For a few seconds I simply stared at her, watching her breathe. She wore another of those slinky little nightgowns we’d bought yesterday, and it showed off every curve of her body. Her golden hair draped down her shoulders, and one of her hands was reaching out, like it was searching for me. Intense longing to claim her ran through me, but I pushed it down, back into its dark depths.
I sat gingerly beside her and rested my hand on her shoulder, needing to feel her soft skin, to confirm she was alive. I didn’t intend on waking her, but the moment I touched her, her eyes popped open and she sat straight up, like she was ready to bolt.
Tension left her the second she saw me. “Lucifer?”
I kept my hand on her shoulder, hoping to keep her calm. “It’s okay. I’m here. Brandy’s safe.”
Hannah surprised me by throwing her arms around me and letting out what sounded like a relieved sob. “She’s okay? Really?”
I held her close against me, savoring the feel of her in my arms once more. Where she belonged. “Of course she is. I promised, didn’t I?”
“Thank you.” She slowly sat back and wiped tears from her eyes. “Where is she?”
“She’s in a suite here at the hotel, with a human doctor tending to her, along with plenty of food and plenty of armed bodyguards. I’m having some clothes brought up for her too, and I sent someone to let her family know she’s all right.”
“You did all that?” Hannah asked, tilting her head as she studied me.
“It’s the least I could do. She was kidnapped from my hotel, after all.”
“Can I see her?”
I shook my head. “Your friend has been through a traumatic experience and is exhausted. Right now she needs sleep more than anything.” Her shoulders slumped in disappointment and I quickly added, “However, I booked you both a spa day tomorrow. A slothful day, if you will.”
“A spa day sounds good.” Her eyes focused on my white shirt, and she reached out to touch a spot on it, her palms resting against my chest. “Are you bleeding?”
My muscles clenched under her touch. “I’m fine. It’s not my blood.”
“I guess tonight was wrath.” Her words were barely above a whisper and she looked away, her face twisting to a grimace. “For both of us.”
I sensed the turmoil inside her and guessed it had something to do with the attack. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”
She looked at me with wide, shocked eyes. “These…gargoyles flew in and attacked us. Zel fought them off, but there were so many of them. I ran to the library and got that sword off the wall, and it was like I’d been trained in how to use it. My body moved and worked on its own, without me controlling it. It was like…” She hesitated and frowned. “Muscle memory or something.”
She looked at her hands, shocked and maybe a little excited. Of course, there was no mystery as to how this had happened, her being able to handle a sword. Not for me, anyway. But was it the right time to tell her?
“Perhaps you tapped into some deeply repressed memory?” I suggested, hoping my words might create some recognition.
“Maybe,” she murmured, but nothing changed in her expression.
“That sword was mine when I was in the Angelic Army, created to cut through demons using heavenly light. Few others can wield it without it burning them.” I reached up and stroked her cheek softly. “I’m glad it protected you tonight.”
One bare shoulder lifted in a shrug. “Zel did most of the hard work.”
“From what she said, it sounded like you held your own against them.” I slid my fingers into her soft, golden hair. “Are you all right? You weren’t injured?”
“I’m okay. Physically anyway. Emotionally… I’m pretty shaken up.” She drew in a long breath, but then smiled weakly at me. “At least Brandy is okay. I’m so grateful to you for everything you’ve done for her. And for me.”
“It’s my pleasure and my duty.” The way she looked at me made my chest tighten with longing. “I would do anything for you.”
She raised her eyebrows at that. “Maybe the devil isn’t the bad guy everyone thinks he is.”
I laughed darkly. “I assure you, I’m every bit the villain they think I am.”
“I don’t think that’s true.”
“Shall I prove my point?”
I took her chin in my hand and turned her head to the side, then leaned in close, breathing in her sweet scent. I wanted to fill my lungs with her, to drink her in until she suffused my empty, dark heart with her light. My soul ached to consume her, but it settled for me pressing my mouth to the spot just below her ear. The slight taste wasn’t nearly enough to sate me, especially when I felt her pulse race faster and her breathing grow shallower. Was she growing wet for me? Did she crave me as much as I craved her?
I ran my thumb across her soft lips, imagining them wrapped around my cock or shouting my name as she came. Her eyes fluttered shut at my light touch, her breasts rising and falling in time with her heavy breathing, her nipples straining against the thin fabric of her nightgown. My mouth trailed down her neck ever so slowly and she arched her back toward me, unable to help herself.
“Lucifer,” she gasped softly as my lips reached the curve of her neck. Her fingers grasped my shirt, digging into my arms, though not to stop me, but to pull me closer. Her desperate need matched my own, and a low groan of masculine satisfaction hummed deep in my throat. This woman would be my undoing and my absolution, as she always was.
I turned her face toward me and met her eyes, then captured her lips and claimed the kiss I’d long awaited. For years I’d dreamed of
