A/N: My dear readers. Thank you so, so much for all the lovely reviews. Here comes another chapter with Chloe and Lucifer against the Riveroak state ;) I hope you enjoy it as much as the last three chapters.
This chapter was beta-read by Daemon, all remaining mistakes are my own. :D Thank you, you're awesome!
Enjoy!
The more I get the more I want
o~o
Lucifer awoke slowly. He felt the warmth of the sun rays on his face and, after blinking several times, also saw the bright yellow light shining through the window. He looked around and noticed Chloe's side of the bed was empty. 'Deja vu!', he thought, and stared at the ceiling, grinning. He raised his hand to rub his eyes and noticed the shirtsleeve covering his arm. 'Well, almost', he silently added, and looked further down on him, staring at his bare chest and the opened shirt covering his sides. There was a blanket wrapped around him. He grabbed it, pulled it up and peeked underneath. He was wearing his trousers as well, only his shoes were missing. 'Where are they?', he wondered. 'And more importantly, how did I get here?'
He took a deep breath, filling his lungs to their full capacity with air, and shut his eyes again, trying to recall what had happened the night before. The last thing he remembered was Chloe and him getting out of that house; and stars, many, many stars around him, and right in the middle two sea blue sapphires staring at him. A pleasant rush ran through his body as he thought at the owner of those sapphires.
But it wasn't only the pleasant rush he felt. There was also some sort of new energy running through his body. He felt strong and powerful, just like in those times when he'd still lived in heaven. Where did this energy come from? But, more importantly, did he really want to know?
His stomach rumbled loudly, reminding him of how hungry he was, and he tossed the covers aside in one swift move, jumped out of the bed, and disappeared into his bathroom. It didn't even take him twenty minutes before he was ready and on the way to the kitchen. Chloe stood in front of the stove, frying something and he stepped next to her, greeting her cheerfully, "Morning, love."
She jumped in fright, startled at his sudden appearance, and took a step back. Inhaling deeply to calm down her thumping heart, Chloe got herself enough under control to let her voice come out steadily. "It's already past noon," she pointed out, smiling briefly and staring at him, but her eyes remained fixed on his collar. She was so glad that he was finally awake now, it felt like a heavy stone fell from her heart. Still, the sight of him also stirred up the memories of the night before which had occupied her mind since she'd set a foot into their house. She'd only managed to push them to the back of her head some minutes ago when she was busy with preparing food. Getting reminded of it all again let the fear instantly come back and spread out inside of her.
"Oh!" Lucifer commented her words in a low voice and observed her intently. He smiled at her, but it didn't reach his eyes. He was rather confused at her atypical behaviour. She had a spatula in her hand, watching two sandwich slices fry up before she flipped one piece over the other. It looked mechanical, nothing like he was used from her. And also, any further reaction was missing from her, like the smile on her face she usually wore, or the occasional glance towards him. He started to frown. She didn't look alright; not at all. It seemed as if his close presence to her made her somehow uncomfortable, and that was the last thing he wanted. Therefore, he took a step back.
After a moment of silence, she spoke up, informing him, "I've made some sandwiches. Thought you'd be hungry." The one on the stove was done, and she stepped towards the oven.
Lucifer walked backwards, giving her enough space to easily open the lid, and watched her taking out a plate that was packed with pieces of bread.
"Thank you," he replied, smiling. "I think those will last for the next week." He ignored the food, his own hunger long forgotten. He tried to grab her hand, but she quickly pulled it away before he was even close enough to brush against her skin. Chloe had smiled briefly at his joke, but right after, her lips had turned back to their distressed position that seemed to be plastered onto her face. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.
Chloe nodded, too eagerly to convince him. "I'm fine. Thanks," she answered and grabbed for the spatula. She put the newest sandwich onto the others and gestured him to dig in. Then, she stepped back to the stove and placed the tool in her hand aside.
"Chloe, you don't look fine," he remarked with concern. "You rather look...," he stopped and stared at her attentively to find a suitable word: She had bags under her eyes that were deeper than the Mariana Trench, and from what he could see, her eyes were puffy and red, as if they were inflamed, or she'd been crying. "Horrible," was the word he eventually chose to use, and the worry for her doubled.
A low chuckle escaped her throat when he stated the obvious. She pulled her hands back into the sleeves of the long sweater she was wearing, grabbed the cuffs and clutched them so her whole arms were covered by the fabric; like a shield, she tried to hide behind. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes and she quickly wiped them away, sniffling audibly in the process.
"What is with you, Chloe? Please tell me. What happened?" Lucifer asked, puzzled.
Chloe let out another laugh and as it turned into a desperate cry, she instantly pressed her hands over her mouth, trying to stifle it down. She snivelled again, wiping the running tears away, and when she felt herself back under control, she answered brittly, "Lucifer, you know what happened. You were there!"
After speaking those words, she looked up at him, this time directly. Her eyes seemed so sorrowful that he almost expected to see a broken soul behind. But she wasn't broken. He'd made sure of that. He had protected her. He'd kept her safe. Lucifer wanted to step forward, wanted to wrap his arms around her but he held himself back. She clearly didn't want him near her. And he'd respect that regardless of the feelings this rejection stirred up within him. "Chloe, did I hurt you?" He didn't know where this question had come from so suddenly, but it was so tremendously huge inside of his mind, that he simply needed to let it out. He needed to know if she felt like he had forced himself on her.
"No!" Chloe cried out insistently, vigorously shaking her head. "You didn't hurt me, Lucifer. You were perfect to me. So gentle. I really felt safe with you. They are the ones who hurt me, us. They forced us to do something neither of us wanted to do." And it made her angry. So angry that they were able to get her to a point where she was defenceless; where she was unable to protect the both of them any longer. And it also made her angry about herself. She'd allowed them to get so close to her because she didn't expect they could be able to commit such a horrible act. Despite the knowledge that there was a murderer amongst them, maybe even more. Despite knowing how many victims this murderer had already killed. Innocent victims. Detectives. Colleagues...
Lucifer tilted his head to the side and observed her attentively. She looked as if she had a silent conversation with herself. All the emotions ran across her features, causing contradicting expressions, and suddenly it changed to something very distinct; something very painful. "Chloe, please talk to me," he pleaded softly and her eyes looked back at him, filled with tears.
Chloe took a deep breath and clutched her arms tightly around herself, providing some sort of comfort as she felt herself starting to shake. "I wanted to have Anderson with me," she began, but her voice broke into a high-pitched cry at the end. She halted, took another deep breath, and when she felt stable enough to continue, she vocalised the thoughts that were running around in her mind since the beginning of dawn. "I didn't want you on this case... And if you hadn't insisted on joining me, it would have been him. I would have gone to the party with Anderson," she halted again, forcing herself to stop thinking of the threatening possibility before she was able to explain to him what she meant. So he could understand. "I know I couldn't have done it with him. Not even faking it. And then, they would have known. And they would have killed us. Just like Fernández and Johnson," she stopped, and her eyes widened in fear when she voiced the words she couldn't stop thinking, "I would be dead now."
"But you're not!" Lucifer countered calmly but firmly. "Because I was with you, and not Anderson." He looked at her, seeing her shaking slightly. She had wrapped her arms so closely around herself that her hands almost touched on her back, and again, he had to fight the urge to step closer and wrap his arms around her. It broke his heart to see her like that. "I won't let anyone harm you," he assured her softly, hoping she could find solace in his words.
Chloe nodded lightly. Her red eyes stared at an invisible spot on the ground. She felt so cold, even the sweater wasn't of any help any more. "Lucifer?" she called him, her voice so low that he barely heard her. But he did. His head shot up and he looked at her considerately. Chloe heard his low reply, letting her know that he was listening, and she glanced up at him, her eyes searching for his dark brown irises as she asked, "Could you please hug me?"
In an instant, Lucifer was at her side, locking his arms around her and hugging her gently but firmly close to his heart. Chloe let out a relieved sigh and moved her hands upwards on his chest. She let go of her cuffs, her small fingers emerged from out of their hideout, and clasped onto the fabric of his shirt. Her head moved into the crook of his neck and she took a deep breath, smelling the scent of simply him that soothed her within a moment. "Tighter," she mumbled against his chest and relished the warm feeling that spread out inside of her when Lucifer willingly did what he was told.
He rested his cheek against her head, briefly brushing with his lips against her hair, and his thumbs stroke over her back and arm; up and down, up and down. He breathed a sigh he didn't know he'd been holding as he felt her relaxing into him, and, once again, he tightened the grip around her.
The tears started to stream over Chloe's face, disappearing into the fabric of his shirt, and slowly but steadily drenched it completely. The emotions she'd been trying to stifle down, to bury deep inside of her, built themselves up like a water fountain, crawling higher and higher, and when they reached her head, she started to sob again. She couldn't hold it back any longer. Her cries loudened, and soon she wept bitterly. Her fingers dug deeper into the fabric, frantically holding tight, while the mixture of hurt, desperation, and pure anxiety left her body.
"Shush," Lucifer whispered softly, trying to spend her all the comfort he could give. Automatically his hands started to rub the areas they'd been covered. He shifted his arms. One was still wrapped around her shoulders, holding her closely pressed against himself. With the other one, he caressed her back, covering as much of her body as possible to give her that sense of caring he'd always felt when she wrapped her arms around him.
Chloe's cries died down and she took several intensive breaths, feeling the releasing effect inside of her right away. New emotions of safety and comfort nestled within her. They gave her the much-needed strength to continue speaking out loud what was on her mind. "I'm so sorry, I've put you in danger," she confessed meekly.
'What?', Lucifer thought and stared down at her, flabbergasted. "You didn't put me in danger," he objected with a determined voice. He was puzzled how she could think such nonsense.
She tilted her head backwards, gazing at him. "They drugged you, Lucifer. And they shouldn't have been able to do that. Maybe they put something in your drink, but truth is, I didn't have your back. I let you get harmed."
He shook his head, contradicting these absurd ideas her head had spun to the fullest. "I haven't been drugged. I assure you, Chloe. Drugs don't work on me like they do on you humans; just like alcohol. And I didn't drink anything that night, either. I gave you my glass, remember?"
"Lucifer, you broke down in front of me!" she countered, and fresh tears flooded her eyes as the memory rushed back into her mind, reminding her of how helpless and desperate she had felt that night. How nothing but sheer panic had taken over in her at that moment.
"Yes," he whispered, a startled expression on his face as it dawned on him. "But I'm fine now, I promise," he reassured her, flashing her a smile that gave a big contrast to the lost look in his eyes.
Chloe snuggled further into him. She was determined that it was her fault. She had put his life in danger. And if it wasn't through some sort of drug they'd given him, it was definitely her decision afterwards not to call an ambulance, or their colleagues at least; not to instantly get him out of there, but rather wait and observe him instead.
Lucifer moved his hands to her face, clasping both her cheeks and lifted her head to have a proper look at her. The exhaustion was written all over it; as if she'd been awake for a week. "Did you sleep last night?" he asked with concern. He felt her body slightly shaking as if his words had reminded her muscles that they had no more strength. He quickly moved his arms back around her, holding tight.
Slowly, she shook her head. "I couldn't," she answered, and after a moment she added, "I didn't know what had happened to you. I thought about calling an ambulance so many times, but each time I put the phone back." She moved her gaze to the wet spot on his shirt, too ashamed of herself when she admitted, "I endangered your life because I didn't want to risk the job. And I feel so horrible about that." She took in a deep breath. Her limbs got weaker as her strength ran low, and it was only thanks to his arms that she was still in an upright position. With a voice that was barely above a whisper, she remarked, "I've watched your pulse and breathing the whole night; to interfere in case it stopped. You didn't seem hurt, just in a deep sleep, and I told myself that this was just like the night before. I hoped it was."
She'd even took off his waistcoat and opened his shirt to better observe his breathing since it was so low that she couldn't see anything through the fabric. One of her hands had held his wrist the whole time, frequently checking his pulse, and from time to time she'd laid her ear onto his chest to listen to his heartbeat, to reconfirm that it was steady and strong. He'd really seemed just sleeping. But it was so deep, she couldn't get him awake, couldn't get even the slightest stir out of him, not even when she'd called him loudly or rubbed her knuckles firmly over his chest.
Only this morning he'd finally shown some signs of recovery. He'd turned his head to the side, shifted himself in his position, and even mumbled something so quietly she couldn't understand; but that had assured her enough that he would be fine, and she relaxed and decided to get out of the room. She sighed again, relieved that those words were finally out of her system, but also worried that he'd interpret her confession as betrayal. She didn't know what she would do if he were angry with her, or wouldn't trust her anymore.
Lucifer smiled at her, feeling some form of warmth spreading out inside of him. Her body got heavier in his arms and so he quickly grabbed her legs and lifted her up, bridal style. "You need some sleep," he informed her briefly and walked out of the kitchen.
Chloe looked at him, surprised. "You're not angry at me?" She unwittingly moved her arm around his neck, holding tight. Her other hand clasped his shirt firmer.
"For what?" he asked, puzzled. "That you kept watching over me the whole night?"
"No! For risking your life," she countered insistently.
Lucifer shook his head, looking ahead as he replied, "Chloe, believe me, you didn't risk my life. I'm the devil, an angelic being. Calling an ambulance for me would have done nothing else than putting our job to an end. And we've put so much into that case now, quite literally. I'd only be angry if you had broken off the operation." He halted in the middle of the stairs, looking at her with warm eyes. "You did nothing wrong, Chloe. I assure you that."
When the words sunk in, she feebly smiled at him. Overwhelmed by the exhaustion, her eyes fluttered shut for a moment. When she opened them again, she was in the bedroom, and Lucifer was about to tuck her in the blanket. "I can't sleep now," she stated, a little startled at the sudden change of surroundings.
