by Hazel Gower
They spent this morning arguing and she didn’t get info out of him then, either. “I need to go home, Lucian. I have my work clothes there and it’ll be better if I get myself to work. I don’t want the office talking.”
“No.”
“What do you mean, no?”
“No, you’ll not be going back to that tiny thing you call home. You can wear the clothes I bought you and come to work with me. I want you close where I can see you, and I don’t care what people say at my office.”
“I can’t do that. I care what they say and I need to work. I need the money. I have debts to pay.”
“I’ll pay your debts and you don’t need to work. I will provide for you. You’re mine. I don’t want you to work. I need to see you to know you’re safe.”
“There is no way you’re paying my debts. I was stupid enough to get into to debt. I want to get myself out. They’re my responsibility. And I can keep myself safe. I’ve survived all my life without you, I think I can last eight or so hours at work.” She stormed away, only to picked up and thrown over Lucian’s shoulder.
So now Tessa sat in his black Lamborghini as he drove them to work. Lucian drove fast, brooding next to her. “I’m not the type of woman who is happy to have everything handed to her, or have a man do everything for her and expect her to wait around for him. That’s not me, Lucian. I’ve had an awesome weekend, but I’ve only just met you. I want to get to know you before we take this relationship, or whatever it is, further. Let’s go on some more dates. I have a Vision Australia park day this Saturday and you’re welcome to come with me, but how about we go to the movies or out on a picnic? Rolling blading, ice-skating…crap, I don’t know, anything on any of the other days this week.”
“We went out on the weekend.”
Tessa rolled her eyes. Yeah, they’d gone out. Saturday they’d gone to her little flat and ended up leaving with nothing, then they’d gone shopping and he’d spent an obscene amount of money on her. The rest of Saturday they lazed around, having sex. Sunday they had gone to the beach for a couple of hours, but again come home and had an amazing night filled with sex. This morning she found out Lucian had a cook. The chef had Saturdays and Sundays off, or so she’d been told. The guy she’d seen didn’t look like a cook—he was tall and beefy, but everything was muscle. He reminded Tessa of a body builder or bodyguard. His food was okay, but not the quality from a chef she thought would be in Lucian’s employment.
“We left the property twice. Otherwise we spent most of our weekend fucking.” Nibbling on her lips, she felt her cheeks heat. “Oh, I forgot the movie. We stopped long enough to watch that.” She turned to face him as he focused on driving. “Look, I think we need to go slower. I know your reputation. Everyone knows your reputation. I think we should take this day by day if you’re serious.”
Lucian’s knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering well. “Okay, we’ll go slower…for now.”
****
Taking things slower, her arse. It had been almost five days since Lucian told her they’d take their relationship slower, and if this was slow Tessa would hate to think what fast was. Tonight Lucian was taking her out to a new restaurant.
This morning she’d tried to have another discussion about taking it slow and going somewhere beside work and his house. Lucian had dodged the subject until she’d told him she was staying at her flat tonight. He’d changed his tune then, telling her he was taking her to dinner tonight and to the movies this weekend.
Tessa wondered if Lucian was embarrassed to be seen with her. Maybe that was the reason why he didn’t take her anywhere. But, that theory didn’t work because he dropped her off right at her desk every morning and picked her up every afternoon, kissing her in front of everyone.
Greg had been super nice to her and for once actually did his own work and not fobbed it off on her. Come to think of it, everyone was nicer to her. She knew why, and it worried her because she knew when Lucian got sick of her it would go back to what it was or probably worse.
Tessa wasn’t fooling herself that Lucian would keep her. He was way out of her league, and he had a reputation of never keeping a woman. He was the playboy billionaire.
****
He was a demon, for Christ’s sake, and right now he was in the park watching his mate laugh and play games with a bunch of blind and vision-impaired children. Last night he’d taken Tessa out to the exclusive restaurant Life Eats. It was the first time in a good century he’d been in a restaurant alone with just one woman. Even more, with a human. He didn’t like Tessa out in such an open space. He worried an angel or one of his many other enemies would target her. The shifters helped him with protecting her when he or his demons couldn’t.
