my veins. Chaos flipped his chair around, straddling it and resting his arms across the back, but the rest of us left them as is.
“Pro tip, pal. You don’t want to sit like that. Not at a club like this one,” Sin said, cocking one eyebrow at Chaos.
“I’ll sit how I want to sit.”
Sin shrugged. “Your loss, buddy.”
All conversation came to a halt as the lights went down and a new song began to play. The crimson curtain lifted slowly, giving us a view of black platform heels with rhinestones embedded all along the sides, then flashes of delicate ankles and shapely legs encased in sparkling fishnets. Merri was putting on a show for us, and I was ready to show her my utmost appreciation.
Sin let out a wolf whistle as soon as her face was visible, and I understood why. Her hair was a cascade of waves over one shoulder, makeup done in an old Hollywood glam style that only accentuated her beauty. Each step she took in time with the music caused little peek-a-boo views of her thighs through the split in the black silk robe hiding her body from us. My mouth watered at the thought of getting to see exactly what she had planned for us.
This wasn’t her typical style of dreamwalk, in the sense that she didn’t often make such an elaborate production out of the event. But given what Lilith had said, and that the purposetonight was for her to feed as deeply as possible, this was her way of setting the tone—or rather, amping up the lust.
And I was very much here for it.
The stage was T-shaped. When the curtain had parted, Merri had been back at the flat part of the T. As she walked forward, she moved down what had essentially become her catwalk until she reached the end, and our seats’ positions suddenly made much more sense.
Catching my eye as she reached for the belt of her robe, Merri gave me a flirty little wave before her gloved fingers moved along the silk to the loose knot keeping it in place.
“Fuck,” Chaos grunted from beside me. “She’s not even naked, and I’m already so turned on it hurts.”
I didn’t know if he was talking to me or to himself, but I could relate. My jeans were uncomfortably tight.
Her wicked little smile widened as she unfastened her robe and turned away from us, dropping the fabric off one shoulder, then the next, revealing bare skin and just the top of a black corset. Opening each side of the robe, she gave a roll of her hips and slid the silk lower and lower until finally she let it fall to the floor.
