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“… thank you, though.” Chloe thanked Olga once again for watching Trixie after hours before closing the door behind her. The old lady was great, always there when she needed her, but words definitely escaped her.
With the door now closed, Chloe leaned back on it and let out a breath. It had all happened a couple hours ago, but she could still faintly smell the sleeping gas on her clothes. Its sweet taste puddled low on her stomach, unsettling it and making her hand start trembling again. For the second time in less than a week, Trixie had almost ended up without a mother.
She’d really have to be more careful.
Deciding she more than deserved it, Chloe made her way to the kitchen on wobbly legs and grabbed a wine bottle. She corked it open and served herself a glass, but didn’t actually drink it.
She couldn’t shake the feeling of waking up and not being able to move or open her eyes for the first couple minutes. People talked around her, but she couldn’t say anything herself. She didn’t like not being in control, especially not of herself.
The heat from Lucifer’s hands on her shoulders was the only thing that calmed her down. She could feel it seeping through her clothes, keeping her from panic. She knew, even while she was mostly out of herself, he’d never let her come to harm.
But almost having her skull smashed with a sledge-hammer wasn’t the only thing that was nagging at her.
There was also the lieutenant. He’d been great during the Axara show, fun, and trustworthy, and easy, but there had been something wrong with him during their sting dinner. Maybe it was because Lucifer and Dan were watching them, but he had seemed like a completely different person, and it kept bothering her, biting at the edge of her consciousness no matter how many times she willed it away.
Focusing back on her glass, Chloe picked it up and gulped it all, the image of Lucifer’s disapproving stare at her choice of wine coloring her mind’s eye. She hoped the alcohol would will her to forget about the night and the feeling of Lucifer’s hands on her that wouldn’t go away. She filled another glass for herself, intent on forgetting all about that, when a knock on the door broke her out of her thoughts.
She quickly moved to answer the door, looking back at the couch to see if Olga had forgotten something. “Hey, Olga, did you forget-” Chloe called for the woman as she opened the door, but for her surprise, it wasn’t her.
“Evening, Detective.” Lucifer greeted her with a smile, but she was a bit too surprised to return it. They had, after all, just seen each other at the sting dinner. “May I?” He asked and gestured inside and she took a step back to let him it.
“Why are you here?” She asked as she closed the door and made her way back to the kitchen counter where her wine glass was waiting for her. She turned back to him just in time to catch his answer.
“I wanted to see you again.” He answered with a smile. She didn’t miss the way his eyes softened around the edges as he looked at her.
She’d caught him looking at her like that before, like his armor had been cracked and he’s started shining through it. And it wasn’t the wine that made her remember how Marcus’ eyes had never shown that much emotion, not even during their fake – maybe not? – dinner.
She didn’t know why it was bothering her now, but it was.
Chloe took another – rather large – sip from her glass, willing the wine to make her forget about it, not think it through.
“We just saw each other at the scene.” She smiled confusedly at her obvious statement, but grabbed another glass and the bottle and moved to the couch, all the while trying to ignore how pink the tips of his ears had turned.
“I, uh…” Lucifer cleared his throat as he sat down beside her, his wide eyes drifting everywhere but at her. “We didn’t have much of a chance to talk back at the scene, and I…” He let out a low breath and turned to face her, seeming to have found his composure again. “I just- I just wanted to make sure you’re okay, darling.”
His eyes showed such honesty that it made her breath catch in her throat. She gulped down the rest of her wine and placed it on the coffee table with the bottle and Lucifer’s not-filled-yet glass as she tried to get her feelings in check.
His eyes would be the death of her.
She smiled warmly at his concern, shifting on the couch so she sat facing him. Chloe placed a hand on his knee closest to her to try to get his eyes back at hers. “I’m okay.” Her voice was soft as she tried to reassure them both it had all been nothing.
“Are you sure?” His voice was small as he spoke, his brows furrowing enough to make her want to run her thumb over them and wash his concern away.
Chloe nodded, sporting a small smile. His eyes fell away a few seconds later. He sat straighter on the couch and squared his shoulders. She knew he thought he should leave now that he had his answer, but his eyes lingered on the wine bottle for a few seconds before he willed them away, and surprisingly, she didn’t want him gone just yet.
“I thought the Devil wasn’t supposed to care.” She commented with a playful edge to her voice, hoping he got the message and stayed. His eyes moved back to her instantly.
“Right.” He quipped back looking stunned. Slowly a half-smile found his lips and he settled back on the couch facing her.
“Right.” She wasn’t sure on how to feel at the relief that washed over her that she wouldn’t have to be alone for now. Chloe knew the gas and the dark and the sound of the sledgehammer cracking open her head would haunt her if she didn’t find something else to focus on.
“Good,” Lucifer confirmed as he tried to hide his smile. “Because I don’t.”
“Yeah, right.” She bit back. A chill washed down her stomach, followed by a wave of warmth as she let herself be absorbed by his eyes.
For a moment, Lucifer only stared back at her, without continuing their quips. His eyes took in a softness that made their brown shine in the low light. Stun-ness now fully gone, Lucifer shifted all his attention to her, and it seemed to her there was nothing else but them for him at the moment.
Chloe could practically feel the heat of his gaze on her, the soft smile on his face making him look younger and vulnerable. She was trapped in his gaze, not stuck at his scrutiny – she noticed bitterly – like with the lieutenant.
Maybe it was his position that made it all uncomfortable for her, maybe it was because she never liked him for starters? She had only noticed him after Ella made that comment, but with Lucifer… she’d seen him all by herself.
