Lucifer's Queen: A Paranormal Romance Read online

  “No.” I snapped at her.

  She narrowed her eyes at me, a challenging glint shining in her eyes. Fuck, if I wasn’t so adamant about fighting her on this, I might have been damn proud of her for standing up against me like this.

  “Yes.” She retorted. “If you don’t like it, Lucifer, I will force Asmodeus to keep you out of the room while Kyle heals me.” She warned. I narrowed my eyes at her. This woman was playing dirty, and she was determined to get her damn way. “So, which is it?”

  I glared at her. “You’re playing a dangerous game, my little destroyer.” I quietly warned her.

  She tilted her chin up in a defiant gesture. “Try me, my king.” She bravely retorted.

  I blew out a harsh breath, backing down, letting her have what she wanted. “You drive me fucking mad, my queen,” I growled. I pressed my lips to hers before I got off of the bed and nodded once at Kyle. “Do what is necessary,” I ordered.

  He moved over towards his sister. “Can I trust you not to interrupt me?” He asked me. “Because I know you’ll feel what she feels, my king, and I cannot have interruptions.”

  I clenched my jaw, knowing I couldn’t promise that. “Asmodeus,” I called.

  Asmodeus stepped into the room. “My king, you summoned.”

  I clenched my fists at my sides. “I need you to keep me from interrupting the Angel of Death by any means necessary, even if you have to forcibly remove me from the room. Your queen wishes to be healed. It will be extremely painful, but this is what she wants. I’ll rip his head from his fucking shoulders if given the opportunity.” Kyle flinched. He knew I meant what I said.

  Asmodeus nodded once at me. “As you wish, my king.”

  “Asmodeus,” Bela called from the bed as she laid down with a wince. Kyle knelt on the floor beside the bed. “Do not hurt my king.” I smiled. She was so stubbornly protective, and I loved it.

  He nodded once. “You have my word, my queen.”

  Kyle placed his hands on the sides of my queen’s head and closed his eyes. Pain sliced through my body, specifically in the areas that were still in the critical parts of healing. She screamed at the same time a roar ripped from my throat, my wings ripping from my back. Asmodeus grabbed my arms, restraining me and keeping me from ripping Kyle limb from limb like every fiber of my being was urging me to do.

  I wanted to fucking kill him for doing this to her.

  Cerberus stood in front of me in his human form, a growl ripping from his throat. “Stand down,” Asmodeus ordered him. “Your queen asked for this.”

  “Make it stop!” Bela screamed. She sobbed, tears rolling down her cheeks. “It hurts!”

  I roared again, the pain intensifying. I dropped to my knees, helpless to do anything for her. She had wanted this, and I knew she would be extremely pissed if I used my title to force them to stop.

  Asmodeus followed me down to the floor, his hands still restraining my arms as my roars matched my queen’s screams, agony ripping through both of us.

  ✶ ✶ ✶

  Bela panted as Kyle finally removed his hands from the sides of her head. She was covered in sweat, her dress clinging to her body. Her entire body was trembling, but she was completely healed.

  “Luc.” She croaked.

  Asmodeus instantly released me, and I rushed towards her, cupping her beautiful, perfect face in my hands. “Oh, my love,” I whispered. I kissed her slow and deep, my lips working with hers. “Fucking hell, that was torture. How are you feeling?”

  “Sore.” She honestly admitted. “But I feel okay otherwise.”

  “Leave us,” I ordered everyone in the room.

  Once she and I were alone, I quickly stripped her out of her dress and carried her to our bathroom. After gently setting her healed body into the jacuzzi-style tub, I turned the water on so she could begin to soak as quickly as possible. After stripping out my own clothes, I slid into the tub behind her, holding her tight against me. She closed her eyes, a content sigh leaving her lips. She yawned shortly after.

  “Are you sure you’re okay, my queen?” I asked her.

  She nodded, another yawn falling from her lips. “I’m okay.” She sleepily assured me.

  I traced one of my fingers over one of the scars on her arm before I brought it up to my lips, pressing a kiss there. “One day, when you’re not feeling so sore from being healed, I am going to make sweet love to you, and I’m going to kiss every single scar on your body,” I promised.

  Her body trembled at my words. “I haven’t looked at them.” She admitted. “I’m afraid of what I’ll see.”

  I brushed my lips with hers. “You are still perfect to me, my queen,” I promised. “You will never be anything less than perfection in my eyes,” I assured her.

  I slid my hand over her perfect body, rubbing my thumb over the scars that I felt as I did. I groaned softly as my hand finally slipped between her thighs. She moaned, her legs spreading, opening up more to me.

  “My love, you are still recovering.” I rasped, but fuck, it was so tempting to just dip my fingers inside of her.

  “Please, Lucifer.” She begged me. “It has been so long since I have been without your touch – without being one with you like this again.”

  “Fuck.” I swore as I gently turned her to face me. I gripped her chin, forcing her eyes on mine. “Are you sure this is what you want, my queen?”

  “Yes.” She mewled. “Please, Luc.”

