Hailie was sitting outside, looking at the stars and thinking about the week. Her wish didn't come true, because even though Jayson was a sophomore and she was a freshman, they've been meeting at college a lot. They weren't talking, because Hailie was trying to avoid him or at least ignore his presence, but it seemed like he was seeking for more meetings, just to make her feel uncomfortable and tired of running away. College wasn't Hailie's favorite experience, considering that her party was ended by a policeman and that everybody on the campus were talking about Debra's death and the house, but now college just became more awful. Almost like it was contaminated by Jayson's presence.

Once again she just wished to run away, but she had a place where she was feeling safe. Her house. And somehow it gave her strength to wake up every day, go study and do it, because she wanted to, not because someone ordered her to do so.

Shane was still worried about Hailie, because he didn't know the truth. On the second hand, Hailie was sure that the truth would terrify him even more. It's not like living with demons was a normal thing. He was writing to her every morning, so they've been texting a little, although she was still angry with him.

There were so many things on her mind that she probably wouldn't sleep if it wasn't for Sloth, who was watching over her good sleep. Maybe that's how she didn't go insane with everything that was going on.

"Hailie?" Lucien joined her in the garden. "Aren't you cold?" he asked, because the evening was windy and chilly. 

She almost laughed at his question. She was wearing a winter jacket in the autumn and he was the one to go outside only in his t-shirt. It seemed like he didn't feel anything at all.

"Um, no, but you're definitely hot," she said and for a moment there was silence, during which Hailie understood the second meaning of her words. Lucien just smiled.

"Well, I can't argue with that."

Hailie's eyes got bigger.

"I meant, I, not like this, but of course you are, but I meant differently." She breathed out, forming clouds of steam in the cold, while her cheeks burned red. "Let's head back inside, before you'll turn into an ice statue." She walked beside him, trying to get inside as quickly as possible.

"Let me help you." Lust took off her coat and hung it on a nail by the door.

"Thanks," she mumbled and went to the kitchen, trying to escape the embarrassment she felt.

"Want to share what you were doing all alone in the garden? Newly discovered passion for looking at the stars?" He pulled back a chair and sat on it.

"What I was doing? Ah, you know, just casual overthinking." Hailie took a glass of water. "Too much is happening, so I have a lot of topics from which I can choose." She decided to sit on the opposite side of the table. "Debra's suicide triggered the whole town. Now once again I'm an outsider. When I first moved in here, I didn't know it can be that hard sometimes. It would be nice if people were able to look me in the eyes or at least greet me, when we pass each other on the street."

Maybe she felt that way, because when she moved into the house, her life was a mess. She didn't want to talk to anybody, to have any connection with people. It changed through time. She understood that sometimes it's actually nice to see how someone's smiling at her.

"Ah, yes, the whole town believes in the haunted house." Lucien shook his head with amusement. The house wasn't haunted, it was just inhabited by demons.

"And you don't?" Hailie was always wondering why demons decided to show up only to her. Lucien never said anything about ghosts or unexplained phenomena going on, which made Hailie believe that he didn't experience hauntings. Demons decided to keep their existence in secret, even though it felt like Lucien would understand, just like she did.

"So many things happened in this house that people chose to believe it's haunted, because that's the easier explanation. They blame evil forces of nature for all crimes that took place in the past and in the present, while the truth is much simpler. It's not the house that is haunted, it's people, who chose to give in to their evil nature, even though they have a choice to resist and walk away." Hailie thought that he had a point and that if he knew about demons, he would surely agree with Pride. "Maybe the problem lies in the fact that this house created its own history. It attracts people, who have anger, evil or fear inside their hearts. Not everybody of course, but knowing the history of this place, which is not a secret, why would anybody want to live here?"

It was one of the things that always fascinated Lust. People were dying here, they were disappearing without a trace, they were vanishing into thin air and yet more of them were coming to live in this house. Maybe they believed that the stories weren't real, maybe they wanted to check it out themselves and maybe they thought that if evil lives here then they would be just the perfect inhabitants.

