The Devil's Playthings (10 page)

He sat down at the table across from her, silently gauging her re
action. The stunned look on her
face didn’t tell him anything, and at that moment her quiet nature was worse than any of the pathetic screaming tantrums and crying sobs of all of the other women he’d met put together.

And he nearly begged, “Say something.”
She could only shake her head in response, but her mouth closed
and bit her lip
.

He was afraid though that she bit her lip so hard she would draw blood.
“Dante’s Inferno?” He asked as he glanced at her book. “It’s delightful rubbish.”
He reached out to touch her hand.

She fought hard with herself not to pull it away. And when he touched her, he was hot. “Emma,” he whispered. “Emma, please.”

She closed her eyes, hoping that when she opened them again she would see her Luc. He gave her what she wanted. But it didn’t stop the tears running down her cheek.

He stood and walked toward the towel closet, opening the artfully hidden door and pushing a button on a remote. Dark blue curtains automatically moved to cover the huge glass wall. Another button changed
the music to a soulful song.

He slowly removed the jacket and placed it on the back of one of the rattan chairs. The tie was next, then
slowly the
butto
ns of the shirt. His black
eyes didn’t waiver from hers and the shirt was thrown on the chair as well.

He found a band in the pocket of his pants, and pulled the
waves
back away from his face. He had to admit to himself, he hated the hair. But Emma loved it so… Finally the pants came off, and he stood in just his underwear. And instead of walking to her, he walked to the pool. He dove in with perfect precision.

He swan away from her, under the water for minutes before coming up for a breath. He swam and swam until h
is lungs hurt. What he wanted to
do
was
to shed the human form and take her now.

But he didn’t
, he couldn’t
.
He wanted more than anything for her to freely love him. And he had no idea why.
He popped his head over the surface, and he could see the steam rising off the water. He could also
see the tips of her toes breaking the water’s plane
.

“It’s a hot tub now,” she stated the obvious. He swan toward her, and placed one hand on either side of her on the
edge of the
pool. He pulled himself partially out of the water,
holding his body still with unrealistic strength until his head was even with hers.

He pushed toward her slowly, until she could feel his
hot
breath on her face.
She spread her legs to allow his body closer to hers.
His eyes locked on her lips.

And the lyrics
of the song caught his attention as he sang along with them
.
His
voice was soulful and smooth, and
the
emotion
conveyed in the song described his own perfectly.

He continued to hold himself in that position, so close to her lips, she could so easily move forward a centimeter and would touch his skin.
He continued to sing, an
d then she kissed him. She grabbed his shoulders and held on to him, and kissed him with abandon. His muscles were like marble as he balanced there, until finally his human form reached its limit, and he had to fall back into the pool.

He knew if he pulled her in with him he would injure her, so he lowered himself out of her grasp first.
He laughed so hard at the rush of it all, the emotions and thoughts and hopes that ran through his mind, the desire he felt and the desire to hold that spot to stay near to her and how it overrode everything else he wanted.

He laughed at the humanity he felt in this human form. And he laughed as the same emotions ran through her mind as well. The fear and desire and confusion battled inside her just as it did inside him.

H
e smiled at her though as he made his way to the ladder. “Why do you resist me?”

She closed her eyes, and whispered, “I have no idea.”
He sat down beside her, and leaned forward to rest his head on her shoulder.
It felt like she’d placed a heating pad on her muscle
. I
t was hot but not unpleasant or unbearable.

Moments later he moved away, finding a robe and grabbing her book off the table. He reached his hand down to her, and whispered “Let’s go to bed.” This time she didn’t resist.

She woke the next morning curled around his body. His eyes moved to hers slowly, and they were the bright red she’d seen the previous day. This time she didn’t move away. This time she returned his gaze, staring deep into the eyes of Lucifer. She reached up to touch his face, and whispered “good morning” in a deep sultry voice.

He responded with a language she’d never heard; a language that sounded almost like singing, like harmony, like every note together at the same time. She closed her eyes, and simply listened.

“What is your name?” He responded with more of the melodious sound. “What is my name?” The sound filled the room, filled her ears, and brought tears to her eyes. He continued until her lips parted, and her head tipped back with pleasure. Then his hot lips covered her exposed throat.

“I have to shower to get ready for school,” she sighed as she pushed away playfully.

“Its Saturday, you don’t have to go,” he answered in English, and returned to kissing her neck.
“We can do whatever you want. We can tour Times Square, or take in a Broadway
show, or a movie, or anything.”

“Can we go to the zoo?” She wondered excitedly.

He chuckled at the thought, and continued to kiss and lick her neck. “Only if you want the animals to go insane and begin to attack each other, and their cages. They will try to get free to get away or attack me, or they will try to kill themselves.”