  I lined my cock up with her slit before I gently pulled her down over me. I held her tightly and gently thrust up into her, making sweet love to her. And I didn’t stop until her body was shaking uncontrollably, both of us unable to go any longer, sleep tugging us both towards darkness.

  “So perfect, my little destroyer,” I whispered in her ear before I nipped at her earlobe and lifted her exhausted body out of the bath.

  “And so addicting, my king.” She sleepily whispered back. “I love you, Luc.”

  A tender smile crossed my lips as I looked down at her. “And I love you, my queen,” I promised. “For the rest of our days – for the rest of eternity – my heart and soul belong to you.”

  TWELVE

  BELA

  Two weeks had passed since my mother had gotten her way into Hell. The trackers were still tailing her, but she was always just a little bit ahead of them.

  Asmodeus was always close to me, kind of like a towering presence, always casting a comforting shadow over me. It was beginning to annoy Lucifer some, especially since the other demons that were normally with us during my training sessions were beginning to also draw too close for his liking, but he kept his mouth shut about it.

  As long as I was protected, he would put up with it.

  I was in the middle of a circle that Asmodeus’s guardians had formed. Lucifer was standing next to me, and Asmodeus was standing directly behind me. Kyle was on the other side of the ring in his Angel of Death form.

  I hadn’t been feeling all that great today, but these days, every peaceful second was precious, and I needed to train. I would deal with the churning of my stomach if it meant I could grow a little bit stronger and a little more connected with my powers.

  “Focus, Bela,” Kyle told me when I lost my concentration again, my stomach lurching.

  “Easy, my love.” Lucifer soothed as he lightly gripped the sides of my waist from behind me. “This is why I wanted you to just rest today. You don’t feel well.”

  I sighed. I knew he meant well, but we both knew what one day of rest could cost us.

  It could cost us each other.

  “I have to do this,” I told him. I swallowed down my vomit and drew in a deep breath, closing my eyes again. I held my hands in the position Kyle had shown me and focused, trying to draw part of that orb inside of me between my hands.

  My stomach lurched again, making me lose my focus for the umpteenth time. Lucifer softly growled. “Break.” He ordered. I squeaked in shock when Asmodeus suddenly put a bench right beside me. Lucifer eased me d
own onto it, nodding once at Asmodeus in thanks. “My little destroyer, you’re pale,” Luc commented. He kneeled in front of me, his hands reaching up to cup my face. “Are you sure you won’t take a break today?” He asked me. “I hate seeing you like this, my queen. You look like the slightest breeze is going to blow you over.”

  I gave him a small smile to try to ease his nerves as I reached out and trailed the tips of my fingers along his jaw. I knew it wouldn’t work, though, since he could feel what I was feeling, but it wouldn’t stop me from trying. “Luc, I am fine. Stop worrying so much, my king. You will worry yourself into a small coma.”

  His lips twitched with a smile. He grabbed my wrist and turned his head, pressing a tender kiss to my palm. I knew my soul danced in my eyes for him. “I love you, my queen. I will always worry.”

  “Oh, Luc,” I whispered. “I love you, too, my king.”

  “I sense an angel.” Asmodeus suddenly informed us. Lucifer jerked up into a standing position. Cerberus transformed into his beast, a thundering growl sounding from his chest. My brother appeared behind me, his wings softly brushing my shoulders.

  “Who?” Lucifer growled at Asmodeus.

  “Hello, brother.” A man suddenly spoke up as he appeared in the circle. He had blonde hair and blue eyes with skin so pale that if he’d been a human, you would have assumed he was dead.

  The guardians hissed, but Asmodeus put up a hand signal, warning them to stay put.

  “What in the hell are you doing here?” Lucifer growled at his brother. “You are not welcome here, Gabriel.”

  Gabriel flashed an easy-going smile at Lucifer. “Easy, my brother. I am not here to cause harm nor to threaten your queen.” Gabriel turned his eyes to me and flashed me a smile. I squirmed uncomfortably in my seat. “Hello, Bela.”

  I stayed silent, a headache forming at my temples in his presence. I groaned softly as I reached up to rub my soothing circles near the tops of my ears. Lucifer covered his hands with mine, easing the pain some. “Why are you here, then, Gabriel?”

  “To warn you, Lucifer. Father is unhappy. Nothing is going as he wanted it to. He wanted you back with us, Lucifer – back home. And instead, you have once again chosen the wrong path.”

  “That is not home for me,” Lucifer growled at his brother. “She is my home.” He told him, referring to me.

  Gabriel bowed his head in understanding. “I know, brother, and your people – they look up to your queen. They adore her. She has a gentle soul – one no one would expect to ever be in Hell, but nonetheless, she is here, soothing the tormented souls of the demons, and ultimately, yours as well.”

  “Stop beating around the bush, Gabriel,” Lucifer warned him, his hands growing colder over mine, his body temperature dropping as his temper grew more. I circled my fingers around his wrists, hoping to ease his anger some.

