Chapter Five
“What the hell happened to her?” Harley bent over the unconscious girl and frowned.
Ronnie’s breathing was slow and erratic. She squirmed and whimpered, obvious signs of pain, with an unfamiliar vulnerability about her. It brought Luc an uncharacteristic pang of sympathy that he couldn’t quite shake.
“She got her ass kicked by a very large woman. At least I think it was a woman.” Luc knelt next to Ronnie and held his hand an inch over her forehead, concentrating his thoughts on healing her. He left a few bruises and the stitches, so she wouldn’t be too suspicious, but fixed the rest, including the concussion that led to her being unconscious in his bed, and three broken ribs. If only she’d known just how close she’d been to puncturing a lung. Maybe that would have made her rethink her Friday night activities.
The bed creaked under their combined weight and Luc had the strangest feeling that she shouldn’t be there just yet. Okay, so it was his idea to put her in his bed, but he had to admit, she did look damn good there. Maybe too good.
“I don’t remember the last time I saw you heal a human.” A line etched between Harley’s brows and she rested one hand on her hip. “Maybe this was a bad idea.”
“What? Bringing her here? I couldn’t just leave her unconscious on the sidewalk.”
“No. The whole thing. The game, the women. This woman.”
“All of that was your idea and what is the problem anyway? It’s not like I’ve asked her to move in and spend the rest of her mortal life with me. Well, I guess her afterlife too. I brought her here to help her. It’s no big deal.”
“That is the big deal. You’re helping a human. You’re fucking Satan, for hells sake. You’re supposed to punish, not save. And anyway, you aren’t supposed to be using your powers to help you in the game. We did agree to that.”
“I’m not using them to help myself. She’s injured quite badly. There is no reason to make her suffer.” Luc furrowed his brow and looked over his friend. “Harley, what is this all really about?”
“She got herself into this mess. Maybe she deserves to suffer a little. How else will she learn her lesson? Anyway, she’s not going to drop dead, or anything.”
Luc finished with Ronnie and left her to sleep. There was a part of him that wanted to stay, watch over her as she slept, but he pushed the thought out of his mind. Although, he might not have pushed it as far back as he could have.
He took Harley by the elbow and led her across the room to the bar for a drink. Luc reached behind the counter for a bottle of his favorite bourbon and poured two glasses, pushing one at Harley.
“I just don’t want all this to change you, make you soft. You know the underlings are just looking for a reason for an uprising. And Az said—”
“I see.” Luc’s mouth tilted down into a frown.
“You see what?”
“Azrael has been filling your head with nonsense again.” Luc took a sip off his drink and looked back over his shoulder at Ronnie. “You don’t have anything to worry about. And it’s not the first time I’ve healed a human, you know? I seem to recall a time when you were human. Did our relationship make me soft?”
A sharp smile spread across Harley’s face. “Uh no. Soft isn’t what I remember.”
“Oh you naughty little lesbian. What will the other lesbians say about you?” Luc elbowed her in the ribs and went back over to the bed. Ronnie was starting to wake up and he wanted to be there when she opened her eyes.
“Back then, they would have said they weren’t lesbians, or risk being burned at the stake.”
“Very true. But those stake-burning idiots got what they were owed.” Luc chuckled. “In fact, they are still getting it. Every Tuesday and Thursday the witches have a pig roast, as they call it.”
“I love Hell.” Harley lost herself in a faraway look for a moment, then turned back to Luc. “To be serious for a minute, I am starting to think this wasn’t the best idea.”
“I’ve never known you to be a worrier. Have you been hanging out with Gabriel again?”
“The last time I spoke to Gabriel he told me to lose his number.”
“That does sound like my uptight brother.” Luc sat back down on the edge of the bed and pushed Ronnie’s hair off her face.
“See, that right there is what I’m talking about. The other day you were wondering how you were going to only sleep with one woman for a month and today you’re healing some girl you just met and looking down at her like she is your new pet. Why are you changing yourself for this? You’re perfect the way you are, Lucifer. You don’t need to be in love.”
