“Don’t worry, I’ve got no intention of letting you go or letting anything happen to you. I’ve endured centuries of torture and pain, witnessed horrors I can’t begin to describe, and none of it compared to those few seconds when I thought I was losing you.”
I wasn’t worried.
“Maybe it’s just easier to explain what you are,” Enzo sighs. “You’re descended from an angel. A seraphim, actually. Michael. More than descended, baby. He’s your father.”
My mouth forms a small but perfect circle and I stare at the black room I find myself in. The gold and silver trim hint at opulence and everything else is so damned expensive it’s pointless trying to hide it.
“The Altair is his child. One is born to each generation. You affect the world, influencing it for the greater good. That’s themyth, but no one from Hell has ever met one. It explains why we’re drawn to you and it’s why everyone keeps saying you’re so special.”
I shake my head.
“You can’t have been looking for me for centuries if there’s one born every generation. It doesn’t make sense…”
Enzo nods, gently. “A new one is born each generation and when they die, another is born to replace them. The legend says that if the devil can find and kill the Altair, then Michael will be so overcome with grief that he will not father another.” He places a soft kiss on my head and I sigh. “Lucifer tasked me with finding you and after a few millennia, we decided you were a myth made up by the Almighty asshole to waste our time and efforts. Lucifer questioned him about it and he laughed, and we took that as confirmation we’d been sent on a wild goose chase.”
I draw away and Enzo pulls me back.
“Apparently, the Almighty is not above lying either. At least not when it comes to protecting you. Lucifer has searched for you to stop you from influencing the world for the better.”
“And he wants to kill me so the world is worse off?”
“That’s what Hell does, baby. We balance the sickly goodness of those assholes who like to lord it over us. Too much virtue isn’t a good thing.” Enzo runs his fingers down my arm and goosebumps fly in every direction. “Don’t worry, Adriana. There’s time to figure something out. Lucifer’s busy dealing with all the cunts who sided with Eva.”
I turn and stare at Enzo like he’s lost his fucking mind. The Devil isn’t someone you want to piss off and my very existence is a thorn in his side. If Enzo is relentless, then they haven’tinvented a word to describe Lucifer, and I don’t understand why he isn’t taking this seriously.
“The Devil owes me a favor, baby. I’ll be collecting you as payment.”
My eyebrow arches, and his rises to meet it.
“I still own you, baby,” he says in a voice as wicked as sin itself. “Our deal still stands, Adriana. Don’t ask me to change it. Don’t ask me to let you go. I can’t and I won’t. You are mine for all eternity, and nothing will change my mind.”
I nod. “You haven’t kept up your end of the deal?”
His eyebrow arches higher.
“You promised me jewelry and houses and anything I damn well want.”
Enzo’s hand slides up my back and grabs a fistful of my hair. “You haven’t asked for anything, baby. Except in that fucking temple when you demanded a mansion and some trinkets.” His grip tightens and the tension ripples through me. “I’ve already bought us a new house. By the river so you can stare at the boats to your little heart’s content.”
I smile and melt, swooning for the vicious man who’s holding me so damn tightly that pain sears across the back of my scalp.
“Say thank you,” he snarls.
“For what?” I reply, pushing my luck.
“For giving you what you asked for, Adi,” he smirks, stealing a kiss from my lips. “And for not tanning your ass for almost dying on me.”
I sigh and then giggle, relieved this is over—and the expression on Enzo’s face tells me I’ve pushed my luck far too fucking far.
“You’re in so much fucking trouble, baby girl,” he says in a tone that’s laced with every ounce of sin in this place. Enzo’s brimming with excitement and the lust flooding through his eyes spills out into his body. His perfect body and its muscles in all the right places that draw the eye down to his perfect V-line. The one he’s not trying to conceal in his sweats.
“Why are you wearing those things?”
My mouth runs away with itself before I can stop it from thinking out loud.
Enzo smirks and pulls me so close to his face that it’s agony to be parted from him. I try to kiss him and his hand holds me so tight that I can’t and his smirk widens.
“Why indeed?” he muses. “Your mouth is making threats your body can’t handle, sweet girl.”
