Dancing With The Devil, Witches Anonymous Step 5(11)

As their combined magics snaked under my skin and searched for mine, my pulse raced, my eyes closed and every one of my nerve endings sang the Hallelujah chorus. I’d kept a tight hold on my magic for so long, I now hesitated to let it out of its cage.

And while the magic in my chest had always been eager to escape, it now held back, shy and uncertain. Sure, I was cracking open the door, but my magic craved the dark, not the light, and these angels were a tangled mix of both. I didn’t trust either of them and my magic sensed that.

Tipping my head back, I reached out and started to dip a toe into the muddied magical waters and…

“Stop,” a dangerous, but oh-so-familiar voice said from behind me.

I opened my eyes and looked over my shoulder. “Luc?”

There he stood, scowling and, hello, naked. His clothes were still on my apartment floor. “What the hell are you doing?”

We all jumped back, kids caught stealing from the cookie jar. I dropped Ceph and Z’s hands and blinked. Twice. Luc’s body…oh, my. “I, um…You must have heard me call you. Thanks for…coming.”

Just call me Amy “Lame” Atwood.

Zayfeer clapped his hands together. “Lucifer, old buddy, old pal. Looking, uh,” —he started to slap Luc on the back and thought better of it when Luc shot him a don’t go there look— “good. Very…au naturel. But good.”

Better than good in my opinion. Apparently in Mikayla’s opinion too. She inched closer, eyes dazed and a big, happy smile on her face.

I cut in front of her, lifting my arms to hug him. “Are you okay?”

He backed away, keeping out of my reach.

Slowly, I dropped my arms. We stared at each other for a moment. In his eyes, I saw a rare vulnerability that told me there was more to his reluctance to embrace me than fear of the Mark. His dark gaze traveled from me to Zayfeer and back. The vulnerability in his eyes disappeared. “Leave it. I’ll close the gate.”

I wanted to say I was sorry. For the Mark, for not being able to control it and for allowing myself to get so distracted, I’d set it off. But really, I couldn’t control it and he knew that. It wasn’t like I’d purposely caused all this.

Moving out of his way, I watched the easy glide of his muscles as he marched past me and toward the jagged hole. His body was absolutely beautiful, the only disfigurements two scars, long-healed but prominent, from the places his wings had been cut off. Every time I saw those, my heart clenched.

Zayfeer and Cephiel moved aside under Lucifer’s glare. Authority and supremacy rolled off him. Not just power and strength, but a potent sense of prerogative. The Hellmouth belonged to him. He would take care of it.

The closer he got to the pit, the more the smoke gurgled and whirled. Tendrils of dark enchantments bubbled to the surface reminding me of boiling water in a cauldron. They reached for Luc, fusing with his natural-born power and obeying it.

He held out a hand to Zayfeer. “Give me your sword, soldier.”

The fallen angel bowed his head, took a long moment to retrieve the sword from his belt holster. Inch by slow inch, he handed it to Luc.

Why the reluctance? Questions about their shared past rose in my mind.

Luc hefted the sword skyward, closing his eyes at the same time. The sword lit up and so did he, his magnificent body taking on a reddish glow. A flush spread over every muscle, every tendon. The smoke curling out of the hole retreated and Luc’s body shimmered with a glimmering blaze of heat, expanding with each breath he took.

My heart hammered, thudding in my ears and drowning out the world around me. The heat rolling off Luc’s body circled mine, teasing and toying. The magic in my chest welcomed it and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him. Couldn’t move away from his power. A warm intensity took hold of my lower region, spreading down my legs and melting everything in its path. The heat climbed to my chest, my nipples, my throat, building and stroking and…

In the throes of heady lust, I threw back my head, shut my eyes and let go of a low moan. The sigil on my forehead came to life, and at the same time, Luc said something in Latin. Bright light exploded inside the shop, forcing me to shield my eyes.

My body grew lighter and I levitated off the ground. Still caught in the heat and desire coming from Luc, I didn’t fight it, only let it take me higher. I cracked open my eyes and saw the enchanted tendrils from the pit circling me, raising me into the air. My skin glowed as red as Luc’s.

And then the light he and the sword created died. With it, the bottom of my ride fell out.

My dead weight tumbled and I cartwheeled through the air. Spinning like a top, I became entangled in a magical tornado. I spun. I flipped. I fell.