I grit my teeth. “What else?”
“We also need to hear Ciprian out. You and Ali exploded on him at the Fang, which was understandable and also dumb. He knows about Roscoe, and now we’re in the dark about where he stands.”
My shoulders sag. “It was an ugly fight.”
He glances at me, and his face softens. “Itwasan ugly fight, but they’re both gone...” Luca snaps his fingers. “Just like that. Then, some dude from your past shows up with all the answers, calls himself your husband, and manages to worm his way into your spare room? I don’t like it, Celine.”
I blink as he rakes his fingers through his wet hair. Dammit, I asked for this, but I hate it. Even hearing him say Ciprian and Alistair’s names out loud is upsetting.
Shooting to my feet, I block his path with my body. “Stop,” I whisper. “I changed my mind. I don’t want to talk about either of them.”
Luca grabs my shoulders, his grip painfully gentle. “You’ve got to, baby. Pretending last night didn’t happen—shit, that the lastfew weeks didn’t happen—that’s not healthy. You’re hurt, and that’s okay. Anyone would be.”
“Do you want to hear me say I’m an idiot?” I whisper, a telltale burn searing the back of my nose. “I couldn’t even tell Ciprian was a phony.”
“That sounds like someone else talking.” Luca’s voice is too soft and understanding. I have to look away. “Alistair was mad because he fell for it too, baby. He exploded. There’s no excusing it, but you can’t take what he said to heart.”
I pull free of his hold and wrap my arms around myself. “I’ve known who I am all along,” I insist. “Alistair is the one who couldn’t handle what he saw when he got a closer look.”
Hissing, Luca yanks me fully into his arms. His hug is tight, and I know I’ll feel it long after he lets go. “I don’t think that’s true,” he murmurs, his breath tickling the skin below my ear. “Can you let him make it up to you if he tries?”
I consider that, and my wings twitch as annoyance overtakes my hurt. “Do you see him beating down my door?” I demand. “Alistair knows where I live.”
“The sun is out,” Luca says calmly.
“He has my phone number, smartass.”
“Don’t forget, I’m on your side.”
“Doesn’t sound that way,” I grumble, knowing full well I’m being petty.
Luca isn’t bothered. He rolls his eyes and kisses me, his tongue slipping through the seam of my lips. I kiss him back, wishing—not for the first time in my life—that my emotions weren’t rigid. I feel everything too hard. It makes forgiveness difficult and forgetting impossible.
I dodged Luca’s question earlier, but the truth is I don’t know how to let Alistair make it up to me. Not when his hateful words and angry red eyes are burned in my brain and playing on repeat.
Determined to put it out of my mind, I slide my fingers underLuca’s towel and—someone knocks. Luca groans and glowers at the door. His hazel eyes flicker yellow, and I wonder if he’s trying to turn Malach to stone through the flimsy wooden barrier.
“What?” I ask, trying to keep the frustration out of my voice.
“I require nourishment and am unable to identify the items in your food closet.”
A shiver runs down my spine. I don’t know if it’s Luca’s hard dick in my hand, Malach sounding all grown up, or the fact that he almost certainly wrecked my carefully organized pantry.
I uncurl my fingers reluctantly and reach for the door, but Luca reels me back in, licking into my mouth with another heated kiss. “To hold me over,” he says, “while you babysit your hubby.”
I groan. “Not you too.”
“It’s funny because of your reaction, but...” Luca winces. “I don’t want to be your guy on the side. If you decide to get rid of me, be gentle, baby.”
I gape at him, surprised to hear him voice insecurity and gutted by the thought of not having him with me. I already lost the others; I can’t lose Luca too.
“Group relationships are common in the celestial realm,” Malach says through the door. “But you must prove yourself to me or I won’t consider yoursubmission.”
“Submission? The fuck?” Luca brushes past me and yanks the door open. “If you’re waiting for me to submit, you’ll be waiting a long fucking time, motherfucker.”
Malach peers at me, ignoring Luca entirely. “He’s fond of that expletive, isn’t he?”
“Explain the submission part,” I say, my lips twitching as I hold in a giggle.
