The sweetest taste of sin

by Cengiz

Finding yourself in an undercover operation where you and your partner play a married couple is one thing. But suddenly realising that the case pushes you both into a direction none of you were prepared for, a completely other. Especially when you discover, that your close contact has the same effect on him as drugs. [rated M for intense/sexual content and topic]

2. I can taste her on my tongue

A/N: Hello my dears. First of all, I wanted to thank all of you for your amazing feedback on this story. You are awesome! Not only all those lovely reviews I got from you (I couldn't reply to some of you and wanted to thank you right here for your words. :o) ), also for the many people who have put this on their favourites and/or alert list. You guys rock!

Then I wanted to say sorry to those I told this chapter would be up before Christmas. In my defence, at that time I thought the chapter wouldn't be longer than 10,000 words, and, well, as you can see it turned out to be much more than that. And, as my dear beta-reader pointed out that I shouldn't pressure myself with chapter lengths or upload time points, I just wanted to say that from now on, I won't give any vague assumptions for when the next chapter will be uploaded. It is done when it's done, and you'll read it when I think it is perfect to be read. :D Thank you for bearing with me in that regard :D

And just one little hint: I loved them dancing in the show so much! And yes I also had a dance for them in mind as I started this story in October, but I can only hope that my scene is anywhere near the scene on the show and you'll like it as well. :D

This chapter is beta-read, by the awesome Daemon! You rock!

Enjoy!

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I can taste her on my tongue

o~o

The neurons in Chloe's brain fired their signals through her body and gradually she awoke out of her dream. She took a deep breath, stretching her toes and fingers, and yawned as she exhaled. Blinking away the tears that had formed in the corners of her eyes, she slowly opened them and adjusted her sight to her new surroundings. It took her a moment before she got fully aware of where exactly she was: new house, Riveroak State, undercover job. Right!

She tried to move, but something pinned her down into the mattress; something heavy and warm. With her brain still half in the clouds, she couldn't quite specify what it was and just assumed that it was her limbs that had gotten numb during sleep. She lowered her gaze to her arm in front of her, concentrating her mind on moving. It was strange: Albeit she really thought she was lifting her arm, seeing it, it didn't move a jot. Another moment passed by, accompanied by some more blinks of her eyes before she realised what exactly was out of order: The arm in front of her wasn't her own. It was larger, hairier, and definitely male, and it released a pulse through her mind that instantly got her back into the here and now. "Lucifer, what? You're crushing me!" she groaned in a weary voice, and shifted her body beneath him, trying to shove him off of her, but he simply was too heavy.

In her attempts to shake him awake she was greeted by some quietly mumbled words she couldn't understand, directly spoken into her ear. His warm breath tickled her skin, sending a shudder through her ear and down her spine, and for a moment she stiffened in her movements before she continued to struggle underneath him while dictating in a now clear and firm tone, "Get off me!"

Her demand was instantly granted and he rolled over onto the middle of the bed, repeating his mumbled words, this time more audible, "Morning, love." He stretched himself and used his fingers to rub the sleepy dust out of his eyes, blinking several times and yawning as well, before he turned his head towards her and answered her unspoken question, "You were tossing and turning the whole night. I couldn't sleep till I stopped you from moving."

"Oh," she replied sheepishly, feeling not quite comfortable with that little truth. At least, he didn't tell her again that she had snored like an Albanian field wench. "You could have woken me up, you know?" she told him in a more casual tone and sat up, staring down at him.

"I tried to," Lucifer replied and his lips widened into a smirk as he added, "But you were dead to the world." He stretched his arms some more, not minding at all that he lightly brushed across her back with one of them in the movement as he lay both down on the mattress. "Besides, some body contact would be good for you. After all, you're my wife; we should be used to touching each other," he mentioned nonchalantly and walked with his fingers up her spine.

Chloe immediately moved her body in a half-turn, facing him fully and thereby bringing some distance between herself and his fumbling fingers. "What do you mean with that?" she asked, eyeing him sceptically.

He lifted his upper body on both his elbows, smirking at her, as he used his hand to gesture between the both of them, and countered, "That's a perfect example! I barely touched you and you shrink away from me as if I just set you on fire." He grinned smugly at his own remark, and Chloe sensed that soon a sexual comment would follow, but before she could even form a snappish reply, he added, "And yesterday, when I kissed your neck, you got stiff as a poker. Everyone saw that you were uncomfortable with me touching or kissing you, which did fit perfectly at that moment, considering we were giving that audience an unwanted show, but when we go to the party this evening, we need to be more, well-" he looked around the room, fishing for a suitable word in his mind he could describe it with, before he continued, "-used to each other. Do you get what I mean?" he asked and moved his arm until his fingers touched her knee and he stroke across the fabric of her pyjama trousers.

Chloe's body stiffened again at the sudden contact and she shifted herself, asking him perplexed, "What are you doing?"

"Proving my point!" he answered cockily and nodded once at her, but withdrew his hand on the spot. "You instantly get uncomfortable when I touch you, and so far you've barely touched me; only when you absolutely needed to," he reprimanded her, entirely dropping the moment when she'd wrapped her arms around him, because he knew she only did this as a result of Patricia giving him that look. "We haven't even kissed once since we're here," he added, making his complaint complete. What was this undercover job good for, anyhow, if he couldn't get some benefits out of it, at least?

"Okay," Chloe responded, feeling a little dumbfounded and surprised at the sudden scolding. After all, it was her who had years of acting training, and back then she always had been praised for her authenticity whenever she played her roles. Now getting rebuked by someone with absolutely no expertise in this field gnawed at her self-esteem. If only she wouldn't get that tingling sensation in the depths of her body each time he touched her or got close to her or even just lay there half-naked in front of her, she could be much better at pretending, she thought and sighed deeply. Silently, she shook her head. Lucifer was right! When he could notice her feelings, and he was known for being oblivious in regards to other people's emotions, then the others would recognise that, too. And she couldn't let that happen. She was risking their undercover operation, not just its success but also their lives, just because she couldn't get herself under control. "Alright," Chloe declared, nodded, and sighed once again before she raised her head and stared at him. "What do you suggest?"

His answer came in him suddenly sitting up and grabbing her, and Chloe couldn't help that little shriek from escaping her throat as he pulled her into him, holding tight with one arm around her, while he moved her legs to each side of his body by using his free hand. Chloe clasped her arms around his neck to keep herself from falling into him and only loosened her grip as he lowered her down in his lap. His one arm still holding her firm in position, he ran his other hand across her lower back to help her calm down, not knowing that this caused exactly the opposite.

Her heart was racing at the sudden close contact, and she inhaled deeply a couple of times to stop her rapid breathing. It took some effort, but eventually, the loud throbbing of her heart in her ears silenced, and she got the connection back to her mind. It didn't take long for her to remember that she was actually holding fast onto his bare skin, and her cheeks coloured in a light pink. As if stung by a bee, she let go of him. His low chuckles resounded through the room, making clear that he was not just amused by her but also fully aware of the reason for her blushing, and she folded her arms in front of her chest in anger, glaring at him.

Lucifer let go of her altogether and leant a bit backwards to give her some time and space to get along with the physical closeness between them. He sighed, looking up and down at her, and grinned widely. It was too much of a fun teasing her when he always got rewarded with that cute frown in her face, he thought, and lightly shook his head, chuckling some more. Come to think of all the things he could do with her, on top of him... Not wanting to go down that path in his mind, he quickly brushed off these thoughts and stated in a somewhat chiding tone, "Well, to begin with, you should really change your long trousers into something else. I've already seen your bare legs three times, and it's too warm to bring the weather as an excuse for wearing something like that." He pointed towards the fabric. "Besides, we're freshly married, and not one of those old couples who live way beyond their expiry date and whose only personal display of affection is a kiss once in a week. So, actually, I wouldn't mind at all if you sleep completely naked." He grinned cheekily and ran his tongue across his teeth, staring at her with almost black eyes as he added, "I already know how you look in nothing but your skin."

"No!" Chloe objected right away, resolute that this would never happen. Pretending or not, they still were partners; there needed to be a distinct line between them that none of them should ever cross, and sleeping naked next to each other was definitely beyond this line. But he was also right, she had to admit; normally she'd sleep naked, and especially in the beginning of her marriage with Dan they even did so when it was freezing cold outside. Still, this marriage was a fake one. There was no way he would see more of her than any other colleague she'd worked with. Remembering the two occasions where he actually had seen more, she added in her head, 'At least, not again.' "I will change into something more lighter," she complied with him, making clear with a move of her hand that this topic was off the table.

"Lovely," he replied and smiled at her, pleased. "And then, for the sake of your sting operation, I want you to touch me!"

"Excuse me?!" Chloe gaped at him, completely flabbergasted. Did she just hear right? Did he really suggest, what she heard him suggesting? She couldn't believe her ears.

Lucifer rolled his eyes. Of course, she would think that was what he meant, he thought. Well, normally it would have been exactly that. But in this particular case, it wasn't. "Not in a sexual way!" he retorted, cutting off the thoughts in her head. "You need to get comfortable with my body; with touching me, snuggling up to me," he listed, a delighted smirk stretching his cheeks as he said, "Kissing me." He wetted his lips, enjoying the blush that was now clearly on the detective's face. Letting her finally off the hook, he casually mentioned with a wave of his hand, "This is what couples do, after all." He stared at her, seeing the contradicting emotions flashing up on her face as she mentally debated about it, and, once again, enjoyed her embarrassment.

'He is right! Again!' Chloe eventually concluded, and it vexed her a little that he showed much more professional behaviour in this than she did. She didn't really show affection towards him, her husband, as it was supposed to be. On the other hand, he didn't really have to change his persona for that. He could never keep his hands off of women and made no secret about it that he wanted her beneath him, writhing and panting, and that's why he was so good at playing her recently wedded spouse. Damn! She really needed to get her emotions under control, or else they could forget about the case. This would have been so much easier with Anderson at her side, she thought and sighed quietly. But he wasn't here, and she had to park her own thoughts to the very back of her mind and just go with the flow. Sighing again, she agreed eventually, "Alright, where shall I start?"

"Wherever you want, Chloe," he answered softly and bent his upper body backwards to give her more space, supporting his body weight and balance on both his outstretched arms, his smile now permanently plastered on his face, in anticipation of what was about to come. "You don't need to ask for permission first," he stated and watched her attentively. Why was the detective always so complicated? She clearly wanted to touch him, he saw that very evidently in her eyes and her shy smile. But why in the world did she go so strictly against her own desires? That was something that absolutely didn't want to get into his head, and he did a mental note for that. The doctor definitely had to explain him this paradox called Chloe Decker in their next session.

Chloe nodded slightly and mentally prepared herself as if she was about to go on a shoot-out. Actually, she would have much preferred this shoot-out right now, as she let her hands hover over his chest. That firm chest with its soft skin and well-defined abs, not too visibly, though; just as she'd liked it. She only hoped that this tingling sensation wouldn't start again when she touched him. After all, she was sitting on top of him right now, and she knew her body. That tingling sensation would head directly to the area between her legs, making everything ready for a much-wanted visit, and her pyjama trousers wouldn't be able to fully hide that little preparation. And then he would recognise it, and would know it, and would...

"Are you sleeping with your eyes open?" Lucifer asked her teasingly and saw her eyes zooming right back and focussing on him.

Chloe swallowed, sheepishly staring at him, and only hoped that her thoughts weren't all too visible on her features right now. "No," she countered, trying to push the awkwardness of the moment away and to focus on the task ahead. "Right," she commented to herself and finally lowered her hands down onto his skin; his skin that was so warm and oh so soft, she realised, and reflexively bit her lower lip to make sure no unwanted, sudden moans could escape her mouth. Why did he have to have such soft skin? She locked her eyes firmly on his chest, not daring to look anywhere else as she moved her hands up and down his torso, continuing with only the tips of her fingers as she felt the effect of his smooth body in her system. 'Just lightly,' she told herself, 'as little contact as necessary.' She ghosted with her fingers over his skin, mentally thinking of not so pleasant thing to try to hold the sensations in herself at bay. She let out a low, relieved sigh as she felt herself relax, the tingling subsided, leaving only a comfortable feeling behind. But still, she didn't dare to look anywhere else than at his chest, especially not into his face, knowing all too well that there was probably a wide smug grin staring at her right now, and she didn't want to see that at any cost. She didn't know how she'd react if she had proof that he knew what his body did to her, and she didn't want to know, either. Not now, anyway.

Lucifer used all his mental willpower to concentrate on his breathing: inhale, exhale, keep it as even as possible, he told himself over and over again and was glad that she was so intently looking at his chest, and not at his face. Initially, he'd thought that this would be something to get the detective into an aroused state, seeing her blush deeper, and getting her to finally admit that she wanted to jump his bones, but the desired effect was quite the opposite: She looked rather clinical as she ran her fingers across his chest, and he, he was quite busy with keeping his own arousal at bay that had come up as soon as she lowered her fingers on his skin. Why did her touch had to affect him so much? He had plenty of women underneath him, or above him, or both, and none of them had ever managed to stir up such a strong sensation inside of him. Especially not by just touching him. And Chloe barely touched him at all, with only her fingertips running over his chest. But still, this was enough to bring him into such a state of sexual excitement, and it vexed him, knowing that he couldn't play out his carnal desires at all. He would have preferred a fight with his brother right now than being situated underneath her, completely at her mercy. Why did she have such power over him? At least she wasn't looking up and saw what she did to him, he thought to himself and squinted his eyes shut for a moment as he felt another rush through his body.

When her hands moved further down on his body and caressed the outlines of his navel, he relished that sensation for a bit too long, and his guard went tumbling down. A sharp inhale, followed by a hasty gasp escaped his throat, and Chloe instantly stopped with her touch.

"What's wrong?" she asked and stared at him, startled.

