With a friendly wink, Raziel leaves me by the gates.

Retracing my steps, I head back towards the great hall. The fire place will offer welcome heat to my frozen damp limbs.

Trailing through the wooden doors, I find the Devil sitting on his throne, wearing a brooding look.

A long wooden table has been placed in the centre of the room. On the surface of delicate looking china dishes an assortment of foods sit waiting.

“Are you hungry?” He enquires the second he sees me, not looking surprised at my appearance.

My stomach takes the opportunity to rumble loudly. “Yes.” My answer is stiff. The fact I haven’t been able to escape stings like a bitch. It would’ve been better to avoid him, but it looks like I’m stuck with his company.

“Strip.”

Raising an eyebrow at his commanding tone, I draw closer to the toasty warmth of the roaring hearth. “I’m not taking off my clothes.”

“They’re wet. You’ll catch pneumonia and then you’ll be no good to me.”

A logical argument. One I know is right.

With a reluctant sigh, I slip the bag from my shoulder. Toeing out of the soggy trainers, I remove the socks.

With graceful ease, Lucifer gathers up one of the long furs and brings it to my side.

Aware of him watching, I shimmy out of my jeans, followed by the sweatshirt. Left in my panties and bra, I allow him to wrap the covering around me. The softness brushes over my naked figure tearing a soft moan from my throat.

For a beat he hovers behind me.

I can feel his breath tingling over the exposed top of my shoulder.

Steeling myself against the erotic sensations it evokes, I remain tense and withdrawn.

“I knew you wouldn’t get far.” He smirks, drifting away to take his place at the head of the table.

“This is all one big game to you, isn’t it?” With a hostile glare, I seat myself as far as possible.

“Playing you hasn’t been easy. You have a fire inside that I know will never be extinguished. It equals my own. Underestimating you was something I was never going to do. You exceeded my expectations.”

“The Devil praising me? That’s truly disturbing.”

My heart twists. He’s left me with nothing but scars and distrust. Deeper than anything I could bear on my skin. A sense of bitterness wells. Snatching up a plate, I fill it with food, keeping busy.

Pouring wine into an elegant glass, he swirls the liquid thoughtfully. “You’re a weapon. An instrument of war. Why wouldn’t I compliment you?”

“I’m not a weapon.” Popping a chunk of soft bread into my mouth, I chew vigorously. It goes a little way to ease my hunger pangs.

“Gabriel has been using you for years. You just don’t see it.” He sneers back, lips glistening with the wine he’s just sipped. “Stop thinking inside the box. Humans have no true concept of the world around them. You’re so wrapped up in your own petty lives you don’t see the bigger picture. You sin. You fuck. You cheat. You murder in the name of the greater good with only a passing thought of repercussions for your actions when you die. Heaven and Hell for most are an afterthought. A promise of hope or retribution that you believe is a beautiful lie. A fairy tale to comfort you from the thought that you recede into nothing. If your world was to end tomorrow I truly doubt anyone would notice. Children carrying guns. Families killing each other. Zealots annihilating lives in the name of faceless Gods. Hell is already there.”

He’s right. The world is a bad place, but it’s not his yet.

“That doesn’t mean it’s not worth saving.” I counter. Tearing a chunk of meat from a chicken leg, I savour the flavour.

His eyes darkening, the Devil watches my mouth while I eat. “You think so? Hope is nothing but a dream. Mankind is cruel and brutal. Each hour, more sinners find their souls at the mercy of my Kingdom. How many do you really think reach the gates of Heaven? Do you think they would let someone like you inside?”

It’s something I’ve wondered plenty of times myself. Working for Gabriel was supposed to wipe clean everything from my past. Give me a clean slate. That was the promise. Questions and doubts tumble through my head. Ones I know I might never get the answers to until I’m dead.

“If this is some kind of sales pitch to work for you I’ve already told you I’m not interested.” Wiping my hands clean on a napkin, I push the plate away.

