Gluttony

by Katie May

  We made quick work removing our pants, but before he entered me, he

  sat back and admired my dripping pussy.

  “Jax!” I begged, but he gave me a disapproving look.

  “I want to taste you…” he murmured, dropping to his belly on the bed.

  He gripped my legs and hoisted them on his shoulders. “You smell good.”

  His tongue flicked at my entrance, and I swore my eyes rolled back in my

  head. When he began to eat me in earnest, I saw fucking stars.

  He demolished my pussy as if he was on death row and this was his last

  meal. His lips sucked on my bundle of nerves as he added first one finger and

  then a second, scissoring them in and out of my sopping cunt.

  “Fuck!” I screamed as my orgasm crashed over me. I was drowning in it,

  drowning in him, but it was the sweetest death imaginable.

  When he leaned forward to kiss me, I tasted myself on him. Somehow,

  that only heightened my arousal.

  “You taste so fucking good,” he stated candidly.

  “I want you in me,” I pleaded, tugging at his cock.

  For a brief moment, insecurity flared to life in his eyes as he surveyed my

  face.

  “Are you sure?” he whispered, sounding more like my old Jax than ever

  before.

  “Make love to me.”

  Maintaining eye contact, he lined himself up with my entrance and slowly

  pushed himself inside of me. It was a tight fit—he was bigger than I expected

  —but my pussy clenched around his dick as if it was made for him.

  “You’re so fucking tight,” he breathed, his hips jerking forward.

  “Move.” I wrapped my legs around his waist once more, digging my feet

  into his ass.

  He was slow at first, careful, almost, as if I was glass he was afraid

  would break. But he couldn’t deny his more primitive instincts any more than

  I could.

  He began to fuck me relentlessly, his balls slapping against my ass as the

  bed shook and rocked. He gripped my breasts punishingly as he mumbled

  inarticulate praises.

  “Fuck, yes!” I moaned as I felt his cock expand inside of me.

  “Z!” he screamed, his hips jerking erratically as he came inside of me.

  When his hand found my clit, pinching tightly, I careened over the edge

  myself, milking his cock for all it was worth.

  He collapsed, sweaty and sated, onto my chest seconds later, his head

  nestled beneath my chin. His thumb idly stroked my nipple as we held each

  other.

  “I’m scared,” Jax whispered after a prolonged moment of silence. He

  turned his head to press a kiss between my breasts. “I don’t know what’s

  wrong with me. I think I’m losing my mind.”

  “You’ll be okay,” I assured him, stroking down his back. “We’re on our

  way.”

  “Please be careful,” he said brokenly. I felt something wet cascade down

  my chest. Tears, I realized blankly. “She has something planned.”

  “We’ll be careful,” I promised. “Pinkie promise.” He snorted as he eyed

  my proffered pinkie before intertwining it with his own. “Have you

  discovered anything?”

  Jax stilled for a brief moment before his fingers resumed playing with my

  breast.

  “She has an illusion spell on the house,” he stated at last. “I don’t know

  what she is. Not a Mage, not a Vampire...not anything I have ever seen

  before.”

  “Bash and Ryland traveled ahead of us,” I whispered, tension radiating

  through me. “Have you seen them?”

  He shook his head. “No. They must not have gotten through the illusion

  spell.”

  Immense relief crashed over me like a tidal wave. When Devlin had told

  me where my other mates were, I damn near lost my mind. I wouldn’t be able

  to handle losing them—any of them.

  “Z,” Jax began doggedly. He swallowed audibly, his hand once more

  still. “Aaliyah is obsessed with you. I don’t know why. She asks about you all

  the time, and she warns her...her monsters not to hurt you.”

  I pondered this newfound information. Why me? What did Aaliyah want

  with me? Question after question continued to swirl in my head like a

  hurricane, but conjuring up an answer was like grasping the wind. Utterly

  impossible.

  “You did good, Jax,” I praised, brushing back his sweat-soaked hair. He

  preened at the compliment, a dimpled smile appearing on his handsome face.

  “Just hang in there a little bit longer. We’re coming for you.”

  “She’s waiting,” he warned, the smile abating as quickly as it had

  appeared. I kissed his forehead as he cuddled against me.

  “I’ll be ready.”

  THIRTY-ONE

  JAX

  W hen I woke up a few minutes later, she was gone.

  I held on to the memory tightly. Guarding it with every

  fiber of my being.

  Aaliyah would try to make me forget, but I would fight her every step of

  the way.