A little boy stepped up to him, his head to the side. “Hi, I’m Zane. I see you.”
Lucian looked at the boy for a moment. The kid kept cocking his head and blinking. The boy was studying him like he had no idea what Lucian was. Weird. What the fuck was Lucian supposed to do or say? He wasn’t a kid person. Seth was the last child he’d been around, and that was a good century or so ago. “Argh…I er…I see you, too, kid…Zane.”
Turning his focus back on Tessa, Lucian ignored Zane and hoped he went away. Children were trouble, and anywhere kids were it seemed to follow.
“No. You don’t understand. I see, see you. You’re the color of hot. Can you fly with those?”
What! Shooting his gaze back to Zane, he really studied him. The kid was about six, maybe seven years old, with bright red hair and freckles. His skin was white like porcelain and he looked skinny, but healthy. Quickly looking around, Lucian let his demon out enough to take stock of the child before them and breathed in. Lucian smiled when he took only a couple of sins. Ah, a good boy. Lucian gazed down, noticing Zane’s hand gripped hold of the reins linked to a yellow Labrador. Fuck, the kid was blind. What was going on?
Standing up, he stared down at the boy, hoping to intimidate him. Lucian hadn’t been around faulty children or adults before. He’d never seen the need for them. Back in the old days, if it was known from birth a child wasn’t perfect or what they considered perfect, most species—especially the humans—killed them. This was the first time in all his centuries he’d willingly spent time with a faulty being. Lucian was curious. “Are you the only one who can see me? Has another pointed me out?”
Zane shrugged. “We can all see you, I think. I know everyone I’ve asked said they can. It’s why you’re by yourself. We’re all scared you’re like the color of the cold ones. Jenny, who used to be able to see, said they were white.”
Holy shit, they’d seen angels.
“The white ones killed our friends. My Mum said that I’m imagining things and that Billy and Rachael were accidents, but I know. We are being watched. We are all scared and no one will believe us. I told the others that Miss Jackson was nice and wouldn’t ever bring anyone who could hurt us. Jenny said to leave you alone. She said that Miss Jackson probably can’t see, see you like we do. I don’t think you’re bad like the white ones, though, because Frodo likes you. He hasn’t growled at you once. None of the dogs have. They all growl when the white ones are around.”
Zane kept talking, but Lucian was on high alert now. Yanking out his phone, he called Sullivan, the new country’s alpha wolf.
“Lucian, long time.”
“Protection is needed. The angels have targets and I want to know why. Be at my house tonight.”
Chapter Four
No more taking it slow. Lucian needed Tessa to know what was going on, that things that went bump in the night existed. He needed to feed and deal with the angels. Most of all Lucian needed her to be safe.
Sullivan had come around last night once Tessa had fallen asleep and they’d discussed the blind kid and what he’d told Lucian. Lucian became more worried when Sullivan told him the troubles with angels seemed to be popping up everywhere.
Lucian now sat at his desk as one of his closest and oldest friends, Xor
e, sat before him. He was a dragon shifter, one of the last on Earth.
“I can protect her, Lucifer, it would be my honor.” Xore grinned at him. “I hear you have Blake as your chef?”
“He came up with that. The idiot centaur was caught by Tessa in the kitchen and that’s what he thought up when she asked who he was.” Lucian rolled his eyes. “I don’t think she buys it since his cooking sucks.”
Xore chuckled before his face turned back to his smirk. “I hear you’re calling some of your brothers in?”
“Yeah, Michael and Jacob. Seth is bringing them back. Seth wanted me to call Balthazar in, but he is the next strongest. I can’t risk him. If anything happens to me he will need to lead.”
Xore nodded. “You know if Balthazar finds out he’ll be pissed.”
Running his fingers through his hair, Lucian sighed in frustration. “He can get in line. I’m still not bringing him here until my mate at least knows what I am and what we are to each other. She needs to accept us and be willing to be my other half.”