"Nothing," Lucifer replied, quickly putting on his mask of cockiness and indifference he'd mastered down in the depths of hell while forcing himself to breathe as quietly as possible. Under no circumstances would he let her see his true reactions to her, he silently swore to himself. "You'd just tickled me," he added in a nonchalant voice and was instantly shocked about himself, completely overhearing her whispered "sorry", as he mentally cursed at his own behaviour. He'd just lied! For the first time in his life, he didn't speak the truth. And moreover, he lied to Chloe! The woman he'd assured to never lie to, and the only soul in this universe he never wanted to lie to. But still, he just did. What in all the world? He only hoped she would forgive him for it if it would come out. It was just, he didn't know how to continue living with her knowing how much effect she had on him while he couldn't act out on it with her. Why couldn't she be like the other women who flung themselves at him? It would have been so much easier if she simply had sex with him; then he would have all these inconvenient emotions finally out of his system, he was sure of that. But no! She was so damn stubborn.

He sucked in his breath again, trying to not let out that relieved sigh that was crawling up his throat as he felt her fingers finally move upwards to his shoulders and his less sensitive skin. Her hands went around his neck and down his back, brushing over his scars and suddenly he hissed in pain.

"Oh God! I'm so sorry!" Chloe cried out and pulled her hands away from his back.

"Wrong recipient!" Lucifer countered cockily, smirking widely, as he felt all other emotions instantly dying down at the sudden ache, giving him the much-needed relief from his arousal. "It's alright," he calmly confirmed her as she still hadn't continued with further exploring his body.

"Does it hurt when I touch your scars?" she asked, eyeing him with worry and sympathy. She still was sensitive on her scar from when Jimmy Barnes had shot her a year ago, and it was just a little bullet hole. Him having scars spanning over half of his back that had been inflicted five years ago... she couldn't even imagine how much these would hurt.

Lucifer thought about her question, not knowing how to best describe it. He definitely didn't want to lie to her again but decided that she didn't need to know everything, as well. "Normally not, but sometimes it gives me some strange sensations, and they are overwhelming," he explained to her, dropping that part that sometimes actually meant when she touched them. Maybe it was because of his mortality that occurred around her, that let him feel this pain on his back.

Remembering their last encounter in his apartment where she'd seen his scars for the first time, she inquired warily, "Did this happen the last time I touched them?"

"Yes, that's why I turned around so quickly," he answered truthfully and stretched his lips into a smile to convince her that everything was fine. Seeing her sad eyes staring back at him was something that caused a strange pressure on his chest, in an unpleasant way, and he wanted her mood to lighten up again.

"OK," Chloe confirmed quietly, nodding to herself. "I'll try not to touch them again," she assured him and was about to move her arms back around his neck when his voice stopped her in her action.

"No, please touch them." Seeing her confused look, he added, "It's alright. I told you to touch me, I can handle it," he reassured her, and his dark brown eyes stared at her determined.

She shook her head, the concern and care for him still evidently in her face. "I don't want to hurt you, Lucifer," she told him with a voice that was barely above a whisper.

"Chloe, you're not hurting me," he affirmed her sincerely, completely letting slip under the table that the pain would also prevent himself from any further unwanted feelings. He fully sat up and gently took her wrists, placing them back around his neck. He lowered his hands and stroke along her forearms to assure her once again that everything was alright before he let go of her and rested his arms around her waist.

They locked their eyes with each other, and Chloe had to concentrate really hard not to get lost too much into this soothing brown colour of his irises. She sighed and nodded at him while her fingers played with the soft, small hairs at his hairline without her conscious mind having even registered what she was doing. Breaking the eye contact, this motion went directly into her frontal lobe and her hands froze in place. Her eyes instantly went back to his chest, and then she turned her head as a smile she couldn't hold back started to stretch her lips, hoping he hadn't seen it. Hearing the low chuckle, she, once again, was confirmed he had, but this time it didn't keep her smile from stretching into a full toothy grin.

Chloe sighed once more and went back to business. She shifted forward to make herself taller and get a better view on his back. Yes, he'd said she could touch his scars, but she was determined to do this as gently as possible, knowing that he was too proud to show her if he was in actual pain again.

Lucifer tightened his grip around her, placing his chin on her shoulder and pressing her body further into him, as he felt her fingers running down his back again. They barely touched his scar tissue but the sensation was already enough to let him suck in his breath sharply. It felt like his wings would be cut off again, and he clenched his teeth and dug his fingers into the material of her tank top. Closing his eyes to better concentrate on the warm body in his arms, he breathed out slowly, exhaling the pain, and in return, was rewarded with her sweet scent that reached his nostrils with every inhale. Chloe was very gentle with him as she continued caressing the skin on his back, and each time she came across his scars, the pinching and burning sensation lessened and slowly turned into a warm, tingling feeling, heating him up from the inside and letting him relax into her soft touch. Her increasing pressure on his back added more fuel to this pleasant feeling, and soon he found himself back in his aroused state and had to fight his own desire again. He suppressed the groan that was on the tip of his tongue, concentrating on breathing. Was nothing spared from him right now?

Swallowing down the frustration, he once again concluded in his head: Yes, a fight with his brother was definitely much more appealing right now, or a fight with demons. Heck, even all demons and all angels together against him. Anything was easier compared to having her sit in his lap, closely pressed to his body, moving her fingers over his skin, stirring up all those feelings in him, and not be allowed to do anything, nothing at all, to get even the slightest bit of relief. Oh how much he wanted to throw her back onto the mattress and pin her down, rip those clothes off of her, run his hands over her body, and make her writhing and panting with pleasure underneath him...

As the thoughts became too vivid in his mind, he found that something else began to stir up on him. He was barely quick enough to grab her and lift her off of him so she wouldn't recognise what exactly it was, sending her down on the mattress with a loud thud in the process, and hastily standing up from the bed. "This should be enough for now. I meet you downstairs," he commented swiftly and was through the door to his dressing room before she could even form a reply in her head.

Chloe stared at the door he had disappeared behind, flabbergasted and not quite processing what'd just happened. Did she press her fingers too hard on his scars? Was he in pain and just didn't want to show her? She didn't know but held herself back from going after him. She knew he probably needed to be alone right now, and being alone herself wasn't that bad either, she concluded as she did a quick check between her legs. Damn it! She was dripping wet and hadn't even registered it. She just hoped he hadn't fled the room so hastily because he'd noticed it. Getting up quickly herself, she went directly into her bathroom to dry herself off and make herself ready.

Lucifer stood in the shower, his forehead leant against the hard tiles as he let the ice cold water run down his body, looking down on his penis that still stood at attention. Damn! Why did this have to happen just now? He always had himself under control, was able to get it up and down howsoever he wanted, but no, it had to be different with the detective, of course! He sighed in frustration and pressed his head further against the tiles, letting out a groan that was half swallowed by the sound of the pouring water. Glancing down at himself, for a moment he considered to give himself some relief but quickly decided against it. It wouldn't be relief at all to lend a hand on himself, now after he had let her hands run over his upper body and was still feeling the ghost of her fingertips on his skin. He wanted her hands back, her body closely pressed into his own; anything else was less than acceptable, and so he shifted the tap to a warmer setting and made himself ready for the day.

/-/

Dressed in her shorts from the day before and a new long shirt that hung loosely around her shoulders, its sleeves rolled up, a matching tank top underneath, Chloe walked down the stairs and into the kitchen area.

"Finally," Lucifer exclaimed cheerfully as he heard her approaching, briefly looking up at her, before he turned his attention back to mixing the ingredients of their breakfast with a whisk. "I really don't get what takes you so long in the shower," he mentioned teasingly and applied some more pepper to the mixture before he stepped to the stove, put half of it into the big pan, and switched on the flame.

Chloe eyed him warily. She didn't know whether he played it all cool because, in his opinion, nothing had happened up there, or because he was uncomfortable speaking about it. In either case, it would be wise not to bring up the topic herself, she concluded and decided to play along. "I just unpacked the last boxes upstairs," she explained and flashed him a smile.

Lucifer stopped stirring the omelette with a spatula and stared at her, puzzled. "The last boxes?" he repeated half of her words. "Didn't you have enough time yesterday to do that?" he asked and fixed his eyes on her for a bit before he turned back to the food in front of him, stirring some more.

"No," she simply answered, elucidating further, "Yesterday, I was busy with going through all the collected information we got from the vice department. I wanted to know if they already had some information about that Patricia, and then I went through some more files so we're prepared tonight," she ended, but then quickly added to make it more specific, "For the party."

"Really?" Lucifer rolled his eyes, chuckling about her typical behaviour. He increased the heat to let the omelette firm up faster and turned around. Facing her fully, he asked teasingly, "It's a party, Chloe, what bad things could possibly happen there? That they run out of drinks?"

Chloe leant against the kitchen counter, cluelessly shrugging her shoulders and voicing the first thing that came up into her mind, "They could be a bunch of cannibals."

"Patricia didn't look like a cannibal to me. Trust me, I know how these guys look," he countered, adding with a smug grin, "Well, I'm quite sure that she wanted to eat me, but not to fill her stomach if you know what I mean?" He turned back around, flipping the omelette.

"You're disgusting!" Chloe countered, making a gag face and earning a chuckle from him. She stepped to the sink, grabbed a glass and poured herself some water, downing half of its content in one go to satisfy her sudden thirst before she put it on the counter.

"Trust me, we will go there, have a nice chat with some of the residents, get to know them, drink, eat, dance, and then we go back home and plot about taking down that killer," he told her optimistically and took the pan from the stove, tilting it to let the omelette slide onto a plate. Then, he put the pan back on the stove, pouring the rest of the mixture into it.

"Sounds good," Chloe affirmed, nodding. If it really could be that easy, she thought. Unfortunately, she already knew the truth. She enjoyed their casual conversation and wanted it to keep going, so she decided to let something slip that she normally was adamant to hide. "Except for the dancing," she mentioned and glimpsed at him to see his reaction.

Lucifer let the spatula drop to the side abruptly, and turned around, a perplexed stare directed at her as he wondered baffled, "What about the dancing?"

"Nothing much," she answered casually and shrugged her shoulders. Her eyes wandered around the room while she plucked up all her courage to tell him, "Just that I can't really dance, and therefore don't do it." His eyes pierced through her in expectation of a proper explanation, and Chloe shrugged her shoulders again, searching for the right words in her mind before she elucidated, "When I was little, my mother took me to these dancing classes. There was this teacher who always rebuked me in front of the whole class for being the worst dancer he'd ever had to teach. All the other kids were laughing at me. So, one day I decided I don't want to dance any more. I really felt better afterwards," she added to make it sound less dramatic.

A worried frown had shown up between his brows as he listened to her words. He saw it evidently in her eyes that it was difficult for her to speak about it, and he wanted to change her thoughts on that right away to some more pleasant ones. Hoping there must be at least one good memory for her in connection with dancing, he asked curiously, "But what about your wedding day? Isn't this the day when it's an obligation to dance, and a duty to enjoy it?" After all, he'd seen all those videos, uploaded on YouTube, where the freshly married couples danced, laughed, and everyone was happy.

"Well," Chloe started and put her hands into the back pockets of her shorts, slightly rocking back and forth on her feet as she disclosed to him, "I broke my leg a couple of weeks earlier and was still wearing a cast at the wedding. Therefore, I didn't have to dance. And nobody minded anyway; my mother took up the whole dancefloor, and gathered all the attention," she ended, adding a smile to her face; after all, that was a piece of luck for her.

"You've broken your leg? Sounds like this marriage was ill-fated from the start, then," Lucifer commented dryly and turned around, stirring the omelette, unperturbed by the annoyed glare she was sending him. Why did it always happen that, when he got to know something about Chloe's past, it was something negative? he thought, and again, that strange pressure on his chest appeared. He took in a deep breath, sorting his thoughts, and then decided she needed a good memory about dancing; and he would provide her with one, he concluded. This would definitely lighten up her mood, and his as well, he thought to himself and turned around, a big smile on his face, as he announced cheerfully, "Well, this time you won't get off the hook." He walked to the radio that was integrated in the built-in kitchen and switched it on, searching through the stations for a happy song while he mentioned in passing, "Call it a preparation for our undercover case." Having finally found the perfect tune, he turned to her, stepped closer with a cheeky smile plastered on his face, and declared as he grasped both her hands, "Now I'll show you how to dance."

Chloe shook her head, her eyes filled with refusal, and leant with her full body against his attempts to pull her towards the spacious entrance area. "Lucifer, you really don't have to. I have two left feet," she bluffed it out, her voice slightly trembling, hoping he would let go of her, but he was too strong and simply dragged her along.

Her struggles were completely ignored by him and he pulled her into him with a jerk as they've reached the middle of the free space. With one arm clasped around her waist, holding tight, his other hand had hers firmly encompassed. He started to move, pulling her along to the rhythm of the music and alternately whirled them both around, or rocked back and forth, determined to not let go of her hand or body while they danced to the song.

"I really can't dance," Chloe cried, making a last attempt to get herself out of that situation, but he didn't listen at all. She wanted to be mad at him, wanted to glare at him until he would let go of her eventually, but somehow it didn't work. She actually enjoyed all the whirling and rocking, and not just because it was him she was dancing with, or the song that happened to be one of her favourites; she enjoyed the dancing itself: Here, in the middle of their sting operation, in a strange house, unseen from any other pair of eyes. Giggling from the giddy feeling inside of her, she firmly gripped his upper arm, holding tight while he whirled them around some more, moving her other arm up and down as if they were jumping-jacks.

"You're doing very good," Lucifer praised her and a smile stretched his lips up to his ears as he heard her chuckle. Whenever she couldn't keep up with his pace, he simply pulled her closer to his body and half lifted her off the floor, making sure she wouldn't trip over her feet, or his, before he let her back on the floor again.

