The Fallen King [Dark Temptation Spin-Off One]

Chapter 4

Lucifer

She was so happy with my compliment about the dress, huh? My apologies because when I saw her biting her lip which I thought that was dangerously inviting, I infiltrated her mind and saw what was the cause. And yes, it was her ex-boyfriend. Stating the dress was too plain for her to meet his parents. As the result, Ivy didn’t enjoy the dinner at that time while the poor guy was laughing cluelessly like nothing was wrong.

Honestly, I didn’t say her dress was beautiful on her because I had to say it. I thought she looked enchanting with it. I never thought white would suit anyone. White didn’t scream me at all. I didn’t have any specific color to be my favorite. Yet, my world was always dark and bloody. White never came to my mind. And here I was, admiring my little human dressed in a white dress. And I just promised her another next time. Ever since I was involved with Ivy, I didn’t know myself anymore. Almost like I didn’t recognize myself. My mouth worked on its own before I could think. Even tonight, I wanted to cancel my dinner with her. Daemon said to embarrass her so she would hate me and that’s why Daemon acted as Desmond was the one who picked her up. Thinking of Ivy crying because she thought I stood her up, something crumbled inside of me. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like seeing Ivy in tears. Almost like they were my undoing. Oh, for crying out loud! Will you stop with this weird thing that has been going on around you lately, Lucifer?

“Are you alright?” she asked, flicking my eyes back to her crystals.

“Yeah, I’m good.” At the same time, our appetizers arrived. “Please, dig in, Miss Phoenix,” I told her and she smiled. She only chose a Caesar salad. Actually, she could pick anything she wanted. I had told her that and yet here she was, being a kind woman she was, she was holding herself back even though someone was paying her dinner. She didn’t need to stop by at that 7-eleven store and bought those disgusting chicken strips and an abomination they called the damn Slurpee. What a lovely and gentle woman she was.

Even though I already knew the answer, I had to spark some conversation so she wouldn’t be suspicious of anything. “How’s your ballet career doing, Miss Phoenix?”

“It’s good. I just came back so I have to start over again. I enjoy it though. I want to do Giselle so I practice hard these days,” she explained. Giselle, one of the famous performances in the ballet world. A tragic love story about betrayal. And quite honestly, the story was like Ivy’s. A girl who wanted nothing but love. Her previous one left her because he didn’t want to be involved with a sick girl. I wonder if he found out Ivy was still alive and perfectly healthy, would he ask her to come back with him? Maybe he would and if Ivy was stupid, she would return to him. Especially if she was starving with a man’s touches. That was what she asked me before destiny screwed us and she found me.

“I want to watch you,” I stated.

“You want to?” Oh, those blinking eyes. How adorable.

“Yes, I do.” As Lucius.

“Then, I’ll work hard. My trainer told me too that I changed lately and maybe I will have the chance to get the role.”

“I know you will, Miss Phoenix. You’ve practiced hard and you’re doing it straight from your heart. You’ll get it.” Maybe with a little of my help.

“Thank you, Mr. Godiva.” And there I had it, the smile I wanted to see. I enjoyed it when she called me Mr. Godiva. Sounding like I was her God. The God she used to pray before had no place in her heart and her belief. But only as Lucius, she would give me that smile. She wouldn’t be giving that when I was being Lucifer. I was just going to enjoy this moment though before I went back stalking her.

We finished the appetizer and while waiting, I asked something that again I already knew the answer, “Are you seeing someone?”

“No. Why?”

“Well, I do not want to upset someone because you already have a boyfriend.”

“Oh, no, I don’t have anyone and I’m not seeing someone. My ex left me when I got sick.”

“Oh? What a shame.”

“Yeah, but that’s okay. I’m letting him go and I don’t wish for him to come back now that I’m healthy.” Yeah, stay away from what’s mine, foolish human. Oh, for the love of God! Where the hell did that come from? And then she added, “There’s someone though,” capturing my attention. Someone? Who? I never saw her seeing anyone of the opposite s*x. I was there, twenty-four-seven, no one would slip under my watch. “Well, maybe it will sound creepy but…I have a stalker.” Oh? She was talking about…me.

“A stalker…” I repeated. “Why do you consider him that?”

“Because he’s always following me. He doesn’t hurt me but he’s always there, like a silent guardian.” Her angel of death. That’s what she used to call me before. An angel who was waiting for her Independence Day. She had her day, her second chance to start over. “I wish he would just step out and talk to me. I know he doesn’t mean any harm yet he’s being a coward and refuses to come out. I’ve asked him to stop following me.”

“You know him?” She nodded her head.

“I told him I was bothered by his action. I’ve asked him to stop yet he doesn’t.”

“Because he likes you.” Hold on. Again, where did that come from? Liked her? I liked her? Was I?

“He is but he doesn’t want to admit it. Although I like him.” Oh, boy. “He was there every time I felt lonely when I was sick. When I didn’t want to show my weakness to anyone, not even to my family, he was there. Keeping me company. To not make me feel alone in this world. That’s what he’s been doing before I saw him for the first time. Now I wish we didn’t meet face to face.”

“Why is that?”

