Page 89 of To Crave Madly
“Lori…” Lucifer said placatingly. “Let me go.”
“I’d do as he says,” Michael called from the other side of the room.
“Piss off, angel,” I growled without taking my eyes off Lucifer.
“Your funeral,” he crooned back. If only angels sinned, I would have no qualms feeding off that fucker right now.
Lucifer held my gaze firmly. I couldn’t seem to claw my demon back into its cage. All I could see was the red haze of my fury, all I could taste was the need to claim his darkness and feed. I swallowed and licked my lips, aware that I was being watched closely by everyone in the room. I wondered how much energy I could steal from Lucifer before someone stopped me. I was sure one tiny morsel from him would be enough to satisfy me for weeks.
“Torsten, when did she last feed?”
“She hasn’t, your Majesty.”
“Shit,” he muttered under his breath. He held his hands up slowly, a gesture of placation, and somewhere deep in my mind, I was thankful he didn’t make any sudden movements. “Lori, I know you’re still in there. Come back to me.”
I could feel my mind trying to free itself from this rage I’d wrapped it in. But all I could see was red. I took in a sharp breath and focussed on Lucifer. I couldn’t feed off him. I didn’t want to feed off him, despite how much I needed to. This was Lucifer. My soulbond.
Come on, Lori. Let go. My mind screamed at me, but the sound was so far away. I could barely hear it beneath the drums pounding in my ears.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Feed. Feed. Feed.
“I’m so hungry,” I whined.
“I know.” Lucifer reached his hands towards me and softly gripped my wrists. He didn’t remove them from his neck but just held me. Held me and waited.
The mark on my chest fluttered as he trailed his thumbs over my hands. Little by little, the anger faded, and the red disappeared from my sight.
Oh, god. What had I done?
I blinked as if woken from a trance and my breath rushed from my lungs on a sob. I scrambled off Lucifer and backed away to the far side of the room.
“I’m sorry,” I gasped as I wrapped my arms around me. I could still feel my darker side lingering like a taint on my soul. I had to get out of here. I couldn’t be around anyone, not while I wasn’t in control of myself. Nausea roiled in my belly at what I had almost done. I looked to Torsten. He knew this would happen. Had known it all along and, stupidly, I didn’t listen. I was a fool. An idiot, and I’d just nearly done something I wouldn’t have been able to take back.
“Get me out of here, Torsten. Please,” I begged.
Pity swam in his eyes, but he gave me a nod and walked towards me.
“Don’t go far,” I heard Lucifer say quietly to Torsten just before his shadows embraced us. I surrendered myself to the darkness. The darkness and sorrow that I deserved because I was a monster.
Chapter 31
LORI
I woke up in darkness, my eyes puffy and sore after crying myself to sleep. It took a moment for my vision to kick in, but I couldn’t recognise any of my surroundings. It was all unfamiliar; even the sounds of the place didn’t sound right. I turned my head and heard a grunt.
Oh, god. I was lying on Torsten. His arms were wrapped around my waist and his legs were tangled with mine.
How the fuck did that happen?
Oh, yeah.
I’d attacked Lucifer in a fit of rage and then run away like a coward. And then I’d sobbed my heart out and Torsten, quiet, stoic Torsten, had held me until I’d worn myself out.
I was such a mess. Oh, fuck. What time was it?
I looked at my comms device and winced. There were several messages and summons that I had missed. Who’d have thought Hell would have such great reception down here? Most of them were Jasper asking me to get my butt back to base, one from Saskia asking if I was alright, which was sweet, and then there was one from Elissa telling me my gown was ready. We were of a similar shape, but she was taller than me, so she’d had her assistant shorten one for me. I didn’t even know what it looked like. Ball gowns and evening wear were not my thing. I told Elissa to pick whatever she wanted, and I thought she was going to die of happiness.