"Maybe some of them just couldn't take it all anymore. Maybe that's why they've chosen this house." She was of course telling about herself. It was hard to say if she believed that the house was haunted or not. Back then, it wasn't important. Nothing mattered, because she was so shattered. "We all come here with a hope for something. Some of us will get what they dream of, some will learn the truth and some will run for their lives." Her voice got sadder, while she said the last words.

Lucien moved to the chair closer to her and he grabbed her hand, which was lying on the table.

"You won't have to run ever again," he knew her story, because she told him. "This time Jayson will go exactly where he belongs to."

"Jail?" she chuckled.

Hell.

"You want him in the jail?" he asked and then he realized that what Hailie wished for wasn't Jayson's death. Her heart wasn't that black to crave for somebody's death. She just wanted justice for the harm that was done to her.

"I see him almost every day and all I can think of are the punches or the night at the funhouse. He acts normal, just like every other student, while I know his dark side and I know that he would hurt me if he had the chance."

"If he does, then he dies."

Hailie shook her head. The last thing she wanted was to see Lucien in jail, because he tried to protect her.

"Don't say it."

"You don't believe that I would do anything to protect you?"

She licked her lips and looked him in the eyes with seriousness. There was no lie in them, not another game she used to think he was playing. When she first met Lucien, she was sure that he was one of those typical boys, who thought that they could pick up every girl. The one who loves to flirt with everyone. She never believed he could feel for her something more. That's why his behavior after their dinner seemed so confusing. Now, when they've been staring in their eyes, she couldn't find any traces of joking or manipulation. What Lucien said was so unbelievable, that it was hard to accept it. To accept help from someone, one that was selfless.

Before she had a chance to say anything, the lights suddenly went out, leaving them plunged in darkness. Hailie stood up and looked through the window, trying to collect her thoughts. It was hard, because of Lucien's words, which shook her.

"I think it's just a power cut. The whole street is dark and left without power," she said, thinking that it'll take some time, before the electricity comes back. "We should light some candles." She turned around, but Lucien was nowhere to be seen and not because it was dark. He was just gone. "Lucien?" she asked in the space and left the kitchen to look out for him.

"I'm here!" he called from the living room. Hailie followed his voice and found him next to the drawers. He took out some candles and gave her to lit them. "We can put this one on the table and there are also two candles on the piano."

She took a lighter and walked to the piano to light the candles that Lucien was talking about.

"Done," she smiled and looked at him, but his gaze seemed absent, like he got lost in a memory. Did he know someone who played the piano? Suddenly he gazed at her like he realized something.

"I'll go look for more candles to light the rest of the rooms," he said with a harsh voice and turned away from Hailie, who caught his hand, before he had a chance to leave the room.

They were standing next to the candles, so she could see his face and he could see her expectancy to learn the truth about that one thing that was on her mind now.

"Would you?" she asked with an extreme gravity.

He frowned, trying to uncover what she meant by that.

"Would I go look for more candles?" he asked with puzzlement, but that wasn't the thing Hailie was asking for.

"Would you do anything to protect me?"

His entire demonic life it was so easy to say those words. He would throw them into the air like they didn't mean anything. He would say them, even if they weren't true. And now, this one time, he actually wished that they would be just another lie to show the other demons that he can get Hailie and then leave her, like he did with everybody else. But this time those weren't just meaningless words and that made him feel uneasy, because he was a demon and she was a human. She was something that could vanished so easily, something that could be taken away in a blink of the eye, something that made him feel more human.

"I would," he replied, even though he wanted so deeply to deny it.

"Why? We've known each other for barely three months. I'm like a stranger to you, but you just keep being by my side, when I need you."

He's always here. Always. Even when it seems like she doesn't need company, he comes to the room and proves her differently.

"Do we ever need a reason?" he asked, because that was the biggest mystery for him as well. Why did he love Missy so much, even though she was only a weak human child? Why does he care for Hailie, even if she's only a weak human, who doesn't know anything about the world that surrounds her? "That's just the way it is." Besides, he knew her way better than she thought. He could feel her emotions, her desires, her fears, her love and hope. That wasn't something that one could describe with words.

"Is it?"

"I don't know why. It's just emotions," which he wished he wouldn't feel, "and I can't deny them anymore."

