Corrupting the Innocent - 1. Chapter 1

Gideon! Get your ass out of there now!”

Gabriel was going to kill his brother and sister-in-law. Bumped off their flight? Hell to the N O. He was willing to bet everything he owned they voluntarily gave up their seats. For what? So they could fuck like bunnies for another two nights? So help them; if his sister-in-law ended up pregnant after this trip, he was handing in his uncle card.

Yep. Two more nights with his nephew. His name fits him to a goddamn ‘T’: Gideon, the destroyer. Gabriel grabbed the tyke by his ankles and pulled him out from under the bed. The little shit thought he could hide after breaking the last remaining lamp in the living room. How could one six-year-old create so much mayhem anyway?

Gideon’s eyes rivaled an owl’s as he looked at his uncle’s face, contorted with anger. Shit. He didn’t mean to scare the kid. The lamps could be replaced. He would make sure Rafe got him nice ones too.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m sorry I yelled. But you have to be more careful, Gid. That’s the second lamp you’ve sent to the dumpster this weekend.”

Tears welled in the little boy’s eyes. He wasn’t a bad kid, just clumsy and awkward. “I’m sorry, Uncle Gabe.”

Gabriel sighed and ruffled the boy’s hair, making it stick up in all directions. “Go get your jammies on, bud–.”

Heat.

Uh-oh. He recognized that heat. The instant the thought crossed his mind, the brand on his hip burned.

Lucifer.

Gabriel smiled. Gideon screamed.

Whipping around, Gabriel saw his lover, larger than life, grinning with his pointy teeth at his nephew. His terrorized nephew. Ah, fuck!

Scooping up the poor kid and realizing a second too late the boy had peed himself. Gabriel hissed, “See what you did? Cut it out. You’ve scared him to death!”

“Have I, now?” Lucifer’s deep voice rumbled. “He does not look dead.”

“Jesus Christ! You know what I mean!”

Lucifer laughed, only it soundly strangely like a roll of thunder. Gideon shook even harder. Seriously, what kid wouldn’t be scared by a towering, solid black beast of a man with horns curling out from the side of his head? Never mind his brother paying for a couple of busted lamps. Gabriel would be paying for Gid’s therapy for the rest of his life.

“Gideon, it’s okay. He’s a– friend of mine,” Gabriel assured the poor kid, who buried his head further into the crook of Gabriel’s neck.

Still chuckling, Lucifer invaded his personal space and captured his lips in a searing kiss.

Gideon lifted his head and giggled.

“Well, you are easily amused, yes?” Lucifer growled.

Gideon trembled again and released another squirt of hot piss onto Gabriel’s shirt. Dammit! “Would you fucking stop scaring him?! Can’t you abracadabra yourself into your human disguise?”

Over the past few years, ever since they’d established some boundaries, Lucifer had been more attentive and popped in to visit Gabriel every few months. Each time he appeared, he donned his Greek Adonis mask. Every time they went out in public, heads turned. Not just female, either.

Lucifer acquiesced.

“Gid? Hey buddy, the scary monster-man’s gone. Look. It’s just my friend, Luc.”

“Luc?” Lucifer mouthed in amusement.

Gabriel tried to shove go with it via telepathy at his lover to no avail.

“Gideon?” Lucifer purred. “I suggest you allow your uncle to bathe you. You stink of piss.”

“Lucifer!” Gabriel rolled his eyes. The man had no tact. Then again, he wasn’t a man. He must not have much experience with kids. Well, of course, he didn’t. How many kids actually went to Hell? There had to be a few, right? He shook his head to clear it. The question could wait until they were alone.

Lucifer was right, though. Gideon did stink. He carried the boy to the bathroom and filled the tub with warm water and grape-scented bubbles. He helped Gideon strip off his wet pants and dumped his mesh bag of bath toys into the suds.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes. Try not to get water all over the place, huh?”

Gideon nodded, distracted by the plastic dinosaurs which had tumbled out of the bag. Gabriel stripped off his shirt and ran a wet cloth over his torso to rid himself of Gideon’s urine. He stopped in his bedroom to grab another t-shirt before facing his demon lover.

“What are you doing here?”

“It is nice to see you too, dear.”

