Chapter 34
It’s like having a dream come true. The connection I’d been chasing with him comes in the most unexpected way.
“Don’t forget what I told you, Jackie. Feelings are off the table,” he says, pulling us back to reality.
Because, as he never tires of reminding me, he’s not some fairy-tale prince.
He’s Lucifer, who makes me tremble with his devastating beauty, just like the biblical fallen angel.
The god of the underworld, cast out of paradise.
A man who doesn’t know how to give himself to anything beyond a carnal encounter.
I turn in his arms to face him.
Feelings will never be off the table when it comes to you, Lucifer, but you don’t need to know that.
If I hadn’t just shared the intensity of his surrender minutes ago, his words might have made my heart bleed after such intimacy.
But I know he fell into the abyss with me.
For as long as our act lasted, Lucifer was lost in me.
It wasn’t just sex, no matter how much he insists on that asshole speech.
I turn the shower on just long enough to rinse my back, then step out of the stall.
I grab a towel and, moving with calculated slowness so he has time to take in the sight of my naked, wet body he just claimed, I wrap it around myself.
Only then, already standing at the doorway, do I say, “Was that warning meant for me? Because it felt like it was for both of us.”
I walk back to the bedroom without giving him a chance to say anything else, and for once, I know I’m the one who won this round.
One week later
The paperwork for our marriage still isn’t ready, and Lucifer has been anxious and looking worried, though he tries to hide it. I think it’s about my safety. I’m scared too, if I’m being honest. But not for me, for his life.
I know what he does carries risks, though he’s told me, without giving details about his “profession”, that he doesn’t have to travel more than four times a year now.
But it’s different to go on a mission than to have someone specifically hunting you down.
Today, I came to the association where I volunteer for the last time, because I wanted to say goodbye to them in person.
Lucifer said it’s likely we’ll have to go to New Orleans before leaving for our honeymoon on a private island—one I have no idea who owns.
I was almost out the door when one of the assistants asked me to cover for her. She had just gotten a call from her three-year-old son’s school saying he wasn’t feeling well.
I know I’m safe in here, and besides, there’s a bodyguard outside watching over me.
That was the condition Lucifer set for agreeing to let me come.
I’m sorting through donated clothes for the children when my phone rings.
I smile when I see it’s Taylor.
“Life’s weird, isn’t it? Now that I’m back, you’ve gone and gotten yourself kidnapped,” she says instead of hello.
“Has anyone ever told you that you have a strange sense of humor, redhead?”
“Yeah, but I never took it seriously. I figure it’s more likely the world just isn’t ready for my sharp wit.”
“There’s a chance you might be right. How are you?”
“I’m good. I called to see how you’re doing. I was worried after the last time we talked.”
“Don’t be, Taylor. I swear to you, I’m fine.”
“You sound calmer.”
“I don’t know if calmer, but definitely more certain.”
“About what?”
“About L. I’m tired of waiting like a princess in my castle for the dark prince to come save me, which, to be fair, he’s always done. I’ve decided to fight for his love.”
“I really like the sound of this. Does it have to do with you two living together?”
“No. Living with him will help, I won’t lie,” I say, feeling guilty that I can’t yet tell her we’ll be married in just a few days. But I know if I do, Taylor will freak out. In her world, despite everything she’s been through, there are no mafia organizations or people out to kill you.
“So what other reason, then?”
“Only a few days ago, I realized I don’t have to be afraid of having my heart broken by him. His absence all those years, when he didn’t even know about my obsessive crush…”
“Wait, you’re serious? He had no idea?”
“I’m sure of it. Remember when I told you we stayed at my place a couple of months ago?”
“Yeah.”
“I think that was the first time he saw me as a woman.”
“Jesus, Jackie, how long did you live like that?”
“I’m embarrassed to say.”
“We’re friends. I’m not going to judge you.”
“Eleven years.”
“Damn!”
“You said you wouldn’t judge.”
“It’s not judgment. I’m just trying to process the image of a woman calmly waiting for her man against the friend I know, fearless and foul-mouthed.”
“It wasn’t lack of courage. When I had the chance, I literally grabbed the bull by the horns. Aside from the fact that he kept his distance, I think I was a little afraid to break the illusion.”
“What do you mean?”
“If he rejected me, that would be it. I’d have to face the fact that I’d never get my happily-ever-after with the man who stole my heart when I was still a teenager, without even meaning to.”