Page 61 of Falling for the Devil

“Where...” She was so fascinated with the scene that lay just out of her reach that Diana’s mind found formulating words to be too complex a chore while her eyes took in the beauty around her. During her first trip through space with Lucifer in his little divine protective cocoon, there had been stars, planets, and other celestial bodies. But this... this was beyond description.

Lucifer tugged her closer, into his broad chest. Warmth emanated from underneath his armor, further chasing away the chill from moments ago. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

That was an understatement! It was as if she was being given a glimpse into the creation of the heavens themselves. However, the sense that something was wrong ebbed at her consciousness. She nodded, unable to give voice to the wonder around them.

“We are at the edge of time and creation where the universe is ever-expanding. New stars, new planets, new systems are being birthed right before our eyes.” Lucifer’s voice held the awe Diana felt. “Here, we are between dimensions—between every dimension. Just pick a direction and we could end up anywhere. There”—he pointed to the far right, where a blast of light exploded, dimming all else, then simmered down until its rosy hue painted the surrounding stars like pomegranate-infused blush to the cheeks—“a new system born! One without flaws... At least until some species decides to make its home there. It will one day burn out like a lump of charred timber in a campfire. But that day may be billions or more years away.”

Listening to him speak made Diana’s heart thump erratically in her chest. He sounded once more like the Lucifer she loved. For really, she could no longer deny that was the emotion that coursed through her veins. Gone was the harsh tone and temperament he’d exhibited toward her when they’d been on that awful planet with the scary mechanical birds with missiles and endless dunes of sand.

Then again, who could be foul-tempered here, with all this glorious inspiration? A pang of sadness enveloped her for her dear friend, Puck, who would conjure a fantastic tale or song to fit with the beauty all around. He was good at things like that, whereas she couldn’t even hold a tune while whistling.

She leaned into Lucifer’s strong body, contented to be in his arms and privy to the vast beauty before them. “It’s breathtaking,” Diana managed to whisper.

“Yes, it is, but all this”—his hand cupped her chin, tilting her face to look at him—“pales in comparison to your beauty.” His full, sensual lips captured hers in a chaste, quick kiss. Without thought, she reached up to tug his head back down, but he stepped away. “Once I find and vanquish Asmodeus, I would love nothing more than to claim you heart, body, and soul for all the universe to know that you are mine and I am yours. But until then, I am afraid, I must not allow your sultry distraction”—his thumb glanced over her pouting bottom lip—“to weaken me, for within your arms I have found true joy at last.” A subtle sadness darkened his eyes—no longer the warm golden amber she’d first been mesmerized by. “However, your love costs me. Already, I feel my divine energy diminished. I am the same yet, not the same as I was. To hunt down and destroy my enemy, I will need all the strength and angelic power I can accumulate within this flesh. Asmodeus is cunning. He is vicious and evil in ways you cannot comprehend. And I would not want you to be exposed to such vileness.”

Sadness radiated off him in waves that crashed into Diana’s own soul, gripping her heart like a vice. “What are you saying?” The weight of foreboding returned, pressing on her chest.

“I am saying that I need to redeem myself in the eyes of the Creator in order to regain my full power and authority. That means I will need to cast off the sins of the flesh.”

Diana rocked back on her heels from the cold agony of his words. He made their love sound so ugly and repulsive. What they felt... what they had done to consummate their feelings, was pure. It was love. How could that be tarnished as sinful, in need of repentance?

She shook her head, not understanding, not wanting to understand.

White-hot fury wiped out the hurt in an instant.

How fucking dare he diminish what they’d shared to sound like it was dirty and shameful?

Unless... for him, it is?

The same worry had ebbed away at her joy when they’d been stranded in the cavern and he’d gone missing. This was further proof against him.

She backed away, her arms wrapping around her stomach in an attempt to hold in the wail threatening to burst free. Lucifer reached out for her, frown lines crisscrossing his forehead. How could he not understand her pain?

“Diana,”—he stepped forward but withdrew his arm as if he’d been bitten—“you must understand... What I am does not permit me the luxury of love other than divine love for all of the universe’s creations. What we’ve shared is forbidden. It is... a sin.”

He might as well have slapped her, for it would’ve hurt less.

A sin? How could love ever be considered a sin?

“It’s not the same for other deities or for mortals. You’re allowed to experience carnal pleasures that accompany love as you know it. But as a divine being, I’m held to a higher standard.” He paced now, but the stars beyond had dimmed in Diana’s sight.

Salty tears streamed down her cheeks. Her lips quivered, fighting to object to his logic. “Wh... what is it you think you can do to atone? To be granted forgiveness for this ugly sin we’ve committed?” Swiping the back of her hand across her face, she glared at him, daring him to have a good response. “Why should you be released from your sin when others of your kind have not?”

After all, wasn’t that what had doomed the angels they’d found in that nightmarish dimension? They had caved to lust and had been destroyed for it. Their names had even been erased from the angelic rolls, if she remembered correctly.

Oh, how could he think such an awful thing that the beauty and joy they’d shared equated to the depravity of those fallen ones?

A stone-cold expression fell over Lucifer’s ashen face. His dark eyes narrowed on her in such a way that she backed up further, fear threading up her spine. “I don’t expect anything. I must show remorse and atone for my sins, but I—we—have done nothing that should enrage my father to deny forgiveness. Those others”—disgust was evident in his face and tone—“did not leave room for forgiveness. They went too far. They sank too deeply into their sin. Even in death, their sin taints their souls. Father could not redeem them when they were not worthy or even seeking to make themselves worthy of it. But my father will never deny me, no matter how far I fall, for his love for me is greater than his love for those lesser angels. I am confident that he knows that my feelings for you do not take away my love for him.”

A whimper escaped Diana’s lips at the realization he’d only referred to his feelings for her... not love. Perhaps—for him—making love had been nothing but sex... sex without the one detail that made it not sinful. Love. She could love him with all her being, but without him reciprocating the sentiment, she was nothing more than a plaything for his pleasure.

Impatience was laced through his next words, even more so than when he’d dragged her into the belly of the mountain and wound up here. “I do not have time to explain things, so you’ll understand. What we shared was glorious, but to defeat Asmodeus and return to the Creator’s side I must repent. I can’t ask for forgiveness while still committing the sin.” His shoulders shrugged as he faced away from her. “My desires are not what is important right now. Avenging my brothers and sisters is. Nothing and no one will keep me from that purpose. To have the strength to do so, I need divine help. So, unless you are a goddess of wrath or have the power of the universe in the palm of your hands, this conversation is over. We must go.”

“Go where? As far as I can tell, we’re trapped inside a prism overlooking the cosmos.”

Diana sank to her knees, allowing the pain to seep into her bones. Soon, she knew, it would metamorphose into her own brand of fury. One that could indeed unfurl worse carnage than one of Zeus’s lightning strikes. But Lucifer didn’t need to know that. She was a woman. And as such, she could play the long game. And her brand of vengeance, he would not be able to fathom until it consumed him whole.

WHAT WAS WRONG WITH the woman? Hadn’t he just told her in all but the exact words that he loved her and intended to return to her? Just now, he had to focus. She muddled his mind, weakened his will, enfeebled him in every way.

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