Luc returned his attention to her.
“Yes, I can see where you’d feel that way, pet. However, it’s been two weeks, and there hasn’t been another incident. We can only assume Dinathial and Raziel had been targeted for reasons unknown.”
“I never realized those were their real names. Using them would’ve given away that they were celestial beings immediately, I guess.” Nadia paused, shooting a look between Gabriel and Luc. “But I think you’re hiding the truth. Does it make me appear like a weakling if I say I’m afraid?”
“No. I imagine we’ve all been afraid in our lives at one point or another,” Lucifer replied.
“Even you?” she scoffed.
“Even me. Not the first day of the war, but on the hundredth, when I realized there were no true winners and I would forever be banished.” With a purposeful smile to hide his regret, he added, “But Gabriel will be here to protect you, and Thamiel will stand ready with a contingent of soldiers at his fingertips. They are yours to command should anything happen to me.”
“I’m not sure I’m equipped to lead anyone. My body aches from Gabriel’s annoying fitness regime.” She shuddered and drew away.
“You are lazy, and it’s to prepare you for battle training. But only when you’ve built endurance,” Gabe reminded her. “And the daemons are welcome if they keep Michael from decapitating us.”
Her thoughts turned dark, as anyone’s considering the Devil’s soldiers or certain death might. Luc opened his mouth to soothe her mind, but Gabriel cut him off.
“How long will you be gone?” he asked.
“Three days at the most.” Luc would prefer not to be gone at all. Leaving Nadia exposed in any way made him antsy. “May I speak with you privately, pet?”
The instant she agreed, he led her to his condo by way of the balcony, secretly pleased she’d ignored Gabriel’s black look.
Luc hid a smile at her gasped delight.
At over two hundred eighty-eight square meters, his upper floor was three times the size of her flat and ten times as luxurious.
“I want to live here,” she declared, awe coating every word and then some. “How is all this possible?”
“Not only can archangels alter time, we can also manipulate space to a degree.”
She peered down the staircase. “How much of our building does your condo take up?”
“Half.”
“May I see your bedroom?” Her voice was husky, as if her desires had gotten the better of her.
It took a concerted effort for Luc’s jaw to remain locked. Rarely did she surprise him, but the determined gleam in her eye said she had other things in mind than merely admiring the decor.
His cock thickened, and he presented his back to her to hide the evidence of his spontaneous arousal. From the day she’d discovered who he was, he’d been experiencing wicked dreams that weren’t all his own. After so long a dry spell, Luc was having difficulty controlling his desires. Her blatant interest wasn’t helping. It appeared Nadia had a thing for misunderstood bad boys, and he was here for it.
Except he didn’t have time to explore her body the way he had in those dreams.
Not today.
“It’s not a good idea,” he finally said.
Her disappointment was keen, and she mentally castigated herself for being too forward.
Turning back, he tipped her lowered chin up.
“Nadia, it has nothing to do with you and everything to do with the crisis at Heylel Industries. When we make love, I want it to last as long as possible. Not to be a quick release before I leave you for three days.”
Her violet-blue gaze was bright when she looked up. “Really?”
“I swear on my tattered soul.”
“Do archangels have souls like humans?”
