Page 133 of An Unexpected Ascension
“I’d rather not be condemned to the dungeon by your husband.”
The demand in her narrowed gaze rivals that of her other half. Should I make it to the other side of this upcoming war still existing, then I’m sure the pair will be a force to be reckoned with.
I slide my hand into her waiting one while my other rests lightly on her waist. Her free palm lays gently against my chest and for a moment I wonder what this will feel like with Briar. I’ve tasted her, felt her body writhe against mine, but never have I simply just held her hand in a dance.
“I’ll lead first to show you the steps, but then it’s up to you.”
She steps forward with her left foot, forcing my right one back, then slides her other foot sideways to the right, bringing her left back together. I easily follow until she’s reversing the moves bystepping backward now with her right foot, sidestepping with the left and bringing her right back with the left.
And now I’m stepping all over her toes.
“I’m sorry,” I mumble.
Her laugh is as light as silver bells ringing in the wind.
“Let’s try again, but slower.”
We do. She leads several more times than she initially intended, but by the tenth my feet are moving without so much as a thought.
“Good.” She smiles up at me. “Now you lead.”
As I reverse all the steps in my head, I lead her along in a Waltz across the training room floor until she’s confident I have it down.
“Now, this time, add a twirl. Show her off, then bring her close.”
I mimic the moves I intend for Briar until a hand clamps down on my shoulder.
“I’d like a dance with my wife, if you don’t mind.”
The Devil smirks at me and I release Ada like her skin is made of fire. He swoops her up in his arms, the steps she just taught me like second nature to him. They glide around the room like two ghosts entangled in each other without a care in the world.
Leaning back against the wall, I watch them, envy them. That love Lucifer said that come so naturally to him shows so greatly in the way he looks at Ada. Never in my life did I ever think about love, let alone wish for it to come so easily as it does between the pair.
Yet, here I am, being taught to dance by the Devil’s wife to woo an angel.
Chapter 41
The Angel
Aball.
The Devil is throwing a ball in his wife’s name.
How romantic.
Ada sits before the vanity in my room, studying me in the reflection of the mirror. Perched behind her, I twist strands of her fiery red hair and pin them back. It doesn’t evade me that this room was meant for her should she return and need her space. Luckily, she was more than happy to let me have it.
“There are shadows in your eyes,” she says quietly, her lashes fluttering with the soft movement of my fingertips along her scalp. “I know those shadows well.”
“Did you expect to see something different in the eyes of a woman in Hell?” I tease, keeping my tone light.
“I suppose not.” She watches me again. “But it’s more than that, I can feel it. Call it a mother’s intuition.”
I stiffen, my muscles locking in place and forcing me to drop the strands of her hair I’m holding.
“Did I say something wrong?”
I swallow. “No.”
