Embrace The Dark (Her Elemental Dragons Book 5)(29)
“I found this place on one of those lists of ‘best food in Vegas off The Strip.’” She shrugged as she flipped open a laminated menu with peeling edges. “I thought it’d be fun to do something different. Take you out of your element for a change and see what happened.”
A crusty old bartender ambled over, acknowledging people left and right as he approached us. He made a pretense of wiping the bar with a stained rag. “What’ll it be?”
“Four chili dogs with everything on them. Fries and onion rings.” She paused and I stared at her in horror as she described six different ways to cause a heart attack. Not that I could have one, of course, but I worried about her own mortality. “And a root beer.”
“What’ll you have to drink?” The bartender tapped his fingers on the bar while I considered which wine would taste best with fried foods.
“Malbec?”
He stared at me, his face blank.
“You don’t have wine, do you?” Instead of horror, I only felt resignation. I glanced behind him at the various bottles and waved a hand. “Just bring me some of the house beer, whatever that is.”
At Hannah’s giggle, I swung my attention back to her while the bartender walked away to get our drinks. I straightened my suit and asked, “Does this amuse you?”
“Very much so. It’s a nice reversal, seeing you so out of place.” She raised her eyebrows and gave my suit a once-over with a grin, although the hand she skimmed down my thigh spoke much more of appreciation than amusement. “This is how I always feel around you, with your fancy penthouse and gourmet foods and private helicopters. Tonight I wanted to see what Lucifer was like without all the money, luxury, and power.”
I leaned close and brushed my lips across her ear. “You can take away the money and luxury, but power? Oh, I still have plenty of that, darling.”
Her eyes flared with desire as I sat back, just as the bartender set two drinks in front of us. I picked up my plastic cup and took a sip. It tasted thin and watered down but wasn’t completely undrinkable.
“Besides, I have a hard time believing you’d ever eat here if it wasn’t to torment me,” I added, once he’d left again.
“Probably not.” She glanced around and wrinkled her nose. “But it’s closer to the kinds of places I’d normally eat at than anywhere you’d take us.”
“Then I shall endeavor to enjoy slumming it with you, as the mortals say.”
She burst out laughing at that, and the sound of it made all of this worthwhile. I’d do anything she asked if it brought out that kind of reaction. Damn, how I’d missed being with her. She’d always loved to challenge me, and it was wonderful to see she felt comfortable enough already to do it now. Her fear of me had vanished, and though she may not remember me yet, she knew me on some deep, subconscious level.
Her laughter trailed off as the bartender plopped two grease-spattered plates of chili dogs and fries in front of us. Eating this meal without getting it all over ourselves was going to need a miracle.
Well, challenge accepted.
With my gaze meeting hers, I picked up the chili dog and took an enormous bite. Flavor and heat exploded in my mouth, but it was nothing I couldn’t handle. Then I set the food down and grabbed a napkin from the smudged chrome holder and carefully wiped grease off my fingers. “Your turn.”
She took a bite next, but her chili dog fell apart as she did, making a huge mess that tumbled down to her plate. She laughed as she tried to salvage it, and I handed her some fresh napkins. “Wow, that is good. Although I’m not sure it’s worth the, um, ambiance.”
“No food is worth this,” I muttered, as two people in the corner started yelling at each other in high-pitched voices, then suddenly leaped up and started making out over the table.
We kept eating anyway, dipping fries in the chili as we watched a lady in a pink tutu who couldn’t be a day less than ninety use one of the slot machines. At least we were never bored.
“What did you do today?” Hannah asked, as she grabbed an onion ring.
“I questioned the dragon we captured, but once again he proved resistant to my powers, which shouldn’t be possible.” I bit down hard on an onion ring, trying not to let my frustrations show. The fact that dragons were also turning against me and trying to kidnap—or worse—Hannah meant this truly was a larger conspiracy. One I’d need to deal with soon. Tomorrow, in fact, at the Devil’s Night ball.
“I nearly pissed my pants when I saw that thing,” Hannah said. “I can’t believe dragons are real.”
