Lucifer's Bride [Complete]

65

    His smile fades, slowly turning into a grimace of confusion. "What happened? How did she take my queen from me?"

I wipe away most of my tears, beyond relieved to know my husband is back on my team again. "I'm not sure. All I remember was arguing with her in the hall and her kissing me. I blacked out after we switched. Kerion saw the whole thing."

"Crafty old spider." His smile returns for an instant, then shifts into an angry scowl. "We'll fix this. I'll have no imposter in my bed when my queen is safe and sound."

I nod, but the urge to stay close to him is overwhelming. I drop my head back against his chest, listening to the thunder of his heartbeat. "Can we stay here for a bit? I've missed you, and it's nice to have you on my side again."

He laughs as his wings fold around me. "Of course. Take as long as you like. We'll get you back when you're ready."

I smile and nuzzle the smooth flesh of his chest. "Good." I pause for an instant. "How far did you get with her?" I ask out of pure curiosity, as well as a slight feeling of dread. I hate to think she convinced him enough to actually sleep with her...

"The truth? She barely got through telling me how much she wanted to blow me." His voice is low, tinged with disgust. "By that time, she'd been doing so much crap that didn't add up, I practically walked out of that room while she was still on her knees."

I smile. "Good."

Ha! The bitch can't even convince him when she's wearing my skin!

"You said Kerion saw what happened. Does anyone else know of this?"

I nod. "We ran into Belphagor and Lilith. Belphagor figured out I wasn't Leyna within about two seconds. He and the other fallen angels are working to make sure Leyna doesn't try to have me executed. He was with us all the way. Give him a raise, will you?"

Cold fingers run up and down my back, soothing my skin but also making me shiver.

"Why didn't you have him tell me what happened?"

"If you found out before we could put up roadblocks, we'd lose our chance to surprise Leyna."

He pauses for a moment. "How would you lose that?"

I lift my head from his chest and stare at him. "I know you. If you found out Leyna had switched bodies with me before we could catch her, you'd lose your mind. You might have even killed her and taken my body out as well. Then what would we do?"

"And Lilith?"

I hesitate, fearful of speaking the truth and risking unnecessary amounts of innocent lives. But my soul is itching for payback, so I let him have it.

"Kerion and I went to her asking for her help. She basically gave us the middle finger and said that once you'd figure out what happened, you'd toss my body off a cliff and she could take you for herself."

He's still for a moment, and I feel his chest rise and fall slowly beneath my fingers. "I see. I'll have a talk with her when we've got you straightened out." His voice is cold, emotionless. Lilith's fucked.

Good. Bitch deserves it.

I stay silent, watching the anger rise and fall in his eyes. Finally, he takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, seemingly clearing his head of thought about killing Lilith so he can focus on me again.

He smiles and kisses my forehead. "You know me too well for your own good."

I smile back. "I don't think so. Knowing you saved my ass."

He laughs softly. "Perhaps I've told you too much."

I shake my head, closing my eyes and inhaling the dark, rich scent that clings to his skin. "I want to know you. The more I know, the safer I feel."

His hands rubbing my back still, and his eyes go soft. "You feel unsafe with me?"

"No!" I nearly shout. "Not like that, dummy! I'm not afraid of you. Listening to your story makes me feel closer to you, that's all. The more distant you are, the less I'm comfortable around you."

His smile returns again. "Good. For a moment there, I thought you might claim irreconcilable differences and bail."

I'm taken aback slightly, and a little hurt. Why would he think that? Because I told him his emotional distancing scares me? That's not a reason that would make me leave. Attempted murder or infidelity, yeah, but not emotional disconnect.

My eyes float away from him, my mind still reeling from his assumption. "I said I loved you and promised I wouldn't leave. It hurts that you would think I might."

I hear him swear softly, and he shifts under me, pushing me back so he can sit up. He backs up against a wall so he can look me in the eye. I'm left straddling his thighs and wondering if this might be a death knell of my trust in him. If he's willing to believe I'm so afraid of him that I would pack up and leave, then maybe I should.

His cold hands cup my face, forcing me to look at him again. His flawless amber eyes spear into mine, almost knocking me back.

"I never meant that you would, just that you might. You know me. I've been left for dead by my own family. More people have left me behind than have taken me in. It's all I know, all I'm used to. I know you care about me -- maybe you even love me -- but it's a fear I'll never get over."

God damn, this man is broken beyond belief. I leave him for five seconds and he's already going nuts about me abandoning him. I understand his paranoia, but seriously. I promised him I'd stay - hell, I even turned down Michael to stay with him -- so he's got no reason to worry.

I reach down and cup his perfect face in my hands, forcing him to look at me. "Listen to me. When Michael came down here to claw me back to your dad, I told him I would never leave you. I said that until you tried to do harm to me, I'd stay by your side. You've never hurt me, or lied to me, or stabbed me in the back. You've stayed honest and faithful to me, trusting me when no one else wanted to and defending me when no one else would. Until you try to hurt me or bring me pain, I'm yours. Got it?"

He's still for a moment, then a slow, sweet smile spreads across his lips. His eyes light up, and he almost seems to glow. He leans forward, catching me off guard in the best way. I meet him halfway, our mouths melding as I loop my arms around his neck. His hands reach up and tangle in my hair, holding me tight as our kiss deepens.

I sigh to myself in relief. He finally gets it. I'm not going to abandon him, not matter how much other people may think he deserves it. He's my husband, and until he tries to hurt me, I'm not going anywhere. Besides, I've got power, privilege and a man who can blow my mind in bed. Why would I leave?

He breaks away for a moment, nuzzling his cheek against my neck. "If you were in your real body, I'd have you splayed out on the floor."

I giggle and kiss his soft hair. "Then let's go get it back."

He barks out a laugh, then scoops me into his arms and stands up. I laugh with him and grip his shoulders, lifting myself up so I can kiss him again. He lowers his head willingly, and our lips meet once more. He starts taking easy, confident steps down the hall, kissing me as he carries me towards our bedroom.

My fingers start to creep up his shoulders and tangle in his hair, pulling gently as we make our way down the hall. He groans in to my mouth and screeches to a halt, then drops his hands so my feet fall to the ground. I land easily, but I'm confused by what he's doing and what he wants. Before I can pull away and ask, Lucifer has spun me around and pressed my back against to cool stone of the wall. He steps forward, his mouth still locked to mine, and uses his weight to hold me in place.

Ah. I see what you want.

I smile against his lips and tighten my grip on his hair. He groans again, his hands snaking down my -- Leyna's -- body to find the hem of her dress. It's a floor-length gown, so he's out of luck there. Thankfully, it's designed with a thigh-high slit on the side, and I feel him smile as his cool fingers glide up my leg.

My body or not, I don't care.