Lucifer's face lost all color, as Michael requested the truth. Knowing it was impossible to fight his brother's power, he still shouted, "Michael, No!" He clenched his jaw, and reluctantly turned to look at the beautiful woman beside him. His dark eyes captured hers, almost begging her to understand, "Chloe… You have the brightest, cleanest soul I've ever encountered. I love you above all creation." He looked away, unable to face her as he finally spoke the complete truth, "You are my heart." He sucked in a breath, and turned from the rejection he expected to see. He gave Michael a broken look, "Happy now?"
Michael dropped his eyes, disturbed by the depth of his brother's hurt. "No. Actually I'm not." He turned to Chloe, his expression softening. "Tell Lucifer the truth."
Lucifer's right hook punch caught Michael's jaw sending him sprawling across the floor, but it was too late to stop what was happening. Lucifer turned to face Chloe, dread and sadness etched on his face as he waited to hear what she truly thought of him.
Michael stood up, and rubbed his sore jaw. Neither Lucifer nor Chloe noticed. They were totally focused on each other. He smiled, already knowing what was in Chloe's heart.
Things were about to get much better, and the best part was that Michael had not used his angelic will to force the words from either of them. There was no compunction behind his request for the truth. He simply used the power of suggestion and the lover's own desires to get them past their hurt and pride.
Apparently Lucifer wasn't the only one in the family who could 'bluff'.
Michael smiled again as he unfurled his wings. He now partially agreed with Amenadiel. Lucifer was changing, but Michael suspected he wasn't the only one. It seemed to him that all the siblings had begun to change. Michael had the answers he wanted. It was time to get back to the Silver City.
Chloe thought she heard the sounds of wings, but all her attention was on Lucifer. She was amazed by his words. He loved her… a lot. In typical Lucifer fashion, he had totally disarmed her with his simple heartfelt speech. Once again, she was head over heels, and this time she felt prepared to deal with all the thorns he used to protect his heart. She finally understood that all of his attempts to push her away came from fear of being rejected and a deep need to protect her.
She looked at him with tear-sheened eyes, "I'm so sorry. I know how much I hurt you and I can't take that back."
He nodded in acceptance, silently waiting for her rejection.
She reached out to touch his hand. "But I don't want to hurt you ever again. I know all of you. I've seen all of you and I'm still here. I won't leave you."
Lucifer looked at her in disbelief, his eyes troubled, "But what about my monstrous side? You flinched when I tried to touch you that night at Lux."
Her eyes widened as she recalled the exact moment. "Oh no." She shook her head in denial, her voice insistent, "Lucifer, I didn't flinch away from you; a stranger touched me in passing."
She moved a step closer and stared deep into his eyes, "You aren't a monster. You saved Trixie and you've saved me over and over again. You never lied to me and you always have my back." She put one hand gently on his jaw, "Your monstrous side is something you use to deal with evil, but it's not who you are to me." Her other hand came up to cup his face, willing him to believe her, "Knowing how you really feel makes my heart race, because that's how I feel too. When you look at me, I want you to keep looking at me. When you touch me, I know it's right. There is a connection between us." She stopped the babble of words and gave him the tiniest, hopeful smile. "Lucifer, I want you. I love you." She stepped closer, unable to wait for his reaction. "Can I please kiss you now?"
The words registered in his brain and he fought past his disbelief to smile at her in wonder. "Can you kiss me…?" He grabbed her frantically, pulling her into his embrace.
He kissed her once, and then lifted her high, hands on her waist. She smiled down at him, laughing in joy, as he looked up at her. With a brilliant smile he lowered her slowly until her feet touched the ground, only to pull her into his arms again and tilt his head down until their foreheads touched. After a moment he pulled back just enough to look into her eyes. "Is this real?"
She gave him a small smile, "Yes. More real than anything I've ever felt."