"My teacher would disagree," Chloe countered out of breath, grinning cheekily. Her head started to spin from all the whirling, and she was glad when finally a slower song started to play and Lucifer adapted his speed.

"You are a good dancer, Chloe," Lucifer pointed out in a suddenly serious tone, hugging her gently as he swayed both of them from side to side. "Don't ever let anyone tell you differently."

"Thank you," she replied and smiled at him. She still felt dizzy from all the spins and turns, but also something that almost could be described as a high from the dancing. Now that she was so close to him again, her heart started to speed up, making the blood rush through her veins again and bringing the thousands of butterflies in her stomach back to life. She didn't want to let go of him, not now, not when she was so safely wrapped in his arms while listening to the soft tunes of a song she wished would last forever.

Not taking his eyes off of her face, Lucifer slowed further down until they were only swaying lightly from side to side. He sighed, smiling widely, and moved her arm up to his neck, letting go so she could grasp around. He moved his free hand back down her arm, clasping around her back as he reached her shoulder area and gently pushed her further into him. She was so small in his arms, only now that they both were barefoot he realised how small actually. His eyes locked on the two perfectly formed lips of her mouth, stretched in a grin, shining bright red, and he wondered how they would feel like pressed against his own. If she would mind if he lowered himself and simply kissed her? Probably, he concluded and decided to look somewhere else to keep his mind busy. His eyes wandered upwards and locked with her two sparkling sapphires that looked so perfectly bright that he instantly lost himself in the depths of her eyes, not recognising at all that his head went lower, decreasing the space between their faces.

Suddenly, a high-pitched alarm resounded through the house, bringing Lucifer straight-away back into the here and now. He cursed silently at the missed chance but pushed it to the back of his mind as he quickly let go of her, ran to the stove, and grabbed the pan with the omelette that was now burning, putting it into the sink and extinguishing the flames with cold water.

Chloe had been startled by the sudden alarm, and the cool breeze from the lack of his protective body around her quickly brought her out of her thoughts. Quick-thinking, she grabbed one of the stools, climbed on it, and turned off the fire alarm. The fright was still in her bones and she took several deep breaths, calming herself down, while she watched him put the remains of their breakfast into the bin.

"See, there was a burning fire between us," Lucifer joked, trying to lighten up the mood, and Chloe let out a laugh. Chuckling as well, he turned towards her and saw that the stool was slightly shaking from her laughing. He feared she could fall off and quickly stepped to her, grabbing around her legs to steady her.

"Thanks, but you can let go of me," Chloe told him, assuring him with a comforting smile that she was standing safely.

Lucifer, however, had other plans, as her newest position in his arms showed him a completely new opportunity to get her back to dancing, and this time maybe even steal a kiss from her. He smirked at her mischievously, shook his head, and without a warning pulled her off of the stool and into him.

"Lucifer!" Chloe shrieked and quickly grabbed his shoulders to steady herself. She breathed a relieved sigh as she felt him letting her sink down slowly against his body, thinking that he only did this to get her feet safely on the floor. But instead, he stopped when her hips were at his waist level. "Put me down," she ordered earnestly, but again Lucifer shook his head with a smile. He shifted his arms, moving one below her butt to hold her in position and pressing her further against him with his other, as he walked them back to the entrance area. "Lucifer!" she cautioned him once again, feeling irritated that he didn't comply to her words. Despite that it annoyed her that he always had to get his own way, it also felt good to be in his arms again, and she couldn't be angry with him for long.

"Wrap your legs around my hip," Lucifer simply ordered, his head tilted backwards so he could look her straight in the eyes, watching Chloe shaking her head and sternly denying his plea. "I'm not finished dancing with you yet," he explained casually and added, smirking, "Now that nothing can disturb us any more." He started to move to the music again, repeating once more, "Wrap your legs around my hip."

"This one dance, and then you'll put me down," Chloe demanded. As she saw him nodding in agreement, she finally did what he told her and clasped her legs around him. The hand that had rested on her back moved upwards to her hand and grabbed it, while her other hand remained around his neck.

"Just this one dance," Lucifer confirmed, gently whirling both of them around, and finally Chloe started to smile again and her body relaxed against his own. "You're such a good dancer," he complimented her once more, grinning widely as he moved her arm up and down.

"I'm just holding onto you," she countered, laughing lightly. He moved his arm behind her back, causing her to bend her body backwards in the process to not get her own arm twisted, and she grabbed tighter around his neck. "What are you doing?" she asked surprised, hints of fear resounding in her tone.

"Swinging you back," he explained nonchalantly and quickly pulled her back towards his body, swaying some more and whirling her around. As soon as the music allowed another swing he repeated his move with his arm, holding tight onto her hand.

"Don't drop me," Chloe pleaded, the fear now clear in her voice, and she grabbed the collar of his shirt firmer.

"Don't worry, I won't," Lucifer assured her soothingly, softly ordering her, "Let yourself fall back and I pull you back up."

Chloe hastily shook her head, denying his order. "You'll drop me," she voiced her fear.

"I won't drop you. You can trust me," he assured her again, swaying them some more. "Just relax and enjoy the dance." He swung her back, this time a little further before he directly pulled her back, smiling reassuringly that he had everything under control.

Slowly, Chloe's fear subsided and she let him push her further and further back. His hand around her butt, holding her firmly in place, also gave her some sort of confidence that he wouldn't let her fall. He was strong, despite his appearance, she knew that. She'd seen him holding men up by their necks against a wall who were twice his weight, and so she relaxed and didn't grab his collar in panic as he let her upper body bent down so much that she was below a horizontal line. "Pull me back up!" she told him as he didn't do so right away. A low chuckle escaped her, fed by the mix of fright and an adrenaline rush. He chuckled as well but did as he was told. As she was back in an upright position, she clasped her arm firmly around his neck, not intending to let go another time.

Lucifer let go of her hand which also instantly clasped around his neck, and put his hand back on her back, running up and down to calm her and press her further against him. "You're safe, Chloe," he assured her with a voice that was barely above a whisper. "You'll always be safe in my arms," he repeated and continued swaying as the song slowly died down.

"I know," Chloe whispered back and stared down into his dark brown eyes. The remains of the adrenaline rush in her veins still caused a high, and she felt a bit giddy. Taking a deep breath to slow down her rushing heart, she finally recognised that her face was only inches from his away. She just needed to lower her head a bit more and could kiss him on his lips, she suddenly thought and quickly pushed that to the back of her head, surprised about herself and not keen to know why all of a sudden her mind was going into that direction. True, his lips looked so smooth, she really was tempted to find out how it would feel to kiss them. But he was her partner, she told herself once again, she couldn't just kiss him. Maybe she could blame it on a temporary blackout caused by all of his spins and turns, a little voice inside her head suggested, but she quickly decided against it. Chloe didn't recognise that she had unwittingly lowered her head further down to him, as her mind continued the debate, telling her that this definitely was the line she'd been thinking about this morning she couldn't step over, shouldn't, mustn't...

Suddenly the doorbell rang, interrupting her thoughts, and her head shot back up. She sighed with relief, mumbling under her breath, "Saved by the bell."

"Or betrayed," Lucifer countered quietly. Once again, their chance to finally kiss had been interrupted, and it vexed him. He should have grabbed her by her head and pushed her down onto him, he thought to himself, instead of waiting for her to make the first move. But then, he couldn't have blamed it on her...

"Put me down," Chloe ordered, bringing him out of his mind. He instantly complied and she rushed to the door, opening it. "Oh, hello," Chloe greeted the security guard from the day before.

"Good morning, ma'am," he greeted her back, nodding and smiling briefly at her. "I was on my safety inspection tour as I heard an alarm coming from your house," he declared and asked with concern, "Is everything alright?"

"Yes," Chloe assured him with a big smile. "It was just our breakfast that went up in smoke and released the fire alarm," she explained.

Lucifer stepped to her, wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, and pulled her firmly into him. He rested his chin against her head, smiling smugly at the security guard, and added, "We got a little distracted, but I can assure you, everything is alright. No harm's done."

The security guard nodded understandingly. "Alright," he replied. "Please be more careful the next time," he cautioned them and smiled pleased as he saw both of them nodding at him. Fishing in his pocket for an ID card, he handed it over to Chloe, stating, "This is my card with all important phone numbers on it. If you need any help, regardless of the time, make a call and I'll send someone over. I'll be off, then." He nodded towards them, stepping some steps back before he added a little louder so they could still hear him clearly, "And welcome to the neighbourhood." With that, he turned around and walked back to his car at a quick pace.

When Chloe had the door closed again, Lucifer commented sternly, "I don't like that guy."

Chloe looked up at him. "Why? Because he's security?" she asked him teasingly, knowing all too well about his aversion to these type of people.

Lucifer shook his head. "He was sizing you up," he answered and pursed his lips. Not feeling the need to add that this man also stirred up a queasy feeling inside of him. Most humans had an aura or scent around them that instantly let him know if they were good or bad. Chloe, for instance, had that sweet distinct smell of a very good person, and he could make her out among thousands of people without even having to look. It was really rare for humans to have no such visual or olfactory marker, and this guy was one of them. He couldn't pin him down and this gave him a sense of loss of control, and Lucifer hated it not to be in control.

"Well, I'm an attractive woman," Chloe replied cheekily and brought him out of his thoughts.

He looked down at her, smiling smugly. "I know. But you're my wife!" he pointed out, emphasising the 'my'.

Chloe chuckled at that and waited another moment before she reminded him, "You can let go of me now."

Lucifer stared at her, now recognising that he still held her firmly in his arms. "Right!" he replied a little sheepishly, and instantly let go, taking a step back to bring some distance between them. "I'll go and make a new breakfast. The first omelette is probably cold by now."

"Do that," she affirmed and stepped towards the direction of the living room. "I'll go and inspect the collected information some more," she declared and headed off, adding before she was out of earshot, "Call me when it's ready."

/-/

'That's it! Enough!' Chloe told herself and frustratedly gave up. For more than ten minutes by now, she had been standing in front of the mirror in her dressing room, alternating between holding the lime green dress and the apricot one in front of her, unable to decide which one of them she should wear to the party. They both looked good on her; they both looked the same to her, except for the colour and some minor differences in the cut. And this was enough to drive her to despair. She sighed, admitting defeat, and called loudly, "Lucifer! I need your help."

The man in question instantly appeared in the door frame, a lewdly grin on his face as he spotted her in nothing but that small satin bathrobe she was wearing, tightly wrapped around herself. Thinking he already knew her question, he simply offered, wetting his lips, "Anytime, my dear."

Chloe rolled her eyes, grumbling at him for his allusion before she sighed hopelessly. "What dress shall I wear?" she asked and held up the two.

Voicing a silent 'Oh,' he sighed as well, albeit for a completely different reason, and tilted his head. "Really? Haven't you learnt anything from our little shopping trip?" he asked rhetorically and fully stepped into the room. "This one is too formal," he answered, gesturing towards the left one. Then he moved his hand to the right one, and stated, "This one, not formal enough."

"What? It's just a garden party," Chloe cried out, puzzled and completely overwhelmed.

This time, Lucifer rolled his eyes, walked up to her closet, and rummaged through her dresses. "A, it's a pool party, not garden," he pointed out, briefly glancing at her before he turned his attention back to the dresses, looking for a more suitable one, and continued, "And b, we are an upper-class couple, so you have to think like an upper-class lady." He looked to the side, commenting to himself "here we are," as he took out a dress and turned around, holding it out to Chloe.

She stared at him, perplexed, furrowing her brows. "Where is the difference to these two?"

He gaped. For a moment, he considered explaining it to her, but then decided it would be a wasted time, she wouldn't understand it anyway. "Just – put it on," he commanded and handed it over, taking the other two dresses from out of her hands in the process, and then put them back onto the clothes hook. Without being asked, he made a turnaround to the sideboard on the other side of the room, looking for the matching earrings and necklace.

"Well, thanks for your help," Chloe replied with a smile. As he didn't react, she added, hoping he would get the hint, "I'm changing now."

"Yes, yes, please do that. We're running late, anyway," he commented nonchalantly, still busy with finding the fitting jewellery. "Ah, there we go," he exclaimed as he finally found the perfect ones, and turned around to present them to her. "Why are you still in your bathrobe?" he asked flabbergasted.

Chloe tilted her head, slightly miffed at his question, and flatly pointed out, "You're still in the room."

"So?" he countered, staring at her without seeing reason. "I've seen you naked before," he stated matter-of-factly and put the jewellery onto the sideboard.

"Yeah, I know. Thanks for the reminder," Chloe retorted, lightly shaking her head as her eyes drifted up to the ceiling. Locking them back to the man in front of her, she added, "However, this won't happen again, so could you please leave?" She opened the door a little wider, hoping that this would give him the necessary impulse to finally leave her alone.

"Depends on," Lucifer countered smugly, and wetted his lips. "What's in there for me?" he inquired teasingly, slightly lowering his head to be on the same level with hers so he could stare some more into her sea blue eyes.

She sighed deeply and mentally counted to ten to stifle the urge to clasp her fingers around his neck and squeeze tightly. She needed him, after all. 'For the case!' she told herself. Having calmed down, she breathed out the rest of her anger, and, with a soft shake of her head, commented sardonically, "So very mature of you."

Lucifer straightened himself again, one eyebrow raised in bewilderment as he riposted, pointing towards the corner, "Says the one who has a leather-wearing Hello Kitty doll sitting on her chair."

"That's ninja kitty," Chloe retorted, defending herself. "Trixie gave it to me. She thinks it will protect me."

"It's a stuffed toy," he countered, raising his voice to point out that he didn't understand at all how these little humans could think that something filled with cotton would protect them, or anyone for that matter, from any imaginary danger, let alone real one. "Well, I must admit, it bizarrely resembles Maze at a closer look," he mentioned in a nonchalant tone.

