Chapter 7 — Choices made in the heat of the moment…

Fallon:

This is a terrible idea. I think to myself as I observe Bree settle into my guest bedroom. Her golden hair shines beneath the sunlight shining through the large windows, and her skin looks as smooth as honey.

Needing a moment, I settle her bag over the bed and head toward the door. “Go ahead and settle in. I’ll be in my office if you need me.”

Rushing out of the door, I don’t wait for her to respond. I don’t think I can handle listening to anything she has to say without fighting the urge to throw her across the bed and ravishing her.

Once I reach the solitude of my office, I slump back on my chair and rub my palms across my face.

“Father, any news on what I sent you?”

Lucifer provides a much-needed distraction when he calls me. “I saw your text. The creature you described is not one that I have ever seen. However, I do have some news that might shed some light on what they may be.”

“What did you discover?” I ask.

He quickly replies. “It seems that some of the demons from several of the lower circles of hell are disappearing. Some who have similar abilities to the creatures that you have encountered. However, they look nothing like the creatures.”

“What do you think that means?” I mutter thoughtfully.

He puffs out a breath. “I don’t know. However, I can’t help but find a correlation between what the scientists were doing to those stitched up monsters Azazel and the Council were investigating.”

My brow furrows. “But these creatures are not stitched up or mutated.”

“I know, and that’s what is puzzling. However, there are many more creatures in hell and other dimensions that can find a way to steal powers from another and use it for their benefit.”

“Do you think there’s a powerful being out there who might be stealing powers and creating new species that they’re unleashing on earth?”

“It’s possible,” he replies. “Either way, I cannot condone such actions in my kingdom. Therefore, I have sent a contingent of my best spies to find out who it might be. For now, we’re not sure because the missing demons left no trace of where they might have gone. I’ve also scheduled meetings with the lords of each ring. I need to know if they are involved. If they are, I will sense it and deal with their treachery.”

“I’d like to join you in your inquiries. Let me know when you’ll meet, and I shall join you.”

“I will have my assistant send you my schedule as well as all of the information that I gleaned from my sources,” he says before he disconnects the call.

I roll my eyes at my father’s mention of an assistant. It amuses me to no end that my father decided to model his castle in hell to look like an office building in the corporate world. He even gave one of his imps a desk outside of his throne, equipped with a laptop, printer, and cellphone.

There’s nothing more laughter-inducing than watching a green, two feet tall imp, with hooves and horn on its head wearing a business suit.

Sitting back in my seat, I run through possible scenarios rationalizing the existence of the new creatures. Could it be that someone is creating these new creatures? But to what end? Most of the lords and his people are blood-bound to Lucifer. And from what I gathered, most of them are happy with their stations. Lucifer is generous to those who are loyal to him.

My laptop notifies me that my father’s “assistant” has emailed me at that moment. I review the files and note that there have been no uprisings or discontent in hell. There have been several local disputes, but nothing notable stands out.

The list of disappearing creatures does raise several flags, though. As I sort through the files, I note that a phantasm, a kongamato, a lamia, several incubi, and many other hell creatures have gone missing. My brow furrows as I try to connect how they might connect to the two creatures I’ve fought. The one that attacked Bree had qualities similar to kongamato and a lamia. However, it looked more humanoid and could shapeshift. There are no missing shapeshifters in this list. However, that doesn’t mean anything. Most shifters are solitary creatures.

A knock on the door startles me from my thoughts. I berate myself for all of the emotion bombarding me when I think of Bree being on the other side of the door.

Clearing my throat, I relax back in my seat and call out, “Come in.”

Bree steps into the room and gives me a timid smile. She must have showered because her hair is damp and she’s wearing a different outfit. My mouth waters at the sight of her wearing a pair of dark leggings and a long, white t-shirt that slips off one shoulder. Her feet are bare, and her cheeks are flushed.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering if you heard anything from Lucifer.”

I nod and gesture to the chair in front of my large desk. Her tiny feet tread through the soft rug as she slides into the comfortable, brown leather chair.

“As a matter of fact, Lucifer’s assistant just sent me some information that might relate to the two demons I’ve fought.”

A loud snort escapes her pouty lips, which she quickly covers with the palm of her hand.

I arch a questioning brow. “What?”

She shakes her head, but her eyes shine with mirth when she answers. “It’s just…Lucifer, the king of hell, has an assistant. I don’t know why I find it funny, but I do.”