"You need to rest, Chloe," he told her calmly and lightly rubbed her shoulder.
He sat down beside her, and Chloe felt his body through the blanket, the warmth that radiated from him, luring her into sleep. "I can't sleep," she started but he shushed her.
"You can, and you will. I'll stay at your-" The rest of his sentence was rudely interrupted when the doorbell rang. Lucifer had instinctively turned his sight to the bedroom door, and glanced briefly back to Chloe again as he mentioned, "Be right back." He stood up and left the room.
Lucifer rushed to the front door, hastily opening it to see who dared to disturb their intimate moment.
"Mr Moran," the security guard addressed him before Lucifer could say anything. "You look... fine," he noted, visibly surprised.
"Should I not?" Lucifer questioned and stared at him warily.
"Well, after last night, I'd expected something different, to be honest." Seeing his baffled look, the security guard went on, "I promised your wife that I'll check on the both of you after my morning tour. Hasn't she told you?"
"No. We couldn't get to that part, yet," Lucifer answered, eyeing him sceptically. This guard didn't make much sense to him.
Noticing Lucifer's cautious look, he took a deep breath and explained, "Well, last night, I came across you two during my security check. You were lying on the shortcut in the woods, almost by the street. And your wife was screaming your name in panic. I checked your vitals. They were fine. You were just out cold. But since your wife rambled something about drugs, I wanted to call an ambulance. She insisted that I don't. And so I helped to get you in my car. I drove you two to your house and then got you in the bed. And with 'got' I actually mean I struggled. Sir, you might not look that way, but it felt as if you weighed 300 pounds."
Lucifer's eyebrows popped up at that information. He quickly looked down at himself, remembering that his chest had been exposed. "What did you do after you put me on the bed?" he asked him and eyed him suspiciously.
"I left," the security guard stated matter-of-factly, before he elucidated in more detail, "Well, I talked to your wife for some minutes, calming her down, telling her that I will stop by your house again today, and if anything happens to you in the meantime, I made her promise to call an ambulance and then call me as well, and then I left."
"Oh," Lucifer answered, pleasantly surprised. "I guess I owe you my thanks, then."
"That's my job," he simply replied, shrugging his shoulders. He took another breath and added, "Sir, I know I'm just security. And you weren't the first passed-out resident I stumbled upon. Believe me, I've seen worse. I also know that this is actually none of my business, but your wife truly loves you. I've never seen a woman so panicked in my life before. And that she didn't want me to call an ambulance, only confirmed my presumption that this is a habit. And if you love your wife just as much, I'm sure you do, then please stop taking whatever it is you take. You terrified her. And maybe someday it's not just you passing out, but dying from it. I'm sure you don't want to put that burden on her, right?"
Lucifer was taken aback and didn't really know what to answer to that. Not about the drug part, of course. He knew he hadn't taken any, and therefore barely listened to what the guard had uttered. But it was the fact that someone who'd seen Chloe only twice and only for a short time, thought that she loved him. He smiled at the thought. Realising that the guard was staring at him expectantly, he quickly replied, "Well, thanks for the advice. I'm going back to my wife now if you don't mind."
"Do that, I need to get back to my job anyway. Have a nice afternoon," the man replied and started to leave.
"Thanks. You too," Lucifer politely called after him and closed the door. He turned around and quickly made his way back to the bedroom.
Stepping inside with as little noise as possible, Lucifer saw that she was sleeping. He had told her he'd be back, but he also didn't want to wake her up by going further into the room or sit down on the bed. Therefore, he decided to leave again. He turned around and was almost back at the door when he heard the bed sheets rustling behind him. "Lucifer?" her weary voice sounded and he quickly turned around, walking to her. He bent over her so she could see him, assuring her, "I'm here, don't worry. Go back to sleep."
"No! I don't want to sleep," Chloe objected more steadily and pushed herself up on the pillow.
"You're completely exhausted. Your body needs rest," Lucifer countered and grabbed her by her hips, gently pulling her back down with ease and wrapping the blanket tighter around her.
Chloe faintly shook her head, grabbing his hands and trying to shove them off of her. "You don't understand. I don't want to sleep," she repeated, emphasising the word that currently caused her trouble.
Lucifer gazed at her, and suddenly remembered his own feelings after he'd woken up from the nightmare; how scared he was of the dream coming back. She must have dreamt badly as well, he silently concluded and smiled warmly at her. "Don't worry, I'll protect you," he assured her and grasped under her back and knees, shifting her to the middle of the bed.
"I don't-," she started, but cut herself off right away. Those were exactly the words Lucifer had used after his nightmare. And considering that he had said the words to her she'd used on him, she figured she already knew what he was about to reply. The corners of her lips curled upwards and she felt a chuckle rolling up her throat but dying down again before she could let it out, due to the lack of energy. Exhausted, she watched him get out of his jacket, putting it on the end of the bed before he crawled under the blanket as well and made himself comfortable on the pillow. "And now?" she asked, curious.
He looked at her, slightly shrugging his shoulders. The novel lying on her bedside table caught his eye and he suggested, "I could read something to you." He saw her staring at him, one eyebrow raised in puzzlement, and retorted with a hinge of annoyance, "Yes, my dear, I can read."
"I know that!" Chloe appeased him. "I just didn't figure you to be a comforter."
Lucifer stared at her intently, not knowing if he should laugh out loud or reproach her. "I am neither a tool someone can put in a little screaming human's mouth, nor something you can wrap around yourself," he countered sardonically, but trailed off and averted his gaze, the wheels in his head turning wildly. "Now that I think about it, if you see those words I've just spoken in a broader sense, they are actually true," he noticed quietly and shook his head in shudder when certain pictures popped up in his mind. He felt Chloe's hand moving over his belly and quickly got back into the here and now.
Chloe snuggled into his chest and wrapped her arm completely around him, holding tight. "I'd love to hear you reading something to me," she stated softly and nestled her head down on the spot right above his heart, listening to its steady beats.
He smiled at her, pulled the blanket up and tucked the both of them in more firmly. Then, he grabbed the book from the table, opening it at the bookmark. His free hand found its way onto her back, and he rubbed across it from time to time, while he read aloud. It hadn't even taken him two pages before he heard her even breaths. He smiled at her and put the book aside. His free hand clasped around hers, and he held it tight, watching her sleep.
/-/
Chloe stirred when she woke out of her dreams. She moved her head, snuggling her face further into the cosy underlay, not yet ready to open her eyes. She stretched her fingers. Those on her left hand grabbed a cold bedsheet, while those on her right were instantly encompassed by a large, warm hand, getting directly reminded of what exactly her underlay was, or rather who. She tilted her head, resting her chin on his chest, and looked up.
"Slept well?" Lucifer asked, a cheeky grin on his face.
Without a word, she turned her head again, laid it back on his shirt, and, feeling the soft fabric, she nodded her answer. Another moment passed until she finally overcame her reluctance to remove herself from his snug body. She pushed herself up from him and rolled onto her back. Her head turned to him again, and she asked drowsily, "How long have I slept?"
"Three hours, more or less," he answered nonchalantly, and stood up from the bed, stretching his stiff limbs, before he sat back down, facing her.
Pushing herself up into a sitting position, Chloe leant her back against the wall. "I dreamt about the night," she commented a little puzzled, mentally ordering the pictures she could still recall while she ran her fingers through her hair, combing it to one side in the movement. Her eyes fixed at the grey bed sheet between them, she missed the worried frown on her partner's face when she recalled aloud, "I remember now, when I looked at the ceiling, there was a red flashing light, like that of a camera, right above me." It took a moment before the words had sunken in and suddenly her head shot upwards. "They recorded us!" she concluded, appalled, her wide open eyes staring directly into his dark brown ones now.
Lucifer was baffled, but he couldn't really concentrate on this information, as his mind was currently occupied with the concern for her. He thought she would cry, and mentally prepared himself with some soothing words and supportive gestures, when she suddenly sprang up from the bed, releasing a tirade. "These fucking bastards made a video of us!" she yelled so loud that he cringed visibly. Hell's thunder was a light breeze compared to her rants.
"Wasn't it already enough to humiliate us up there? Did they really need to film us as well? They're probably sitting in their chairs right now and re-watch our show, these fucking perverts!" Chloe harangued loudly in anger, pacing up and down the little space between the bed and the door.
"Chloe?" Lucifer piped up, his voice unusually intimidated by the roaring words coming out of this otherwise calm and composed woman.
"What?" she hollered, her eyes glaring so fiercely, that for a moment, Lucifer thought he'd seen fire flashing up. Spotting his terrified features, quickly brought Chloe back to her senses, and she straightened herself, putting on a relaxed look, and rephrased in a suddenly calm voice, "Sorry, you were saying?"
His mouth stood open like that of a fish gasping for air. He wasn't quite sure how to react to her, but considering the circumstances, he found that staying quiet was the best option he had right now. So, he closed his lips, swallowed, and replied with a light shake of his head, "Nothing."
As the first wave of anger subsided, Chloe felt her cheeks heating up and she sat back down on the bed, clutching her hands over her face. "This is so embarrassing! They've not only seen us up there, they can also stare at us from above, at me being exposed, with you between my legs. They could make copies of it, upload it onto any sick site on the internet," she spun further. Then, she trailed off, shaking her head. Hot tears fell down into her palms and she snivelled audibly. "I don't want to see anyone of them ever again."
"Alright," Lucifer replied, determined. Enough was enough. He would not watch her breaking down a second time. "Let's go, then. I'll get you out of here," he told her and stood up, with one large step already at the door to his dressing room, to get his suits.
"No!" Chloe countered, elongating the word while she wiped the tears off of her face. She looked at him, intent on staying. "We can't leave now. We have a job to do."
Lucifer stared at her as if she had two heads. "I'm not staying here watching you perish by the effects this case causes. The job is not important. You are! You said it yourself, you need to get out, so I'll get you out," he argued heatedly and stepped back to her. He would carry her out of this place if he had to.
"But,-" Chloe started objecting, but couldn't find a suitable argument to go on. At least her protest made him halt in front of her to attentively listen to her, while her mind worked on some. She sighed and recalled the words she'd spoken. "But," she started again, and suddenly the wheels in her head turned into the right direction, providing her with new conclusions. "They've recorded us," she repeated in a sudden, elated tone.
"See, your mind has already taken a knock. You've mentioned that before," Lucifer retorted and grasped around her.
Chloe pushed his hands off of her and shoved him onto the bed in the movement. She grumbled darkly, narrowing her eyes, and silently dared him to make a second move. Getting herself back under control, she countered, "That's not what I meant." She swung her leg onto the bed, turning herself and facing him properly, as she explained calmly, "They had a camera up there. That means we're not the only ones they'd been filming. Understood?" She observed him, waiting for his nod before she went on, "Maybe they'd recorded the victims as well. And have stored the videos somewhere. Maybe, even the murder of them was recorded, or the videos contain clues about who the murderer might be," she listed, her voice turning into enthusiasm at the end, but then it died down and she shrugged her shoulders. She looked back at him in a baffled way and admitted quietly, "I don't know, anything." She sighed, and after a moment she added, "We need to get those videos." When the realisation of that little sentence hit her, she huffed and covered her face with her hands again. "Damn! We need to get back to that house."
"I remember you said that we'll never set another foot in that house again," Lucifer interjected dryly, shifting in his seat, to have a more comfortable sitting position.
"I know!" she replied with frustration and let her head fall backwards onto the pillow. "Just the sheer thought of seeing these people again makes me want to throw up."
"But not into the bed, please," Lucifer commented, hoping to cheer her up with that, but only earned an angry glare from her instead. He sighed deeply. He didn't like it at all to see her so distressed. He really would have preferred to get the detective out of here, but also knew her stubbornness wouldn't allow him to take the lead. Suddenly, he remembered the words he'd told her while carrying her upwards to the bed. And concluded, that he'd been right; of course! They indeed had already put too much into this case to simply stop it here. Still, he needed to get her to release at least some of the stress. Already knowing that she would never agree to proper sex and that she wasn't really the party girl, either, he decided to simply leave her the choice. "Well, but before that, you need a break," he stated and instantly got her attention.
"Huh?" She raised her head a little, staring at him, puzzled.
"Come on!" he continued in a cheerful voice. "You'll get up, shower, get dressed, and then you take my car and drive to some mall or something like that. Go shopping, get some fresh air. Do whatever you would do to get a clear head," he suggested and flashed her an affirming smile.
"I'm not leaving you alone with these maniacs!" she objected quickly and determined, even if the thought of getting out was really tempting.
"You're not leaving me alone," he assured her, shrugging it off. "You'll come back. And in the meantime, I'll stay here. Don't worry, I'll be fine," he added with a grin.
Chloe thought about it: He did have a point in there. And it would really be refreshing. But still, she couldn't leave him alone here. That wasn't right... She moved her head from side to side, matching the thoughts in her head that argued for and against it. Eventually, her mind settled on the fact that she would indeed be a better cop with a clear head. There was just one thing... "There is just a twist," she tossed in and got back up, resting her back against the wall again, as she continued, "Your car is still at McClain's house."
"I'll get it while you get dressed," he replied, dismissing her demur, and hopped off the bed, making clear that the discussion was over by leaving the room.
Lucifer walked down the stairs and opened the door, stepping outside. His eyes did a double take as he spotted his car standing in the driveway. Both his eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline in puzzlement, and he slowly walked towards it. There was a note, sticking under the wiper. He took it, opened it, and read: 'Took the liberty to deliver your car. It was a pleasure meeting you. See you tonight. McClain.'