  “Father gave Bela’s mother the black magic needed to slip into Hell without you noticing.” A threatening growl sounded from Lucifer’s chest. I tightened my grip on his wrists in response. “However, he did not take into account your King of Demons being able to sense her, nor did he take into account his loyalty to his queen. He has tasked Bela’s mother with causing an uproar in Hell and getting everyone to turn on your sweet queen.”

  “My demons will not turn on her,” Asmodeus spoke up.

  “Are you sure of that?” Gabriel asked him. “Black magic is no joke, king.”

  Asmodeus grunted. “As I am aware, Angel. My demons have been trained with black magic from the day they became demons. They know how to withstand it, and they know how to fight against it. Our queen is protected. Queen Bela’s mother cannot touch her.”

  This didn’t make any sense to me. Would the man above really sacrifice his own children for some “greater good”?

  “Why make one of His own suffer? Are we not supposed to be His children?” I demanded to know.

  Gabriel softly sighed. “Father works in mysterious ways, queen. Everything is not as black and white as it always seems. You were meant to take Lucifer’s place so Lucifer could come back to Heaven – back home. But he chose to keep you here with him instead. And I cannot fault him for that. My brother found his chance at happiness, and he snagged it with both hands.”

  Pain pulsed through my skull. Lucifer growled at the same time I cried out in pain, my vision momentarily flashing white. More pain rolled through my skull, almost as if something were trying to push through.

  I jumped up from the bench. “Bela, no!” Lucifer roared.

  Screeching and roaring sounded through my head. I screamed in agony, dropping to my knees, tears of blood pouring from my eyes. Asmodeus roared at the same time that my magic pulsed from my body, knocking everyone to the ground.

  The last thing I remembered was Lucifer shouting my name.

  THIRTEEN

  LUCIFER

  I watched as Rufus listened to Bela’s breathing and her heart. I had no idea she was connected to the demons like that, and obviously, they hadn’t either because as soon as she fell to the ground, they were panicking.

  They’d hurt their queen, and damned if Asmodeus hadn’t fucking lost his shit because he felt their panic and her pain. He had a hell of a lot of control to be able to calm them all while trying to figure out what the fuck had happened to Bela.

  None of us had known they were connected with her.

  “Lucifer, I need you to listen.” Rufus suddenly stated as he turned his dark eyes to me.

  “Listen to what?” I growled at him. “Is she going to fucking be okay or not?”

  “She will be fine, but I need you to listen.” He told me. “Just shut your eyes and listen.”

  Sighing in irritation, I did as he said, focusing on all of the sounds in the room before I focused on the steady beat of Bela’s – my eyes snapped open, and I stared down at Rufus. “There’s a baby,” I said quietly. My eyes snapped over to my queen, and I swallowed thickly. “She’s fucking pregnant.”

  Rufus nodded at me. “My king, you and our queen will be having a little prince or princess of Hell.”

  “Holy shit,” I whispered. I eased my body down onto the bed beside Bela, and I lightly placed my hand over her still flat belly. She was pregnant. I couldn’t fucking believe it, but we were having a fucking baby together.

  Emma popped back into the room and handed me a bottle of pills. “She needs to take these every day.” She told me. “She can take them whenever is easiest for her to remember to take them, but she’ll need them for her pregnancy.” I arched an eyebrow at Emma, wondering why the fuck Bela needed medication during her pregnancy. I wasn’t familiar with babies nor what was needed during pregnancy. “They’re prenatal vitamins.” She explained.

  “Oh,” I muttered. I set them on the bedside table, making a mental note to have her take them when she woke up. “Well, thank you, Emma.” I looked at the doctor. “Is she going to be okay?”

  “She will be fine, my king,” Rufus informed me. “Just let her rest. I’m sure she’ll wake up with a headache, though. Tylenol is safe to give her. I’ll leave some in your bathroom for when she wakes up.”

  “Thank you, Rufus.”

  “Always happy to be of service to our queen, my king.”

  He put a bottle of Tylenol in the bathroom before slipping out of my chambers. I pulled Bela into my arms and placed my hand on the side of her head. She sighed in her sleep, her body relaxing. I could feel a bit of pain in my temples, so I knew she was still suffering from the demons crowding in her head like that.

  I looked up as Asmodeus stepped into the doorway, his massive frame filling the entryway. “I came to check on the queen, my king.”

  I gently brushed Bela’s hair away from her face with my free hand. “She has a headache,” I told him quietly. “But she is otherwise okay.”

  “I heard you and the doctor mention another heartbeat.” He commented. I glared up at him, angry at him for intruding in on our private conversation. He shrugged, not caring at all abo
ut my rage at his eavesdropping. “I hear everything, my king.” He reminded me. “Even when I am not trying to listen.”

  I sighed. I knew that as well. It was just another thing on the list of things that made him so fucking powerful. “It explains her nausea, my king. She has not felt well all day.”

  “I know,” I said quietly. I did know that much about pregnancies – how nausea and vomiting basically ruled the entire first trimester. “When she wakes, I will have her take Tylenol for her headache and eat some soup and crackers to calm her stomach.”