Aurora.
I know that name.
I know it and…
Shit.
This is the Aurora. Dorian’s ex, and the one who conspired with Stavros to kill Gabriella.
The details are fuzzy; Niko told me the story during one of the nights we commiserated over booze and fatty food. But I know it’s her.
My expression must give me away, because she smiles like the cat who caught the canary.
“You know who I am.”
“She’s just a little star-struck, is all,” Lucifer quickly cuts in before I blow everything to hell. “It’s not every day you meet the goddess of desire.”
Aurora laughs, but it’s forced. “Don’t think compliments will make me any less suspicious of your presence here, Master. I know what you’re here for.”
“Then you know I can tear you and every one of your friends to ribbons with a snap of my fingers.”
Aurora’s smile doesn’t falter, despite the threat. “You could, but then you wouldn’t get the information you seek. And while you could also send me back to Hell, I’d only slip back out, now that the gate has been left wide open.”
“This is true. But wouldn’t it be so fun to do it anyway?”
The two share a morbid chuckle, leaving me to look between them in confusion. Aurora seems to find that amusing.
“Aw, look at her. She’s adorable, Lucifer. Where have you been hiding this one?”
“Away from the likes of you. You’d eat her alive, Aurora.”
“Mmmmm,” she moans stepping so close to me that her nipples brush against mine. “I still might do that.”
I swallow, trying to come up with a response. What is my role here? Lucifer’s pet? His date? Her date? Maybe I was right about Lucifer trying to Pretty Woman me, because I sure as hell feel like I’m being prostituted. And while I’d like nothing more than to tell them all to go fuck themselves, I don’t want to blow our cover. Aurora has information that we need. However, I’m not willing to fuck for it.
“Enjoy the party,” Aurora says, stepping back and releasing me from her claws. “I’ll come find you when it’s time.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I harshly whisper the second Aurora is out of earshot. “What the hell was that?”
“Calm down, Eden,” Lucifer says, his voice calm. Yet, his grasp on my elbow as he leads me deeper into the house, away from prying eyes and ears, is anything but gentle. “If I would’ve told you, you wouldn’t have agreed to come. And I knew that if I showed up alone, Aurora would have perceived it as a threat. She believes that the mere presence of one of my pets will lessen the chances of me burning this place to the ground with her and all her sycophants inside.”
“So I’m a prop.” I cross my arms over my chest.
“You’re an asset. You’re the reason she didn’t flee as soon as I arrived.”
I try to keep my focus trained on him and not on the live sex shows going down on almost every solid surface. To be fair, there are several people just talking, or even just making out. And the sex isn’t raunchy or punishing. It’s almost sensual, as if every being has been overcome with uncontainable desire and wants nothing more than to share their passion.
Still, I’ve seen more cock and tits in the past five minutes than I’ve seen in my entire life.
I release an aggravated breath and try to think logically about the situation. I had to have known this mission would get messy. And I told Lucifer I wasn’t here for a relaxing vacation of sightseeing and fine dining. So this is it…this is my test. This is my chance to prove that I can and will do whatever it takes to shield the world from evil…from Legion.
“So what’s the plan?”
“Well, for starters, you can act like you actually like me. Uncross your arms, straighten your back. Act like you’re the sexiest, most desirable fucking thing who has ever walked in here, and believe that everyone wants a piece of you. Aurora is drawn to raw sensuality. She’s an Orexis. For her, sex is power.”
“An Orexis?”
“One of the eight royal houses of the Dark. Orexis magic is borne of desire.”
Which explains all the naked, writhing bodies. This isn’t just a party, I assume. She’s building strength—feeding off their lust.
I drop my arm and lift my chin, taking a steeling inhale of air. I’ve never been told that I was overtly sexy, but I can pretend.
“Ok. I’m ready.”
