by Leigh Kelsey
She didn’t make it to her bed; she fell asleep somewhere between the bathroom and her room, lulled to sleep by their closeness and their touch.
“You’re guarding me,” a sleepy voice murmured from the direction of Lili’s bed, and Russ looked up from the book he’d been reading sat in the chair by her window. “All of you. First Cerny was here when I woke up, and now you.”
Russ met her sleep-gauzy dark eyes with a smile at her irritated tone. She reminded him of an angry kitten, her nose scrunched up in the same way. She was adorable and beautiful, with her heart-shaped face, wide dark eyes, and curvy body. The scars splashed over her left shoulder, arm, and chest only made her more interesting, her body itself telling a story. The silk night dress she wore left little to the imagination, the sheets having slipped down to her waist to show the thin material clinging to her breasts, the dip of her waist. Russ wanted her in his arms, wanted to skim his nose against her neck and know what her skin smelled like. Tasted like.
He blinked free of it, feeling his face heat at the direction of his thoughts. Traitorous skin. And by the little smile playing across Lili’s mouth, she knew exactly what he was thinking.
She patted the mattress beside her, stretching on a yawn. “You can come cuddle if you want,” she offered, and Russ physically restrained himself from shooting to his feet in eagerness, instead setting aside the book he’d been reading and crossing to her at a stroll.
“Have you decided to trust us, then?” he asked, toeing off his boots and sliding under the sheets, the breath punching from his lungs when she rolled into him, all softness and body heat. Her arm settled across his waist as she snuggled into his side and everything inside Russ softened in affection.
“I think I trusted you anyway,” Lili murmured. “I was never scared of you. The others yes, Bernard definitely, but not you.”
Russ’s chest glowed with happiness. “I’m glad,” he said honestly, curling a lock of her brown hair around his finger.
“Why are you so interested in me—you and Cerny and Lucifer? I don’t really get it,” she said with a sleepy huff, turning her face into his shoulder. “You’ve just met me, you can’t like me already.”
“You like us already, don’t you?”
She let out a throaty groan. “That’s not the point.”
Russ laughed, warm flutters moving through his belly as her arm tightened around him. “Honestly?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“You’re pure, and we’re demons. It calls to us.”
An inelegant snort rushed from her nose “I’m not a virgin.”
“Pure of spirit,” Russ corrected with a crooked grin, tugging her hair. “You’re good, and innocent, and even more—even better—there’s a bit of bad in you, a bit of demon, of us. It’s irresistible.”
Lili was quiet, and then she said, “Oh. Is that why I’m drawn to you too?”
“That, or we’re too sexy and you can’t help yourself,” Russ joked, rewarded by a clear laugh and a deep flush visible just under her fanned hair.
“Maybe,” she admitted, burying her face in his Game of Thrones shirt.
Now Russ was blushing, his cheeks uncomfortably warm. Unsure what to say, he twined his fingers with hers on his stomach and held on tight.
“Russ?” she asked after a long moment of silence, her breath stirring the ends of his hair.
“Yeah?”
“After we’ve closed the breaches and stopped the demons on Earth,” she whispered, “what if I don’t want to go back to Wisteria? What if I want to come here, and stay?”
Russ squeezed her hand, loving the feel of her fine-boned fingers between his. She wanted to stay—here, with them. To be theirs. That’s what she was asking. She wanted to know if this could be her home for good. More warmth spilled through Russ’s chest, a smile on his face, and a not entirely unpleasant weight settled on him like a mantle. He’d look after her. If she stayed, she was his—theirs—to protect.
“If you want Iarlon to be your home, Lili, it’s your home.”
Lili sighed, settling deeper against him, her leg hooking over his. “Good.”
A beep from his watch interrupted the moment and Russ growled. Lili’s head lifted lazily as she shot him a questioning glance.
“I have to go,” he explained, lifting her hand to lay a kiss against the back of it. “My brothers and I are going to Atlanta.”
“You’re going to the breach,” Lili gasped, coming fully awake. Russ mourned the warmth of her against him. “I want to come.”
