Page 9 of Falling for Lucifer

Ellodie handed him a burp rag and peered at him for a few more seconds. “Are you sure about this? I know you didn’t come over here for this.”

“Woman, if you don’t leave us alone. Go handle your business.

We good.” He loved that she listened so well.

She turned on her heels and disappeared down the hallway that he assumed led to her bedroom.

“Ya mama is fine as hell, Etta. You know that?” Etta’s response was a loud burp. He chuckled. “Good job, baby girl.”

Lucifer bounced her gently in his arms and watched as she drifted off to sleep. He got completely lost in her pretty round face and smooth dark skin that matched her mama’s. Her innocence was infectious. “I hope don’t nobody take that from you.”

He spoke softly to her like that as she slept, and before he knew it, Ellodie came back into the living room looking refreshed but still tired.

“She’s sleeping?” she asked as though she couldn’t believe it.

“Yeah,” Lucifer muttered.

Ellodie looked stunned. “Here, let me take her and put her in her crib.”

Lucifer stood slowly, dwarfing her with his height. “I got it. Show me where.”

Ellodie walked in front of him, and he admired the gray fitted dress she wore.

It wasn’t fancy at all, just one of those comfortable ones that women wore around the house or to run errands.

He watched as her ass bounced with every step.

She had to know she was a true baddie. Even exhausted and with her curly hair piled on the top of her head, she was the most beautiful woman he had the pleasure of laying eyes on.

They entered the nursery, and Lucifer smirked at the decor. All pink everything. It looked like a little girl’s dream. He walked over to the crib and placed Etta inside while Ellodie turned on some white noise. Etta was out like a light and didn’t even stir as they backed away and out of the room.

Ellodie sighed heavily, and he looked down at her. “You good?”

She nodded. “Just relieved. She hasn’t really been to sleep since y’all left last night. Thank you for getting her to sleep.”

She made a move to walk away, but Lucifer gently tugged on her hand. When she faced him, he said, “Aye, call me anytime you need some help. I mean that. I don’t mind helping out where I can.”

She gazed up at him for a second before slowly nodding. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Reluctantly, he let her hand go, but he was happy to get a good view of her ass again as she led them back into the living room.

“I brought some food,” he said before she could sit on the couch.

Her eyes lit up just as her stomach growled. She placed her hand on it and blushed. “I can’t even remember the last time I ate.”

She rushed over to the counter and poked around the bag with the food in it.

“Go sit down, woman.” He grabbed the bag and chuckled because she pouted before following her to the glass table. “You gotta remember to take care of yourself, love.”

She sat down and frowned. “It’s not that I forget. It’s just hard to squeeze in the time to cook or even order some food, let alone eat it.”

Lucifer made a mental note of that. “I hope you like chicken and waffles.”

Her stomach growled again, and she giggled. “I do.”

“Bet.”

He placed a container in front of her, and she wasted no time digging into the food. Lucifer watched in amusement as she attacked the waffles while he ate his at a more moderate pace.

Halfway through their meal, he finally asked, “How is this shit supposed to work?”

He appreciated that she didn’t try to play dumb. Wiping her mouth with a napkin, she paused her eating as she responded. “I guess whenever I have a family function, you attend with me.”

Lucifer sat back in his seat and crossed his arms. “What about your real baby daddy?” He figured there was no time like the present to ask the million-dollar question.

Ellodie stared at the table for a moment.

Lucifer didn’t like that shit, so he grabbed her chin and lifted it so she looked at him. “You don’t want to talk about it?”

“I mean . . . You deserve to know.”

“That don’t mean you want to talk about it.”

Her jaw clenched slightly, and he saw tears swimming in her eyes.

Just when he was about to tell her she didn’t have to answer, she said, “He’s not in the picture.

We haven’t been together for years, but he .

. . never really knew how to take no for an answer.

I haven’t seen him for three months. I told him when I was in labor.

I sent him pictures of Etta. He left me on read.

“I can’t tell my parents that, because my daddy would kill him, and my mother would ask me what I did to run him away, and then she would use that information as a way to remind me of how much of a fuck up I am?—”

“Aye, man. You ain’t a fuck up.” Ellodie dropped her eyes. “Look at me.” Her gaze snapped back up to him. “I don’t want to hear you say that shit again. You hear me?”