I let Lucifer take the lead, my hand resting on his arm while I sashay beside him, doing my best to exude confidence. Which is easier said than done when half my mind is focused on my obscenely high heels and not tripping over my own feet. I’m so out of my element. Yeah, I played the naughty angel for the Se7en during my first party at Irin’s, but this feels different. Like everything we’ve all fought and bled for is dependent on my performance.
Lucifer stops at a table lined with glasses of champagne, and I’m grateful as hell. I grab a glass and down it in just a few swallows before he can stop me.
“Easy,” he murmurs when I pick up another.
“You tell me I need to be the hottest bitch in here, and you expect me not to need liquid courage?” I don’t gulp this one, but take a sip. “This is all new to me.”
“Being a hot bitch? I find that hard to believe. You’re incredibly sexy, Eden.”
I roll my eyes, but it does nothing to fight off the betraying blush of my cheeks. Bastards. “Yeah, right.”
“I’m serious. If you stopped trying to repel everyone you come in contact with, maybe someone would have had the chance to tell you. I’m not going to be a condescending pig and tell you that you need to smile more or some shit like that. But the constant scowl? You talk about my crow’s feet. Those frown lines aren’t doing you any favors.”
My first instinct is to punch him in the arm, even playfully, but I stop myself. I’m channeling my inner vixen. Plus, there are eyes on us…a lot of them. I can feel them.
I dip my head back a bit, showing off the curve of my throat and let out a tinkling, feminine peal of laughter while my fingertips lightly caress my bare chest. Then, with my eyes low, I lazily drag my teeth over my bottom lip only to replace them with a flash of my tongue.
“Good,” Lucifer drawls, tracking every movement with his hooded gaze. “Just like that.”
Without warning, he steps in close, drugging me with his intoxicating scent of sex and deadly nightshade, and tucks a tendril of hair behind my ear. His touch lingers along my jawline before he slowly, torturously, drags his fingers down to rest on my neck.
“Are they watching?” I whisper.
“Yes. And they’re intrigued.”
I swallow. With him this close, it’s hard to think straight. “Maybe it’s you that’s drawing their interest. Maybe they’re wondering what the hell Satan is doing here.”
Lucifer releases a slow hiss, only for my ears. “They don’t know it’s me.”
“How is that?”
“They see what I want them to see. To them, I’m just like everyone else. Burning mad with need for the stunning silver-haired girl in the black dress.”
My face flames again and I resist the urge to cover it with my hands. He notices, just like he notices everything, and he brushes my cheek with the back of his hand, feeling the heat of my pooling blood.
“Don’t be bashful. Be bold. It suits you.”
We stand staring at each other, exchanging breaths, before I finally find the sense to break the spell. I step back and take another sip of my drink.
“It’s time to work. Why don’t you give me a tour?”
Lucifer recovers smoothly as if he couldn’t be less affected. He nods and extends the crook of his arm, which I take, hyperaware of the contact. We move through the crowd, stopping every few feet to take in the scene with faux fascination. I smile and flirt and touch my hair, my lips, my chest when I’m not stroking his arm. He looks at me like I’m a priceless piece of art, much like the ones he’s coveted in his home. We play our parts well, all the while tracking each room for anything suspicious. Anyone who seems disinterested or overly interested, and of course, the Demoori Sheol symbols.
After a while, my knees feel a bit weak and wobbly and it’s getting warm, so I suggest we sit. I haven’t eaten since late morning and the heels are no help. Luckily, we find a couch that isn’t currently being christened.
“See anything?” I ask in a hushed voice.
“Not what I’m looking for.”
“So you think Aurora is bluffing? What makes you think she has any information at all?”
“Because Aurora makes it a point to stick her nose where it doesn’t belong. And she has a connection to Stavros.”
“Right. She was Dorian’s fiancé.”
“And Stavros’s lover.”
I make a face of disgust before quickly catching myself. “So she was getting down with Dorian and his dad?” I hope like hell Niko isn’t on her list. That’s just a level of creepy I can’t comprehend.
