inside, Nathalie following close behind me. It wasn’t the room I’d woken up in, but it was similar. White couches, slate floors, dim lighting. There was just one more thing.
A king-sized bed.
My heart skipped a beat, and I had to slow my breathing to lower my pulse just enough that I wasn’t at risk of flipping right then and there. The door closed behind me.
I whirled around, uncertain of what I was going to do to him if he tried what I thought he was going to—but Lucifer wasn’t there. It was just Nathalie and I, in a giant room with a closed door.
We stared at each other. There was a lot I wanted to say. A lot that I was questioning. But the words I settled on were, “You got balls, Nat.”
She cracked a smile, despite her split lip. “I’m not the one that spit on him.”
I snorted. “Yeah, well, it wasn’t one of my finer moments . . .”
We stood there awkwardly. I brushed a hand through my hair, all the way down my long ponytail to the ends. They looked like pure spun gold beneath the ambient lighting.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the full truth of my powers,” she said. I guess we were talking about the elephant in the room now. “I’m normally weak, but when I’m not . . .”
“You’re a fucking bomb?” I finished for her. She pressed her lips together, and I sighed. “Look, we all got secrets, it just so happens both of ours have to do with being freaks that have weird magic.” I laughed under my breath, a dark little huff.
“Maybe we can use that to get out of here, since I got caught too.” She looked around the room with a renewed curiosity, but I knew there was no way out except through that door. Lucifer wouldn’t be stupid enough to put us in a room he thought we could escape. Not when he was dead set on believing I was the key to finding his missing atma, not to mention his keen interest in whatever Nathalie actually was.
She opened the second door and flipped on the light. It was a bathroom, one large enough for an orgy. She sighed in disappointment.
“The plan is still on,” I said. “At least for now. He’s coming.”
Nathalie paused in her snooping. She frowned. A pucker formed between her brows. “How—”
She didn’t get to finish her question before a knock came at the door.
It opened without either of us getting it.
A woman dressed in black patent leather lingerie stepped inside. She had caramel skin and shiny black hair. Two black cat ears poked out of her head of hair. She smiled seductively and strolled into the room like she owned it. Behind her, another woman with the same face and black cat ears walked in. She was wearing a catholic schoolgirl outfit, complete with the knee-high socks and pigtails.
“Look at them, so shocked. It’s like they’ve never seen a shifter succubus before,” the second one purred.
The first one snapped her fingers, and several large men came in bringing a rolling cart of clothes and several utility cases. They lined it up against the empty wall and then left the way they came. Neither Nat nor I said anything until the door clicked shut behind them.
“I call the blonde,” the leather dominatrix said. Her long black tail swished behind her. “Her legs will be magnificent.”
Catholic schoolgirl groaned. “You always get the good ones.”
“You spend too long flaunting yourself, and I don’t want to be on the other end of one of Lucifer’s punishments.” Dominatrix walked right up to me. With her tall heels, we stood eye to eye. Her eyeliner was painted on to perfection, accentuating bright green cat eyes. One of her ears twitched.
“Lucifer wants you prepped and ready for his party tonight. He’s going to show you off. If you behave, the humiliation will be minimal. If you don’t, he’ll make an example of you—and me.” She lifted a hand to touch my face, and I took a step back.
“What exactly does that mean?”
Dominatrix sighed. “Do you really want me to go into all the ways I’ve seen him punish newbies for disobedience? It’s a long list.”
I pressed my lips together, reminding myself I couldn’t just bust out of here. Not yet. Ronan would show, and I needed him to deal with Lucifer.
Which meant I had to play along.
“Prepped and ready for a party. I’m going to take a wild guess