Xore laughed. “Ha, you haven’t told her. Women don’t like secrets, especially human women. Good luck with that.”
Glaring at his friend, Lucian closed his eyes and hoped Tessa would accept him and the new world she was now a part of.
****
Tessa was furious. She’d gone to pay some extra money off her debts, because with Lucian driving her to and from work and him paying for food she’d saved a nice stash of money. She’d tried to give it to Lucian, but he wouldn’t take it. Tessa had even left money in places Lucian would see it, but she’d find it back in her bag. Giving up, she decided to put the money on her debts.
He’d paid everything. She had no more debt, not even on her credit card. How dare he? Tessa had told Lucian she didn’t want his money, that she had to pay her debts herself. Had he not listened to a word she’d told him?
That was it, tonight she was going home. She would get the message through to Lucian that she wanted to pay him back and that she was slowing down their relationship. Lucian needed to learn to listen.
Storming into the building, she bashed the elevator button and tapped her foot, waiting for it to open. When the elevator doors opened she pushed her way in, not caring about the people trying to get out. Once in, Tessa hit the top floor button and crossed her arms, seething.
As the door closed and the elevator stopped on different floors, letting the people out, she told herself to be strong. Don’t let him change the subject or touch you. When he touched her it lead to him fucking her, and sex meant no answers. Lucian didn’t know how angry she was at him for what he did. Tessa repeated this over and over, hoping it worked, because when it came to Lucian she let him get away with anything.
Tessa had so many questions she wanted answers to. Things with Lucian kept getting stranger and stranger, but he had some kind of hold over her. A hold that not even Ben had had on her.
The elevator dinged and she looked around. She was the only one left on the elevator. The doors opened and, taking a deep breath, she marched down to Lucian’s office, determined to tell him off and get some answers. She wasn’t going to be his sex toy anymore, because now that she thought about it, that’s what she felt like.
She slowed her pace when she saw Lucian’s secretary wasn’t at her desk and Tessa could hear voices.
“Lucifer, you have to feed. When was the last time you drank?” It wasn’t a female voice Tessa heard, but a male’s.
“Over a week or so ago, when I mated with Tessa. I can’t take any now. She’ll know.”
“For fuck’s sake, Lucifer, you can’t go that long without feeding. What if the enemy found you? I only arrived today and even I can see how hungry you are. Your demon’s going to come out and attack some unsuspecting person if you don’t do something. Look, feed from me. I‘ve been sinning a bunch lately.”
“I’ll eat your sin, but I can’t fucking drink from you. Not only does were blood taste like shit, I’m mated now and drinking from anyone beside Tessa makes me feel sick.”
Tessa was dying to see what was going and who Lucian was talking to. Carefully, she opened the door and peeked inside. She blinked, thinking her eyes were deceiving her when she saw Lucian bright red—taller, thicker, with wide bat-like wings flapping behind him. His mouth was open and long white fangs sprouted from it. Tessa shook, terrified as she saw Lucian floating above a massive redheaded man. She gasped as she noticed Lucian sucking black gunk from the guy. Lucian’s skin glowed, and before her eyes he looked younger and healthier.
What the fuck was going on? She had to get away. Stumbling as she gathered what little strength she had, Tessa ran for her life, never looking back.
****
Lucian played the scene over and over in his mind. The gasp, the realization that they had been caught when he was at his most vulnerable. He had tried to stop his feeding when the sugary scent finally reached him, but he’d been too long without feeding and he couldn’t stop until he’d drained every last sin from Xore.
When he fed he couldn’t use his heightened senses, so he didn’t smell or sense Tessa. Sin eating was worse than drinking. He could go longer without drinking blood. Sin eating was the best food and he needed to do it once every couple of days at least. He was lucky he was so old; younger demons had to feed every day, sometimes twice.
By the time he’d pushed Xore away he knew Tessa was gone. He went straight home, hoping she’d gone back there. When she wasn’t at her flat he knew she’d run. Lucian went across the yard and knocked on Tessa’s parents’ door. After a good ten minutes a lady in her late sixties answered.
