Revealing the Monster (Playing with Monsters #4) by Amelia Hutchins

“You loved me?”

“I fell in love with you before you were even born. Katarina wasn’t what I wished for, ever. I wanted what she would create with her soul. It explains everything about you that has been a mystery to me.”

“So you’re trying to get out of the fact that you had shitty taste in women?” I countered, as he slowly crept over to where I stood. “Everyone makes mistakes, Lucian.”

“I didn’t, though. I just chose the wrong soul and at the wrong time. Katarina was selfish and petty. You’re selfless and pure. She cared what others thought about her, but you don’t.”

“I did,” I corrected.

“No, you really fucking didn’t. You went away, and you used a spell that made you appear plain and lacking, and we all know that’s a fucking lie, Magdalena. You’re gorgeous and draw the eye of those around you without even trying. You just don’t know how beautiful you are. I’ll change that.”

“We have guests waiting for us below, and if you keep sweet-talking me, my panties are going to combust.” I lifted on my toes to kiss him. “I don’t care if you knew or not that I was the one you’d fall in love with, Lucian. I only care that you never let me go.”

“Never,” he promised, cupping my head to hold me against his lips. “Fine, but the moment we’re finished below, you’re getting fucked in this dress, on that desk.”

“Fine,” I said, smiling as his eyes turned into slits.

“Say it again, woman.”

“Nope, not happening, Blackstone. I’ve learned that you never give idle threats. After we’ve sent our guests away, you can fucking rail me on your desk and show me what your fine ass can do to me.”

“Fine,” he returned, watching my mouth.

“It’s a deal,” I chirped, spinning on my heel, allowing him to watch my ass from behind. He’d wanted me to say fine. If I had, I’d have been bent over that desk, my panties in his hand, and his dick buried in my heat.

Opening the door, the men on the other side came to attention, staring pointedly at me. I smiled, wrinkling my nose while stepping out of the office.

“Gentlemen,” I said softly. “I love your asses, too,” I admitted after a moment had passed.

“We like you too, Kitty.” Spyder slid his gaze over my face and grinned. Lucian cleared his throat, and Spyder winked at me. “Would you like to take the stairs or try out the new shiny silver ladder I had installed while you were gone? It’s not like any other ladder you’ve seen, and our patrons really like holding onto the edges and sliding down the slick surface.”

I cleared my throat, buffing my nails, then stared at them as if they held a layer of dirt. “I’ll use the stairs. I’ve slid down a ladder a few times in my life, but stairs seem to suit me better.” I swallowed past nervous laughter as flashbacks from our time in bed together replayed inside my head.

“I should hate you, Lucian, for taking those memories of the three of us from my mind, but judging by Lena’s reaction, I’m going to enjoy guessing what the fuck happened in that room,” Spyder admitted.

A sense of somberness fell over the men, and I turned, staring at Lucian, who watched Spyder with an uneasy expression.

“What is it?” I asked, pleading with Lucian to tell me what was happening.

“Not here, Lena. Not right now. Tonight we celebrate our victory. We still have to figure out Asmodeus’s next play and contain that prick in Hell. Lucifer is still below. You need to decide what happens with him and his daughter. Your family is also here and waiting to see you. They’ve been driving me insane for months. So enjoy the evening, because tomorrow all hell might break loose,” Lucian admitted, which seemed to lighten the air around us.

“Lucian,” Erie interrupted, stepping out of the shadows with a serious look in her sky-blue eyes. “I’d like to have Asmodeus back and your permission to handle him however I see fit.”

“And what do you intend to do?” he asked softly. His perceptive gaze slid over Erie’s face, slowly narrowing his eyes on her. “You’re attached to him, aren’t you?”

“In a way, he’s my friend. You set him on a course, but he also betrayed me. I plan to put him back where you found him. After all, you did steer him in the direction of his actions. Maybe not the part where he acquired the Unseelie blade and tried to kill Lena, but you knew he would come for her. You probably expected me to take her from Club Chaos, allowing Asmodeus the opportunity to find her.”

There was an accusation in her tone, one that made the hair on my neck rise. Her gaze slid to me, narrowing with the same look she’d given Lucian.

“I had no idea that you’d take Lena from where she was safe, Erie. I did know that Asmodeus was close to you, but I assumed he’d come here and that my plan wouldn’t put Lena in jeopardy.”

“In more jeopardy than you releasing the one being that could remove the furies from within Lena?” Erie asked, tapping her finger on her chin. “Or more than using me to draw your enemies out, to mark them,” she wondered out loud.

“I never should have questioned your loyalty to me, Erie. For that, I am sorry.” Lucian apologized. At that declaration, Erie dropped the angry look and clapped her hands.