“Lucifer forbade it,” Russ told her, scratching the back of his neck. He pushed out of her bed, shoving his feet into his boots and lacing them. “I’m sorry, Lili. He doesn’t want you getting hurt.”
“But—but I helped last time.”
Her voice was so small that Russ was powerless to stop his instincts and he turned, pulling her into his arms for a close hug. “You did help,” he agreed, drawing in her floral scent. “But that was Hell, where Lucifer has power. Up there, he has nowhere near as much sway. He doesn’t want you getting hurt—none of us do.”
Lili pouted but it was genuine, not dramatic. She felt they were leaving her behind. Russ held her closer, playing with her hair.
“Lucifer is staying too,” he murmured. “Keep him out of trouble while we’re gone?”
The look Lili shot him suggested she knew this was a hasty consolation prize but she sighed and said, “Alright. How long will you be gone?”
“A day or two.”
At her horror-struck expression, he took her chin between his forefinger and thumb and placed a gentle kiss on her upturned mouth. A promise, a physical declaration that he liked her. “It won’t be long,” he swore, and let go, forcing himself to climb off the bed and go to the door.
“Yeah,” she agreed, but the ache in her voice stabbed directly into his heart.
“I’ll come back as soon as I can, and I’ll drag my brothers with me,” he said, looking at her over his shoulder. “Promise.”
Lili nodded, a fragile smile on her lips. “I’ll hold you to it.”
Lili was bored. The brothers had been gone thirteen hours, and even though she’d spent an hour dining with Lucifer and talking about all the little things people tended to discuss at the start of a relationship—favourite colour, best memory, what drink she preferred, how she did in the exams she’d just passed, and what she wanted to do for a career—she was bored.
She’d tried to convince Luc to while away the last few hours in the day with her in bed, but he had things to do. Predictably, the devil was a busy man. He had billions of spirits to oversee. The sheer logistics of it threatened to explode Lili’s mind so she left him to it. She’d always been better at numbers and art than organising things. Common sense was a critical part of organisation and Lili had been told by a tutor that hers left a lot to be desired. Which was mean, but true.
Lili slid fluidly off her bed where she’d been trying to read the book Russ had accidentally left behind—some history book about a war long past that didn’t hold Lili’s interest at all—and padded to the window. Beyond, Iarlon was lit in dusky shades of purple, the sky a deep sapphire above, speckled with moonlit stars. It was stunning, and the more Lili looked at this city, the more her heart became filled with it.
Home—Russ had said this could be her home. Lili wanted it with a force that startled her, wanted not only the clean break from Wisteria and Gabriel, not to mention his hateful friends, but there was something about this city that felt … right. She felt like Iarlon belonged to her and she belonged to it. It was not an unpleasant feeling.
But after an hour of people watching, staring as the markets and businesses wound down for the night, people returning to their homes via the wide, busy river or the winding roads, Lili turned from the window with a frustrated sound in the back of her throat. She was too awake to sleep, and she had nothing to do.
Maybe if she could paint or go out into the gardens, she wouldn’t be so damn
bored.
Lili gasped at that word—damn—even passing through her mind, but she was long past being the perfect angel. Her Grace had faded, angels had severed her wings, and she’d been kicked off Wisteria’s cliff edge; why shouldn’t she curse? Who was going to stop her? Nobody had stopped her from indulging in the attentions of two men, and two demons at that, and she’d had the most powerful orgasm of her life. That felt more like a reward for being daring and a bad girl, not a punishment.
With another irritated sound, Lili stomped across the room, shoving her feet into shoes—a whole rack of shoes and boots had appeared along with the wardrobe full of flattering clothes—and hauling her heavy bedroom door open.
The hallway outside was empty and quiet, as it always was. Only Luc and the Cerberus brothers came down here but if Lili took two turns and crossed a hallway, she’d find herself in the bustle of the command centre, where Luc’s generals and commanders monitored the security of all of Hell. Not that Lili wanted to go anywhere near them; she might trust Lucifer and the brothers, but she was still wary of strangers.