He chuckled in disbelieve, lightly shaking his head from side to side, before he put the note into his trouser pocket. He was about to go back inside when he turned his head back to his car, eyeing it warily. 'Better safe than sorry,' he thought, not trusting anything or anyone anymore, and lowered himself to look under the car. Maybe they had planted a bomb. Finding none, he went around his vehicle, checking the tires, exhaust pipe and the motor. Although he was far away from being a car expert, he wanted to at least make sure that it looked fine. After all, Chloe would be driving it. Having still found nothing unusual, he grabbed their jackets which were lying on the backrest together with Chloe's shoes beside them and was about to head back to their house, when familiar sounding steps approached him.
He sighed and put on a confident smile as Chloe was at his side. He turned towards her, and, without a word, retrieved the note and gave it to her.
Chloe read what was written on the little sheet of paper. She chuckled sardonically, crumpled it up, and let it fall to the ground, kicking it away with her foot. The anger inside of her rose again. She folded her arms, her hands clenched into fists, but when she felt his arm moving around her and his hand caressing her fingers, she relaxed a bit and took it into one of hers. "They are most probably watching us," she mentioned under her breath.
Lucifer pulled her into him, kissing her head. "I don't care," he told her in a low voice. "You'll take that ride now. I'll try to find out a little more through our sweet neighbours."
Chloe stared at him, perplexed and instantly worried. She turned around, her hands grabbing the button border of his shirt as she implored him with a concerned stare, "No solo runs, Lucifer. I mean it."
"Don't worry," he appeased her, again pulling her into him so that their hips met. He bent down, kissing her head once more and resting his mouth above her ear. "I'll just have a nice little chat with them."
She shook her head. No, she wouldn't let him take any risks. Not when she wasn't around. Not when she couldn't interfere and get him out. "I mean it, Lucifer." She saw him staring down at her, his eyes revealing an equal determination, and she pursed her lips, giving in, but not without a warning, "If I come back and you're dead, I swear, I'll go down to hell, drag you back up, and kick your ass back to hell myself."
Lucifer chuckled gleefully at her words. His lips turned into a cheeky grin, matching his bright eyes. "Is that a promise?" The glare she shot him only added up to the delighted feeling inside of him, and he lowered his hand, grabbing her butt cheek as his lips crashed down on hers, kissing her firmly. He let the clothes in his hand drop back onto the car seat and his second arm went around her, holding her close when he broke the kiss again. He rested his forehead against hers, ordering softly, "You'll drive out of this freak town, get a clear head. I'll wait for you. And when you come back, we'll stir up this little weird bunch. Alright?"
Chloe nodded against his forehead, concurring him with a whispered "alright". She leant up to him, pecking his lips again, before she turned around, getting into the car.
Lucifer retrieved the stuff from the car again and stepped back. "Drive safely," he called after her, watching her disappear, and went back inside the house.
Chloe was almost at the corner to the exit street, when suddenly Patricia popped up in front of her. She hit the breaks to not run her over. "What the hell!" she shouted at the woman, startled and angry about such reckless behaviour.
"Hello," Patricia greeted her in a jovial mood as if nothing had happened at all. "Good to see you. You said you wanted to chat with me, yesterday. How about now? I'm free." She stared at her expectantly, and lightly leant against the convertible's body.
"Well, I'm not!" Chloe countered snappishly. Seeing that the other woman was totally blocking her way, she told her in a calmer tone, "I'll come by your house later."
Patricia smiled cheekily at her, completely unperturbed by her mood. "Where are you driving? Maybe I can join you," she stated, ignoring Chloe's words.
Chloe looked at her warily. Her behaviour was really suspicious. And moreover, it stirred up an instant want for her gun. The gun that was currently hidden below her bedside table. Swallowing down her feelings, she put on a professional, friendly smile and denied politely, "No thanks. I prefer being alone. And, well, it's actually none of your business, but I'm running some errands."
"Oh, you don't need to leave our little paradise for that," Patricia exclaimed quickly, dismissing it with a wave of her hand. "Mason and Gilbert have an online grocery delivery service. I can help you set up an account, and then all you need to do is click on the stuff you like to buy, and within the next hour someone will bring it to you."
"Denise already told me about that," she retorted. This woman was really wearing her patience thin. "And, no thanks. I like to do that myself!" As her neighbour still hadn't stepped away from the vehicle, she stated with more insistence, "Could you now please step off my car!"
"You sure you don't want me to join you? I know some of the workers at the big mall, I could get you some pretty discounts," she suggested, making one last try.
This almost let Chloe burst with anger. Why was this woman so adamant that Chloe wouldn't leave Riveroak alone? "No, thank you!" she countered insistently, the forced smile on her face threatened to turn into a growl, when suddenly a voice interfered in their conversation, making both women instantly turn towards the person.
"Is there a problem, ma'am?" the security guard addressed Chloe.
"No, we're just having a little chat," Patricia answered him quickly. She fiddled with her fingers, revealing that the man's sudden appearance made her uncomfortable.
"Yes!" Chloe countered, ignoring her neighbour's appalled stare at her, and fixed her sight at the guard. "I want to leave, but she doesn't want to step off my car," she explained to him, her voice harsher than she'd preferred. After all, he was the one who'd helped her last night. She could trust him, right?
"She just wants to go shopping," Patricia explained as if Chloe's leaving would have needed that. "But she's new around here. I don't want her to get lost or something like that," Patricia told him, her nervousness clearly sounding through her voice.
With slow but determined steps, the security guard walked towards Patricia, making her step aback and, thereby, bringing her away from the car she was blocking. "Mrs Moran is an adult, and as far as I can judge, quite capable of taking care of herself," he countered calmly, but his composure seemed all the more threatening. "Now please step further away from the street."
Patricia took another step back, first looking at the guard, but then her eyes turned towards Chloe. She smiled at her weakly, but Chloe clearly saw the fear in the woman's eyes.
"I'd suggest you go back to your house, Mrs Clarkson. Everything is alright," he told her, staring her down.
Patricia nodded at him nervously. "Alright," she whispered and turned her attention back to Chloe. "See you later, then," she stated and flashed her another smile before she turned around and quickly left.
Chloe looked after her neighbour, the smile she'd sent her was fake as hell, too lousy to hide her real emotion – anxiety. And again, Chloe's suspicion grew. Her attention was abruptly turned back to the guard when he wished her a nice ride before he turned around and walked back to his little guard house. "Thank you," she called after him sincerely. The security guard turned his head back to her, gave her an acknowledging nod, and continued walking.
She sighed but quickly shook off the thoughts that wanted to instantly analyse the situation. First of all, she needed to get out of here. Starting the engine again, she hit the accelerator and drove off. The talk hadn't left her mind when she made her way through the streets, and neither had the confusing reaction of Patricia towards the guard. The road was packed with the afternoon traffic and Chloe feared that she would crash into someone if she couldn't get her mind back to the road again. A sign of a shopping mall appeared on the side and she decided to better get off the streets; she was too distracted. She pulled into the driveway, drove onto the big parking area, chose a space at the far back, and killed the engine again.
Chloe filled her lungs to their full capacity with air, before she clutched her hands onto her face, rubbing it as she let her head fall back against the headrest. Why didn't Patricia want her to leave Riveroak? If the security guard hadn't come to her aid, she'd still be there on the street, discussing with that woman, or having to call an ambulance because she'd most probably hit her in the face. She chuckled quietly, slightly shaking her head, and removed the hands, blinking several times until her eyes got used to the sun again. Recalling the situation, it still was weird that Patricia seemed to be afraid around the security, though. But on the other hand, if she had to guard a bunch of crazy, perverted people, she probably wouldn't try to be friends with them, either.
Taking another deep breath, she pulled out her mobile, texting Lucifer: 'I'm at the grocery. Do you need anything?" She put the phone on the passenger seat and rested her head back against the headrest, relishing the sun a little more. After not even a minute, she heard her phone vibrating. She grabbed it.
'Just you. Safe and sound, back in my arms ;)'
Chloe chuckled at his text, especially at the emoji. Trixie should never have shown him how to use them, she thought and texted back: 'is arrangeable :P'
'Head over to Sam now. Maybe I can get something out of her.'
The message came shortly after, and Chloe frowned at it with worry. 'Take care! ! !' she texted him and held the phone in her hand, staring at the screen. The reply didn't take long to show up.
'Always! Don't want you to kick me back to hell ;) :*'
Chloe stared at the little star behind the colon. She was confused and at first wanted to play it down as a possible mistake he'd made while writing it. She looked at the virtual keyboard and frowned again, albeit for a completely different reason this time. A sad face wouldn't have made much sense after a winky face. Was he...? Could it be possible...? Did he really send her a kiss?
She chuckled quietly. This man truly surprised her, even more, the deeper they went into this case. He was excellent at playing his role. And if she didn't know it any better, she really would assume that they were a married couple and that they were... in love. She chuckled some more to herself before she shook her head, getting rid of those thoughts. They were partners! Nothing more, nothing less. Partners who trusted each other with their lives. That was more she got out of any relationship she'd had in her whole life; even with Dan. And this was more important, more precious than anything else in this world.
Putting the phone into her jacket pocket, Chloe was about to exit the car, when suddenly the moment between McClain and Denise came back into her mind, and how defensive he'd reacted as she'd asked him if he had any children. This almost screamed 'important' in her head and she concluded, she needed to investigate further on that part. Maybe they were related? She sat back in her seat and retrieved her phone again, dialling a number. It rang a couple of times until finally, someone picked up.
"Anderson? Hey, it's me, Chloe... Yeah, we're fine, don't worry, the cover is still up," she assured him, listening to his voice some more before she answered to a question he was asking, "Yes, namely, I need to know if Curtis McClain, married to a woman named Dolores McClain, and Denise Foster, are of any kind related to each other. In particular, is she his daughter?" she listened further to his voice, nodding her head from time to time, and then ended, "Yeah, thanks, in an hour is fine... bye." She hung up, put the phone back and got out of the car, heading for the mall.
/-/
Lucifer rolled his shoulders to relax the muscles, his eyes fixed on the dark mahogany brown door. Taking a deep breath, he plastered a wide smile onto his face and rung the bell.
It didn't take long and the door was being opened by Sam. She instantly started to beam as she got sight of him. "Oh, hello," she singsonged, flashing him a smile, and opened the door wider in an inviting gesture.
"Hello," Lucifer greeted back, overly friendly. "I'm sorry to bother you-"
"You never bother!" Stanley suddenly appeared, quickly cutting him off, and stepped further in the door.
Lucifer tilted his head. He felt a strange feeling of nervousness making its way up his spine, and he widened his smile to a smug grin, to hide the untimely emotion behind. "I was wondering if you have some turkey," he asked, adding all the important details in a pleasant voice, "I'm feeling quite a bit hungry and wanted to make a sandwich. Unfortunately, we don't have any at home, and my wife is still shopping."
Sam grabbed his arm and literally pulled him inside. "Come on in," she purred into his ear and dragged him along. "I'm sure we have something to still your hunger with."
Stanley leered after his wife and their current favourite guest. With a wide, cheeky grin he turned back to the door, closing it shut.
/-/
"I'm home," Chloe called loudly as she stepped into the entrance, pulling the keys out of the lock and closing the door. She made her way to the kitchen counter and put the big paper bag onto it. Then, she stretched her neck, attentively listening for any noises, but there were none. Frowning lightly, she stepped back to the entrance, loudly calling again, "Lucifer?"
Again, nothing. And this time, the concern in her took over. She walked through the rooms, starting with the study, and then made her way up to the first floor. Going right through the bedroom, she stepped into his dressing room, calling his name once more. "Lucifer?" She didn't wait for a reply, but walked right up to the bathroom door, pushing down the handle. The door didn't move. "Lucifer?" she called again, this time more adamantly. She knocked against the wood, asking further, "Are you in there?" Hearing nothing, she leant her ear against the door. The sound of running water being turned off resonated through, and she relaxed slightly. She was about to knock a second time when the door was suddenly being opened and Lucifer stepped in sight, dripping wet, his hand clasping a towel he had hastily wrapped around his lower parts, holding fast.
"Do you need anything, darling?" he asked in a cheerful voice, his everything-is-fine smile stretching his lips to both sides. He continued tucking in his towel while he stared at her expectantly, awaiting a reply.
For a moment, Chloe was puzzled, and she frowned in worry. That wasn't Lucifer-her-caring-husband, this was Lucifer-the-cocky-player in front of her. "Are you alright?" she wondered and for a split second, she saw a twist in his eyes, as if his guard was tumbling. But then his mask was instantly mastered back onto his face.
"I'm perfect, darling," he purred and flashed her another cheeky smile.
The frown on her face deepened. Something must have happened! But having him in this state right now wouldn't let her get any information out of him. She nodded lightly as if she wanted to assure herself rather than acknowledge him. With a soft voice, she let him know, "I'm downstairs, then."
Lucifer continued smiling at her and tilted his head a little. "Of course. I'll meet you there," he stated, and without waiting for a response, closed the door and locked it again. His smile instantly dropped, making room for the hate-filled glare to settle back on his features, while he stepped to the basin and observed his reflection through the now shattered mirror. His eyes flashed up their fiery red as he rested his hands on both sides, and he growled darkly at the monster that stared back at him.
He wanted to throw something at it again, wanted to smash his hand into the mirror once more, destroy the reflection, but he couldn't. Not with the detective downstairs now, not when Chloe could hear the sounds and get worried. So, he took a deep breath instead, closing his eyes and breathing out the anger. He repeated the procedure until he felt composed enough. He opened his eyes again, seeing their dark brown colour looking at him, and he averted his gaze. His glance went briefly to the shower cubicle. The need inside of him to get back under the water crawled up again. But Chloe had already seen him in his towel; she would get suspicious if he'd take another shower. Furthermore, he assumed that the taint he felt on himself wouldn't get washed away, no matter how long he stood underneath. He took another breath and decided to turn to the cupboard and grab the blow dryer instead, fixing his hair. Finally ready, he stepped into the dressing room, grabbing the first suit on the line, not minding the type as long as it was clean, and put it on. Then he left the room and made his way down to the kitchen.