Gabriel did not have time for Lucifer’s shit. Although, he had missed the Devil. He slipped into his lover’s arms and inhaled the familiar fire-and-brimstone scent he loved.

“I missed you.”

Lucifer’s lips caressed his temple. “I missed you too, mon petit chaud lapin.”

My little hot flame. French was sexy to begin with. French dripping off Lucifer’s tongue? More, s'il vous plaît. Thank you very much.

Gabriel shivered. Goosebumps rolled over his skin. Heat radiated and rippled like a mirage on a desert highway. He wanted to rip the clothes off Lucifer and beg to be pounded into the floor. No sooner did the thought cross his brain, the sound of splashing and giggling doused his libido faster than a bucket of ice water thrown on his head.

He sighed.

Lucifer laughed. “Do you need to take care of the ankle-biter?”

“Remind me later to ask what you do with kids in Hell.” Gabriel tore himself away from the solid bulk of muscle he clung to and headed toward the bathroom. He was greeted by a puddle of water trickling into the hallway. Ah, shit. So much for ‘don’t get water on the floor.’ Gideon stood, suds covering his body, dripping into the tub as he pitted a plastic T-Rex against an equally vicious Velociraptor.

Gabriel grabbed a few towels and threw them on the floor in an attempt to soak up the water. “Okay, kiddo. Time for jammies and a story. Then it’s bed. It’s your turn to pick breakfast tomorrow.”

He got his nephew rinsed off and wrapped him in a fluffy towel. Once the boy wore clean pajamas, he let Gideon pick out a book from the stack he’d brought. He nearly lost it when he saw his nephew’s choice, The Monster at the End of This Book. Fucking unreal.

Utilizing his best Grover voice, he read the story, allowing Gideon to turn the pages until the very end. Gabriel tickled the little boy as he squealed at the not-so-surprising revelation that Grover was the monster at the end of the book.

“Uncle Gabe? Is your friend really a monster?”

Now there was a loaded question. Gabriel thought for a moment before he answered. “No, he’s not a monster. But there are a lot of people who think so when they see him. Do you remember the lady you saw with your mom in the grocery store? Her face had a lot of scars on it, and you were staring. Your mom told you it wasn’t polite to stare, and the lady must have had a bad accident. The lady overheard and let you ask questions.”

Gideon nodded. “She said she was in a bad car crash, and her face got burnded.”

“Right. She wasn’t a monster even though her face looked scary, right? Well, Luc is sort of like that. He was, um, born looking like he does. Do you want me to ask him to show you so you can see he won’t hurt you?”

“Yes, please.”

Gabriel went back to the living room. “Would you please change back into your usual hide and show my nephew you’re not going to eat him?”

“Why would I want to do that?”

“Do you want to get laid later?” Two could play at this answering a question with another question thing.

Lucifer’s pale skin rippled. It darkened like a fresh bruise, spreading and turning into the gorgeous iridescent blackness Gabriel loved. He couldn’t wait to get his hands all over it later.

“Thank you. I’m trying to teach Gideon that just because someone looks different doesn't mean they’re scary or that he should be frightened.”

“Why should he not be frightened of me?”

“Aren’t you the one who taught me the meaning of inclusiveness?”

Lucifer chuckled. “Do not underestimate me. My darkness may be inclusive, but I am still the Devil. Your nephew would be wise to be afraid.”

“He’s six. He hasn’t activated any wise brain cells yet unless you count the wise-ass ones.”

Lucifer’s grin was sinister as he leaned down. “Did he inherit that gene from you?” he snarked right before he caught Gabriel’s lips between sharp teeth, breaking the skin just enough for a tiny droplet of blood to land on his tongue.

Gabriel broke the kiss and, weak-kneed, led the way to his guest room. Gideon’s eyes went wide as he caught sight of Lucifer in full Satan mode. He had no clue how to tone things down. It was all or nothing.

“See, Gid, he’s not going to hurt you.”

“No, child, I am not in the habit of eating little boys right before bed. It upsets my stomach.”

Gabriel smacked him in the aforementioned stomach and shot him a what the fuck? look. “He’s only joking, Gideon. Right, Luc?”