Yet the garden… It was outside in the chill fresh air, it would be quiet, and it’d give her something to do besides sit in her room and watch time passing.
Lili took a couple wrong turns but through trial and error, she found the way to the back door, and then she was out in the chilly garden, drawing in lungfuls of flower-scented air with a tinge of river water perfuming the night. Her shoulders sagged, tension she hadn’t realised she was holding dropping from her body, and Lili felt … freed.
It was such a relief to wander the neat paths among roses, lilies, and tulips, passing through climbing arches of ivy and honeysuckle, and hothouses harbouring exotic flowers. Spaced among them at intervals were those trees and plants and bushes carved into owls, fish, birds, tigers, lions, and seals. Lili’s breath caught every time she came across one, and she swore she could see the spark of life in every sculpture, as if they’d merely paused and would spring back into action any second.
“Lili,” a harried voice called, and she spun, finding Lucifer storming down the path, his dark hair mussed and a thick coat carelessly thrown over his usual trousers and cashmere jumper. Today his top was a deep purple colour that brought of the striations of colour in his eyes, and Lili found a smile spreading across her face until she realised he looked panicked.
“What is it?” she breathed, rushing to meet him halfway. “Is it Cerberus?”
“What?” He stopped moving only when she was gathered securely in his arms, a wildness about him. “No, I went to your room and you were missing.” His arms tightened and he exhaled a long breath over the top of her head, scattering kisses across her crown, her temples. “I thought—it doesn’t matter, you’re safe and that’s all that counts.”
Lili tried to tip her head back to look at him, his franticness worrying her, but Lucifer wouldn’t release her a fraction. Instead she brought her arms up and settled them around his lean waist, hugging him close, her ear to his rapid heart. “I’m okay. I was just bored and going a little stir-crazy. I’m really alright, though. Promise.”
He nodded, his chin shifting against her hair, but he still didn’t loosen his grip.
“Luc,” Lili said seriously. “I promise. I’m okay.” She stroked a hand up and down his back, offering the reassurance that calmed her when she was panicked. Gradually, his bunched shoulders relaxed, his arms loosening around her until she could peer up at his face. “Are you okay?” she murmured, lifting a hand to cup his cheek, her thumb grazing the sharp cheekbone beneath his night-chilled skin, even his beard cold against her fingertips.
“I am now,” he replied, resting his forehead against hers. Lili’s heart stuttered at the emotion in his eyes, at the way he was looking at her. She didn’t know who kissed who first, just that their lips met in a quick, searing kiss, his tongue roaming over every bit of her mouth, Lucifer gasping for air as if he couldn’t get enough breath in his lungs.
“Luc,” Lili said, pulling back, taking his face in both her hands. “Calm down.”
“Oddly enough, I am trying,” he gasped wryly, his eyes closing.
Lili peppered kisses over his face, his forehead, his lips, her arm tight around his back, refusing to let go until he’d calmed. She’d never been on this end of comfort before but it came as naturally as breathing. “Why is it so bad?” she whispered, laying a kiss against the outside of his right eye, just over a wrinkle.
Lucifer didn’t answer for a long moment, gradually mastering his breathing. “I thought he had stolen into my home and taken you.”
“Oh.” An echo of panic tripped through her heart but he wasn’t here; it was just Lili being an idiot and not telling anyone when she’d gone for a walk. “He didn’t. I’m here.”
“Yes,” he breathed, opening his eyes to look at her, a long, searching look. “You are.”
“And I’m staying,” she added bravely, though her heart beat madly as she waited for his rejection.
Instead he smiled, a bright, warm smile that lit his whole face and softened those frantic eyes. “I would love it if you did.”
Lili mirrored his smile, her belly full of butterflies. “Good. Because I’m not going anywhere. Except,” she added, “next time the brothers go to Earth, I really can’t stay here without them. I don’t like it.”
“Oh, so you’d leave me alone.” Luc lifted a groomed eyebrow, a playful smirk twisting his upper lip.
“No, you can come too,” Lili offered magnanimously. Something in his expression shifted and Lili’s smile slipped. “Can’t you?”