“Hello.”
“Hi, ma’am. I’m Lucian Samson. I’ve been seeing your daughter the last couple of weeks and we just had our first misunderstanding and she ran. I’ve tried her flat and she isn’t there and I’ve had my security search and they haven’t found her, either. I was wondering if you’ve seen or heard from her?”
The woman studied him for a while before she answered. “Lucian, I’m Mary. I spoke to Tessa not long ago and she told me she was going away for a while. She didn’t tell me where she was going or when she’d be back. Tessa can look after herself. She’s run off before, but has always come back.” Mary narrowed her eyes. “She’ll come back when she’s ready.” With that she closed the door.
He could tell they knew nothing else. He’d tap their phone just in case, though.
He called Xore and updated him on what had happened, and that he couldn’t find Tessa. Xore met him at her flat and together they searched far and wide.
Lucian’s heart broke, and his whole world seemed to crash around him. He felt like he had been given the sun and the moon, then had them snatched from his grasp.
A week passed with no word from Tessa, and he and Xore couldn’t find her. Lucian did something dangerous, he organized a secret meeting with Finn, the world’s leading shifter tracker, and his team. Most shifters were on his side, but unless Lucian knew the shifters he didn’t trust them. He was desperate for his sunlight and happiness back. Xore wouldn’t leave him and he knew the dragon was worried for Lucian’s life. Lucian knew without him, humanity lost one of their biggest and oldest saviors.
Finn strolled towards him. He was meeting them at the beach where Lucian and Tessa had first gone. “Thanks for meeting me somewhere other than your work. The team and I are sure that we are being watched. I wanted somewhere—”
Finn was cut off as ten sets of gold and white wings blocked his view, and Gabriel gave a chilling laugh. “Have you lost something or someone, Lucifer?”
After centuries of learning to control his reactions, he knew Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael still saw his anger. They were onto something.
Giving a careless shrug, Lucian had to make sure the angels didn’t find out about Tessa. Gabriel never usually showed up anywhere near Lucian, because Gabriel knew Lucian was stronger than him in every way, and Gabriel was eager to keep his head. It was why he’d bought so many ang
els with him. Uriel and Raphael were his strongest warriors but no match for him, but together with Gabriel, Lucian would be in big trouble. Lucian would bet his last dollar that Gabriel thought he would show up tonight alone to see Finn.
“I see you brought the reptile to help protect you.” Gabriel’s words confirmed it, as he shot a disgusted look at Xore.
Xore chuckled and winked. “Gabriel, it’s been a while. I see that left wing is still healing. Uriel, I see the arm has regenerated back. Raphael, that black mark along your neck really becomes you.”
Lucian grinned as Raphael snarled and went for Xore, only to be stopped by Gabriel. “Your friends are a bit upset with Xore, Gabriel. I suggest you leave now before you all find yourself without your heads.”
As much as Lucian wanted to kill the angels, he knew right now the fight wouldn’t be a fair one. Not with ten angels against the three of them. Lucian was strong, but not enough to take three or more angels on at once and they wouldn’t fight fair.
Gabriel studied him for a moment and Lucian made sure no emotions showed. “You know, Lucian, you are fighting a losing battle. The humans are killing themselves off. The shifters aren’t much better. They are plundering this paradise given to them and you help them. They are cattle, food.”
Lucian had heard this a million times before. Gabriel never changed his tune. He slaughtered many humans and corrupted and ruined trillions of others.
“Go, Gabriel, and take your lackeys before I change my mind and Xore and I remove your heads from your bodies.”
The ten angels lifted themselves up and flew away. Gabriel stopped just within hearing distance. “Next time you will not be so lucky, Lucian. I would keep a hold of everything you have tightly because you never know when the end will come.”
Clenching his fist, Lucian narrowed his eyes on Gabriel and realized that he had to give up his search for Tessa. He couldn’t risk any of the angels getting their hands on her.
