Devilish Mate

21

Lucifer looked amused as he poured me a second drink. “Damien lives in Faerie and acts as a spy in High King Oberon’s court. We pretend to be estranged so Oberon will trust him, but he secretly reports back to me.”

“Sounds dangerous.” I bristled a little, wondering how he could put our son in such danger.

“It was his idea.” He lifted a shoulder in a casual shrug. “Damien can handle himself. We made sure of that.”

I stared into my glass, reminding myself that my sons were not boys anymore, but ancient, powerful men in their own right. How strange to realize your own children were older than you were—at least in this body.

“And Belial…” Lucifer finished his whiskey and slammed the glass down on the counter. “I don’t know where Belial is. We haven’t spoken in centuries.”

Centuries? How was that possible? I vaguely recalled that our eldest son had always had a difficult relationship with Lucifer, though the details were still fuzzy. I hoped more of them would come back to me soon. “And Kassiel? What’s he been doing all these years?”

“He’s been working as a spy among the angels for me for some time,” Lucifer said, practically swelling with pride for our son. “He recently helped take down a secret society of angels bent on sending all demons back to Hell permanently.”

A smile lit up my face upon hearing of our son’s accomplishments, but then it dropped when I remembered there should have been a fourth child. Our first and only daughter. I quickly looked away before the emotion could grab hold of me again.

Lucifer slowly walked around the bar, then put his arm around me, drawing me against him. “I know. I mourn her as well.”

I let him comfort me, putting my head on his chest as I thought about the little girl that should’ve been. The pain haunted me as if it had happened yesterday. When I looked up at Lucifer I sensed he felt the same grief, though he was much better at hiding it.

Unable to help myself, I reached up and touched his jaw, slowly rubbing my fingertips across the dark stubble. That light touch seemed to ignite something inside him, because his eyes suddenly blazed just before he lowered his head and pressed his lips to mine. Fire coursed through me as his mouth claimed me, reminding me he was my mate and we were meant to be together. That I was his, always his, for all eternity.

My body begged me to surrender, to lose myself in him, but somehow I managed to pull back. Our eyes met, and I felt short of breath, my blood racing with desire. Lucifer’s lips were parted slightly, practically demanding I kiss them again, and it took every ounce of willpower not to close the gap between us. The bond between us was strong, drawing us together at all times, and we’d been through so much together, it was natural for us to want to find comfort in each other again. But I wasn’t ready to be with him. Not yet. He still had a lot to answer for, and I still had to figure out who I was, both with and without Lucifer.

“I’m going to bed,” I said.

“Yes, you are,” Lucifer growled. “With me.”

I hated how sexy he was when he was arrogant and demanding, and I hated how much I desperately wanted to give in to him. But I wouldn’t. I refused. “Not a chance.”

The look he gave me was absolutely smoldering. “I’m tempted to haul you over my shoulder and carry you back to my bed, but I’ll give you tonight to rest. But that’s it. One night.”

Heat pooled between my thighs at his words, despite my objections. “And then?”

Darkness gathered around him as he gave me a villainous smile. “And then I’ll remind you that you’re mine.”

11

Hannah

T

he next day, Bastien joined me just after breakfast to begin my training, and I suggested we head outside onto the balcony since it was such a nice day. You’d never know it was November in Las Vegas, with those perfect blue skies and the warm breeze. My angelic side wanted to let my wings out and preen in the sun like a bird, but I restrained myself.

We took seats at a table near the infinity pool, with a view of the famous Vegas Strip below us. Bastien’s sharp eyes focused on me, and I had a feeling he never missed anything. “We’re going to start by learning about auras,” he said. “In your position you’ll need to be able to discern truth.”

I nodded, eager to learn—or remember, rather. “I can already tell if someone is lying. Even when I was a human I...felt things. Like a gut instinct. I just didn’t know what it was then.”

“That was your Ofanim powers coming through even though they were suppressed. Now you must do it with intention. Viewing auras allows you to see the truth about someone even if they don’t speak. Do you remember how to see them?”

I filtered through my memories, but nothing came to mind. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, but I shook my head as frustration prickled through each of my nerves. “No, I can’t seem to bring the ability to mind.” “That’s understandable after what you’ve been through. The memories you’ve lost and regained.” His voice was calm and level, like a professor giving a lecture. “When I look at someone’s aura, it’s like instead of smelling or tasting, there’s another sense. You simply need to turn that sense on.”

“But how?”