Lucifer's Bride [Complete]

88

    I take a long breath and walk over to him. Silently, I kneel down beside him on the floor, reaching out to hold his hands in mine. Lucifer swings his head around to stare down at me, a puzzled look on his beautiful face.

I inhale quickly. "I know this meant a lot to you, so I'm sorry if I did hurt you."

His smile returns for a moment. "Amelia, its fine. I said-"

"I'm willing to give him a shot," I cut him off before he can stop my change of heart.

He stars at me, shocked. "You are."

I nod shakily. "I'm willing to give him a chance because it means so much to you. But I'm still scared of who he is and what he could do. I need you to promise me that you'll keep him in check once we start."

It's no longer a smile that graces his face, but a grin. "He won't get too pushy, I promise. I'll keep him on a tight leash."

I breathe a small sigh of relief. I've promised to give the unloved half of my husband a chance, mended his broken pride and managed to salvage his award-winning smile. Not a bad list for five minutes.

"So how long until we start?" I ask quietly.

Lucifer shrugs. "Not until his meeting with Beelzebub is finished. That could take hours."

Okay, so I have time to breath and prep for this.

As relieved as I am that this won't start immediately, we still need something to do. Sex – at least until Satan arrives – is out of the question, and I'm hardly the type of person to sit around and stare at the wall for hours. I shift slightly, trying to get comfortable, the action causing the fabric of my dress to rub against my nipples.

Wait...

Of course! How could I have forgotten? In an unparalleled bitchy move, Leyna removed my piercings while she still had control of my body. I have no idea where she could have hid them, and I'm desperate to get them back. They are mine, after all. That's what we could do!

I stand quickly, excited to possibly find my mementos of bonding with my husband. I pull on Lucifer's hand, trying to urge him up off the bed. I'm not a hellion, so I can't imagine where Leyna could have tossed my rings. I'm going to need his help for this.

"Come on. I need your help." I pull his hand again.

He looks up at me, confused. "With what?"

I scowl slightly. "Leyna removed my piercings when she still had my body. We need to find them."

His eyes widen in recognition, and he rockets up from the bed. There's a look of excited thoughtfulness on his face, as if he's thrilled about finding my jewels but can't think of where to start.

I let go of his hand and spin around, placing my hands on my hips as I survey the room. "Okay, how do we do this?
Lucifer pauses for a moment. "Leyna hated those piercings because they reminded her of you and your position. She wouldn't want us to find them, so she would have hid them somewhere we would never look."

I chew my lip silently. "So...maybe we start looking under things? Maybe she didn't really care about me not finding them as much as she cared about me never getting them back. If I can't reach them, I can't have them."

"It's worth a try," Lucifer sighs. "I'll take the bed and the other heavier pieces."

I nod. "I'll start with the dresser."

We separate and head towards our respective hunting grounds. I start by flinging open the doors of the armoire and rummaging through the clothing. I pull out each piece, shaking then folding it and setting it aside so I know I've checked everything and don't lose my place. Behind me, Lucifer grunts as he shifts the bed to allow him better access.

An hour passes before I'm finished looking through the clothing. I've checked every single piece, even the sky-high stilettos that are shoved into my wardrobe, and I haven't found anything. I sigh and put everything back, double checking them one last time just in case I may have missed something.

"Anything?" I call out as I hang an expertly embroidered corset.

"Nope," Lucifer growls, resetting the bed.

I actually growl myself. I'm beyond annoyed that Leyna took out the few items that I can really consider mine, and now she's hidden them just to fuck with me. Damn that woman.

I spin around and walk towards the bathroom doors, pushing them open and making a b-line for the tub. I take a quick glance inside the exquisite marble creation, disheartened hen I see that there's nothing but warm, clear water. I drop to my hands and knees and peer into the small space under the tub. Still nothing. I sigh and stand up again, my eyes scanning the entire bathroom. Besides the tub, there's only a beautifully carved sink and a solid porcelain toilet here. So unless Leyna flushed my rings, there's nowhere to hide them.

"Could she have dropped them down the sink?" I ask, a bubble of anxiety starting to form in my gut.

"No," Lucifer yells back. "If anything valuable or unusual gets dropped into the pipes, the demons in the Gluttony department would alert us immediately. It's been three days, so they must still be here."

Phew. Crisis averted.

I spin again, knowing that there's nowhere left to look here. I walk back out into the bedroom, my mind turning in ten directions, trying to find an answer. I see Lucifer standing at the edge of our bed, scowling at the floor in frustration. He's as annoyed as I am, but neither of us can think of any other place Leyna could have hidden my piercings. I copy him, glaring at the floor as I rack my brain for an answer.

Wait...the floor!

My head snaps up as an idea rushes into my mind. I spin and stare at my husband, hoping that my hunch is right. "Lucifer, are there any false panels in the floor here?"

He looks up at me, thinking for a moment before answering me. "A few. One in each corner and one under the bed."

"Dou you think she could have hidden them under one of those?" I ask excitedly.

His eyes start to light up. "It's possible. She's a demon after all, so lifting one of the stone wouldn't be difficult for her."

Hopeful, I rush over towards him as he shifts the bed again. Pulling it away, he drops to his knees and digs his fingers into the thick grout lines between the block of marble. He grunts softly as he hauls the massive stone up and over. I stare silently at him, marveling at his strength and the way his muscles flex as he moves the rock.

No! Focus!

Lucifer heaves the rock to one side, and I kneel down beside the large hole. Moving quickly so my fear of the dark doesn't get to me first, I reach my hand down into the black abyss, feeling around the smooth rock for any sign of gold or gems. I can't find anything, but I feel around one last time before pulling my hand out, disappointed.

Lucifer's cool hand strokes my shoulder blades. "We have four more to check. They're around here somewhere."

I hope so...