GOD, THIS IS going to suck.
When I turn the corner to step into the lounge, my eyes widen at the beautiful space. I’m momentarily distracted from the fucking screaming and moaning of the damned as I skim the room and enjoy the immaculate and ornate décor. The room is all black, but it’s elegantly done. Most of the furniture pieces are vintage and not from this era. However, they’re well maintained. A gargantuan fireplace looms on the wall farthest from me, and I stare at it, incredulous.
Fire.
In this hot fucking lounge.
As if it isn’t hot enough already.
I raise an eyebrow at Luc in question.
He chuckles. “I love the eternal beauty of flames—scarlet, burgundy, ginger, buttery waves all swirling and curling to their own exotic dance. The blistering heat providing its own surges of magnificence as it envelops the mix of colors as if to protect it from anyone who dare disrupt their display. When the flames lick and crackle, they offer a menacing and ethereal warning that both allures and terrifies all who observe its wondrous glory.” He sighs in contentment. “What can I say? I have an epic and timeless love affair with fire.”
This man is a lunatic.
This man is my boss.
“I think fire is sexy,” Lovenia purrs as she struts straight toward Luc, who’s lovingly gazing at the fireplace.
I have no claim on the duplicitous demon, but my hackles still rise at her words.
Luc looks at her and rewards her with a pleased grin. “Fire isn’t the only thing that’s sexy,” he murmurs as he accepts her kiss.
On the fucking lips.
A rumble of jealousy threatens to rip from my chest, but I swallow it down. They’re both working together to piss me off, and I’m not biting.
“Have a seat, you two. Can I get you something to drink?” he asks as he makes his way over to a wet bar on one wall.
“Gin and tonic. Neat,” I tell him, my eyes never leaving Lovenia.
Something is off with her today. Her normally put-together attitude is fractured. Even though she’s attempting to be relaxed, her frame is rigid and her smile tight. I hope it has something to do with my presence. One day she might feel the suffering I did the day she lied to me in order to climb the fucking ladder of success.
“And you, Love? What will you have?” he asks her.
She grins saucily back. “Whatever you want to give me is exactly what I’ll have.”
He chuckles and makes the drinks while she paces in front of the fireplace. I have no fucking clue what she’s nervous about. But it’s beginning to put me on edge as well. A nervous Lovenia should most definitely make for a nervous Omega.
The woman never shows anything but absolute confidence, so the fact that she’s not herself has me on high alert. Is she afraid of Luc? I mean, he’s the fucking Devil and all, but he doesn’t seem like the wicked badass everyone claims he is.
She eventually stops her pacing and glances at me. For a split second, I get a glimpse of her vulnerability—and it fucking draws me in. I find myself truly looking at her, and not in a way I used to, like when I wanted to rip her clothes off and fuck her against the nearest hard surface. I also am not looking at her like I want to rip her head off for having ruined me.
I’m looking at her.
There’s an innocence she keeps carefully hidden.
But I see it.
Her long, dark hair, which is curled sexily down her shoulders, is a disguise. The lips, which are painted bloody crimson, ripe for the biting, are a mask. Red-polished nails are nothing but a façade.
Inside her is someone she has revealed to no one.
Not even to me when I once thought we were in love.
Of course, now, I know that that was all a farce, but still—she hid that even from me.
But not now.
Now, I see more.
“Let’s sit,” Luc says, interrupting my visual unpeeling of her mind.
I tear my gaze from her and take the drink from him. She walks over to us and takes her glass as well before we all sit. My teeth are on edge when I realize how close she is next to him on the loveseat across from me.
“So, Omega,” Luc begins before he sniffs his liquor. “How are you liking HEL so far? We haven’t had much time to speak since you joined us. I know Corson has had some assignments for you that you completed with flying colors, and that’s quite commendable. But I want to know how you’re fitting in. Are you being treated nicely?”
“The women have welcomed me quite nicely indeed.” I don’t give him more than that, and I can’t help but glance at Lovenia for a reaction.
Her flinch is almost imperceptive, but I see it.
A wide grin stretches across his face. “Perfect.”
As I sip my drink, I sit back in my seat and toss an expectant look his way. I’m no fool. He didn’t call me down here to chat about my welcoming committee. He wants something from me.
“I have proposition for the two of you. It’s actually something we haven’t done before, but considering the two of you are really good at what you do, I figured you’d be the best for the job,” he says with sugary sweetness.
