The Old King and the New Bride Ch. 04

There's a torrent of emotions flooding my head, and all of them come bursting out at once. All my anger and frustration and happiness coalesce into a burning need to cry my heart out, and I let it loose. I tighten my grip and I press my cheek against his chest, letting my tears flow onto his flawless skin. I let it go, and it feels so good to vent my emotions, even if it is through tears.

"Ah," he whispers, "That's it, then."

Taking a shaky breath, I look up at him with wide, questioning, tear-stained eyes. "What's it?"

He smiles down at me, reaching out to stroke Leyna's red hair from my face. "You've proved your point."

I swallow, trying to clear my thoughts as tears continue to stream down my cheeks. "I have?"

He nods, his smile growing an inch. "Demons never cry."

A smile breaks onto my lips. Once again, my humanness has saved my ass. My delicate emotions and unstable hormone levels have helped me solidify my status as Lucifer's rightful queen. Thank fucking God.

I may be human, but my inability to hold back my emotions has screwed you, Leyna.

His smile fades, slowly turning into a grimace of confusion. "What happened? How did she take my queen from me?"

I wipe away most of my tears, beyond relieved to know my husband is back on my team again. "I'm not sure. All I remember was arguing with her in the hall and her kissing me. I blacked out after we switched. Kerion saw the whole thing."

"Crafty old spider." His smile returns for an instant, then shifts into an angry scowl. "We'll fix this. I'll have no imposter in my bed when my queen is safe and sound."

I nod, but the urge to stay close to him is overwhelming. I drop my head back against his chest, listening to the thunder of his heartbeat. "Can we stay here for a bit? I've missed you, and it's nice to have you on my side again."

He laughs as his wings fold around me. "Of course. Take as long as you like. We'll get you back when you're ready."

I smile and nuzzle the smooth flesh of his chest. "Good." I pause for an instant. "How far did you get with her?" I ask out of pure curiosity, as well as a slight feeling of dread. I hate to think she convinced him enough to actually sleep with her...

"The truth? She barely got through telling me how much she wanted to blow me." His voice is low, tinged with disgust. "By that time, she'd been doing so much crap that didn't add up, I practically walked out of that room while she was still on her knees."

I smile. "Good."

Ha! The bitch can't even convince him when she's wearing my skin!

"You said Kerion saw what happened. Does anyone else know of this?"

I nod. "We ran into Belphagor and Lilith. Belphagor figured out I wasn't Leyna within about two seconds. He and the other fallen angels are working to make sure Leyna doesn't try to have me executed. He was with us all the way. Give him a raise, will you?"

Cold fingers run up and down my back, soothing my skin but also making me shiver.

"Why didn't you have him tell me what happened?"

"If you found out before we could put up roadblocks, we'd lose our chance to surprise Leyna."

He pauses for a moment. "How would you lose that?"

I lift my head from his chest and stare at him. "I know you. If you found out Leyna had switched bodies with me before we could catch her, you'd lose your mind. You might have even killed her and taken my body out as well. Then what would we do?"

"And Lilith?"

I hesitate, fearful of speaking the truth and risking unnecessary amounts of innocent lives. But my soul is itching for payback, so I let him have it.

"Kerion and I went to her asking for her help. She basically gave us the middle finger and said that once you'd figure out what happened, you'd toss my body off a cliff and she could take you for herself."

He's still for a moment, and I feel his chest rise and fall slowly beneath my fingers. "I see. I'll have a talk with her when we've got you straightened out." His voice is cold, emotionless. Lilith's fucked.

Good. Bitch deserves it.

I stay silent, watching the anger rise and fall in his eyes. Finally, he takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, seemingly clearing his head of thought about killing Lilith so he can focus on me again.

He smiles and kisses my forehead. "You know me too well for your own good."

I smile back. "I don't think so. Knowing you saved my ass."

He laughs softly. "Perhaps I've told you too much."

I shake my head, closing my eyes and inhaling the dark, rich scent that clings to his skin. "I want to know you. The more I know, the safer I feel."

His hands rubbing my back still, and his eyes go soft. "You feel unsafe with me?"

"No!" I nearly shout. "Not like that, dummy! I'm not afraid of you. Listening to your story makes me feel closer to you, that's all. The more distant you are, the less I'm comfortable around you."

