Midnight With the Devil

by Emma Castle

  “Lucien?” She whispered his name in concern.

  “I’m…sorry,” he muttered, and in a blink they were back in her apartment, and in another flash he was gone.

  Lucien had vanished again. Diana collapsed on her couch, and Seth curled up beside her, purring loudly.

  “What the hell am I doing?” she whispered as she scratched at Seth’s ears. He half-closed his eyes with pleasure. This was nuts. She was in love with Lucien. Stupid, bad idea as it was, it was too late. She loved him. Not the devil part of him, but the other part, the man who loved concerts by candlelight in ancient Jordanian cities and dancing beneath wisteria blooms in Japan. She loved the angel with the missing wings and awful scars.

  “Seth, I’m so screwed.” She set the cat on the floor, grabbed her car keys from the table, and headed outside.

  She drove straight to Amara’s bookshop and was relieved to see her friend selling a few books to a woman. Diana waited for the woman to finish paying before she rushed over and hugged Amara.

  “Oh dear. More tea, then?” Amara chuckled gently.

  “I swear I’m not pathetic, but it’s just…I need to talk to somebody.”

  Amara nodded. “I understand. I’ll put the kettle on, and we’ll talk.”

  As they sat down, teacups in hand, Diana confessed, “I’m in love with him.”

  “Him? You mean…” Her dark brows winged up in surprise.

  “Yeah. Him.”

  Amara was silent for a long moment. “Does he know your feelings?”

  “I don’t think so. Each time things seem to get…emotional, he bails.”

  “He does?” With elegant fingers, Amara played with a string of black beads that hung around her neck, and Diana was strangely comforted by the sound of the beads clicking softly against one another. It was a normal sound in a world that had been turned on its head.

  “You have two more months owed to him on your contract?”

  Diana nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Then you must stay the course. If you love him, you love him. Either he will come to see it and appreciate that, or he will not.” Amara reached across the table and gripped one of Diana’s hands. “You can and will survive a broken heart.”

  A headache pulsed in Diana’s head just behind her eyes, and she winced, touching her temples.

  “You okay?” Amara asked.

  “Yeah, I just have a headache.” Diana sipped her tea, hoping to relax. It had to be stress-related.

  “Why don’t you go home and rest. You’re seeing him tonight at midnight, yes?”

  “That’s the plan,” Diana said, but she honestly was starting to feel ill. Maybe she really did need to rest.

  “Go home, child. Call me if you need anything.” Amara slipped her a paper with her number on it.

  “Thanks.”

  Diana stepped out into the late-afternoon sunlight. Dark clouds were gathering in the distance, and the fine hairs on the back of her neck rose. Something wasn’t right. She could sense it, something in the air, but she wasn’t sure exactly what was wrong.

  She got into her car and headed back to her apartment. She needed to get some sleep. All would be well. Tonight she had to meet Lucien again, and maybe they could talk about her feelings. She laughed. Yeah, there would be no talk of love, not when she spent her midnights with the devil.

  “Where is she?” Lucien growled at his driver.

  “I don’t know. She didn’t come down to the car. I waited almost an hour. The lights in her apartment were dark, and I even went up and knocked. No one answered.”

  Lucien stared at the single white feather in a glass box. It floated gently on wings of magic, soft celestial dust glinting like sparkles in the snow-white feather. Gazing upon the feather always filled him with a mixture of joy and pain.

  My last remnant of the days before the fall.

  “Thank you for checking on her, Douglas” he finally told the driver. “You may go. I’ll handle things tonight.”

  “Yes, Mr. Star.” The human hastily exited Lucien’s penthouse. Once he was alone, he closed his eyes and called upon his powers. In a flash, he was in Diana’s apartment, but it left him feeling a little dizzy. His powers weren’t as strong since the croucher attack, and he had no idea how long it would take to recover. It was dark and quiet, the air hot and stifling.