Chloe stood in front of the open fridge, packing several things out of the bag into it. She stopped when she heard him enter, and turned towards him, a warm smile on her face. "You won't believe what Anderson told me on the phone half an hour ago," she started and glanced at him, briefly but all the more attentively. He still looked like something was troubling him, something that must be so huge that he felt the need to hide it behind his smug grin, but by now she could see beyond that mask. His eyes betrayed him.
"Do tell," he replied in a friendly manner and stretched his grin into a cheerful smile. He looked at her but averted his gaze again as soon as their eyes met, flashing her another smile to let it look like he had everything under control.
"Yesterday, at the party, I observed this weird moment between Denise Foster and McClain. And I asked Anderson if he could find any relation between those two. I suspected she was his daughter," she added and looked up to Lucifer. He seemed absent, not really listening to what she said, but when she stopped, his head suddenly shot into her direction, and he prompted her, "Yes, yes, go on." She swallowed down her suspicion about him and turned her current attention back to what Anderson had found out. "Well, there is no connection between them, but before Dolores and McClain had married, Dolores gave birth to a baby girl, with the name Jasmine Baker; that was Dolores's maiden name. Apparently, Jasmine still had lived in their household and Anderson could find a birth certificate of her, stating that the registered father was McClain himself." She halted again, observing him, waiting if he might ask how Anderson got the birth certificate so quickly, but nothing came. He still looked into space, only from time to time turning his attention back to her. And when he did, he flashed her a smile that made him seem to be there with her, without him actually being so. "Anyhow, Jasmine Baker later married a man named Arthur Campbell." She wanted to go on, but suddenly his head wheeled around, and she had his full attention.
"That's the second victims' name," Lucifer exclaimed, surprised and interested.
"Yes!" Chloe nodded, smiling relieved at his reaction. "They were the ones who got killed a year ago."
"Does this mean, McClain killed his own daughter?" he asked.
Chloe shook her head in disbelief and folded her arms. "I don't know. I mean, yes, he seems very likely to be the killer, the others are practically under his spell. But during this moment he was so gentle with Denise, and when I asked him if he had any children, he seemed genuinely upset."
"Maybe an accident, then? Sex went wrong?" he suggested and shrugged his shoulders.
Chloe copied his gesture. "Or maybe murder in affect? I mean, didn't Patricia say herself that he could get really grumpy if he didn't get what he wanted? Maybe his daughter acted out and he wasn't pleased with it."
Lucifer narrowed his eyes at that thought, instantly being reminded to his own father's betrayal. "Seems like humans really do step into my dad's footsteps, then."
She nodded to his comment without really registering what he'd said as her mind was fully occupied. 'But still, this didn't explain the other four murders in an equal manner,' she spun her thought further, that then took the connection to: 'A possible sacrifice, maybe?' Shaking her head off of that thought, she leant against the kitchen counter, looking up and observing him carefully. A moment of silence passed between them before she plucked up her courage to talk about the other topic she wanted to ask him about, "Could you find out anything useful from Sam?"
He nodded, putting his hands into his pockets as he explained, "McClain has a little office directly next to the big room we'd been brought into, down in the basement. All the videos are stored there, on a laptop."
"Good," she commented softly, nodding her head once before she looked back at him. "Were you discrete?"
"Very discrete," he answered, but this time his attempted smile directly died down on his face.
The suspicion that something had happened and the worry for him grew bigger. She exhaled, calling him soothingly, "Lucifer?"
The changed tone in her voice let his hair stand on end. He knew she was about to probe him further and his nerves started to get raw. "Yes, Chloe?" he replied testily, clenching his teeth to prevent himself from losing his composure even more.
Chloe took a deep breath. She sensed his beginning annoyance. She would have preferred to leave it for now until he got himself back under control, but she couldn't do that. She needed to know. "Did something happen at Sam's house?"
"I got the information we need to get this case going. What else do you want?" he suddenly snapped at her angrily.
'Having my partner actually talk to me,' was the first thing that shot into her mind, but she would rather bite off her tongue than voicing that thought. He was already on edge, and making cutting remarks was the last thing that would help him right now. But she also knew that if she couldn't get him to talk now, he would close up on this topic completely. So, she voiced her next thought, "Did you have sex with Sam?" She had tried to sound nonchalant, but when she spoke out loud what was on her mind, it made her voice quaver a little and a lump formed in her throat.
Lucifer glared at her with almost black eyes. The anger about the question, about what she implied with it, and the anger about himself almost overpowered him. "I did what I had to do!" he growled dangerously low, and without another word, he turned around and left the kitchen.
Chloe stared after him, still startled about his sudden behaviour. Only the loud bang that resounded from a door being slammed shut, brought her out of her stiffness. She took several steps forwards but then hesitated to go any further. She struggled with herself about whether to let him alone or confront him more; not quite knowing what the best option for him would be at this time. She didn't want to press him into talking, but she also didn't want to give him the feeling that she wouldn't be there for him when he needed her. And that, he clearly did right now. Deciding that the golden mean would be best, she followed him into the study.
Lucifer sat on the ground, facing the plain grey wall, lost in his own thoughts when he suddenly felt a blanket being put around his shoulders from above. "I'm not cold," he stated slightly miffed, but the feeling was rather because of his own lost temper than the presence of her or the blanket around him. He grabbed it nonetheless and pulled it a bit closer.
Chloe walked around the furniture, sitting down next to him. "It's not to keep you warm, it's for comfort," she explained in a calm, soothing voice, looking at him tenderly.
A low chuckle escaped his throat when he got aware of the situation he found himself in at the moment. He, the epitome of fear and terror, got comforted by someone. He turned his head, facing her briefly before he commented in a hushed, sardonic tone, "Isn't that the greatest irony? The devil is hiding behind a couch." He spat the last words, his eyes fixed on the wall in front of him again, and the anger about himself, about what he did, grew higher.
She breathed a soft "no", lightly shaking her head to underline her opinion. With a voice that was barely above a whisper, she asked, "Do you want to tell me what happened?" She studied his features attentively and saw the conflict in his eyes. "Or do you want me to get Dr Ninja Kitty?" she added and lightly nudged his arm with her shoulder, hoping this would lighten him up a little.
Lucifer let out another chuckle, but this time also the corners of his lips turned upwards. He sighed, and a short moment of silence fell between them before he interrupted it again, "I think you already know what happened," he answered and his eyes searched for something invisible on the ground while he bit back the upcoming feeling of guilt that tasted very much like bile.
Of course, she did. And in honesty to herself, the fact that he did have sex with this woman was something she'd preferred to quickly lock away in the back of her head. But she saw that it affected him. Something that shouldn't be. Lucifer never said 'No' to this type of intercourse, and she knew how light his mood always was after he got what he wanted. However, the fact that it troubled him that much, stirred something inside of her that was beyond worry or concern for her partner. She needed a moment to muster up all the courage she had, but then she voiced the suspicion that his acting out had raised in her, "Did she force you?"
He didn't know whether to laugh out loud or to be offended. He turned towards her, the disbelief about her ridiculous assumption written all over his face. "Chloe, I'm the devil," he simply stated, hoping that this was answer enough. But no, she still stared at him as if she was truly convinced that somebody could have the power to force him to anything, well besides his father, that is. "No, they did not force me to anything," he elucidated and turned his head back to the wall.
"Oh," Chloe mumbled and swallowed, she didn't expect that little detail. "They as in-" she started but was quickly cut off by him.
"Yes, Stanley was also a part of the game. He was even more eager to have a go on me than his wife, to be more precise. There were moments I couldn't even decipher which hand belonged to whom," he went on but trailed off, sparing her any more details.
"Then why are you angry?" she asked, not understanding.
He huffed, slowly repeating her words, "Why am I angry?" After another moment of silence that was broken by his loud sigh, he began, "You remember this little book up there?" He nodded his head upwards and his eyes briefly turned to the ceiling to make clear what he meant, before he fixed his gaze back on the grey wall and continued, "It's quite insightful of how to behave as a husband and how to treat your wife; of what is important in a marriage, and what not." He let out a low breath. "They even have a whole chapter about pregnancy and children," he mentioned with a hint of disgust in his voice. "But in none of these chapters, nowhere in this book, do they explain how to behave after you cheated on your wife."
That his reply took her by surprise would have been an understatement. She was baffled that he even used the words cheat and wife in one context and visibly had a problem with it. After all, he was Lucifer. She looked at him, attentively observing his features from the side, especially the sadness in his eyes and his lips he'd pursed in anger. "Lucifer, we're not married. We are partners, and this is just a case," she told him calmly, not quite knowing what else she could say to appease him.
"Then tell me, why does it feel like I've betrayed you?" he demanded low-voiced and turned his head to her, directly locking his eyes with hers.
"I don't know," she whispered softly and closed in on him, snuggling her chin into his arm, and her hand wandered up to the one that was lying casually on his knee. When they touched, their fingers turned towards each other and automatically intertwined. "But I know that you're one of, if not the most honest and faithful person I've ever met. Maybe that's why it's troubling you so much."
"Pah!" Lucifer huffed, shaking his head. "Stop saying that," he rebuked her. "You're giving me a bad rep."
He gazed at her shortly, and Chloe saw in his eyes that he didn't mean it at all. He looked rather glad and relieved. As if he'd been waiting for her forgiveness the whole time, and the fact that she didn't hold it against him, had assured him that. She smiled at him warmly, hiding her worry once again. Her Lucifer from a week ago would never have had trouble with such kind of things, like cheating, or guilt, or the need for forgiveness. "Lucifer, you've changed since the beginning of this case," she told him and bit back the tears that wanted to well up in her eyes. "And I'm not quite sure if it's for the better."
Lucifer chuckled again. His gaze fell towards their entwined hands and he ran his thumb shortly over her knuckles. "Life is change!" he countered amused, but the smile on his lips quickly faded. She was right. If he'd met Sam and Stanley at LUX, he would have had his fun with them. He would have had sex with the one while making the other watch, and then would have them both around him, fucking each other senseless until the dawn of the next day. He would have savoured their lechery to the fullest, would have enjoyed their insatiability for his body and sent an arrogant smirk towards his father, about the weak flesh of His favourite kind. But since he was here, since he was so close to Chloe, everything was different. He didn't know why, but he also wasn't really concerned about it. He reached to his eyes with his free hand, rubbing them, before his fingers went further up, running through his hair. "Damn," he sighed. "I could need a drink right now. All these days without cigarettes, booze and carefree sex really start to wear me out."
"Well," Chloe started and lightly squeezed his hand, instantly getting his attention. "I might be able to help you with one of those things," she stated and stood up, pulling at his arm to move him to follow her.
They went back into the kitchen. Chloe headed directly to the paper bag, rummaging inside and pulling out a bottle of a Scottish Single Malt.
His eyes became wide in delight as he spotted the auburn liquid. "You are gold, my dear," he praised her and took the bottle into his hands, admiring the precious liquid.
"I thought you could use a drink from time to time," she commented and smiled at him, relieved that his mood had finally changed, and also a bit proud that she had a hand in it.
He put the bottle on the counter and turned towards her. "I am..." he started but didn't know how to properly voice his feelings to this unexpected gift. He smiled cheekily at her and took a deep breath, before he stated, acting on instinct, "I have to give you a kiss now." Not waiting for her verbal reply he stepped closer and bent down, briefly waiting if she would turn away. When she did nothing but grin at him, he locked his lips onto hers, kissing her tenderly. His hands moved around her back and head and pulled her closer, holding tight while he caressed her lips with his own. Becoming lost in the pleasant feelings this close contact unleashed within him, he grasped around her, picking her up and placing her onto the counter to continue the kiss from a different angle.
The air in her lungs ran low and Chloe's hands moved to his chest, gently pushing against him. His upper body moved backwards, but he bent his head forward, keen on keeping their lips locked. She leant back and when their lips finally parted, she grinned and took a deep breath to fill her lungs. His grip on her tightened and he was about to pull her back into him, as she reminded him, "You said 'a kiss' as in 'one kiss'."
"Yes, and I wasn't finished with that kiss," he complained. Hearing her chuckle, his eyes turned dark again and he suggested cockily, "Well, I could also use my mouth on your other lips to thank you properly."
The smile on her face froze and her cheeks turned into a deep shade of red. "I'm fine, thanks," she replied hastily and pushed herself past him as she hopped off the counter, bringing some much-needed physical space between them.
"Well, then," he brushed it off with a big smug grin, grabbing the bottle and a glass from the counter. "Tell me when you need me," he informed her and made his way over to the piano. "Whatever for!" he added before he was out of earshot, his voice dripping with cockiness.
Chloe narrowed her eyes on him, but the wide grin on her face gave away that she wasn't really mad about his teasing.
/-/
"Are you ready?" Lucifer asked Chloe in a hushed voice when she stepped to his side and tucked her arm into his.
She sighed, but nodded her 'yes'. And how she was ready to enter this hellhole again! This time, she even came prepared: Not only did she wear her necklace with the sender again, she also chose high heels she could actually run in, and the little purse she'd clasped in her left hand carried a small, but all the more sharp dagger. Just in case, she'd told herself when she'd put it inside.
They walked towards the entrance of the hill house. Lucifer wore a black suit with a dark red shirt and fitting pocket square, and Chloe was in a dress of the same red colour that had a long v-neck; its length ended slightly above her knees on the front, while the cut on the back was longer.
Lucifer rang the bell and the door was instantly opened.
"Welcome back, Mr and Mrs Moran," Maylin greeted them friendly. "Please enjoy the party," she added and stepped to the side, opening the door a bit wider and inviting them in.
She still looked shyly to the floor, her cheeks slightly flustered, when Lucifer flashed her one of his bright smiles, but this time her whole posture seemed less submissive, Chloe registered.