His smile returns again. "Good. For a moment there, I thought you might claim irreconcilable differences and bail."

I'm taken aback slightly, and a little hurt. Why would he think that? Because I told him his emotional distancing scares me? That's not a reason that would make me leave. Attempted murder or infidelity, yeah, but not emotional disconnect.

My eyes float away from him, my mind still reeling from his assumption. "I said I loved you and promised I wouldn't leave. It hurts that you would think I might."

I hear him swear softly, and he shifts under me, pushing me back so he can sit up. He backs up against a wall so he can look me in the eye. I'm left straddling his thighs and wondering if this might be a death knell of my trust in him. If he's willing to believe I'm so afraid of him that I would pack up and leave, then maybe I should.

His cold hands cup my face, forcing me to look at him again. His flawless amber eyes spear into mine, almost knocking me back.

"I never meant that you would, just that you might. You know me. I've been left for dead by my own family. More people have left me behind than have taken me in. It's all I know, all I'm used to. I know you care about me -- maybe you even love me -- but it's a fear I'll never get over."

God damn, this man is broken beyond belief. I leave him for five seconds and he's already going nuts about me abandoning him. I understand his paranoia, but seriously. I promised him I'd stay - hell, I even turned down Michael to stay with him -- so he's got no reason to worry.

I reach down and cup his perfect face in my hands, forcing him to look at me. "Listen to me. When Michael came down here to claw me back to your dad, I told him I would never leave you. I said that until you tried to do harm to me, I'd stay by your side. You've never hurt me, or lied to me, or stabbed me in the back. You've stayed honest and faithful to me, trusting me when no one else wanted to and defending me when no one else would. Until you try to hurt me or bring me pain, I'm yours. Got it?"

He's still for a moment, then a slow, sweet smile spreads across his lips. His eyes light up, and he almost seems to glow. He leans forward, catching me off guard in the best way. I meet him halfway, our mouths melding as I loop my arms around his neck. His hands reach up and tangle in my hair, holding me tight as our kiss deepens.

I sigh to myself in relief. He finally gets it. I'm not going to abandon him, not matter how much other people may think he deserves it. He's my husband, and until he tries to hurt me, I'm not going anywhere. Besides, I've got power, privilege and a man who can blow my mind in bed. Why would I leave?

He breaks away for a moment, nuzzling his cheek against my neck. "If you were in your real body, I'd have you splayed out on the floor."

I giggle and kiss his soft hair. "Then let's go get it back."

He barks out a laugh, then scoops me into his arms and stands up. I laugh with him and grip his shoulders, lifting myself up so I can kiss him again. He lowers his head willingly, and our lips meet once more. He starts taking easy, confident steps down the hall, kissing me as he carries me towards our bedroom.

My fingers start to creep up his shoulders and tangle in his hair, pulling gently as we make our way down the hall. He groans in to my mouth and screeches to a halt, then drops his hands so my feet fall to the ground. I land easily, but I'm confused by what he's doing and what he wants. Before I can pull away and ask, Lucifer has spun me around and pressed my back against to cool stone of the wall. He steps forward, his mouth still locked to mine, and uses his weight to hold me in place.

Ah. I see what you want.

I smile against his lips and tighten my grip on his hair. He groans again, his hands snaking down my -- Leyna's -- body to find the hem of her dress. It's a floor-length gown, so he's out of luck there. Thankfully, it's designed with a thigh-high slit on the side, and I feel him smile as his cool fingers glide up my leg.

My body or not, I don't care.

His fingers reach my hip and start drawing delicious circles on my skin. I moan into his mouth and lift my leg so I can hook it over his hip. His other hand catches my thigh and helps me up, then slides around to my back once I'm locked against him.

His fingers slowly start working the hem of my dress up to my hips. At this point, I'm really caught by surprise. I didn't realize that Leyna was naked when she and I switched bodies. I've been practically nude this entire time, which makes for a very interesting choice of events that could play out. Lucifer could decide he doesn't care and ravage me anyway, or he could decide he wants nothing to do with Leyna's body and wait until I'm myself again. Or anything in-between.

Either way, I don't really care. I'm just glad to have my husband back on my side and fighting for me again. Our kiss continues, a mix of happiness, lust and relief all rolled into one fantastic make-out session.

"Sire!"