  “Diana?” he called. When he received no response, he rushed into her bedroom and froze. Diana lay in bed, shivering violently beneath the mountain of blankets. He approached the bed and placed the palm of his hand against her forehead. His hand came away covered in cold sweat.

  She was ill. Badly ill. How was that possible? Then he snarled. Her professor had cancelled class this morning due to an illness.

  “Jimiel!” he hissed.

  “What?” the guardian angel responded as he suddenly appeared on the opposite side of the bed.

  “You let her get sick, you winged moron!” Lucien waved his hand at her body. She was asleep, deeply asleep in the way only an illness could leach someone’s energy to the point of being nearly unconscious.

  Jimiel’s eyes were hard. “I didn’t let her. I was avoiding you and wasn’t there to see her become infected.”

  Lucien tilted his head, sensing a lie, but he couldn’t fathom why a guardian angel was lying to him.

  “Make her better, then.”

  Jimiel shook his head. “The illness must run its course.”

  Lucien glanced at Diana again. She was pale and still trembling. Seeing her like this, vulnerable and hurting, filled him with rage.

  “Fine, I’ll do it.” He pressed one hand to her cheek and opened himself to his powers. Usually they came out in a rush, but this time they came out only in a trickle. It wouldn’t be enough. He was getting weaker; Andras was right.

  He turned to shout at Jimiel, but the angel was gone.

  “Lucien?” Diana had been healed enough that she was awake, and she was gazing at him.

  “It’s all right, I’m here.” He felt the need to reassure her, to let her know she wouldn’t suffer this alone. When he’d fallen from heaven, he’d been completely alone. Hurt and suffering, he’d clawed his way out of the crater toward Eden, and he would have given anything to have someone there to comfort him. He would not let Diana face this alone. She was still sick, still weak. And he couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her.

  “I missed the car,” Diana murmured drowsily.

  “You did,” he replied as he stroked away the strands of her hair. She was covered in sweat.

  “Are you mad? You won’t…” She drew in a shaky breath. “Hurt my dad?”

  “No,” he vowed. He would not punish her for her guardian angel being an asshole. If Jimiel wasn’t careful, he was going to smite that bastard.

  “What can I do?” Lucien asked. He wanted to heal her further, but he was still weak from his battle with the croucher demons.

  “I’m cold and sweaty,” she said and sighed unhappily.

  “What about a hot shower?” he offered.

  “Yeah, that might be nice.” She struggled to get the blankets off, and he rolled his eyes and helped her out himself. Then he scooped her up in his arms and carried her into her bathroom. He held on to her by the waist after he set her down. Then he turned on the shower. She pulled at her clothes but was too tired, so he helped remove her shirt and panties. She seemed too tired and sick to care that she was naked. He had turned the shower on, and she leaned against the wall, sighing as the hot water hit her.

  “Lucien, could you help me? I’m so sorry,” she whispered. Her eyes were pleading, and he couldn’t say no to her.

  He stripped out of his clothes, stepped inside the shower with her, and helped her wash. She leaned into him, her body still shaking, and he took gentle care with her as he washed her hair and body. He wanted to remember her like this, needing his help, needing him. No one had ever needed him before. They needed his power, his deals, his devil bargains, but no one had ever needed the man before.


  “Are you sure you’re really the devil?” Diana laughed softly as he helped rinse the conditioner out of her hair.

  “I’m quite sure.” He grinned at her.

  “You’re being awfully nice.” She pressed her cheek to his shoulder and wound her arms around his back.

  “I plan to collect a few favors from you in bed once you’re well,” he assured her and gave her ass a playful squeeze.

  Another soft laugh escaped her, and the sound made his blood sing.

  “Stay there and let me get towels,” he said. He made sure she wouldn’t fall before he let go of her, and then he climbed out of the shower to grab some towels. Then he turned the water off, slung a towel over his hips, and helped her out. He took his time drying her off and brought her underwear and a large T-shirt. While she dressed, he made a soft nest of blankets on the couch, and then he made her lie down in the nest while he stripped her bed of the sweat-soaked sheets, and with a bit of direction from her, he put them in the washing machine.