Elbows resting on the table top, Lucifer leans in, staring at me with an intensity that sets my heart racing. “Mavi, you already do, you just don’t realise it yet.”

Lie. All lies. He’s trying to manipulate me again. Sabotage what I know is true and change my perceptions.

Gathering the plate, I stand to leave, the furs cocooning my body from view. “I’m not sitting here so you can give me another mind fuck. I would rather find somewhere to eat alone.”

He’s dangerously still. “Sit down.” It’s low. A growl of pure warning.

The air is thick with tension and aggression.

“No.” I challenge.

The plains of his face settling into an expression of resolve, he rises with purpose from the chair.

“If you don’t follow my orders there will be consequences.”

Fingers tightening around the dainty china, I storm towards the door. “Fuck you.”

“Kneel.”

The power resonating in his voice takes hostage of my mind. Legs complying without conscious thought, I lower myself to the floor, still clutching the plate.

Circling around me with the lethal grace of a predator, Lucifer plucks it from my hands, depositing it back on the table.

“We’re going to have to work on your obedience.” Ripping the furs free, he bares me to the chill. “All I wanted was conversation over dinner. Was that too much to ask for? You might not like the truth, but you will have to face it eventually.”

I’m unable to speak. Momentarily unable to move. Staring up at him mutely, I send him a venomous glare.

Throwing my covering aside, he retrieves a belt from the depths of his shadowy robes.

Heart stuttering, it speeds up again as I realise his intentions.

Carefully, he folds the supple leather in half.

“Bend over. Place your forehead on the marble and put your pretty arse in the air,” he orders.

Again, the compulsion to obey is too strong to fight. Leaning over, the cold ground meets my brow.

Shock sends my heart hammering faster against my ribs as cool air brushes between my legs.

Pain cracks over my left arse cheek without warning, stealing my breath as I jerk from the sting. The warmth of the mark that’s left washes through me just as quickly.

“You will bleed exquisitely for me before I am done with you, Mavi StClair.” Lucifer brings the belt down harder on the next blow.

I buck against it, sucking in another pain filled breath. On hands and knees and chained by an unseen force, there is no evasion.

Each time it comes down it’s progressively harder. The pain more intense.

Shutting my eyes tight, I shake and jerk with each strike that sets my flesh on fire. Emotions crowd my chest, but I bottle them in. No one has ever hit me like this before. Been in supreme control of my body and mind. It terrifies me to the point of madness.

I want to fight back. Claw and bite like some wild thing. Inflict the pain he’s meting out tenfold back with a knife or a gun.

I lose count of how many times he’s laid strokes over my arse. Somehow, I become lost in the rhythm. Something inside my changes as the torture turns to rapture.

The harsh bite of the leather licks across my thigh, curling around the flesh, snapping me into awareness.

Screaming, tears wet my eyelashes as I hold back a sob from the agony.

“Please, fuck, it hurts too much.” It’s a plea. I’m begging, and I never beg. A weakness.

I brace myself, waiting for the next blow, but it never comes.

The belt clatters to the floor.

Kneeling beside me, Lucifer takes my quivering shoulders and draws me into his lap.

His actions confuse me.

I thought he wouldn’t stop. That he would keep going until my backside was bleeding and raw. Wasn’t that what he wanted? To break me?

Stroking my hair, his lips brush my forehead.

I can’t stop the tears. They roll freely down my cheeks. It’s a release of tension.

Curling into him, I let myself sag.

“Good girl.” He coos, petting my bare back. “That’s it. Let it all out. You’re safe now.”

I feel weak. Too exhausted to move.

Although I’m in pain, an endorphin high courses through me, leaving a feeling of light headedness and intoxication.

My legs feel like jelly.

The Devil holds me tightly, his presence enveloping me, making my heart flutter.

“Your skin marks up nicely.” He remarks, rubbing my arse where he’s hit me.

Hissing through my teeth, I squirm against the sting his caress causes in the abused flesh.

“I hate you.” I whimper.

“Then let it fuel you for what’s to come.” He murmurs into my hair. “You’re going to need it.”