She playfully pushed his shoulder, then bowed to Lucifer. “Commander. I didn’t think you’d be here with Eros and Dani.”
“I’m their date,” he said.
There was an uproar of whispers, and I tried to ignore it. My heart was pounding way too hard in my chest. I glanced around to distract myself and locked eyes with the one person I wish I hadn’t. Javier.
He sat at a long table, staring directly at me, and smirked. I gulped nervously, trying to pull my gaze away from him. I hated to admit it, but he was much more attractive in his demon form. Sculpted frame, large horns, dark eyes tinted red.
An older demon sat next to him, tail curling around a succubus’s waist. A pair of scars laid diagonally across his face. They both whispered back and forth.
Eros must’ve seen them too because his grip on me tightened. We continued through the crowd of whispers to the table.
“Eros, I didn’t think you’d actually make it.” A petite woman approached us, her voice a bit distasteful. She had hair like Kasey’s and piercing eyes like Eros. “Look who it is, Dear.”
A tall man walked up beside her. His gaze flickered from Eros to Lucifer. “Son.” The man nodded stiffly. “Commander. I don’t think we invited you.”
Lucifer smirked, tapping his fingers on my lower back like he was amused. “I was invited by Eros as his and Dani’s date.”
If I thought that my heart was racing before, I was definitely about to have a heart attack when Eros’s dad looked me up and down, his mother following suit. She curled a finger around a strand of my brown hair and watched me closely. I stayed still, absolutely terrified. “She’s pretty, Eros.”
“She is,” his father said.
Eros paused and pulled me away from his mother. “But?”
“But?” she said with a strained smile on her face. “Why do you think I want to say more?”
“Because you always have more to say.”
His mother shook her head and curled into his father’s arm. “I’m just surprised. That’s all.”
I tried my hardest to have a neutral expression, but everything she said sounded so fake, rehearsed even. No wonder Eros didn’t like his parents.
Eros stared at her, his face void of any emotion. “Surprised about what?” he asked tensely.
“She’s not a demon,” his father said.
“And you’re seeing her and Commander Lucifer.” She held out her hand for Eros to take, but he didn’t. So, instead, she slapped him playfully on the chest. “I should’ve known. You’ve been spending so much time with him lately and none here with us.”
“You banished me, Mother.”
She waved her hand, dismissively. “Oh, that’s silly talk. Now that you’ve accepted the true incubi way your banishment shall be lifted. You can spend more time here in the palace.”
“I don’t wan—”
I dug my nails into his bicep to get him to shut up. If we were going to do this—no mistakes. That’s what he told me, and I planned to keep it that way. I didn’t want to die, and I didn’t want him to die either.
“Why don’t we have dinner?” Eros’s mother asked, shuffling her husband to the table.
“Yes. Dinner,” Eros said.
Once his parents sat at the head of the table, next to Javier and the other demon, there were two chairs left. Lucifer sat in one and Eros sat in the other. He tugged me into his lap, lips brushing against my ear. “When we rule, I’ll make sure you have a seat at the head of the table.”
CHAPTER 41
Dani
Servers filed in through a door with platters of food and bottles of Passion Delight and dark red wine labeled Sanguio. As soon as the waiter popped the cork on the Sanguio to give to Javier, I wrinkled my nose. It smelled so vile.
Javier and the man sitting with him grabbed glasses. The older man gazed across the table at me, then drank a long sip—eyes turning red—and placed it down. “Eros, glad to see you’ve made it with your pet.”
I clenched my jaw. The man held a certain familiarity and power in the way he spoke and held himself. He reminded me of Trevon when he was possessed. He must’ve been from the Kingdom of Wrath, possibly the Commander of Wrath himself, Sathanus.
A waiter placed a plate of food in front of him and nearly knocked over his drink. He slammed his fists against the table, and I jumped. Yep, definitely from Wrath. I turned away from him.
Javier cleared his throat. “Dani.”
Oh, great. Here we go.
“How’s my dear friend Trevon doing? I’m assuming you two aren’t together anymore since you’re here with two of Hell’s finest.”
I balled my hands into fists under the table. He had some nerve asking about Trevon, especially because he was the reason for our breakup and for him being possessed. I took a deep breath through my nose and bit back my anger. It would be exactly what he wanted. “He’s doing fine,” I said. “Thanks for asking. Maria is doing well too.”
Sathanus snatched his drink from the table. “Lucifer, I didn’t think your pride would let you sink so low to have a human pet.”
Lucifer placed his elbows on the table and leaned forward, brow arched. “Still trying to get under everyone’s skin, Sathanus? Seems like you could use your time doing something more useful like, maybe, actually commanding your kingdom instead of burning everything to the ground.”
After slamming his fists against the table, Sathanus stood. His eyes blazed red. “I will not take this disrespect. You and the pet were not invited here.” He glared at Lucifer with so much hatred. “Remove them this instant or I will.”
My heart raced, and I suddenly got flashbacks of Trevon freaking out on me that first night. Eros placed his hand on the inside of my thigh and rubbed it gently, trying to calm me down.
I gazed at the meat on the center of the table and tried to control my breathing. God, I should’ve brought a cross.
“Dani and I were invited by Lord Eros,” Lucifer said.
I didn’t know which commander was scaring me more—Sathanus who was about to flip the table or Lucifer who was frighteningly calm right now.
Some succubi sashayed over, pushed Sathanus back down, and sat on his lap. His eyes still blazed, but when he snaked his arms around the women’s tiny waists, the color faded.
Eros’s father cleared his throat and placed his Passion Delight on the table. “We don’t call pets by their names, Commander,” he said to Lucifer. “She’s a pet, and that’s all. Call her what she is.”
“She’s not a pet,” Eros said, tensing.
His mother laughed. “Eros, baby, she isn’t anything more than that. Why don’t you get yourself a true succubus? Someone who could actually please you.”
Damn these people. I could please Eros. I could please him, couldn’t I?
She stood and leaned over the table, flashing her cleavage to everyone. I turned away in disgust. “Girls!” she said, flicking her manicured finger behind us. Two succubi walked up to us.
One sat on Eros’s other leg and pressed her breasts against his chest while the other ran her fingers up and down his horns.
Eros tensed, and his eyes darkened just enough for me to tell that he enjoyed how she touched him. I pressed my lips together and stared at the table. Could I really please Eros?
He dug his fingers into my side and shoved the woman off of his lap. “What the fuck are you doing, Mother?” He stared at the two succubi. “Get the fuck away from me.” He was seething, and I felt like our whole plan was ruined.