Page 27 of Crush's Fall

“Sure thing.” Kitty was a Tiger’s Claw member who frequently served at the diner. She was a bit older than most of the Tiger’s Claw members, but she was smoking hot and knew it. To Lucifer, she was a very nice-looking woman who was a sister to the woman he was meant to be with, so he didn’t feel a damn thing for her but respect.

His eyes hadn’t left Crush as she stood with Pinky and Nails by their bikes. As they talked, Crush put one hand to her hip and used the other to rub her forehead. Lucifer wanted to see if there was any way to help, but he knew she’d shut him down if he tried.

“Here ya go.”

Lucifer pulled his gaze away from Crush to look down at the table and found that his sandwich and onion rings were boxed up for him. “Thanks, Kitty.”

As he pulled his wallet from his pocket, Kitty quietly said, “Don’t give up on her.”

Lucifer looked up at her and saw that she was staring at Crush through the window like he had been. He waited for her gaze to meet his before he replied, “I’m not going anywhere. When she’s ready, I’ll be here.”

Kitty gave a smile and winked. “No doubt she’s going to make you work for it, but I promise she’ll also make it worth it.”

He chuckled and dropped a twenty on the table. “She already has. I like her feisty.”

“She is that,” Kitty confirmed and patted him on the shoulder before she walked away.

As Lucifer slid out of the booth, he looked back to where Crush was standing. She was now staring over at him and looked pissed. He was confused as to why until he thought about what had just happened. Kitty had smiled at him, winked at him, and touched him. His feisty kitten didn’t like that at all.

Grinning, Lucifer picked up his food and headed for the front door. When he stepped outside, he blew Crush a kiss before he headed for the apartment building.

He wasn’t surprised at all that she caught up with him just inside the building as he was about to head up the stairs.

Crush

“What the fuck was that?” Crush demanded as she grabbed hold of Lucifer’s bicep and yanked him around to face her. She ignored the smug look on his face as she waited for his answer.

Lucifer leaned down and set his to-go container on the stairs before fully facing her. Looking into her eyes, he asked, “What?”

“Why in the fuck are you flirting with Kitty?”

His eyebrows shot up his forehead, and he laughed. “Flirting with Kitty? Why would you think I was flirting with her?”

“She winked at you.”

He nodded. “And I did what?”

“You… you smiled at her.”

“Okay.” He shrugged. “I’ve smiled at Axle, too. Does that mean I’m flirting with him?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she growled at him.

“I’mbeing ridiculous? How about you just admit that you’re jealous? And while you’re at it, admit that the reason you’re jealous is because I’m yours.”

Crush scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked away from him. He was crazy if he thought she would admit that. And she wasn’t jealous. She just didn’t like him flirting with other women. He did flirt, right? She ran back through what she witnessed and tried to pinpoint what exactly he did that was inappropriate. The problem was she couldn’t think of anything. Even Kitty winking at him wasn’t a surprise. Kitty winked at everyone. She flirted with everyone. None of it was with intent. She had other ways of making sure a man knew she was interested, and Crush didn’t see her do any of those things with Lucifer.

“Crush,” Lucifer said, pulling her gaze back to him, “admit that I’m yours.”

Crush stared at him, but she didn’t say the words. She couldn’t. If she said it to him, it would be real, and she wouldn’t be able to run from it. And didn’t that just irritate the fuck out of her. She didn’t run. It wasn’t something in her playbook, unless she was faced with a mate capable of breaking through her emotional brick wall, apparently.

Lucifer stepped close to her and reached up. He slid his hand across the side of her head to cup the back of it. Staring into her eyes, he whispered, “One of these days, you’re going to stop fighting this so much. Don’t get rid of those claws. I like them, and I know I’m going to love them digging in my back as I fuck the hell out of you. I’m not looking for you to change. I want you to tell me off. I want you to throw me attitude. I want every bit of that fire in your eyes directed my way. I just want to be at your side when you face the hard shit, and to be able to fuck you at the end of the day.”

Before Crush could say anything, not that she knew what to say, he leaned forward and took her lips in a scorching kiss that had her pressing her thighs together to try to relieve the ache that had developed between them. When he broke the kiss, he laid his forehead against hers for a moment before he pulled away.

As Crush watched him pick up his to-go container and head up the stairs, it took everything in her not to follow him up. She wanted to, but it would just open a can of worms she wasn’t ready to deal with. She already felt like she had the world resting on her shoulders. They had a damn war with the Hell’s Dogs and their allies to deal with. Crush had just found out that gods existed, and apparently, they sent champions to help them fight. Until she could resolve all of that, she couldn’t take on another problem, a problem she wanted, but couldn’t admit to herself just yet.

Swallowing the lump in her throat and telling her tiger to shut the hell up, she left the building and headed for her place.

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