Hello again!

This chapter is pretty long, I thought about cutting it in half but I didn't know where exactly whitout ending up with a major cliffhanger, and well, I guess I was feeling generous LOL Hope you enjoy it :D I'm a bit worried to post this one, really hope you'll like it...

Bonne lecture!

Chapter 3

Lucifer led Chloe back towards LUX 2 and they walked side by side in a comfortable silence in the hot evening air of Sin city. Chloe's mind was running a hundred miles an hour, trying to figure out what would happened next. What she wanted to happen next. She was as excited as she was stressed out. Stupidly feeling like a school girl going on her first ever date. Which was ridiculous. This was not a date. She had spent time alone with Lucifer multiple times before, back when they were in LA. This was no different.

But maybe this time she wanted it to be different?

She glanced discreetly at him, her heart pounding in her chest for no reason. Even in the artificial neon lights of the Strip he looked as handsome as usual. His perfect face, his perfect hair, his perfect everything. This was unfair, really. One time she had seen him right when he was waking up, and man even then he looked stupidly gorgeous, with his sleepy eyes, his dark hair all messy and that treacherous little curl on his forehead. She cursed herself for being so shy and so responsible. Tons of women before her had taken the leap, why couldn't she? Why did she have to be all inhibited like that? This really was not fair.

Let's just, not think about it at all. Yes. Good plan.

"This is the longest no one's ever talk like, ever!" She said a little too loud.

He looked at her with a tempted smile. "Well, you seemed lost in thoughts, I figured I would let you decide all on your own what we would be up to tonight."

"What?!" He couldn't read her mind, right? Oh God was she that obvious?

He chuckled at her offended expression. "I meant what we would get for desert of course."

"Right." She eyed him suspiciously and he chuckled again. "Where do you live, anyway?" She asked after a moment, as they walked by LUX but didn't stop.

"Right this way," he said, nodding to a tall building. "I bought a very nice suite in that hotel next door and had it redecorated. Although it is not as pleasant as the penthouse, sadly."

"Poor puppy," she teased him without even thinking. She herself had been raised in a pretty healthy environment, but Lucifer's taste for expensive stuff was way beyond that. She had once almost died of boredom listening to him ranting about low cost suits and how they were a walking disgrace on Earth.

It was his turn to look at her all offended and she grinned at him. "It will do the job for us tonight, mind you," he retorted cheekily, holding her the front door to get into the hotel lobby.

She scoffed and he winked as she walked past him. He brushed ever so slightly his hand against her arm and she shuddered, heart speeding up despite herself. She knew he had noticed from the sassy smile he gave her as he stepped inside, and she rolled her eyes with a loud sigh that had him chuckle again. She started walking straight for the elevators but he grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Wait, there's something I need to do first."

Curious, she followed him towards the hotel bar, trying not to dwell on the fact that her hand was still in his and that it fitted perfectly in it. Surprisingly he didn't head straight to the bar itself but stopped next to the grand piano where a young man in a dark suit was playing a soft melody. Dropping Chloe's hand, he reached for the inside pocket of his jacket and handed him out a hundred with a charming smile. "Time for a break, dear Anthony."

The man nodded and immediately stood up and left. Lucifer sat down in front of the piano with a delighted sigh and invited her to sit next to him. "Very charming man, this Anthony, and quite good at –"

"Lalala don't want to know." Chloe cut him, placing her hands over her ears like a child. She caught Lucifer's amused gaze as he nudged her playfully.

"I was going to say he was a good pianist," he quickly retorted when she dropped her hands, "But now that you mentioned it he was pretty good in bed, too."

"Come on!" Chloe laughed despite herself. His dark eyes were filled with laughter too, and she was struck again by the realization that she really had missed hanging out with him. They stared at each other for just a moment too long before his gaze dropped to the keys in front of him.

"Now, I've been wanting to play something for you but haven't had the chance to do it properly because of my stupid brother." He explained, his long fingers gently grazing the keys. "Do you recognize this, Detective?"

She smiled at the challenge she heard in his voice. "I caught some of it back at Lux but…" She listened intently for a few seconds before recognizing the chorus part. "Oh my… really? Reunited? I didn't take you for a Peaches and Herb fan."

"I thought it fitted quite well the situation here," he retorted, falsely upset, which made her chuckle. "What would you prefer, this?" His hands flew over the keys at a rapid pace and Chloe burst out laughing, recognizing the song instantly.

"A Thousand Miles? Oh my, so cheesy!"

