The Lure of the Devil (The Demons' Muse #4) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,197

Yeah, that's not a good incentive to make people do the right thing."

"And there's a lot of people," Luke added, "who need an external reason to be nice to others. I'm willing to be the asshole if that's what it takes."

Nick laughed once, but the look he tossed at Luke was just a little too tender. "You're always an asshole."

"I'm just good at my job," Luke assured him.

Damn, but they were cute. From the way Ron was smiling at them, it seemed I wasn't the only one to think so. Then I looked up at Bel. His attention was on me and Sam, but his expression could only be described as proud. I wasn't really sure what I'd done to deserve that, but I knew I liked this. I loved the easy way we could all just be together. There was no need to feel bad about cuddling with Sam, or for Luke to feel guilty because Nick was doting on him in front of Ron.

All of those rules I'd spent my life thinking were unbreakable no longer applied. The lines I'd been taught shouldn't be crossed had all been imaginary. The concept of being bad, a slut, or a horrible girlfriend simply did not apply to me anymore. After all, I was the Devil. I was as bad as it was possible to get, and yet these men still loved me.

It almost felt liberating. More than that, it felt empowering. I was the fucking Devil, and God was my friend. I had a legion of the biggest names in Hell, and the power to make not just my world, but all of them, a little better - and it felt fucking good.

"You know," I said, "after we deal with these angels, I'd kinda like to do more things like this. Well, like the rest of the world thinks this is. Finding people who do horrible things and make them not only stop, but also pay for it. Guys, I want to be this thing. I think..."

"Like superheroes?" Bel asked.

I nodded. "Exactly like superheroes. We're going to be the ones to stop - and punish - the bad guys!"

Luke chuckled at that. "I'm in."

"Me too," Sam agreed.

Ron just reached up to rub my leg beneath the blanket. "I think it sounds more fun to be bad."

"What about you, Nick?" Bel asked. "You never liked it when people were scared of you."

"I like her version of evil," Nick decided. "I also don't care what anyone else thinks anymore. Our woman isn't afraid of demons. She's not scared of anything, so yeah, I think I can get on board with this."

"Yeah," Ron said, "but we can't until we deal with these angels, right? And does anyone know how we're going to find these permanent gates? I'm pretty sure we're going to need to know where they are to shut them down."

I sat up, pushing the blanket off in the process. "Do you think God would know?" Then I groaned. "But I don't know where she went!"

Nick just smiled at me. "While we were waiting for you to come back from wherever Gabriel pushed you, she said she wanted to change Fire Island. She said you'd asked her to help make a place for the slaves, and she did not want any more of her worlds contaminated. I have a feeling she's rebuilding a planet right now."

"So... she'll be back?" I asked.

"Sia," he said, "if you call, I have a feeling that dragon will come running. I get the very strong impression that she likes having friends to talk to. She also said something about how she doesn't feel like your mother the way she does with the rest of us."

Ron giggled at that. "Talk about a terrifying mother-in-law, huh?"

"Hopefully," I countered, "one who can figure out where these holes between the planes are, because I don't know any other way to close them down."

"Your dad," Luke said. "Between him and God, we'll find them. If not..."

"We'll find an angel to get it out of," Bel growled. "They don't like it when I pull off their wings."

"No one likes it when you pull off their wings," Luke countered, pausing when he heard something.

But I heard it too. In the other room, someone's phone was ringing. No, wait. That didn't sound right. It sounded like a real phone. "Is there a landline here?" I asked.

"Shit," Nick breathed. "Yes, in the study. I don't think we've ever used it."

But by then, it had stopped. I