Page 12 of Inheritance
Her words were like a swift punch to the gut, despite having heard these words before from Luce himself. Something about hearing them from someone else, and the tenacity with which she said them, really cut through the walls I had up in regards to him.
Fuck, was she right?
It was hard to think of Lucifer himself as “new” to anything, but if this was truly his first time doing any of this…then he was just going by instinct alone. I wasn’t sure what it said about him that his instinct was to lock me up and keep me from all other men, though.
Dropping my eyes to the ground, I took a deep breath, preparing myself for her answer to the question I wanted so desperately to ask.
Steeling my heart, I looked up at her and asked, "Why do you think he's a kind person with a huge heart? Because from my vantage point," I paused to gesture around, "he has zero consideration for anyone other than himself."
She sighed deeply before turning and plopping down on the edge of the bed beside me. Staring at the wall opposite us, she relented, "I am much older than I appear, as are the rest of the staff. We have been with Master Luce for a long time, thanks to the extension of life he has blessed us with."
Ah, so extending lives was something he was capable of. No wonder he thought he had eternity with me to change my mind. Did he have limitations on how long he could keep someone alive, though? Surely, the balance of life would come and take those he held here for too long.
My attention switched back to her as she explained, "Almost all the staff here have seen him go through a wide array of emotions and phases of his life. He's been hopeful, dreaming of a love so deep that nothing else mattered. He's been vengeful when he was aching inside, feeling like he would never be good enough for such a blessing. And then, I've seen the spark leave his eyes until he was just a shell of the man we all grew to respect and care for."
Okay. Wow.So these people were literally like family…I was beginning to understand why she had been defensive.
She reached out tentatively, taking my hand in hers as she gazed at our joined palms. Flicking her eyes up to mine, she pleaded, "All we want is for you to give him the chance to prove that he is worthy of your heart. Because, if anyone is, it is him."
I pursed my lips as I considered her words, but before I could truly formulate a response, the door opened with a loud bang as it hit the wall inside. In stormed the devil, and man, did he look more furious than ever.
Was that steam billowing from his ears?
His chest was rapidly expanding and falling, and as his eyes found me, my breath was knocked from me at the clear relief that poured from him. His shoulders sagged as he rushed to me and knelt in front of us. His large hands found my knees, and he rubbed them gently as he spared the woman next to me a soft smile, "I can take it from here, Emma."
She scurried from the room, and all his attention fell on me as he peered up at me with concern, "Are you okay? I was worried something had happened to you. Why didn't you come for dinner?"
…did he…was he crazy?Maybe he didn’t remember our conversation from earlier.
It was on the tip of my tongue to give him a million reasons why I wouldn’t want to come to dinner, but I withheld them, instead answering him with a question of my own, "Will you tell me about your life?"
Apparently, neither of us wanted to give straight answers because he parried, "Will you please come to dinner with me, Little Temptress? I'll tame my anger and give you the answers you're looking for," he offered with a smirk, but he was lacking the cocky vibe that usually accompanied that look.
Instead, it looked like he was scrambling to keep his walls in place with me but utterly failing. Like we were one interaction away from tearing them down and he knew it. I found myself wanting the opportunity to see the real Luce. To give him a chance to prove my initial impression of him wrong.
Hope flitted through my chest. Perhaps he wasn't a total lost cause. The word “please”wasa part of his vocabulary, after all.
"Fine," I answered nonchalantly, but inside, my stomach was flipping over my agreement.
I was going to dinner with the devil, and I wasn't sure if I was prepared for what awaited me there.
CHAPTER SIX
Luce
My heart hammered in my chest at the question she had asked as her beautiful pink eyes implored me to let her in.
Will you tell me about your life?
How could so few words have such a huge impact on me? It was like my whole world was suddenly thrown off kilter by them. While I had given her the brief synopsis of my life in regards to waiting for a mate, there was so much more that I kept firmly buried in the recesses of my mind.
I was the devil, after all. I was supposed to be the most feared being in the entire realm. How could I expect anyone to bow down to me if they knew any of my weaknesses? No, that wouldn't work. My image needed to be set in stone—I was not to be undermined in any way, and if you did, it ensured you would die a slow and agonizing death.
But now, my temptress was asking to know, and I couldn't deny her. I couldn't keep this wall in place with her, and if I was being honest with myself, it wasn't like I was getting anywhere with her as things were.
Fuck, that hurt to admit. I ached to hold her in my arms and shower her with love and affection, but she was fighting me tooth and nail.
I wasn’t positive why I’d expected a woman like Ama to bend to my will so easily. I’d seen how bold and vibrant she was. I’d started to fall in love with that woman, and her fight was one of my favorite parts of her. Unfortunately, I had absolutely no idea how to handle this other than exerting my dominance, despite the fact it wasn’t working. I was unpracticed, and I felt like I was fucking this up to the point that I had no idea how to repair it.
