Page 124 of Burning Ember

“Why do you say that?”

I had three days and hundreds of miles to figure out why she called me Luce. Once the answer hit me, I immediately began to add up all of the similarities. So many that it was unnerving.Lucifer’s greedy and impatient. He tried to play God to get what he wanted.He was always too dark to live among saints, but not satisfied living among sinners. He still thinks he deserves his little slice of heaven though he’s an evil son of a bitch who hurts innocent people.

But I’m not quite ready to confess all of that to her just yet. No, I’m trying to win her over, not scare her off.

“Lucifer was a saint before his fall, a devil after it. When I laid my hands on you, I realized how far I’d fallen. How much I’ve let what happened with Dana change me. How dark and ruthless I’d become, compared to who I was before . . . the man my parents raised me to be.”

She silently watches me for a moment.

“Also, in Latin, Lucifer means, ‘morning star’. And I’m nothin’ if not a mornin’ person.” The only time I’ve ever been able to sleep past seven is when I go to bed drunk off my ass.

She thinks that over for a moment. “Can I ask you something?” I nod. “How did you go from college to this?”

“I fell in love with ridin’. I met Edge and Cap at a bike rally and we hit it off. For a guy who grew up as an only child, I envied how close they all were and how they had each other’s backs. They invited me to come check out the club and I did for a couple of weeks. I loved it, wanted to stay. When I left I missed the lifestyle and the friends I’d made, so I came back. Cap offered to sponsor me as a prospect. But I didn’t know if I could do what they’d ask me to do.”

“Obviously, you did.”

Letting her hand go again, I rub my hand over the top of hers. “Yeah. But Cap was a little easier on me than some of the other prospects we’ve had.”

“How long have you been here?”

The side of my mouth curves up when I think of all of the memories I have as a HOC, some of my earlier years being some of the best. “Nine years.”

“Nine years. Wow. How old are you?” She bites her lip.

“Thirty-three.” Her eyes go big and I laugh. “What, too old?” She shakes her head. After a bit, I say, “Okay. My turn.”

She eyes me speculatively. “Your turn for what?”

“To find out somethin’ I’ve been dyin’ to know about you.” Her little muscles clench and she goes still against me. “What’s your first name?”

She looks away and tries to pull her hand from my chest. I don’t let her. I know her first instinct is to retreat and hide when threatened, but she’s also strong when she needs to be. Especially, when she’s given a little push.

“Doll, I want this to work. Real fuckin’ badly. But I can’t start somethin’ with you, if I don’t know who you really are.”

She stares down at me. It takes some time, but eventually she blows out a frustrated breath. It’s barely audible, but I hear her when she says, “My name’s Ember.”

My chest inflates and holds. I search her face. Is that really her name?

Because . . . Fuck. I love it.

A slow smile builds on my face. “Ember?”

“Yeah.”

“Ember. How did you get a name like that?”

She blows out a breath and it skates over my nipples making them stand at attention. She rolls her eyes. “Ugh, my mother was a hippy. But I consider myself lucky—my sister’s name is Sundown.”

“Well, I like it. Both of them. They’re original. And yours fits you.”

She shakes her head once. “Yeah the bullies in grade school liked it too. Along with my strange clothes, red hair, and freckles.”

“Strange clothes?”

“My mom had a quirky sense of fashion. Let’s just say I wore capris before they were a thing, and I could go a hundred years without seeing a tie-dyed T-shirt again, and it would be too soon.

“Your mom. You said she took off on you and your sister.”