Chapter 48

Lucifer

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d held a woman in my arms. For years, sex had been about finding release and nothing more. I’d definitely gotten that with Beatrice—five times. The woman was an amazing lover. There was more to it with Beatrice. I enjoyed holding her, talking to her, and simply listening to her breathe as she slept.

“What are you thinking about?” she mumbled sleepily.

“How much I love watching you sleep,” I confessed.

“You weren’t really thinking anything that sappy, were you?” she asked.

I chuckled. “No, I was actually thinking about how much I like listening to you breathe as you sleep. I’m not sure that’s any less sappy.”

“That is creepy, not sappy,” she replied. “I guess it’s a good thing you’re good in bed. If not, I probably wouldn’t put up with your disturbing interest with my sleep habits.”

“I’m glad you’re here,” I admitted. “Even though the circumstances aren’t the best, I’m still glad you’re here with me.”

“We need to discuss how this is going to work,” she began. “Who knows how long I’ll be here.”

I wanted to shout forever, but I exercised restraint. “Don’t tell me you already want to leave.”

“Stop pretending you need me to stroke your fragile ego,” she replied, giving my chest a playful swat. “We both know you aren’t lacking in confidence. I know you were worried about me giving you a chance because of who you are, but I’ve obviously agreed to give you that chance. That does not mean I’m not still mad at you for lying to me. You need to prove that won’t happen again before I forgive you.”

“Have I done a good job of making you want to stay so far?” I asked, pulling her on top of my chest.

Beatrice giggled and squirmed on top of me. “You already know you’re phenomenal in bed.”

“Phenomenal?” I asked with a grin. “Not just good. I’m phenomenal.”

“Again, I’m not stroking your ego anymore,” she reminded me.

I decided against pointing out that she’d stroked my ego by telling me I was phenomenal in bed.

“I’m serious about us needing to talk about how long I’ll be here,” she told me.

With a sigh, I let her slide off my chest. If she kept wiggling around, the only discussion we’d be having was how hard she wanted me to fuck her. That happened to be one of my favorite subjects, but Beatrice seemed determined to focus on one of my least. “You’ve been here less than a day. Why are you already talking about leaving?”

“I’m not talking about leaving, but I’m not exactly moving in with you,” she pointed out. “This is a temporary situation to keep me safe.”

Not if I had anything to say about it. “You might change your mind.”

“I might,” she agreed. “These sheets are incredible.” With a sigh, she stroked the top sheet. “I’m not sure I could leave them.”

“I’m suddenly jealous of my sheets,” I muttered.

“There’s also my job to consider,” she reminded me. “I have patients who are counting on me. I can’t stay here for more than a few days. At the very least, I’ll need to leave for my appointments.”

“Surely, you can take time off,” I argued. “You’re in danger.”

“You’re right,” she replied. “I mean you’re right about the danger. I can’t take time off. My patients need me. You said it yourself, I have a unique talent.”

“Beatrice,” I began, trying to sound patient. “Your brother is extremely dangerous, and he blames you for his time in Hell.”

“I know,” she relented. “I still can’t abandon my patients. We have no clue how long it will be before my brother is captured. Am I supposed to give up my job? I can’t do that. I don’t want to do that.”

Beatrice wasn’t going to give up her patients, and I wasn’t sure I really wanted her to. While it would be nice to keep her safely tucked away in my home, this was part of who she was. I didn’t want to change Beatrice.

“We’ll figure something out,” I assured her. “We should head down for breakfast.”

“Good idea,” she agreed. “Who knows what sort of mischief Persephone will get into if she’s left unsupervised in the demon realm.”

I might have laughed if that image didn’t frighten me a little. “I told Hades who she is.”

“Why?” she asked, sitting up and glaring at me. “You’re the one who said he’d try to kidnap her if he knew.”

“He guessed,” I explained.

“They did have an intense reaction to each other,” Beatrice said thoughtfully.

“Yes, it was unexpected,” I replied. “Hades has agreed to stay away from Persephone, at least, until we deal with your brother.”

“That’s surprising,” she mused as she stood and stretched.

I was tempted to drag her back to bed. Instead, I focused on Hades, something sure to keep my dick under control.

“I agree that his behavior is strange,” I began. “Why don’t you shower while I order breakfast?”

“You don’t cook?” she asked. “Didn’t you offer to cook dinner for me before?”

“I can cook,” I replied.

“Right,” she began on the way to the bathroom. “The Lord of Hell doesn’t have to cook.”

I chuckled and dressed before heading downstairs to arrange breakfast. While I could cook, I’d decided that traditional demon realm food wasn’t the way to win Beatrice over. Things were going well, but I still needed to convince her to stay with me even when the danger to her passed.

Piece of cake.