Page 65 of Not Today, Satan
Taking a trembling step, I jab the point of the sword into his skin and speak through gritted teeth. “No,whatareyou? You’re not human.”
“What?” His face scrunches, and he presses his back into the chair. “Dev, I don’t know what you’re talking about. But please, you’re scaring me and hurting me. Lower the sword and we can talk.”
I release some of the pressure of my sword from against his throat and study his face. He seems truthful, the same Nate who’s been beside me this entire journey. But none of this makes any sense.
“I saw your life,” I whisper. “Parts of it. Every good thing you’ve done, flashing in front of my eyes like I was there. I’m not supposed to see these things, Nate. How did you do that?”
“I didn’t do anything, I swear. Maybe it’s part of your abilities. They’ve gotten stronger since we left. Your wings are bigger, you’re chucking fireballs like a champ. The night I came to your room, you told me you weren’t good at the sight thing. Maybe that’s gotten easier, too.”
“Maybe.” I drum my fingers against my thigh, breathing heavily. He has a point. There are things I can do now that I couldn’t even a month ago.
Nate presses his palms over the sides of my blade and looks up at me. “Dev, I don’t know why this is happening, but I promise you I’m nothing special. Just a bounced-around foster kid who landed himself in Hell for a crime he didn’t commit.”
He has no reason to lie, and he seems as surprised about this as I am. I’ve trusted him this far, and he hasn’t let me down.
I lower the sword.
“I’m so confused,” I say, dropping onto the edge of the mattress. “I never imagined I’d be here with you, much less kissing you. None of this is going as planned.”
Nate stands and slides the sword from my fingers, placing it on the bedside table before sitting beside me on the bed. “Trust me when I say that zero of this is what I had planned for my life—or death—but even you have to admit it wasn’t half bad.”
I raise my eyebrows, and the back of my neck heats. “Halfbad? I know I don’t have a lot of human kissing experience—or any kissing experience—but I personally thought it was pretty decent.”
He places a hand on my knee and gives me a small smile. “That’s not what I meant. The kissing was good. Amazing, even. I just could’ve done without you freaking out and stabbing me.”
“Oh.” Cupping his chin, I frown at the drop of blood easing down his neck. I use the towel from the floor to dab it until the bleeding stops, unable to look up at him. Maybe the mirrors were right. I’m destined to hurt him. “I’m sorry, Nate. All of this is so new, and I panicked. But I promise it wasn’t the kiss. It was the images it brought with it.”
“Maybe that means we need to see if it happens again.” He takes the towel from me and drops it on the floor before caressing my cheek. “You know, for science.”
Pulling away, I stare at him, baffled. “Why in the world would you want to try that again? You ended up with a hole in your body last time.”
He shrugs. “Maybe I’m a glutton for punishment. I mean, not what you people dole out in Lot Thirteen—but kissing you, I can do.”
My cheeks flush, and I pluck at an invisible fuzz on my dress. He has a point. I should know if this is something that’s going to happen every time I kiss someone. Not that I have many kisses planned in the future, but it could happen.
I close my eyes and sigh. “Are you sure?”
“The surest.”
When our lips meet this time, I tense my shoulders against the impending visions, but all I feel are flutters in my stomach when he scoots closer.
He breaks the kiss and stares into my eyes. “Anything?”
I brace for the images to return, but my head remains quiet, save for the pounding of my own blood against my ears. I peer up at him from under my eyelashes. “Nothing. Let’s try that again. Longer, maybe. For science, like you said.”
“I can do that.”
He grins, then kisses me, slow and soft. My entire body vibrates as he pulls me closer and wraps his arms around my waist. I tangle my fingers in his hair and skim the back of his neck with my nails, delighting when he moans into my mouth in appreciation.
My body relaxes the longer we kiss. His hands roam over my dress, then under it, but the visions never return. At some point, pieces of our clothing join the towel on the floor.
By the time we fall back onto the bed together, I’ve forgotten the visions existed.
XXX.
We stay in bed until the sun’s gone down and risen again, exploring each other with our hands and mouths, stopping only to talk about things that both matter and don’t. I tell him about growing up in Dominus, and he tells me more about California and the humans he once called family.
“We could stay here,” Nate says as I rest on his bare chest, my wings encircling us like a blanket as we catch our breath. The fire died ages ago, but neither of us bothered to point it out. It’s warm enough with our bodies pressed together and our arms around each other. “This is now not only my favorite place in Hell, but on Earth, too. I’m going to go out on a limb and say it beats the whole universe.”
