by Bella Klaus
“How did you—”
He placed his fingers on my lips. “That’s a story for another time. Unless you’re interested in following through with your promise to Samael?”
I shook my head.
“A pity.” He drew back, removing his fingers. His gaze lingered on mine for several heartbeats more than were comfortable. “Hades always had exquisite taste in women.”
“Er… thanks.” I shifted on my seat, part of me wishing he would revert back to his skeptical and amused persona, who wasn’t so scrutinizing. “So, is there someone in your organization who might be his spy?”
His brows drew together. “Are you talking about my typing pool?”
“Is that what you call them?” My gaze darted in the direction of the wall of glass that bordered the open-plan office.
The women there all sat behind their computers, seeming engrossed in their work. Samael had mentioned something about Lucifer only making bargains with beautiful women, and his employees certainly fitted that description.
“None of them would ever betray me,” he said.
“Are you sure?”
“Exclusivity clauses are part of their employment contracts,” he replied.
I probably didn’t want to know what that meant, so I moved on. “Are there any places you go where you’re likely to be observed by Samael’s spies?”
He rubbed his chin. “There are a few supernatural establishments around New York that I don’t own. It’s possible that Samael controls them through one of his minions.”
“Right.” I rose from my seat. “Should we go?”
“I’ll take you to Sodom.” He slid off his desk and offered me his arm.
I placed my hand on the crook of his elbow. “The place in the Bible?”
“A den of sin and debauchery,” he said with a chuckle. “They even rent queening booths by the hour.”
My throat spasmed. “Do I need to know what those are?”
He grinned, his eyes sparkling with mirth. “Not unless you want to sit on my face.”
“That’s….” My mind wandered to just before the Devil’s Ball, when Hades had pleasured me in that exact manner. “That’s something I prefer to do with my husband.”
“Do tell me more.” He wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me into his side and filling my nostrils with the scent of expensive cologne. “I’m absolutely intrigued by the comings and goings of my dearest friend… especially the cummings.”
“What are you doing?” I hissed.
Lucifer swept me out of the office and steered me to the right. As we passed the typing pool, he gave me a gentle squeeze around the middle. “Samael’s spies could be anywhere,” he murmured into my ear. “We’d better start the pretense now.”
What about all that talk of the women being under contract? “But you said—”
“You can’t blame a Demon King for wanting to be thorough,” he drawled.
My breath turned shallow. Lucifer was a good guy, right? Angels didn’t go around seducing women, or allowing themselves to be led into temptation? According to the Compendium of Magic, they didn’t.
As we walked toward a tall mirror at the end of the hallway, three things struck my mind.
One, no matter if the Compendium of Magic had been my sole textbook, it was still an anthology of bullshit.
Two, angels allowed themselves to be seduced all the time. Even officious ones like Azriel.
Three, even if Lucifer claimed to be an angel, I had seen his wings. They were as black as Hades’, and he was a fallen angel who had become a Demon King.
Conclusion: I had to watch myself with Lucifer.
He placed a hand on the mirror’s frame, and its surface shimmered before returning to its reflective state. He turned to me, his eyes serious. “Usually, I would say ‘after you,’ but Sodom isn’t the type of place a woman as beautiful as you goes to alone.”
“We’ll walk in together?” I asked.
“Why don’t you wrap your arms around me, so our display looks more convincing. I promise I won’t bite unless it’s in the pursuit of pleasure.”
As if I was worried about his teeth. Tilting my head up to meet his smoldering eyes, I said, “You know I’m married to Hades?”
A deep chuckle resounded in his chest. “According to the wishes of your blackmailer, you’re with me.”
My stomach clenched. “But we’re not going to do anything, right?”
He crossed his heart. “Nothing you won’t thoroughly enjoy.”
“Hey—”
Before I could protest, Lucifer walked us through the mirror and into a massive nightclub the size of his office. Techno music filled my ears, and my eyes were assaulted by pink strobe lights that came from a disco ball floating high in the ceiling.
My mouth dropped open. “This is Sodom?”
“What were you expecting?” he shouted over the sound of the music. “Screams, burning buildings? Women turning into pillars of salt?”
“Maybe,” I squeaked.
He ran his hand up and down my waist, spreading more of that sensation of calm. “Stick with me, and you’ll get through this night unmolested by demons.”
“What about fallen angels?”
The smile he flashed me was demonic. “I offer absolutely no guarantees.”
A woman in skates rolled to our side, clad in a red boob tube, black hot pants, and knee-length socks. “Bed, booth, bar, or balcony?”
Lucifer handed her a wad of bills. “Booth.”
She tucked the money into her waistband and grinned. “Follow me, Sire.”
As she rolled away, we trailed after her, Lucifer’s large hand on the small of my back. I glanced around, taking in our surroundings.
Sodom was an establishment of three levels, and we were walking around the middle, where every semi-circular table on our left was enclosed by a curved seat that formed a booth. Few of their occupants appeared demonic. They were mostly people dressed for a night of dancing.
Each booth overlooked the sunken bar that was at the bottom level, where people wearing white shirts and matching shorts prepared food and cocktails which they placed on conveyor belts. Those sitting on the high stools could pick and choose what they wanted from the selections, and a few people stood around, holding drinks.