My lip quirks as I lean forward and rest my elbows on the desk’s gleaming white surface. “I will admit that it amuses me every time I think about it, and I’ve had many years to become accustomed to the idea. You’d be surprised to find that over the past century, my father has taken the human’s corporate model and made it his own. However, unlike in the human world, his assistant is a demonic imp, and his accountant is a troll.”

Her smile widens. “Are you serious?”

I nod. “It’s quite odd, but it seems to work.”

She laughs and slaps a hand across her thigh. “Oh my gosh, I just imagined that his communication person would be like a vampire or some creature with the ability to sway people. How about the people who deal with paperwork? I imagine zombies and maybe demonlings who transport things back and forth.”

I give her a bemused grimace. “You’re not far off your mark. His communications expert is a Succubus, his lawyer is a banshee, and his head of security is an ogre.”

Boisterous laughter fills the room as Bree clutches her stomach and falls sideways.

It takes her a moment to recover. As she wipes her tears and takes a couple of breaths, she manages to ask. “So, what did you learn?”

I give her a copy of the file that I printed out. “According to Lucifer, several demons have been disappearing from the lower rungs of the circles of hell. Most of them have the powers that the creature I killed several days ago and your…date.”

Her expression blanks as she peruses the sheet. “I don’t know what most of these creatures are. What’s an incubus?”

My lip quirks. “They are male lust demons. They can entice their prey and heighten sexual desire.”

Her eyes snap up to mine, and all color drains from her face. “I think…I think my date…” she mutters distastefully. “…might have been an incubus. I mean, he touched me, and I felt…things.”

My mind wanders toward what things she could have felt. But I stop myself from asking. The last thing I need is a visual of how she felt.

“He didn’t...?” I pause, unsure of how to ask.

Bree must catch on to what I’m asking because she shakes her head. “He didn’t rape me or anything. Hell, he barely kissed me. It just didn’t feel right. Not when I couldn’t stop thinking about…” her pale face quickly gains color as she stops and fidgets in place.

But her words are enough to make my heart flutter wildly inside my chest.

Is she speaking of me? Am I the one she cannot stop thinking about?

The question settles in the tip of my tongue, but I swallow it down. I don’t know if I’ll be able to control myself if she says it’s me.

Gritting my teeth, I take a couple of seconds to compose myself before I continue. “Right now, we’re thinking that whoever is doing this is creating a sophisticated version of the Frankenstein monsters. My guess is that there might be a powerful demon or mage who might be taking these creatures and creating new ones with their mixed powers. Lucifer is sending out several of his spies to see if there is, they can find out who might be looking to challenge Lucifer’s authority.”

She bites her bottom lip and exhales deeply. “Do you think there will be more?”

I grimace. “There’s no doubt that whoever is doing this is working up to something bigger. The list is large, and the powers the two creatures used belonged to only a few of the creatures on the list.”

She taps her finger thoughtfully. “That must mean that there are probably more of those demon creatures looking for victims. Some might have already even attacked a few humans without our knowledge.”

My brow quirks. “That is a bloody good theory. I’m going to contact the council to see if there have been any dodgy human disappearances lately. They would be the source of supernatural attacks since humans tend to label them as animal attacks. I’m also going to compile a list of possible supernatural beings who might be powerful enough to create a new species. For now, I will take and fetch you to school and back. I can use the time in between to speak to the vampire king and gain more information on the experiments that were created last year.”

“I want to help.” She mutters. “Maybe I can talk to Jules. Her father was the head of the center. She might have some insight into what is going on.”

“You know Jules?”

She nods. “Yeah, I’ve hung out with them and Zoe during girls’ night. Azazel is very good friends with the Cross brothers, which means their mates are also close friends. They’re all really nice.”

I give her an agreeable nod. The idea has merit. “I thought you didn’t want Azazel to know about this.”

Her eyes widen. “Oh, I’m not planning on telling them about my date or our suspicions. I’ll just tell her that it’s for research purposes.”

“I have to say, I’m impressed with your subterfuge. I will make sure to keep you out of the conversation when I speak to the council or anyone who knows Azazel.”

She releases a relieved sigh. “Alright, thanks.”

We both remain silent, where we are. However, I know that she has something she needs to say by the look on her face.

After a moment, she opens her lips and mutters. “Can I ask you something?”

I give her a wary nod. “What did you wish to know?”

She bites her lip again. “Now that we know that there are new creatures, are they soulless? Is that why the ring didn’t work?”

I nod. “That would be the only valid answer. Based on the creature’s unnatural makeup, I’d say that they’re not the original vessels, which means they own no soul.”