He reverently kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose, and finally her lips as he pulled her tighter into his embrace. He gentled the kiss and shifted to hold her in a proper dancing stance. She tucked her head against his chest and closed her eyes to breath in his scent. She let him lead her into a dance, remembering all the other wonderful dances they had shared. The deep rumble of his voice caused her to tremble as he said, "You look so beautiful tonight."
In truth, when he first saw her, he nearly swallowed his tongue. Her shoes brought all kinds of delightful, carnal images to mind, but this was his Detective. Nervously, he admitted, "Your dress and delicate shoes have me… distracted…"
She gave him a satisfied smile, "Good."
They danced in the moonlight of the garden for hours, unwilling to release each other. Finally when she shivered in the cool night air, Lucifer kissed his way to her ear and softly whispered, "Please tell me what you truly desire."
Chloe looked up into his starlit eyes, lost in the love she saw there. She placed her hand over his heart and whispered back, "I desire you. Come home with me, Lucifer."
He suddenly looked uncertain, but decided to speak his mind, "Chloe, I've never loved anyone this way before, but as long as you wish it, I will be yours."
She felt her heart skip a beat. He was by far, the most chivalrous, romantic, gentlemanly man she had ever known. He was also an absolute virgin at loving and being loved. Yet his instincts were excellent.
She wrapped her arms around his back and hugged him. "It makes me so happy when you say things like that. It's one of the reasons I love you." She took a step back and looked up at him. "But try not to be too disappointed when you realize I'm not perfect. What if I'm not as wonderful as you imagine. What if I'm terrible in bed? You're new to this, so I don't want you to trap yourself. Please just promise me that if you get bored and want to have sex with other people, that you will tell me first."
He stared at her, "You still don't understand. I am yours body and soul. There will be no others." With a naughty smile, he added, "And you certainly have nothing to worry about. It's impossible to be bad at sex when you're with me!"
Chloe gave him a doubtful look, "How can you be so sure? I'm not very experienced. In fact compared to all the people you've slept with, I would say I'm pretty ordinary, boring even."
Lucifer grabbed both her hands, "There is nothing ordinary about you." He shook his head, "I'm the one who should be warning you that when you realize what you've done, you will want out, and that I will understand."
Chloe leaned up to quickly kiss his lips, "Time out. Linda would have a field day with us. We're both marking every exit and reason why the other will want to bail before we've even started. Let's take this slowly. I want you and you want me, so let's do something about that."
He gave her a sexy grin, "Oh Detective, I plan to devote all my energy to doing something about it."
They drove home in her car. Lucifer held her hand the entire time, occasionally raising it to his lips for a teasing kiss. They walked slowly to her porch and she opened the front door. Lucifer hesitated, nervous, "Chloe, for both our sakes, be sure."
She looked deep into his eyes and with a tender smile, led him to her bedroom. She kissed him and began to unbutton his shirt. He undressed her at the same time, reverently caressing the skin he uncovered. When she was bare before him he took a moment to look at her beautiful body. Then he knelt down and removed her sexy shoes, kissing her ankles. He let out a shuddering breath as he stood, "Chloe, I'm not in control of myself. I'm afraid I might accidentally hurt you."
She reassured him, "You won't hurt me. I trust you." She pulled him down onto the bed, "Lay back." Once he was comfortable, she knelt beside him. She watched him carefully as she began to kiss his jaw, neck and collarbone. She worked slowly down his chest, taking time to gently tease him.
Every soft kiss and touch drew a gasp of pleasure from him. He ran his trembling fingers along her spine and hips as she continued down his body. When she nipped his stomach and continued lower, he stopped her. "Let's save that for another time, love."
She gave him a shy smile and moved to straddle his waist, "Okay. So is this all right?"
She slowly lowered herself until they were joined.
Lucifer sucked in a shocked breath, his emotions echoed by the amazed expression on Chloe's face as they finally became one. He wrapped one hand around her neck and tugged her down for a long kiss. "Perfect." He kissed her again, and his lips continued to graze hers as he mumbled, "This feels incredibly good to me."
