Revealing the Monster by Amelia Hutchins

Chapter Thirty-Four

Pain was good. It reminded you that you were still alive. I wasn’t going out like this. I couldn’t, not now. Not since I knew Lucian loved me. ~Lena

I’d cleaned up as best as I could, and a fresh dress was waiting for me once I exited the shower. It wasn’t as sheer of material as the red had been, but you could still see my form through it. Silver bracelets sat on the counter beside the necklace Lucian had given me. My fingers brushed over the symbol, knowing he would come for me.

The sound of knuckles against the bathroom door drew my eyes up to Lucifer in the mirror. He watched me through my reflection, gradually taking in the swell of my breasts the dress had left exposed. He moved forward, settling in behind me. Searching my gaze, he slowly lowered his mouth to my thundering pulse. He slid his hands to my waist, pausing there while he exhaled.

“What is going on, Luc?” I whispered through trembling lips.

“Haven’t you heard? Hell is empty, and a new world order is being decided tonight. Your lover is coming to destroy me, which will eradicate Hell entirely. It will unleash this realm into yours. Asmodeus was promised a realm to rule, and now he’s chosen yours. If I don’t give him what he wants, I will appear weak, and that isn’t something I can afford to do anymore.”

“He’s going to open Hell into the human realm?” I ask as darkened eyes lift from the curvature of my breasts to lock with mine.

Lucifer didn’t reply. Instead, his fingers rose to my jaw, gripping it to turn my body to face him. His mouth crushed against mine in a devastating kiss that rendered me stupid.

I struggled, but a dark growl behind us stalled my fight. I wrapped my arms around him, allowing him control while Asmodeus watched us.

Something within me warned that if I fought Lucifer, Asmodeus would join in, and he wouldn’t fake raping me, play games, or even attempt to be gentle. I wouldn’t survive him, not without some major trauma. Asmodeus was colder than Luc and didn’t play by the same rules as anyone else I’d ever met.

With Erie, he was stiff and didn’t shoot the shit. He told her he wanted her dead, and he wasn’t kidding when he’d said it, either. She was insane enough to think she’d controlled him, but he’d escaped her freezer somehow.

“You do enjoy her, don’t you?” Asmodeus asked with genuine interest.

Lucifer chuckled, breaking apart from me to lower his gaze to my kiss-swollen lips. “I take pleasure in knowing that Lucian will realize everything I have done with her and that she was willing. He thinks himself in love with her, but women are all the same. They’re faithless, selfish creatures who only want power and a throne to rule. Do you want to taste her, Lust?” Luc asked, turning to face Asmodeus, holding my arms apart, displaying me for the Prince of Lust to ogle.

Dispassionate blue eyes slid over my exposed cleavage. Before I could argue it, Asmodeus was pressing against me. He laughed darkly as he gripped my chin, peering down into my eyes.

This creature was death personified. He may leak lust from his soul, but he also screamed of carnal pleasure from pain.

Lust lowered his lips, brushing them against mine softly. His teeth pinched my bottom lip, nipping it until I moaned into his mouth. His hand slid around my back, holding me against him as Lucifer stepped back, watching us. Fingers danced over my skin, sending a wealth of pleasure and mixed emotions rushing through me.

“I’m the demon who personified lust, Magdalena. You can’t fight me. Nor can you deny me what we both want. You’re soaked for me. Your body is doing what it was made to do. Right now, your stomach is tightening right along with that sweet cunt of yours. Your nipples are hard, begging to be suckled and nipped hard enough that it aches, but not so much that it actually hurts. You enjoy men controlling you in bed, but never out of it. You get off on others knowing you’re aroused, but not enough to invite them to your bed. Tell me I’m wrong, Lena.”

“Fuck you.” I swallowed, listening to his sinister laugh as he backed up, staring at me. “They enjoy your fight, but I don’t. You think they will want you when you become mortal again? Will they want the soulless being driven by a monster she trapped within her? No, because he will cage you to do what is right. Lucian will lock your useless body up and spend the rest of his life looking for a way to save your pathetic corpse from his monster. Now, finish dressing because I am anticipating quite the show tonight.” He stepped back and clapped his hands, slowly dragging his gaze over my new hairdo and makeup. “Perfect.”

Asmodeus left the bathroom as quickly as he appeared. Lucifer stared at me, his gaze holding mine, and he nodded slowly. “Remember Makenna is innocent, Lena. She isn’t a part of this. What happens tonight? Well, it will decide if the world will remain the same or if a new king shall arise and lead the humans into damnation,” he whispered, pulling me closer to his body. “If he hadn’t gotten to you first, could you have loved me?”

“I don’t know,” I replied, uncertain if that loaded question would set me up for something sinister.

“Because I’m the Devil?” he countered.

“No,” I answered, cradling his face between my palms. “Because love is selfless, and I’m not sure you have the ability to be that. You are reckless, but you want love so badly that you try to force it, and that isn’t how love works. You can’t take people at face value. Pandora isn’t what you think she is, Luc. If I was yours, and I’d been stolen from you? I’d have moved Heaven and Hell to get back to you, and you’d be the first thing I’d run to when I got returned. She was more interested in opening that damned box.”

“She’s charged with keeping it closed, Lena. You don’t know anything about her, so keep your fucking mouth shut. We’re done now. Do you understand me? When we walk out of this room, I am not your protector. I am your tormentor. I will not be gentle, either.”

He grabbed my arm, forcing me to run to keep up with him. His hold on me ached, biting into my flesh as he pulled me behind him. I didn’t have time to ask him what would happen, but then I’d been wrong about him. I couldn’t trust him to protect me, nor could I depend on Lucian to get me out of here.

They weren’t worried about Lucian reaching us, and that terrified me almost as much as the coldness I felt from Lucifer. He yanked me forward and shoved me toward a stone altar. Candles were lit all around the room, and on the side of it lay a crib, where Makenna slumbered. Gazing at her, I turned a moment before Asmodeus nodded at someone behind me.

Something crashed against the side of my head, and I whimpered as my vision swam. Blood pooled at the back of my head, and I reached behind me to touch the throbbing ache when another blow landed, and darkness swallowed me entirely.