Luc lowered his eyes for a moment, then spoke in a soft tone. “I’m not changing myself. Is it so hard to believe that this was inside me all along? That I could be the same person who is the life of the party, reigns over hell, and still wants love in his life?”
Harley stayed quiet for a few long moments, considering his words. It saddened Luc that she didn’t understand him anymore, that she couldn’t see that this need was more important than he had words for. She was his best friend, and he wanted her to understand, but he didn’t require it to move forward. He wasn’t going to change his mind on this.
“Have you ever been in love?” Luc waited for her to speak even though he knew the answer.
“You know I have. When I was still human and you also know what a mistake that was.”
“Because you got hurt?”
“Because she never felt the same, even when she swore she did, she lied every chance she had, and she nearly cost me my life.”
Luc raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you recently tell me you’ve enjoyed your time since you died far more than you ever did as human?”
“That’s irrelevant. She was much more trouble than she was ever worth. Anyway, a big part of why I enjoy being a demon far more than human is because I don’t care about trivial human feelings like love.”
“Love doesn’t have to only be for humans. So you got burned. That’s kind of a job requirement where I’m from. But it doesn’t mean you can’t find it again, that it can’t be different.”
“Are you sure about that?” Harley tipped back the rest of her drink and hopped off the barstool. “I’m happy the way I am, the way my life is. I don’t need more and you never have either. I just wonder what’s bringing all this out now.”
“What makes you think this is something new? Is it so hard to believe that I’ve been contemplating this for quite some time?”
Harley shook her head. “If that’s true, why didn’t you say something sooner? Why keep something so important hidden?”
Luc didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. The reaction from her since he did reveal his feelings should be enough of an answer. He knew how it looked. The king of Hell looking for true love. It was a joke. He would be a bigger laughingstock than Cupid.
“Why did you insist on this whole game if you think I’m making a mistake?”
“I don’t know if you are, or not. I thought it would be fun, maybe even get you excited about something again. You have to admit, you have been moping around a lot lately.”
“I’m the devil. I don’t mope.” Luc pressed his lips in a straight line and tightened his hands at his sides.
“If you say so. I’m just looking out for you. If love is what you think you want, then love is what we’ll find you. I’m always on your side, Lucifer. I just don’t want to see you hurt.”
“I think I can take care of myself.”
Harley took a long look over Luc and shook her head. “Listen, I gotta get going. You going to be all right with her here?”
“Of course.”
Harley glanced over him once more, opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. Luc considered looking into her thoughts, despite her distaste for that ability, but kept his prying mind to himself. With a heavy sigh, Harley headed out with her motorcycle helmet under her arm, letting the conversation drop. Luc was pretty sure she was seeing someone on the side in secret, but he didn’t want to pry. Though he had to admit, he was beginning to get a bit curious.
No sooner than Harley was gone, Ronnie started to open her eyes.
“Where am I?” She pushed up on her arms and looked around. Her hair fell around her in thick waves that made her look younger than she was. She’d had it braided and pulled up, but Luc took it down in the car on the way to his place.
He liked women in their natural states. No makeup, no fancy hairstyles, nothing that changed the real woman. Not that Luc didn’t appreciate a woman done up. He did on occasion, but those were the women he just wanted to fuck. They were playing a role, asking for something specific, and who was he to deny them?
“You're in my apartment. You passed out, so I took you home. Well, to my home. I don’t exactly know where you live.”
He could have figured it out with a simple peek into her mind, but his place was where he wanted her to begin with, so that was where he brought her. Besides, she didn’t know that.
Ronnie touched her fingers to the stitches on her forehead. “I passed out? Where’s Lizzie?”
“I’m not sure where your little blond friend went off to. Your phone was buzzing incessantly so I turned it off. She may have tried to contact you.”
“You what?” She shot up and lunged for her purse sitting on the table next to the bed, nearly knocking him over in the process. “Who the fuck gave you the right to shut off my phone?”
