Page 7

CAMI

I … I didn’t understand. Let go of the death stone? Let go of Az? I… I couldn’t feel either of them. So how was I supposed to release them?

“Listen to me,” that voice said right against my ear.

“Imagine you’re standing on the edge of a beautiful lagoon.

The water is a stunning sea-green color, and it’s so clear that you can see straight down to the bottom.

Above you is a blinding sun, causing heat to blossom across your skin, almost to the point of discomfort. ”

I swallowed as his lips tasted my neck, his warmth all around me, similar to the sun he just described.

“It’s making you so hot, Camillia. Do you feel it? The sun’s intensity?”

I tried to nod, my mind lost to this masculine tone, his cinnamon-like scent at odds with the scene he just described. But the underlying spicy note certainly matched.

“The water below is the perfect temperature to cool your skin,” he went on, his mouth against my throat while his heat wrapped around every inch of me.

I had no idea where we were, how I felt him in every aspect of my being, but I… I didn’t want it to end. This was a nice dream.

Lucifer , I thought, recalling all our previous nightly encounters. Lucifer is talking to me.

Listen to him, Melek whispered back to me. Listen to him and he’ll reward you.

Oh, I nearly moaned. Yes, I would like that.

I know, Melek replied. But his voice lacked his usual amusement. Actually, he sounded a bit worried.

Is something ? —

“Camillia,” Lucifer said, interrupting my mental conversation with Melek. “Focus on the sun. It’s blinding. It’s hot. It’s burning you alive.”

I trembled at the vivid sensations his words evoked, my breath seeming to come in pants.

“Jump into the water, Camillia,” he told me, his voice holding a demand in it that I longed to obey. “Go for a swim with me, and I’ll give you anything you desire.”

My throat worked, my heart skipping a beat.

Anything I desire.

I… I wanted that. Right?

Maybe.

I…

“Now, Camillia,” he ordered, not allowing me any more time to debate. “ Jump .”

I squinted my already closed eyes and took a deep breath and… and… let it out in a scream. Because I couldn’t move. I was trapped in the sun, melting beneath its fiery rays.

Bands of intensity tightened around me. “I’m going with you,” Lucifer said against my ear. “Fucking let go with me, Camillia. Now .”

I didn’t understand what he meant, but I desperately wanted to go with him. So I clung to the arms around my middle and fought to follow his command.

Air whooshed around us, the blazing inferno flashing white behind my closed eyes, and then we were falling… soaring… flying …

Until we were nothing at all.

Just lying… on the ground.

I frowned. Blinked. And frowned harder. “Where…?” I coughed, my throat dry like I’d been locked in a sauna for hours without access to water.

A face carved from ancient marble—the kind statues were crafted to honor long ago—suddenly overtook my view. And a pair of the most beautiful blue eyes I’d ever seen stared down at me.

Lucifer , I breathed, his angelic features etched into impossible lines of perfection.

Fae, this close it was hard to look at him. Especially when he gave me all of his focus like this. “Are you all right?” he asked me, his deep tone matching the one I’d heard against my ear as he’d told me to let go.

I swallowed and tried to nod, but everything felt stiff. “Y-yes.”

He shuddered over me, only then making me realize that he had me pinned to the floor of the… the… I glanced around, my brow furrowing again. We were in some sort of cave. All black rock with lava lines trickling down the seams, allowing some flickering red and orange light through.

It created an eerie atmosphere that should have left me uneasy, yet all I felt was peace.

The chilling power was nowhere to be felt, and my hands were?—

My eyebrows flew upward. “ Az .”

I’m fine, the male in question instantly replied, likely having heard his name echo through my mind. You saved me.

I… I did? I glanced around. Where…?

“Camillia,” Lucifer said, that dominant air about him immediately capturing my attention again. “Azazel is okay. But I need you to breathe and remain calm.”

I stared up at him. “Okay.”

“Good girl,” he praised. “Now inhale for me.”

I did.

“Exhale,” he said, his voice softening a little.

I obeyed him once more.

He repeated himself, and I continued to do what he ordered me to do for several minutes, the air around us seeming to settle in the cave.

“Beautiful,” he whispered, his forehead falling to mine. “Now just exist with me for a moment.”

I shivered beneath him, his heat bleeding into my skin.

My… my bare skin , I realized half a beat later. I’m naked.

“Shh,” he hushed me. “We’re almost settled.”

I had no idea what he meant by that. All I knew was I had a hot Hell Fae King on top of my very naked body.

“Camillia,” he growled. “Don’t make me teach you how to breathe again.”

“What are we doing?” I asked, pleased that my voice seemed to be somewhat less hoarse than before. Yet it still came out breathy.

“Calming the Source,” he replied through his teeth.

My eyebrows pulled downward as I repeated those words in my mind, only belatedly recalling the chaotic energy I’d experienced while pushing the warmth into Az.

The death stone.

Lucifer’s Source.

My inability to stop the transfer of power…

I swallowed. Oh.

I’d… I’d fucked up again.

And now I seemed to be alone with the one who would no doubt punish me for it.

Except he didn’t feel angry so much as exhausted.

“Sorry,” I whispered, unsure of what else to say to him. Please don’t kill me lingered on my tongue. But in the next instant, I realized I wasn’t sorry or apologetic at all. “I saved Az.” That was what mattered. “So no, wait, I’m not sorry.”

“You shouldn’t be sorry,” he said, his mouth close to mine. “I’m the one who needs to apologize. You need training, something I should have realized weeks ago. But I was too fucking stubborn to trust you. And it almost cost me dearly.”