“No, sweetheart.” He brushed a kiss over her temple. “I can’t leave Hell without weakening our shields. They’re tied to my lifeforce and my presence.”
“Oh,” Lili breathed, instantly understanding. “And then Raphael and Gabriel and Ilaian would get in.”
“Yes,” he agreed, looking impressed that she’d understood the gravity of it so quickly.
“Well. Maybe I can be convinced to stay,” she suggested, trying a sultry smile.
“Oh, really?” Lucifer hooked her arm in his, laying her hand on his elbow as he guided her along the path back to the palace, the river hushing at their backs. “Do tell, my Liliana. Would it involve my fingers between your thighs again? Perhaps this time you’ll allow me to taste the nectar dripping down them?”
Lili blushed furiously, her whole body suddenly alight. She pressed her legs together as they walked and judging by the smirk on Lucifer’s face, he knew exactly what kind of ache he’d caused.
Lucifer’s lips curled in a shiver-inducing smirk. “Much as I’d love to indulge in your body right now, I’m needed elsewhere.” He sobered, his expression suddenly serious. “It’s why I came to find you—to tell you I’m leaving. And to ask if you’d like to come with me.”
Lili nodded quickly, panic rising at the thought of being entirely alone, without the brothers or Lucifer.
“It won’t be a pleasant excursion, Little Lilith,” he warned, sounding more like himself, all signs of his earlier panic gone. “Because of the breaches and the rebels among my demons, lawlessness is running rife in Aarvul, a city not far from here.” He skimmed her jaw with the pad of his thumb. “It could be dangerous. It will definitely scare you.”
Lili swallowed. But… “Anything is better than staying here alone.” Her voice hardened with determination. “I’m coming with you.”
Luc smiled, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I had hoped you’d say that.”
Aarvul, the city Lucifer had been called to, was half a day’s journey away, and though he and Lili could have got there with Luc’s demon magic, he couldn’t take himself, her, and the people who’d be coming with them. But he’d promised there were alternative travel arrangements in place. Lili pondered those words as she dressed in a floaty dress, leggings, and sturdy boots, hoping there wouldn’t be much walking. Stars, what if they were going the whole way on foot? Or jogging?
Relucta
nce unfurled in Lili’s belly, but she really didn’t want to be left in Iarlon alone. Even if the city was beautiful, even if it had welcomed Lili, it would be a different place if Lili was alone. So she pulled a jacket over her dress, tied up her hair so it wouldn’t get sweaty, and took a deep breath before leaving the sanctuary of her bedroom.
She was starting to learn the layout of this part of the palace, the dining room down the hall, the suite that belonged to Lucifer, the other rooms where Bernard, Cerny, and Russ slept, the small library, the study she suspected was Luc’s even if he never used it, the mosaic-tiled bathing room down its spiral staircase, and the parlour that held a grand piano Lili wished she had the talent to play.
She was able to easily find her way to Luc’s room, where she found the door open, Lucifer visible beyond it tying back his dark hair. He was dressed in tough leather pants, a tight-fitted shirt, and a tailored jacket with silver embroidery around the edges. He looked … gentile. Well, if you overlooked the leather and the red eyes. There was something about him that reminded her of the court angels Lili had grown up among in Michael’s heavenly tower. It could have been the jacket, the smart shirt, or just the way he held himself; either way, Lili’s heart sped. He looked … incredibly attractive.
His eyes sparkled as he turned to her, and Lili knew she’d been caught staring at him. “Ready?” he asked.
Lili nodded, swallowing and blushing furiously. She remembered how it felt to kiss him, to feel his body against hers, and pressed her thighs together as an ache built between them. “I’m ready.”
“Almost,” he agreed, and bent to a pile of weapons she’d overlooked on a nearby table. Lili spied swords, knives, and a crossbow with confusion—but they were going to a city where the inhabitants were breaking the laws it was Lucifer’s job to enforce. Of course they’d need weapons. Lili’s mouth went dry as Lucifer’s warning of danger finally hit home. She didn’t know how to fight.