His fingers slowed down again. His face lightened up with a devastating smile that had her heart miss a couple of beats. She recognized the song and felt goosebumps rise on her arms. All of Me. She loved that song. Feeling suddenly very self conscious she nudged him and whispered, looking around: "Stop it, everyone's staring." It was partially true – just a couple of people were eyeing them curiously – but Lucifer must have felt her uneasiness because he stopped immediately.

He looked down at her with a sweet smile. "Now, how about that desert we talked about? Unless you'd rather have a drink?"

"Say when."

"When!"

Chloe chuckled as he put down the bottle of wine on the table and gave her her glass, his fingers brushing hers in the process. She ignored the rush his touching stirred in her and brought the glass to her lips, taking a sip before putting it down next to the bottle and laying back on the couch with a satisfied sigh. She glanced at Lucifer sitting next to her and he stared back with a tempted smile that made her chuckle again. Resting her head on the back of the couch, she looked at the ceiling for a moment. She felt pleasantly dizzy and relaxed, and even though part of her was a bit worried at where things were probably heading at, she had still finally decided to enjoy all this as long as she could. After all, what was that saying again? What happens in Vegas…

"I missed this." she said simply, before she could stop herself.

"Chloe Decker, I never knew you cared," Lucifer retorted teasingly and she turned to see his devilish smile. He had come closer, his thigh almost touching hers but she didn't mind. It was actually a bit scary how much she didn't mind it at all. She looked back at him with a grin.

"Well, I do," she told him quietly.

He stared at her in silence for a while. She wondered what was going on inside this stupidly beautiful head of his, what he was thinking, what he would say or do next. She felt overwhelmed by all the possibilities, but most of all by his dark eyes fixed on her. Very anxious at what was seemingly inevitable now. Anxious and… impatient as well. Talk about taking a leap there…

After a moment of silence that Chloe thought lasted half of eternity, Lucifer finally said, his voice so soft and quiet she almost didn't catch his words: "I missed this… you… too."

If she had been waiting for something, maybe that was it. She glanced at him in surprise, her heart doing back flips in her chest. He looked so different than he usually did, almost shy, vulnerable and… nervous? She bit her lower lip to prevent a little laugh. Was she, Chloe Decker, making the supposedly Devil nervous? She sat up and turned herself to face him. She took a deep, decided breath. No more games now. She could have teased him, it would have been easy, but she didn't want to. Not now. She needed something else, and maybe tonight was the best night to let this happened. He looked so adorable and almost flustered she couldn't help it anyway.

She was leaning slowly into him and he quickly figured out where she was aiming at. His eyes lit up and she couldn't help another amused grin as they did. He was so close now she could feel his slow breath tickling her skin. His eyes were so dark she could have lost herself in them and she wouldn't have mind. She glanced down at his very attractive lips, her heart beating so hard and fast against her chest she could barely register anything else. They were so close, so excruciatingly close…

"Lucifer!"

Chloe jumped, startled, and turned to see a blond woman rushing inside the suite and closing the door behind her. She seemed scared, breathless and trembling as she stepped towards them. She was wearing a red glimmering dress and expensive jewels, and her long blond hair ended in pink curls over her shoulders. She looked on the verge of crying and Chloe, still in shock, stood up to let her stumble on the couch, but the young woman stayed still, clutching her pink bag against her chest.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt," she started shaking.

"Candy?" Lucifer stood up next to Chloe, clearly surprised, a hint of concern tainting his voice. "Are you okay?"

"No I'm… Oh my God I'm so sorry I… Somebody tried to shoot me!" she blurted out, dropping her bag and hiding her face in her hands, clearly terrified. "I'm so sorry I didn't know where to go I… you've helped me before I thought…"

"You did well," Lucifer told her, stepping towards her to hug her.

Chloe suddenly felt very empty inside but she tried to ignore it and got into cop mode instead. "Did you get a look at the shooter? Or call the police?"

Candy turned to her, then to Lucifer, as if she was checking with him if she could safely talk, which annoyed Chloe a great deal despite herself. Lucifer smiled to her, breaking their hug and leading her to the couch where he had her sit.

"You can trust Miss Decker here. She's a Detective in training." he told her with a wink that had Chloe cringe. She was feeling cold anger rising inside her chest but tried to hide it.

"It all happened so fast I… I came here immediately after, I didn't get a chance to call anyone. The cops here they… well they don't have a strong opinion of people like me. They wouldn't take me seriously, especially since there were no witnesses."

"Tell us what happened dear," Lucifer told her gently, putting a blanket over her shoulders.