Belphagor's booming voice echoes down the hallway, snapping me out of my lust haze. Lucifer, however, remains locked against me, seemingly unaware of our new company.

I flick my eyes down the hall, watching as a band of fallen angels charges towards us. Belphagor is leading them, a look of panic on his face. The others have similar expression, but their eyes hold a more serious tone.

"Sire!" Belphagor calls out again, louder and more urgent.

Lucifer sighs against me and reluctantly pulls away, a flicker of irritation in his eyes. He turns his head to face the stampede of angels coming at us, straightening his shoulders and flaring his wings out like a barrier.

The mass of fallen angels slows down and stop a few feet in front of us, still looking panicked. Belphagor's emerald eyes find me, relaxing a bit when her notices my legs hooked provocatively over my husband's hip.

The hulking angel sighs in relief. "Michelle, thank goodness."

Lucifer nods. "Yes, I know. What's the issue?"

Belphagor's attention snaps to his ruler. "It's Leyna. She's trying to pass an execution order."

WHAT?!

Lucifer's lips turn up in a mocking smile. "It won't get far. Even if the Counsil does let it pass, I'll kill it before the ink is dried." He turns to me, rubbing his thumb along my bottom lip. "I'll kill her before she can even get close to you."

I smile up at him, considering then dismissing the idea of seductively sucking on his thumb to show my appreciation. Not now, but later. The last thing Belphagor wants to see is my husband getting turned on when urgent shit is flying around.

Belphagor clears his throat, looking more nervous that scared. "The order isn't from Michelle, sir."

Now he's caught both of our attentions. Lucifer and I whip our heads to look at him, wearing matching expression of confusion and worry.

The old angel sighs. "Leyna may want Michelle dead, but unfortunately she's smart enough to know that going for her first would be suicide."

Swallowing, I acknowledge the elephant in the room. "So who'd she go after?"

"Kerion." Belphagor's eyes flick to the ground nervously. "For treason."

I'm stunned, frightened and beyond hurt. Kerion has done nothing but help and support me. He saw what happened, rescued me, and tried his best to convince Lilith to fight with us. How dare she go after him! Anger flood my body and I look up at my husband to see if he's as pissed as I am.

What I see is more frightening than the boogeyman himself. My husband stares out into the hallway, his eyes and cold and unfeeling. His wings shudder slightly, a tiny indication of the hurricane that must be brewing inside him. His mouth twists into a tight grimace, and his breathing and labored and shaky. To top it all off, I see his eye twitch.

"Belphagor." His voice is low, deadly, filled with fury I can't even begin to imagine.

The dark angel swallows loudly but holds his ground. "Sire?"

Lucifer continues to stare out into the hallway. "Tsaric nor namiriac."

Belphagor is silent for an instant, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. The rest of the group has fallen silent, too, staring at Lucifer with fearful eyes. My gut twists and I'm tempted for an instant to pull away from him and step back so he can have room to explode.

Uh oh. That must be a really bad code.

Clearing his throat again, Belphagor manages to regain his equilibrium. "Shoot to kill, sir?"

Lucifer can only nod.

Belphagor nods in response. "I'll see it done."

"Not yet." One of Lucifer's hands flies up, halting any idea of them leaving. "I'll say when it's clear. Until I give the order, neither Michelle nor Leyna's bodies are to be harmed."

"Yes, sir." Belphagor nods in response, seemingly relieved but still concerned.

I stare at my husband, confused, nervous and worried that his mind may have snapped. Yes, I'm pissed about Leyna sending and execution order for Kerion, too. But I'd like to think I'm the slightly more emotionally stable one in our marriage. His silence and coldness has me anxious that I may have lost him for a moment.

Until he gives to order? What or-

The pieces start to fall together in my head. The kill order is for Leyna, meant for after I get my body back. Lucifer's planning to set her free into Hell and have her gunned down -- or whatever weapon they plan to use on her -- once I'm back to normal. But he wants them to wait until he gives to order in case things don't go as smoothly and she ends up running off with my body or they accidentally shoot me instead. Once I'm back to being me, he'll give the order and Leyna will be gone for good.

Well, as pissed as I am about mom forcing me into this marriage, I must say I've ended up with one hell of a loyal, protective husband.

Lucifer sighs and closes his eyes, hanging his head as he turns to face me again. His eyes flutter open, staring at me but not really focusing on anything. "Go."