And with him she felt seen.
“I mean it.” He tried again, shifting on the couch a tad closer to her. Her eyes fell to his lips as he brought his tongue out to wet them. “Even if I did feel something,” Lucifer started again, placing his arm on the back of the couch, and it was completely unfair how the bare brush of his fingertips on her shoulder made her heart flutter. “Which I don’t, mind you, but…” Chloe let out a huff, shifting closer to him this time. “Even if I did…”
She noticed his eyes trailing down her face to her lips and his words coming out slower and breathier until he stopped speaking. Chloe shifted just a tiny bit closer again, her heart beating so fast it was getting difficult to breathe.
Lucifer’s eyes returned to hers and he tried again. “What was I saying again?” He huffed out a small laugh. A boyish smile flowered on his face, accentuating the glee in his eyes.
“Even if you did feel something…” She supplied, wetting her own lips in anticipation as he began leaning closer.
He felt like gravity. She could skirt around the edges, fight its pull on her, but it was inevitable being attracted to the center, to him.
“Right.” He was close enough she could feel his breath on her lips and the barest trace of his body heat so close to her. “Even if I… didn’t feel something… I…”
Her heart picked up in speed after his confession. His lips were there, just inches away from hers, but she couldn’t bring herself to focus on them. It was his eyes that held her attention, so dark and vulnerable and alight with something more.
She knew he was waiting for her to make the move, so she did.
Chloe didn’t feel the raging inferno, the burning passion, the consuming desire, she thought she would. Instead, his lips were warm and soft, and she felt a peace she’d never known before. It was like coming home after a long time, and she just let herself drown in the bliss.
Lucifer’s hands had come up to cup her cheeks with such reverence she didn’t think was possible, and in return she curled her fingers, letting her nails scrape his chest where she had rested her hands.
But Lucifer’s soft touches didn’t last for long. Soon, his hands had drifted to her hips, his grip increasing, his need to feel her getting the best of him. She let him pull her to his lap, deepening the kiss and thoroughly enjoying the moan at the back of his throat once their tongues finally met.
He placed a hand around her waist and pulled her flush against him, letting his other hand fall to rest on her thigh. Chloe let her fingers twine with his hair, scratching at the back of his head and enjoying the feeling of his locks curling at the tips.
The smell of his cologne, something fresh and smoky with just the hint of whiskey, seeped into her nostrils and filled her senses, finally taking that sickly sweet smell from the gas out of her mind.
Slowly, Chloe felt him calm down, his hands on her body more a caress than a reassurance. The desperation left him and in its place bloomed a sort of lazy reverence. She slowed their kiss, taking her time to just enjoy the feeling of him and how kissing him made her feel. She felt a smile begin to take control of his features and she soon couldn’t control one of her own.
Chloe took the opportunity to pull back and breathe, and witness the pure joy taking hold of his face. In time, it turned into more of a grin with mischief coloring his eyes.
She was so enthralled by him that it took her a moment to realize just where she was. Sudden images of a not so pure dream she’d had with him so long ago now came back to the forefront of her mind and she blushed.
“I know I’m kind of in your lap and all, but…” Chloe began and casted her eyes away, unsure as of how to continue. She could feel the result of his eagerness and their kiss pressing to her center, restrained inside his trousers. And as much as she wanted this – wanted him –, it made a light panic start inside her.
When she finally worked up the courage to meet his gaze again, he was sporting such a happy smug grin that lit up his eyes that it almost made her forget all her reservations.
“Hey, lose the smile.” She told him, lightly smacking his chest.
“Not possible, love.” Her acknowledge of his smile only made it grow even more and she shook her head in disbelief, secretly adoring it and fighting one of her own.
Lucifer twined his fingers behind her back and relaxed back into the couch, holding her loosely between his arms. His head tilted sideways as he regarded her, and with his brown eyes sparkling and his hair curling, he’s never looked cuter.
Chloe chose to see his smile as an encouragement and tried again. “I know I’m… uh…” She cleared her throat and let her eyes fall away again, heat already rushing up her cheeks. It seemed she was bound to not finish that sentence.
“We don’t have to do anything.” She felt his voice reverberate inside him from where her hands were resting on his chest. It attracted her eyes back to his, and she was surprised to see he didn’t seem disappointed in the least.
Which shouldn’t be a surprise, after all. She’d seen this side of him before. The one that cares too much, that feels too much, and that is always aware of the needs of the ones dear to him, even if he can’t interpret them properly every time.
“I don’t think I’m ready for that just yet.”
“It’s okay not to be.” He shared in almost a whisper before the corners of his mouth began tugging upwards in a genuine smile she liked to think was only for her. “Frankly? I don’t think I am, either.”
It was such a shock to hear him, Lucifer Morningstar, the very picture of sex, admit to that, that she did a double take to be sure she’d heard him right. Only in the back of her mind did she allow herself to notice how her heart seemed to swell for him, how it warmed her from head to toe to hear him say he understood her.
He must have noticed her shock, because next, he placed his left hand above her right one where it was playing with the short hairs at his nape, and slid it down his chest, coming to stop above his heart. He pressed it down and she felt it. His heart thumping madly inside him.
“Anything else and I might as well faint.”
The laugh they shared was so pure, she couldn’t remember ever being so carefree. Chloe laid forward and rested her head on the crook of his neck and simply enjoyed the peace it brought being with him as he closed his arms more tightly around her, and she allowed herself to be happy.