Earlier, when they’d been rescued from the black hole, his eyes had appeared darker—she recalled it because she’d been so taken with him that it hadn’t mattered. His skin had also been a shade paler—less the golden god who’d vanquished Ares’s brutish general in one-on-one battle. But this was far more noticeable and frightening.
Maybe it was his grief showing, but deep down Diana’s senses knew not only was something wrong, but that something was of epic proportions... like the sudden transformation of the once-docile priestess into the Gorgon monster, Medusa. That brand of epic disaster!
“Are you okay, my dear? I’m so sorry...”
Diana’s hand flew up to stop his words again. “Stop saying that. You have nothing to apologize for. Anyone would’ve been shocked at... that.” She regretted there was no suitable word for what they’d witnessed. “Are you okay? What can I do to help you?” Tears streamed down her face. She was desperate to reclaim the Lucifer she had fallen in love with, not to lose him to this horrific reality.
A cloud passed over his eyes, and his features hardened to stone. “I am fine.” A nerve throbbed under his left eye. His full, sensual lips thinned to mere slivers of pale flesh. “Come. Let’s get you out of here before we both lose our minds.”
With less carefulness than before, he pulled her to her feet and gripped her hand. Lucifer marched back the way she had come, toward a pitch-black hole in the side of another barren mountain.
“But won’t we just end up trapped back in the cave? Surely, there must be another way out of here.” Diana tugged on his arm to turn him in another direction.
Without glancing down, Lucifer jerked her back to his side. “No. There is only one way out. And this”—his other hand spread out around them—“is not it.”
BACK IN THE CAVERN, Diana dove underneath the water to wash off the grime and disgust of her excursion into that hellish place. Lucifer watched her, longing building up in his loins even now. For he understood the truth. He’d peered into the minds of those of his brethren who still had conscious thought and what he’d witnessed had been pure, unadulterated...
Lust.
The angels had been cursed with unquenchable lust. It had driven them to do unspeakable things. At first, it had been simple touching, kissing, and embracing. Then fires had been lit inside their souls. Unable to stop themselves, they had given in to passions forbidden to them, but so recklessly experienced by mortals and other immortals.
It had not stopped there. Not even close. They’d been insatiable, unable to control themselves around anyone. They’d taken what wasn’t theirs, without consent, without consideration. They’d perverted what Lucifer had begun to see as acts of pure love into something vile. They’d desecrated themselves and others without consideration or thought or remorse. Guilt had never once entered their minds.
Lust. There had only been lust. All else had been eradicated. Nothing else had mattered other than that intoxicating high of controlling, fucking, and dominating others. They had been unable to stop. Even when the monster had ripped them limb for limb, torn their wings from their bodies, severed their heads with a slice of its razor-sharp claws, they had still held onto one thought, one need, one want... to fuck.
Now trapped in a perpetual state of dismemberment, unable to die to rid themselves of the torment, his brothers and sister still were enthralled to their carnal pleasures.
How had they devolved from creatures of divine love and light into something so detestable?
Diana splashed back onto the shore, naked and glorious. Water shimmered off her hair to cascade over her bountiful breasts, down over her cute little belly button, drawing his eyes further down her voluptuous body. A powerful need surged in his blood. All thoughts eradicated from his mind, everything except the desire to claim her in every conceivable way.
Lucifer now understood.
THE WATER HAD DONE wonders for her physical well-being. Cleansing herself of the debris of that cursed land had been her top priority. It didn’t matter if they never found another way out, as long as they never went back there.
Lucifer’s eyes bore into her. Before, she would’ve melted right into his arms with that look, but now an alarm bell trilled in the back of her head. He was wounded, at least in spirit from his gruesome find. And he would demand revenge on whoever or whatever did that. But that gaze was not harboring hatred or anger just now. And by the obvious bulge underneath his own tunic, it wasn’t difficult to guess what he needed.
Despite the warning, Diana felt her core pulsate in response. A wave of desire hit her like a tsunami. It was hopeless. She could never deny him. Not now. Not ever.
Without wasting any time, she sauntered over to where he sat on top of a large, rectangular boulder with a flat surface—like a banquet table. She reached up to pull his face down for a kiss, only to have him yank her to his chest. His lips tore open hers, his tongue plundering inside, demanding her to yield. Unable to deny him anything, Diana submitted to him—body, heart, and soul.
Even during the heat of passion from their earlier lovemaking, Lucifer had been gentle, to the point of driving her mad with his restraint. This was far different. This was fervent, primal need in its truest form. She felt the stark difference and didn’t give a damn!
Her hands tugged on the flimsy piece of cloth that served as his tunic. It’d undergone enough damage and now barely covered his ass. She tried to pull it over his head. His hands swatted hers away then grasped the material, ripping it in two and tossing it toward the shoreline.
Lucifer grabbed her arms and swung her onto the top of the flat rock. Diana tried to rise, but he shoved her back down, a knee wedging in between her legs, spreading them wide. With a feral grin, he dipped his head to her already soaking wet pussy. His tongue darted out, spreading her lips with hurried laps while one hand pushed underneath her butt cheeks to hold her in place while he feasted.
Unable to control any aspect of her own body, Diana’s hips bucked up to grind against his face. His answering growl only made her core throb more—an unquenched need threatened to shatter her into a million tiny shards of light.
An unsuspecting finger slid past his tongue and into her cunt. It pushed in, then slid out in a rapid pace that matched the frenzied rocking of her hips. Just when Diana felt on the verge of exploding, he’d slow to an achingly beautiful glide as his lips nipped at a tiny sensitive piece of flesh that exploded at his touch.
But he wasn’t done with her yet, and neither was she.
Another finger slipped in, curving upward with each stroke and sending a blistering wave of pleasure through her trembling body.
“Not yet, my love. Not yet.”
His soft-spoken command halted the earth-shattering orgasm Diana knew was on the precipice of being unleashed. Unlike the rough start that had demanded brutal submission, it was like it had been when they’d first made love. Diana relaxed in the knowledge that Lucifer had come back to her... despite the damage inflicted upon him by their gruesome discovery, he was still her Lucifer.
