Dance of Wings (Curse of the Guardians #7)

29. Scarlet

Chapter 29

Scarlet

T he post-sex glow had long gone, and she found she was comfortable continuing to pretend nothing else existed but them. Longed for it, even. To have a moment in time where she wasn’t constantly worrying about the next step, or be reminded of her brother.

Male lips pressed against her shoulder. “Your pulse just spiked. What’s wrong?”

Straddling his thighs, Scarlet traced her finger across a particular tattoo along his pec, her wings soaking up the deliciously warm water behind her.

How could she explain that her stomach was cramping from guilt because she felt more like herself than she had in over a year?

“Why did you ruin your body with so many tattoos?” she asked instead, giving herself enough time to rebuild her carefully constructed mask. She’d never felt so vulnerable with someone, so close to a man who didn’t even really know her.

He knew what she projected, but it wasn’t real.

It could never be real.

“Ruin?” Lucifer snorted, leaning back to meet her eyes. He clearly noticed the change in subject, but was happy to humour her. For now, at least. “I’ll have you know all the ladies love my tattoos.”

“Do they?” Scar smiled, but it was barely a shadow of her previous bliss. “We’re taught our skin should be cherished and left unmarked. That any and all impurities are to be removed.”

“What’s this then?” He gently touched the brand between her breasts.

Scar frowned against the darkened skin. “It wasn’t a choice.”

“And yet there you are,assuming all my tattoos were my own choice.” His chuckle was dark, his hands sinking beneath the water to stroke down her sides. “Sometimes you have to do something to survive, even if that means ruining my perfect body with ink.”

“So humble.”

His laugh, this time, was lighter. “They’re glyphs, if you’re interested. Each one’s a different enchantment to help me handle black magic. It’s an old druid practice designed to balance arcane. Only those strong enough are able to handle this many glyphs, others simply succumb to the power.”

“Like I said… humble,” she said, enjoying the candles Lucifer had placed around the pool, the lights flickering across his skin. She didn’t actually believe he’d ruined anything with his tattoos, quite the opposite, but it was just another way to rebuild that barrier between them.

“Why be modest when it’s the truth?” He shrugged, sloshing the water around them. “Daemonic chi’s are by far greater to all other Breed, which means I can call more arcane, and for a longer period of time before needing to rest.”

“Rest? Is the great Daemon Lucifer admitting to a weakness?”

He leaned down to teasingly nip at her lips, and Scarlet barely held back her laugh.

“My chi is literally a manifestation of my aura,” he continued. “But it’s not endless. I always imagine it to be an elastic band, continuously stretching the more I use it, but eventually it’ll snap back.”

“My… magic isn’t the same,” she decided to explain, wanting to share just a little bit more about herself. “Celestrials don’t really have a chi.”

“No chi? How boring,” he said, his tone light-hearted. “And I thought being a Daemon sucked. You’re really not selling life as an angel.”

Scarlet allowed herself to smile. “If you think that’s bad, not only can we not harness our auras, but when you come of age you’re expected to marry someone of equal or higher rank.”

“Expected as in arranged?”

Scarlet nodded. “You’re selected for your knowledge and abilities, assuring the next generation will inherit the best of both parents. Love doesn’t really exist in my world.”

“Hmm,” Lucifer hummed. “You’re right, celestrials do suck.”

He laughed when she splashed him.

“I’d be a terrible celestrial, especially since I can’t even have kids,” he said so casually. “No one who practices black magic can, it’s part of the balance.”

“You mentioned balance before, it’s not something we discussed back in Aetherna.” Her kind always strives to constantly improve, but there were no costs in exchange.

“Yeah, it’s just one of those things. You have to give something up for power, whether that’s physical or mental. Black magic is corruptive, it just happens to be that Daemons are designed to channel that corruption in a less self-destructive way.”

“Because of your glyphs?”

“Aww, you’re listening.” Lucifer’s smile grew until it brightened his entire face. “Other than the obvious, red eyes, horns and wings. We handle black magic much better than others. I’ve met witches that have sacrificed their sight, limbs and even minds. Although, I’ve met many Daemons that’s lost a marble or two.”

“Okay, so Daemons are the superior Breed. Have I missed anything?”

“Nah, I think that’s it,” he chuckled. “Do you need a notepad? Or will you remember this all for Cassiel later?”

Scar shook her head. “You’re not funny.”

“Seriously, you should be writing this down. It’s important stuff. Now, if you really need to give him something truly interesting you should ask me about my piercings.”

“Your piercings?”

“Why, thank you for asking,” he teased. “So, I got my nipples pierced because I was bored one day, and I liked the way they feel.” His hands absently stroked along the top of her thighs. There was nothing sexual about it, and she found it almost comforting. “My cock, on the other hand, was because of a dare.”