“They aren’t human, Eden. Societal norms don’t apply to them.”
“Apparently.”
I squirm in my seat, trying to get comfortable. It feels like my dress is cutting off my circulation. I don’t know if it’s the champagne or the dozens of writhing bodies packed into the space, but I’m getting warmer. Not just flushed either. It’s like the heat is coming from inside me, blooming in my belly and rushing through my veins. My skin prickles with goosebumps and my breath escapes in shallow pants.
“Are you ok?” Lucifer questions, eyeing me skeptically.
“Yeah, I think,” I reply, discreetly tugging on my dress. “I don’t know. I feel a bit feverish.”
Fuck, please don’t be the flu. Please don’t be the flu.
“Do you feel sick?”
“No. I just feel…hot. Like I need to take this off.”
Lucifer lays a hand on my forehead and I instinctually move into the touch, almost moaning at the contact. Even though he’s warm, it feels good on my skin. I bite my lip to stifle a gasp when he begins to move his hand away.
“No,” I say grasping his hand and moving it back to my face. “Touch me. Don’t stop.”
It’s not enough. I need more of him. I need to touch, to feel, to taste.
“Eden, are you ok?” he asks again.
“Yes,” I rasp, the sound of my breathy voice foreign to my ears. “I am.”
At that exact moment, a couple approaches, both of them grinning sheepishly.
“We were just wondering…” the woman begins, her face reddened.
“If we could sit with you,” the man finishes, his inviting gaze flicking from me to Lucifer.
“Yes, please,” I insist before Lucifer can answer. I scoot closer to his body—into his heat, allowing them to squeeze into the space beside me.
I don’t know what’s wrong with me. This behavior is so completely unlike me, but it is. The man and woman are model gorgeous and the yearning to have them so close to me that our thighs touch is too hard to ignore. Even if I was attracted to them both, I’d never say it. I’d never act this way. But I am, and I can’t stop myself.
A waiter comes around with a tray of champagne and all of us, aside from Lucifer, take one. We clink them together and sip, each of us throwing mischievous glances over our flutes.
I should slow down. No, I should stop this altogether. I don’t know these people, and I’m in a strange house with God only knows what lurking in the shadows. But this feeling—like my skin is silk and my blood is molten lava, and every touch is a tiny orgasm—makes it impossible to resist.
“Having fun?”
I look up to find that Aurora has joined us. She’s traded her dress for a corset with little more than a scrap of lace for underwear. Thigh high stockings are hooked to a garter over legs that could go on for miles. She’s one of the most alluring creatures I’ve ever seen.
She takes the armchair beside Lucifer after shooing away two women who were using it as a bed.
“Is this a good time?” she asks, slowly crossing her legs. The very movement should be made into its own porno flick.
“We should probably speak in private,” Lucifer answers flatly as if he’s unfazed by her presence. I haven’t been able to take my eyes off her since she sauntered up to us.
Aurora waves a hand. “No need. Whatever you say to me you can say to my friends.” She leans in close, close enough for me to spy her cleavage spilling out over bodice. “They won’t live to tell anyone anyway.”
I should be outraged at her total disregard for human life, but I can’t find it in me to care about anything other than Lucifer’s proximity. I fidget if only to get closer to him, hoping that the friction between our bodies will bring me some relief, but it only makes me crave more of his contact.
I need more of him.
I need more.
I need.
My thoughts are purely singular, and while I know we’re here for pivotal information, I’ve been reduced to a slave to my desires. My head is telling me that this isn’t right, but every other part of me is singing that this is preceisely what I want in perfect, five-part harmony.
“So what can I do for you, Master?” she asks with an air of mockery.
“I want you to tell me where Stavros is so he can reseal Hell. And then I plan to allow him the privilege of spending eternity in unbearable agony.”
Aurora lifts her artistically designed brows in amusement. “And what makes you think I’d tell you?”
