Page 48 of Hellfire & Bowties
Luc looked away again. “Because I am.”
He would have preferred falling into nothing. That would have been much kinder than the sharp stab of pain lancing right through his heart. Oren’s heart had always hurt. It always warned him when life was getting too much. Too hard.
He’d always thought when he died, he’d finally be free of such heartache.
Losing Luc felt worse than anything else. The pain was stronger than any other he had felt. Oren knew he had been steadily falling for Luc since the second he had seen him. He knew deep down that he was offering him his battered, bruised, unbeating heart, hoping Luc would keep it. Hoping he’d finally let it rest after a lifetime of strain and suffering.
It didn’t look like Luc wanted that.
He didn’t want Oren.
He pushed himself away from Luc and got up from the bed again on shaky legs that felt more incorporeal than he’d ever felt since he’d died. He turned his back to Luc, finding Beast looking at him with sad eyes. He padded over to Oren, leaving small scorch marks on the floor, the flaming head warming Oren’s thigh when it brushed against him.
It made Oren want to cry.
“Oren…” He heard Luc calling, but before he could respond, Beast growled at Luc, placing himself between Oren and Luc. “I wasn’t done.”
“Weren’t you?” Oren asked, some incredulity creeping alongside his pain and sadness. “It sounded pretty final to me. I don’t really need much more than you saying you want to break up.”
“I didn’t say Iwantto break up,” Luc said, and Oren whipped around to glare at him.
“Oh really?” Oren snarked. “We’re gonna get stuck on semantics here, huh? You didn’t want to, but someone forcedyou to do it? You, the devil, the actual ruler of Hell, were roped into doing something you don’t want to do?”
“You’re closer to the truth than you think,” Luc said, mouth pressed into an unhappy line. “I’m not being roped into anything. I’m just doing what’s right… for you.”
Oren puffed up his thin chest and squared his narrow shoulders against Luc.
“You’re getting dangerously close to ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ territory, and I heard it so many times while I was alive. If I hear it now, I swear to whoever I have to, I’ll pitch you into one of those holes you have scattered around this place.”
He bristled at the small smile Luc gave him.
“You can’t really lift me, hon.”
“I’ll get Kassel to do it for me,” Oren said, knowing what he was doing. He needed to see something from Luc. Needed to know he cared at least a little bit. “He likes me.”
“Kassel isn’t allowed close to you,” Luc growled, eyes blazing hot and possessive. Oren wanted to latch on to every bit of it and hold it close because it was the best he was getting.
“He is now,” Oren said, pushing harder on Luc’s buttons. He hoped they’d break. “You’re dumping me.”
“I’m not dumping you, Oren.”
“YOU LITERALLY JUST DID!” Oren screeched, flapping his hands around to try and get his frustration across. “What am I missing here, Luc? You say one thing but mean another—”
“I was in Heaven this morning. I had a meeting with the Big Guy.” Luc cut him off, and Oren slammed his mouth shut. “It was about you.”
“Me?”
Luc nodded, grimacing. “Turns out, you being here wasn’t a mistake. You were sent here. Because of me.”
Oren stared at Luc, not a single word coming from his mouth making any sort of sense. “I don’t follow.”
“He admitted he felt like I’ve been lonely for a long time now, and when you died, your soul felt like one I’d like,” Luc said, not meeting Oren’s gaze. “He sent you here so I could meet you. Because he thought I’d like you.”
Oren stared.
And stared some more.
A single giggle bubbled up.