"Maybe because it is dressed after her," Chloe explained, shrugging her shoulders once. Seeing his questioning look, she elucidated further, "Dan went with her to that toy-factory two weeks ago, remember? Where they could stuff their own animals and also dress them. Trixie took a picture of Maze with her, saying she wanted exactly these clothes and they made them for her, well for the toy."

Lucifer shook his head, letting out a long sigh. "They definitely spend too much time together."

"I agree on that," she backed him up, once again holding the door open for him. "Now could you please? I don't want to be late."

"Very well," he commented, giving in, and exited the room, mumbling under his breath as he went through the door, "Just one tiny bite from the forbidden fruit and you humans get so uptight about your body."

Chloe rolled her eyes at the Bible reference, closing the door behind him. At least, she was finally undisturbed and could change now.

Lucifer went into his dressing room, took the cufflinks from out of the little box and put them on his sleeves. Then he went to the closet, taking out the matching jacket for his suit, put it on as well and went back into the bedroom, sitting down on the bed to wait for her to come out of her room.

Some more minutes went by and slowly he got impatient. Eyeing the watch on his arm again, he recognised that already seven minutes had passed since he'd left her room. 'How long do women need to put on a simple dress?' he asked himself and stood up again, stepped to her door, and knocked on it. "Have you dressed already?" Hearing her clear "Yes," he entered her room, spotting her sitting at the dressing table, and stated, "We're really running late."

"I just need to put on some makeup," Chloe explained casually, her eyes reflecting in the mirror of her dressing table, attentively watching him.

"Why?" he asked, puzzled, and leant against the sideboard. True, there were some women who really needed a lot of makeup to be presentable to the world, but Chloe clearly didn't belong to that group. "You're already beautiful," he pointed out, adding, "You don't need any."

Smiling towards the mirror at his unintentional compliment, Chloe took the lipstick and applied it to her lips, before she stood up and silently walked towards him.

"Oh, I like that red," he stated, a cheeky grin on his face as his eyes locked on her lips.

"Me too," Chloe countered cockily, trying not to smile too brightly to not give away how much she actually liked his reaction. She stopped in front of him and turned around, grabbing her hair and holding it up.

Knowing right away what she wanted, Lucifer took the necklace from the sideboard and put it around her neck. He looked down on her skin as his fingers fiddled with the clasp and he couldn't suppress a smirk when he spotted the fine purple colour that shone through from the otherwise well-covered love bite. He instantly remembered the moment when he was allowed to suck on her neck under the guise of their undercover operation, and thought to himself, 'If she would mind if I suck on that a little more?' She'd probably say 'No', he quickly decided, but couldn't get his lips on her skin out of his mind. Lightly brushing against the soft hair on her hairline, he signalled her he was done, and bluntly pointed out, "We still haven't kissed yet."

Chloe turned around, one eyebrow raised in puzzlement at his sudden words. 'How can he... well, never mind,' she broke off her thought. After all, it was Lucifer she was thinking about. It would have been more suspicious if he wouldn't constantly talk about kissing or sex, she mentally reminded herself. She eyed him warily, not being able to resist teasing him on that part as she asked him sarcastically, "Do you have a checklist to work through of 'things I need to do during a sting operation'?"

"No," Lucifer answered without missing a beat, but then his eyes beamed as the words sunk in and he tilted his head, declaring brightly, "That's a great idea, actually."

She stared at him, her annoyance visible on her face. Sparing a reply, she grabbed the earrings and put them on.

"What? We are married," Lucifer reminded her once again. "It would seem awkward if I don't kiss you on your mouth."

"I know," Chloe replied assuringly and sighed, making him grin. Of course, he was right. She just didn't want to admit it right away. After all, his ego was already too big to even fit into this room. She fully faced him, straightening herself, and exhaled to let it look as if she was making a sacrifice for the greater good. "That's why I allow you to kiss me on the mouth when it's suitable for our cover story and others are around," she declared, emphasising the two words. "But," she halted to put some weight on the word to make clear to him that she really meant what she was about to say. "As soon as I say 'stop' to you, no matter where we are or who is with us, you will stop immediately. Is that clear, Lucifer?"

Lucifer nodded sincerely, showing her that he had understood and accepted it. The smile settled back on his face as he suggested slyly, wiggling his eyebrows, "Do you want to practice with me before we leave the house?"

"What?" Chloe asked, clueless. Answering her own question, she added, "Kissing?" When she saw his eager nod accompanied by a wide grin, she retorted calmly, "I've kissed before, Lucifer. I know how to do that."

"Yes, but you've never kissed me before," he countered, adding with a smug grin, "You might keel over."

"I think I can handle you." What she thought to be a smug reply, was regretted by her as soon as she saw his eyes getting big and his grin turning into a leering one before his lips parted slightly, about to voice a sexual remark. She rolled her eyes and quickly put her finger on his lips. "Don't even think about it!" she shushed his possible joke and exited the room.

/-/

"There you are," Patricia called out as they entered the garden. She quickly rushed to them. Skilfully swaying around her full champagne flute without spilling even one drop, she warmly hugged Chloe, kissing her on both cheeks, and then turned to Lucifer, who had to bend down to her to get the same treatment.

"She didn't find a dress," Lucifer blurted out the reason for their tardiness, grinning smugly and earning a glare from his wife.

Patricia laughed heartily and sipped on her drink before she compassionately patted Chloe on her shoulder and backed her up, "It's always the same! We ladies have to spend hours finding the perfect dress amongst thousands of them, plus the makeup, and the fitting jewellery, just to look even halfway presentable in the eyes of the lords-of-creation. And all we get in return is a rebuke for running late." She laughed at her own words.

"Speak for yourself," Lucifer advised her with a smirk. "My wife looks stunning." He grasped around Chloe, tenderly pulling her into his side and hugging her. His smirk stretched to a toothy grin as he caught sight of her sheepish smile.

"He's such a charmer," Patricia swooned over him and her eyes beamed as they fixed on his fit physique. Quickly shaking herself out of her daze, she lowered her gaze and declared, "Come on, I'll show you around."

Lucifer moved his hand to the lower part of Chloe's back as he followed her and Patricia further into the garden area, passing people chatting and swimming. As the hostess came to a halt in front of three other women, his hand moved back to its original position on Chloe's hip.

"These are Sam, Denise and Amelia," Patricia introduced the nearest neighbours from right to left, pointing to each of them in the process before she turned her body halfway, a bright sparkle in her eyes, and announced, "Girls, these are the Morans I told you about: Chloe and Lucifer."

The way she pronounced his name made Chloe's hair stand on end. She knew he was only her partner, and she shouldn't feel that upcoming sense of possessiveness every time a woman was near him, but she couldn't help it; how these women were looking at him now, with their moon-eyes that instantly gave away what exactly they were thinking, made her want to drag him to the next best tattoo artist and plaster a 'mine' all over his body. Swallowing down her feelings, Chloe quickly sent a friendly "Hello" into the group and soothed herself with the assuring thought that she was the only one he would be sleeping with this night. 'Next to! Next to!' she silently scolded herself at the inner faux pas.

"Pat, you've forgotten to tell us how handsome Mr Moran is," the woman introduced as Sam called out, adding a quick "and how beautiful his wife" in Chloe's direction to make it less awkward.

This woman was almost drooling on the floor, and Chloe didn't like her at all. 'Couldn't she at least try to make it less obvious that she wanted to jump his bones?' Chloe thought. Like the other two, who effectively hid their interest in her partner behind sneaking looks. She took in a deep breath, swallowing down the anger she felt, and stretched the smile up to her ears she'd mastered in years and years of hard acting training. Maybe she could also press a chuckle out of herself at the not-at-all-funny comment... or maybe not.

"Call me Lucifer, my dear," Lucifer purred and removed his hand from around Chloe's hip, holding it out to each one of the women and bending down to kiss their hands as they shook it.

Chloe wanted to strangle him for his behaviour: To play Prince Charming to this woman who had the brass neck to reduce her to a 'wife' instead of addressing her at least with her surname, despite being at the minimum five years her junior. 'Where is the respect for the elderly when you need it?' Chloe thought and it brought her blood to the boil. Only thanks to her professionalism, this little fact had remained unbeknown to everyone around her. Well, everyone except for Lucifer himself, who sensed the little tension in the fingers of her hand that still rested around his waist. He instantly turned to her with that knowing smug grin, and moved his arm around her waist, gently pressing her into him and kissing her dearly on the head.

Despite the gesture, she still wanted to strangle him, now more than ever, Chloe thought to herself. That he'd move his head further down and whisper "you're still my number one" into her ear, however, was something she hadn't expected at all. In an instant, the anger vanished from out of her system, and she stared at him with surprised and flattered eyes. The lips she'd pursed to thin lines in preparation to glare at him, curled themselves up at the corners, disclosing her contradicting emotions, and Lucifer couldn't help whispering to her, "Can you get any cuter?"

Chloe tried to turn her lips back into a glare but his genuine smile reflected itself on her own features, and soon she chuckled with glee. She took a deep breath, letting out all the unpleasant emotions with a low huff, and removed her hand from around his waist, clasped it around his arm, and lightly snuggled into him as she turned her attention back to the group.

"Your name really is Lucifer?" Amelia asked curiously when the couple's heads had turned back to them from their little private chat.

"Yes," Lucifer replied delightedly.

Chloe noticed that he'd built himself up like a sparrow, ready to ruffle its feathers at the next best mate that's coming along. And she almost choked on her suppressed laugh at the reference. Lucifer stared down at her, a little miffed at the inept snort, and she tenderly squeezed his arm to apologise.

"Sam, stop drooling! They are married. Happily!" a man, slightly older than Lucifer, stated loudly as he approached the group, handing a glass of champagne to Chloe, who instantly liked him not just for the drink, and a bottle of beer to Lucifer, who nodded politely and took it. "I'm Matthew, by the way, Pat's hubby," he introduced himself, smiling warmly at the new arrivals, and added with a wink, "Call me Matt. And welcome to the neighbourhood."

"Are you freshly married?" Denise asked with a beam in her eyes.

She seemed to be the youngest of the group, Chloe noticed; she still had that sparkle in her eyes that young people got before reality took over. Getting aware that neither of them had answered her question yet, Chloe shrugged her shoulders, smiling at her, and replied, "Well, it's half a year by now. I don't know if you still consider this as fresh."

The group laughed at her unintended joke, and Denise's eyes beamed even brighter. "Really? Since when do you know each other?"

"Denise!" Patricia instantly rebuked her. "Stop grilling our neighbours. They haven't even fully arrived yet."

The young woman raised her shoulders and dug her head as she apologised with a low, sheepish "I'm sorry." When Chloe sent her a warm smile, assuring her that it was fine, she relaxed again.

"I'm getting the other girls. They have to get to know you, Chloe," Patricia announced cheerfully and instantly made her way over to the people at the pool.

Matt laughed out again as she rushed away. "That's my wife," he exclaimed proudly and took another sip. "Come Lucifer, I bet you don't want to stay here with all these girls. I'll show you the house," he offered, took a step to the side, and patiently waited for him to approach.

Lucifer nodded, smiling. Normally, he would have preferred to stay with the ladies. He simply loved all their attention, but knew, as long as he was around, Chloe was signed out, and she needed to have a good rapport with them to get further information about the residents, and thereby find the killer among them. He would simply approach them when they were on their own, he thought to himself and was about to go as he felt Chloe's grip around his arm tightening. He turned towards her, bending down.

With a bright smile plastered on her face, Chloe whispered into his ear as it was within reach, sending him a warning, "Don't you dare and leave me alone with them!"

He chuckled lightly and soothingly caressed her fingers as he whispered back, "You're strong and smart. You can handle them." He quickly kissed her on the cheek, released himself from her grip, and stepped over to Matt.

Chloe watched them disappear inside the house before she turned her attention back to the women in front of her. She smiled brightly at them but sighed deeply into her drink as she took a big gulp of her champagne.

"I love my wife, but when she starts talking... she never stops again," Matt informed Lucifer as they walked down the corridor. He directed him to the left, showing him around, and added nonchalantly, "Is your wife also a chatterbox?"

"No, she's," Lucifer replied right away, but had to think a little to find a word that could best describe her. His lips turned towards his eyes as he ended, "Special."

Matt eyed him with a cheeky smile, knowing that look on the other man's face all too well, as he commented the words with a casual, "Uh-huh." Eyeing the still full bottle in Lucifer's hand, he pointed towards it, asking, "How's the beer?"

"Well, I'm not really into beer, actually," Lucifer answered truthfully and handed it over to Matt's outstretched hand.

"Me neither," Matt admitted and chuckled, putting both bottles down on a sideboard. "What colour do you prefer?" he inquired and observed him from out of the corners of his eyes.

"Auburn," he answered shortly and grinned at him.

Matt's eyes beamed at the insight, and he guided him towards his study. "I think, I've got just the right thing for you, then," he announced and stepped to a cupboard, opening it and retrieving a bottle of Glenfiddich Private Vintage Single Malt of 1976.

"Matthew, you are a man of good taste," Lucifer purred, his eyes beaming as well. He watched the other one getting two glasses and pouring each a double one, before he took the offered drink, swaying the glass in his hand, inhaling the fragrance, and finally taking a sip. "That's indeed a good year," he cajoled as the precious liquid slowly ran down his throat, thereby unfolding its full taste.

"My favourite," Matt declared, nodding. "Only for special events," he announced and added with a grin, "And only special people." He closed the cupboard again and took his own glass in his hand. "The others don't really like whisky. They are more the champagne and wine types," he told him.

Lucifer's eyes turned big in bewilderment. "How can anyone ever refuse a good Scottish whisky?" he asked rhetorically, appalled, and instantly took another sip to calm himself down.

"I concur!" Matt agreed with him, nodding and raising his glass before he took a second sip.