Scar sat up straighter, her knees widening on the bench each side of his hips. “Why would you agree to that dare?”

Lucifer looked at her as if the question was absurd. “Because it was a dare? How could I look at my brothers again if I chickened out?”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Trust me angel, it was more of a weird and uncomfortable experience for my brother Ti than me. He didn’t think I would go through with it, but you should have seen his face when I pulled my cock out without hesitation.”

Scar laughed, the sound coming from deep within her chest. “Why am I not surprised.”

Lucifer’s fingers gripped at the flesh, pinning her in place. “You’re beautiful when you laugh,” he said, his playfulness gone, only to be replaced with a tension that made her throat go dry.

He could do that, make her feel like she held his entire attention. It made everything she’d done, and would have to do, that much worse.

“I should go,” she whispered, finding the words easier than the actual actions.

“You can’t until the water works its magic,” he said, his voice husky. “I chose the oil specifically.”

“The oil?”

“It’s supposed to… you know… help with the ache.” Was that a blush in his tone?

He wasn’t wrong, she ached in places she’d never ached before. Probably because her experience with the opposite sex was barely a footnote in her adult life, and Lucifer was… of a certain size. Plus she’d never experienced a piercing before, and she was definitely converted.

Scarlet shook her head, quietly tickled with the flush on his cheekbones. “And the purpose of the glitter?” She hadn’t commented when she watched him add a small vial of silver glitter to the water.

Lucifer smirked, and it was devastating to her libido. “I wanted to see you sparkle beneath the moonlight.”

“You have an unhealthy obsession with sparkly things.”

He leaned forward until his lips ghosted over hers. “No such thing.”

Scarlet froze, clearing her throat. There was no point in hiding how her body betrayed her around him. He could feel it in her heartbeat, which only reminded her of the mark bonding them. Something she was manipulated into getting, and had no control over.

“We should stop,” she whispered, the breeze threatening to take out the candles.

“Stop what?”

“You know what.” She went to move back, but his fingers dug in until they almost bruised. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“Can I let you in on a secret?” He pulled her tighter against him, until she was forced to arch her back. He held her there, suspended at an angle that left her top half exposed. “I believe in the Fates.” His eyes dragged across her breasts, his hair brushing forward to drape across her when he leaned forward to press a kiss to her brand.

“As in destiny?” Scar wanted to touch him in return, but instead fisted her hands beneath the water.

“In druid ethos there are these three women known as the Fates,” he said against her skin. “They set up paths for you to go, so I guess in some way they’re destiny, yes.”

Scarlet wasn’t sure why he was telling her this. “And you believe in them? These women?”

“My brothers curse them, but I believe they want the best for you. They’re more guides, pushing you in the right direction.” His laugh was nothing but an expel of air, causing the water to lap at them gently. “So maybe, we shouldn’t stop. Because there’s always going to be a path where we meet.”

“Because we’re inevitable,” she whispered, repeating a phrase he’d once said to her.

Lucifer’s smile was crooked, his lips brushing against hers gently. “Exactly.”

He made it sound so simple. And maybe in another life it would be different.

But it wasn’t.

“Stop,” she pleaded, her lungs tightening. “I can’t do this.”

Lucifer was silent for a heartbeat, his body rigid beneath her. “Why?”

“Why?” she parroted, clinging to anger. “Because you should hate me.”

“I don’t do anything I don’t want to do.”

Anxiety fluttered, as if those earlier butterflies had turned into angry wasps. “You’re impossible.”

Lucifer just shrugged, and even that movement was so casual she wanted to stab him just to get a more volatile reaction.

“This was a mistake, I shouldn’t have –”

“Don’t you fucking dare,” he interrupted, his words sharp despite how calm his tone was. “You don’t get to do that, dismiss this as nothing.”

“But it is nothing.” She slowly rebuilt the ice surrounding her heart, knowing it was the only thing helping her to survive. “You’re just a job, Lucifer. I can’t offer you more than that.”

“You say that while my cum drips from between your legs.” His head dipped closer, the tendons at his nape stiff. “But don’t worry, love, I can be your dirty little secret.”

His hand moved up from the water, leisurely shaping her body until his thumb pressed against the side of her throat. Scar jerked away, frustrated at the idea that she only could because he let her. “I’m not risking my job. If Cassiel –”

“Fuck Cassiel. It’s just a job.”

“It’s not about the job,” she hissed, stepping out of the water. “You have no idea.”

Lucifer stood, water droplets clinging to his body. “What’s he holding over you?”

His expression darkened, and those wasps stinging her chest turned into hornets.

“Nothing.”

“You might lie to yourself, but you can’t lie to me.”

“You’re delusional.”

Lucifer laughed, and she wanted to surround herself in the sound. “Oh, love. You have no idea.”