As he did, Chloe suddenly realized what she was feeling was actually jealousy and not anger and she cursed herself. This was bad. She had to focus on something else right now. Luckily this was her new domain of expertise and she obliged, pushing aside any irrational emotion for now. Candy was telling them about the shooting and Chloe listened intently, glancing from time to time at Lucifer. She felt a tinge of sadness at how concerned and serious he looked and cursed herself again. She was being an idiot.

"I was in the backroom of Fletcher's, getting ready to go onstage, when this guy burst in and aimed at me. I couldn't get a good look, I just know he was tall and he wore a black hood. I hid behind some boxes and he shot twice before running away using the fire exit. He didn't say anything I… I got lucky I guess, I heard him coming and saw him in the mirror before he could see me I don't…" She hid her face in her shaking hands again, trying to cover her fearful tears, and Chloe felt her heart sink in her chest from the woman's distress.

She knelt beside her and whispered gently: "You're okay now, you're safe here, don't worry." She then turned to Lucifer and met his dark eyes. "Maybe she should stay here tonight. Just in case. Tomorrow morning we'll go to the station together and file a report." Candy lowered her hands and looked at her in disbelief. Chloe smiled and explained with a shrug: "If I come with you they might take you more seriously. Like Lucifer said, I'm almost a cop, well, I'll be one on Monday if everything goes well."

"Thank you," Candy muttered, her soft brown eyes glittering with tears. "I'm sorry I'm not… usually that flimsy but… I got so scared."

"That's understandable," Chloe smiled. "I'm Chloe by the way, I'm… one of Lucifer's friends."

"And I'm Candy," she said, shaking Chloe's hand shyly. "I've… heard your name before, Chloe Decker is it?" She glanced at Lucifer still standing behind Chloe then grinned. "Oh, oh okay. Nice to meet you, well, under other circumstances it would have been nice but, anyway."

Chloe narrowed her eyes, wondering what that was all about, but she didn't get the chance to ask.

"How about a nice shower now, darling?" Lucifer extended his hand to Candy and helped her to her feet. "To wash up all this unpleasantness away, I'll lend you some clothes. Right this way." Candy grabbed her bag off the floor, thanked Chloe once more before following Lucifer into the bathroom of the suite, leaving Chloe alone in the living room.

She let out a long sigh, a bit lost at what had just happened. Five minutes ago she was about to kiss Lucifer and now… She sat back on the couch, feeling all weird and empty inside. The moment had passed and now all she wanted to do was actually leave. This was somehow a bit unfair to Lucifer but she couldn't shake away the feeling she didn't belong here at all. She bit her lip, wondering how Candy and him knew each other. They had seemed close, of course they had, he probably had slept with her multiple times already. Not that it mattered. It didn't. Not at all. No.

Unable to stop herself, she suddenly stood up, grabbed her things from the side table and went for the door. She hadn't reached it when she heard Lucifer behind her.

"Are you… leaving?"

Chloe slowly turned to face him, her heart dropping in her chest as she saw his baffled expression. She took a deep breath then explained rather reluctantly, avoiding his eyes as she did: "Yes I… I think it's probably time I head home, well, back at the motel I mean. Don't worry I'll come back first thing tomorrow to…"

"Why, I mean, you don't have to," He seemed cautious, surprised, probably wondering what was going on, and she felt so bad her eyes started to sting. "You can stay… please, do."

She couldn't do this, she just couldn't. "No I'm good, I think it's better that way anyway I'll… I'll let you two catch up." She nodded to the bathroom door where Candy was, not knowing herself what she was implying by that.

"I don't… I don't understand, we were… we were having a moment, I…" he hesitated, taking a concerned step towards her, "What… changed… Chloe I'm sorry, if it's about Candy then I can assure you there is nothing between us." He looked so sincere she was pretty sure he was not lying, but it still didn't change anything.

"It's not, it's not about her no I just…" She closed her eyes to get away from his dark, disappointed gaze. "I'm just… I'm not sure this… us… is a good idea." She clenched her fists, a hard lump slowly forming in her throat, trying not to burst into tears. She opened her eyes again to see he was now standing right in front of her, staring at her in disbelief. "I just, I don't want it to… ruin our friendship."

He frowned, surprised. "And why would you think that?"

She tried to swallow the lump in her throat but failed. "Sex makes everything complicated, Lucifer." There, she had said it.

Lucifer narrowed his eyes at her with a little laugh. "Well, not the way I have it."

Chloe gritted her teeth, suddenly feeling very mad at him. "Yeah, well maybe meaningless sex is your thing, but it's definitely not mine." She snapped, looking daggers at the man.

