Demon King

36

Lucifer helped me into my seat like a gentleman, letting his hand linger on my back for a moment, before he stepped behind the kitchen island. There he began to serve something on two dishes, while steam rose into the air. The tantalizing scent of herbs and tomatoes drifted toward me, increasing my hunger.

“You cooked?” I asked, unable to hide the surprise in my voice.

“I’m a man of many talents. As you’ll soon learn.”

He set down a steaming bowl of spaghetti and meatballs in front of me, then laid out some garlic bread and a side salad. Finally, he poured some sparkling water into my wine glass, before sitting across from me at the table. I wondered how many other women had ever been served food by the devil. Or been cooked their favorite meal by him.

“How did you know this was my favorite?” I asked, as I breathed in the scent before picking up my fork.

He gave me one of his devilish grins. “I have a whole file on you, my dear Hannah. You’d be amazed at how much one can find online.”

I flushed, thinking of him scouring my f*******: profile. That couldn’t be all of it though. He knew too much, things that he couldn’t have found from stalking me on the internet. Tonight I intended to get answers from him—after I bolstered my courage with some food.

My lips closed over my fork, and I moaned in delight. The sauce was perfectly spiced. Most people thought spaghetti was a little kid meal, but I didn’t care. It was my favorite, and this was sheer perfection. “Wow, this is amazing. Did you make the sauce yourself?”

“I did.” He arched a dark eyebrow. “Why are you surprised?”

I tore off a piece of garlic bread next. “I never thought you’d be the type to cook, let alone be a master chef.”

His eyes danced with amusement. “Well, I have had thousands of years of practice…”

I nearly choked on my garlic bread at his words.

Thousands. Of. Years.

Sometimes I forgot he was so old, and then he just sprung it on me in casual conversation like that.

He took a sip of red wine. “I’ll have you know I’m an expert chef of many cuisines, some of which you’ve never even heard of, since they’ve long faded from history.”

Another reminder of how ancient and unfathomable he was. Why would he be interested in a normal human like me?

While I was contemplating his immortality and my mortal existence, he asked, “How was your day? Has your friend recovered from her ordeal?”

“She seems a bit shaken by what happened, but she’s tough. She’ll get past this.” I twirled my spaghetti on my fork. “Although I think she has a thing for Asmodeus.”

“Who wouldn’t?” Lucifer smirked. “I’m lucky you haven’t met the man yet. Let’s just say he makes me look ugly.”

“I don’t think that’s possible,” I blurted out, then awkwardly changed the subject, answering his other question. “I think the spa day was exactly what she needed. Thank you again. For everything.”

He inclined his head. “It was nothing.”

“Did you learn anything about why she was kidn*pped?”

“No. Not yet. It seems there may be a rogue group of demons conspiring against me, but I don’t know who is leading them yet.” He stirred his glass, swirling his wine around. “Have no fear. It will all be dealt with soon.”

“Okay, it’s just…” I chewed my lip, summoning the courage to voice my thoughts out loud. “It’s going to sound crazy, but I’m starting to wonder if Brandy was brought to Las Vegas and kidn*pped on purpose to bring me here. To you.”

He pinned me with an intense stare. “Why would you think that?”

“It makes no sense otherwise. Why would someone set up a fake librarian conference to lure her here? And then there were those attacks on my life. I could have believed the roof attack was an accident, but there was nothing accidental about gargoyles coming after me. Or how I cut them down.” My hands trembled as I laid out all the thoughts that had been whirling around in my head over the last few days. “There’s something going on here, something you aren’t telling me. I think it’s connected to how I wielded your sword like some kind of ninja. And why I find you so familiar and…comfortable, even when I should find you terrifying. And why I always have horrible dreams full of death and violence, which have only gotten worse since I met you. I thought the dreams were related to the car accident when my parents died, but now? Now I don’t know.”

I fell silent, and my words seemed to echo between us as Lucifer gazed at me with an unreadable expression. The seconds ticked by, and neither of us moved, our food forgotten.

Finally, he sighed. “Oh, Hannah. Answering your questions is like opening Pandora’s box all over again. Once you learn these truths, there is no turning back from them. Are you sure you want to go down this path?”

I’d never been more certain of anything in my life. “I need to know.”

He nodded, his mouth twisting in a grimace. Then he rose to his feet, making me look up at his tall height. “Let’s adjourn to the other room for this conversation.”

I stood and he rested his hand on my lower back, the slight pressure sending heat between my thighs. Together we returned to the living room and I sank into one of the leather couches, while he perched beside me, his hand lingering on my knee.

“We’ve had this conversation hundreds of times, and yet it never gets any easier,” Lucifer mused to himself. “You’d think I would have a script by now, wouldn’t you?”

My brow furrowed. He wasn’t making any sense. “What do you mean?”

Lucifer took both my hands in his and gazed into my eyes. “I told you I once had a great love, but I lost her. That love was you.”

“Me?” I asked, even though his words rang with truth inside me. “Was it before the accident? Is that why I don’t remember you?”