Page 88 of To Crave Madly
I cast my eyes over Lucifer’s shoulder and found the greenest eyes I’d ever seen. I was instantly mesmerised by their beauty. Surely such a colour didn’t exist. It was far too magnificent, far too rich to sit in the eyes of a human. They had a deep, penetrating gaze that I could feel staring into my very core. I had a sudden worry that he was seeing me all the way to my soul, and he would find me wanting.
“Lori, this is my brother, Michael.”
I blinked to try and clear the fog from my brain. Michael? “As in the archangel Michael?”
“The very same. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lori.” He stepped forward to stand next to his brother and, oh lord, did my stomach flutter. What a beautiful pair they made. They could easily have passed for twins, but I knew Lucifer was the eldest. He was the firstborn, the original angel and the favourite one. Until he fell, of course.
“Is it common for archangels to visit the Under Realm?” I asked curiously.
“No, but there are some exceptional circumstances that brought me here.”
Sweet Lord, his voice was melodious. I was finding it hard to concentrate. My entire body was gravitating towards him, like something was tugging a spot behind my solar plexus. I needed to be closer. To breathe the same air as him.
Michael smiled down at me and it was heavenly.
Whoa.
Somehow, my legs had moved without me realising and I was standing right in front of him and staring up at him like I was smitten.
“Lori?” Lucifer’s voice cut through the haze in my brain like a knife, severing whatever force Michael was using to lure me to him.
“Hmm, yes?” My voice came out like a squeak and Michael chuckled. Stupid angel. I’d need to keep an eye on that one.
Lucifer clasped my hand and pulled me off to the side of the room in an attempt to give us a modicum of privacy.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded quietly.
“I’ve reached out to you numerous times and not heard anything. After the incident with my magic, I was worried that I’d hurt you.”
Lucifer’s face softened as he listened to me and I sensed his anger dissipate a little. “I told you not to come down here until I knew it was safe.”
“Well, what was I supposed to do?” I hissed. “Sit there and hope that I hadn’t killed you?”
“Don’t be a fool. You know if I die, you die. You should have trusted our bond and believed that I was okay.”
“Maybe if you had reached out to me instead of staying silent, I wouldn’t have come down here.”
“Lori, there are things going on in the Upper Realm that have kept me busy. Now. You can see that I am fine, so now you must return topside.”
I stomped my foot and let out a frustrated growl. “No.”
The fire in Lucifer’s eyes flared dramatically and his voice dropped to a lethal whisper. “I beg your pardon.”
“I said no. I am not one of you subjects that you can order around. I am not leaving until you give me some answers.” I folded my hands across my chest in defiance. A spark of anger burnt hotly in my chest as I stared at the man who was supposed to be my equal. I didn’t feel like a fucking equal right now.
“Lori, this isn’t the time for this. I need you to go back topside. Don’t you have a ball to prepare for?”
His words were like a slap in the face. “How do you know about that?”
He gave a deep sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Jasper and I have been communicating about everything that is going on. He told me about the plan to get you all into the Yule Gathering and I’ve told him about my suspicions around the Celestials. Suspicions that I was hoping my brother Michael would confirm.”
My anger notched up another level. I was already barely keeping a tight leash on my demon and this was really testing my restraint. Breathe, Lori, breathe. But a red haze was descending over my vision.
Shit. Meet fan.
The red haze took over and suddenly I was moving towards Lucifer. My body was reacting without my brain catching up, and the next thing I knew, Lucifer was pinned beneath me, and my fingernails, which had extended into the long black nails of my demon, were curled precariously around his throat.
Torsten leapt towards us but stopped as I let out a guttural snarl. Part of my brain was screamingshit, but the other part was consumed with anger and wanted to hurt the fool who had pissed me off.