I glanced up at the next level, which was the most crowded. People wearing clubbing clothes jostled to the rail to observe those in the quieter levels. That had to be the balcony.
There was no point in asking about the bed option, which seemed self-explanatory.
“Here we are,” the waitress placed her hand on a booth, releasing a pop of magic.
It was semicircular and arranged around a rectangular dining table with one end that curved toward the seat. The waitress placed her palm on its surface, which materialized a pair of red leather menus.
“After you.” Lucifer gestured at the seat.
I shuffled inside and positioned myself on the right, and the techno music muffled to background noise. Lucifer entered after me and sat so close that I could feel the warmth of his thigh against mine.
“Would you like to order drinks while you peruse our selection?” asked the waitress.
Lucifer turned to me with an indulgent smile. “Choose anything you wish.”
“Lemonade?” I asked.
He turned to the waitress. “Make that two, but I’ll have mine garnished.”
With a nod, she skated away, leaving me alone with the man Samael had ordered me to seduce. My throat turned to the consistency of paper, and sweat gathered on my palms.
I placed my hands on the skirt of my wrap dress to dab the moisture, but it only stretched the fabric and pulled on the neckline.
“That’s a beautiful dress,” he said, his gaze skimming my cleavage. “I rather enjoy how it fits your figure.”
“It’s the new body, you see.” I tried not to let my voice tremble. “My original clothes fitted the old one perfectly, but now they’re a bit tight.”<
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His eyes met mine with a devilish twinkle. “One woman’s definition of too-tight is another’s way of showing the world she’s bold and confident and full of spunk.”
I gulped. Was that a double entendre or his attempt at a prediction?
“Kora.” His deep voice made my skin tingle with a touch of fright.
“Yes?”
“I’m going to nibble your neck.”
He drew close enough to me for whatever pheromones he’d put in his cologne to make my head spin. Sweat broke out across my brow, and a shiver skittered down my spine. This was supposed to be make-believe—a performance we had to make in public to stop Samael from attacking Hades. So why did I feel like I was betraying my husband?
I peered at him out of the corner of my eye. “Please, don’t.”
He smiled. “You want Samael’s spies to see that you’re making progress, don’t you?”
My heart sank. “This would be so much easier if we could just kill him.”
Lucifer took my hand and pressed a soft kiss on my knuckle. “I would disagree with that assertion.” His second kiss landed on my wrist, and his third, halfway toward my elbow. “You need to relax. Toss your head back and act as though I’m the most handsome man in the world.”
I forced a nervous laugh and flicked my hair off my face. “No one’s more handsome than Hades.”
“If you like dark, brooding hermits.” He kissed my collarbone. “Now, put your palm on my chest like you’re desperate for a grope.”
“Okay.” I placed a trembling hand between his pectoral muscles, only to feel an excited pounding. My arm dropped to my side, and I drew back a few inches. Was he taking this seriously?
“Lucifer?” I asked.
“Yes?” He brushed my hair off my neck and placed kiss after kiss over my skin, his breathing becoming labored.
Irritation tightened my skin, my breaths turned shallow, and I bit down on my trembling bottom lip. “This is pretend, you know that?”
“Which is why I’m directing your actions,” he murmured. “Now, wrap your arms around my neck and shake out those beautiful red locks.”
With a sigh, I followed his directions. “This isn’t right.”
“No, it isn’t.” His lips touched my earlobes, making me flinch. “If the realms were just, you wouldn’t be immune to my charm.”
“But you can see soul bonds.”
“And the one you have with that bastard is one of the strongest I’ve ever seen.” He growled into my ear.
“Then why are you—”
“Excuse me?” someone croaked in an Australian accent.
I drew back and stared into the features of a wrinkled old dwarf with skin the color of blood, holding a tray containing two glasses of lemonade. He slammed them onto the table, letting the liquid slosh onto the tablecloth.
Lucifer growled. “Why is a yara-ma-yha-who here serving drinks? Shouldn’t you be down under, consuming the blood of the wicked?”
The dwarf stood back, revealing a uniform identical to the woman on the roller-skates, and placed his hands on his hips. “Until a few hours ago, I was gainfully employed in the Eighth, I was.”
I leaned into Lucifer and whispered, “Is he talking about the Eighth Faction of Hell?”
Lucifer nodded. “It’s one of the least populous, run by an Aboriginal god named Baiame. It holds all the condemned souls of Australia, New Zealand, and its surrounding islands.”
“Right,” I said.
Lucifer pointed at the dwarf. “And that creature has no business serving food and drink to the general public.”
The dwarf tapped a roller-skated foot. “If it were up to me, I’d be sucking on souls and spitting them out. That’s honest work, it is. And I wouldn’t have to wear this humiliating outfit.”
“Clearly, Baiame was dissatisfied with your performance,” Lucifer drawled.
“Ha. That’s where you’re wrong.” He raised a hand, revealing suckers on the tips of each finger. “A plague of flesh-eating plants wiped out half the Faction, and Baiame got consumed.”