“They are, but there are very few of them left. It’s unheard of for so many to attack at once.”
She lifted her eyebrows. “What does that mean then?”
“That someone powerful is trying to undermine me.” I shrugged casually, even though my blood heated at the very idea. When she looked uncertain, I reached over and rested my hand on her knee. “You don’t need to worry. I’ll deal with it.”
She nodded slowly as she drank some of her root beer. “How many kinds of demons are there?”
“Six, or seven if you include the Fallen, although there’s some debate over whether they count as demons or not.”
Her eyes lit up. “One for each deadly sin?”
“Exactly, although the deadly sins were so named by angels. Still, they mostly fit. Pride for Fallen, naturally. Shifters are wrath, though their emotion is more like passion. Imps are envy, although they mainly thrive on attention.”
“You said last night that dragons were demons of greed.”
“Yes, it’s where the whole dragon hoarding stereotype comes from.”
She tilted her head as she considered. “Lilim are lust, obviously. What about gluttony and sloth?”
“Gargoyles, like the ones who attacked you the other night, are sloth. They can turn to stone and they feed on sleep.” I finished my food and used my napkin to wipe my hands. “As for gluttony, that would be vampires. They require blood to survive, just like in lore, and they’re very charming.”
“Glad I haven’t met any of those yet.” She gave my shoulder a playful shove. “I can’t possibly handle any more charm.”
We finished up our meal and I was surprised to find that in this dive bar with her I’d been having a great time. Even with the greasy chili dogs and weak beer. All I needed was Hannah by my side to feel complete, no matter the locale.
As we stepped outside I said, “Now that you’ve had your fun, let me take you to do one of the things I’d originally planned for tonight.”
Her brow furrowed. “No more private helicopters and thousand-dollar dresses, please.”
I held up my hands. “I promise I won’t spend a penny on this particular endeavor.”
She twisted her lips, like she was contemplating saying no, but then she nodded. “Okay. I suppose we can see the Mob Museum and the world’s largest slot machine some other time.”
“Wonderful.” I held out my hand and my blood pumped harder when her fingers wrapped around mine. Then I cloaked us in shadow so any stray gazes wouldn’t notice us before lifting Hannah in my arms and launching into the air. She tightened her grip around my neck, but not like she had with the dragons. She trusted me not to drop her.
My chest humming with pleasure, I took us higher and higher, holding Hannah so she could see the city beneath us. The hustle and bustle, the lights and the music, all of the chaos that was my home. We didn’t talk, just held each other as we flew over the city, enjoying the feel of being close as the cool night air bent around us.
Eventually, I landed on the top of the Stratosphere Tower, the tallest structure in the city and the perfect spot to lord over it like a king and queen gazing across their domain.
“Welcome to The Strat. Best view of the whole city.” I put my arm around Hannah’s shoulders and she leaned against me.
“It’s beautiful.” She turned to look up at me with those bright eyes that missed nothing. “But why do you live here and not in Hell?”
My chest tightened with long-repressed pain. “After thousands of years of war against the angels, Hell became uninhabitable. Heaven too. Our numbers were dwindling, and it was clear both our races would die off if something didn’t change. Archangel Michael and I met in private over many years, discussing how to negotiate peace between our kinds. In the end, we signed the Earth Accords and called a truce, then brought all the angels and demons to Earth, closing off Heaven and Hell permanently.”
Her eyebrows darted up. “The angels and demons were okay with that?”
I let out a bitter laugh. “Hardly. Many were angry with us at the time. Hell, many are still angry. Archangel Michael even lost his life over it. But it was the only way to save our people, and I stand by the decision.”
Her hand found mine and she squeezed it. “I’m sure you did what was best. But…why Vegas?”
“About forty years ago, when I realized we couldn’t live in Hell anymore, I started building up Las Vegas to be a safe haven for demons, where they can feed on humans without harming them or exposing our kind to the world. Here, humans are allowed to indulge their sins, and demons can reap the benefits.”