Lucifer looked around the room which was rather cosy decorated, with a big bookcase on one side, a desk right beside it, and three comfy looking chairs around a small table in front of a fireplace almost in the middle of the room. The cupboard, harbouring the precious liquid, in contrast, looked rather lonely in its corner, only accompanied by the big window that spun across the entire width of the wall. Lucifer looked out of it towards the guests of the party and instantly spotted Chloe, standing surrounded by six women now, laughing and chatting. He smiled at the carefree appearance of her and decided that this moment was a keeper. Taking out his phone, he quickly shot a picture, and four more, in case the first one was blurred. He took a look at them and recognised that a man had been approaching the group, and looked back up and out of the window to see where he was.

Matt eyed Lucifer for a brief moment before he followed his gaze outside. "Protective or insecure?" he asked him nonchalantly, a smirk on his lips after he turned his attention back to Lucifer.

Lucifer narrowed his eyes on the group. The man, now standing amongst them, was in his mid-fifties, radiated dominance, and stood a bit too close to Chloe for his liking. He instantly wanted to go back out, but hesitated, knowing that Chloe had everything under control, and if not, she would let him know. Ignoring the other's question, he asked in a taut voice, "Who is that?"

Matt sighed sympathetically, knowing the tension of his younger fellow all too well. His eyes fell back on the group outside as he answered, "That is Curtis McClain; we all call him McClain. He is nice," he pointed out, adding a well-intended, "In his own way." He briefly glanced over at the man next to him before he locked his eyes back on McClain, elucidating further, "He's been here since the beginning, 25 years by now. He owns the house on the hill in the middle of Riveroak. Or as I prefer to call it: The hill-house." He chuckled at his own reference but quickly stopped as he didn't hear Lucifer chime in. "You don't like him, huh?" he asked, sounding amused.

Lucifer attentively watched Chloe as she turned to McClain and talked to him with a polite smile on her face. To every bystander, this would seem like a nonchalant chat between peers, but not to him: By turning towards the man, Chloe had significantly increased the space between them, that had been reduced again by him stepping forward. Also, her smile looked a little too fake for Lucifer's liking. And then the stolen glance she sent towards the house only added up to his suspicion. "No," he finally answered Matt's question dryly, while his attention was riveted on the two outside.

Matt laughed out loud, unperturbed by the other's tensed posture. He patted Lucifer on the back once, informing him, "None of us did in the beginning. Don't worry, soon you'll love him."

Lucifer turned to Matt, his facial expression straight but menacing. "I highly doubt that," he replied determined, adding a polite "if you don't mind," before he went past him, not waiting for a reply.

"Go, get your girl, pal," Matt called after him, chuckling.

"She's not a girl!" Lucifer countered before he was out of the room, heading for the terrace door.

With few large steps he'd covered the distance from the house to the group, and directly stepped in between Chloe and McClain, wearing a big cheeky smile on his face, as he raised his glass to the man in greeting, and put his arm around her, gently pulling her into a hug and kissing her temple. "I see the group has grown," he addressed the new ladies with another raise of his glass, before he turned his full attention to Chloe, asking her, "Having fun?" His nonchalant sounding question had that special undertone that translated only to her what he was actually asking, but couldn't voice aloud: 'Are you alright?'

Chloe smiled at him, a real, genuine one that directly sent him an unspoken 'thank you for having my back'. She placed her arm back around his waist, hidden from anyone's eyes by his jacket, as she snuggled into him, nodding, and answered, "Always."

"That's Lucifer," Sam introduced him to the others, emphasising his name and leering at him once again.

McClain held his hand out to him, politely introducing himself, "I'm McClain, nice to meet you."

Lucifer nodded towards him, smiling in a friendly manner, but countered, "I'd shake your hand, but unfortunately, they're both in use." As if to show him, he held up his glass once more and hugged Chloe closer.

McClain eyed him warily, but then chuckled at his behaviour, "I like him," he announced to the group before he turned back to Lucifer and added with a wolfish grin, "But I like your wife more."

The women in the group instantly started to laugh, and as far as Lucifer and Chloe could tell, their laughs and chuckles seemed real. They shot a glance at each other, reassuring that the other one was also suspicious of the man, before Lucifer turned around, cocking his head, and replied smugly, "Speaking of, is there a Mrs McClain?"

"I'm right here, my dear," a woman opposite him piped up. She smiled at him, raising her flute to mimic his gesture, and introduced herself in a charming manner, "I'm Dolores."

Lucifer smiled back at her and nodded politely. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything," he stated as he got aware that all eyes were on him now.

"No, my dear," Dolores assured him, adding in a cheerful voice, "We were just speaking about Chloe's previous marriage."

"Oh, with the douche," Lucifer replied without a second thought, making it sound very clear how much he liked Dan. The other women giggled and chuckled at that, and his grin turned back into a cheeky smile. Only Chloe didn't like his reaction at all, and she rebuked him under her breath, using his own name.

"And what about you?" Dolores wanted to know. She'd been the only one who hadn't laughed at all, she'd observed him the whole time with a pleased smile as if she'd known him from a long forgotten time. "Is this your first marriage?" she specified as he didn't answer her right away.

"Yes," Lucifer confirmed immediately, nodding once and adding, "And my last one. I intend to," he turned his head to Chloe and looked her directly in the eyes as he ended, "keep that woman till she dies."

Chloe's heart skipped a beat, and for a moment she didn't know whether he just was playing his role or spoke from the bottom of his heart. That little voice inside of her, however, wished it so badly to be true, she had to lower her gaze to not get carried away emotionally and either burst into tears or pull him down and snog him senseless.

While the other women instantly broke out in "awe", "listen to this!" and "that is true love," McClain only raised his eyebrow and commented flatly, "Or possessiveness."

"You again!" Patricia scolded him, playfully slapping his arm, and the others started to laugh again.

Even McClain laughed heartily at that and hugged Patricia. He pecked her cheek and, only recognised by Lucifer's sharp eyes, squeezed her butt. "Anyhow, I've got to go back to my business. Have a nice party, and we'll see us tomorrow," he said his goodbye to the group and turned to Chloe and Lucifer, who'd instantly replaced his narrowed eyes with an open expression and a cheeky smile. "It really is a pleasure to have you two in our neighbourhood. I'll give a house party tomorrow evening. I'll see you there at 10. Pat and Matt will show you the way if you have any trouble finding it," he told them and even added a smile.

Chloe snuggled a little further into Lucifer as she politely declined, "Thank you very much, but we prefer to stay at home tomorrow."

McClain's smile turned into a delighted grin and he replied, "Darling, that wasn't a request." He nodded his goodbye to the group once more, before he turned around and left.

Chloe stared at Lucifer, baffled, and Lucifer pressed her against himself quickly to make clear to her that, whatever she was thinking right now, he had the same thought.

Patricia chuckled lightly, interrupting their silent talk as she stepped closer, and put a hand on Lucifer's arm, her face turned to Chloe, telling them assuringly, "Don't worry, he's actually really nice."

"Of course he is," Lucifer retorted, his lips stretched into a big, sarcastic smile, and Chloe had to dig her fingers into his side to caution him not to make any more snide remarks. He turned his attention to her, asking her warmly, "Are you cold, love?"

"A little bit," she answered, nodding, and was glad that he also needed a little space from this group right now.

"I'll better bring you inside then," he mumbled against the skin of her forehead and planted a sweet kiss on the spot. He turned his attention to the group, stating in a decent tone, "I hope you don't mind." As they replied with their 'No's and 'Sure's, he walked Chloe into the house, asking her on the way inside, "Did you have a nice chat with them?"

"Actually, yes," Chloe answered and couldn't hide the surprise in her voice at that. "Well, until this McClain showed up. He gave me the creeps," she added, and snuggled a little closer to him as the sheer mention of this man's name caused a shiver down her spine, and not in a pleasant way. She felt Lucifer's hand running up and down her arm to soothe her, and, deciding to distract her mind, she kept on talking, "Anyhow, the others are really nice, except for that woman called Sam. I don't like her," she declared and shook her head to underline her statement.

"I wonder why," Lucifer teased her, and chuckled as she lightly slapped his chest. They entered the living area, and he led her to a table in the far back, briefly removing his arm from her, to grab a new champagne flute and hand it over to Chloe.

She instantly took a big gulp, downing almost half of its content, before she continued in a hushed tone, "Just, what I don't understand: They said it's a high-class neighbourhood, but everything here seems so normal, except for the big houses." She took another sip from her glass and stared at him, perplexed as she spotted his smug grin.

"Well, that's the illusion they want to give you," he countered, taking a sip from his whisky and waiting for her to take another one from her glass before he mentioned to her, "That's a 400 dollar champagne you're just drinking." Chloe almost spat out the liquid and coughed loudly as she choked on the prickling alcohol that went down the wrong pipe. Lucifer chuckled amused, but also patted her back for comfort and kissed her on the head once more. "Come, I'll show you around," he told her quietly after she'd recovered, and guided her into a corridor.

/-/

Chloe stood in the long hallway, admiring the countless pictures: Some were showing only Pat and her husband, or Pat and the women she'd first introduced them to, others showed a larger crowd of people, even with the McClains, and soon Chloe assumed that these were pictures from all the residents in Riveroak State. The brief conversations she'd had with the respective people came back to her mind when she spotted them in the pictures and she smiled to herself. Yes, these people were really nice and kind, but also showed some weirdness as soon as a group of more than three people found together. Then, they instantly seemed to get into their own state of mind. She couldn't imagine that one of them was an ice-cold killer, not even this McClain guy seemed like one. Rather like the one who sues you and throws you out of your house kind of guy, she thought to herself, and took some more steps, further looking through the pictures.

She spotted a photo showing Matt, a man she'd already seen at the party but didn't know his name, and a man who was unbeknown to her but stirred up a feeling of strange familiarity. She unintentionally started to chuckle and shook her head as she thought back at the moment when Matt had spotted her and Lucifer talking to someone, had approached them at a quick pace, and had dragged Lucifer away from her before one could even ask what was going on. Lucifer had actually looked a little lost to her, and she was about to go after them, as she heard Matt mentioning the word whisky. Lucifer's eyes beamed instantly, and she knew he would be fine.

She heard footsteps coming closer and looked into the direction, spotting Amelia in the hallway smiling at her, and Chloe smiled back, sending a quiet but warm "hi" to her.

"Hey," Amelia replied in an equally warm tone, leaving a discrete gap as she stopped next to her. "I'm officially announced to keep you some company while our men play cards," she told her and let out a small snicker.

"Alright." Chloe turned her eyes back at the pictures, commenting nonchalantly, "You really seem like a tight community."

Amelia nodded eagerly. "Yeah! Just like a big family. Whenever someone has a problem, we all are there for them."

Chloe noticed the hint of sorrow flashing up in the other woman's eyes, but decided not to act on it; for now, at least. She turned her head back to the pictures, commenting with a smile, "I hope one day we'll fit in as well."

"Oh, I have no doubt about that," Amelia responded and fully turned to her, a bright smile on her face as she bent forward and whispered, "Your husband is already admitted into the holy group of Skat players." She chuckled some more, straightened herself again and added, "That's a card game."

"I know what it is," Chloe affirmed cheerfully. She took a deep breath, exhaling away the upcoming gloom about the memory as she told her, "My dad taught me how to play it."

Amelia nodded understandingly, assuming, "And you taught your husband?"

"No," she shook her head and confessed with a surprised grin, "I didn't even know he could play it."

"Don't worry. When you're married as long as Kelly and me, you will know everything from each other," Amelia assured her warmly.

Chloe vehemently shook her head, contradicting, "I don't want that. Lucifer surprises me almost every day; not with big things, or words. Sometimes it's just a gesture, but that is what I want. I like it when he's not fully predictable," she explained and instantly thought back at the moment in the garden. Even if it had been played by him, his words sounded so honest, they still warmed her heart.

"When it doesn't get ordinary?" Amelia rephrased, attentively watching her to see if this was what she meant.

Chloe smiled at her, but shook her head quickly, declaring, "I have nothing against the ordinary. It's just, I don't like boredom."

"Ah." Amelia nodded towards her, finally having understood. "Did you have that in your first marriage?"

For a short moment she thought about it, but then shook her head once again. It had only been the fact that the job was always more important to Dan than she or Trixie, that had really let them drift apart from each other; this and the fact that she never felt for him like the feelings which recently arose in her when she was with a certain person.

"I hope I'm not stepping over a line here," Amelia started and instantly reminded Chloe that she was actually standing with another person and shouldn't drift off into her own world. "Please tell me if so, but you've said before, you've got divorced and remarried within two weeks. Was Lucifer the reason for, well, the break-up?"

"No," Chloe replied, determined, shaking her head to underline it. "Dan and I had been separated long before Lucifer appeared in my life. We actually only stayed married because of our daughter. But then, I met Lucifer, and, well," she stopped and smiled, lost in thoughts as the memories came back into her mind. "It was time to move on. And I wanted to have a clear end before I start something new with him."

Amelia nodded, a big sympathetic smile on her lips, and couldn't suppress the chuckle as she commented, "But then you married him right away."

"Yeah," she confessed a little sheepishly. "He didn't want to wait."

"So he proposed to you?" Amelia tossed in.

"Yes," Chloe confirmed and wrote herself a mental note to later inform him of that fact as well. "Guess he was afraid I get second thoughts," she joked, and both women started to giggle. After their laughter subsided, Chloe subtly changed the focus of the conversation to get back to business, "How long have you been living here?"

Amelia took a deep breath, moving her pupils into the upper left corner while she mentioned, "Let me think." A moment had passed, but then she stated calmly, sounding a little overwhelmed herself, "It will be six years by the end of the year."

"That's a long time," Chloe remarked impressed, with a nod of her head.

"Yeah," the other one replied and sighed again before she went on, "We moved here because we wanted a secure surrounding for our daughter." She glanced to Chloe, seeing her surprised look, and added, "She's a teenager now, living in a boarding school in Switzerland, and basically spends only half of her holidays with us, the other half, she's with our parents."

