Page 87 of Endless Terrors
I knew, without looking or feeling, that my underwear was wet.
It was physical proof of what I’d been trying so hard to deny. This was the part where I usually reminded myself that it was magic, whatever I felt for Lucifer. That I completely loathed him, and there was no part of me that actually wanted the monster who had destroyed so many lives, my own included.
But this time, that didn’t matter. I didn’t need to comfort myself with pretty lies, because I had one triumphant, beautiful truth. I’d won. I’d won. I had gone toe-to-toe with the devil, and I had walked away the victor. How many people could say that?
Tomorrow, I would leave the tower.
The moment I fell asleep, Lucifer was waiting.
But this was different than the other dreams. Tonight, there were no open skies or distant, crashing sea. My eyes darted around, widening.
I was in a room with mirrored walls. The only piece of furniture was a single, enormous bed with a black frame and red sheets. The lighting was low, gleaming on a smooth wooden floor. Dimness and shadow clung to every sharp angle and deep corner. But I wasn’t on the bed or standing in one of those corners.
I was hanging from a chain.
Lucifer wasn’t here, but I knew he had to be responsible for this. I was stretched taut, my wrists bound and tied to the ceiling to display my naked body. One of the lights beat down on me, putting a spotlight on whatever was about to happen. Just as I started to struggle, the door opened, and I froze.
Lucifer came through.
In the space of a breath, my heart was hammering. I worked to control my expression as he closed the door behind him, every movement graceful and measured. He looked like he’d just finished a long day in his office. His sleeves were rolled up to his forearms, and he wore no jacket or tie. His hands were in his pockets and his feet were bare. Every inch of him was casual, pensive. Almost absent.
Before I could say anything, Lucifer stopped in front of me and lifted his head. There was a dangerous glitter in his eyes that I didn’t like … or maybe a part of me liked too much. Without a word, Lucifer took his hands out of his pockets and reached up. Slowly, he began to unbutton his shirt. He pulled it off his shoulders, one side at a time, and let the shirt fall to the floor.
I’d seen him like this before, my first night in Hell, but it was different up close. Muscles rippled beneath his smooth skin. Dominance and power rolled off him like a scent. His hands rose again, but this time, they went to his belt.
My eyes jerked back up to Lucifer’s. It was a futile effort to hide how much I wanted him to undo that belt; I knew he could smell my reaction to him. Lucifer didn’t acknowledge it, though. He didn’t even pause. The belt was already off, and then he undid the button on his slacks. He was wearing boxer briefs underneath. The lights shone down on his muscled thighs, then his calves. Next, Lucifer hooked his thumbs in his briefs and pulled them down. This time, I didn’t look away or pretend not to watch. Once he stood completely naked before me, the mirrored walls revealed every angle of Lucifer’s body, too.
He was perfection.
Silence shivered around us. There were a hundred things I could’ve said. I could have insulted him, or spat at him. But I just … hung there. Staring at Lucifer like people usually stared at me. After a few seconds, I wrenched at the chains, more to shake myself out of my daze than to break free.
“Careful. You’ll hurt yourself,” Lucifer said. It was the first time either of us had spoken. He gripped my hips with big hands, anchoring me at the perfect distance. He held me firmly, slightly beyond his cock, withholding what I was secretly desperate to feel.
“Stop this,” I snapped. But the waver in my voice made the command far less effective.
He just chuckled, and the sound sent shivers down my spine. “Would you like to know a secret, Lady Sworn?” the devil asked.
I didn’t answer, because I worried my voice would betray me again. When it became clear I wouldn’t speak, Lucifer took hold of my ankles and parted my legs. Desire burned through me.
“What secret?” I said through my teeth, jerking uselessly at the cuffs again. But I didn’t know who I was fighting anymore. Without taking his eyes from mine, Lucifer poised himself between my parted thighs, and I stopped breathing. I felt the tip of his long, thick cock brush against my entrance.
With that single, fleeting touch, all my resistance melted away. I was practically trembling now. I knew if Lucifer pushed his way inside, I wouldn’t fight him. I stared up at his golden face, breathing hard, hoping he’d do it and yet dreading that he would.
But he didn’t take advantage of my weakness. Instead, Lucifer leaned close and whispered, “This is the secret … I’m not the one controlling this dream. You are.”
“You’re a fucking liar,” I said automatically. Even as I denied it, though, I felt a jolt of shame. I had that immediate, sinking feeling you get when you know someone is right. My half-hearted attempt to close my legs only made me clamp down harder on Lucifer’s hips, effectively bringing him closer to me. A whimper lodged in my throat.
Lucifer was losing control, too—gone was the remote expression he’d worn earlier. He hauled me against him. It would only take the single, slightest movement for his hardness to slide into my hot, wet entrance. I bit my lip to stop myself from begging him for it. Lucifer watched the battle raging in my eyes, and when it became evident I wouldn’t yield, I swore he began to glow. As if his frustration had become sparks beneath his skin.
“Let me in,” the devil growled. The dark desire in his voice sent another quake through me.
Never. My chest heaved against his. I wanted him like I’d never wanted anything before. My mind told me desperate, hungry lies. One time wouldn’t hurt. Just one time. It wasn’t even real. I stared into Lucifer’s pretty blue eyes, then looked down at his lips. I imagined what they’d feel like on my clit.
“No,” I whispered.
He stared at me for a beat, and once again, I couldn’t define the look in his eyes. Then Lucifer’s hands fell away and he stepped back. I’d been wrapped around him like a pretzel, and as my legs swung toward the floor, the chains snapped.
At the same moment I heard that, and felt the jolt through my arms, I woke up.