He stared back, somehow disgruntled by her words. "Well I'm offended you'd think sex with you would mean nothing to me." he retorted forcefully. "Surely by now you know I do care about you."

Chloe opened her mouth, shocked at his sudden vehemence. He looked wounded and her sudden anger vanished instantly at this sight. "I know, of course you do, I didn't, I mean, I…" she stuttered for a second, avoiding his gaze again. "It's just… I don't… know where this is going and I just… I'm… well that's scary."

"Well, talk about yourself," Lucifer muttered irritably. "You're the only person on this Earth I seem to really care about, I mean… that's gotta mean something right?"

"What? What are you saying I don't…"

"What I'm saying is…" He hesitated for a second, and this time he was the one avoiding her gaze. "What I'm saying is, this… doesn't happen to me. It's… I've never… You're…"

He was stumbling on his words like she'd never seen him before and she felt her heart clench in her chest. He was obviously trying to open up to her and it seemed almost painful to him. It clearly broke her heart seeing him like this. "Lucifer…"

But he wasn't listening, his gaze fixed on the floor, his hands clenching at his sides. "I never seem to get anything right with you and that's… as terrifying as it is… thrilling, and I…" He took a deep breath then looked up to her, his dark eyes lost and beautiful. "I like that, I… you–"

"Lucifer." She laid her hand on his chest to stop him. Looking right into his eyes, she whispered quietly, hoping to calm him down, "Okay."

Then she kissed him.

It took a second but then he kissed her back, and a thousand butterflies flew away in her stomach. And it felt so different to what she had expected. His lips were soft and gentle and sweet against hers. She had thought kissing him would be like fireworks, fiery and burning and explosive with desire. Maybe it could be. But this kiss was not like that. It was caring, shy, new and familiar at the same time. She felt like she was melting into it, her head swarming with a thousand different emotions as their lips danced against each other.

But then it changed, when she unconsciously clenched her hand that was still on his chest, clutching the soft fabric of his shirt to keep him close. Suddenly his hands were all over her, pulling her into a tight embrace that left her light headed and out of breath. Their kiss deepened, sending delicious shivers up and down her spine, building up a burning desire she had never felt before. One of his hands moved up to cup the back of her head, while the other one gently traveled down to her lower back, and her heart happily jumped into her chest. Her own hand went and grabbed at his waist, yearning for more. His tongue eagerly met hers and she felt like her heart was about to explode. She barely registered the sound of an opening door, completely overwhelmed by all the deep sensations he was stirring inside her.

Then suddenly he pulled away, leaving her panting and confused. She opened her eyes to see he was watching something behind her and she frowned. She tried to turn but he wouldn't let her. His expression was dangerous and still, his eyes so dark she couldn't see his pupils anymore. And all of a sudden, she felt fear creeping down her neck, her body tensing against his as she realized danger was nearby.

Just as this realization struck her, Lucifer pushed her aside and she stumbles behind the couch, a terrible premonition crippling her mind. A quick glance in the direction of the front door as she hid and she saw a hooded figure with a gun. A split second, then a gunshot. She cowered on the floor, horrified as Lucifer stumbled, still standing in plain sight. Terror washed upon her, but a weird instinct had her suddenly scream: "LAPD, freeze!"

To her greatest shock the shooter quickly backed off and ran away in the corridor, leaving the door open. She didn't hesitate a second and jumped to Lucifer's side as he fell on his knees with a surprised gasp. She hold him up and he clutched her arm, his eyes wide open in what seemed to be utter astonishment. Chloe helped him rest his back against her, assessing his wound in the process.

The bullet had hit him in the left shoulder. The good news was, it had gotten out as well, which meant no fiddling in the wound to get it out or risks in moving him and make things worse. Chloe took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She had to keep it together, it was her job, she was trained for this.

"What the Hell is this?" Lucifer's voice came out strongly in the silent room.

"You've been shot," Chloe informed him quietly, trying to prevent him to move too much. "It's okay, the bullet got out, you're bleeding but you should be fine, trust me." She took her phone out and started dialing but Lucifer stopped her, his eyes dark and furious.

"I don't bleed." he snarled, trying to get up. "And you don't need to call anyone, I'm perfectly f –" His face suddenly contorted in pain and he fell back against her, suddenly very pale, his eyes filled with a mix of anger and fear.

"Lucifer stop!" Chloe exclaimed as she tried to contain him, "You've just been shot, of course you're bleeding what did you expect?"

"I don't do bleeding." he hissed, his hands grasping her arm again. "I expected what usually happens when I get shot which is nothing. I'm the Devil for Dad's sake what is this?"

