Page 2 of To Crave Madly
My hand flew through the air and collided with his cheek with a resounding slap. His head snapped to the side with the force of the impact.
“I suppose I deserved that,” he said, rubbing the side of his face that was now covered with a bright red handprint.
“You deserve more, and you know it.” I was struggling to keep a tight leash on the anger that was now bubbling hotly under my skin.
“That’s probably true,” he replied with a smug grin. He was enjoying this, and it was taking everything for me to not claw his bloody eyes out.
Claw his face off; it’s not that fucking pretty. I held back a snort at my demon’s petulant words. Lucifer’s head canted to one side as if sensing her presence. He stared deeper into my eyes as if looking for her lurking in the shadow of my soul.
“I can see you,” he crooned softly, his breath caressing my cheeks as he spoke. His eyes darkened as he leant closer and I could feel a tugging sensation deep in my chest.
Make him stop, Lori.Panic gripped my demon. I could tell Lucifer was trying to pull her to the surface kicking and screaming. Shit, this was not good.
Lori! Make it stop! It hurts!Her scream echoed in my mind as the tugging sensation increased. It spurred me into action, and I launched myself at Lucifer. I caught him off guard, breaking his concentration. My body slammed into his and we fell together to the floor. My demon’s screams subsided as Lucifer and I tussled on the floor. I’d managed to distract him from whatever he was doing, but he was more powerful than I was, and in seconds I was flat on my back with my arms pinned above my head being straddled by the Devil.
Well, that hadn’t gone as planned.
Lucifer tsked at me, amusement sparkling in his dark eyes as he hovered above me. We were so close our noses were almost touching. “You shouldn’t provoke me. I’m not one to be gentle.” His lips brushed mine as he spoke. Every word he uttered caressed them and made my pulse race.
Fear had blood coursing through my veins. Fear for what he might do to me, but also a fear of what Iwantedhim to do to me. My traitorous body was coming alive beneath him and I couldn’t stop the way my soul craved his wicked touch.
His finger found the rapid beat of my pulse and he tapped the soft skin of my wrist in time with the frantic beat of my heart. “Hmm, you like the sound of that. Is that what you want? Do you want me to be rough?”
I couldn’t trust myself to speak. I could barely get my lungs to take in oxygen, let alone force words from my mouth. I gave my head a small shake, knowing full well it was a complete lie.
I felt his lips pull into a broad smile against mine and he exhaled a soft moan against my mouth.
“I love it when you lie to me. They taste so fucking delicious.” He licked his lips and the tip of his tongue flicked against the seam of my mouth. Wetness pooled between my thighs as images of the things he might do to me flashed in my mind; my hair wound around his hand, my body naked and pinned beneath him as he took what he wanted. If he kissed me now, I’d be lost.
I couldn’t deny that I wanted him, that Icravedhim in a way that had my body begging for him. I could feel how much he wanted me through our bond. It throbbed with his desire to claim me, to torture me and make me beg for release. Oh, god. I needed to put some distance between us otherwise I was going to do something really stupid. Something that would involve much fewer clothes, and his naked body between my thighs as we--
“Are you going to make a habit out of killing my friends?”
He pulled back instantly. Sweet air filled my lungs and cleared the fog of desire from my brain.
You sure ruined that moment, my demon chided.
I scowled; bloody demon. Not even a thank you for saving her arse.
Lucifer stared at me from beneath a furrowed brow. “What do you mean? As far as I’m aware, I’ve only succumbed to that desire once.”
My mind flew back to the incident where Fenris and I had almost died. Flint, a thug who paraded his weight around the Conclave, had attacked Fenris and me with a couple of possessed men. They’d managed to null Fenris’ magic and that had led to him being horribly wounded. As a result of seeing my friend lying in a heap on the street I had gone feral. My Sin Reaper had taken over and destroyed Flint, I consumed his soul and left him to a fate worse than death. Without his soul, he just ceased to exist and in my rage, I’d condemned him to an eternity without rest. He’d be unable to move on. Unable to find peace.
At the time I’d assumed the attack was Lucifer because I hadn’t found out who Orion was. Now, I wasn't so sure.
“The attack in the alley. You sent Flint to abduct me and Fenris would have died if I hadn’t saved him. And then you had to save me…” My words trailed off. The sudden anger that gripped Lucifer had me stumbling over my words. He looked terrifying. At that moment, I could tell he ruled the Under Realm. He oozed power and rage and I pitied the soul who would be on the receiving end of that anger.
“That wasn’t me. I would never leave your abduction to anyone other than myself. No one gets to lay a hand on you but me.”
Ookay… possessive much?
He jumped off me and marched to the door, flinging it open with a snap that had the guard standing outside launching into a defensive stance, ready to face off an attacker. There was a quick interchange, which sounded more like growls on Lucifer’s part before the guard clicked his heels together sharply and headed down the corridor to carry out his master’s task.
Lucifer closed the door with a bang. His anger was getting the better of him and I wouldn’t put it past him to have a full-blown tantrum right now. He had already started pacing across the room and I suddenly feared for the furnishings from the way he was eyeballing them intently.
I hauled myself off the ground and placed myself in his path. His eyes met mine and I gasped. The ring of fire that usually flickered softly around the edges was now a roaring inferno that had consumed the black irises in his rage.
“I will have their heads for touching you.” His voice was bitter, and venom laced his words.