"Oh, I couldn't do that," Chloe remarked, hoping that she didn't hurt the other one's feelings with that. "I'd miss my daughter too much to send her to a boarding school. I mean, I already miss her now, and it's been, what, three days since I've seen her."

"So she will move here as well?" Amelia asked warily.

Chloe shook her head, getting suspicious about the concern the other woman had instantly shown. She put her thoughts to the back of her head, smiling at her warmly, and answered, "No. She's living with her dad. I didn't want her to change school or something like that. She has all her friends there, and I'll visit her on the weekends and call her every day," she explained and became more suspicious when she saw relief in the other woman's features.

"And you and Lucifer, do you want children of your own?" Amelia asked further, curious.

She laughed at the idea of that, and shook her head, explaining, "Lucifer despises children." When she heard Amelia's perplexed 'Oh', she quickly added with gesturing air quotes to emphasise that it were Lucifer's words that would follow, "But my daughter is fine."

Amelia couldn't help the chuckle from escaping her throat. She smiled back, and quizzed her further, "And your little one? Does she like the new man in mommy's life?"

Her answer was a big nod before Chloe's voice followed, "She adores him." Remembering the perfect story to build up more trust in the other woman, she continued, "And he, well," she let out a chuckle and then told the tale, "Her friend got a new doll, an All-American Doll, and she wanted one, too. I declined, her dad declined. So, she destroyed her old doll, expecting us to buy her that new one. We still declined. And Lucifer," she halted again, her eyes grew big, sparkling, and she shook her head once more about his behaviour as she went on, "Lucifer instantly bought her that 200 dollar doll because he was so impressed with her manipulation attempt." After a brief moment, she added, "And he was convinced that I, with not fulfilling her every wish, was doing bad parenting."

Amelia roared with laughter. "That's something my hubby would have done as well. He never can say 'no' to our daughter."

Chloe nodded, silent for a moment as she thought about whether it was appropriate or not to ask the question she had on her mind, but then decided she was a cop, this was a case, and there was no place for bad feelings about such things. "Do you miss her?" she wanted to know, referring to her daughter.

She sighed and the smile on her face disappeared completely. "Every single day she's not with us." Taking another deep breath, she added, "It had been easier before. My best friend Cassandra used to live here with her husband." Sending a quick glimpse at the blonde, she mentioned, "In your house, actually. And she always managed to distract me whenever I was missing my girl. I know she's happy over there in that boarding school, but, well, you know what I mean." Chloe nodded, understanding her to the fullest. "Cassandra and her husband died two years ago. It was a car accident." Amelia's heart became even heavier when the comment slipped from her lips, "I miss her so much."

Chloe decreased the distance between them and supportively ran her hand over the other woman's arm. "I'm sorry to hear that," she expressed her condolences, but also got aware of the fact that the first name of the woman from the first dead couple had been Cassandra, and their death was anything but an accident.

Amelia pursed her lips, sighed again, but then shrugged off the memories. Turning her eyes back on Chloe, she remarked in a friendly manner, "Don't get me wrong. I have plenty of friends here. I love these girls, as crazy as they are. But they can't replace a best friend."

Again, Chloe nodded, fully agreeing with her. "You alright?" she made sure, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah!" Amelia confirmed and the warm smile appeared back on her lips, even though her eyes remained sad. "It's good to actually talk about it. The other's don't mention her name. They're hurt as well, and it's their form of processing the whole thing. But I need to talk."

"Of course!" Chloe agreed with her and gave her a supportive hug. "And whenever you feel the need to talk to someone, I'm here for you. Right next door," she added with a smirk to lighten up the mood a bit.

"Thank you," Amelia replied and flashed her one of her genuine warm smiles.

Their private talk was abruptly interrupted as Sam walked around the corner, increasing her pace as she spotted them, and stated with a rebuking undertone, "There you are! I've been looking for you the whole time." She smiled widely but got a little suspicious as she eyed back and forth between the two women. "Everything alright?" she asked her friend while one eye remained fixed on Chloe.

Chloe was about to say something as Amelia cut her off, "Yes, we've just talked about our kids a little," she replied with an equally big smile, letting the other topic fall under the table completely.

"Ah," Sam exclaimed and instantly all her doubts vanished from her face. Fully turning her attention to Chloe, she pointed out, "She misses her daughter so much. But a decent education is the essential thing in this world."

Amelia nodded assuringly but quickly changed the topic on that as well, "Is there something left of your pastry?"

At hearing that cue, Sam's eyes beamed with delight. "You rather be quick. I've seen Moira at it."

"Oh, I need to go," Amelia excused herself to Chloe and quickly rushed off to catch the last bite.

Sam walked after her but stopped when she didn't hear another pair of feet joining in. She turned around, sending a wary glance towards Chloe before she asked, "You coming, too?"

"Later," Chloe denied with a polite smile. "I want to check on my hubby first."

Sam smiled smugly at her, countering with a lecherous undertone, "I'm sure he's in perfectly good condition." Without wasting another second with Chloe, she turned around and headed after Amelia.

Chloe glared after her, narrowing her eyes and clenching her fists at the sexual remark in the other woman's words. She took a deep breath, composing herself, and shrugging off the anger. No! She wouldn't allow that woman to get any more under her skin than she already was, she told herself, put a smile back on her lips, and went off to find her partner.

It didn't take long for her to make him out in the cosy looking study of the host, sitting in a chair around a table with Matt and the man she now knew as Kelly, playing Skat. She halted in the door frame, taking in the nice view, and then friendly greeted the group as she walked over to Lucifer.

Hearing her voice, Lucifer instantly looked up at her, a sparkle in his eyes. He quickly placed his drink on the table and held his outstretched arm towards her, smiling at her some more when she grabbed his hand and let him guide her towards himself. She took a seat on his thigh and his arm went directly around her waist, steadying her and pulling her lightly into him. The game already forgotten, he gave his full attention to the woman in front of him and the way her body fit so perfectly to his own. "Had fun?" he asked her with a cheeky grin.

Chloe flashed him a smile and nodded. Her left arm wandered around his neck, holding tight, while she leant further into him and moved a bit to keep a half-upright sitting position while her other hand ran over the fabric of his shirt, caressing his chest or playing with his collar. "Very much. They are all lovely," she light-heartedly told him in a hushed voice, but still loud enough for his two peers to hear. She slightly shifted her position and lowered her upper body to get closer to him. Lucifer's arm around her tightened a little and, with that, helped her to decrease the distance between their faces. So far, Sam and this Dolores had been the only female suspects she couldn't engage in a private conversation. Well, as far as it came to Sam, it really was too hard for her to suppress the urge to drown this woman in the pool outside. Therefore, she'd decided Sam was a much better candidate for Lucifer to interrogate, albeit she could almost depict in her mind how exactly this interrogation would take place. With her lips starting on his chin, Chloe nibbled her way along his jaw-line up to his ear, lightly kissing the skin next to it, while her hand moved upwards, caressing his cheek and subtly holding his head in position so he couldn't turn it as she whispered into his ear, "Sam seems reluctant to tell me anything. I think she opens up more when you talk to her." Placing another kiss close to his ear to let it look like she would just seduce him a little, she moved her head back up, not without another teasing bite on his cheek, of course, and shifted once more to get back into the half-upright position.

Lucifer chuckled lightly and let out a low breath. He was looking at the cards in his left hand, but his full attention had remained at Chloe, her hands, her kisses, and the words she'd told him. When she pushed herself back up, he turned his head to fully face her. He stared into her sea blue eyes, instinctively wetting his lips and flashing her a cheeky smile, as he tightened the grip around her and pulled her back into him. When their faces were only inches apart, he tilted his head and moved to her ear, whispering likewise into it, "Will do." He halted a moment, relishing the touch of her hand that had moved up on his head and was now running through his hair, while her other hand still had the collar of his shirt firmly gripped, before he added, "And could you stop shifting? You're making it hard for me to concentrate." He planted a tender kiss on her cheek before he loosened the grip around her and moved his head back to look into her eyes again.

The way he had pronounced the words made directly clear to Chloe what exactly he was referring to and she stopped breathing for a moment. Instantly getting back the grip on herself, she chuckled lightly to make it appear as if he'd just said something funny and, as he pulled back, she lifted herself up as well and stared at him. And even though his lips were stretched into that bright smug grin, she didn't see it reaching his eyes. She saw something else in them, a truth buried deep within, and in this moment her mind quit the service.

Wetting her own lips, she lowered herself back and parted them a little; just to close them again when his upper lip was in between. She squeezed them together, only using such tenderness on him as if his lip was a wish she'd fear to break. She felt his lower lip closing in on hers as well, gently pressing against the flesh, and she took in all the senses she could get from that little kiss: Feeling the softness of his lips, probing their taste, hearing nothing but the loud throbs in her ears from her very own heartbeat, and the sense of a swarm of butterflies prickling from her mouth through her body and ending directly between her legs. It tingled from the overuse of all the nerves in her body, but at the same time warmed her up from inside like the hot rays of the first summer sun of the year.

She'd long stopped her fingers from running through his hair and lowered her hand until the stubbles of his beard tickled her palm, and the corner of his mouth could be felt underneath the tip of her thumb. Slowly, she pulled back from the kiss, using her hand to keep him from coming after her with as much gentleness as possible, and with that, removed her lips from the soft pillows they'd been buried in. Inches from his face away, she halted again and searched his eyes for any reaction. They only stared back at her in surprise and awe, as if her lips had spoken a silent spell on him.

Someone harrumphed and brought them out of their intimate moment, back into the here and now, and Chloe turned around, staring into the faces of Kelly and Matt.

"Damn!" Kelly exclaimed, elated. "I just got a boner, just by watching you two kiss."

Chloe sheepishly chuckled a little and turned her attention back to the man her arms had still encompassed, to confirm that he was still alive since she didn't feel him move a single jot. The second it took for him to show his first reaction felt endless to her but then she finally saw the light twitch in the corner of his mouth, and her own smile stretched up to her ears. Relieved, she ran her forefinger over the bridge of his nose, and as she reached its tip, she lowered her head again, bringing her lips shortly back into contact with his before she, again, pulled back.

Lucifer straightened his upper body, following the direction of her lips and hoping he could snatch another brush against them, but his tries were rudely interrupted as another harrumph was heard and he had to turn his head to see his peers staring at him, demanding attention.

"It's your turn, by the way," Matt told him and tapped with his finger on the table.

Lucifer didn't care about the game anymore, all he wanted now was to lock his lips back on Chloe's and so he briefly glanced onto the already played cards and pulled the first one available from out of his hand.

"Wait," Chloe held him back, grabbing the card that was half in his hand to stop him from playing it off. "What's trump?"

"Acorns," Kelly informed her, chuckling.

"And who are you playing with?" Chloe asked, staring expectantly at Lucifer, but he remained completely silent. He didn't know it anymore; he didn't care. Chloe's head shot back to the others as Matt piped up, saying it was him. And, once again, she turned around, this time telling him in a scolding tone, "That's totally the wrong card, then." She took the card from out of his hand, placing it back to the others, and grabbed the one that was fitting best, putting it on the table. A pleased smile settled down on her face, as she heard her father's words in her mind, 'If you ever play cards, play it right!' She had to bite her tongue to prevent herself from repeating them out loud.

"Very well," Lucifer chimed in, finally having found back his voice. Gone was the chance of getting another kiss from her, he thought, and he gave all his cards to her. After what she'd just done, he wouldn't be able to concentrate on the game any more, anyway, he concluded and moved his other arm around her as well. Holding her securely against himself to prevent her from falling down when standing up, he turned around and helped her sit back in the now empty chair. "I have to take my drinks away anyway," he commented, smiled shortly at them, and went out of the room. He headed towards the bathroom, low-key but as fast as possible; away from all the people, away from anyone, away from – her. Sighing deeply, he composed himself, and let out a relieved breath as the bathroom appeared in front of him. The handle already in his hand, he was about to press it down, as it seemed to move on its own and the door was being opened.

"Oh, hi," Sam chirped when she saw a very perplexed Lucifer staring at her. "You need inside?"

Quickly shaking himself out of his startle, Lucifer nodded, once again putting on his mask of cockiness and indifference, and replied politely, "Yes, thank you." The wanted effect, however, stood out. The woman still remained in the door, one hand tightly gripped around the handle, she placed her other arm up against the door frame, stretching her body, and leaning a bit forward to offer him a look into her well-built cleavage. "Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked, and, for once in his life, regretted the words as soon as they had left his mouth.

"Oh, Lucifer. Where shall I start," she moaned at him, making it very clear what exactly she was thinking.

"Well, if you don't mind, I really need to go in there," he retorted, with an unusual hint of nervousness in his voice. "I'm sure, your husband Stanley, if I remember correctly, is somewhere around here and is happy to help you with your needs."

"You're such a gentleman, Lucifer, so noble," she cajoled and lasciviously stared at him. "Tell me, Lucifer, is there royal blood running through your veins?"

"More like divine blood," he stated matter-of-factly, getting impatient at her blocking.

"Mmm," she replied, licking her lips. "So, you are one of those who has his daddy pay for all his toys?" she suggested a little provokingly.

"I beg your pardon!" Lucifer exclaimed enraged, adding in defence, "My money comes from my very own, very exquisite nightclub."

"I see!" Sam countered and removed her hand from the handle to run it over the buttons on Lucifer's shirt. "A man with good looks and a knack for making money, you're like my very personal sin, Lucifer." She purred his name and closed the gap between them.

Lucifer grabbed her shoulders, awkwardly holding her at a distance while making a half turn with her, before he took a step back and, with a low "sorry", slammed the door into her face.

Finally alone!

He took a deep breath, sorting his thoughts before the voice in his head started to scream at him: There was a very pretty, very well-stacked woman, wanting to jump his bones, and he'd just thrown her out of the room. Not to mention that this also was the woman, Chloe had told him to interrogate. What was wrong with him?