"Well, then," Lucifer commented in a friendly manner and was about to step over the door sill as Chloe's reluctance to walk along kept him back. He turned towards her, sending her an assuring smile and hoping her hesitation would quickly go away.
Chloe swallowed and pushed the bad memories to the back of her head. They had a job, a mission to do right now. There was no place for fear. She took a deep breath, mustering up all her courage when suddenly the maid's hushed voice piped up.
"Don't worry, Mrs Moran. The master isn't here tonight," Maylin assured her, carrying a warm smile on her lips.
Chloe stared at her, perplexed that McClain wasn't at his own party; after all, he was the owner of the house. But maybe something came in between? She gave the young woman an acknowledging nod together with an equally warm smile, and let herself get led inside by her partner.
The maid turned her attention back to Lucifer, asking him for his keys once again. This time, he denied with another bright smile, telling her that he wouldn't be drinking tonight. With an understanding nod, the maid turned her attention back to the door, closing it, before she disappeared behind a side door.
Lucifer and Chloe made their way into the big hall and were almost halfway through, when suddenly a very naked resident walked, with a swing in his hips, from one room across the floor into another. Both instantly stopped and looked at each other in bafflement. "Well," Lucifer remarked amused, not hiding the smirk on his lips. Chloe's grip around his arm tightened a little, but she didn't say a word as they continued walking further through the hall.
They passed the entrance to another room, where several couches stood by the walls as well as right in the middle. Sitting or lying on them were more members of Riveroak, some dressed, some in their birth suits, but what they all had in common was that they were either making out or already had sex; and, as it seemed, not necessarily with their spouses, or with just one partner, either.
Lucifer grinned smugly, one eyebrow raised in joyful surprise as he cast a glance into the crowd. He noticed with satisfaction that Chloe's grip around his arm tightened further, and he looked at her, seeing her staring flabbergasted into the room. When she got aware of his attention to her, she quickly narrowed down her eyes. He suppressed a chuckle and continued leading them through the hall. "I'm surprised that you don't seem perturbed by their looks and acts," he commented teasingly, keeping his head straight, a wide smirk stretching his lips.
Chloe swallowed and brought them both to a halt. She stared at him, determined, and countered, "I had oral sex in front of all these people. Seeing them in front of me like this isn't really that high on my weirdness list right now."
He pursed his lips to keep his smirk from stretching even further, not wanting to make her angry at him in any way. Nodding his head, they continued walking to the end and then turned into one of the smaller halls that led to the back of the house and towards the entrance to the basement. Suddenly, a very familiar voice caught their attention. They stopped and looked into the room it was coming from.
"Hello, Lucifer," Sam greeted him loudly, gleefully waving her arm at him while she was bobbing up and down, riding one of her neighbours.
Lucifer flinched slightly, visibly uncomfortable to see that woman again. He took a step closer to Chloe who looked up at him, trying to hide the pleased smile on her lips. "Come on, we have a mission," he mumbled under his breath and quickly dragged her away. At least, this woman seemed to have him finally out of her system, he thought to himself, relieved.
The entrance to the basement was already in sight and they carefully headed towards it, not wanting to draw any attention so shortly before their goal.
Suddenly, McClain appeared from out of a room, dressed only in a bathrobe. He smiled at them cheerfully. "Oh hello, my newest neighbours. I'm glad you decided to join the party. Enjoy yourself!"
Chloe was startled by him. Didn't the maid say he wasn't here? Quickly, she got herself back under control, and questioned sarcastically, "What, you don't drag us into a room and force us to have sex again?"
Lucifer grabbed her hand that had clasped his arm, holding it tight, while he moved his arm around her, pulling her closer to him. He took half a step forward, and with that, brought himself lightly between the man and Chloe.
"Would you like that?" McClain countered with a smile, unperturbed by her aversion towards him.
"No!" Chloe cried appalled, disgusted by his question.
The opposite standing man only kept smiling at her. He started to walk further ahead, his attention still directed at his two guests who followed him. "Then why should I do that?" he asked and stopped in front of another room. "This is a party. Do what you want. Have a drink, watch us having sex, have sex yourselves, and if you don't like an audience, there are plenty of rooms in the house. I'm sure you'll find one unoccupied." With that, he stepped further into another room, then turned around fully to face them again. Chloe and Lucifer had remained in the entrance as he added with a delighted grin, "No one will be forced tonight."
Chloe tilted her head a little, looking past the man. The picture that presented itself in front of her horrified her. There was a woman in the middle, kneeling down and bending forward, her arms tightly bound on her back. She was wearing a collar, with a leash attached that the man who stood behind her had in his hands, keeping it tight, while he penetrated her. Another man stood in front of her, doing the same with her mouth. "I bet she isn't forced either!" she retorted sardonically after she found her voice back.
McClain took a glance behind him to see what she meant, then he turned his attention back to her. "Of course not! She likes it," he mentioned nonchalantly.
She lightly shook her head in disbelief, the cop in her taking over. "I'd like to hear that from herself," she ordered and nodded towards the back of the room, clasping the purse in her hand a little firmer.
McClain rolled his eyes, visibly annoyed by her demand. Still, he turned around and addressed the man to the front, "James, could you shortly let Medina speak?" The man in question looked up, disappointed about the disruption of his pleasure, but he stepped back and pulled his penis from out of her mouth. "Medina, are you enjoying yourself?" McClain asked her, as she was free to talk now.
Medina nodded eagerly, a beam in her eyes and a big smile on her face. "Totally!" she answered, while her body kept bouncing back and forth.
McClain nodded pleased and turned around to Chloe and Lucifer. "Any more questions?" he asked, the smile on his face not ceasing in the slightest.
"So this whole 'forcing us to have sex in front of you' was a one-timer?" Chloe asked further, barely holding the outrage that arose in her at bay.
"Darling," the man started with a honeyed voice. "I doubt that by the loud noises we all heard from you yesterday, that you didn't enjoy yourself." He winked at her, seeing her cheeks flush right away, and continued, "Of course there are times when we have to do something we don't really want to do. It happened to all of us. But it's fine now. We get over it, and you will, too, eventually."
Her eyes narrowed to two small slits. "Really? Like what had happened to your daughter?" She knew it was thin ice she'd just stepped onto, but she couldn't hold back. Not after what he'd just said to her.
McClain's features instantly darkened in anger, and he built himself up in front of them. "Chloe, I think you and Lucifer should go to a different room, now," he warned them with a threatening glare. Without a further word, he grabbed the door and threw it into their faces. Lucifer had to pull Chloe backwards a little, to prevent the wood from hitting her nose.
"Grump!" Lucifer commented the man's mild outburst. He shoved Chloe several steps away from the room, before he lowered himself to her ear, whispering, "What now?"
Chloe looked up at him, still a little puzzled. She hadn't seen just anger in McClain's eyes, she'd also noticed hurt flashing up. That only confirmed her assumption, that he didn't want his daughter's death. And maybe, he wasn't the murderer of her. Turning her attention back to her partner, she pushed her thoughts aside and grinned at him. "Well, we do what he told us to, of course," she answered and her grin widened. "We look for an unoccupied room in here. In the basement."
"Oh, I like your style of thinking," Lucifer praised her, flashing her a wicked smile.
Without being seen by anyone else, they managed to get to the stairway. They walked down, making as little noises as possible, and soon found themselves inside the little hallway with the three doors to each end.
"Sam had said that the office is opposite to the large room," he mentioned quietly and watched Chloe stepping towards the door, pulling down its handle. It was locked.
"Damn it!" Chloe cursed under her breath. Albeit this was something she'd already assumed.
Lucifer stepped beside her, gently pushing her away from the door with the words, "Let me try." Without any problems, he pulled the handle down and opened the door, gesturing her to go first with a wide cheeky grin.
Chloe stared at him, baffled at how fast he managed to get it open. "What the-," she started but quickly cut herself off. "Wait," she stopped him from saying anything, raising her hand to underline it. "I'd rather not know." She walked past him and spotted the large desk at the end of the room with a laptop on top. Quickly she headed towards it and then went around, taking a seat in the big leather chair, while she opened the laptop. She unclipped her purse, got out the little USB stick containing the password cracking software, and plucked it into the computer after it was booted. It didn't take long until she got access, and soon she was searching through the folders, looking for the videos.
Lucifer had closed the door again and remained in the front area, looking around. There were large cupboards made out of thick oak wood standing to both sides, and he looked through them: One was harbouring glasses and bottles of sherry. Another one was packed with old records and an old record player. He turned his attention to the other side, and suddenly found a cupboard that aroused his interest: It was locked. He grinned at the dark wooden furniture and quickly got rid of that little inconvenience. Behind it, he found several arrays filled with mini-discs, all labelled with a date, and above were the big letters 'MUSIC' engraved into the wood. He frowned lightly. It didn't make sense to store music by date; especially not when the latest disc had the date of yesterday written on it, he thought to himself.
Getting a distinct feeling that this could be important, Lucifer pulled the last disc out of its holder. Then he looked for a disc near the day the detectives had been killed since this was the only day they knew for sure. There were two, one from the exact day and one from the day before. He pulled them out as well. Then he stared at the whole thing, frowning again. 'If someone opens this cupboard, they would see right away that something was missing,' Lucifer thought to himself. He decided to exchange the two discs from the earlier dates with two empty discs that were lying on the bottom of the cupboard and put the lids back into their places. Then he added the two discs to the one with the date of yesterday and stowed it away in his inner jacket pocket, closing the little button to prevent them from possibly falling out. He nodded, pleased with himself, as nothing indicated anymore that some were missing. He was about to lock the cupboard again when the room was suddenly filled with loud moans and panting. His head wheeled around to Chloe who was deep red and hastily closed the file she had opened.
"Sorry... Found the videos," she commented sheepishly and started to copy several folders onto the stick, her head ducked behind the laptop.
Lucifer's eyebrows shot up, and he grinned, amused at her reaction. He was about to let a naughty comment slip, as something came to his ear. He turned his head towards the door, stepping closer and listening more attentively. "Someone's coming," he warned her in a hushed voice.
"I'm already copying," she informed him in an equally low tone. "I just need some more files."
"They are approaching. Quick!" he urged and stepped to the desk, taking off his jacket and putting it on his side. Then he walked around it.
"I'm on it!" Chloe countered a little stressed, her full attention on the files in front of her, silently hoping that they would be copied fast enough before someone came inside and saw what was going on.
"We have no more time!" he told her and suddenly she was pulled up by him, his hand covering her mouth to stifle her surprised shriek. Within the blink of an eye, he'd dragged her around the desk, pushed her on top of it, and moved one of her legs around his hip, her dress was pushed up in the process. His other hand ran up to the back of her neck, keeping her in place as his mouth crashed down into its crook, claiming back his spot and sucking at it.
A soft moan filled the room, and it took Chloe a moment before she realised with dismay that it had come out of her mouth. Her head was spinning from the promptness with which everything had happened: Now one of her dress straps hung loosely around her arm and he gripped her bare breast with the hand that had just been around her knee, kneading it, while his thumb gently teased her nipple. The sensations that ran wildly around inside of her, stirred by his doing, were overwhelming, and she found herself panting heavily. It was as if her body had remembered his touch and reacted to him without her consciousness. Especially her hands seemed to suddenly develop a life of their own: one was buried in his hair, pushing his head down, and the other was on his lower back, her fingers digging into the smooth flesh. 'When had he opened his shirt?' she asked herself but had no time to find out as suddenly the door was being ripped open.
They both froze.
"What are you doing in here?" They heard Amelia's voice behind them, accompanied by a closing sound of the door.
They relaxed visibly, and both heads turned towards the woman, apologising in unison, "Sorry."
"You're not supposed to be in here!" Amelia rebuked them, her head fixed to the door to give them more privacy.
With one swift move, Lucifer let go of Chloe's breast and his fingers grabbed the fabric of her dress, pulling her strap back up and covering her skin again. He straightened himself, turning towards their neighbour, while he made sure to remain directly between her and Chloe. "This was the only room that wasn't already occupied," he bluffed out while he closed the buttons of his shirt again, tucking it back into his trousers when he was done.
Chloe was impressed at how skilled his fingers not only had undressed but also redressed her again. Her cheeks blushed when she caught herself wondering how quickly he would be able to disrobe her completely, and she was glad that currently, no one was looking at her. Taking a quick glance down at herself, she hastily pushed her dress back over her thighs, smoothing the fabric, and rechecked her straps, before she hopped off the desk.
"Anyhow. Get dressed, you need to leave," Amelia urged them, cautiously opening the door again to look if anyone was in the hallway.
"Why?" Chloe asked, puzzled. She kept an eye on Amelia when Lucifer turned back to the desk, grabbing his jacket and, with that, pulling out the stick from the laptop and silently closing its lid. He put his jacket back on and let the little tool disappear into his pocket. Chloe's purse caught his eye, still lying on the other side of the desk, and he grabbed around Chloe. His hand rested on her belly, holding her in place as a cover, while he leant over and grabbed it, not recognising that his brief touch caused her to stiffen up by the heatwave that ran through her.
Unaware of what they were doing, Amelia opened the door wider, gesturing them to follow her as she explained, "Because you mentioned his daughter! I heard him on the phone. That's why! How did you find out about her? Who told you?" she asked further but didn't really listen to an answer when she led them back up the stairway. Before she opened the door to the ground floor again, she turned her attention back to Chloe and Lucifer, cautioning them with a hushed voice, "You're not safe here any longer. Please, leave."
They managed to reach the entrance hall and were almost halfway through to the front door, when suddenly McClain called after them, "Amelia, there you are. We were looking for you."
Amelia froze but quickly got out of it. She turned around; a well-trained nonchalant smile on her face. "I was with my friends," she informed him and stepped directly in between him and her neighbours.
