Kathrine Ann stared wide-eyed up at Lucifer. He had a devilish grin on his lips, and her cheeks burned so hot she could claim a fever.

"Don't you dare." She warned, tightening her arms around his neck as the Shameless Devil tried to pull back.

"Quite a predicament you're in, Baby Girl." He laughed, lightly pressing his forehead to hers.

"Close your eyes, Lucifer." She demanded.

"Not a chance," he answered. Kathrine Ann looked down at the towel on the ground. Maybe if she was quick enough, she could grab it. "Let go of me, and I step back," he warned, ruining her plan.

She watched his tongue peek out and run across his bottom lip, and if that wasn't bad enough, that damned man began to caress her shoulder lightly. The warm touch of his fingers on her cold skin was making her body react in a way she didn't want at the moment.

"We'll be late for dinner." She tried.

"Then let me go so we can both finish getting ready." He taunted as his fingers moved their wicked dance down her back.

"Then close your eyes." She demanded again.

"And if I do, what do I get out of it?" He smirked, "Because I would really like to see what that towel was hiding."

"Lucifer," She groaned, "Why are you so cruel."

He chuckled but slowly gave in and closed his eyes.

Almost positive that Lucifer had some number of seconds he was counting down in his head, Katherine Ann quickly scooped up her underclothes and scurried across the chilly room into the closet.

"That damned devil!" She fussed, her cheeks still rosy, but a smile crossed her lips.

Did he truly mean it? She felt like a teenager all over again. Getting so flustered over a boy. She didn't know what it was about Lucifer, but she had fallen so quickly and so deep. She forced her feelings aside as she looked at the sea of dresses. Without much thought, Kathrine Ann grabbed a cream-colored silk dress with soft pink pastel flowers and green leaves as the pattern. It was an A-line style that stopped just above the knees in the front but fell slightly lower in the back with a wrapped top that made a modest V. Sleeves that slightly flared and stopped just above the elbows. The dress was casual and comfortable. She slipped the garment on and dug through the shoes until she found the cream-colored heels with pink silk ribbons that tied just above the ankle. Letting out a sigh of relief to see they were only a couple of inches tall, Kathrine Ann grabbed the shoes and re-entered the bedroom where Lucifer was buttoning up his pants,

"Hey, Luce?" She called after sitting on the bed and pulling her right foot up over her left knee,

"Yea?" He acknowledged walking into the closet.

"Earlier today, at the hospital, why were you acting so weird?" She asked, hoping she wasn't being too nosey as she slipped her foot into the shoe and tied the silky ribbon into a neat bow while waiting for Lucifer's response.

Dropping her right foot and bringing up her left, she had just about decided Lucifer wasn't going to answer her when he emerged from the closet, pulling down a crisp white shirt that fit his body snugly,

"I had a lot to process." He finally answered, crossing the room without looking at her, "Still, don't believe me when I say it wasn't you?"

She didn't reply because, in her heart, she felt she had something to do with his frustration,

"You need to work on trusting me, then." He fussed, vanishing into the bathroom while she sighed and tied her other ribbon.

Standing, she walked into the bathroom, pulled out her makeup, chose a very modest palette, and began applying it to her face as her Devil combed through his hair.

"I do trust you," she stated, not looking at him as she brushed a base color onto her eyelids. I hope you know that by now. You behaved so strangely that it worried me, but if you say it wasn't me, I accept it. I won't ask again." She stopped and looked over at him, but Lucifer didn't reply, so Kathrine Ann turned back to her makeup.

After finishing his hair, Lucifer moved behind Kathrine Ann and gently began brushing through her hair while she worked on her eye shadow.