Luc shrugged while she hit the power button on her phone and waited for it to come back on. Which took entirely too long, if her bouncing in place and huffing was any indication.
“What time is it? Oh shit, it’s after one. How long was I out?”
“A little over an hour. Everything all right?”
“No. I have to get home. Can you give me a ride?”
“Of course, but why don’t you just stay here? You were pretty banged up.” Luc knew she’d be fine. He’d made sure of that already, but he liked the way the girl looked in his bed, all wild dark hair and angry eyes. He bet she would be a lot of fun.
She ignored him and punched in a number on her phone. He used his abilities to listen in on her call. He was the King of Hell, after all. Eavesdropping on phone calls was a snap.
“Ronnie? Oh my God. Where have you been? I was so worried. One minute you’re with some guy I don’t know, and the next, you are just gone. Did he kidnap you? Are you duct taped to a chair somewhere about to have your fingertips clipped off with a cigar trimmer?”
“Liz, calm down. I’m fine. The guy is my new boss, Luc. Apparently, I fainted, so he took me back to his place.”
“Your boss? Whoa, well, way to go then. He’s fucking hot. Wait, back to his place?”
Luc could almost see the girl’s smile through the phone and he couldn’t help but smile himself.
“I’m going to have him drive me home now. Are you still at my place?”
“Yeah and no hurry. The kids are all asleep, so take your time. Maeby is even in her bed. No sneaking out tonight. I don’t have anywhere to be. I can spend the night here, you spend the night with your sexy new boss.”
“It’s not like that.” Ronnie’s cheeks turned a deep scarlet and she tried to hide behind her hair.
“It should be. You haven’t gotten laid in forever. And who better to re-pop your cherry, than that perfect specimen of manhood.”
Ronnie glanced over her shoulder at Luc and lowered her voice. “He’s my boss. There’s nothing going on, so stop being an ass.”
Luc laughed. Even if he wasn’t privy to the other half of the conversation, he would have been able to get the gist of it, and Ronnie knew he’d picked it up.
“Look, I gotta go. I’ll see you when I get home.”
“Don’t hurry,” Lizzie said before Ronnie disconnected the call and shoved the phone into her back pocket.
“Sorry about that.”
“Don’t be. Your friend sounds like an interesting girl.”
“Oh she’s that all right. Along with a few other choice descriptives. So about that ride?” She grabbed her boots and sat on the edge of the bed to lace them up.
“How about a drink first?” Luc wandered over to the bar and pulled out two glasses.
“I probably shouldn’t. Chances are, I have a concussion, so alcohol is a bad idea.”
She did have a concussion.
Now she didn’t.
“I don’t think you do. Any headache? Fuzzy memory? Nausea or dizziness?”
Ronnie furrowed her brow and thought for a moment. “No. Actually, I feel really good. In fact, I have never felt this good after a fight. That’s so weird.”
“Indeed it is. Especially after the beating you took.” He poured two drinks and held one out to Ronnie as she walked over and sat down next to him.
“Were you there the whole time? I saw you at the beginning of the fight, but then you disappeared.” She took a sip off the drink and met his eyes. Her long lashes fluttered and Luc was sure he’d seen nothing sexier in all his life.
“Does that disappoint you?” He moved closer and her breath hitched.
“It doesn’t, uh no, I mean…”
Luc took the glass from her hand and placed it on the bar. Her eyes stayed trained on his and she swiped her tongue over her bottom lip, wetting it.
“I didn’t disappear. I watched the whole fight. I stepped back to stop from distracting you.”
“Oh.”
Her mouth was dry and he ached to wet it for her, but Luc had known women like Ronnie before. If he moved too fast, she would bolt. He had to ease her into it, make her want it so much she had no choice but to give in to her body. After that, there would be no running.
“You were never going to win that fight. You know that, right?”
She nodded and her eyes dropped to his mouth. “I wasn’t just going to lay down and take it in the ass, either.”
Images of her on her stomach, getting it exactly that way, went through Luc’s mind. She had a great ass, and before the month was out, he was going to have to show her the right time to lay down and take it from behind.