My eyes widened. What?

“I’m going to fix this,” he went on. “ We are going to fix this.”

Fix what? I wondered, bewildered.

“Just bear with me another moment.” His lips nearly touched mine before skimming my cheek on the way to my ear. “Hold on to me, Camillia.”

My body obeyed his command on impulse, my hands clutching his shoulders just as a wave of hot energy pulsed through him. I closed my eyes, the heat a welcome kiss to my senses. Unfortunately, it dissipated too soon, leaving me shivering beneath Lucifer’s intense form.

After a beat of stillness, I snuck a peek up at him.

He’d moved onto his elbows, his muscular body caging mine. “I suppose it only seems appropriate to begin your training down here. But you’re going to need food first.” His eyes dipped down to my exposed breasts. “And clothes.”

My jaw clenched. “I can’t believe I’m naked again.”

“You do seem quite fond of losing your clothes in my presence, Miss De la Croix.” His lips curled with the words. “Not that I’m complaining, but I suspect the others won’t approve of you returning to the Netherworld without something on.”

“Returning…?” I glanced around for what felt like the thousandth time. “Where are we?” Because I’d assumed we were still in the Netherworld due to the soot-colored walls and lava flows.

“A cavern deep under my palace,” he told me. “This is where I first fell, Camillia.”

He shifted off of me and stood, his hand held out in a gesture that would have shocked me mere days ago and still sort of did now.

Lucifer is offering to help me. To train me. To… to…

Wait.

This… is where he fell?

He cleared his throat and arched a brow. “Do you want a tour before we go?”

I stared at him and accepted his hand. “You know what? I think I do.”

His lips twitched. “All right.” He helped me up, then shrugged out of his jacket. “But put this on, Camillia. Your tits are fucking distracting.”

I looked at the material he held out before taking in my nude state. “You’ve seen them before in that chain dress.”

“I’m never going to live that damn dress down, am I?”

“Probably not,” I admitted.

He shook his head on a sigh, then wrapped his jacket around my shoulders. The fabric went all the way to my knees, showcasing our substantial height difference.

Rather than let me go, he grabbed the lapels and yanked me into his chest. “I’ll apologize every day until you forgive me,” he told me.

Then pressed his mouth to mine in a kiss that left me gasping against him. A gasp he soon swallowed as he devoured me with his tongue.

I clutched his shoulders, terrified that I might fall. Or fly. Or fucking disintegrate.

Because wow.

Holy. Faeing. Wow .

I… I’d been kissed by him before, but not quite like this. His touch resembled sin, his mouth a benediction underlined in wicked intent. And his scent… Fae , his scent… all cinnamon and spice and intoxicating immorality.

Melek experienced this for millennia. Yet he’d sought me out as a mate. Why? I wondered dizzily. Why would you ever stray when you had a man like this at your beck and call?

Because I met the angel of my dreams, Melek whispered back at me, clearly having heard my shock and confusion. An angel I can’t wait to share with my Ty. An angel for us both to worship, to put between us, and turn into a queen.

I shivered, my nipples beading to harsh points as I tried to pull Lucifer closer. Melek’s words were impassioned and hypnotic, his intent warming my blood. All while Lucifer stoked my inner fire.

But before I could fall deeper into this erotic abyss, the being of my dark fantasies pulled his mouth from mine.

“Usually, I pen my vows in blood,” he said softly.

“However, with you, I rather like this method more.” He released the lapels of his jacket and cupped my face.

“I’m sorry, Camillia De la Croix. I have a lot to make up for, and I’m going to start by training you properly.

Which means returning to the others in Death’s Den. ”

He brushed his lips against mine.

“I know I said I would give you a tour, but I’d like Ajax to join us. There’s a lot for him to learn, too.” He released me and took a step back, causing me to stumble after him. He caught my hip and righted me. “Take a moment. When you’re ready, we’ll fly.”

Fly , I thought dizzily. Fall… fly… fall… fly.

Would I ever be ready?

Probably not.

Especially with a kiss like that lingering on my mouth.

The Hell Fae King just sealed a vow by devouring me.

Oh, little angel, you’re only beginning to discover what our king’s mouth can do, Melek murmured via our mental connection. Wait until he wraps that wicked mouth of his around your clit.

My eyes widened, my cheeks on fire. Melek!

His only reply was a sensual chuckle.

“Let me guess?” Lucifer murmured. “Melek is whispering indecent promises into your mind?”

I closed my eyes.

And nodded.

“Mmm, maybe later I’ll also teach you how to punish him,” Lucifer offered. “But after we focus on your control. Because it needs a lot of work, Miss De la Croix.”

“My control?” I repeated, not sure what he meant. Control in sex? Control in how I give pleasure? Control in ? —

“Your control when harnessing and siphoning power,” he said, a knowing note in his tone, one that had me meeting his gaze again. The sensuous male of moments ago had disappeared behind a regal mask. “You nearly killed over three dozen Netherworld Fae with that death stone, Camillia.”

My lips parted. “I…” I had no idea what to say to that. “I was just trying to save Azazel.”

“I know. But in doing so, you almost annihilated several innocent souls.”

Innocent seemed like a stretch considering what they were doing to Az.

Lucifer must have read my opinion in my features because he softly added, “They were under Virtuous Fae influence. There’s a lot for us to discuss.” He held out an arm. “So. Shall we fly, darling siphon?”