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

The moment she whimpered, Luc vanished to tend to her. I listened to him, whispering that her mommy would be there soon and that we’d all be together. Tears filled my eyes, trickling down my cheeks as he returned with her swaddled in a bright pink blanket. Lucifer held Makenna against his naked chest, gently patting her back. The only thing visible was her wispy, caramel-colored hair.

“She’s perfect, Lena. We need you,” he whispered, kissing Makenna’s forehead while holding my stare prisoner. “Come to me, and I’ll let you hold her before I punish you. You’ll like my punishment. I promise. I crave you, and my daughter needs a mother. She needs one who will love her, and you do. I feel it, you know? I feel your need to touch her, to hold her. You think to protect Makenna from me, but she’s mine. You could be too.”

“All I have to do is sell my soul to the Devil, right?” I stared at the tiny hand that waved in the air as Makenna moved. Lucifer placed his finger in her palm, allowing her little fingers to wrap around his.

“You have no soul, my sweet queen. Lucian can never love you. I can, and I do. I’ve thought of nothing else since I had you on my stage, tasting the darkness within you on my lips. I didn’t get to finish last time. I intend to remedy that.” Lucifer smiled and then turned his attention to the babe in his arms. “Makenna needs a brother, and I can make that womb of yours work again. You could have my son, and we could be a family.” He lifted his head, and we locked eyes. “Lucian won’t do that for you. Not because he can’t, but because he simply won’t chance it, not even for you. Have you figured out what he did yet?”

“No. Why don’t you tell me what Lucian did?” Magic encircled me, wafting through the room, and I gasped as my skirt and camisole turned into a wispy black dress. It barely covered my chest, opening in a deep V-line that stopped just above my pubic bone, exposing the swell of my breasts. The skirt flowed to my feet, and a breeze ruffled my hair as the soothing scent of lavender filled the air.

“That’s better,” Luc chuckled, letting his gaze slip to my chest and lower. Then, silently, he pushed the blanket down to show me his daughter. “Would you like to see your new mommy, Makenna? She’s very beautiful, just like you are my precious sweetling.”

Big, curious turquoise eyes stared up at me. Makenna’s tiny lips puckered as her small hand moved to her mouth, and she began sucking her fingers. Tears slid free from my eyes, and my heart clenched at the perfection of Kendra’s daughter. I reached for her, and Lucifer smiled, sensing my need to hold her. His dark head shook, and he turned, walking back toward the other room. I watched him disappear with Makenna, making my stomach twist with pain.

When Luc reemerged, he grinned as he ran his hands down his muscular torso, covered in pulsing tattoos. He was taller this time as well. Luc’s body was a mass of sinewy, hard, chiseled curves that promised dark, sinfully corrupt pleasure. I swallowed, dragging my gaze down his powerful body, sliding lower to the black silk pants that hugged his hips. A knowing smile curved his full, luscious mouth as he shuffled toward me. He grasped his bottom lip between his teeth, releasing it before pausing in front of me.

“I want you, Lena. I want you to be mine. You fucked me over, and I get it; I do. I hurt you. I can be a bit overzealous and aggressive, but you’re into that. Aren’t you? I watched you with Lucian, and then I saw him break you. I won’t do that to you, ever. You’ll give me a son, and we’ll raise our children together. Our son and my daughter,” he offered, pushing his fingers through his thick, silky dark hair. “Let me return what I stole from you. If you choose me, I will give you everything you want. Be my queen, and we will rule the new world together. You will be at my side, as my equal.”

“You intend to end the world, Luc.” I pulled my stare back to his dark blue indigo depths, using his nickname on purpose, watching as he shivered with anticipation from the reminder of when he had me on his stage, demanding I call him Luc. “I am from that world, not yours. I get that you’re mad at me because you lowered your walls and whispered your insecurities to me. But here’s the truth: You bashed in my fucking head. You killed me, even before I used a dagger to end my life. You are to blame for mine and my son’s death.”

“I can’t deny that,” he stated honestly, closing the distance between us. Lucifer trailed his finger down the skin he’d exposed, drifting lower until his tattooed fingers stopped before they could dip into my dress. “I’m the Devil and not a nice guy. I didn’t know you, and what I did that night created this version of you. You were going to die one way or another, no matter what I did.” He inhaled, stepping closer until my body was flush against his. “I can give you another son. I can give you the world and whatever else you want.”

“Can you give me my son back?” I asked icily. His thick lashes dusted his high cheekbones before he opened his eyes to stare at me.

Having the Devil gaze into your eyes was seduction dipped into wicked desire. Luc wasn’t the ideology of what you’d expect the Devil to be. He had weaknesses, and he’d allowed me to see them once. I’d used his vulnerabilities against him, but then the prick had prematurely ended my life that night.

“No, because not even Death knows where your son, Harbinger, ended up, strangely enough. It makes me curious, considering only a few creatures are powerful enough to recall a life from the Keepers of Souls, me being one of them. Yet when I call for his, it does not answer me. Someone either bartered for your son’s soul or stole it. I did try since Makenna would love to have him as a brother, back with us.”