Demon King (Claimed By Lucifer #1) - Elizabeth Briggs Page 0,61
couldn’t figure out why. There was no reason for him to be jealous. I didn’t have any feelings for Gadreel. That was even more obvious after such a hot kiss like that.
Gadreel brushed past us, back stiff, and strode from the room.
“That was rude,” I said to Lucifer, crossing my arms. Days ago, I would never have spoken to him that way. Now? I’d lost all my fear of him. “Gadreel guarded me all day per your orders, and was just answering my questions.”
Lucifer considered me with his fierce gaze, but then bowed his head slightly. “I suppose I overreacted. When I came in and saw you two like that…” His face darkened again, his hands clenching into fists at his side. “I always suspected Gadreel had feelings for you when you were Lenore, though you claimed you were only friends. But everyone loved Lenore. Entire poems were written about you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about that life?”
He reached up to touch my face as he gazed at me with sadness in his eyes. “That was your most recent life before this one, and sometimes the pain of losing you is still strong. It’s hard for me to speak of it, though I’d planned to tell you eventually. I’ll tell you about all of your lives, if we have time. There’s simply a lot of them to get through.”
I nodded, leaning into his light touch. “I guess that makes sense. I’m just eager to learn.”
“You always have been.” He hit me with a devastating smile, then stepped back. “Come.”
He led me across the room to one of the bookshelves, and his shadowy wings erupted from his back. With one powerful stroke, he lifted off his feet and hovered at a top shelf I hadn’t reached yet. He grabbed a small black book and lowered to the ground, his wings disappearing behind him.
He offered me the book, bound in black. “This was yours.”
I carefully took the tiny book, which was old but well preserved. Collected Works of Edgar Allen Poe. On the title page there was an inscription that read, “For my muse, my Lenore.” Underneath it was Poe’s signature.
I quickly looked up at Lucifer. “Is this real?”
“Oh yes. I’ve looked after that book for a long time for you.”
“Holy shit. I’m the Lenore. In The Raven?” I turned the pages to find The Raven and read the poem to myself, then repeated one line out loud. “A rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore, quoth the Raven ‘Nevermore.’”
Lucifer’s lips quirked up. “He wrote another poem about you too, simply titled Lenore. Poe was quite obsessed with you.”
“Wow.” I flipped the pages, which cracked with age as I turned them, and found the other poem.
“Hannah, please trust me on this. I plan to tell you about Lenore and all your other lives, but I know from past experience it’s better to introduce these things gradually, or otherwise it becomes quite overwhelming for you. Coping with past lives and being fated mates with the devil is a lot to ask of any woman.” He leaned forward and cupped my cheek. “Even one as extraordinary as you.”
It was overwhelming, but I had this urgent need to know too. I shook my head and closed the book. “I want to remember so badly. I often have these vivid dreams, and I always thought it was because I read so many books and had such a strong imagination, but now I’m wondering if it could be glimpses of my past lives.”
“It’s possible. I’m surprised you haven’t remembered more by now, or at least remembered me, but more should come in time.” He rubbed his hands together. “Now, we have two more nights of sin, and tonight’s is lust. Oh, you should see what I have planned.”
I held up a hand, as an idea hit me. “Hang on. You’ve picked the activities every night so far, but now it’s my turn.”
He blinked at me, cocking his head. “Your turn?”
“For days I’ve done everything you wanted, and yes, it’s been pretty incredible, but tonight we’re going to do what I want for a change.”
“You don’t even know what I have planned.” His fingers trailed down my neck, brushing the top of my chest like a tease. “Trust me, you’ll like it.”
I sucked in a breath and tried to control my desire. “I’m sure I would, but I need a break from this lifestyle. A little sense of normality amid all the madness of the last