Totally frustrated, Lucifer stepped to the basin and splashed his face with water, hoping the cool liquid would bring him some insights into his behaviour. He dried himself off, straightened, and couldn't believe what his eyes showed him. He should be mad at himself for the missed opportunity of sex. After all, this undercover job doesn't deliver the Brittanys free to the door. So how was he supposed to survive another day without something he otherwise had done every eight hours? But instead of seeing fury or rage, the man staring back at him was grinning like a loon! Had he gone crazy?

Supporting his weight on his outstretched arms to both his sides, he hung his head, once again took a deep breath and licked his lips with his tongue. What used to be an automatic gesture, suddenly had a completely different effect on him. He took in another deep breath, inhaling the scent that still lingered on him, and finally realised why he ditched that woman in the first place: She wasn't Chloe! He could still taste her on his lips, still feel her body pressed against his own. His body wanted her back, his mind wanted her back. He wanted her back. No willing other woman, no sex in the world could compare to what he'd just experienced with that little kiss of hers. A kiss that was anything like those he already had with plenty of women, full of desire with tongues in each other's throats, lips tightly pressed against the other, shortly before they went over the edge. No! This was something completely different. It was tender and soft, and stirred up a feeling inside of him he had no words to describe for... because he hadn't felt that before. How could a kiss, so simple in its carrying out, be so, so... perfect?

When the word popped up in Lucifer's mind, he could swear his heart stopped beating. Just as it did when Chloe had pressed her mouth on his the first time. What did she do to him?

Not knowing the answer to this question, Lucifer straightened himself once more, closing his eyes and taking several deep breaths until he felt his inner rant cease and his composure reappear. He would find out the truth behind Chloe's magic, he told himself. But not right now. Now, he, Lucifer Morningstar, the devil, was playing a game in the humans' little world called sting operation. And he would: Not! Lose!

Having his self-confidence fully back up, Lucifer walked to the door, a big cheeky smile on his lips and he opened the door widely, just to come face to face with Stanley and Sam Jefferson. "Oh, hello," he greeted them in a friendly manner and mentally prepared himself for the well-known scolding that most often came from the women's boyfriends who called him out for his wrongdoing. Which would be, in this case: Nothing.

"Did I hear correctly when you told Matt you love playing games?" Stanley asked nonchalantly, referring to the chat Lucifer had with Matt during the round tour.

"Yes, indeed," Lucifer replied, a surprised smile on his face at the unexpected turn.

"Perfect!" Stanley called out. "We have the best game for you," he declared and was about to grab him by his elbow as Lucifer backed away, holding up his hands in defence.

"I can walk on my own, thank you," he reminded the other with a straight face, making clear that he wasn't joking.

"Of course! Sorry," Stanley appeased him, instantly backing away and gesturing Lucifer to simply follow his wife, who'd taken the lead before he stepped in after him.

They made a bee-line to the study, remaining in the entrance, but before Stanley could speak up, Matt took the floor. "Sorry, pal, but Chloe here is a much better Skat player than you are," he declared to Lucifer and added with an imitated sad voice, "I think I have to withdraw my offer from before."

Lucifer smiled, and his eyes widened in joy at the indirect praise. Of course, Chloe was the best, he thought and voiced in a delighted tone, "No problem. As long as it is for playing card games, I'd love to share my wife." He looked over to Chloe, winking at her, and his smile stretched even further when he saw her grinning sheepishly.

Before anyone else could bring up anything about the card game again, Sam piped up, telling the long-time residents, "It's time for the game."

"Oh, already?" Kelly exclaimed surprised but then smiled widely and stood up, stepping next to Chloe and gesturing her to get up as well, while Matt quickly put the cards back in the box and went out of the room first.

Chloe stared at them, perplexed, not knowing what was going on. "What game?" she asked with a slightly queasy feeling about their sudden strange behaviour and stood up. Getting no answer from the others, she turned her attention to Lucifer, who stood in the door frame, shrugging his shoulders at her.

With Sam and Stanley walking ahead, and Matt and Kelly behind, Lucifer and Chloe were escorted into the living room, that had been cleared of all furniture except for two chairs standing in the middle.

Chloe felt like an animal going to the slaughter as they, flanked by the Jeffersons, were guided towards the chairs and had to take a seat. She was facing Lucifer who smiled like a child in gleeful anticipation, their knees almost touching, and she quickly looked around, scanning the room. The others were standing in a circle, with a couple of feet distance to them as if they were sitting ducks. But what really turned her stomach was that the terrace door to her left and the front door to her right were blocked by men. Something was definitely not right, she thought to herself and, once again, locked eyes with her partner.

Lucifer stared back at her, his smile stretching his lips to both sides. He shortly raised both his eyebrows to signal her to calm down. After all, the situation wasn't any dangerous from his perspective, and if Chloe really wanted to leave, he'd just throw that Stanley guy through the air and the front door was free. He relaxed his shoulders and leant into the backrest.

Being a good hostess, Patricia stepped to them, announcing blithely, "Chloe, Lucifer, you had some time to get to know us a little. Now, we all like to turn the tables and get to know you by playing a little game called: The hot seat." As she pronounced the name, the people around them cheerfully clapped their hands. Patricia patiently waited until the noise subsided, before she continued explaining, "This is one, if not the most favourite game we're playing, and it's always a pleasure to have a new couple sitting in the chairs from whom we don't already know the answers," she added and grinned widely at them. "Here are the rules: Each one of us will ask you a question about your private life to which there can only be one answer. If it's a question with obviously several possible answers, then we lose and you're free to leave the chairs. If you both give the same answer to the question and the next in turn misses their cue to ask within the set time frame, then you win as well."

Hearing her explanation made Chloe not feel any better. Quite the contrary, now she was certain they were the sitting ducks in what was probably some sort of kinky adult game. As she recalled the rules, something major was missing, and she interposed, "What if we don't get an answer correctly?"

"Well, then the one with the wrong answer has to throw off a piece of their clothing, shoes don't count. In case the one is already naked, the spouse has to step in, of course," Patricia answered with a joyful tone in her voice.

Chloe stared at her, flabbergasted. Did she just hear right? "So we might get naked in front of all of you?" she remarked, still not fully believing that they're being serious.

"Don't worry. It's just us," Patricia tried to soothe her. "And so far, this has never happened when we played the lighter form of the game. Believe me, with that much of champagne we already had, one of us will definitely miss their cue," she ensured and winked at her. She gave each of them a wipeable writing tablet and a marker before she explained further, "You write down your answer on the board, and then when each of you has finished, you show them around so we can check if you have the same answer. Good luck!" she ended with a supportive shake of her fists and stepped back to her husband.

Chloe swallowed hard, processing all the facts at a record time: They hadn't been asked whether they wanted to play or not, so it was basically a type of interrogation, combined with a humiliation in form of a forced striptease. And that in front of a bunch of strangers. Great! They couldn't bust their cover at the first evening right away; not without having gathered any information about the killer. So, they had to play this game. The, as told, 'light version' of it. She only hoped she would never find out how the actual version of the game was played, she thought and sighed deeply. There were a million and one possible questions they could ask them, far more than the facts they had to learn about their fake marriage, and she mentally said goodbye to her two items of clothes. Not that her partner would mind seeing her naked once more. 'Speaking of, why was he so silent?' Chloe asked herself and finally looked up at him.

She wasn't surprised by him still sitting fully relaxed in the chair with a big nonchalant smile plastered on his face as if he'd look forward to playing it. What impressed her was the determined look in his eyes as he fixed them on her, and she instantly knew he was waiting for her cue. If she signalled him to get her out of this, he would do so in an instant, that was certain; she wouldn't even have to say one word for him to know, and in this moment she really felt glad that he, her partner, was here with her and had her back.

Taking a deep breath, Chloe relaxed into the chair as well and gave him a nod that was so subtle that no one else but him was aware of it, telling him that she was in.

Lucifer turned to Patricia, purring to her in his most charming voice, "We're ready whenever you are."

"Fabulous!" Patricia called out with delight and announced to the group, "Let the game begin!" Turning to Denise, she stated, a little lower, "Denise, you've hit the jackpot last time, if I remember correctly." As she saw her eager nod, she went on, "You'll start."

"How long have you been married?" Denise asked, quick like a shot.

Her question was met by low murmuring through the room and Patricia bent a little forward to the two guests of honour, explaining to them, "She always asks this question," before she straightened herself back.

Chloe forced a smile towards the woman before she lowered her gaze to the tablet in front of her. 'Anything for the case!' she told herself and wrote down the answer. Looking back up, she saw Lucifer expectantly staring at her, indicating that he was already done. She nodded towards him, and both showed their tablets around. Someone from out of the group singsonged "get naked" and Chloe quickly turned to Lucifer, reading his answer, and innerly froze. "We both have the correct answer!" She declared, staring perplexedly to the hostess.

"Well, Chloe, you wrote: 'half a year', and Lucifer wrote: '7 months and 11 days'. Which, yes, normally I would agree, is half a year, but this game is about the exact same answer," she explained. "So technically, you're wrong," she added, sighed, and looked up to someone. A warm smile appeared on her face as she turned her attention back to Chloe and Lucifer, declaring, "Since this really is your first question and you're new, we'll give you a little bonus and count this as correctly answered. But please keep in mind, the more precise answer counts from now on." As she saw the two nodding their understanding, she smiled pleased and gestured to the next person to continue.

"Where have you first met?" a woman named Moira asked, smiling.

Both quickly scribbled down the answer and then held their tablets up. Despite Chloe knowing that their cover was almost impeccably adapted to their actual lives, she breathed a sigh of relief when she read Lucifer's answer 'in my nightclub' matching hers.

"Who kissed the other first?" Moira's husband Devin, who was currently blocking the terrace door, asked.

Lucifer bit his tongue to not to start chuckling at that. Maybe Chloe really was capable of some kind of magic, or why else did she kiss him just the moment before they had to answer that question? he thought, and a smile lifted the corners of his mouth. He felt a little proud that he could write down her name and also show it to everyone; as if this was the proof that this magical kiss had actually happened.

"Who is older?" Dolores asked and, again, smiled at Lucifer as if she already knew the answer.

Chloe sighed under her breath, glad that the next question hadn't been 'Where had you first kissed?' or else they would have had a problem right now. Her thought was interrupted by a low chuckle, coming from the chair opposite to her and she took a brief glance at her partner. She smiled as she lowered her gaze back to the tablet in front of her, lightly shaking her head, as she quickly scribbled down the answer; knowing that he, with his delusion, just wrote his own name.

"Who is the better cook?" a man, none of them knew the name of, but somehow seemed to be connected to the young Denise, asked, grinning and folding his arms in front of his chest.

Chloe and Lucifer quickly wrote down the answer and then turned the tablets, first showing it to each other.

"No way!" Chloe objected right away and shook her head, determined. "You're not better in cooking than me."

"That's why I wrote in brackets 'except for Chloe's sandwiches'," Lucifer countered, staring sternly at her before his smile settled back on his lips.

"Alright, you two, who of you is the better cook?" Patricia chimed in, taking a step forward.

The room chuckled when it came loudly from out of both their mouths, "Me."

Turning to Chloe, Patricia asked further, "Is there someone who knows how you both cook?"

"Nope!" she instantly answered, popping the 'p'.

"Well, then, how often have you been told within the last month, that you're a great cook?" Patricia followed up on it.

"My daughter tells me every day," Chloe answered and grinned at Lucifer, certain of victory.

With a pleased smile, the hostess turned her attention to Lucifer, repeating, "And how often did someone tell you that you're a great cook within the last month?"

Lucifer formed a silent 'oh' with his lips as he searched in his brain for the answer. Accepting not even the mandatory "it's OK" Maze always described his meals with, he narrowed his eyes at his wife, exhaling a low huff, and stood up. "Very well!" he commented as he, without another word, took off his jacket and put it neatly over the backrest of his chair. He sat back down, crossing his legs and smiling provokingly at her, as he promised himself: First thing tomorrow morning, he would show her how much better a cook he was.

Being next in line, Kelly asked curiously, "Who owns more clothes?"

They quickly wrote down the answer and turned their tablets, just to be greeted with their own name on the other's board.

"No, Chloe, not this time. You own more clothes!" Lucifer told her straight out.

"Uh-uh!" Chloe countered, shaking her head. "Your closet in your apartment is twice as big as our bedroom."

"The size doesn't count!" Lucifer objected, earning an 'as-if'-glare from her. "Let's just count how many items you normally wear each day: Jacket, shirt, trousers, socks, bra, knickers. These are six things, compared to me, who neither owns bras nor shorts. I have less than you."

"Lucifer," Chloe started, straightening herself in her chair before she went on, "I change my trousers twice a week. Whereas you wear a new suit every day, and sometimes you even change into several outfits during the day. You own more clothes."

"My, my, this is quite interesting," Patricia commented amusedly, and once again stepped in. "Alright, my dears, I request hand signal. Who of you agrees that Lucifer here owns more clothes."

Chloe smiled smugly as she saw all hands, including her own, rising straight into the air.

"Why are you on her side?" Lucifer complained as he looked around the room. His eyes fell onto Sam, who stood next to her husband near the door, lasciviously smiling at him, and he quickly figured out, they most probably only did so, because they wanted to see him naked. 'Alright,' he thought to himself. 'If the crowd wants to see perfection, who am I to refuse.' With a smug grin on his lips, he stood up and slowly unbuttoned his shirt. His eyes were fixed on Chloe, and his pupils darkened when he saw her light blush at the sight of his bare chest. Taking off the shirt, he stretched out both of his arms and showed the crowd his proud chest. Murmurs and cheers resounded through the room, and he sat back in his chair, cockily wiggling his eyes at his wife and chuckling satisfied when he saw her blushing even deeper and quickly fixing her view to her tablet. He sighed, pleased to know now that their little interplay this morning did leave an impression on her.