"Really?" he questioned, suspiciously staring back and forth between her and the two. "You don't look as if you were with them," he commented and pointed towards the slightly messy hair and looks of Chloe and Lucifer, but the neat appearance of herself.
Amelia let out a warm chuckle and explained to him, "That's because I've wanted to watch." Without another word, she turned around, ignoring the owner of the house, and placed a hand on each of their backs, leading them directly to the front door.
Lucifer opened the large door, making sure that Chloe stepped out first, then he did before they both turned back to Amelia.
"Get in your car and drive out of here," Amelia whispered warningly into Chloe's ear as she hugged her goodnight. She turned to Lucifer, hugging him as well and implored once again, "Leave now. You're not safe any longer." She stepped back a little, smiling warmly at the both of them, and loudly said her goodbye, "Till later." With that, she closed the door in front of their faces.
Lucifer and Chloe went to the car as quickly as possible, driving off.
Chloe barely had had time to think about Amelia's worrisome words when their house already appeared in front of them and Lucifer turned into their driveway. 'He must have gone full speed,' she thought to herself. She was so occupied that she hadn't even realised it.
They exited the car and went inside the house. Chloe turned around and locked the front door.
"What are you doing?" Lucifer asked her, baffled, already at the bottom of the stairs. He just wanted to get some of their private stuff before they would leave again.
"Make a guess," she countered, hinting at the obvious, remaining in the entrance area and looking at him.
He shook his head sternly. "You've heard Amelia. We have to go now." What had happened was already enough, and now the direct warning from their neighbour only added up to it. Lucifer knew to never push his luck, and he was adamant to get Chloe to safety as soon as possible.
"Lucifer, we don't even know what's on the videos," Chloe objected, folding her arms to make clear that she would stay. "Or if Amelia is even right about us being in danger," she added, not wanting to risk the job now, not when they were so shortly before the finish line. Seeing him staring perplexed at her, she admitted, "Yes, her words worry me, as did the words of Maylin."
"What do you mean?" he wondered and stepped back down to her. At least, this way they didn't need to talk that loudly about such important stuff.
"Maylin said that 'the masterwasn't there'. But then McClain appeared in front of us, remember?" she answered and stared at him, waiting for his nod before she went on, "And Amelia said that McClain was on the phone. What if this 'master' is the killer? What if McClain and his little group are just their followers, like in some sort of Jonestown. Without the massacre. Yet," she added, trying to hide the concern that this little thought stirred up inside of her.
"What if McClain has ordered the killer? Or he has a split personality? With the bad guy doing the bad stuff? Or likes to play tricks with the people? Or the people like to play tricks with us? After all, Detective Fernández had noted: 'trust no one'," Lucifer countered sternly. At this point in the case, there were too many options. But no matter which one of these it truly would be, he was less and less willing to put her life at stake for it.
Chloe rolled her eyes at him, countering, "I'm pretty sure we can trust Amelia."
"You were also pretty sure about trusting Patricia on our arrival," he retorted and tilted his head. A light smile stretched his lips as he saw realisation hitting her, and that little emotion that flashed up in her eyes, revealing that she agreed with him.
Chloe sighed, nodding her assent. Still, she didn't want to risk anything without a proper reconsideration. "Look, all I'm saying is, we can't leave now before we don't have sturdy proof of who the killer is."
Lucifer blew out his breath but saw reason. After all, he still was the devil. He would protect her, even if the whole community was against them. Waiting until Chloe had her case waterproof, and then getting her out of this place, wouldn't be that much of a problem.
Chloe smiled at him, relieved that they were on the same page now. She ran up into her dressing room and a moment later came back down with several nylon lines and small bells. Lucifer raised his eyebrows at her in puzzlement, silently wondering how much damage this whole stress had already caused to her brain as he watched her going straight to the door, wrapping the nylon across it and attaching a bell onto each line. "What are you doing?" he asked puzzled, while she continued with the windows.
"An old trick my father had taught me when we were camping in the woods. This way we can secure our home. In case someone comes inside, the bells will ring, and we will wake up." She would have preferred the latest security system, but since this community was stated as 'highly secure', the houses weren't even equipped with an old alarm system.
"You sure about that?" he wondered and worriedly pointed to the small size of the bells.
Chloe nodded, firmly convinced of it. "Believe me, they have such a piercing sound, you won't be able to overhear them," she explained and shook one.
Lucifer felt as if the clang went directly into his brain and he quickly covered his ears, groaning loudly, "Stop it. I believe you."
She instantly stopped and chuckled lightly. Then, she grabbed two handfuls of bells and gave them to her partner, together with some of the nylon lines, ordering him to secure the back door and windows, and he went off. When she was done, she pulled the card with the security phone numbers from the fridge, and headed upstairs, making sure to place it close to her phone to call them if required.
/-/
Chloe was already in bed, laptop on her lap, watching the videos. She opened a new one and once again, the loud sound of moans and flesh slapping against one another resounded through the room. She rolled her eyes in annoyance and quickly closed the file again, ignoring the light flush on her cheeks this kind of footage had caused.
"You don't need to watch porn," Lucifer's cheerful voice came out of his dressing room. "I'm more than eager to help you release some stress," he teased further and stepped into the bedroom.
She glared at him, narrowing her eyes to make clear that this wasn't funny at all. His only reply was a cheeky grin and a chuckle, and she decided to better change the subject. "Everything secured?" she made sure, following him with her eyes as he made his way over to his side of the bed.
He nodded and watched her turning her attention back to the laptop in her lap. Once again, the laptop's speaker rang out with cries of pleasure, and his lips stretched even further as he saw her cheeks turning bright red.
Chloe narrowed her eyes, now angry, and quickly closed the file again. "I swear, these things are worse than porn." Seeing his smug grin directed at her, she quickly added, "Not that I know much about porn."
"How many videos have you already watched?" Lucifer asked nonchalantly.
"Watched?" she repeated, irritated, mildly shaking her head to clarify that this wasn't the word she would describe her work with. "I've seen random seconds from about 20 files by now. I would have to fully watch them, though, to make sure I hadn't missed anything." She sighed, the frustration about this type of 'entertainment' at this time of the hour started to wear her out. Twenty videos by now and all she'd seen were random acts of intercourses between random people from Riveroak state on the big king size bed. "I just wanted to give it a first check," she commented calmly and turned her eyes back to the screen.
"And how many more do you have?" he inquired, not hiding the personal interest in that.
"About three hundred," she guessed, half her mind absent, and sighed. She opened the next video, and again the loud sounds of people having sex appeared. She quickly stopped it again, suppressing the frustrated growl that wanted to leave her throat. 'That's it! I'm done for today,' she told herself and put the laptop on her bedside table, rubbing her hands over her eyes to get a clear sight.
Lucifer lay down on his side of the bed, not caring to cover himself with the blanket as he turned to her, observing the emotion in her eyes. "Are you frustrated?" he quipped teasingly, emphasising the last word.
Chloe shot him a glance. Her eyes had already turned back to the things in front of her when her brain had registered the look on his face. The smug grin that was plastered on it. The. Smug. Grin. "What?" she snapped back at him, narrowing her eyes. She got no verbal reply, only his eyes that bored into her and the wide grin on his face that she so much wanted to slap off of him right now. She growled under her breath again, clenching her teeth to prevent herself from speaking out any comment, and grabbed her book from the bedside table, hoping this would distract her from this evening, the situation right now, the pictures she'd just seen and the resultant feelings which rumbled around inside of her but she refused to acknowledge.
"My offer still holds," he informed her in a soft and tempting voice. His eyes were locked on her whole figure, attentively observing every tiny change in her expression or posture.
She took a deep breath, silently counting to ten to stifle the anger in her. 'Count on Lucifer to make overtures at the most unsuitable moment of all times!' she silently thought. Lightly shaking her head, she responded with a forced calm tone, "I'm reading, Lucifer."
Lucifer rolled onto his stomach, his eyes remained on her, as he decreased the space between them. "There was no need to make such a big secret out of their little salacious sex club. They are practically doing the same thing I do every day," he mentioned provokingly. "Now I'd really like to live here," he remarked and stared at the person he'd want to share that idea with.
With her eyes fixed on the little black letters on the yellowed pages, she reminded him factually, "There is still a killer among them. And I haven't even seen all of the footage yet. Maybe they have some perverted games even the devil is too uptight to join in," she countered, not able to hold that little one back.
Having her voice covering the mild sounds his shifting had caused, Lucifer had managed to crawl closer to her without her noticing, or him actually listening to her words. He grinned wickedly at his little game, and stretched his hand towards her, accidentally brushing her upper arm with his fingers. In an instant, goosebumps arose on the spot he'd touched. His eyes darkened in pleasure when he also recognised that his little contact had caused a distinct peak rising up from under her shirt on the same side. "My, my, Chloe. Are we aroused?" he teased, and moved his head closer to her arm, gently blowing his breath on her skin. He bit his lip to not laugh out loud in victory as her whole arm was now covered in goosebumps.
"No!" Chloe countered sternly, scratching her arm to get rid of the sensation his whiff had caused. Knowing he wouldn't stop unless he had no partner to play with, she tried to ignore him and concentrated back on the book.
Lucifer looked up at her, wetting his lips. "You sure?" He waited for her eyes to twitch, making clear that she was trying to not give him any attention, but secretly hang more on his words than on her little novel. He supported himself on his underarms, raising his upper body and thereby bringing his head to one level with hers, as he commented nonchalantly, "Because I could swear you'd rubbed your hips against me down there in the office... And you arched your back up to press your breast some more into my palm... And when I removed my hand from it, you sounded a little... disappointed."
"You imagine things!" she answered brusquely. "I was just keeping up our cover," she bluffed out. The sentence had sounded more reasonable in her head than voiced out loud, she realised, but couldn't find something more suitable to add right away.
He pulled himself even closer to her ear, and his breath tickled her little hairs as he whispered to her, "I could give you some more of that pleasure. I know it's been a while for you since a man made you scream." He was delighted at the instant reaction he got from her.
"Stop it!" Chloe hissed angrily, but her body betrayed her. It shivered lightly at the beginning arousal his close contact caused, and her breath quickened when she got involuntarily reminded at how his touches had felt on her, and what he had done to her with his awfully skilful tongue. She glanced towards him, saw his tongue provocatively licking his lips, and more heat rose up inside of her. She quickly focused back on the book, ignoring the deep blush on her cheeks.
Lucifer smirked at her, pleased with himself that he had her so close; not only physically, but close to admitting how she really felt. "Anything you want, my sweetest Chloe," he purred and ran with the tip of his forefinger along her lower arm, up to her wrist.
Chloe pulled her arm away, frantically avoiding to stare at him just one more time. She turned towards her bedside table, putting the book onto it and commented with a mildly trembling voice, "We should go to bed now."
The smirk stretched his lips even further. He moved one arm around her, shortly underneath her breasts but made sure that he was in no direct contact with her body when he reminded her with a breathed voice, "We are already in bed, darling." His eyes darkened even more, awakening the desire in him with every further reaction he got from her.
"To sleep! I meant to sleep," she corrected insistently, but couldn't hide the nervousness in her voice.
He narrowed his eyes at her, and with one move, pulled his arm back and rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling as he countered, sounding miffed, "I really don't get you, sometimes."
The relieved sigh she wanted to let out as his body was finally a distance away, was stuck in her throat at his words. "What do you mean?" she asked, surprised at the abrupt change in his mood.
All of a sudden he was on top of her, his legs pinned down the blanket that covered her lower body, his arms were stretched to both sides, a little further away so their heads were on the same level again. Chloe was startled at his move and sucked in a breath, holding it when his face came closer to her. She forced herself to breathe it out as silently as possible so he wouldn't recognise what his body – he – caused inside of her.
"I heard your moans, your pants. I saw how much you enjoyed being close to me, how your body was and is reacting to me, my touch. I felt you moving against me, getting closer each time, not wanting to break contact. Not just now, not just today, but since we've arrived here." He paused, looking her directly into her eyes. He lowered himself closer to her ear and added in a seductive whisper, "Every single cell of your body is screaming my name." He moved his head back in front of hers, locking his eyes with hers again, as he continued, "Still, each single time you say: It's nothing. It's all just cover. It's all just fake." He almost spat the word, making very clear to her that he wasn't willing to buy that lie any longer.
Chloe narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. Angry at him, at what he'd said. And deep down inside of her, angry that he was right. "What do you want to hear, Lucifer?" she retorted upset.
He moved his upper body back a little, allowing more space in between them, when he answered cheerfully, "The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth!" He waited a little before he mimicked her words and purred teasingly, "Chloe."
Her eyes stared down on her arms that she had folded in front of her chest. She gritted her teeth and pursed her lips, angry, frustrated, and at a loss. Slightly she shook her head as if she wanted to say that he would never hear such things from her, but then all at once her guard tumbled down and she admitted, "Alright! Yes, I liked your hands on me. And what you did with your tongue... it felt... good!" Actually, it felt way more than that, she silently added, but she wasn't ready to admit that little secret aloud. "Happy now?" she asked and glared at him.
"Not quite," Lucifer retorted, grinning. He saw her expectantly staring at him, and he provocatively ran his tongue over his lips again, before he pressed them on each other, causing a light smacking sound when he parted them again.
Chloe shifted her eyes around the room, doing anything to avoid looking directly at him again. His gesture made very clear to her what he had in mind, but they couldn't. They shouldn't. She shook her head vehemently, swallowing down the lump in her throat, before she stated, "Lucifer, we are partners!... And this is a job." She still was angry, but not at him anymore, rather at the circumstances, at the big battle her mind fought with her body, that gave her more and more signals of what it truly wanted right now.