“Because even though he’s closer than I think, he’s far away and out of my reach and I hate it. I was always alone and I thought for the first time ever, I had someone I could consider as a friend. I have one now but she just moved to Mexico. She just got married and they want to start their family there.” Right, Ivy was so close with Venus. Their friendship bond developed like clockwork the second they met. Almost like they had the same soul and they matched instantly. Said Venus was the first person who really wanted her as a friend. I remembered she asked me to not kill her. And now that she had left with Micah and Levi, Ivy didn’t have anyone anymore. Even her sister was busy with her university. The closes person she had now…was me. She sighed, chuckled, and asked, “What am I saying? Just forget about it.”

“No,” I said it too quick. “It’s such a pity that he doesn’t have the courage to talk with you anymore.”

“Well… He’s different.” Yeah, because I was the Lucifer. A demon. The ruler of the underworld. While Ivy was just a human. Different from me. Two beings that could not be together forever. She shouldn’t be around me yet here I was, trying to get her close.

The door was opened and the previous waiter returned with our main course. “Let’s enjoy tonight, Miss Phoenix. I want you to be here to make you happy, not to feel bad about what you can’t control.”

Rewarding me with a smile, “Thank you, Mr. Godiva,” she thanked me.

You wouldn’t be later, little human.

***

Ivy

Right after the lovely dinner, Lucius took me home. With Desmond too. I had a lovely night. I enjoyed my dinner with him. And the foods were amazing. I enjoyed everything from the appetizer to dessert. No wonder people kept coming to his restaurant.

We reached my building. “Thank you for taking me home,” I said.

I was about to open the door, “Wait,” Lucius stopped me and he jumped out. Rounding the car and opening the door for me. Oh, what a gentleman. He pulled me out softly, I carefully walked out of his car.

“Thank you. And for the dinner as well. It was amazing.”

“It’s a pleasure, Miss Phoenix. Can I invite you out again?”

“Yes, you can, but only at weekends.”

“Of course. I won’t bother your practice and your shift. Are you okay working until the night?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want Desmond to pick you up after your shift?”

“Oh, no! No, I’m good.” I couldn’t ask him to do that for me. Desmond was his secretary, not my personal bodyguard. Not that Desmond would love to do that for me.

“Miss Phoenix, I assure you it’s not a problem at all. Desmond won’t mind as well,” he assured me. “Yeah, because once the boss had spoken, Desmond had to follow whether he liked it or not and that made me feel terrible. He would hate me, for sure.

“Seriously, Mr. Godiva, I’m fine. I’ve been walking home for the past month and I’m okay.” Yeah, because I had Lucifer watching me so no one would dare to hurt me.

“If you say so. But if you need anything, just give me a call, okay?” he insisted. What a stubborn man.

“I will,” I said just to end this awkward conversation. “Thanks again, Mr. Godiva.”

“You’re very welcome, Miss Phoenix. Good night.”

“Night.” I headed inside. My spine was spiking while walking. He was looking at me. Watching me. Even so, I felt a sense of familiarity when he was doing that. I wonder what. Almost like I was being protected and saved. It felt like when…Lucifer was watching me. I turned around, seeing Lucius was already inside his car. I waved my hand. It seemed he was still inside to make sure I got up safely. So, I did and headed to my apartment. I turned on the lights when I entered my room and gently rested my back on the door. Exhaling, “What a night.” I enjoyed it though. I enjoyed talking with Lucius. That man was definitely a mature man. Even so, he never talked about his business or his money. Not showing off what he had. He mainly talked about me. Curious about me. If he didn’t tell me, I would never know Lucius owned The Ultima. Well, he didn’t say it out loud. I stated it first before he confirmed it. What a courageous and down-to-earth guy.

I smiled and walked even further inside and put down my purse and took off my coat. Slipping out of my heels, I unzipped my dress. Took a quick shower. I wore my white tank top and dark blue short sweatpants. I headed to my fridge to grab some water. While I chucked it down, I felt it. Slowly pulled down the bottle from my mouth, staring into the inside of my fridge. My empty fridge.

He was here again.

While I was having dinner with Lucius, I completely forgot the king was following me. Good thing he didn’t do anything to Lucius. Or did he? I glanced to the window. Where was he anyway? Would he ever stop? Just stop. I put the water back into the cool cubicle and tucked myself to bed after turning off the lights. “Leave me alone,” I asked him. It seemed because he was constantly watching me, I had dreams about him almost every day. I wanted to have a nice dream for a change. My own prince charming, for example. Not him. Not Lucifer. Not when I was about to see him in a form of his skeletons with his black wings.

But the more I tried, I couldn’t go to sleep. “f**k!” I cursed and snapped my eyes open. Staring at the dark ceiling, I glanced at my curtains again. I tried before but did not succeed. I wonder if this time…with me calling out a man’s name – another man’s name besides Lucifer, would that tick him off a bit?

That was what I was going to do now.

Besides, I needed to let off some steam. Those bottles were inviting to me back at The Ultima. But nothing beat the orgasm.

I kicked off my comforter. “Let’s see if the king is also a man.”

And I slipped my hand inside my shorts.