Inside was just as interesting as the outside. Long, hanging lights hung from the ceiling. Their hue was low enough that it gave the place a romantic feeling, and the sultry playing music only added to the effect. My mouth fell open, and I turned to Andre.
Andre didn't give me a chance to get on to him before he jumped in. "Impressed?"
"Yes." I nodded primly but then pointed an accusing finger at him. "However, I think we have a misunderstanding about what this dinner is all about. This... is not a date." I waved a hand between the two of us.
"It's not?"
"No," I said with a clipped tone but then smiled to lessen the blow. "It is a business dinner. Which you will be picking up the check for."
"Well, that was given regardless of the situation. However... I think you should reconsider." I opened my mouth to argue with him, but he lifted his hand and touched my lips. "Give me until dessert to decide. Then you can tell me I'm wasting my breath."
This time Lucifer stopped pretending to be interested in the room around us and actually locked eyes with me. There was a weird emotion playing in those eyes there. I couldn't place my finger on what it was though I was sure I didn't like it.
I started to tell Andre no, but Lucifer finally spoke up. "Just go for it, love. See what he has to say. You never know."
My eyes shot back to the fallen angel, concern etched in my face, but before I could answer either of them, the hostess came over. "Just two?"
"Yes. Unless," Andre glanced at me, "you're expecting any drop-ins?"
I shook my head. "No, not right now."
"Two then." Andre held two fingers up.
The hostess grabbed two menus and then checked something off on her podium before asking us to follow her. We moved through the tables and booths until we came to a cozy booth near the back. Here, we were barely visible to the rest of the room, like we were in our own little world, closed off to the rest of the restaurant.
I hated it.
Andre thankfully didn't insist on sitting right next to me and took the opposite side of the table from me. I took my menu and used it as a barrier between us. "What's good here?"
"What was that?" Andre asked as he pulled my menu down to meet my eyes. "I couldn't hear you over this massive thing."
I smiled slightly. "I said, what's good here?"
"Oh." Andre glanced down at his menu. "Well, everything really. They have a bit of anything you would want. What are you in the mood for?"
I hummed and glanced down at the menu. Lucifer stood off the side, not taking a seat with us. "Well, I need some meat." The look Andre gave me made me flush and quickly amend my statement. "I mean, I need some protein. Maybe a steak?"
Andre nodded. "That sounds good." The waiter approached the edge of our table. "We'll have two steaks, please. Medium rare?" He glanced to me, and I nodded. Not quite dead but not mooing anymore. "And your best Chardonnay."
"Right away." The waiter took our menus and hustled away.
Andre turned his blue eyes onto me, and I felt the pressure ratchet up.
Standing up suddenly, I announced, "I need to pee." Without waiting for him to answer, I marched away toward the restroom sign. I need a moment to catch my breath. To get my mind in the right place. To talk to Lucifer.
When safe behind closed doors, I turned to the Devil trailing behind me. "What's your problem?"
Lucifer didn't meet my eyes, his gaze on the sink counter. His finger traced a path on the marble counter, his lower lip slightly puffed out. "There's nothing wrong. Why would there be?"
"You're pouting. Why are you pouting?" I poked at him, frustrated that my finger only went through his chest rather than getting my point across.
His dark eyes shifted from the counter to me, the vulnerability there made me take a step back. A Devil with a heart was a curious thing to see. "I don't know what you're talking about, love. I do not pout."
As he claimed it, he pouted even more. I'd have laughed had it not been so darn pathetic. I thought I was the emotional one in this relationship, I never expected my angels to even be a problem. God, did that mean they had man periods? Was I doomed to have all three of them syncing up and then bitching and moaning together about how they needed ice cream and sex?
"I'd say, you need to check your own bullshit meter because you, my dear Devil, are lying." I waved a finger up and down his form. "Is it because of Andre?"
"No."
Ah. There it was. That lip. So, it was Andre.
"Lucifer, Lucy," I murmured as I moved in close to him. The line of my body pressed against his, causing a delightful buzzing down my skin. "We're in a relationship, aren't we?"
