[Lucifer] Ch: 27 [No Games This Time] (Patreon)

[A Few Days Later] [Dr. Linda Martin's Office]

Lucifer sat on Linda's couch with one ankle resting over his knee. His fingers had been tapping against his leg for the last minute while he stared toward the window, stopped, frowned, then started tapping again.

Linda had been watching the little routine without interrupting. She finally lowered her pen when Lucifer sighed and shifted against the couch for what had to be the fourth time.

"So, Alexandra Daddario asked you out on a date?"

Lucifer immediately looked at her. "It wasn't a date, Doctor. She asked me to spend the day with her."

Linda waited for him to continue.

Lucifer frowned when she didn't respond. "That's different."

"How is it different?" Linda asked.

"Well, she called me yesterday and said she finally had a free day from filming. Then she asked if I'd like to spend it with her." Lucifer leaned forward, resting his elbows against his knees. "There was no actual plan. She simply wants me to come over in the morning, and apparently we'll decide what we feel like doing afterward."

Linda watched his face as he spoke. Lucifer looked genuinely bothered by something he couldn't identify, which was unusual enough to hold her attention.

"And that makes you feel confused?" she asked.

"Yes," Lucifer answered immediately, then paused and looked almost irritated by how quickly the admission had escaped him. "Rather more than it should, actually."

Linda rested her notebook against her knee. "What part bothers you?"

Lucifer rubbed his thumb across his palm while thinking. "I don't know what she wants from me."

"Has she asked you for anything?"

"No, that's the bloody problem." Lucifer looked at her as though she'd finally reached the point. "She doesn't want a favor. She hasn't asked me to introduce her to anyone or help with her career. She hasn't even suggested that we should end up in bed together."

Linda's mouth curved slightly. "And you're disappointed?"

Lucifer's eyebrows rose. "I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to."

Lucifer gave her a suspicious look before settling back against the couch. "I'd certainly enjoy sleeping with her. Have you seen the woman? However, that's beside the point. Alexandra said she enjoyed being around me and wants to spend an entire day together. Then she left it at that."

Linda nodded slowly. "Is this strange because nobody has asked you to do that before without expecting anything from you, or because you're usually the person who asks?"

Lucifer's expression changed.

Linda noticed the answer before he spoke, though she gave him time to reach it himself.

Lucifer looked toward the window again. "I suppose I usually decide how these encounters begin."

"And where they go?" Linda asked.

His eyes returned to her.

Linda leaned back slightly. "Maybe this has less to do with Alexandra and more to do with control. You're comfortable when you're the one moving things forward because you understand the situation. This time, she approached you. She decided she wanted your company, and now you're walking into a day where you don't know what's supposed to happen."

Lucifer remained quiet.

That irritated him because Linda's explanation made an uncomfortable amount of sense.

His entire existence as Lucifer Morningstar had become remarkably simple when it came to people. Desire gave him an advantage before most conversations properly began, and his confidence usually carried everything from there.

Alexandra had somehow removed that advantage without even trying.

Lucifer chuckled a bit. 

"Enjoying someone's company without knowing what you'll get from it is unfamiliar territory for you," Linda replied. "You can't predict where this is going, and you can't control what Alexandra eventually decides she wants from you."

Lucifer slowly leaned back into the couch.

"So your professional recommendation is that I willingly enter a situation where I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen."

Linda gave him an amused look. "You could simply spend the day with a woman who likes you and see what happens."

Lucifer stared at her for several seconds. "Interesting. What would you do if I asked you out on a date as a payment for our session instead of casual sex?"

Linda went still for a moment.

The question sounded casual coming from Lucifer, yet something about it landed far deeper than she expected. Their arrangement had started simply enough. Therapy in exchange for sex had seemed ridiculous, reckless, and incredibly exciting, especially when being near him turned every sensible thought inside her head into background noise.

She'd grown embarrassingly fond of what happened after their sessions.

The anticipation whenever Lucifer arrived, the way he smiled when she closed her notebook, and the hours of pleasure afterward had become something she looked forward to far more than she wanted to admit. At first, Linda had convinced herself it was purely physical attraction amplified by whatever strange effect Lucifer seemed to have on people.

Somewhere along the way, that excuse stopped working.

She liked talking to him.

She liked watching his arrogance disappear whenever she asked a question that reached somewhere uncomfortable. She liked the moments when he became quiet, thoughtful, or unexpectedly vulnerable before hiding behind another joke. She'd even started noticing the way he sometimes looked at her after their sessions, especially when neither of them was rushing toward the bedroom.

There was affection there.

Linda could feel it developing between them, though both seemed hesitant to acknowledge what crossing that line might mean. Casual sex had rules they understood. Dating made everything considerably more complicated.

Lucifer watched her expression carefully before raising one eyebrow. “Doctor?”

Linda smiled as warmth spread through her chest. “I think that would be great, actually. I'd like that very much.”

Lucifer stared at her for half a second, clearly expecting a more complicated answer. Then his familiar smile returned as he pushed himself from the couch and straightened his jacket.

“All right, then,” he said while walking toward the door. “Clear any day next week, and I'll take you out on a proper date.”

Linda blinked before an excited smile slowly spread across her face.

Lucifer opened the door and looked back at her, then gave her a playful wink.

“And Doctor, wear something nice. And do keep your glasses on... It makes you look sexy.”

Linda laughed as he disappeared into the hallway, leaving her sitting there with her notebook forgotten across her lap and her heart beating considerably faster than any therapy session had managed before.

...

[Back at Lux] [11 AM]

For the last few days, Lucifer had noticed something strange about Maze.