  When he returned to the living room, she was passed out, but she looked better. He sighed and glanced at his soaked briefs. He still had enough power for the small things like quickly drying his clothes, but he couldn’t heal her.

  He knew he could leave now that she was feeling better, yet he didn’t want to go. After a long moment, he approached her bookshelves and studied her books. Then he slid one from the shelf and walked back to the couch. He lifted her up as he sat down so her head lay across his lap. Then he opened the book and read. He wanted to know everything about Diana, how her mind worked, and if that meant he had to read her desert island choice of books, then so be it. He would read Twilight. But if any of his fallen brothers found out, they would laugh their asses off. So it would have to be their secret.

  “The things I do for you, little human.” He brushed the back of his knuckles over her cheek, enjoying the velvet-soft feel of her skin, and then he turned his focus back on the book.

  Hell help me, I’m reading about teenage vampires.

  16

  Long is the way and hard, that out of Hell leads up to light. - John Milton, Paradise Lost

  There were times when Diana was too cozy to ever want to move. This was one of those moments. She was warm and safe, and a wonderful piney sent clung to her as she shifted in her blanket cocoon.

  She tensed when something beneath her grunted.

  What? She opened her eyes, blinking against the sunlight. She was lying on Lucien’s lap on the couch.

  “Sorry,” she murmured.

  “It’s quite fine. I didn’t need that particular rib you jabbed,” he teased. His eyes were halfway between obsidian black and soft brown. What made his eyes change? She couldn’t help but wonder. She saw the book he held in one hand. His other was tangled in her hair, lightly stroking it. The caress felt so good. If she’d been a cat, she would have purred.

  “Team Jacob or Team Edward?” She bit her lip, trying to contain the sudden urge to giggle.

  “Uh…” He glanced at the book. Good God, the devil was turning bashful?

  “Edward, I suppose. I can identify with him. No soul, corrupting an innocent young woman, feels like he’s a damned devil, yada yada. I was very bored while you slept.”

  “Uh-huh.” She knew he was lying. He’d nearly finished the book. “I am going to go to the bathroom, and you can finish it. It will be our little secret, I promise.” She untangled herself from the blankets and headed into the bathroom. When she chanced a peek over her shoulder, she saw him devouring the book again. Diana let loose a fit of giggles, not caring that he could hear her. Then she ran a brush through her hair and washed her face. She still felt tired, but no longer bone-weary. Her muscles ached from all the chills and the shivering, but she definitely felt stronger.

  When she came back out, she found him taking the book back to the shelf.

  “There are more?” he asked casually.

  “Yeah. You’re welcome to borrow them.” She started toward him but then realized she was wearing nothing but a T-shirt and panties. Even after the few times they’d had wild sex, she still felt shy around him, especially after he’d just seen her sick as a dog and looking her worst. She spun away to go change, but he spoke.

  “Running away?” he asked. His brows held that hint of darkness, one that made her tremble with longing.

  “Umm…”

  “You don’t need to hide from me, Diana.” He crooked a finger at her, and she came slowly toward him. He still wore his signature black suit and red tie. She wanted to strip him naked. She may be tired, but she felt good enough to want him. Her pulse quickened with longing.

  “Do you still want me, Diana?” He spoke her name again, and it sent delicious shivers through her.

  “I do.” She came up to him and gripped his red silk tie. “We missed midnight.”

  “We did,” he agreed.

  “You make love in the sun?” she asked, half teasing.

  “I do.” His serious gaze was burning with lust, but there was something softer, sweeter shadowing his eyes that intrigued her.

  The devil could have…affection? The danger about him had always drawn her in, but now the softer side was keeping her entranced. She wet her lips with her tongue, and he tracked the movement with his eyes.

  “Do you feel well enough?” he asked quietly. “I wouldn’t—”

  She yanked on his tie, pulling his head down to hers, and stole his lips with a heated kiss. His breath whispered over her lips a moment before they broke apart.