He nodded.
"Then you need to talk to me." When he turned his head away, I shifted to stay in his view. "If you don't want me here, just say so. I'll leave."
"Do you like him?" There was no jealousy in his tone, but there was a vulnerability in the question that made me want to hug him.
"I don't know. I barely know him."
"But you want to have sex with him." That was more of a statement than a question, so I didn't offer up an answer. Andre was attractive, I wasn't going to lie. Had I played with the idea of doing the naked dance with him? Sure, but about as much as I did when thinking about petting a snake.
"I'm not jealous," Lucifer began, his lips twisting into an astounded frown as if he were surprised by that. "I'm not sure what I am. I have no problem sharing you with others. That's quite obvious." He offered me a small smile. "However, I'm not sure about sharing you with a human. What if he doesn't want to share you? What if you love him more?"
I let out a nervous laugh. "Who said I loved you?"
"Don't you?" Lucifer cocked his head to the side.
I swallowed hard. This was not a discussion to be having in a public restroom while I was on a kind of date with another man, let alone when the others weren't there to talk about it too. Still, I examined my options.
Lying was out of the question. He would know. Honestly, I hadn't thought too much on it. But now that I was on the spot... I did love them. Why else would I feel like we are on a countdown to doomsday? If I was still just having fun, then I shouldn't care that it might soon be over.
"Yes," I murmured, my eyes cast down as I was unable to bring myself to look him in the eyes. I'd never told anyone I had loved them before. Not outside of the usual high school sweetheart kind of way at any rate, and those were rarely true love. I didn't know if it was with them either. Could you be truly in love with three people? Three angels for that matter.
"Then go have your date or whatever that blasted man wants to call it. I'll meet you at home." Lucifer slid his fingers underneath my chin, and the buzzing urged me to look up. He brushed his incorporeal lips against mine, and I sighed into the barely-there kiss. Would we always be saying goodbye? And would the next one be the last one?
Chapter 13
WHEN I GOT BACK TO the table, our food had already arrived. Andre sat there looking ever the debonair billionaire with his glass of red wine in his hand but having not yet started to eat.
Such a gentleman. I couldn't help but wonder if Lucifer would be the same way if he were here all the time? Right now, we only had stolen moments here and there, but to have the guys here all the time? Even I couldn't imagine how that would turn out.
Shaking my head as I approached the table, I offered Andre an apologetic smile. "Sorry I took so long. Thank you for waiting."
Andre set his glass down and waved me off. "Not a problem. I'm used to being starved with my busy schedule." He laughed nervously, and I laughed along with him.
"What else do you outside of the contest?" I asked as I picked up my own wine glass for a sip. Yum. Holding back the urge to down the glass, I sat it back down and poured over my food. The steak was medium rare just as we ordered, which was rare. Most of the time it either came mooing or charred to a crisp.
"Well, as you know, I deal with buying the stock for several different big clothing
chains." Andre paused to take a bite of his steak, he chewed it around for a moment before picking up his glass and washed it down with wine. “I also do some charity with hospitals and women’s shelters.”
“Wow.” I gaped at him, quite impressed. “You just have everything figured out, don’t you?”
Andre chuckled. “Well, I don’t know about that, but I do have my business life pretty much taken care of... well, except for the trophy. Which I hope will be resolved soon.” He gave me a pointed look that made me flush.
“Of course.”
“So tomorrow? You’ll come by the Civic Center and interview the contestants?”
“That’s the plan.” I shoved a juicy piece of steak into my mouth. As I bit into it, some of the juice dribbled out of the corner of my mouth. I grabbed my napkin and quickly wiped at my face before any of it could fall on my clothes. I swore I was an adult most of the time.
“I want to warn you beforehand,” Andre continued, not noticing or at least not commenting on my little slip-up, “they are an eccentric bunch. Don’t go in thinking they will tell you anything, let alone half of it be truthful.”
I cocked my head to the side and smirked. “Don’t worry, I’m a bit of a human lie detector. I’ll get to the truth of the matter.”