At first, he hadn’t paid much attention to it. Maze had always been unpredictable enough that a strange mood here or there meant very little. But this had continued long enough for him to notice a pattern.

Several times, he’d caught her looking at him as though she wanted to say something. Whenever he noticed, she either looked away, changed the subject, grabbed another drink, or suddenly found something else that needed her attention. Maze wasn’t usually someone who struggled to speak her mind. If she wanted to complain, threaten him, insult someone, or drag him into bed, she simply did it.

That hesitation bothered him more than he expected.

Maze was sitting at the bar with a glass of whiskey beside her while going through several financial documents related to Lux. She flipped through another page, frowned at a number near the bottom, then picked up her glass and took a drink.

Lucifer watched her for another moment before walking over and sitting beside her.

“What’s bothering you, Maze?”

Her eyes briefly moved toward him before returning to the documents. “Nothing’s bothering me.”

Lucifer leaned one arm against the bar and looked at her. “You’re a terrible liar, which is rather ironic considering you’re a demon. For several days, you’ve looked like you wanted to tell me something before suddenly deciding otherwise.”

Maze remained quiet for several seconds before putting the papers down.

“Amenadiel came here while you were gone.”

Lucifer’s expression changed slightly. “Did he now?”

Maze picked up her whiskey again and slowly turned the glass between her fingers. “He wants you back in Hell. He thought I’d help him.”

Lucifer gave a quiet laugh, though his eyes sharpened. “Of course he did. My dear brother has always possessed an impressive ability to mistake arrogance for intelligence.”

Maze glanced toward him. “He wanted me to give him something he could use against you. A weakness that might help him force you back.”

Lucifer’s amusement disappeared. “And what did you tell him?”

“I told him no.”

Maze took another drink before placing the glass down. “He kept pushing. Said you’ve changed since staying on Earth and asked if I wasn’t worried about what was happening to you.”

Lucifer studied her carefully. “And are you?” He asked.

Maze finally turned toward him fully.

“No. I told him I like you better this way.”

That answer caught Lucifer by surprise.

Maze continued before he could make another joke. “You’re still the same arrogant asshole you’ve always been, but lately you actually notice me. You listen when I talk. You touch me because you want me close, instead of only when you’re bored. I don’t know what changed, and I don’t really care.”

Lucifer stared at her for several seconds as something warm settled inside his chest.

Maze looked away first and reached for the financial documents again. “Anyway, I wasn’t going to help him. That’s all I wanted to tell you.”

Lucifer caught her arm before she could pick up the papers.

Maze looked at his hand. “What are you doing?”

Instead of answering, Lucifer pulled her toward him.

Maze slid from her stool and landed across his lap, one arm instinctively wrapping around his shoulders to steady herself. Before she could say anything else, Lucifer placed a hand behind her neck and kissed her.

Maze made a surprised sound against his mouth that quickly turned into something hungrier as she kissed him back, fingers sliding into his hair and tugging just enough to make him smile into it. The world seemed to fade around them. All that mattered was the heat of her body pressed against his and the way she melted into the kiss like she’d been waiting for it longer than either of them wanted to admit.

He deepened it without rushing, tasting the whiskey on her tongue and the sharp edge of whatever she’d been holding back for days. Maze shifted in his lap, straddling him more fully on the stool, and Lucifer grabbed her butt cheeks as he pulled her closer. She broke the kiss and looked into his eyes.

“Lately, why are you so nice to me, Lucifer?” she murmured. "If this is one of your games, I need to know before I expect something more... from whatever this is."

Lucifer brushed his thumb along the side of her neck, feeling her pulse jump under his touch. “No game this time, Maze. I just..." He thought for a moment. "...Whenever I'm with you, my heart beats faster, and I enjoy being with you... I guess I like you, Maze. Also, you told my brother you like me better this way. Seemed only fair I show you how much I appreciate the loyalty.”

"You like me!" Maze's eyes widened. She never expected Lucifer to tell her that he likes her and that his heart beat faster when he's with her. Maze's situation was also like his. She gets all excited and enjoys being with him, so when Lucifer told her that directly, she was slightly surprised.

"I don't lie, Maze. You should know that by now," He replied with a smile.

Maze kissed him again, slower this time but no less intense. Her hands slid under his jacket, palms flat against his chest, and Lucifer let out a low sound of approval that vibrated between them. He kissed her like he meant to memorize every second of it, like the restless energy that had been under his skin all morning finally had somewhere to go.

When they finally pulled apart, both breathing harder than before. Maze stayed right where she was. Lucifer kept one hand on her lower back, the other tracing idle circles at the nape of her neck. 

"Well, I'll let you work for now. But tonight, I'm going to ravish you," Lucifer said as he lowered his hand from her neck and grabbed her right boob, giving it a nice squeeze. "I'm gonna eat you up and fuck your ass and pussy." 

"Are you gonna creampie my holes?" She asked with a smirk.

"Yes, Maze. I will creampie your holes, but only after you squirt."

Maze loved it. She couldn't wait for another sex marathon. She licked his lips up to the tip of his nose. "I'll keep my ass ready and pussy wet for you." She said and got down from his lap.

She sat on her chair.

"Yesterday, two kids and a single mother came looking for help with your card," She said before picking up a document. "I set them up."

"Set them up? In a good way, right?" Lucifer asked. 

"Yes. Money for college, nursing school, and the single mother wanted a job, so I set her up as a serving girl and gave her the employee package. So, was it some kind of favor? Why help them?" She asked.

"It was just a simple favor," Lucifer said before standing up and fixing his suit.