A low, reverberating hum came from Lucifer. It almost sounded like a big cat purring. The sound made Gideon giggle. Thank fuck.

“Can I touch your horns?” the little boy asked cautiously. “But you gotta put your teeth away.”

Gabriel turned his head to hide his smile. Lucifer placated the boy and sat on the edge of the bed. The mattress dipped under his weight. He tilted his head and pressed his lips together. Tentatively, Gideon reached out his hand, which looked absolutely tiny and pale against the massive, ebony spirals. They did that weird, glowing-from-within thing. Gabriel still hadn’t figured out how it worked. He watched his nephew run his hands over the ridges. Why did he feel a pang of jealousy?

Without warning, Gideon made a small fist and rapped his knuckles against the base of Lucifer’s left horn, almost on his skull. He knew it couldn’t have hurt the Devil, but it was unexpected, as evidenced by the ripple of Lucifer’s nonexistent eyebrows. Gabriel couldn’t contain his laughter.

“Okay, we don’t hit other people’s horns. Time to go to sleep.” Gabriel tucked Gideon in and turned off the overhead light, leaving the nightlight to give off a pale glow.

Gideon pulled him down for a goodnight kiss. “I love you, Uncle Gabe.”

Gabriel’s heart melted. “I love you too, kiddo. Sweet dreams.”

Gideon stretched out his arms toward Lucifer and made grabby hands. Lucifer sighed as he leaned down to receive his own goodnight kiss, which Gideon smacked loudly on his dark cheek. “Good night, Uncle Luc.”

“Good night, child.”

Gabriel could barely contain his laughter at Lucifer’s obvious discomfort. He couldn’t shut the door fast enough and ran to his room before it erupted.

“Did you find that amusing?”

“Yes,” he answered, still giggling.

As Lucifer closed in on him, he couldn’t help thinking, looks like I’ve got a monster of my own to take care of.

***

Chocolate chip pancakes. After a night of blissful satisfaction, his punishment was to endure the smell of semi-sweet nuggets added to perfectly good pancake batter. He was sure one of Lucifer’s minions came up with the idea just to torture parents and caregivers. He could swallow Lucifer’s cock with no problem, but smelling chocolate chips mixed with batter made him gag. What was the matter with blueberries? Even apples would’ve been better.

Lucifer grinned, reached into the bag of chips, and tossed a few more onto the two kid-sized pancakes sizzling on the griddle. Ass.

They settled at the table, and Gideon happily doused his gross pancakes with maple syrup. Double gross. Lucifer sat back with a steaming mug of coffee, black, of course. Gabriel smiled, remembering his lover’s stygian eyes casting a spell over him as he groaned his name more than once last night. Even now, the elegantly scrolled ‘L’ branded on his hip flared with warmth.

“So, buddy, what do you want to do today?” Gabriel asked his nephew. “It’s our last day together. Your mom and dad are coming home tomorrow.”

“Can we go to the zoo? I want to show Uncle Luc all the animals.”

“Of course. I’m sure Uncle Luc would love to see all the animals.” Uncle Luc looked like he would rather join a choir of angels.

After breakfast was cleaned up, Gabriel threw some bottles of water and a few kid-friendly snacks into a backpack. He struggled with installing Gideon’s booster seat. Rafe had explained how it needed to be done, but he’d be damned if he could get the thing to not wiggle, even though the seat belt was pulled tight.

Lucifer looked on in amusement as Gideon stood looking at him like he was a clueless idiot. Apparently, he was when it came to properly installing car seats.

Finally, he half-climbed into the back seat and pushed down with as much weight as he could muster with one knee jammed onto the seat. He pulled the belt as tight as he could. At last! The damn thing didn’t budge.

“Let me guess? You planted the installation instructions into the engineer's brain who designed this contraption, just like you’re responsible for cats being assholes.” Sweat trickled down his neck and along his spine as Gideon climbed onto the seat, and Gabriel buckled the harness.

Lucifer merely grinned.

Once at the zoo, Gideon insisted on riding on Lucifer’s shoulders. He grasped the thick horns as soon as he was planted between the devil’s shoulder blades. Gabriel knew from past visits everyone would see the human Adonis version of Lucifer while he and Gideon would see his authentic self. To passers-by, it would look like the little boy had his hands clutched in Lucifer’s hair.