"Who proposed?" Amelia asked when the turmoil died down again.

Chloe looked up at her, seeing her smiling cordially towards her from right behind her partner. She sighed and returned the warm smile, keeping herself from showing any type of dislike for the what was probably her way of giving them a safe question. After all, she couldn't know that Chloe had completely made up that propose-thing. She moved both her hands around the tablet, subtly playing with the ring on her finger, hoping Lucifer would get the hint.

"Chloe, are you done as well?" Patricia asked her warmly.

Chloe's head shot up at her. "Oh sorry, this always brings me back the memory," she quickly commented and scribbled down his name. She sighed, put a sincere smile on her face and nodded towards the hostess, who right away prompted them to turn their tablets around. Chloe let out a silent relieved sigh as she read Lucifer's answer 'me' on his board, and she smiled at him. Besides all the worry about not busting their cover, and the fact that there somewhere was a killer around, this little game started to be fun. She really could imagine playing this with real friends and a real husband some day and was quite surprised that it hadn't turned out as the kinky game she thought it to be.

"Who's mostly on top?" Stanley wanted to know and instantly earned a little rebuke from Amelia.

'Here we go!' Chloe thought, rolling her eyes, and silently revised her thought from before. She mentally prepared herself for the next piece of clothing falling down as she wrote down her own name, knowing that either it would be his trousers or her panties. She simply couldn't bring herself to write down his name and, with that, probably give him the satisfaction to know that she would want him to be the boss in their bedroom. Apart from the fact that they didn't have a bedroom, she quickly added in her mind and signalled her partner that she was ready.

Lucifer had been fast with writing down his first impulse: 'me'. But then he stole a glance towards her direction and saw her pursed lips and the slight shake of her head as she, fully focused on the tablet, wrote something down. In this instant, he knew that it wouldn't be his name he was going to read, and therefore quickly wiped away the word, and scribbled her name on it. Awaiting her nod, he turned around his board and snickered quietly when he saw her surprised features briefly flashing up from under her mask.

A few of the group chuckled and Stanley couldn't contain himself from teasing, "Looks like she really has henpecked you."

Lucifer lightly wetted his lips and turned to the man, carrying a very smug smile on his face as he countered, "Oh, believe me. If you meet a woman like Chloe, you'll do anything in your power to keep her happy." He turned back to her, catching the smile on her lips about his flattery, and instantly felt some kind of rush running through his veins. But he hadn't enough time to trace down the origin of it, as the next question already popped up.

"What size is his penis?" Sam asked loudly and licked her lips with her tongue before she added, "And I don't want to read a 'big' or 'average', I want inches!"

Chloe darted a glance towards the woman's direction. "That's a way too private question!" she retorted with a hint of anger.

"Honey, there is no such thing as too private or too embarrassing," Dolores countered in her calm, warm voice from the other side of the room. "Question is question, and you have to answer that."

"Come on, Chloe. You should know that!" Lucifer teased her, easily writing down his own measures and putting the tablet, writing-side down, onto the armrest. He leant back in his chair, his elbows supported on both armrests and his fingers touched in the middle, forming a triangle.

Chloe glared at him and she pursed her lips. Seeing him sitting there right in front of her with his whole body presented towards her, she wanted to wring his neck for his behaviour. True, she still knew all the sizes of her ex, after all, this had been a normal marriage, but this here was a fake one. And she'd seen him in all his glory only once – a year ago. How was she supposed to know what exact size his penis was, other than that it was fucking damn huge? Trying to get a way out of this, she retorted, using his own words from before, "Really? Since when does size matter?" Lucifer didn't show any reaction other than fixing his eyes on her, making clear that she wouldn't get out of that with his help. She turned her head to half of the crowd, asking in hope to get some back-up, "Who of you knows the exact size of your husband's penis?" When she saw all women in the room raising their hands, she had to swallow hard to get rid of the lump in her throat. She turned her head back, and almost shrieked when she found herself face to face with Lucifer.

"Come on, Chloe, just write down the number." Someone called out from the group.

Lucifer's grin turned evilly wide as he stared with his now dark eyes into hers and loudly replied to the remark. "She can't!" With a voice slightly lower, he added, "She doesn't remember." Licking his lips, he tilted his head, moving forward in his seat, and told her, "Well, well, my dear. Seems like you'll lose your first piece of clothes, then. Is it your dress?"

"What?" Chloe uttered flabbergasted. "I'm not giving you my dress!" she denied vehemently, putting both her hands over herself in a protective manner.

"It's your knickers, then," he mentioned casually and moved his hands along her knees, aiming for the little fabric. Some people of the group cheered at his behaviour, and he grinned towards them, before he turned his eyes back at Chloe, delighted about how she was reacting to him.

A little panic went through her and she pressed herself further into her chair, her hands quickly grabbing his, holding him from moving any higher. "You're supposed to be on my side, remember!" she warned him with a low voice, but as she saw his wicked grin, she knew she was on her own here.

"Chloe, I didn't make the rules," he retorted audibly, washing his hands off. "But it's only fair of you to give the next piece, after all, I am already half naked," he added with a nonchalant voice, grabbed around her legs and pulled her towards him before he moved his hands back up her thighs, his upper body closely above hers.

Chloe was caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. Not knowing how true that phrase actually was. She'd still firmly grabbed his hands to prevent them from going for her panties, but with that, she had nothing to prevent his body from getting so close to her that she could feel the heat radiating from it, and the warm puffs of his breath that ran over the sensitive skin of her neck as he lowered his head down, giving her goosebumps.

"Relax, it's just your knickers. I won't let anyone see anything of you," he whispered assuringly into her ear and moved his hands further up her thighs and under her dress. Her resistance grew the more he reached upwards, and her two little peaks were stiffly poking into his chest, giving away how rapidly she actually was breathing right now. When he heard her low "Lucifer, no!" whispered to him and sensed the discomfort that was swinging in those words, he instantly stopped with his teasing and raised himself to have a proper look at her. The deep red blush on her face was still visible, and together with her quick breaths and her erected nipples, the others could be tricked into thinking that she was only aroused. But he knew better. Her eyes were almost screaming at him not to go any further, and with a quick nod, he stood up, announcing to the group, "My dears, I'm very sorry, but I can't live on with a wife who doesn't know my exact measures. We, sadly, have to leave now, so I can show her and make her remember every inch of it till the end of all time."

He chose the words with as much sexual reference as possible, feeling the others wouldn't let them go otherwise, while he slipped back into his shirt. He held his hand out to Chloe, nodding reassuringly towards her, and pulled her up to him after she'd clasped it. Putting his jacket around her shoulders to give her some form of protection, he lay his arm around her, pulling her safely into his side, and guided her towards the front door.

Low protests of regret went through the room as they reached the door that was blocked by Stanley, and Lucifer smiled cheerfully at him, "Would you please?" He gestured towards the door, his grip tightening around Chloe, while he tilted his head, and expectantly stared at the other.

Stanley seemed to look at someone behind them, but then smiled equally brightly towards the pair, announcing pleasantly, "See you tomorrow." He held the door wide open, waiting till both were out of the house, and then closed it shut again.

"Quick, switch off the lights," someone ordered, and the room was draped in black as the group rushed to the windows, staring outside.

"I wish it could be me he's showing his inches now," Sam moaned, further pressing her nose against the window and languishing after him.

"I wish that, too," Stanley added, grabbing around his wife from behind, and started nibbling at her earlobe.

Amelia rolled her eyes, annoyed at the pair who couldn't keep it together for even one hour. "Now listen to the both of you," she remarked snidely and hugged her husband as she stared at the new residents leaving the lawn.

Patricia sighed deeply, and then her eyes beamed as she let the little information slip, "They're into role play." She chuckled lightly when the others started to moan and cheer with glee.

On the outside, Lucifer guided Chloe further away from the house. He saw the change of light from out of the corner of his eye and bent down to her, whispering, "They are watching us."

Chloe turned her head towards him, their faces not even an inch apart. "I know," she whispered back.

When their eyes met, they seemed to make a silent pact, and suddenly Chloe felt his lips crashing down on hers while his hands moved around her, one beneath her butt, the other around her waist as he pulled her up and into him. She clasped her arms around his neck, her legs tightly wrapped around his hip while he moved them towards their house.

/-/

How they ended up inside the house, Chloe couldn't remember. Her mind seemed to have blocked out everything else and only came back to life just now. She felt her back pressed into the wood of their front door, her legs still wrapped around his hip, he was rhythmically moving from side to side, pressing the very hard evidence of his arousal into her centre while his fingers dug into the firm flesh of her butt cheek, kneading it and sending shivers through her body. His other hand had moved upwards between her shoulder blades and was now gripping the beginning of her neck. His thumb gently caressed the soft skin and it sent further impulses through her body, directing south and heating her up from inside even more than the heat she felt coming from his body, wrapping her up like a hot blanket on winter days. Her arms were still around his neck, one holding tightly onto the collar of his shirt, while the other was buried deep in his black hair. She couldn't move them, or anything else of her body, since she was so overwhelmed by what he did inside her mouth. They weren't simply kissing; their tongues were fighting a battle, and it seemed very clear that he was winning. His tongue rubbed so firm against her own, moved so skilfully from side to side, that she wished it would be between her other lips right now, giving her the very same and very much wanted treatment.

A deep moan escaped her throat when he finally moved his head and released himself from out of her mouth, granting her some well-needed air, while his lips ran down her neck, looking for the sensitive spot and once again marking their territory.

Chloe sucked in a breath, filled her lungs with as much air as possible, but still, she couldn't get her panting under control. She was shaking beneath him, from her arousal, from the firing of all the nerves inside of her, and the heat around them. She knew what she wanted right now, but she also knew that she couldn't let this happen. This was a job, a sting operation, and he was her partner. He was her partner! she screamed once more in her mind and finally, it clicked and sent the signal to her mouth. With the last energy left in her, she breathed a trembling "stop," before her panting increased again, making it impossible to speak any further.

Lucifer instantly froze like a deer caught in headlights. 'The promise,' it ran through his mind, and he took a deep breath, trying to compose himself; to stop himself from continuing. Feeling the want from his body and fighting against it with all his power, his eyes suddenly flashed fiery red. He quickly closed his lids, relieved that he was facing the door and safely shielded from her view by her body. The body that felt so great against his... Shaking himself back to his senses, he waited for his eyes to change back to their brown colour before he took half a step backwards and let her slowly glide to the ground. When her feet touched the ground, he completely released her from out of his grasp and took another step backwards. He didn't know what happened, but he stumbled, and frantically gripped the first thing reachable to not fall to the floor.

Chloe quickly grabbed his arms to prevent him from tumbling and steadied him until he stood securely, ignoring the pain that was shooting through her body from his tight grip around her arm. He saw up and, as he recognised that he was hurting her, quickly let go with an honest mumbled 'sorry'. He wanted to step back, but Chloe kept her hold on him and attentively scanned his features: There was sweat on his forehead, his pupils completely dilated and they didn't even contract when she turned him slightly and the light coming from the kitchen shone directly into his eyes. Something definitely wasn't right! Remembering the way he looked when she first saw him drunk on the crime scene of the zombie-wedding, she asked concerned, "Lucifer, how much did you have to drink?"

"Just two whiskies," he answered, and turned his body to shield himself from the brightness.

"You sure you didn't miss a zero after the 2?" Chloe inquired, the worry for him increasing.

"Very sure," Lucifer answered, avoiding her gaze. He couldn't look at her. He needed all his self-control to not leap forward and push his tongue back into her mouth to feel again what he was still tasting on it. What he wanted back again so badly but couldn't have because of the promise. And he would do anything to keep it! "It's late. I'll go shower," he informed her shortly, and quickly turned around, heading for the stairs.

"Yeah, do that," Chloe replied quietly and watched him walking, or better swaying, up the stairs. She went directly to the kitchen counter, let her head fall onto the cold marble, and groaned into it. What the hell was she thinking? she scolded herself, but the answer followed right away: Nothing! She hadn't spent one single thought at possible consequences. All she could think about was his bare chest hovering over hers, his breath against her skin, and the gratefulness she felt when he instantly got her out of that house. For a brief moment she thought about telling herself that she only let him kiss her because he'd earned it for his protection, but then shook her head. It would be a lie. She knew that. She'd let him kiss her because she wanted it. She'd made out with him, just as much as he'd made out with her.

Turning to the sink, she poured herself a glass of water, downing it in one go, and then took a deep breath to brace herself for what was coming when she would enter the bedroom.

She walked up the stairs, the hand already at the handle, she quickly let go, deciding to go directly to her bathroom and make herself ready, so she just had to face him one time this night. And maybe he still was in the shower if she would be quick enough. Then she could fake to be already asleep when he'd enter the bedroom. Nodding to herself, she turned around and went to her bathroom.

When she finally opened the door to the bedroom, her heart stopped beating for a split second, and she sucked in a sharp breath. Lucifer was already lying sprawled out on the bed. She sighed more than relieved as she realised, his eyes were shut and he was fast asleep. Silently closing the door behind her, she stepped towards him. His hair was dry, indicating that he hadn't showered at all, and she smiled pleased that at least he was able to change into his shorts before he'd hit the pillow. One of his arms had fallen to the side, and Chloe picked it up, lay it across his chest before she grabbed the blanket he'd simply tossed on her side of the bed, and covered him with it to keep him from getting cold during the night.

She walked around to her side, snuggled into the pillow, and wrapped the blanket warmly around herself. Then, she wished him sweet dreams and closed her eyes, hoping that hers wouldn't show her something she could have had but had denied herself.

---

A/N: End of chapter two. I hope you liked it. And before I write anything further, I just have one question: Which scene left the biggest footprint in your mind? Hit that little review button and tell me :D

Have a nice day!

:o)