Page 68 of To Crave Madly
Close. I was so close. “Don’t stop,” I breathed.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
He slipped two fingers inside me so suddenly I cried out. “Lucifer!”
“That’s it, Lori. Come for me.”
And I did.
My entire body fractured as he sank his fingers into me. Past his knuckles. As far as he could. My back arched as pleasure flooded my body. My mouth dropped open on a scream as Lucifer pulled my release from me with his wicked hands.
“Oh, Lori…”he moaned. “Feeling you quiver around my fingers like that… Fuck. You’re exquisite.”
I felt his mouth on my skin, his lips were hot, and his breath fluttered against my neck. My head fell backwards and rested on the wall as tremors had my body shuddering in the aftermath. Lucifer trailed his hands lazily over my skin as I came down from the high he had so expertly wrung from me.
“I want more,” I moaned.
He groaned. A sound of pure need.“So do I. But you can’t come to the Under Realm until it’s safe.”
“And when will that be?” I couldn’t even hate how pathetic I sounded. I wanted him with a desperation that had me quaking with need.
“Soon. I need to know that you are safe. You are being safe, aren’t you?”
Well… I couldn’t lie to him. Maybe if I said it quick enough he would miss it?
“Lori?”
Ah shit. Best get it over with. Besides, it couldn’t be worse than what Jasper will do to me tomorrow whenhefound out.
Could it?
“I made Saskia take me out to Midnight Sin.” The words came out in a garbled rush but judging by the deathly silence from Lucifer, he’d understood every word. “Lucifer?”
“Just give me a minute. I don’t trust myself right now.”
He was always so quick to anger. His temper was fiery at the best of times, and I’d just given him one hell of a reason to be pissed. I’d known it was risky going out but, in my stupidity, I thought I’d be safe with my friends and Torsten. In the end, nothing disastrous had happened, unless you counted my interactions with Fenris and Cassian; they were definitely on the disastrous end of the spectrum. But it was still stupid to put my life, and my friends lives, at risk all for a bit of fun.
“I just wanted to breathe a little. I know it was stupid. Fenris and Cassian have already had a great delight in telling me how stupid it was, but I just wanted one night where I didn’t have to be on my guard all the time or worry if someone was going to attack me. I thought the club was a safe space to do that in.”
I heard Lucifer take a deep breath. I still couldn’t see him, but I could imagine the fire burning in his eyes and I could feel the way his skin heated against mine as his blood boiled with anger. I expected him to shout at me, to berate me for my foolishness. I didn’t expect the tender way he placed a kiss at my temple or the soft words he uttered.
“Lori, it is not my place to punish you for your actions. I cannot deny that I think they were foolish and stupid, and I am angry that you put not only your life but mine and those of your friends at risk.”
I cringed. If he came out with “I’m disappointed,” I thought I might just die of shame here on the spot. “I know. Believe me, I know.”
“But I can understand your need to be free, even if just for a moment. So, while I cannot agree your actions were sensible, I do understand them.”
Whoa. I was not expecting that. Who knew Lucifer was so full of surprises?
His arms wrapped tightly around me, and I leant back into his embrace, feeling for the first time like I wasn’t a walking disaster but rather a person who was truly cared for and viewed as an equal.
“Thank you,” I muttered, my bottom lip trembling with the effort to hold back the tears. I was suddenly so overcome with emotion that I couldn’t quite work out how I felt. All the emotions churned together like a swirling storm until I didn’t know which way was up anymore. The only thing grounding me from careening off into a seriously hot mess was Lucifer.
“What for?”he asked quietly.
“For seeing me.”
He pressed another kiss to my temple, and I cherished the simple gesture of affection.