“No, I don’t suppose you would, at least not during a fight.”
His wink was enough to make her cheeks turn pink as she realized what he was talking about. She didn’t look like the shy type around men, but her friend did say it had been forever since she’d gotten any. Luc had to know why that was. Even more, he wanted to be the one who ended her dry spell.
“Maybe I should go now.” She turned her face away and he slipped a hand in behind her neck to pull it back.
“Maybe you should stay.” She bit her lip, fighting with herself over what she thought was right and what she so clearly wanted. Luc got the feeling that she had that fight with herself a lot and chose wrong most of the time.
He could feel himself losing her, as her internal battle raged. She was going to get up, insist on leaving, if he didn’t change her mind right then. He couldn’t be concerned with moving too fast.
It was now or never.
“I want you to stay.” He leaned in and kissed her, soft at first, then deeper when she didn’t immediately pull away. His hand slid down her neck and grabbed a handful of hair, using it to direct her head the way he wanted it. Gentle at first, then harder, he yanked her head down, tilting it for easier access to her neck.
He trailed kisses down from her lips to the silky flesh over her throat. She moaned against his head and slid herself into his lap. Luc could already smell her arousal through her shorts, but it wasn’t enough. He needed to feel her, know that she was wet for him.
Only for him.
She ground her hips against him, pressing the heat of her need into his throbbing cock, and moaned into his ear. Luc stood, with Ronnie in his arms, and carried her over to the bed, where he tossed her down into the middle of it. She looked up at him, with her legs bent at the knees, slightly apart, and chewed her bottom lip.
He wanted her to chew on him that way, feel her teeth graze his sensitive areas. It may have been a long time since Ronnie had been with anyone, but Luc saw action more often than he cared to admit to. Yet, nothing he’d done before that moment counted. It was as if they all melted away and all that mattered was getting this one girl naked.
He imagined her in the ring with that Amazonian woman, punching the shit out of her, even though she knew she couldn’t win. He wanted that same level of intensity from her, of rage directed into sex. He wanted to be under her as she gave him everything she had.
Luc pulled his shirt over his head and jumped onto the bed. He caged his arms around her and forced her wrists down under his hands. He was stronger. There was no doubt about that. But he didn’t fight when she wriggled out from his grasp and flipped them both over, landing on top of him, as he’d wanted her all along.
With little more than a moments pause, she pulled her shirt over her head, then her sports bra, and threw them to the floor. Her tits sprang to life, no longer pressed flat by the obtrusive contraption. She had a nice rack too. Just big enough to bury his face between, but not so much they looked fake. Luc wanted them in his mouth, but he’d have to settle for his hands.
For now.
Reaching up, he took her tits into his eager palms, kneading them roughly, and pinched her nipples between his fingers. She threw her head back and sighed toward the ceiling. She liked it rough, that much he’d already picked up. She ground her pussy against him, stroking herself through their clothing along his hard shaft.
There was something about the feel of her heat through her dampening clothes that turned Luc on more. He strained against his own pants and gritted his teeth to retain some control. Regardless of what happened by months end, Ronnie Falcon was going to be a lot of fun.
He wanted to rip the clothes off her, or better yet, snap his fingers and use his powers to rid her of the stifling barrier, but he wasn’t ready to show her his hand just yet. He would allow her to think he was just any man, like Harley had insisted for the game. He would win her on his own, even if she wasn’t his choice in the end.
Luc flipped her onto her back and pushed her shorts past her curvy hips. She reached down to slide her panties down with them, but Luc held her back. He wanted to be the one to remove that last piece between them. They were black and lacy, the kind of thing a woman wore when she expected someone to see her in them. But Ronnie wasn’t planning on anyone seeing her undress and she still dressed the part.
Thinking of Ronnie ready for sex, even when she’d been in a dry spell, made Luc’s cock grow painfully against his pants. As if she could sense his discomfort, she reached up and unclasped his pants, springing him to freedom. Her eyes grew wide at the size of him and he chuckled. The look on a woman’s face when she caught sight of his prize endowment for the first time never got old.