Chloe rolled her eyes at him. "Well now you're just speaking nonsense." She dialed 911 and pressed the call button.

"911 – what is your emergency?"

"Bloody Hell, it really hurts!"

"Hi, I'm Chloe Decker, my friend just got shot." Chloe tried to ignore Lucifer's rambling as she spoke. She could feel his body shaking against her, and knew he was just in pain and in shock and trying to deal with all this his own weird way. She told the woman what happened, gave her their location, then put the phone on speaker to attend Lucifer's wound. She grabbed the blanket he had used to cover Candy. "I need to apply pressure on your wound to stop the bleeding."

"I am not bleeding!"

"Shush."

"Don't shush me!"

She could have laughed at his scandalized voice but she didn't. She helped him in a more comfortable position, placing herself against the side of the couch so that he could lean on her, half sitting. The wound was located just bellow his collarbone and she thought to herself he'd been lucky the bullet didn't bounce on it and break it. Curiously it was bleeding but not as much as she had expected. She remembered learning at the Police Academy that bullet wounds to the chest tended to bleed a lot. She moved his jacket to the side without getting it off, then started unbuttoning his shirt to reach for the wound.

Lucifer had finally fallen silent, she could feel his dark eyes fixed on her face but she ignored it, concentrating on her task. She folded the blanket then applied it to the wound, very careful not to touch it with her hands. She felt Lucifer winced as she did, but he kept quiet. She finally looked down at his face to see him staring intensely at her and she felt a little blush spreading on her cheeks. She took a sharp breath to try and remain calm, but she was starting to feel the aftermath of shock weighing her down. Her hands were shaky, her breath uneven, her eyes tingling with tears she could barely held back.

"You know, we could just pick things up where we left off," Lucifer whispered suddenly, a crooked smile lighting up his face as he stared temptingly at her lips.

Chloe glared at him in disbelief. "Dude, focus."

He let out a little chuckle that quickly changed into a grimace of pain. She stared at him worried but soon enough his seductive smile was back on. She rolled her eyes, annoyed at him, then realized his comment had given her just the kick she needed to pull herself together. She wondered if he had done this on purpose or not, her heart growing inside her chest at this thought.

Just then Candy stepped into the room, her eyes widening as she saw them. "Oh my God, Lucifer are you okay?"

"He's fine." Chloe said before the very irritated Lucifer could say anything. She herself knew better now than to use the G-word in front of him. "Medics are on their way. Looks like you're not the only one that's got a grief with a black hoodie."

"You think it's the same person?"

"There's no sure thing but… Once we get this one into the hospital, I think we all need to have a little chat to figure out who's after you guys."

"I'm not going to a hospital." Lucifer mumbled in his beard and Chloe decided to just ignore him.

"If they are indeed the same person, we have to figure out what they want." She said, thinking out loud. "Maybe they followed you, Candy, and tried to finish the job, but I don't think that's it because they shot at Lucifer specifically rather than just run away when they didn't see you. They could have mistaken me for you since we're both blond but…" She met Lucifer's gaze, biting her lower lip as she pondered. "No, you pushed me away and he still shot you… but then again it's amateur work really, he ran away as soon as I yelled 'LAPD, freeze!', he seems a bit sloppy."

"You really are a good Detective," Lucifer told her quietly, and she blushed at his impressed look. She shifted just a little, barely feeling her legs anymore as he was leaning on them. He seemed to notice and tried to move but she stopped him with a reassuring smile. "Now how can I convince you not take me to any hospital?"

She sighed. "That's not my decision anyway, okay? You can always use your 'mojo' on the medics when they get here, but that would be pretty stupid if you ask me."

"My 'mojo'?" He laughed, flinching as it probably hurt, but kept his amused smile on. "I'm surprised you would mention this, Detective, isn't that putting ideas into my head?"

"You would have thought about it all on your own anyway," she mumbled. "But Lucifer, believe me, a bullet to the chest is not harmless even for the so-called Devil."

"Are you finally coming to terms with who I am?" he retorted with a devilish smile that had her roll her eyes yet again.

"What in Hell happened here?!"

Okay, I really had to stop somewhere haha Any guesses at who said that last line? :D

Hope you enjoyed it, I had so much fun writing Lucifer's lines right after he got shot, I'm particularly proud of the "I don't do bleeding" I think it suits him perfectly LOL

The songs he plays at the begining are Reunited by Peaches and Herb, A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton and All of Me by John Legend :)

I'm now caught up with everything I had written when I first started posting so it's not going to be as regular now, although chapter 4 is pretty much done already so there's that :D