The look in her eyes and the smile on her lips, freed something in his chest. He grinned at her and quickly flipped them over until she was on her back. He looked down at her joyfully, "I'll take it from here, darling."
And he did; learning what love added to the act, while using his skill to worship her.
Chloe held him, hands caressing, lips treasuring, intent on showing him that giving him pleasure was just as important to her as taking the pleasure he generated within her.
Lucifer only knew that being with her was unique. And when they reached the moment of release, her name was on his lips like a whispered vow.
Getting his Detective into bed was nothing like the carnal games he played with strangers. Chloe was love. She sparked his desire and it flowed like fire through his veins. With her, he was allowed to want and need. Not the puppet master, garnering his own release through granting other's desires, but a willing participant in the shared perfection of their passion. And there was passion.
They made love for hours, lost in the wonder and newness of their feelings. Eventually he moved to settle onto the mattress beside her, gathering her into his embrace. She curled happily against him and closed her eyes.
Content, Lucifer watched Chloe sleep in the shelter of his arms. Her naked body was a work of art, spooned against his masculine heat. They were incredible together sexually, but it was the emotion of their joining that stunned him the most. There was no doubt in his mind that she loved him. He didn't understand why, but he could finally accept it. He dipped his head to kiss her tenderly, cherishing her.
As he drifted on the edge of sleep, he heard a whisper in his mind, "You owe me one, brother." Lucifer smiled softly, as he mentally replied, "I have no idea what you mean. I told you she was mine, Michael…"
Lucifer wrapped himself around Chloe and slept, secure in the knowledge that he finally spoke the absolute truth.
Early the next morning he kissed a sleepy Chloe and went to meet Michael outside of Lux. He grinned brightly, feeling relaxed and happy, "Good morning, brother."
Michael smiled back, "Loving Chloe suits you. You look… settled."
"The old me would have taken that as a reason to prove you wrong, but this morning I don't care. I'm going to bloody well hold on to this feeling as long as possible."
Michael clapped him on the back, and hugged him before they both broke away in embarrassment. "Thank you for meeting me. I just wanted to say good-bye and tell you that I'm sorry. I was angry when you Fell. In some way I thought you chose to let it happen and I was mad because you left me. I judged you unfairly out of my own hurt. I missed you, brother."
Lucifer opened and closed his mouth, unsure what to say. He tried again, "Well. I suppose I missed you too and I do owe you for helping Chloe and me on the right track." Unsure what else to say, he asked, "So… going back to the Silver City?"
Michael rubbed his neck, "That was the plan." He added quickly, "I'm glad I came here. I got a chance to understand you and this home you created. Now I know what I need to do."
"What's that? Go to Las Vegas… Disneyland?" Lucifer quipped.
"No. I'm going to take over as Ruler of Hell for a while."
Lucifer stared at his twin in shock. "You would do that?"
"Yes. And I think some of our other siblings should take a turn also."
Lucifer gave him a bare whisper of a smile; overwhelmed by his brother's change of heart, "Thank you, but watch your back down there. Demons don't fight fair."
"Yes, I noticed." Michael slipped his hands into his pants pockets and strolled away, but called back over his shoulder, "It's okay, I'm going to walk in my brother's shoes for a while."
Lucifer stared after him, eyes damp. Then he looked down, as a flash of red caught his attention. Michael had on his favorite pair of red-soled, Italian loafers, which caught the light with each step he took.
Lucifer stared blankly after his twin for a moment, then a grin spread across his face, growing until his eyes sparkled with delight. He threw back his head and laughed, as he let go of thousands of years worth of pain.
He took a deep breath, and watched all the people on the street go about their lives. This was his city. His home.
Chloe. With a devilish smile he checked his watch. She would be awake soon. If he hurried he could be back in her arms, offering her a very delightful start to the day.
It was the only place he wanted to be.