“You also said that Lucifer gave you a piece of your soul. How did that happen? Where you like born, and he saw that you didn’t have a soul, so he gave you some of his?” she asks.

I shake my head. “Unfortunately, it was not that simple. Lucifer didn’t learn about me until years after I was born. Lilith never told him about me.”

She sits forward in her seat and crosses her long legs. “Does that mean that you were walking around without a soul?”

I look at my hands for a moment, then look back up and meet her eyes. “That’s a very simplified version of how it went, I guess.”

Her lips tighten with exasperation at my lack of response. “But how is that possible?”

Rubbing my palm against my jaw, I think about a response that would satisfy her. “I’m not the same as I was before Lucifer gave me a fragment of his soul. Back then, I felt very little emotion. I mostly lived off rage and pain. I cared for nothing—not even my own mother. Of course, she also hated me, which makes her a bad example.”

Her expression falls with pity, which annoys me.

“Don’t pity me, Bree. I don’t deserve it.”

I swallow hard as I lay out the truth. “The truth is, I was nothing more than a tool of death that my mother would use to keep her subjects in line, and I basked in it. I felt no bloody remorse nor any pity. I killed indiscriminately, and every day I plotted ways that I would kill her and Lucifer before I came to earth and destroyed humanity.”

Her eyes tear up, and her hands shake when she places them back on her thighs. “What made you change your mind?” she asks in a small voice.

Rising from my seat, I walk around my desk and reply. “If I had to point out a moment when I changed my mind, I’d say that the moment the fragment was placed, I was able to feel some empathy and affection. Not just that, I realized that Lucifer was not like Lilith. He actually did care about me and did everything that he could to make up for the fact that he wasn’t there to protect me from her. Also, after centuries of living on earth, I learned to appreciate the struggles that humans face. Now, when I think about it, I’m disgusted by my behavior and am glad that I’m not like that anymore. It would kill me to be that unfeeling.”

To my surprise, she doesn’t sneer. Instead, she gets up and wraps her arms around me. Unsure of what to do, I wrap my arm around her waist and savor her embrace. I won’t pretend that having her body so close to mine and feeling her breath on my neck doesn’t feel amazing—because it does. It really does. Her delicious scent intoxicates me, and the feel of her firm breasts against my chest makes me harden.

She must see my discomfort because she leans back and blushes. I don’t release her. I know that I should, but I can’t. At least, not yet. Standing close, I angle my head toward hers and inhale deeply.

Her body shudders, and her breathing becomes shallow, but she doesn’t break from my gaze. It’s a heady web that we both seem to be trapped in.

I don’t know who moves first, but somehow our lips are inches apart. Eyes half-mast, I move closer. My heart pounds wildly in my chest as her lips touch mine. The kiss is slow, languid, and full of promise. As her arms wrap around my neck, I pull her tightly against me and absorb her intoxicating taste. With every stroke of her lips and tongue, a brilliant feeling settles inside of me. Within minutes, the kiss becomes more intense, and our bodies begin to grind together.

Groaning with pleasure, I caress my hand up her back and wrap my fingers around her silken hair. Her soft mewls drive me nearly bonkers. Pleasure as I have never known courses through me. No kiss has ever captivated me before. I feel like it’s the first time I’ve ever kissed a woman.

As the kiss deepens, we both stumble back and bump into my desk, knocking several things down.

We both startle and break apart, our chests heaving from our exertions. Blinking rapidly, Bree raises her hand and rubs her swollen lips.

Not knowing what to do, I clench my teeth and gruffly mutter. “Uh…I…that shouldn’t have happened.”

Bree’s jaw tightens with untold emotions as she carefully nods her head. “Yeah…um, you’re right. I…” she looks at the door. “I should go.”

Before I can respond, she turns and walks out of the door.

Once she has left, I slump back down on my chair and take a couple of deep breaths. I feel like such a foul git telling her that. But I have no choice. Not when there’s a prophecy hanging over our head.

Leaning my elbows on my knees, I rest my chin over my joined hands and close my eyes. There’s no doubt that the kiss was exceptional. And now that I know how she tastes, the predator in me is crying out for more.

Because of that, I know that I should stay away from her. Or at least keep as much distance as I can while she stays in my home. If the idea pains me greatly, I ignore it. The repercussions are too great to disregard. I guess I just have to live off the reminder until she walks out of my life again. Regrettably, forgetting her will not be that simple.