“Oh, really?” Andre’s eyes widened and then a slow salacious smile crept up his face. “What am I thinking now?”
“I said, a human lie detector, not a mind reader.” I pointed out with an eye roll. “But if I could read minds, I’d say you’re barking up the wrong tree, mister. Three boyfriends, remember?” I held up three fingers to remind him.
Andre lifted a shoulder and dropped it, like it didn’t matter much to him. “Well, can’t blame a guy for trying.” The waiter came by and took our plates. “Anyways, two of the contestants dropped out today, so you won’t get to meet them all. You might have to make some house calls.”
“Would you like a dessert menu?” the waiter asked before I could respond to Andre.
Andre glanced my way.
“Yes, but for to-go. I’m wiped out.” I broke the stare Andre was giving me, not wanting to give him any ideas. “I’ll have the cheesecake.”
“Nothing for me, thank you.” Andre nodded to the waiter and then back to me. “Will that be alright?”
“What?” I asked as I struggled to remember what he had said for a moment. “Oh, yeah. House calls. Not a problem. I’ve been in tougher situations than that. Just text me their information, and I’ll get it done.”
“Perfect.” Andre stood as the waiter brought my to-go bag and no check.
“Are we going to dine and dash?” I glanced to the retreating waiter and then to the front where it was packed full of people. “Because I’ll admit I’ve done it before, but there’s no way we’re getting out of here alive.”
Andre let out an amused snort. “No, we’re not. The check is taken care of, don’t worry. After all, I own this place.”
“Ah, okay. Boss’s privilege.” I clutched my to-go bag a bit tighter. I had the urge to impress him as well. “Well, I work with the police on occasion, and I’d hate to have to get bailed out of jail twice in one month.”
“Twice?” Andre’s eyes lit up with amusement. “Do I even want to know?”
“Not really.” I shook my head. There was no reason he needed to know that I assaulted the Pizza Grill’s mascot for slapping my ass.
“Alright then, save it for the second date.”
“Second date? But we haven’t had a first,” I countered with a smug grin.
“Ah, haha.” Andre inclined his head. “Well, then, I’ll have to try even harder to impress you.” He took my hand and kissed it, like some prince out of a fairy tale. It felt strange. Unnatural. But I couldn’t bring myself to make fun of him for it before we were pushing through the crowd and were out of the restaurant. “Would you like me to take you home or call you a cab?”
I waved him off. “Don’t worry about me. I got it. Thank you for dinner.”
“Very well. Until tomorrow, Jane.” Andre climbed into his limo and was gone, leaving me on the sidewalk.
Well, good job, Jane. In your desperation to get some space, you were now stranded. Better call a car. Ugh. That was going to eat into my funds. I didn’t even know where we were.
Pulling my phone out, I called the car service to pick me up. I didn’t have to wait for very long before a lady name Terry picked me up in her cherry red convertible.
“You call for a ride?” She lowered her sunglasses to see me even though there was no need for them at dusk.
“Uh, yeah. Thanks.” I climbed into the car with Terry and listened to her ramble on about how she became a driver. Something to do with an ex-boyfriend leaving her for her sister and stealing all her money. Since she was a student at the college, she didn’t have much time to work so this was the only job that was flexible. By the time we got to my apartment, I knew way more about Terry than I knew about most people.
I thanked her, tipped her generously, and escaped up to my apartment.
Once inside, I brought my to-go bag over to the counter and pulled out a fork. With a more than eager squeal, I opened the cake box and brought a bite of the rich, dense, creamy cheesecake to my mouth. Before I could wrap my mouth around it though, a voice called out.
“You’re not going to offer me any, love? Well, that’s just bad taste.”
I lowered the fork and glowered at Lucifer. He sat on the edge of my couch, his eyes locked on me and my cake. “No, get your own.”
“I would but...” Lucifer held his hands open, showing that they were empty. “There’s not a lot of call for cheesecake in Heaven or Hell. I’m afraid you’ll just have to share.”
I pouted as I glanced down at the cake. “I don’t wanna.”