“You’re uh…” She bit her bottom lip again and Luc imagined her biting his.
“Huge?”
She nodded and laughed. It was a nervous laugh like a, what the hell am I getting myself into, kind of laugh. Luc had heard it before, but never had a woman changed her mind and backed out. And Ronnie would be no exception.
That he was sure of.
“Yes, well I guess I got lucky.”
And now you will, too.
Luc slipped out of his pants and climbed back onto the bed over her. The only clothing between them was the thin lace of her panties. He took it between two fingers and snapped it clear off her body. It was a shame to destroy such sexy panties, but the sight of her without them, more than made up for it. Ronnie’s legs fell to the side, opening herself up to him, and he ran two fingers down the length of her, wetting them with her slick juices.
When he passed over her clit, she shivered and her legs fell further apart. Her scent was amazing. He had to have a taste, so he leaned down, and dipped his face into her, taking a long slow lick up. She reached her hands down and grabbed at his hair, trying to force his face into the place she needed most, but he grabbed her wrists, pinning them at her sides.
He enjoyed letting her struggle a few moments longer, taking one excruciatingly slow lick after another, then released her wrists. Without a second wasted, Ronnie flipped them over, taking the top position once again. She would direct her own pleasure. She enjoyed being in charge.
Dark hair tumbled over her shoulders in soft waves that was out of character with her hard exterior. The dark, brooding, anger that hung just below the surface on her at all times, was softened by her stunning beauty. Even the bruises and stitches didn’t take away from her looks. Luc tried to ignore her gentler side. He liked her angry, rough around the edges. It made her more appealing.
And she was supposed to be representing the sin wrath.
Ronnie slid herself along his shaft, wetting him with her juices, and let his crown bump against her clit with each slide up. He placed his hands on her hips and watched her pleasuring herself against him. With her head back and her eyes closed, she was even more beautiful than before. He wanted to lift her up and slam her down on his cock, impale her onto him, but he held back, letting her take what she needed from him.
Without missing a beat, she reached down and took one of his hands from her hip, and placed it onto her left breast. She knew what she wanted and she wasn’t afraid to direct him. Luc never liked those girls who silently hoped the man would somehow know what she liked and give it to her, as if he was supposed to be able to read her mind. He never had trouble knowing how to please a woman, but he had skills human men didn’t have.
No one should be expected to be a psychic lover.
Luc rolled her nipple with his thumb and forefinger roughly until she groaned, then pulled at it hard. She lifted off him, arching her back, and positioned her pussy over his swollen, purple head. Before she slipped him inside, she forced her eyes open and looked down at him. He had one brief second to watch her lick over her bottom lip, then she slammed down on him, taking him to the hilt.
She cried out from what Luc assumed was pleasure, but might have been a little pain as well, since she took a moment to adjust to his size before she moved again. Ronnie was an all-in kind of girl and Luc found it sexy as hell. Not too many women had the nerve to take his considerable size with such enthusiasm on the first try.
After accommodating to his girth, Ronnie pulled back and thrust forward onto him, coming up on the balls of her feet and using his chest for support. Luc switched hands, grasping her hip with the one previously on her left breast, and went to work on the right with his other. He was rougher than she was probably used to, intentionally, but she didn’t complain. In fact, she enjoyed the sting of his twists and tugs on her sensitive nipple.
With his hand on her hip, Luc helped lift her off him, and let her slam back down with enough force that he was sure would leave her limping for days. She cried out with each thrust in, the slapping of their bodies backup vocals to their song that would end in a raw crescendo of wild need.
It would be over far sooner than Luc would have liked, though. He felt her tighten and tense around him. Her insides gripping him like a vice, as she exploded into orgasm. He wasted no time, flipping her over onto her back and took the lead, bringing him his own rapid explosion.
“Oh my God,” Ronnie said through breathless pants.
“Leave him out of it.” Luc rolled off and laughed. “You’re in bed with the devil now, sweetheart.”