Chapter 36
Chapter
Thirty-Six
MERRI
The last twenty-four hours went by entirely too quickly.
I’d been on a high when we’d finished our practice the day before, but with every passing minute, it drained away until I was left an anxious mess.
Would I be able to betray Lucifer so completely?
More importantly, why did I feel like it was a betrayal?
I was trying to escape. He had me in his clutches. Did I have Stockholm syndrome?
Fuck.
I’d already entered the dream realm, but I’d yet to pull anyone else.
I just needed a second to get my bearings.
The risk here was all mine. The horsemen couldn’t die.
Lucifer probably couldn’t either. And if I didn’t succeed in weakening him, he’d take it out on me in ways I could never imagine.
He was Satan, after all. Despite his protests to the contrary, not every story about him could be false.
There had to be kernels of truth in there somewhere, and those kernels were enough to keep me from underestimating him.
First and foremost, I needed to create a space for us that would make him feel connected to me.
Give him some semblance of comfort and ease.
The Garden of Eden was the first to come to mind.
Beautiful, serene, and most of all, important to him.
I hoped it would signify my attentiveness to what he shared with me.
If there was any setting where he’d be more inclined to let down his guard, I truly hoped this would be it. I was gambling my life on it.
“Okay,” I breathed, shaking out my sweaty palms and jumping around a bit like a boxer before a match.
From one moment to the next, I went from alone to surrounded by my four bodyguards. That’s what they’d be tonight.
“Wow, you really piled on the ambiance for Old Scratch tonight, didn’t you, kitten?” Sin muttered, clearly annoyed with the world around him.
“Listen,” I started, already sensing how quickly this could devolve, “he needs to believe this is real. I’m going to have to do and say things you won’t like, and you need to promise me you’ll stay put until it’s time, or all of this is for nothing.
I doubt we’ll get a second chance, so you’re all going to have to keep your collective shit together. ”
“Well, you didn’t mention you were going to look like a fucking goddess in the moonlight. I can see your nipples.”
“Sin,” I chastised.
“I’m sorry. Okay. I know. It’s all part of the plan.” He took a heaving breath and let it out on a gusty sigh.
Malice clapped him on the shoulder. “We don’t have to like it, but we do have to trust her.”
Chaos clenched and unclenched his fists but nodded his agreement. Grim remained silent, his gaze once again locked on me. I noted that he looked marginally more put together than the night before.
“Can I trust you four not to interfere?” I asked, looking at each of them in turn.
One by one, they nodded.
“As long as he keeps his hands to himself,” Chaos snarled.
“No. That’s not what I asked. I’m going to have to seduce him. That means getting close. There might be touching and sweet words and things you won’t like to see or hear. You can’t come barreling out of the trees to defend my honor.”
“Merri,” Chaos grumbled.
“You wanted me to do this. You have to let me do it.”
“She’s right,” Grim said.
My eyebrows lifted. I didn’t expect him to support me so readily, but I wasn’t going to turn it down.
“I never thought Grimsby would become a yes man,” Sin muttered.
Malice shook his head. “People do strange things when they’re trying to get out of the doghouse. Trust me.”
“Personally, I prefer make-up sex.”
I rolled my eyes at Sin.
“You four should get into place. Remember what we practiced. I’ll signal when I’m ready for you to jump in.”
We’d decided their roles were primarily to observe and protect.
The heavy lifting was on me, but if things went sideways, they’d be ready to come to my aid and do what they did best. Based on Gabriel’s incredibly vague advice, we didn’t think a physical attack would be enough to weaken him the way we needed, but it was our “shit’s hit the fan” plan anyway.
Once they were in position, I adjusted my sheer, flowing gown and sat on a boulder directly under a ray of moonlight. Fireflies winked in and out of view all around the garden, and the scent of apples filled the warm air. All I needed was . . . him.
Lucifer came to me easily. Too easily, if I was honest.
“Ah, we meet again,” he crooned, stalking into view. He glanced around the garden, smirking. “Feeling sentimental, crabapple?”
I couldn’t play directly into his hand; he’d sniff me out in seconds. Instead I glared and lifted a shoulder. “Not my doing.”
“You look . . . delightful. Is this a date?”
“I’m hungry. You’ve said you’re willing.”
Surprise flashed in his eyes, and I had a brief moment of panic before he began a slow saunter to me. “Don’t you have four horsemen to help you with your appetite?”
