Page 100 of Endless Terrors
I walked in expecting to see Lucifer by his desk, but he was nowhere in sight. Roger pulled the door shut with a soft knick. Firelight trembled over the rug and all the empty chairs. I turned, frowning, and a startled jolt went through me.
One of the bookshelves had been hiding a door, apparently. The room it opened into was smaller than Lucifer’s office, but no less modern. The walls looked like they were covered in wooden panels, and standing in the center of the space was the strangest, most beautiful pool table I’d ever seen. The edges were covered in latticework, if it could be called that. But the design made me think of a spiderweb. Spindly lines that met and split in unusual patterns, creating shapes that seemed dangerous and otherworldly. The felt—black, instead of green—was lit by wall sconces.
Lucifer stood beside the table with a cue in his hand, his long fingers curled around the delicate, gleaming material that also looked like wood. A few buttons of his shirt had been undone. He looked like he’d just come from a meeting, and one that hadn’t gone well, if his exchange with Roger was any indication.
As soon as I saw him, my instincts went on high alert. There was something different about Lucifer. This was not the patient, gentle host I’d known during my time in Hell. It was like something had fallen away, or he’d shed invisible constraints, and the lion was just beneath his skin. Prowling. Pacing.
Hungry.
“Shall we play?” Lucifer asked, his eyes gleaming. He held out the pool cue.
I shook my head, holding onto the blanket so tightly that I felt the bite of my nails. “I’m not in the mood.”
The devil tilted his head, appraising me, and he rubbed his thumb over his bottom lip. The gesture drew my attention to his mouth. I quickly brought my gaze back to his. Lucifer seemed to reach some sort of decision, because he moved to place the cue back in its stand with the others. Strands of his hair caught the light as he turned and closed the distance between us. He began to circle me. I still didn’t move. I couldn’t think of an insult or any cutting remarks. That sandalwood scent teased my senses. I felt Lucifer draw closer.
“What are you in the mood for?” he whispered in my ear. Heat curled inside me.
I thought I hadn’t known why I’d come here. But in that moment, I did know.
My feet moved without me telling them to. I’d finally backed away from Lucifer, but I had only gone deeper into the room. Moved farther into the shadows. Lucifer came with me, and I felt something collide with the backs of my thighs. The pool table. I looked up at Lucifer, breathing unevenly. I must’ve dropped the blanket, because I felt it pool around my feet. Cool air greeted my skin. It did nothing against the heat surging through me, which only worsened when Lucifer saw the nightgown I was wearing. Slowly, he trailed his fingertips down my chest, and they didn’t stop. I closed my eyes, swallowing.
Then he brushed my clitoris through the silk. I rocked my pelvis into his hand, hating myself even as I did it. I would find the strength to resist him, I promised silently. Just not yet. His tongue traced the curve of my neck. Not quite yet. His hand slipped under my nightgown. A few more seconds, that’s what I’d give myself …
Then Lucifer was leaning over me, pulling the front of the nightgown fully down, and my resistance completely melted away. We were like a spark and dry tinder. Lucifer’s kiss was everything I’d dreamed of. Hard, erotic, and all-consuming. I groaned, bucking my hips and clutching handfuls of his thick hair. Lucifer bent over my exposed breasts, claiming them with his mouth, darting his tongue over my nipples. Feeling him suck on them ignited my core like a furnace. I was already slick with need. I started to grind against him, my hand trailing the length of his hard stomach, going down, down, down. Just as I found what I was looking for, Lucifer straightened and pressed his lips to mine again. I felt him sliding my nightgown up my hips, exactly how I had imagined so many times. My fingers wrapped around his rock-hard erection while my other hand lifted, reaching for the button on his slacks—
“How long do you think this will take?”
Lucifer went still.
My head swiveled in the direction the voice had come from. When I saw a figure in the doorway, I pushed myself off the pool table, away from Lucifer, and shoved my breasts back in my nightgown. Lucifer leaned against the spot I’d just vacated, his fingers curling around the edge of the table. His hair was still mussed, his buttons undone, yet somehow he looked in complete control.
“Samael, what are you doing here?” the devil said by way of greeting. Though his body language was relaxed, something about his stillness betrayed him. He wasn’t as calm as he seemed.
“I’ve come for the party, of course. Can’t one brother visit the other without a reason?” The newcomer stepped out of the shadows. He fixed his watery eyes on me. “And who is this?”
Lucifer made the introductions briskly. “Samael, this is Lady Fortuna Sworn. My lady, this is Samael, ruler of the Fourth City.”
The stranger made me think of a reed. Everything about him was long and thin. His arms, his torso, his hips, his legs. Even his face was elongated. His hair was shoulder-length, parted in the middle and tucked behind his ears. He wore a three-piece black suit that looked like something from the Victorian era, and the striped material somehow enhanced his gangly legs.
Unease trickled down my spine as I studied him. I’d learned to trust that feeling.
“A pleasure,” Samael said. His eyes were so dark they appeared black, pupilless.
I didn’t answer.
“Roger? Will you ask the kitchen to make something for us?” Lucifer said, turning his head to the doorway, where the old demon now stood. Roger bowed and retreated, the sound of his hooves fading.
“I think I’ll head to bed,” I interjected quietly. All my instincts were urging me to get away from Samael as quickly as possible.
Lucifer bent and pressed a kiss against the back of my hand, moving so swiftly that he’d already straightened before I could debate whether to pull away. He smiled at me, a private smile that whispered of things to come. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I just nodded. I could feel Samael’s eyes on me, but I didn’t look at him again. Guilt snapped at my heels like a Hell Hound as I returned to my room.
To the guest suite, I corrected myself. This wasn’t home, no matter how comfortable I’d become in the tower. I was going to find some damn rain in this dimension, which would end the spell and return my soul to my body. Until then, I needed to control my thoughts, and resist the comfort and luxury Lucifer had provided. And everything else he was offering.
When I got to the guest suite, though, I wasn’t any calmer. Sandalwood clung to my skin and wafted pleasantly from the nightgown’s soft material. I needed to wash his smell away.
I went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. The water was scalding, but even as my skin turned red and I scrubbed at it relentlessly, I couldn’t get the feel of Lucifer’s hands off me. You don’t really want him, I told myself over and over. Everything is a lie. It’s just magic.