“Oh?” She whispered the word, but her mind was full of scenarios like elephants charging at their glass and tigers trying to jump their fences.

“Take the feelings inside you that make you want to run from me, and multiply them by a million. Animals unlike people are bred with the sense to escape predators. Humans at the top of the food chain have forgotten their old struggles for survival.”

His mouth got hotter the longer he kissed her.
His hand moved to her shoulder, over her chest and to her breast,
and
left a trail of fire along her skin. She winced from the pain, but tried not to move away. “Am I hurting you?” His voice was the animalistic growl again.

“Yes,” she exhaled. He made an unholy noise, like thunder inside his chest. His hand moved down her cleavage, over her flat, taunt belly. She panted and wiggled and moaned under his hot hand, and when he went farther still, under the edge of her gown, and found her moist center she couldn’t control herself.

Her hands grasped the sheets around her, her head tipped back, and every muscle in her body tightened. The org
asm rocked her
, and she
gasped her shock. As many times as she’d had sex in her life, with countless men, she’d never experienced anything like this.

All the times she’d had sex were never about her, or her pleasure. She didn’t even know there was such physical pleasure until she met Luc.

This was better than anything she’d ever felt, any drug she’d ever done. Her muscles contracted over and over, and she continued to moan.

And so did Luc. His reaction to her pleasure was almost as strong as hers. His hand nearly burned her already hot core, and his red eyes flamed with passion. And thankfully her eyes were tightly closed, because he could not control his transformation.
He watched
his hand on her soft skin
, as it became
leathery and grey.

For a split second he
reveled in it, his true form giving her this pleasure.
His fingers
morphed into talons, and his nails changed to claws. He pulled back quickly before he hurt her, but the transformation moved up his arm, the smooth human muscles drawing up into a canine
like leg.

The climax still racked h
er delicate body, her eyes still
closed. But he could see his tongue, like a serpent’s flicking over her throat. It would be moments until the transformation was complete. He could stay with her, maybe lose his control, or he could escape to his chamber, which was little more than a jail cell.

As her body began to relax, his did as well. He could see the tanned skin covering his appendage
s
, and could see the claws returning to hands. His breathing slowed to match her pace, and he fell back onto the bed beside her, refusing to touch her.

She l
aughed, and he laughed with her; his sounded more like thunder. Her head lolled to the side and she finally opened her eyes, but his stayed tightly closed. “I’ve never felt anything like that before,” she admitted, even though it was obvious to both of them.

“Me too,” he
acquiesce
d
. To him, it was just as earth shattering as it was to her. It was physical proof he could not control himself around her any longer. But he had to try, because he wanted to continue to make her feel that way.

“So what do you want to do today?” He chuckled.

“I’d like to see a ballet,” she sighed, “since the zoo is out.”

“Sounds wonderful,” he replied, and he gazed at her with bright red eyes.

Emma changed into a bright yellow bikini, with a pretty yellow dress covering it. They held hands as they walked downstairs together, like teenagers. They ate croissants dipped in dulce
de leche and fruit
at poolside, then Emma removed her dress and dove into the pool. Luc pushed the button on the remote to close the curtains again, determined to swim with her and not boil her in the water.

Happily they played together in the pool, he splashed her and tried to get away. As long as he wasn’t touching her, or thinking about touching her, he was in control. They played for nearly an hour, and finally she collapsed into one of the rattan chairs by the pool in giggles. And he did the same.

He ordered her up the stairs so she could shower and dress for their evening out. And Rosa followed along shortly after. He sulked down the steps, past the public receiving area, down to the next floor; his private
dungeon.

There were no windows on this floor. The walls, floors, and ceilings were all soundproof, and everything was painted b
lack. One room of the floor
contained a huge closet with so many human clothes it could have filled a store. Another room contained a huge bed, and although he didn’t sleep he did meditate there, if that is what one would call the trance like state where he tapped into the
Akashic Field. He had the power to access any knowledge that humans and angels had. The only things he did not know were the things that God
Himself
held secret.

In this room he allowed himself to change shape; in this room he was the fallen angel. But not today; he felt the need to punish himself by not changing, by staying human. The one thing he did, as he
looked at himself in the floor to ceiling mirror like in a ballet studio
, was shorten the hair.

Luc liked it, and he hoped Emma did too, because the
long hair was
gone forever. It was short, dark, and thick, almost windswept to one side. It made him look younger, and he liked that too. He wanted to appear more her age, and be more her age. He wanted to be free like her. And it was his goal to achieve.

He waved his hand over his face
, and he looked younger still
. He looked twenty at most, a younger version of the man she fell in love with… or the man she should have fallen in love with. That was something she would never know, though, for she would fall in love with
him; another goal for him to achieve. He nodded at the mirror he normally detested
but kept as another way of punishing himself
. He liked what he saw, and he knew Emma would too.