Hailie put a hand on his chest, feeling his warm body through the t-shirt he was wearing. She started slowly moving her hand up, knowing his eyes were following her every move. Her heart kept beating faster and faster as she was imagining touching his muscular body. The candlelight was illuminating their figures in the dark, making the atmosphere more intimate. For Lust her every touch was getting dangerous, making it hard for him to not cross the line.

Her hand moved from Lucien's chest onto his cheek and their eyes met. He was keeping his emotions hidden, but right now Hailie could look right through him, finding out how much he craved for her. This first time Lust could see desire in Hailie's eyes and he understood that he wasn't indifferent to her.

The atmosphere between them was getting sensual and the air around became hot, even though the evening was cold and icy. There was way too much temptation to not give in, but both of them tried to keep the appearances. Hailie wasn't brave enough to make the first move and Lust knew that if he kissed her, he wouldn't be able to reject his non-demonic side. He would become too vulnerable, only because of Hailie.

But wasn't he already?

He realized that this moment might be the first time in his demonic history, when he desired someone. When it was him, who felt lust for another being. He was so strongly sexually attracted to Hailie that there was no point in denying this thirst.

Neither of them could hold it any longer. She didn't move aside, when Lucien slowly leaned over, making their faces separated only by centimeters. She could feel his breath upon her neck as he touched her long hair. Lucien hotly pulled her towards him and placed a kiss on her lips. The first one was delicate, but with each other, they've begun to crave for each other even more, getting lost in the dance of their tongues, looking for pleasure. The desire took over them and their bodies joined in the same rhythm, attracted to each other like they've wanted to become one. Their breaths began to be heavy as they kissed with an unsatisfied lust that flowed in them.

Lucien caught Hailie's hips and sat her at the table, watching out for the candle that was standing at the edge. Their shadows were dancing on the wall in a sensual way as they kept going. Hailie caught the bottom of Lucien's t-shirt and pulled it up, until it was no longer on him. She breathed in, remembering the first time, when she saw him half-naked, after he left the bathroom, wearing only a towel around his hips. He was still the most handsome guy she has ever seen, looking just like a masterpiece of the God himself. The desire to feel his body on hers was so strong that she wasn't sure if she should fight it. She imagined as they lay in the bed and he's embracing her with those strong arms, in which she could easily fall asleep, feeling protected and safe.

She put her hand on his naked torso and pulled him closer. Lust always knew when to stop, he was the one who always controlled the situation, but this time he lost all control and got lost in the emotion which he was demonic embodiment of. He wanted Hailie more than anything, to feel her and to kiss her. Both Hailie and Lust were thinking only about the desire that ran through them and neither of them were able to think about the consequences. Lucien unbuttoned Hailie's navy-blue shirt and with a sensual move he pulled it off her, leaving her in a pear bra. The view of her perfect body took his breath away for a moment, then he started kissing her on the neck, going down until he reached her chest. She took Lucien's head up to kiss him more on the lips and wrapped her legs around his hips. He tasted better than anything in her life that she has ever tried, so sweet and dangerous at the same time.

Suddenly the power was back on and the room filled with the light from the lamps. Hailie stopped kissing Lucien and looked up at the source of electricity. She took a grasp of air and slowly moved away, trying to calm her rapid heartbeat. She had a moment to realize what was going on. That wasn't at all like her, it was way too quick, but at the same time it was hard to stop. Even now she just wanted to throw herself back at Lucien, but she couldn't. Otherwise, they would have taken it to the further level and she wasn't ready for that. She wasn't sure about her feelings, not only towards Lucien, but also towards Shane. How weird was it that right after hot kissing with Lucien she was even thinking about somebody else?

She quickly caught her shirt and put it back on, while Lucien took a few steps back and was just standing there, looking at her with temptation and bewilderment.

"That, I, you," she didn't know what to say, not for the first time, while being with him. "I need to go." She got up from the table and ran away, before Lucien had the chance to say something back. 

***

✨ Hello! ✨

I'm so happy to announce that "Seven Deadly Sins" hit 25K reads on Wattpad! It's amazing,  thank you all for the support! ❤️

Also, today I'll be posting not one, but two new chapters! 

Kisses, Caroline ❤️