Lucifer leaned forward and scowled. “What are you talking about?”
The dwarf spread his arms wide. “Some of them plants reached the sky. Others dug deep into the earth. One of the demons I worked with flew up to the top and found Baiame standing on a leaf like a fairy on a Christmas tree.”
“Dead?” Lucifer asked.
“Or making a good impression of being deceased,” the dwarf muttered.
Dread twisted through my stomach, tying it into intricate little knots.
I turned to the dwarf, about to ask if he was joking or exaggerating, because it couldn’t be true. Samael couldn’t have taken control of another Faction.
Chapter Ten
The walls of the booth closed in on me, the strobe lights burned my eyes, and the temperature rose several degrees. Even the music, which had been muffled before, became too loud. The membranes of my dry throat rubbed together, making me choke on thin air.
I had to clutch Lucifer’s bicep to stop myself from falling flat on the table. Samael’s takeover of the Second had been a lucky break because Varaha had gotten himself killed in our presence.
My gaze darted to the scowling dwarf, who had upgraded himself in my estimation to more than just a surly waiter.
“What did you say?” I asked.
He hooked a thumb toward the exit. “I ran for me life and got meself settled somewhere safe. A bunch of us from the Eight work in the kitchens, now, because it’s better than laboring under the new ruler.”
“Who took over the Faction?” Lucifer asked.
“Some bint calling herself Queen Persephonia, but she can barely string a sentence together. A bunch of demons from the Third are doing all the work for her.”
I clenched my teeth. These people and their accelerated growth potions were unbelievable. “That has to be the new baby.”
Lucifer slipped the dwarf a crisp note before sending back the drinks. He turned to me, placed a hand on my cheek, and brought our foreheads together. “If Samael has increased his power, it’s imperative that we continue this pretense.”
“Right.” I reached across the table and took his hand.
“Are you sure Samael put an infant on the throne?”
“Who else but my mother would give their child a name so close to Persephone?” I asked. “The fertility potion Samael gave me was going to accelerate my pregnancy and the growth of the baby. It’s what Mother took to birth this new girl.”
His thumb brushed against my cheekbone. “He has control of three Factions, yet I’m consumed by the sight of you.”
I pulled back, my brows furrowing. “We’re pretending, remember?”
“It’s the nature of my curse, I’m afraid,” he growled. “It won’t allow me a moment of happiness.”
Drawing back, I stared into his eyes, which burned with red flames. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m doomed never to enjoy the pleasures of life and to only fall for those souls attached to another.”
My throat spasmed. “That’s terrible. Who on earth would do that to you?”
He squeezed his eyes shut, a muscle in his jaw flexing. “The same person responsible for my fall from grace, and the same person who condemned me to run a Faction of Hell.”
“The one who engineered the Great Divide?” I asked.
Lucifer nodded. “So, forgive my inappropriate reactions. They only rise when I’m in contact with those I cannot have.”
A tight fist of sympathy squeezed my heart. What kind of existence was it to see things or people you liked and never be able to enjoy them? It also explained why Lucifer had sat alone in the Devil’s Ball in his tarnished gold armor, plucking from a bunch of grapes. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and gave him a tight hug.
“Sorry,” I murmured into his neck. “If there’s anything I can do—”
The laugh he gave me was bitter. “If you could, then it wouldn’t be much of
a curse.”
I drew back, all the more aware of Samael’s growing power and cupped his face in both hands. “What do you mean?”
“Your Majesty?” said a female voice.
I turned to lock eyes with Namara in her human glamor, clad in a strapless blue dress that clung to her curves. Standing beside her was a man in a trench coat and a wide-brimmed hat that obscured his face.
“Namara?” My gaze darted toward her companion, who turned his head in the direction of the bar.
“Whoops.” She raised her shoulders. “You’ve caught me having a long lunch break.”
I shook my head and smiled. “If things are quiet in the office, why not take a little time off?”
“Thanks.” She glanced at Lucifer and frowned. “You know I’ll have to report seeing you in a compromising position with another man?”
Leaning back into Lucifer’s side, I said, “Do what you think is best.”
He nuzzled my ear. “Will you excuse us, Namara? Queen Hades and I were getting better acquainted over drinks.”
Her companion dragged her away, but she turned to me and said into my mind, “King Lucifer is very dangerous. Get away from him if you can.”
As she walked away, I stared at her back. The man she was with placed his hand on her waist, his fingers stretching toward her ass. I was almost a hundred percent sure it was Azriel in disguise, especially since a lock of blond hair drifted down from the hat.
“What’s so bad about him?” I asked her.
“He’s a nice enough fallen angel, but women who get involved with him end up cursed for all eternity to become mindless drones,” she replied. “No matter how they start, they all become empty-headed and blonde.”
My stomach dropped. I hoped that wasn’t what Samael had planned for me.
Lucifer brushed a lock of red hair off my face. “At times like this, I could burn down the Heavens for making me desire what I can’t have.”
I gulped and stared into his molten eyes. “What happens to the women who respond to your advances?”
He chuckled, wrapped his arms around my middle, and pulled me to my chest. “If I truly wanted her, she wouldn’t respond.”
