Page 53 of Galen

I sort of loved when he got all bossy. Not exactly sure what that said about me, but whatever.

I left the kitchen and jogged up the stairs in my eagerness, and then regretted the jogging because I was nearly dead by the time I reached the second floor. Galen chuckled behind me.

“No one asked you,” I said, continuing to my room.

“I didn’t say a word.”

“The laugh said it all.”

“I could always carry you,” he said with amusement ringing in his tone.

“I already feel like a damsel,” I told him, entering the room and walking over to the closet. “Let me keepsomedignity.”

After I changed into my favorite navy blue cardigan sweater, a pair of jeans, and put on my shoes, we walked back down the stairs and went outside. The sun felt amazing, and I breathed in the spring day. Something occurred to me.

“Are we going to fly there?” I asked, both excited and terrified by the idea. I’d flown with him once before, but I’d kind of been dying at the time and hardly remembered it, so it didn’t count.

“Not this time,” Galen said, leading me toward a huge building that set to the side of the mansion. “We fly at night, but it’s harder to go unseen during the day.”

“Do you not have magical cloaking abilities?”

“To a degree we do,” he answered. “But the sky’s too clear today. We need the shadows of night to help conceal ourselves.”

“Really?” I asked, taken aback. “I was only joking. You seriously have camouflage powers too?”

Galen smirked before opening the door, showing rows of sports cars, as well as classic ones. My jaw dropped as we stepped farther into the garage. There had to be at least twenty cars.

“You’ve got to be shitting me.” I ghosted a hand over the front of a Lamborghini, not touching it though.

“Castor has a car obsession,” Galen said, a subtle smile in place as he walked beside me. “He recently downsized, but only because Alastair made him.”

“Alastair is… what? Like your boss or something? You all seem to take his word as law.”

“Because he’s our leader,” Galan explained. “Azazel, his father, was Lucifer’s second-in-command. The two of them were inseparable. Many claim they were lovers, but that’s beside the point. Pride is said to be the first deadly sin, the one all other sins are born from. It’s in our blood to obey him.” He tilted his head at me. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I’m just stuck on the whole Lucifer thing.”

“I suppose it’s a lot for you to wrap your head around.” Galen approached a black Mercedes Benz. “This one’s mine.”

He opened the door and slid into the driver’s seat. I walked around to the passenger side and got in. I smoothed a hand along the leather upholstery and took in the luxury of the dark and sleek interior. I’d never been a “car guy,” but I could appreciate the artistry that went into the design.

The engine rumbled to life, and I buckled my seat belt as he left the garage. Just when I thought I was grasping this crazy world I’d been sucked into, I was gobsmacked by something else. The existence of Lucifer, for one thing. Galen had spoken of him before, but it didn’t register until now that he was actually real.

Was he red-skinned with horns and hooves like art portrayed him? Or was he devastatingly handsome like the stories said? Well, and like that one TV series.

My gaze trailed to the mountain of a man beside me. He had one hand on the wheel, while the other rested between us on the seat. He glanced over at me, a smile in his eyes, before returning his gaze to the narrow dirt road. The sea stretched on one side of us, the sun shining off the water.

One thing I knew for certain?

Galen looked damn sexy behind the wheel of his car.

Chapter Eleven

Galen

Simon stared at the floor in front of the staircase, his hand lifting to his chest. We’d arrived at his antique store a few minutes ago, and he’d trailed off midsentence as soon as we’d come through the side entrance.

I wanted to protect him from those bad memories, but he needed to face them.