Page 26 of Hate Mates

Instead, he turns me around and crushes his lips to mine, possessing me as deeply and completely with his tongue as he did with his cock. He tastes like sin and expensive bourbon, a heady combination that reminds me of…

I freeze.

No, no, no, no, it can’t be.

I stumble backward, my fingers pressed to my lips. “Who are you?”

“You know who I am, lo?—”

“No!” I shout, my voice breaking. “You’re not the Devil. Tell me right now.”

There’s a heavy moment of silence.

I hear the zip of his pants, then there’s a click, and the room floods with the dim, muted light from an overhead bulb. The man I know as Lucifer stands before me, those icy blue eyes boring into me. There’s a weighted beat, then he removes his hood and drags the sleeve of his coat across his face. The black and white paint wipes off, revealing salt-and-pepper, stubbled cheeks and chin. Another swipe removes the skeletal smile, leaving two full lips with the overarched cupid’s bow that has played a starring role in my steamiest dreams. One final swipe turns those otherworldly blue eyes into the stern, pissed-off ones I’ve spent years avoiding.

It’s Lennox Carver.

Maeve’s father.

My biggest crush and worst nightmare wrapped in one terrifying package. I’m shocked, but at the same time, I’m not. I don’t know how to even begin making sense of that.

“Izzy, let me explain…”

But I don’t. I stand there with my best friend’s father’s cum running down my legs and throw out the most asinine words ever. “I thought you were in Chicago.”

“No,” he says quietly. “There was never any trip to Chicago.”

My mind is spinning. Lucifer is Lennox. Lennox is Lucifer.

He was lying in wait this whole time.

He approaches like I’m a skittish pony. “My company is the primary financial backer for ClickBait. I have an all-access pass behind the scenes, so I took advantage of it. I’m the one behind Lucifer.”

“You don’t say.” I fold my arms tightly across my chest. I don’t know what that’s supposed to accomplish considering the man was balls deep inside me less than two minutes ago.

“I heard you and Maeve talking about it that first night, and I couldn’t help myself. After you chose me?—”

“You mean, after I choseLucifer.”

He sighs. “Right. After you chose Lucifer, I shut the profile down for everyone but you. I swear, I was just going to let it be an online thing, but I became even more obsessed.” He closes the distance between us, his hand sinking into my hair. “I’ve wanted you for a long time, Izzy.”

“I’ve been friends with Maeve since we were in college.”

The implied accusation has him gritting his teeth. “It didn’t start until after you graduated. I was always protective of you, but then, you got yourself mixed up with that piece of shit, and it turned into something…different.”

His confession makes sense of all those years of one-word grunts and hard glares. He was never an ice-cold bastard who hated me. He was fighting something that was inevitable.

I cock my chin. “You bought Fletcher’s company and destroyed him.”

The scowl that peels across his half flesh, half skull-painted face is almost more terrifying than when he was in full Lucifer form. “I made that asshole everything he was, so yes, I fixed my mistake. He didn’t deserve you. It killed me to watch you with him…to know you were withering away.” A spark ignites in his eyes. “I always knew this side of you existed. It just needed the Devil’s touch to coax it out.”

The last of my defenses crumble, and my arms drop by my side. “I had a crush on you, too.”

He arches an eyebrow, his grip on my hair tightening. “Even though I scared you?”

“I think it wasbecauseyou scared me. I could never look you in the eyes because of all the elaborate fantasies I’d created in my head. I’d play it off by telling Maeve…” I trail off, her name hitting me like a bucket of ice water. I forgot all about her.Oh my God, she’s passed out on the couch, and I’m up in the attic fucking her father.I stare up at him in horror. “What about Maeve…?”

He shrugs. “What about her? We both know she’ll be out cold until tomorrow.”

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