Belphagor and the other angels nod and bow respectfully before turning to leave. I watch as Belphagor and Samael take one last glance back and grin at me, relieved to know that their master knows what happened and that their world is on it's way to being set right again. I smile back, relieved to know I've got more than just a handful of allies on my side; I've got a whole damn army of powerful fallen angels ready to attack in my defense at a moment's notice. Freaking awesome.

Once my husband and I are alone again, I can refocus on him. Lucifer's still furious, but his face is as calm and serene as ever. Again, I stare up at him in awe. He has such control over himself, so much power held back behind those eyes. I wonder how he blows off steam when the stress gets to be too much.

Oh, yes. That's what I'm for.

I reach up and cup his cheek, running my thumb over the razor-sharpness of his cheekbone. "Hey."

A small smile cracks on his lips. "Forgive me."

"Nope. I'm the same way right now." I smile back and shake my head.

He relaxes a bit, exhaling slowly. "Kerion. I never thought she'd sink that low."

Honestly, I'm not surprised.

"It's okay," I whisper. "We knew she was nuts."

He gives a soft laugh. "Crazy, yes. But treasonous? Even for Leyna that's a bit extreme."

"Well..." I trail off, deliberating if I should answer honestly or let it go.

Before I can decide, Lucifer lets out a low groan and leans forward, pressing his lips to mine once again. I smile against him and kiss back, letting my train of thought go and allowing my husband to hold my attention. His hands resume their previous teasing, holding me steady and spinning circles around the flesh of my hips.

He pulls away, breathing heavily. He leans forward, pressing his cheek against my neck as his warm breath spills down my back. "Damn it."

I reach around and run my fingertips along the length of his back. "What? What is it?"

"I've had a hard-on all fucking day," he groans into my shoulder. His hands reach under the fabric of my dress and slide up and down my thighs, warming my cold skin and making me tremble.

I lean my head back against the wall, closing my eyes and relishing in the feel of my husband's cool hands on my skin. I bite my lip as one of his fingers brushes against the edge of my sex. I tremble again, and I hear his laugh just as his finger strokes my clit. This time, I inhale sharply and dig my fingers into his back, my body now on fire and begging for more attention.

No, no. Not like this.

I groan in frustration, but I know my conscience is right. As much as I want my husband to throw me on the floor and tear me to pieces, I do not what to do it while I'm still stuck in Leyna's body. Once I'm back in my own skin, I plan for us to smash every piece of furniture in that bedroom.

"No, no," I whisper in his ear. "Not now."

He stills, confused that I would turn down his offer for sex.

"Michelle," he groans.

I stroke the length of his spine with my thumbs. "Not while I'm like this. After all the shit she's put us through, I don't want Leyna to walk out of my room knowing that her body got a piece of you even when she wasn't there to enjoy it."

Thankfully, he gets the message and pulls his hands back an inch. He's got the same idea: no sex, even while I'm the one in this body, until we get things back to normal. Relieving ourselves now will still give Leyna a tiny bit of satisfaction knowing some part of her managed to capture him. If we can hold out for a little bit longer, we can send her to her execution as a complete failure.

Still, I hate seeing my husband in the grip of such a painful need for release. I feel awful for making him hold his libido back, even if it is for a good reason. I sigh and decide that even though I won't allow him to take what he wants, I'll give him what he needs.

"Come here," I whisper, pulling him against me.

He comes willingly, pulling his hands away from my pussy and looping them around my back. His face remains buried against my shoulder, but I don't care. He's dealt with enough shit today. It's time he gets a little relief.

I pull one of my hands away from his back and reach down to trace the edge of his tattered jeans. His body trembles slightly, and he bucks his hips against my fingers. I smile and dip my fingers past the sturdy denim, tracing my way around to his chiseled abdomen. The light hairs on his treasure trail tickle my fingertips, and I continue to teasingly trace the deep lines of muscle carved into his flesh.

"No, sex," I whisper. "But I'll get you off."

He groans against my shoulder and hugs me tighter. "My godsend."

I laugh. "Not quite a godsend, but you're welcome."

I manage to unbutton and unzip his pants with one hand, using the other to stroke his back and keep him close. The instant his jeans come undone, his cock flies out, hard and ready for some serious attention. I laugh softly and rub his back in apology. My poor husband. He must have had one nasty case of blue balls.