Lucifer appeared at my side, brushing his incorporeal fingertips against my cheek as he whispered, “I’ll make it worth your while...”
Fuck me. Well, I think that was what he was offering any case, but man, he had a silver tongue. It was almost good enough to share my treasure with him. Almost.
“I don’t think so.” I picked my fork back up and lifted it to my mouth once more. However, the puppy dog eyes Lucifer gave me made me pause. I sighed, dropped the fork, and pulled my pin from my shirt. “Fine. But you can’t have all of it. Just a bite.”
“Of course. Just a bite.”
With that assurance, I poked my finger and let a good drop of blood form on the tip. Lucifer took my finger into his mouth, sucking it until my knees weakened and his arm wrapped around my waist.
Gasping, I shook my head to clear. “That’s what they all say and then the next thing you know they’ve taken your virginity in the back seat of a Corolla.” I picked the fork back up and offered the bite on it to him.
Lucifer’s brows furrowed at my comparison but then took the fork into his mouth. “Hmmm. You’re right, that is good.” He licked the edges of his lips. On him, the gesture was much more obscene, and suddenly, the cheesecake wasn’t my main focus.
“Is it?” I half-murmured, my eyes on his mouth, fascinated by the movements, each swipe of his tongue on his lips.
The fallen angel seemed to notice my stare because his lips curled into a wicked grin. “Here, taste.”
He then cupped my chin and pressed our mouths together, slipping his tongue inside and wrapping it around mine. My hands found the front of his shirt, and I tugged him closer, unable to get enough of him from just one taste. I should be used to it now. Since day one, I’d been consumed by Lucifer and the others, unable to separate from them and keep my distance. Not that I had tried very hard, but even now, I wanted nothing more than to lose myself in his embrace, especially if this could be the last time.
Sensing my desperation, Lucifer pressed me closer. Our fronts melded together, and a delicious friction rubbed against my breasts. It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough.
I tugged at his jacket and shoved it off his shoulders before he g
ave me permission. Next, his shirt came off in a cloud of buttons to let my fingers find the warm flesh beneath the fabric. Once my hands found his pants, Lucifer released me enough to pull off my own clothes.
We were a tangled frenzy of hands and mouths as each of us searched for more and more skin to touch, to kiss. The first time he slid into me, we didn’t even make it to the bed. Lucifer bent me over the side of the couch and took me from behind, making the furniture creak with every movement.
“Jane, oh sweet, Jane,” Lucifer grunted as he stroked a hand down my back. He pressed a kiss to my spine which made me shiver. “I will never get enough of being here, inside of you.”
I hated how my mind immediately made me think he was saying goodbye. That he too thought our time was limited and wanted to get as much time in with me as possible. I didn’t verbalize my thoughts. I feared they would become reality if I so much as hinted at it.
We came together there on the couch, gasping and panting for breath. Then Lucifer laid me on the bed and went back to the kitchen. He then grabbed the rest of the cheesecake and brought it back over to me, feeding me like a child each tiny bit at a time and kissing me in between each bite, never once taking any for himself.
“Good?” Lucifer asked after I had finished the last bite.
I hummed through my full mouth and nodded, lazily staring up at him. “Yes, thank you. You didn’t want any?” I gestured to the empty container he sat on the floor by the bed.
“Oh, no. I had more fun watching you eat it than eating it myself. Besides,” his fingers slid between my legs where I laid on my side and urged them open, “I have other plans that require you at full strength.”
His hand pressed against my core, and I cried out, thrusting my hips against his touch. His finger swirled around my clit before dipping inside of me to tease me there as well. After a moment, he shifted closer to me on the bed, so that he was pressed up against my back while I still stayed on my side.
The hard press of his cock rubbed my ass as he continued to torture me with his fingers. The hand not preoccupied lined his cock up with my center, and he thrust inside of me. Crying out, I pushed back letting him sink all the way in. The hand not between my legs grabbed the back of my neck holding me in place while he quickened his pace, moving harder and faster until I barely could breathe through the pleasure of it.
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