“Because you have no loyalty to anyone aside from yourself. And there’s something you want.”
Leaning back in her chair, Aurora appears impressed. “You’re right. I do want something.”
“Name it.”
“I want a seat at the table—a place in your court. Once Dorian and his little half-breed whore find out that I’m back, my time on Earth will be limited. I want your word that I’ll spend what’s left of my afterlife in comfort.”
Lucifer’s face is unreadable as he contemplates Aurora’s terms. It seems like such a small price to pay for information on Stavros, considering she’s beautiful, exotic, provocative…
And she could steal Lucifer’s attention. And his heart.
No, no, no, I groan inwardly. He’s mine.
But my mouth won’t allow me to say the words. I’m too engulfed by the fire that currently singes every cell and nerve ending, blazing hot and bright. So I just sit and squirm and pray that there’s an end to this ache. That somehow my wanting will be extinguished so I can return to how it was before. Before I wanted him—needed him—like I need air to breathe. Before I looked at him and saw a million possibilities of how we could be.
“Done. Now talk,” I hear Lucifer say through the haze of lust clouding my head. Fingers stroke my arm, coaxing a soft whimper from between my lips. It takes the edge off enough for me to attempt to pay attention to the conversation, but just barely.
“I don’t know where Stavros is—”
Lucifer begins to rise before she can even finish the sentence.
“But I can tell you how to stop Legion.” Aurora quickly tacks on. “And put a halt on the demon rebellion and ultimately, send them all back to Hell.”
Lucifer settles back onto the couch, and like a moth to a flame, I move closer. Another stroke down my arm and one up my leg. I can’t tell if it’s the man or the woman, and I right now, I don’t really care. And while I know it’s not Lucifer’s fingers that are doing it, it’s a temporary fix for the agonizing yearning I can’t describe. I just need to be touched.
“Go on,” he instructs darkly.
“First, I need to hear you say it. Say we have a deal.”
Lucifer narrows his violent glare, and I’ll be damned, a thrill quivers between my thighs. “Deal.”
Aurora smiles, malice dripping from her red-painted lips. “There are options. If you want to merely send them back to Hell, you do it from the inside. However, once it’s done, you’ll be locking yourself inside too. This method is absolute—no demons in, no demons out.”
Lucifer exhales his irritation. “I know that. What’s the other method? And how do I stop Legion?”
“A great power must die. Not just a high level demon either. It has to be a sacrifice so great that it will tremble the heavens.”
By the look on Lucifer’s face, I can tell that he knows exactly the great power she speaks of. But instead of protesting, a moan rolls off my tongue as the hand on my thigh moves higher up my dress, and someone’s lips are on my neck.
Oh shit.
“Your little pet seems to be enjoying herself,” Aurora remarks, her pale blue eyes sparking with mischief.
Lucifer finally turns his penetrating stare on me, the space between his brows dimpled. What he must see—me being fondled and kissed by strangers—must disturb him, yet he doesn’t chastise me for my weakness. He almost looks…concerned. “What did you do to her, Aurora?”
“Me?” she plays coy. “Nothing. But considering the way she’s been enjoying the refreshments, I’m surprised she isn’t fucking any and everything on two legs.”
My tongue slick with the overwhelming need to taste him, I somehow find my words. “What?”
“Oh, just a little touch of my magic in the bubbly. I thought you would’ve known that. You know…being half Seraph and all.” She grins, baring teeth. “What? You think I didn’t know? You’re quite popular these days, Eden. And I’ll admit, you do have a certain appeal. However, I don’t see what all the fuss is about.”
Ice water douses my raging libido only for a moment, but it’s long enough for me to understand what’s happened. I’ve been drugged…with Orexis magic.
“What the fuck have you done?” Lucifer rages, the tone of his voice sharp enough to cut glass.