"And we will stay partners, no matter what," he assured her in a surprisingly comforting voice. "I'm just saying that this case already had cost us so much: nerves, and energy, and... sweat. Why not taking a little advantage out of it as well?" Seeing her rolling her eyes once again and glaring at him, annoyed, he added smugly, "We live in a big house. No one will hear us. No one will ever find out what we do inside of here. Ever!" She turned her head away from him, but he knew the wheels inside her were moving, fast. "What happens in Riveroak, stays in Riveroak," he commented with a grin and chuckled lightly as the inner fight with herself revealed its outcome more and more on her face. "Chloe," he sang her name, wanting attention but she kept avoiding him. He stared at her chest, saw the increased flat breathing, and grinned even more. His head moved closer to her again, and he whispered, "Look at me, Chloe." She slightly shook her head, and he repeated his request with a more insistent voice, "Look at me." He smiled assuringly at her when she complied this time. "Now," he started and his dark eyes stared at her. "Do you want me to get off, or go down on you?"
Chloe swallowed nervously at the absolutely unexpected question. In her head she was screaming at herself, ordering sternly: 'Get off! Get off! Tell him to get off!' She took a deep breath, trying to calm down her nerves so that her voice wouldn't tremble this time. Then she plucked up all her courage, and almost choked on herself when she suddenly heard herself whispering, "go down."
Those two words were music to his ears. He purred softly, smiling pleased, and bent slightly forward, covering the little place between her lower lip and her chin with a gentle kiss. "With the greatest pleasure," he whispered and drew a path with his lips, down her throat and along her cleavage. He planted soft kisses on the thin fabric of her top while he moved lower, his legs pushing down the blanket in the process. He'd reached the little area where the hem ended but her panties hadn't started yet, and he covered her bare skin with more kisses.
Low smacking noises resounded through the room as he gently sucked around her navel. He parted his lips and let his tongue play with the now moist skin in between, drawing little circles, and Chloe held her breath at the mind-boggling sensation this little caress had caused inside her. She felt as if dozens of fireballs made their way down to between her legs, wetting her even more, and she wasn't sure if she would spontaneously burst into flames or melt away. Her lungs started to burn, and she sucked in a deep, well-needed breath, panting heavily when she exhaled again. "Relax, and just enjoy yourself," she heard his soft voice telling her. 'As if I'd be able to do anything else at this moment,' she thought to herself. Her body started to shiver in anticipation of what was about to come. She was nervous and clutched her hands over her eyes as she felt her cheeks heat up again, not only in arousal but also in shame. Her head was still telling her that they shouldn't do this. That this was a bad idea. That going down this road was a one-way ticket. That she should stop this right now before it started... but she really didn't want to.
Lucifer completely removed the blanket from her legs and positioned himself between them. With both of his hands, he ran over the outer sides of her thighs and up to her hips, caressing the skin, while he continued with planting kisses on her lower belly and her panties. One of his hands moved towards the inner side of one of her thighs, and he felt her body tremble beneath his fingertips. He chuckled lightly, and ran with his forefinger over her panties, right to the middle of them, and as he felt them already dripping wet, his eyes turned completely black from arousal. Still, he held himself back, he wanted to relish this moment as long as possible, wanted to spoil each part of her body. The tip of his finger moved over to the panties' hemline, running along, up and down, before he let his finger slip below to finally feel the sensitive skin underneath. The further he went inside the moister it became, and he purred with delight while he moved his finger up and down again, feeling her folds slippery wet and probing into her entrance so easily.
Chloe moaned out loud when she felt his finger enter her fully; and as his tongue darted forward and ran little circles over the fabric of her panties, right above the spot where her little nerve bundle was, her body trembled again, shaken by the ecstasy this feeling caused within her. "Lucifer," she whimpered in between breaths, almost begging him to stop with this sweet torture.
'Don't say the devil isn't merciful,' he thought to himself, grinning smugly, and retrieved his finger again, licking the delicious fluids off of it to once again get a taste of her. For a second, he considered to pull down the little piece of clothing, but then his grin turned into an evil smirk when a different idea struck him. He looked up at her, asking nonchalantly, "Are these your favourite knickers?"
"What?" Chloe was baffled. She'd neither expected that question nor had the required energy to properly process it, and simply breathed a "No!" All at once, she heard the fabric of her panties being ripped open on both sides, and the light sound of it falling to the ground somewhere in the room. Not even having the time to think about what'd just happened, she suddenly felt his mouth on her lower lips, sucking them in and playing with them, and his tongue ran teasingly over the whole area. She gasped for air and cried out with delight. There wasn't enough strength inside of her to cover her mouth and stifle the sounds that came out of her, nor to actually think about caring about the noises she made. All she could do was realise how good it felt to have him back between her legs and to relish getting spoiled.
Lucifer moved his hands below her thighs and helped her resting them on his shoulders before he moved his hands up to her hips, steadying her on both sides as he lifted her pelvis off of the mattress to grant himself a better access.
He started to dip his tongue into her, sliding in and out again, and each time she felt his muscle enter her further. When he found her special spot, he stopped with his thrusting movements. She couldn't feel how he rubbed against it; she only felt the heat this little treatment caused inside of her, letting her burn from within. The sensation was simply staggering. No man had ever done this before. Chloe hadn't even known that this was possible, what he was doing just now. Her panting increased and soon she was gasping for air. She dug her fingers into the fabric of her bedsheets, holding tight, as the tingling inside of her rose, moving with strengthening rotations from out of her centre. Chloe let her head fall onto the pillow when it reached its peak and suddenly, she exploded from within. The tingling heat washed over her whole body, and she shook in pleasure.
The room was filled with her heavy gasps and Lucifer continued to rub against her inner muscles, slowly removing his tongue from her while she came down from her high. He sucked in her lips again, teasing the now very sensitive and swollen flesh, and he enjoyed the little whimpers escaping her mouth when he ran his tongue up to her nub. The tip brushed only lightly over the nerve bundle, but it was already too much for Chloe to handle. She pushed herself upwards, trying to get away from his mouth to give her body some relief, but Lucifer still had his hands firmly on her hips and directly pulled her back down. She sucked in a sharp breath when the movement caused a firm rub over her clit, sending an electric shock through her, and she pressed her head back in the pillow, her hands frantically clasping the sheets, as she slowly exhaled with panting.
Lucifer lowered her pelvis back onto the mattress but kept on holding her firmly gripped. His hands clasped around the upper parts of her thighs, close to her centre, keeping her legs parted as he lowered his head further down and started to rub across her nub again.
Chloe cried out in pain and pleasure, the mixing emotions within her caused her nerves to fire wildly through her body, and she shook again. With all the strength that was left inside of her, she moved her hands down to him, pushing against his head, signalling him to stop, but his only reply was a chuckle and a sweet kiss on her thigh when he rose his head. His dark eyes stared at her as he countered cheekily, "I'm not done with you yet." She used the moment to quickly cover her sensitive spot with both her hands, and he chuckled again and kissed her fingers, before he grabbed her wrists and easily pulled them off, holding tight as he lowered his lips back down on her.
She sucked in another breath when he teased the little swollen nub with the tip of his tongue again, drawing little circles over it. The pressure increased, and so did the whimpers she let out between gasps. Her panting got heavier as the pain turned back into pleasure, arising the tingling inside of her anew. She grasped his hands tighter, firmly digging her nails into his palms, and her upper body reared up when another wave rushed over her and sent her quickly, but all the more intense back over the edge. Her body trembled when she came down again, and she took several feeble breaths to refill her lungs with some necessary air.
After licking up everything she was willing to give, he pushed himself up on her, covering the path to her navel with tender kisses, while his arms rested to both sides of her body. One hand caressed the skin around her waist, while the other ran up and down her upper leg, stroking her flesh and soothing her exhausted body. He dipped his tongue into her navel, licking up the little sweat pearls that had run into it, and as her body shivered under his touch, he let out a low chuckle. His hand on her waist moved further up, his fingers reaching her ribcage, and he looked up at her, seeing her still panting heavily as he ordered softly, "Remove your top for me."
Chloe shook her head with exhaustion, telling him between gasps, "We shouldn't do this. We really shouldn't." But her hands had already gripped around the hem of her top and pulled it over her head.
Lucifer grinned at her contradicting words and behaviour. "Don't tell me what we shouldn't do, love. Tell me what you want," he whispered and followed her hands with his mouth, planting kisses onto the revealing skin. His lips headed for one of the hard nipples that stood out on her breasts like little peaks. He moved his tongue around the tip, before he closed his mouth around it, sucking on it. His hand gently kneaded the flesh of her other breast, before his thumb caressed her nipple, moving in small circles over it and sending shivers down her spine.
Loud moans left her mouth, and one of her hands went to his back, stroking over the skin while making sure to leave out his scars. The fingers of her other hand ran through his hair, lightly massaging his scalp and playing with his strands. She curved upwards with her body, and pushed her breasts further into his mouth and hand, while her hands kept him in place, making sure that he wouldn't stop with his attention on her anytime soon. Her leg was half around his hip, his warm hand holding tight in her knee pit, and she closed in on him, pressing her leg onto his hot body. She felt his hard tip on her entrance, lightly poking against her flesh and once again, she pressed her leg into him, trying to push him further up, but his body remained in its current position, stiff like a poker.
He chuckled again, releasing her breast from his mouth, and he moved his hand from her knee along her thigh, before he grasped her hand that was buried in his hair. He intertwined his fingers with hers, and placed soft kisses on her knuckles as he repeated again, "Tell me what you want, Chloe."
Chloe groaned in mild frustration. He knew damn well what she wanted right now. He just wanted to get some satisfaction from her saying it out loud, she thought miffed. Again, she tried to push him upwards with her leg, but his body remained stiff. She stared at him, her dark eyes filled with desire fixed at his, and she pursed her lips in light anger when she saw that smug grin back on his lips. Barely being able to hold herself back any longer, she squinted her eyes shut, tilted her head backwards and admitted with a groan, "You inside of me."
"But of course, my dear," he replied teasingly and lowered his head again. This time, his lips closed in on her other nipple, gently sucking on her flesh, before he let his tongue dart forward and dance around the hard peak. Her loud gasps aroused him further, and he continued with nibbling on her nipple and then soothing the flesh again with his tongue.
She was almost about to come just by what he did to her breast, and as his other hand released hers and went to her free breast, gently squeezing it before his thumb moved onto her hard peak, lightly rubbing it and sending flashes of ecstasy directly down to her core, she finally had enough. "Now!" she demanded insistently, secretly hoping he did what she'd told him before the rest of her pride would vanish and she would start to beg. Considering the current state of arousal she found herself in, that wouldn't take long.
'Oh!' Lucifer thought and smiled pleased. He was pleasantly surprised that she finally listened to the craving inside her. Without thinking twice, he supported himself on both arms, pushed himself upwards, and entered her in one swift move.
Suddenly his heart skipped a beat as he felt the soft, wet and very warm flesh of her inner muscles clasping around his shaft. It stirred up a sensation inside of him he didn't even have the words to describe it with. It felt like nothing he'd ever felt before, but at the same time like everything he'd ever experienced all at once. He even forgot to breathe, it had overwhelmed him so much. Only when Chloe instinctively wrapped her legs around him and, with that, gave him a light push further into her, shot his mind back into the here and now.
He inhaled sharply, nearly choking on the air, and forced himself to breathe out slowly to get himself back under control. "Better?" he asked softly, his mind working on full autopilot, trying to cover up his startle. He heard her moan the answer, and the delighted smile that settled down on her lips assured him that she liked it just as much. His eyes were still widely open in astonishment at the unacquainted sensation, and he stared down at her, relishing the sight of her naked body underneath him, and the lust it stirred up in him.
All of a sudden, her eyes sprang open and he was barely able to narrow his own back to their nonchalant state before she had turned her attention to him. Her sea blue sapphires looked warmly at him, and she moved her arms onto his cheeks, pulling down his head and locking their lips.
Lucifer relaxed into her touch. He grasped around her, hugging her tight and felt her arms move back around his neck as he deepened the kiss. Their tongues danced with each other after he entered her mouth, and another moan escaped her throat. Or was it his? He started to move, gently, up and down in even thrusts, and Chloe smiled against him. She broke the kiss briefly to tell him to push deeper into her, and a satisfied moan left her mouth when he instantly complied and filled her out completely. They intensified their kiss again, tongue brushing against tongue, rubbing over the flesh and sending further tingling sensations through their bodies.
He felt another heat wave rising up inside of him, but this time it wasn't a pleasurable one. It was the same he'd had yesterday, and the day before, and he knew what was about to come. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to stifle down the fire within, to lock it back deep inside of him, but it didn't work. His eyes flashed up fiery red underneath his lids; this time burning so brightly that he feared Chloe could see it through. Sweat ran down his forehead, and he quickly broke the kiss with her, moving his head into the crook of her neck while holding her tight, doing everything to keep her from seeing his eyes. He panted heavily and took several gasps to fill his lungs with some much-needed air. His body started to tremble, and he felt his other form seething below the surface, wanting to break out. What if she'd see him like this? He didn't know the answer, and he was afraid, truly afraid that this moment between them which had started out as the purest dream would quickly turn into an earth-shattering nightmare, for the both of them. In a touch of panic, he pressed his hand over her eyes, urgently pleading her, "Close your eyes, Chloe."
"Why?" she whispered perplexed, her mind still caught within her arousal, not understanding his sudden change in behaviour, nor registering the sudden desperation in his voice.
"Just keep them closed, please," he replied, almost begging. Absent-mindedly he started to cease his movements, as he pleaded further, "Would you do this for me?"
Chloe nodded assuringly. "Just don't stop. Don't stop," she whispered and grabbed his neck tighter while pushing her leg back against him.
