Revealing the Monster (Playing with Monsters #4) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,60

can find you if we need to, and so can I. With the Hell Gates open, Lucifer can’t hide you from us. There’s nowhere he can run with you that I cannot follow, Lena. I will always find you and protect you.”

I shivered as my heart clenched. I’d told Lucian I loved him again. And, while he hadn’t run away or moved out of our room this time, he hadn’t said it back to me. It hurt deeply, considering everything we’d been through together. I didn’t need some huge declaration of love, but I needed to know where we stood. Why was it so difficult for him to say the words back to me?

“Don’t do that, little one. It was just sex,” Lucian growled, lying beside me to pull me against his body, enveloping me in his heat. “You can’t feel shame for what you enjoyed, and I know you. You liked it, and I don’t regret allowing you to experience it once. I’ve always pushed you to be open about your needs and your pleasure. You’re mine, and that’s all that matters. We severed the bond, and we figured out where to start, freeing Spyder from the furies who claimed him.”

That much was true. I couldn’t regret releasing Spyder. He once wanted to slit my throat but ended up embedded into my soul as my friend. Sex with Spyder wasn’t something that would ever happen again. I refused to let it affect us or our friendship.

Life was too damn short to let something like that place a wall between us. I felt relief knowing I hadn’t personally claimed him. It was one less guilt that I had to carry around. Less baggage I’d need to unpack.

“So, I won’t feel the need to be with him ever again, right? The compulsion that Spyder and I had is gone?” I clarified, watching the way Lucian’s eyes narrowed on me.

“Yes. Unless it wasn’t the bond creating your sexual fantasies about him,” he murmured against my ear. “If that is the case, I will have to kill him after all.”

I chuckled, smiling, only to realize he wasn’t joking. “I’m certain it was the bond. I never wanted to even be in the same room with him before we did the spell. You and I are together, and I’m not craving Spyder anymore. That’s all that matters, right?” I waited, and he smiled, kissing my cheek without returning my sentiment.

“You should get up and shower. The club is preparing for another party. After the results and feedback of your first one, you are now in charge of the lower club, just as you requested. I am impressed by what you did, Lena. It was an erotic show that received rave reviews from the clientele. I’m also considering your color-coded outfits for the other levels of the clubs.” He moved from the bed, grabbing his jacket before turning to smile at me. “Come on, get moving. Haven’t you heard? Hell is empty, and all the devils are here. Tonight should be interesting, especially if Lucifer comes to challenge me for you. After last night, I expect his challenge to come promptly.”

I sat up, holding the blankets against my chest while Lucian walked toward the door. He paused, turning to look back at me with a grin playing on his lips before disappearing through them. Every part of my body ached, and some parts that I hadn’t even known could hurt—did.

Where did I fit in now? I’d been so sure that Lucian had wanted me here. I thought he loved me, yet he still hadn’t said the words or even hinted at how he really felt. It may be a moot point to him, but I needed at least some confirmation other than he’d destroy worlds to keep me. Sure, that was sweet, but it also made me feel like he was only claiming ownership and not anything beyond that. Love might be a human emotion, but he’d made the furies turn that shit back on, not me.

I laid back down, staring at the door he’d vanished through before a weightless feeling took hold of me. My eyes closed, and the scent of brimstone burned my nose. Opening my eyes, I gazed around the room, finding Lucifer leaning against the wall. He was dressed in jeans and a tight shirt that looked enticing against the mass of muscles I knew lay beneath the material.

“I should fucking kill you,” he snapped, watching me through narrowed eyes as