His forefinger on his left hand curled over her pinkie finger. The gesture was almost her complete undoing. She turned her face towards where his was resting on her shoulder. His dark eyes glittered in the light.
“Lucifer…”
“Yes?”
“Is this just about breaking me or is there more to it?”
“Who said anything about breaking?”
“Answer the question.”
He grinned, running the tip of his tongue over his bottom lip. It made her want to kiss him. She shifted, turning around in his embrace. She was still stuck between him and the desk. He stared down at her, eyes questioning.
She reached up, curling her hand around the back of his neck before pulling him towards her. The kiss was soft, tentative and almost gentle. It was a far cry from the brutal way they’d kissed each other before. One hand curled around her back, the other was in her hair, cradling her face.
How can he be so tender now after what happened between us?
It made her heart ache. She hadn’t expected Lucifer to be gentle at all. He pulled away, resting his forehead against hers.
“Do you think me incapable of treating you with care?”
“You heard that?”
“Hmm, I think kissing you allows me to.”
Well, that’s just great. How am I going to control my thoughts when he kisses me? Fuck. Why am I even thinking about kissing him again?
It was a mistake. She knew it was, but she couldn’t bring herself to deny she wanted him kissing her. She wanted that gentleness and yet she wanted all his brutality too.
“You still haven’t answered my question.”
“Question?”
“Don’t try and play coy with me now. You know what I asked you.”
He smiled. It was deadly. His thumb ran over her swollen bottom lip. It was still a little sensitive from when he’d bitten her. She hadn’t forgiven him for doing that.
He punished me and fuck, do I want him to continue to do so, again and again.
“I’m not just going to break you,” he whispered. “I’m going to ruin you completely.”
Chapter Six
The words played over and over in her head.
I’m going to ruin you completely.
They’d been on a loop for days. It wasn’t like time passed here in the same way, but she still tried to count the number of days she’d been in Hell. Two and a half weeks almost.
Despite their strained relationship, she was sure her father would be concerned she’d disappeared without a trace. Would Jax have told him? Surely her best friend wouldn’t keep her father in the dark. She didn’t really know whether or not Jax had known he’d sent her to Hell. She didn’t want to doubt her best friend, but something had been off that night.
When he’d created the portal, he’d grabbed hold of her, his eyes wild with fear, concern. He was almost frantic.
“Go, Cadmi. Go. You know as well as I do what will happen if you don’t leave.”
He’d thrown her head first without giving her a chance to respond. And she’d ended up here, on top of the man who haunted her every waking moment.
And everything seems to always come back to him. Damn it.
He hadn’t come near her since that day, yet again keeping his distance. He was toying with her. She knew it. And she was falling headlong into his trap regardless.
Cursing herself, she rolled out of bed and got dressed. She was going to do something productive today. She’d managed to convince Mall to allow her to help with their research into how to get around Hell’s new rules. She grabbed breakfast before following the directions the succubus had given her.
“Down the hall, through the last door on the right,” she muttered to herself.
Knowing she would be in for a heck of a talking to if she took a wrong turn, she carefully turned the handle on the door. Mall sat behind a desk, tapping away on a laptop. The room was decorated in varying shades of purple. She looked up when Candace stepped in.
“Did you sleep well?” she asked.
“Um, yes, thanks,” Candace replied.
Mall stood, coming around her desk. She pointed to the other desk in the room.
“You can work with me here. Perhaps a fresh set of eyes will help.”
Candace sat down at the desk she indicated. Mall walked over and leant towards her, pointing at the laptop.
“I’ve provided you with my notes. You’ll see I have marked several books as being relevant, but I have not yet had a chance to ask my Lord for them. They are in his private collection.”
“You mean in his bedroom?”
“Yes, which you have access to.”
Candace almost choked. It brought back memories of what Lucifer had done to her only days ago against his desk.
I’m going to ruin you completely.
Her face felt like it was on fire.
“So, um, you want me to go through them?”
“After you’ve made yourself familiar with where we are, yes. This is not an easy task. We have been working for quite a while and yet we are still no further forward.”
“I see.”
“Please let me know if you have questions.”
Mall turned away and went back to her desk. Candace stared at the screen for a moment.
I’m going to ruin you completely.
She had to damn well stop thinking about that. Had to stop thinking about how much she wanted to march into his throne room, get down on her knees and beg him. Beg him to end her suffering. The suffering he’d brought on after that damn day he’d kissed her. After their explosive argument had boiled over. After he’d touched her in ways she’d swore she’d never let
