Synching With the Devil's Son

Chpapter 80

Lucien's P.O.V

Shit, Dad warned you not to push it, why can't you listen to him? Bella seems a little affronted when I talk about spending an eternity with her. I understand she wants to grow and become her own person, but even after four hundred years, I'm still growing, so why shouldn't we do it together? She seems amenable to that, so when she says, "Deal," I make a solemn vow to not crowd her, let her breathe, make her understand I am her partner, not her jailor. I smile to myself when I think of all the other things I'd like to make deals on with her, but right now, I have a more pressing issue to talk to her about. Since she says she is finished studying, I take her hand and walk her outside.

The Parkers property is astounding in the early afternoon sunshine. The animals are happy, and they are all out in their pastures, seeming to enjoy being in the beautiful weather. I continue to walk, holding Bella's hand until we get to the edge of her property. There is nobody around, so I unfurl my wings, pull Bella into my arms and take off, heading back to the meadow where I told her who I was. She shrieks when I lift into the air, but at a glance I can tell it's in excitement and not fear. She's smiling widely, looking down at the topography as we fly by it, her arms snaked tightly around my neck. When I land and release her, she doesn't let go of me, and instead presses her lips against mine. I fold her into me with my wings, and hungrily kiss her back.

After a few minutes of valiantly clamping down my libido while we explore each other's mouths, I stand back and pull in my wings. I take her hand again, maneuvering her onto the same ledge she sat upon when I told her what I am. "I know you're nervous about meeting my Dad, so what can I do to alleviate your fear?" I ask, letting her know why I brought her out here.

I know I've done the right thing when she looks at me with adoration. "Yes," she says quietly, "I am very nervous about the whole idea of him, not just meeting him." She's quiet for a moment and then asks, "Is it okay that we're together, he's not mad?"

I chuckle lightly, "He's as far from mad as you can be on the spectrum. You have brought my father and I closer together because I finally understand what he's been missing these past few centuries." I don't want to bring up my salacious past, but I've alluded to it enough times that it shouldn't surprise her. "After my Mom left, I never understood why my Dad didn't find solace in another woman. How could one person secure all the love of another to the point where the other has nothing left to give? I wasn't going to be like that, I wasn't going to settle down and let somebody wield such power over me." Bella is quiet while she listens, respectfully giving me time and space to put together what I want to say. "What a wildly immature outlook I had," I admit. "I spent my days partying, a different town filled with different people, every night. I tried to get Dad to join me since unbridled debauchery is his forte, but he always refused, and it used to piss me off. I thought he didn't care enough about me to want to spend time with me, no matter how that time was spent, but now I understand why he chose to revel in his own solitude. He loved my Mom with everything he had, and nobody could replace her." I can see Bella's face is etched in sorrow and compassion, but the way she unconsciously holds her body reveals that her preconceived ideas about my Dad continue to haunt her.

"I understand knowing he's the Devil scares you, but he's not what religion, art and hearsay make him out to be. He's just a man trying to figure it all out like the rest of us." She's listening intently, and I see her battling her own beliefs behind her gorgeous eyes, so I try a different tactic in hopes of tipping her internal fight in my direction. "Let me try to paint a picture of who my Dad really is," I tell her, taking a deep breath. "He was once my Grandfather's favorite son. Yes he fell from Grace, but Grandpa told me he knew my Dad could handle the Underworld better than any of his other children, so he banished him there as punishment for his behavior. My father didn't ask for the role he's been playing, but he's performed it quite well and does his duty to his Father with respect and understanding, something he sent me here to learn. For a brief moment in my father's eternal existence, he was happy because he found my Mom and they had me. When she didn't return to us after she died, I was infuriated with him...I thought he was the reason she stayed in Heaven, and I hated him for that," I pause, remembering how easy it was to blame instead of understand. "Then I met you, and I finally understand the anguish and torment my Dad has endured. I cannot imagine how I would have survived if our roles were reversed. You brought us together because you made me realize something I've never thought about before now...Dad and I have to accept Mom chose to live in Heaven because we cannot interfere with free will or we are no better then the monsters who find themselves at our gates."

"You're telling me I had something to do with your epiphany?" she asks incredulously.

I nod. "That's why he wants to meet you. He wants to thank you for tempering me, for seeing past my immaturity and for helping me overcome my anger. He wants to get to know the woman who completes me."