Page 30 of Malice
Sincerity bled through every word each of them spoke.
Sin locked gazes with me, truth shining in his eyes. “What we’re trying to say is, you’re so much more than an assignment to us. Help us save the world, kitten, and let us show you how important you are to us.”
Ugh, the handsome incubus was really good at making my heart fluttery and warm. Did I want to bear the antichrist for Lucifer? Fuck no. But did I really want a baby with anyone? Glancing around the room at the four handsome men who I’dbuilt a really fucking complicated dynamic with, I realized I wasn’t totally against one of them giving me a baby. Perhaps building a post-apocalyptic family wasn’t the greatest idea. Maybe we waited until the world settled back down and, you know, the sky wasn’t on fire?
“You can ask your questions, wildflower. We’ll answer all of them,” Grim said, his voice soft.
“Just give her space to process,” Malice interjected. “She’ll ask her questions when she’s ready.”
There was something about the combination of those two offers that meant more to me than anything else they’d said so far. The first, the assurance that they weren’t going to try to hide anything from me any longer, and the second, that they would sit here with me in silence if I needed, just so I’d know that I wasn’t in this alone. It showed how closely they paid attention to me, how in tune they were with my needs. A man who wanted to control me would have barreled right through my hesitation and focused solely on his agenda. That wasn’t them. They wanted—no,needed—my trust. To be fair, that’s probably why they never mentioned this to begin with. They were hoping the situation would resolve itself as a matter of course and it wouldn’t be something we had to stress over.
“Question,” I said, eyes locking on Grim.
“Ask away.”
“Why do you have to get me pregnant? Why not just keep me out of Lucifer’s clutches and call it good?”
“If he manages to sire your firstborn, it will be the end of the world as we know it. Period. It doesn’t matter if it’s now or ten years for now.”
“So we could stop all of this for nothing if he somehow found his way to me after and...” I trailed off as the weight of that settled in my chest and shoulders.
“You’d never be safe,” Chaos affirmed.
I swallowed hard past the lump in my throat. In hiding from the Prince of Darkness for the rest of my life?
“We don’t have to do this if you truly don’t want a child, Merri. We can protect you from him and hide you as long as we need to, but not without great risk.”
“What kind of life would that be?” Sin asked, surprising me with the gravity of his tone.
“And that’s assuming we can stay a step ahead of Lucifer. With each Prince he collects, his power grows. We are already outnumbered. It’s just a matter of time before the tides turn,” Malice said, his eyes locked on mine.
“And we cannot forget the final battle.”
“Battle?” I asked, turning to look at Grim. The shadow beneath his feet seemed to be... writhing. Tapping back into my power, I sent a little probe his way and was immediately struck by the strength of his agitation. I’d have never sensed it from his facial expressions or body language, but the rippling darkness was definitely a tell. Yet another fact for me to tuck away to examine later.
“If he doesn’t get his antichrist, he will still fight to rule the earth.”
“An epic battle between heaven and hell. One we will fight to the death,” Sin added.
“But you can’t die.” My voice was sure and strong, but my confidence wavered.
“We are immortal, yes, but in a war between celestial bodies, nothing is certain,” Chaos grumbled.
A heavy breath escaped me. My choice was really no choice at all. Let them knock me up and potentially save the world, or bury my head in the sand and let the devil win. I couldn’t even picture a scenario where I’d willingly allow him to fuck me. I didn’t even know what the dude looked like, but the red horns and tail of it all was enough to put me off the idea. I shuddered, my eyestaking in the men positioned around me. Not a horn or forked tail in sight. Maybe there was a bright side here. I mean, how many people got to fuck some of the hottest beings in existence as a literal part of the resistance?
“Talk about fuck or die,” I muttered.
“What a great trope,” Sin said, a sly grin on his face.
With a sigh, I sat up a little straighter and looked directly at Chaos. The man had a breeding kink he didn’t even try to hide. I wanted to be looking into his eyes when I told him he could try to put a baby in me.
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
His eyes flashed with molten lust for a moment. All I felt in his mind was a mixture of arousal and concern for me. “Are you sure?”
If I wasn't, his asking would have sealed the deal. Any lingering doubts I had about being able to trust them faded. They could have tried to gaslight me or deny their mission, but they hadn’t. Not even a little. Now, more than ever, it felt like the five of us were all on the same page.
“Did I stutter, Chaos? You four want to beat Lucifer to the punch. I want to keep the world spinning. It looks like this is our path to both those things, though again, I can’t promise we’ll be successful.”