"My ability isn't always a blessing." He stated as he focused his eyes on her hair and carefully pulled the brush through the ends, "What transpired this morning was difficult, and all those different feelings and emotions surrounding me," He paused, "It hurts sometimes. It's not physical pain. I can't explain it very well, but when there's so much at once, especially from those I care about." Another pause, "And you, it's not your fault, but your feelings are so pure and powerful," He admitted, still looking down at her hair as he slowly worked the brush up her head, but Kathrine Ann had stopped what she was doing and was staring at Lucifer through the mirror. His brows were knitted as he thought about his words. "It's not a bad thing," He added, "I love how you feel. That's why I pick on you so much. It is so uniquely pure and strong, and you aren't scared to feel the way you feel. You don't hide from me, which is indescribably refreshing. In fact, I think you've started using it to your advantage." He smiled slightly. "It's a double-edged sword, I suppose." He chuckled a bit. "Anyway, my mood was a combination of things. With the annoying cocktail of other beings' emotions raging around me, and then Azazel tells me hunters attacked her. Viskiam lacks any useful information on the attack but also tells me there is possibly a secret guild of demon-hating murders on Shain. You hurt yourself again, and let's not leave out Alrion. Fucking Alrion. An annoying nuisance that I've been itching to dispose of for years, but I can't because Azazel would hate me. Oh, then there's the little issue of the other half of me waiting to devour you with or without your consent."

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Kathrine Ann turned to face Lucifer and put her hands on his cheeks as his brows scrunched. He sighed, lifting his hands to her face and carefully wiping the tears on her cheeks away with his thumbs, and she smiled,

"What?" He asked.

"Just a memory," she answered, remembering the first time she had cried in front of him and how her tears had bothered him so much that he had quickly and roughly wiped them away. It seemed ages ago, but in truth, it hadn't been that long.

"Interesting." He mumbled, "None of these feelings go together."

She laughed before pushing herself up on her tiptoes and lightly kissing his lips.