His nephew had a blast. Gabriel was the only one who knew the real reason the big cats, wolves, and other carnivores started roaring, growling, and rumbling as soon as they approached, was because they recognized the presence of an apex predator.

The rest of the animals, herbivores and small prey, ran as fast as they could at their approach. The primates, well, they went ape-shit the second the trio entered the habitat. Gideon thought it was a riot. Gabriel pulled Lucifer out of there before the poor animals dropped dead from heart attacks.

Overall, the day was a rousing success.

“Uncle Luc? Can you read me a story?” After the long day, it was bedtime. The little boy had become attached to Uncle Luc.

“How about I tell you a story instead?”

Gideon nodded enthusiastically and gathered his stuffed animals close.

Lucifer launched into the tale of The Devil and the Peasant, only his version was, well, much darker. The Grimm fairy tale version had the peasant outsmarting the devil. In Lucifer’s rendition, the peasant roasted in the pits of Hell for eternity.

Why didn’t it surprise him when Gideon laughed at the end?

The following day, they decided Lucifer could pick breakfast. Smugly, he said, “Deviled eggs.”

Jeee-zus Christ.

After breakfast, Gabriel told Gideon to pack up his stuff. Big mistake. The boy wasn’t alone for more than two minutes when a resounding crash came from the guest room.

Gabriel raced down the hallway, only to discover Gideon scooped up into Lucifer’s arms, shattered glass from a broken lamp strewn on the floor.

“Another lamp, Gid? Fucking really? Why can’t you be more careful?” His words came out harsher than he intended. Lucifer glared at him with those endless pools of inky blackness he called eyes. No wonder people feared him.

“Do not listen to your mean uncle,” Lucifer crooned. Yes, crooned. “It was an accident. Let us get out of the way while Uncle Gabriel cleans it up.” Lucifer drawled his name before brushing by him as he carried Gideon out of the room. His cheeky nephew had the balls to stick out his tongue—little shit.

Gabriel got the broom, swept the glass, and dumped it in the trash. Rafe owed him three lamps and a healthy dose of sanity.

Lucifer was sprawled on the couch, Gideon tucked up into his side, watching cartoons. The little cretin had absconded with his boyfriend. Oh well. Rafe and his wife would be home in a few hours. He’d gotten a text earlier. They made it onto their flight. It was on time, and they would pick Gabriel up on the way home from the airport.

Shit! He needed to ensure Gideon didn’t tattle to his parents about Uncle Luc.

“Hey, buddy. I’m sorry I yelled at you. I was just scared because you could’ve been hurt. Come here.” He patted the space next to him on the other end of the couch. Gideon scooted over.

“So, we need to have a little chat. A big-boy chat.”

Gideon and Lucifer looked at him inquisitively.

“Don’t tell your mom and dad about Luc.”

“Okay.”

Well, that was easy.

Lucifer grinned. “It is time for me to go. We do not want all Hell to break loose, do we?”

Gabriel didn’t hide his disappointment. While their encounters were more frequent, they were much too brief.

“Am I going to see you again?’ Gideon asked.

“I will make a deal with you.”

“Okay!”

“NO!” hollered Gabriel. “You are not making a deal with a six-year-old!”

“Why not?”

Gabriel glared.

Lucifer kissed the end of Gideon’s nose. “It is not binding. Age of consent is eight.” He rolled his eyes.

Once more, Gabriel shot him what he hoped was a withering look.

“NO.”

“Fine.” Lucifer turned to Gideon. “I am sure we will meet again. Perhaps I can bang some sense into your uncle.”

Gabriel choked.

Gideon tugged on Lucifer’s hand and pulled him down to kiss his cheek before turning back to his cartoons.

Lucifer led Gabriel to the kitchen, where he savagely bruised his lips in a thermonuclear kiss.

“Until next time, my love. Take good care of that little boy.”

In a flash, Lucifer was gone. Only the lingering scent of burnt embers indicated the Devil had been there.

Gabriel muttered his response into empty air. “I will. There’s no way I’m letting you corrupt the innocent.”