Lucifer let out a relieved chuckle. He smiled at her, increasing his pace again, and he assured, "Never!" Knowing that she would also feel his skin change, he pushed himself back up into a sitting position. With his one hand still above her eyes, he moved his other hand down around her hips, slightly pushing her pelvis up and holding her in place. "You keep your eyes closed, and I do what you want," he voiced their little bargain.
She nodded again, and instantly demanded, "Harder!" She couldn't see the wolfish grin on his face or the fiery red eyes that stared down at her in delight. But she felt him thrust deeper and firmer into her and another wave rushed through her body, filling her with pleasure and making her squirm. She moved her hands to his body, feeling the need to have more contact with him, but his hands quickly grabbed hers, moving them above her head. One of his hands kept them pinned there, while his other moved back around her hips, holding her tight, while he increased the pace once again. "I wanna touch you," she complained with a whimper, panting, before another low moan left her throat.
"I know," Lucifer replied softly, bending down closer to her, whispering tenderly, "Later, my love." The words left his mouth before he'd even registered their meaning, and Chloe seemed to be caught up too deep in her own arousal to realise what he'd just said. He sat back up, stretching his body upright, when his other skin broke free, slowly starting with his head before his whole body was covered in his deep, dark red scars. His eyes never left hers, making sure to recognise even the smallest flutter of her lids to cover them in time with his hand. But she never did. She only opened her mouth when her panting increased so much that she couldn't get enough oxygen through her nose any longer, and she took long, deep breaths, while her hands tightened their grip around his fingers.
He would have loved to kiss her right now; would have loved to cover her body with his own, holding her in a close embrace, while they would ride out their orgasms in a joint game of pleasure and lust. But he couldn't. He knew his other skin felt different, he didn't even want to speak because the change also caused his voice to deepen an octave. He only hoped that he would have enough strength to change back before this was over. Her breaths quickened further and her body started to tremble slightly, indicating that she was close. He was shortly before his climax himself. He quickened his pace once again, and as it built up inside of him, his body tilted backwards and he stared at the ceiling with wide open eyes as he went over the edge, not ceasing his rhythm in the slightest, knowing she was right behind.
Chloe sucked in a breath and then held it as the hot wave erupted inside of her, rolling through her body like lava after she came. She let out her breath again and her body slackened. She pressed her head back into the pillow, doing nothing but gasping for air while he kept on moving inside of her, prolonging her orgasm.
Lucifer looked down on himself and recognised with relief that his skin started to change back. He let go of her hips, letting them sink back into the mattress. Once again he bent down to her, covering her eyes with his hand and her lips with his own, sighing with relief into her when his fiery eyes turned back to their dark brown colour. He let go of her hands and ran his own down her upper body before he placed them on each side and pushed himself downwards, gently thrusting out of her in the movement. He crawled back up to her, wanting to wrap himself around her when suddenly her wide, satisfied smile turned south and she quickly covered her face as a loud sob escaped her throat.
"Chloe? What's wrong? Did I hurt you?" he asked, full of worry and at a loss of her abrupt change in behaviour. Automatically, his hands moved over her belly and legs, spending comfort and trying to soothe whatever was troubling her right now.
Having come down from her orgasm had also turned the wheels in her head back to work, and she realised what she'd avoided thinking about until now: This work was temporary. And soon they would be back at their workplace, back into the precinct. No more living together. No more closeness. No more pretending.
"Why did you have to be so damn perfect?" she mumbled frustratedly into her hands, angry at herself, angry for having let the wall tumble down that she'd built up so carefully throughout her life. If it had just been the sex, she maybe could have handled it. Maybe she could have ignored the feelings of jealousy and desire up to the point she no longer noticed them when she'd see him with other women, giving them what she secretly longed for. But it was everything together, his whole self: the way he treated her, so gentle and caring; the way he spoke about her, as if she was everything he ever wanted; the way his arms felt around her, his whole body, the feelings only he managed to stir up inside of her; and yes, also this awesome, mind-blowing sex between them, where he spoiled her up to the point that she felt thoroughly satisfied. How could she even think in the slightest that someday she would stop wanting all that from him or even more? She didn't know it, and this welled up big, hot tears in her eyes and let them run down her cheeks.
Lucifer stared at her in sheer puzzlement. Her body was still slightly trembling, coming down from her orgasm, and she should have been ecstatic, actually. But still, she was lying right in front of him, clutching her face and... crying. "What do you mean?" he asked, assuming that by the way she said it, it hadn't been a praise. He feared that she might have seen him in his other skin, but he quickly shook it off. That wasn't the case; he'd made sure of it. So why wasn't she delighted?
Chloe shook her head slightly. She felt ridiculous and ashamed, lying right in front of him, sobbing, right after they had sex. But this wholesome satisfaction that had made her body relax to the fullest also bared her internal feelings; she couldn't get them back under control so easily. She also couldn't get those thoughts out of her head again. "This job is almost done!" she mumbled further, shaking her head once more. "And then I have to pretend this never happened." She spoke the last words louder than she had intended to when she had unintentionally shifted her hands away from her mouth.
"Chloe," Lucifer sighed her name and carefully covered her body with his own, supporting his weight with his legs and arms he'd positioned on both her sides. He bent down, kissing her dearly onto her lips. One of his hand went up to her head, gently stroking her long curls, which even with the dampness in them felt as smooth as silk. His other hand caressed her arm and cleavage, covering as much skin as possible with his fingers. Feeling her slowly calming down, he bent down a little, commenting, "Normally, I make women cry with pleasure and not cry with sorrow." He smiled relieved when he heard her chuckle.
"Sorry," she apologised quietly, wiping away the tears from her eyes before she looked up. She smiled at him, trying to assure him that she was fine, but they both knew that the opposite was the case. "Just give me a minute," she requested, rubbing her eyes once more and taking several deep breaths to calm down her troubled heart. Without a word, she felt him standing up from her and her whole body shivered in cold. She quickly looked at him, startled for a moment, fearing he'd leave, but when she saw that he was only bending down to grab the blanket before he moved back to her, she smiled, relieved.
Lucifer took back his place on top of her, wrapping them both tightly into the blanket. His hand went back around her head, halfway buried in her hair, and his thumb gently stroke her forehead. He moved his other hand down on her, grabbing her leg and positioning it back over his hip. He liked the feeling of her leg around him. It gave him some sense of closeness and safety, not that he'd ever admit that out loud. As he felt her wrapping both her legs around him by herself and holding tight, he moved his hand back up to her arm, letting his fingers slowly run up and down. Moving his head closer to her, he asked softly, "Feeling warm?" He saw her nodding her answer, and the smile she sent him looked more at ease this time. Now he felt confident enough to voice the question that was running through his head since she'd mumbled those words. "Why do you want to pretend this here never happened?"
Chloe breathed out a long sigh. She looked to the side, her eyes fixed on the wall while she searched in her mind for words to explain it with. Her hands slowly moved upwards, running over his arms and shoulders, feeling his warm skin, relishing that the sheer contact with him instantly calmed her down. She didn't really want to answer his question. She'd prefer to just lay here, intertwined with him, feeling the heat radiating from his body, wrapping her up in that sense of safety she'd loved so much. But their partnership was about honesty. She couldn't demand it from him when she wasn't willing to give it as well. "Because," she started and swallowed the lump she felt in her throat. She sighed again. Turning her head back, she plucked up her courage, and admitted truthfully, "Because pretending all this was just a dream is easier than seeing you every day, wanting you, and not being allowed to act on it."
He tilted his head a little, not quite knowing if he'd understood correctly what she was telling him. "If you want me, then why wouldn't you be allowed to act on it?" he wondered, puzzled. Now that she said she wanted to have sex with him, how could she think he denied? After all, he would be more than eager to fulfil her every desire as long as he could keep her in his arms. As long as he could satisfy the need, this yearning, he felt more and more, to have her as close to him as possible, to feel her, to breathe her. He'd only held himself back because he knew she wouldn't want it, too.
She shook her head, her eyes fixed on his. "You don't understand this. For you it's just sex," she replied but cut herself off when she saw his eyes suddenly turn black in anger.
That hurt! That really hurt! Lucifer narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. He turned his head, not wanting to look at her right now. Hadn't he proven himself to her more than once? Hadn't he shown her within those last days that he was more than just a player? The urge to leave this room crawled up on him, and he pushed himself into a sitting position.
"Lucifer, no! Don't leave," Chloe pleaded, feeling instantly sorry, and clutched her arms around his neck, trying to hold him back. He pushed himself out of her grasp with surprising gentleness and brought more distance between them. Chloe hastily rushed after him. "I'm sorry. OK. I'm sorry," she apologised and once again clasped her arms around his neck, holding onto him. "Don't go," she whispered into his shoulder, before she planted kisses on the skin, hoping to soothe his feelings. She'd wanted to slap herself when she saw how much pain her words had caused him. And she felt so stupid for speaking them out so recklessly. She knew they weren't true; she felt it; she hoped it. So why did she say them and, thereby, imply that he was that shallow? All this time, he'd been so gentle with her, so caring, and she could do nothing else than hurt him? Tears welled up in her eyes, and she quickly pressed her eyes shut, to keep them from leaving.
He sat there stiff like a poker, not knowing what to do. He still was angry at her words, hurt about how she could even think that this with her had been just sex. But then the memories popped up into his head and showed him the answer: Yes, except for this one slip, he'd never lied to her. But on the other hand, he hadn't really told her the whole truth, either. And normally, for him, it would have been 'just sex'. He inhaled and felt her body firmly pressed against his own, slightly trembling and some little, wet drops running down his spine. His hands moved up to hers, gently stroking her fingers to warm them up. And when he encompassed her fingers, that warm feeling spread out inside of him again. He took a deep breath, enjoying the soothing feeling the close contact with her stirred up, and he told her softly, "It wasn't just sex." Their eyes met when he turned his head, adding calmly, "With you, it's different." He sighed and turned his upper body further towards her, grabbing her and pulling her into his lap, holding close. Having her back in his arms let his anger and hurt vanish completely. "I've... changed," he admitted and tightened his grip on her.
"I know," Chloe affirmed and snuggled further into him. She moved her hands under his arms, ran them up his back again and grabbed his shoulders, holding on tight and telling herself that this time, she wouldn't let go that easily. "A part of me doesn't want to find this killer. That part wants to stay here, with you, forever," she disclosed and swallowed down the guilt she instantly felt at the confession. "But I know this won't happen. We have a job to do. And then, we will go back to our lives like they were before." She sighed heavily, biting back the tears that wanted to leave her eyes. "I don't want to lose you," she whispered and her tears broke free. The pain and fear she felt made it hard for her to breathe; as if an invisible hand choked her from inside. She tightened the grip around him and took several deep breaths to get her feelings back under control.
"Chloe, you're not losing me," Lucifer assured her calmly. He tilted his head, kissed her dearly on her temple before he looked over his shoulder, grabbing for the blanket and, once again, wrapped them both tightly into it. This time not because of the cold; he felt, he needed to shield them both from the world around them. "And we don't have to give up anything of this when we go back to our job," he added and looked at her with determination in his eyes.
She wished she could believe him. She so wished this to be true. But they simply were too different. "I highly doubt that you would give up your life, LUX, and move in with me, Lucifer," she countered sorrowful, shaking her head. "We're too different," she voiced her thought, and once again snuggled into him. Even if all this would be over soon, for the moment she could at least enjoy his warm body pressed against hers.
Lucifer narrowed his eyes and slightly shook his head. Her words didn't please him. "Why does anyone of us has to give up anything at all?" he asked frustrated. Yes, humans were blessed with the greatest gift in the universe, the one he'd been condemned down to hell for – free will. But why did they have to choose one option? Why couldn't it be a little bit of both? "Why does it have to be one way or the other?" he repeated out loud, adding a bit more insistent, "Why can't we simply enjoy to be together when we are? We don't need a false house, a pretended marriage, to be..." he shook his head, not quite believing the word he was about to say, but that summed up all the truth, "Real."
Chloe tilted her head back and looked at him with wide, astonished eyes. He was nothing like the self-absorbed, childish man she got to know. His words made him appear so mature; as if those past four days let him grow by years. "Wow, you really have changed," she stated deeply impressed.
Lucifer chuckled, his eyes sparkling with delight. Now her words did sound like a compliment. He looked at her, sighing, and pulled her up, his lips locking with hers. They deepened the kiss, caressing each others' tongues as long as they needed to. When they finally were satisfied, their feelings finally soothed down, they broke the kiss again. "So," Lucifer started and carefully placed his forehead against hers. "Do you need to discuss our future life now? Or is it fine for you to take one step after the other, simply enjoy the time we're here, and discuss what happens next after the case is closed?"
She chuckled lightly, and gently stroke his cheek. "One step after the other sounds fine," she answered and moved her chin up to plant another kiss on his lips.
"Good," he stated, grinning, and bent down to kiss her lips again. "Now that we've discussed this, we can go back to the more important question," he added and straightened his head back. He saw the question marks in her eyes, and asked in the most serious tone he could manage, "Ready for round two?"
The lips on her face instantly stretched into a wide smirk and Chloe had to avert her gaze from him for a moment to get that emotion back under control. She looked up at him, an equally serious look on her face, as she countered, "Depends." Lucifer's eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline as he stared at her puzzled about what it might be. Without any further warning, she suddenly pushed him down and pressed his upper body into the mattress, both her legs straddling him firmly, as she ended, "This time, I'm on top!"
"Lucifer likes!" he purred, grinning cheekily, and instantly relaxed under her touch.
A/N: End of chapter four. I hope you liked it, especially the end for which I needed the most of the time to write. Not because of the sex-scene, that was easy, but because of the balance between their physical contact and the solving between their feelings for each other. Well, it's getting interesting in their emotional rollercoaster. Anyway! :D How do you feel after reading this?
Have a nice day!
:o)