"Of course, they make sense. Just not to you." She smiled, "We really should get to dinner."

~~~

Kathrine Ann delicately wiped her mouth with her napkin before putting it on her empty plate, which was quickly removed from in front of her and replaced with a small crystal glass of dark purple liquid. Though she drank wine regularly, this was new. Looking up to Lucifer to ask if he had ordered this for her, Kathrine Ann found he was in the middle of a conversation with Viskiam. A glass clinking interrupted their discussion and silenced the entire table. Her eyes quickly turned to the Lord of Hell, who was standing at the head of the table. Looking around, she saw that each person seated had an identical glass of wine.

"A toast," Lord Lucifer stated, lifting his glass in the air and causing the entire table to do the same. To our future Queen, Lady Kathrine Ann. If not for her quick actions, we would have lost a valuable life today."

"Lady Kathrine Ann!" Echoed the people around her.

Kathrine Ann, however, sat frozen with her glass in hand and face glowing redder than a tomato,

"Bow to my father and drink," Lucifer whispered in her ear, and she quickly obeyed,

"Thank you, Lord Lucifer." She smiled, bowing her head before taking a sip. Everyone followed after her. Some took small sips, while others gulped the entire glass contents in one swing, the Devil next to her being a prime example of the latter.

The Lord took his seat as the servants swooped in, clearing away the empty glassware, "Kathrine Ann," He called across the table, "You were a medical professional in your past life, correct?"

"I was, my Lord, a nurse." She replied sheepishly, not liking the attention.

"Belial has told me you have been helping him here and there. An admirable profession,"

"With all due respect, admiration isn't what I'm looking for, Lord Lucifer." She replied, picking at the material on her dress.

"If not for praise and admiration, then for what, my Dear?" He asked with a familiar curiosity in his eyes as he rolled the delicate glass between his fingers, causing the deep purple liquid to swish around.

"To help others, maybe give a person a second chance, another go—a chance they would have never had without help," she replied.

"Ironic, don't you think?" the Lord hummed before sipping from his glass. "Helping others get the second chance you never got?" he added with a chuckle, causing his son to growl lowly, but Kathrine Ann placed her hand on his leg.

"Did I not?" She smiled, "I sit here with you all now, very much alive."

A sly smile crossed the Lord's face, "You truly are a remarkable woman, Kathrine Ann," He commended, "Making me question my father's motives once again."

Lord Lucifer turned to the woman beside him and began discussing something unrelated. Finally, with all the attention off of her, Kathrine Ann relaxed as everyone turned to their own personal conversations. Lifting her glass, she sipped the wine. It was pretty tasty, but she still preferred the one from Kelil.

Shortly after dinner was dismissed, Kathrine Ann, Lucifer, and Viskiam exited the dining hall,

"We will see you in the morning, Kiam," Lucifer addressed the elf, "sleep well."

"You two as well," Viskiam replied, bowing his head before retreating in the opposite direction.

"You knew!" She hissed as soon as they were alone.

"Knew what?" Lucifer asked, slipping his arm around her waist as they walked back to their room.

"That he was going to make that toast!" She clarified.

"Oh, that? Well, yeah, it was my idea, of course," he replied nonchalantly.

Her eyes tripled in size as she stared at her husband.

"I'm sorry. I think I heard you wrong," Kathrine Ann glared. "Did you say it was your idea?"

"Yes, you deserved the credit," he replied. "I thought it would be a nice surprise." He smiled.

Kathrine Ann was stuck. She didn't know how to react. She despised the attention but the thought he put into it. They walked silently for a moment, and she was about to thank him for the sweet gesture, but when she looked back at him, a familiar smirk crept across Lucifer's face, "You jerk!" She hissed, "Embarrassing me on purpose!"

"What? You did deserve credit." He laughed as she punched his arm lightly.

As they walked back to the room, she cold-shouldered him and pulled away from any advance. She wasn't actually that upset, and Kathrine Ann knew he knew that, making the whole tit-for-tat fun. When they finally reached their room, he caught her right inside the door and pinned her against it.

"You're not really mad at me." He confronted, "I know you're not."

She chuckled, "It was kinda mean, embarrassing in front of your whole family like that."

"I can't help it. I already told you that," he replied as she ducked under his arms and walked to the bed, where she began untying her heels with her good hand. "How's your wrist?" he questioned, pushing off the door and turning to look at her before putting his hands in his pockets.

"It's okay as long as I don't move it too much." She replied, slipping the first shoe off and dropping it to the floor.

"I can have Belial bring you something for the pain," He offered, "So you can sleep."

"That's okay," she declined. "Besides, I've slept enough. I was hoping we could go for a walk in the garden," she asked, removing and dropping the other shoe.

Lucifer shook his head, "I have to go speak with my father about today's little situation."

"Oh yeah," Kathrine Ann answered as Lucifer walked over to where she sat and stood before her, making her look up to see his face.

"Baby Girl," He said, looking her in the eyes, and she noted the seriousness in his voice.

"What is it, Boss?" She asked.

"Tomorrow, you'll be with him," He paused, "Be careful, okay?"

"Yeah, of course. I'll be fine." She smiled, "Besides, you'll be there if anything goes wrong."

"I'll try not to take too long with my father, but I feel I'll be held up for a while," Lucifer informed, turning and walking across the room to the liquor cabinet.

"That's fine. I think I'm still going to go for a walk in the garden," she replied, pulling her legs onto the bed and crossing them before adjusting her body to face his direction. "Can you pour me one?" she asked Lucifer, who already had a pour in his hand.

"Of course," he obliged. "It's a bit late for a walk alone, I think." He sipped from the glass in his hand and made a strange face before turning his back to her.

"I won't go far, just to the garden. I want to enjoy the outside before it gets too cold," Kathrine Ann assured. "The weather is supposed to get bad soon, right?"

"Oh yes, the Hell showers will begin in a couple of weeks," He responded, clearing his throat.

"Can I go? I'll be fine, I promise," She pleaded, scooting off the bed.

"Okay," he replied, surprising her. "Be careful, and don't go near the woods." She expected him to fight her a little more.

"I won't." She promised, walking toward him.

"Go on then," he ordered, clearing his throat again and flicking his wrist towards the door, "before it gets too late."

"What about my pour?" She asked.

He looked at her and narrowed his eyes, "Do you wish me to change my mind about your walk?"

Kathrine Ann shook her head, confused but not wanting to test her luck. She quickly slipped on some flats and grabbed a jacket before leaving the room.