She nodded slowly before clearing her throat.

“I know I’m asking you to do the most, and I know it seems stupid.

I’m a grown ass woman and should be able to stand up to my parents.

My mother . . . she’s just impossible. I’ve found it’s just easier to give her what she wants than to give her reasons to hate on me even more. ”

“Just because it’s easier doesn’t mean it’s what you should do.

” Although he was tuned into the conversation, Lucifer wondered what kind of father would stay away from that beautiful baby in there.

Then he wondered what kind of mother would be so malicious toward her daughter. Neither of them deserved that.

“You’re right. It was a stupid thing to ask you to do.” The sadness in her eyes caused him to grab her hands.

“I ain’t say I wouldn’t do it.” She smiled, and that made this crazy ass thing all worthwhile to him. “What are the rules?”

She perked up. “Good question. I guess we need to get our stories straight, and we have to make it look believable. You’re supposed to be more than Etta’s father, but my man. You think you can handle that?”

Lucifer sat back again and gapped his thick legs before licking his lips. “You tell me.”

She blushed as she looked him over. “Yeah, I think you can handle it just fine.”

“So, where did we meet?”

She looked up at the ceiling as she thought about it. “Where do you work?”

He chuckled. “Me and my brother own a custom bike shop. You ever rode?”

He enjoyed watching her squirm in her seat. He knew she understood that he was asking a double-edged question.

“Yeah, a time or two.”

His brows rose. “Yeah, how’d you like it?”

She licked her lips, and he loved that she played his game with him. “Loved it.”

His dick hardened, and he had to discreetly adjust himself in his seat. “I’ll have to take you for a ride sometime.”

“I look forward to it.” She gazed at him for a second longer before returning to the matter at hand. “But no, they wouldn’t believe that I met you at your job.” Then her eyes lit up. “We could say I was Hades and Harley’s wedding planner, and I met you through them.”

“You a wedding planner?”

Her eyes lit up. “I own my own business. I think it’s the perfect story. What do you think?”

He nodded slowly. “That could work. They got married three years ago.”

“That’s perfect.”

“What are we going to tell them about me not being around until now?” he asked. If they were going to do this, he wanted to make sure it sounded and looked good.

She shrugged. “We can just tell them we weren’t ready to meet each other’s families yet.”

Lucifer thought about it, but his phone rang and interrupted the moment. He saw it was Hades calling and knew he needed to answer. Hades was the type to pop up on him if he didn’t answer, since he had his and Eris’s locations.

“Just a second, love. It’s Hades calling.” She nodded, and Lucifer answered the phone. “Yeah, Hades?”

“Nigga, come meet your niece.”

“Huh?” Lucifer asked as he processed what Hades said.

“Stop playing, stupid mothafucka, and come meet my daughter. Harley just had my baby, and she look just like me too.” Lucifer heard the pride in Hades’s voice.

He couldn’t believe his loose cannon brother was a father.

He sat there in stunned silence. Harley was supposed to have a couple more weeks left, so this was the last thing he expected to hear.

“I’m about to kick this midwife bitch out of my house so I can bond with my baby.

Better get here quick before I’on want visitors anymore. ”

“How—”

The line went dead, cutting Lucifer off. All he could do was shake his head. Hades would never change, and he knew now that he had a daughter, there would be a few more loose screws in that man’s head.

“Everything okay?” Ellodie asked.

Lucifer smiled before pinching her chin. “Yeah. Harley just had her baby. I’m about to go over there and check them out. Can I hit you up later so we can talk more?”

He stood as Ellodie’s eyes grew wide with excitement. “Yeah, of course. Give Harley my love.”

He stood, pulling her up with him. “I will. Hey, I have one more question quick though.”

“What’s that?”

“Since I’m your fake man now, will I get to kiss you?”

Ellodie giggled, and Lucifer decided it was his new favorite sound. “I guess you will. Why? You want to practice now?”

Lucifer let her go and gave her a lopsided grin as he backed up a few steps. “Nah. I’ll keep you on your toes.”

Once again, he heard her giggle as he turned toward the door, and it was at that moment he understood that he was a goner. Ellodie had him wrapped around her pinky finger. He only hoped it turned out to be a good thing and not a terrible mistake.