Page 85 of Demon's Mate

Run. Harper struggled to his feet, refusing to let his aching hip slow him down, and lunged for the door.

Flames erupted in front of him, the heat knocking him back.

“Don’t try to leave.” Lucifer sounded amused.

Harper whirled around to face him. The Devil leered, baring his fangs. His horns curled on either side of his head like a ram’s, wine-red, matching his tail. His shirt hung in tatters around his shoulders, destroyed, no doubt from when he’d freed his wings before diving off the roof.

“Why am I here?” Harper straightened his spine. He could do this. He could figure this out and walk out alive. “What do you want?”

“I want to talk to you.” The fire at Harper’s back spread along the bare floor, encasing him and Lucifer in a large circle.

Sweat trickled down Harper’s spine.

“Okay, fine. What do you want to know?” Talking couldn’t be all Lucifer wanted, but buying time was good. It gave Ash a chance to figure out something was wrong and come find him.

“You’re agreeing to talk to me after I pushed you off a roof?” Lucifer cocked his head, handsome features twitching as if he were trying not to laugh.

Harper clenched his jaw. “Yes, now ask me something.”

Lucifer snorted. “Getting dicked down by a demon is giving you some seriously misplaced confidence.”

Harper’sface flamed. “W-what?”

“Oh, yes. I know Ash has been railing you. You didn’t think I was followingyouaround, did you?” Lucifer’s amusement twisted into something meaner. “I don’t care about you, witch. But Ash, on the other hand, I’m fascinated by.”

“Ash hasn’t been railing me.” He shouldn’t bother defending himself. Who cared what the Devil thought? But he couldn’t stand referring to what he and Ash had done so crudely.

“No?” Lucifer smiled like he knew all of Harper’s secrets. “You’re not aching for his big demon cock?”

“Stop it,” Harper snapped, his gut twisting. “Are you seriously here to ask about my sex life?”

“No, it’s Ash’s sex life I’m interested in. Why is he so obsessed with you? I don’t get it.” Lucifer’s eyes raked over Harper as if he were mentally undressing him and found him lacking.

Harper crossed his arms over his chest. “Ash isn’t obsessed with me.”

“He’s fucked you more than once. That’s an obsession by Ash’s standards. Plus, he’s been following you around.”

“He has?” A day ago, Harper would have freaked out about Ash stalking him, but he was Ash’s mate. Everything between them felt right, even this. No wonder Ash was at the port that day, exactly when Harper needed him.

“Yes, he has.” Lucifer frowned like he couldn’t make sense of the behavior. “I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”

Surely the possibility Harper was Ash’s mate had crossed Lucifer’s mind, or had he given up on the idea of mates so absolutely that it hadn’t? Should he tell Lucifer he was Ash’s mate?

Harper needed to text Ash. Even a mash of characters would be something. He discreetly reached for his pocket. Lucifer’s gaze caught the motion and his eyes flashed red in warning, the fire around themflaring.

Fuck.

Harper needed Lucifer distracted. Hell, he needed answers. This was all so fucking weird. “So, what? You’ve been following Ash around?”

Why hadn’t Lucifer attacked Ash and the others if he’d found them? He’d tricked everyone into thinking he wasn’t in the city. Wasn’t he trying to drag the other demons back to Hell? Why bother with Harper when he could have caught the other demons completely off guard?

“Yes, I’ve been following him.” Lucifer shrugged. “He’s been more interesting than the others.”

“Others?” Harper asked like he didn’t know what Lucifer meant.

Lucifer curled his lip. “You’ve met Dante and Onyx, so don’t play dumb. It’s never as cute as men like you think it is.”

Harper glared. “I don’t play dumb.”