Page 15 of Undesirable
Lire blinked. “What did you do?”
“You’re no longer a nope rope.”
A laugh burst from Frost at the human joke about venomous snakes.
Lucifer realized he felt worlds better.
Lire stilllooked confused.
Lucifer sighed. “You can now touch people without infecting them.”
He licked his lips, looking nervous. “Are you serious? I mean, I’ve been able to touch my mates for a while now, but no one else. Are you serious?”
Lucifer’s attention was fully invested. The attack on his blood was all but forgotten. “How? How are you able to touch anyone?” If there was a loophole, Lucifer needed to know it.
Lire’s expression snapped closed. “At great sacrifice to someone who didn’t deserve it after years of torment at the hands of one of yours.”
Tamil. That explained the lingering poison Lucifer had destroyed in his blood. It seemed he should make an effort toget to know this nephew. He had missed some things while dealing with his own drama. Lucifer felt better by the second now. He could take on anything. But bonding with a new to him family member had to wait. First, he had to save his relationship with Riku. That was one battle he already felt doomed to lose.
Chapter Six
Rikuhadn’tgonefar.At first, he had simply moved to the couch in the sitting room and tried to deal. When he couldn’t stand the sound of Brownie licking Yuri any longer—they sounded like they enjoyed the experience way too much—he moved to sit on the floor outside their bedroom door. He listened to Lucifer’s story and the cadence of his voice. With every word, his chest hurt more. Lucifer had been Riku’s creator’s lover. Riku was a product of the hatred left over from infidelity. His entire purpose was to destroy Lucifer. He wouldnever again get to sink his fangs into the man he loved, and his hopes of Lucifer ever loving him in return died a fiery death. It was no wonder Lucifer had resented their pairing. Why had Celeste done this cruel thing? He understood the banishment. The other gods would rip Lucifer to pieces for being an abomination. It was one thing for Celeste to create vampires for fun. Those were easily destroyed. Toys on a chessboard. But a vampire god? That was powerful and dangerous. Only his containment would appease them if they couldn’t have his head. Of course, Celeste would do the only thing she could to save him, but why Riku?
Why would she pair Lucifer with the weapon created to destroy him? He didn’t understand.However, he fully understood all the implications. They were doomed to half-lives. It was like they were meant to always have everything be just out of reach. Just like every time they had made love or been on the verge of it, something went wrong. Their problems always got in the way somehow. This would never be a proper union.
Riku didn’t even feel the tears running down his face until Lucifer appeared and wiped them away. He plucked Riku from the floor and headed back to bed.
“Until you make your run for it, you’ll still sleep with me.”
Riku felt lifeless in Lucifer’s arms as Lucifer tucked him into bed and then curled himself around him. His wings appeared. One draped over them.
“It’s a real pain in the ass to always keep them put away.”
“You shouldn’t. I’ve always loved them.” He stroked the feathers covering his body.
A soft moan escaped Lucifer. “Don’t start something you don’t intend to finish. I can take a lot of punishment, but we’ve been interrupted a lot lately.”
Riku stroked the wing again. “Does that seriously turn you on?”
“Fuck.” Lucifer dragged out the word, sounding on the edge of orgasm.
Riku risked a peek into his mind. A wave of lust nearly choked him. Disappointment hit Riku just as strongly. “I’m sorry you were cursed to a half-life with me. You’ll never get to have thatconnection of me biting you, the way other mates have. Everything has just been so fucking unfair from day one with us. When I came here, I really thought everything would be okay.”
Lucifer shoved his hand beneath Riku’s shirt and rubbed his stomach. “Say you don’t hate me, and everything will be okay.”
That confused the fuck out of Riku. “Why would I hate you? You did nothing wrong. Not to me, anyhow.”
“I didn’t tell you about my curse. You didn’t sign up for that.”
“Neither of us signed up for anything. You didn’t ask to be what you are. I didn’t ask to be what I am. We didn’t ask to be put together. Ican never bite you.” The defeat in Riku’s voice echoed the pain in his soul. Mating was a very primal thing. This was forever, which was a damn long time when a person couldn’t die. They would always be missing something.
“I would, though.”
Riku blinked at Lucifer’s random comment. “You would what?”
“I’d ask for you.” Lucifer rolled, bringing Riku with him until Riku straddled his body. The move proved his energy level matched the exhaustion in his voice. He couldn’t even be the one doing the holding. He wrapped his arms around Riku as Riku pressed his ear against Lucifer’s chest.
Lucifer kept going. “If we were human, and just got to choose, I still would’ve crossed that club the other night. I still would’ve watched you all night and then shared every slow dance before going home with you. You’d never have peace with me stalking you. Nothing would be different about the way I feel.”
