Page 5 of Hell Fae King
Yeah, he’d said that yesterday, too. Pretty sure he’d also mentioned that while dancing as well. But that didn’t mean I believed him. Not after all the previous threats lingering between us.
Sighing, Lucifer sat on the bed, his large form somehow managing to fit in the small space between me and the edge of the mattress.
One big hand cupped my jaw, his palm a brand against my skin. “You have every reason not to trust me,” he said, his soft tone almost as surprising as his touch. “But we’re connected now through Azazel and Melek. I couldn’t harm you even if I wanted to.”
I nearly snorted.
Because yeah,thatdidn’t convince me to believe him.
“What are you thinking?” he asked, his sapphire eyes searching my features. “Tell me so we can discuss it. But please don’t lie.”
I stared up at him, not sure how to respond to that. He probably already knew my every thought, given the connection he’d just mentioned between me and his two mates. So maybe this was a test of sorts to see if I would be honest with him.
Knowing Lucifer, it was exactly that. A way to measure my loyalty, to determine if I was worthy of his mates, worthy of being kept alive.
“There are a lot of thoughts rolling through my head,” I admitted.
“Give me one and we’ll start there,” he suggested.
“Okay. How about your previous threats? Do you hear those echoing via the bond?” I wondered aloud. “Or is it just my uncertainty you’re picking up on? The fact that you’re tellingme you can’t hurt me, therefore you won’t, doesn’t boost my confidence in this situation.”
However, admitting all this out loud was making me feel less frozen, and a little warmer. To the point where I could actually somewhat move again.
Only, I wasn’t sure where to go with Lucifer sitting so close to me.
“I don’t hear anything,” he told me, confusing me.
“What?”
“I suppose I could try to access your mind through Azazel’s or Melek’s thoughts,” he went on, ignoring my question. “But that would be a severe intrusion into your privacy and theirs, and that’s not who I am.”
I blinked at him, surprised by the sadness in the latter part of his statement.
“It seems you and I have misunderstood one another from the beginning, which is primarily my doing.” His thumb traced the hollow beneath my eye, his gaze on mine. “I’m not one for starting over, as I believe history creates important foundations, but perhaps you and I can strike a compromise of some kind.”
My throat worked, my mouth suddenly dry. “What kind of compromise?” I asked slowly, not sure what to think of this bizarre twist in our dynamic.
“A tenuous truce, perhaps?” he offered. “One that we can strengthen as we learn more about each other.” He shrugged, his hand leaving my cheek. “Honestly, in my very long life, I’ve never been in a situation like this before. We need to trust each other. But it won’t be easy.”
He wasn’t wrong about that last part—it absolutely would not be easy.
“However, nothing worth having has ever been easy,” he went on, his dark gaze capturing mine once more before slowly lowering to my mouth. “You kissed me yesterday.”
The jarring change in topic had my lips parting, my mind instantly rewinding to the incident he referred to. “I thought I was dreaming.”
“So you dream of me kissing you?” he asked, still studying my mouth.
“I dream of a lot of strange things.” The retort fell from my tongue before I could swallow it.
But rather than be offended at me calling our interactionstrange, he chuckled.
He’d laughed yesterday, too.
A sound I’d never heard from him before. At least, not like this. So relaxed and amused, yet not in a dark way.
“I imagine you do. Still…” He caught my chin, his touch just as hot as before. “You coaxed me into kissing you back.”
My eyes widened. “Coaxedseems like a strong word.”