“Of course, Luc. What do you have planned for us?” Lovenia questions with the same saccharine tone. Even though she’s attempting to match his easy attitude, I hear the strain lying just below the surface in her voice.
“This job is unique. It would be one you’d have to figure out along the way, because as I said, it hasn’t been done before. But I have my reasons for wanting you to do it.”
Lovenia pats his knee, flashing him an agreeable smile. “I trust you,” she assures him, which he, in turn, rewards her for with a Cheshire cat grin.
I don’t fucking trust him at all.
“Excellent, Love,” he says smoothly. “Here’s the deal. I need you to do what you Leviathans are best at. I need you to make a terrible mess of things.”
We both wait anxiously for him to continue.
“But here’s the kicker. The situation is a Seraph Guardian and his good charge.”
What the fuck?
“You want us to fuck with one of the good? One under the protection of the SG?” I question in disbelief. “Do you have a death wish for us?”
He drains the rest of his liquor before slamming the glass rather forcefully onto the mahogany coffee table that separates us. This time, Lovenia flinches, her stare pleading.
“Who do you work for?” Luc snaps.
While suppressing a groan, I mutter, “You.”
“Exactly. So, while it may have sounded as if I’d merely suggested this assignment, I didn’t. I am telling you what you will do for me. Understand?” he growls.
Lovenia is the first to speak up. “Of course, Luc! I think he was just in a little shock because of the unusual nature of the task, but he wasn’t being obstinate. Right, Omega?”
The flare of vulnerability is back in her eyes, which is the only reason I curtly nod in agreement.
Luc’s features soften, and he smiles again. “Wonderful. In that case, I’ll e-mail you the case file information. I understand that the good one will be under the protection of the remarkable SG. However, the Seraph Guardian won’t be visible to his charge, as you well know. And even though he will be able to see you, so will the good one. It should be fun for him trying to stop whatever tricks you have up your sleeves. I want you to corrupt the good one. I want to see how foolproof their research is for the ones they deem good. In my opinion, everyone has a wicked streak. I’d love to see if I’m right. This is merely an experiment.”
I’m clutching my glass so tight that I could almost crush it in my fist. Letting out a rush of breath, I force myself to relax. Luc is fucked up if he thinks HEA won’t have a shit fit over this.
“Isn’t this against some rule or some shit?” I spit out.
His dark eyes narrow as he pins me with a glare so heated that I’d almost prefer sitting in his fireplace if I had a choice between the two. His vicious stare doesn’t leave room for negotiation.
“I make the rules over here, Omega. We choose to work with HEA, but in no way do they control our motivations and interests. Right now, this interests me greatly. If anyone over there has a problem with it, they know my number. I’ll deal with them. In the meantime, I want you to make a mess of things. Insert yourself into the good one’s life and watch them self-destruct. I want to see what failsafe plans HEA has in place—if there are any. Can you handle this, Omega, or do I need to get someone else for the job? Do realize that, if you pass the opportunity up, there are always hundreds of Reapers jumping all over themselves to become the next Leviathan. If you can’t handle your job, you can join the Reaper dorm, where you do not have the luxury of your own suite or welcoming females. I’ll only ask this one more time. Will you or will you not be up for the task?”
To hell with being a fucking Reaper. But HEA isn’t going to roll over and let us steal one of their souls, either. It’s all been decided and transcribed into the system. For us to jack with that—I’m not sure what the ramifications of that will be.
“I’ll do it alone,” I blurt out. For some reason, I don’t want Lovenia involved. Whatever bullshit he’s experimenting with, I don’t want her to be a casualty of it. I may say that I hate her, but I don’t. I hate what she did to me—how she betrayed me as if everything that had gone on between us had been a lie and those feelings hadn’t been real.
Those feelings were as fucking real as you can get.
Lovenia’s mouth pops open—as she readies herself to bite my head off, I’m sure—but Luc stops her with his words.
“Omega, it will do you some good to remember whom you work for. You don’t make the rules. Not one goddamned one. Are we clear? Lovenia is your partner on this, and that’s the end of it. Now go before you piss me off,” he snarls, the flames in the fireplace crackling and pulsating as if in tune with his mood.
I challenge him with a glare, but he sends me one so hateful that my soul cowers even when my stupid-ass body won’t.
“And you do not want to piss me off.” His words are laced with an incredibly malevolent undertone.
This guy’s a fucking psycho.