Page 28 of Midnight with the Devil

“Grace is a purity of purpose, holiness, peace, and unity with everything around you. When you lose your grace, you feel an invisible weight pressing down on you, a hollowness. Each angel describes it differently. For me it’s like an ache, one so deep, so embedded inside me it will never be eased.” He moved his hand on the glass and the fish responded, trailing behind him. Diana tilted back her Bay Breeze, finishing it before she slipped off the chair and knelt on the glass beside him. She placed one palm on the glass beside his, their pinky fingers almost touching.

“They like you,” she noted. “My cat definitely doesn’t.”

“You sound surprised.” Lucien chuckled. The sound was rich and dark. It sent delicious shivers down her spine.

“In the movies animals always seem to sense evil, but you aren’t…not in the traditional sense.” She couldn’t quite explain what she was trying to say.

Lucien moved his hand, lifting it so he could trail a fingertip over the back of hers. She didn’t pull away. It felt nice, and little flares of heat built in her belly at that seductive little caress.

“Most animals like me, except for dogs. They’re too loyal to humans. Cats, though…” He grinned as she glanced his way. “Cats make up their own minds. Some like me fine, while others despise me. Unless I’m in a devil rage and wreaking havoc in nature, which I don’t do much if at all, most animals usually don’t mind me. They know on an instinctive level that I have no stake in their survival. I don’t despise them the way I do humans.”

She didn’t address the comment about him despising humans. “You have a truce with animals?”

“Yes, that’s a good way to put it.”

He continued to caress her hand. She let him. Diana knew she didn’t have much of a choice, and another part of her liked it like far too much. Whenever he touched her, that dark little whisper in the back of her head seemed to get louder.

“Did you get enough to eat? I confess I don’t know much about mortal physiology.”

“Yes, it was perfect. Thank you.”

“Good.” He stood and held out a hand to her. “I think it’s time you explore the contents of your box tonight.” She accepted his hand, and he led her from the hut. But her heart was pounding hard now, and her blood roared in her ears. Theinevitablehad arrived.

“What about the dishes? We—”

Lucien snapped his fingers, and the dishes on the tiki hut’s floor vanished.

“Well that’s convenient.” So much for using the dishes to slow him down a bit.

He smiled at her, and this time the expression was the wicked one she was used to.

“The devildoesn’t do dishes,” he replied airily, but his lips twitched.

“Ha ha,” she replied sarcastically, but she couldn’t deny that tonight had been amazing so far. This place, this paradise was like something out of an expensive travel magazine. Each time she came to him, he continued to surprise her. And he wasn’t scaring her, not like he had the first night. She could almost forget who he really was.Almost.

When they got back to the villa, he handed her the box and she opened it, her hands trembling a little. Inside was a red bikini. It looked more like a collection of straps than an actual bathing suit.

“I…” She swallowed hard and glanced at Lucien. How the hell was she supposed to put this thing on? Where did her butt go versus her breasts?

“Does this come with an instruction manual?” she asked, frowning. Maybe he’d snap his fingers and give her a more sensible suit.

“You’re a smart girl—you can figure it out. Or else I imagine I’ll be seeing more of you than the suit intends.”

His dark eyes were no longer sweet, nor was he smiling.

“I’ll grab some towels. Meet me at the pool in a few minutes.” He turned and walked away.

“Okay.” She exhaled slowly, removed the swimsuit from the box, and located a bathroom on the first floor. She slipped on the suit, wincing at her curvy figure in the revealing suit. Her breasts felt as if they would pop out of the tiny cups that held them. And her ass was basically falling out of the cheeky-style bottoms.

She exited the bathroom, padding toward the door that led to the pool deck. She crossed her arms over her body protectively when she went outside.

The night air was humid, and crickets hummed in the foliage of the elaborate garden beds. The heavy aroma of gardenias clung to her, but she found she liked it. The white blooms lining the path to the pool seemed to almost glow beneath the moonlight. Diana froze when she reached the pool. Moments ago the pool had been clear, but now there were dozens of floating candles lazily drifting along the top.

Lucien stood by the deep end of the pool, wearing nothing but a pair of black trunks. His bare chest was sculpted to perfection, with broad shoulders tapering to a trim waist. She couldn’t help but admire the real beauty of his body. He suddenly dove into the deep end, barely making any splash as he knifed through the water. She leaned over the pool’s edge, watching his body glide beneath the surface. And that’s when she saw two jagged scars running just along the edges of his shoulder blades.

“When an archangel goes dark, their wings are ripped from them during the fall.”

She clenched her arms tighter around herself as she imagined the agony he must have felt. Those scars had to be the remnants of the most horrific pain someone could go through. Just looking at Lucien’s back made her hurt with sympathy.

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