  “I want to torture you with pleasure. Will you let me?” he asked.

  “Define torture.” She kept a hold on his tie and nuzzled his throat, flicking her tongue against his skin. He tensed and suddenly cupped her ass. She squealed as he lifted her up, and she gripped his shoulders and wrapped her legs around his hips as he carried her to the bed. When he dropped her onto her back, she caught the fresh scent of laundry.

  “You washed the sheets? Let me guess—you snapped your fingers, and it was done just like that?”

  He shook his head as he stripped off his coat and tie. “I guess you don’t remember coaching me on how to use the washer. You were pretty out of it. I thought you’d appreciate the grand gesture of me not taking the easy way out.” He stared at her just as he was rolling up his sleeves.

  “Oh God, that’s fucking hot,” she said.

  “Me or the laundry?” His voice was edged with seductive danger. It only made her hotter.

  “Both, oh my God, both.” She scooted back on the bed as he turned and dug in her drawers for…pantyhose?

  “I’m tying you up,” he growled softly, and she only struggled a little as he tied her hands to the headboard. He knelt between her thighs, and with one strong jerk of his hand, he ripped her panties off.

  “Mortals.” He laughed darkly, the sound rich and sinful. “I will never understand you.” Then he tossed her destroyed panties off the bed and pushed her thighs apart, baring her to his gaze. Strong hands gripped her inner thighs, keeping them wide open, and she trembled, knowing she couldn’t stop him from doing whatever he wanted.

  He gazed down at her, his brown eyes black like obsidian again.

  “Slow and gentle…or hard and fast?” he growled softly. The sound was almost animalistic, almost demonic. She would’ve said slow and gentle, but she was hurting for him, and she knew she could take it if he went hard. She wanted that frenzied lust. She wanted him to wreck her for all other men.

  Devastate me. Break me, the dark voice in her mind begged him. By the red flashing of his eyes, she knew he’d heard her thoughts.

  He moved back on the bed, kneeling over her spread thighs as he placed soft, slow kisses on her belly, then her mound. When his lips fastened on her clit, she whimpered at the excessive pleasure overtaking her. He was cruel with his tenderness, because she needed him to be rough, to take her hard and fast. Instead he was toying with her.

  “Lucien, please…” She writhed beneath hi
m, his mouth exploring her mound with flicks of his wicked tongue.

  He gave her ass a sharp slap, and the light pain felt so damn good that her eyes blurred with tears. The bindings bit into her wrists as she struggled.

  “You’re like a damn fantasy,” he rasped as he licked her slit. Her body responded with a flood of heat.

  “The things I want to do to you…” He inserted a finger inside her, stroking her before he pulled out the soaked digit and sucked her juices off, licking his lips as he did so.

  God, he knew just how to set her on fire. He continued to stroke her, sending her into shivers of pleasure. Her thighs quivered with exhaustion and desire.

  “Lucien…”

  His lips curved up.

  “Lucien,” she said again in a ragged breath.

  “Yes, pet?”

  Pet. She hated and loved the word. He caressed her channel, spreading his fingers wide and stretching her.

  “I need you.” She arched her hips.

  “Tell me exactly what you want,” he commanded.

  She was going to have to say it. He was going to make her.

  “I want you to fuck me.”

  Lucien’s arrogant smile only made her burn hotter.

  He pressed his thumb over her clit, caressing it so she exploded with a hard and fast climax.

  As she drifted down from the explosion of pleasure, she watched him through hooded eyes as he pulled her shirt up to her collarbone, exposing her breasts. He played with them, pinching her nipples and cupping and kneading the heavy, aching mounds. Then he unfastened his pants and dropped them to his knees. He hadn’t worn anything underneath, so his cock jutted out, thick and long. The sight made her whole body quake with new hunger.

  “I can do whatever I want to you, and you like that idea, don’t you?” Lucien’s voice was dark and rough. The sweet, playful man was gone, and he was the devil she’d seen that first night. The devil who’d scared and thrilled her had returned.

  “Answer me.”