“They’re not mine anymore, Luc. You reminded me of the truth. They are my exes. Nothing more. Continuing to sleep with them complicates things more than they already are.”
He made a musing sound as he joined me. There was barely enough room for the two of us on the boulder’s surface, and the sides of our bodies pressed together from shoulder to knee.
“So you’d rather sleep with me now? I’m not buying it.”
Reaching for his hand, I threaded our fingers and looked into his eyes. He really was beautiful to behold.
“I didn’t say I would sleep with you.”
A low laugh came from deep in his chest. “So what are we looking at here? Over the dress? Under the dress? Mouth stuff?”
Undeniable heat flooded me at the suggestions. I could so easily picture all of it. And I didn’t hate what I pictured. Not even a little bit.
What did that say about me?
“I guess we’ll have to see what happens.”
He reached out and tucked a stray curl behind my ear, his fingers lingering on my jaw as if he wanted to pull me closer for a kiss.
I needed to let him. For multiple reasons, one of which I didn’t want to admit.
“Kiss me, Merri. Put me out of my misery and let me have your lips again,” he whispered.
My breath stuttered, and my eyes dropped to his lips. They were so very kissable.
Giving in to temptation, but telling myself it was only for the purposes of the mission, I closed the distance between us and pressed my lips to his.
He groaned at the same time a rumble radiated from the trees. Fucking Chaos. On instinct, I created a thunderstorm in the distance, hoping against hope it would cover any further sounds of protest from the warrior.
“You taste divine,” he murmured against my mouth.
“I bet you say that to all the girls.”
He ran a knuckle along my cheek, laughing softly. “Only the ones who matter.”
His large palm cupped my nape and he yanked me to him again, stealing another kiss, but this time deepening it and stealing my breath as he did.
His tongue slipped inside, body firmly pressing against mine before he pulled me onto his lap and ground his hard cock against me.
It felt good. He felt good. He felt . . . right.
Admittedly, my experience with actual partners was limited. But being with Lucifer was as easy as being with Sin.
I didn’t let myself dwell on the realization, because any shift in my focus would be our downfall.
This was the opening I needed.
Moving carefully, I slid my hand into his hair and gripped just tight enough to draw a needy groan from him.
Pulling back, I looked into his eyes and began sending a slow pulse of power into him.
His dick throbbed and swelled with every wave of lust that emanated from me until he was whimpering and rocking his hips up in search of what he was desperate for.
With no reason to withhold any attention from him—if anything, it would only make completing my mission easier—I ground my pelvis against the ridge of his cock.
“Fuck, Merri. Yes,” he moaned. “I knew this would be good between us.”
Instinct had me wanting to deny the claim, but the little fireworks going off inside me agreed with him. There wasn’t anything wrong with me finding a little pleasure here. That’s what I was made for, right?
Lucifer pulled the long skirt of my dress up until it was around my waist, my bare cunt rubbing over his trousers, making a mess of the fabric. It was pure biology, a reaction caused by stimulation, not true arousal for this insanely attractive fallen angel.
“If you let me inside you, I swear you won’t regret it. You want me, I can tell by how wet you are.” Lucifer kissed my neck, biting down on the tender flesh and making me cry out.
There was another rumble followed by what I swear was a swell of shadow.
The horsemen were feeling some kind of way about watching this.
Curious about how Mal and Sin were taking it, I cast out my awareness only to be hit by twin waves of lust. I had to duck my head into Lucifer’s neck to hide my surprise and subsequent excitement over the discovery.
Everyone knew I had a bit of an exhibition kink, but learning that my mates might have a matching compersion kink filled a girl’s mind with all kinds of sexy possibilities.
I continued grinding into Lucifer, using his harsh breaths and grunts as my guide. Simultaneously, I released more of my power, snaring him even deeper in my web. I needed him so mindless he wouldn’t register my presence in his subconscious.
He was close, his rising climax setting off my predatory instinct to feed, because, let’s not forget, a succubus is a predator. I needed him to orgasm for more reasons than one. He was willing prey.
“Come for me, Luc. I want to feel you,” I whispered before taking his bottom lip between my teeth and biting down as I flooded him with arousal.
On a deep, guttural moan, he found his release, fingers digging into my ass hard enough I’d likely have bruises.
I fed.
Long and deep.