Aurora waves it off as if she isn’t mere seconds away from losing her head. “She’s completely safe and it’ll wear off by morning, maybe even sooner considering her pedigree. I just brought all her inner desires to the surface. I haven’t manipulated her to be like this. I’ve only revealed her true self devoid of silly inhibitions. You should be thanking me.”
I’m panting. My skin is on fire. And I can’t stop fucking squeezing my thighs together. I want him, I want him, I want him. And I can’t understand it. I can’t make it stop.
“What’s happening to me?” I say on a broken whisper.
His hardened glare softens, and he brushes my hair from my humid face. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you.”
The couple beside me moves their attentions from me and become enraptured with each other. Within seconds, clothes are being ripped to shreds and the man moves to the floor to sit on his knees. He spreads his partner’s thighs and buries his face in her swollen sex.
I smell her and I lick my lips. I hear the sounds he makes and I imagine he’s sucking my clit instead of hers. I watch her face as pleasure paints her features and I want to finger fuck myself just so she and I can come together.
Lucifer grasps my shoulders, holding me back. “Eden, look at me. Focus on me.”
“I am,” I say, although it comes out as a whine.
“Do you know where you are?”
“Yes.”
“And do you know who I am?”
“Yes.”
Aurora stands, realizing that if she plans to escape with her head, now may be a good time to leave. But before she sashays away, she leaves us with a few parting words.
“She won’t do anything she doesn’t already want to do, Lucifer. Whatever she feels right now has been lying just beneath the surface, festering, probably driving her mad. And now…she’s free. Consider this my gift to you. You’re welcome.”
He sits there for a long beat, grasping my shoulders as a million different emotions are splayed on his usually impassive face. I know he’s disappointed in me. I know I’ll be disappointed in myself once Aurora’s magic wears off. But right now, my thoughts are singularly devoted to him and his hands on me.
His gaze roams my face, taking inventory of my glazed eyes, my lips parted just enough to taste the air between us on my tongue, my cheeks still warm from his touch. He looks at me as if he’s seeing me for the very first time. As if the girl I was before was merely a mirage and this version—this careless, sexual, confident creature—is the real me. The me he always wanted me to be.
“Take me,” I whisper, the words casting a spell of my own. “Take me home.”
Lucifer lowers his eyelids, letting my request worm its way inside him. He knows what I’m asking. And so do I.
He takes my hand and tugs me to my feet. The force of the pull combined with the shakiness of my legs causes me to collide into his chest, leaving only a breath between us. With his gaze crashing into mine and his hands gripping my waist to steady my body, I close the minute distance between us and kiss him.
And everything I had been holding back, every word I couldn’t say, every stolen glance and inadvertent touch, I surrender them all to his lips. My conception, my birth, my death, my rebirth…they all become his, as if every second I’ve spent on this earth was for the purpose of his tongue sliding against mine. As if I wasn’t created to solely be Uriel’s weapon against Legion.
I was created for him. For Lucifer.
A hazy memory invades the flashes of light and color behind my eyelids, tugging at me, begging me to remember.
…a child would reign in the underworld, conjuring up all the evils within and unleashing them on the earth. Wars would wage for thousands of years, bringing endless death and disease. All that is devious and malevolent would be celebrated while mercy would be extinct. The child would be evil incarnate, bearing the mark of the beast. The Antichrist.
I hear the words, but they don’t make sense. Not right now. Not anymore. Not with Lucifer holding me to his body, owning my mouth and infecting my soul.
The child would be evil incarnate, bearing the mark of the beast.
…the direct offspring of the one you call Master.
The words grow fainter, until they can no longer be heard. And when I finally find the strength to come up for oxygen, it has dissipated completely.
I put my hand in his, intertwining our fingers and smile lazily, drunk off the taste of him. My body is trembling and my head is leaden with longing, but within this tiny speck of time, my mind is crystal clear.
Tonight, I’m going to make a deal with the Devil. And his bargains are always absolute.