Page 25 of Claimed By the Villain

Kissing Lucifer was a mistake. I thought I’d die if I never knew what his mouth tasted like, what it felt like to have my body pressed against his.

Now it’s worse. It’s impossible not to compare everyone else to him. To how I felt in his arms.

Still standing in the kitchen, I grab my phone and reply to my friend’s message.

“Don’t you have a hot boyfriend to take care of you? What the hell are you doing texting me when you could be using that body?”

Taylor:I’m scared I’ll get addicted to him.

Me:Sorry, love, but I think you’re about two years too late for that. You’ve always been crazy about him, Taylor. Enjoy your life.

I know she and William still have a lot to work through. No couple is perfect—but from where I stand, they’re perfect together.

I’m about to head back to the living room when I see a shadow move past my door. My heart leaps, but I tell myself it can’t be a break-in. I’m protected. Watched. Like I’ve always been.

Still, I head to the bedroom and grab the baseball bat that belonged to my brother. Armed with it, I peer through the peephole—but no one’s outside.

I live in a secure building with hallway cameras, far as I know, so I take a deep breath and open the door.

There’s a package on the floor.

If I were paranoid, I might think it’s a bomb. But again, my faith in Lucifer’s protection is unshakable, so I crouch and pick up the box.

I go back in and lock the door, leaning against it.

I set the bat aside and unwrap the lightweight package. I’m surprised to find a cell phone.

There’s a note inside the box.

“Turn it on, Jackie.

L.”

With my heart racing, I do as he says.

Chapter 13

“Jackie,” I say the moment she answers.

I know her well. I knew she’d obey me—but I wasn’t expecting her silence after I said her name. Unlike the last time I called her to talk about finding her missing friend two years ago, or when we saw each other nearly two months ago, she doesn’t take the lead. She gifts me with a gaping silence.

I was counting on her softness. I’ll need it for what I have in mind, but maybe my unintentional and prolonged absence hurt her.

In the past, Jackie always seemed eager for anything I wanted to offer her.

She takes a while longer to speak, and when she finally does, her voice carries no emotion.

“Lucifer, is there a reason you’re calling me?”

The question pisses me off. She has no way of knowing I’ve been in a coma, but believing my absence was deliberate shows she gives very little credit to the depth of my obsession with her.

Even when I wasn’t showing myself while following her, Jackie would sometimes speak to the darkness.

To me.

There’s always been something between us.

I talked to Seymour, the man Beau assigned to watch her, and he assured me she never once addressed him in the dark. That’s because she knew it wasn’t me out there. We’ve always been able tofeeleach other.