“Oh.” Emma studied her. “And Ethan and me need to stay here?”
“You’re safest here.” Lucifer tucked the quilt beneath her chin. “I want you both to be here when I get back.”
Emma blinked at him. “Okay.”
Sophia left the meeting with a heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach. This war, because she was afraid it was taking that horrible shape, had spread to children. Even before Lucifer had told them about the young witch’s strength, they’d all felt it radiating from her.
Strength like that had proven to be a burden to humans over the centuries. Other humans had done all they could to control it and take it, and when that failed, annihilate the vessel containing the magic. That child sleeping upstairs had been born with a target on her back. They could protect her—and they would—but even once this was over, the danger to Emma would shadow her entire life.
Sophia took a deep breath and tried to center herself. In five minutes, she was due at rehearsal, and it was providing joy in an ominous mental landscape.
“Sophia,” Chris called from behind her.
His refined features appeared as composed as ever, but an endearing tentativeness lingered in his eyes.
“Hi.” She hoped he wasn’t going to try to use their connection to further his agenda to keep the children under guardian protection.
Stepping in front of her, he shoved his hands in his pockets. “On your way to rehearsal?”
“Yes.” Although archangels and hell princes were collaborating better, the guardians retained their wary distance.
“I heard it was going well.” His open smile relaxed his austere face.
“You did?”
Flushing, he nodded. “I asked Daniel how it was going during our last debrief.”
Was Chris forming some kind of ill-advised affection for her? It happened all the time when humans and angels interacted, and it rarely ended well for the human. She hoped the chocolates he’d gifted her were not a sign of an attachment on Chris’s part and kept her response neutral. “That was kind of Daniel to say.”
“He’s a nice kid.” Chris cleared his throat. “Bit of a loose cannon, but his intentions are good.”
“Hmm.” She liked Daniel. “He’s a good fit with Dee.”
“Another loose cannon.” Chris chuckled. “When we appointed him here, it was with the hope that they’d see eye to eye.”
If he was harboring feelings, she didn’t want to encourage them. “They get along fine.”
“Good.” Chris nodded to the door beside her. “Well, I won’t keep you. Break a leg and all that.” He strode away without looking back.
Eddie and Shade came up behind her.
“What did he want?” Eddie glared after Chris, still not reconciled to what he’d done to her and Shade.
“I’m not sure,” Sophia said. They had trouble enough without her airing her concerns.
“Watch that one.” Shade growled. “I don’t trust him.”
Hardly surprising since Chris had held Eddie captive and shoved Shade through the hell gate when he was wounded. And then there had been a fight when Shade and Eddie had returned with an incapacitated Wrath. “I’ll be careful.”
Eddie waited for Sophia to enter the stage door before she turned to Shade. “You think he’s up to something?”
“Maybe.” Shade scowled. “He’s suddenly being more cooperative and less of a dick. It makes me nervous.”
“You and me both.” Eddie wasn’t going to forget in a hurry who had tied her up and wanted to interrogate her. Not to mention what Chris had done to Shade and then Dee.
Shade took a deep breath and shook his head as if clearing his thoughts. “Look, with the children here, I think I should stay here instead of the B&B.”
The idea of Shade under the same roof as her sent a rush of heat through Eddie. Him being so close raised a dizzying number of options, especially after that kiss the other night. The kiss, combined with weeks of hand holding, cuddling, casual touches and smoldering looks, had Eddie’s hormones doing cartwheels. “Really?”
Shade smirked as if he knew exactly what was happening behind her poker face. “Yes, really.” He dipped his face closer to hers. “I can share the spare room with Daniel, or the sofa in the greenroom is comfy enough.” His knowing gray eyes twinkled, at odds with his serious tone. “Sophia is staying too, and we don’t need as much sleep as you do.”
“I know that.” Her tone came out a lot more waspish than she’d intended. She missed the Shade she’d first met. The Shade who would press her against the nearest flat surface and make her crave dirty, sweaty things. Shade’s wooing seemed to be a glacially slow activity.
With him staying at the theatre, there was an opportunity to tell him he could share her bed, but the words got stuck in her throat. She’d never been the kind of woman who could state her desires confidently. God, she wished she had an ounce of Rosabella’s sexual confidence.
“That’s a lot of thinking you’re doing.” Shade’s gaze turned molten. “Anything you’d care to share?”
“Maybe.” He’d given her every indication he wanted her. For fuck’s sake, he’d come right out and told her as much. Yet she still couldn’t tell him what she wanted.
“When that maybe becomes a yes, then I want to hear every one of those thoughts,” Shade said. He stepped back. “But until then, Daniel is getting a roommate.”
That thing flying past her head was opportunity. Mustering what courage she had, she blurted, “What if I want a roommate?”
“Eddie.” He looked pained. “You can’t even get the words out.”
“I’m shy.” More words rushed out of her. “I’m not like my mother. I don’t believe that people want me.”
“And that’s why,” Shade said.
Eddie made an inarticulate noise of frustration.
Shade gripped her nape and tugged her forehead against his. “I’m a hell prince. I’m not a human male who you can have a relationship with and then walk away. I am not Wrath. Once you give yourself to me, you are mine. Forever.”
“But what if you change your mind?” Her insecure little girl put in an appearance.
“I won’t,” he said without hesitation. “This may surprise you, but I’ve had offers before.”
She snorted. She’d seen firsthand the effect he had on other beings.
“I’ve waited all this time for the right one.” He tightened his grip on her nape. “For you, Eddie. I have waited for you.”
She forgot to breathe. “But you’re still waiting.”
“Yes.” His voice grew deep and rumbly. “Now I’m waiting for you to be ready. Loving me means taking on all that I am. My demesne, my seal, the way my seal affects others—all of that and more. There can’t be any doubt on your part.”