  Her golden hair splayed across my pillow. Her wet pussy lips. Those

  beautiful, perky breasts with taut nipples. The spark of fire in her gemstone

  eyes.

  Z.

  My mate.

  My love.

  I repeated those words over and over again, branding them into my brain.

  I would do better. I had to do better.

  My gaze lowered to the dead human, and guilt rushed through me. This

  woman had kidnapped children and murdered them, so I didn’t feel bad about

  killing her. I did, however, regret Z seeing me like that.

  I had been so blinded by my blood-lust and rage that I’d failed to realize I

  had my own personal angel standing directly in front of me.

  Z.

  My mate.

  My love.

  I didn’t know how she was able to visit me here, but I wasn’t

  complaining. Perhaps it was a product of the mate bond. Maybe it was

  something else entirely.

  All I knew for certain was that she had saved me.

  Smiling softly at the memory of my gorgeous mate writhing underneath

  me, I hopped out of bed and stepped into my pants. The last thing I wanted

  was to be naked when Aaliyah came back to check on me and remove the

  body. She had made her intentions clear more than once, and though my

  mind had often been under her thrall, my heart had always belonged to Z.

  Still, perhaps I could use this to my advantage.

  Aaliyah assumed I was still driven by Gluttony—still trapped in a cage of

  my own making, fortified by her powers. She didn’t know that Z had freed

  me.

  I could see and think clearer than I ever had before in my life.

  Maybe, just maybe, she would let something slip if I played my cards

  right.

  I waited only an hour before Aaliyah sauntered through the door, her red

  hair styled high on her head. She wore a fitted green gown that made her look

  like a fucking Christmas decoration from the before times.

  She smiled coyly as she glanced at the dead girl. Her nostrils flared as she

  sniffed the room, and her grin grew. I realized she could smell the lust and

  sex still permeating the air.

  Fuck.

  “Did you fuck the girl before or after you killed her?” Aaliyah asked,

  sashaying forward. My shoulders in
stantly sagged in relief.

  She thought I had fucked the dead woman, not my mate.

  And though the thought of pretending to touch anyone but Z made bile

  rise up my throat, I kept my expression impassive as I shrugged. Not

  confirming or denying.

  “I didn’t know you were down with playing…” she purred, running a

  finger down my chest. I caught her hand before it could go any further. This

  bitch would never touch me.

  Still, I had a persona I had to keep up. For Z.

  “I’m thirsty,” I rumbled, infusing sincerity and primal hunger into each

  word.

  She continued to smile, locking eyes with me.

  “I don’t have any more meals for you today,” she said, tugging at her

  hand. I released her quickly and took an instinctive step backwards. “But you

  can drink from me.”

  She undid the first few buttons of her dress, revealing a hint of nipple,

  and canted her head to the side.

  Yeah, no.

  I would rather stab myself in the eye until I’m shitting out pupils.

  I pretended to consider it, leaning forward and sniffing her neck. She

  smelled like… like darkness. I didn’t know how to describe it, only that

  shivers overtook my body. She was swords clashing against shields, and

  thunder reverberating in the night air. She was the monster that hid beneath

  miles and miles of murky ocean water. She was darkness personified.

  Z, on the other hand, smelled like sunshine and roses, breaking apart the

  monotony of darkness that had been my one constant for years now.

  I scrunched my nose, pulled away from her, and shook my head

  vigorously.

  “I’m. Thirsty.” I grunted once. And then again, because that seemed like

  something a primitive asshole like myself would’ve done.

  Her red lips pursed as she gave me a long once-over, her eyes lingering

  on my crotch longer than I felt comfortable with.

  “Very well.” She redid her buttons and pivoted on her heel. “Come.”

  I prowled behind her as we left my room/prison and entered a dark,

  gothic hallway. Both the floor and walls were painted various shades of black

  with numerous candles dotting the wall. The flames danced rhythmically as

  we descended a swirling staircase.

  When we finally stopped, my stomach bottomed out at the horrendous

  sight before me.

  Humans—men and women alike—were chained to the wall. All of them

  were naked, their ribs protruding from their papery skin.

  “Have at it,” Aaliyah said, waving her hand dismissively. “They’re all

  rapists and murderers.” For a brief moment, a forlorn, pensive expression

  flashed across her face. “It hasn’t always been like this. Before the demons

  arrived, the world had been...peaceful. Serene.” She shook her head

  vehemently and released a heavy sigh. “I have to meet someone upstairs, but

  help yourself to any of them. And clean up after yourself.”

  With that, she turned on her heel and stalked back up the stairs, leaving

  me alone with the scared humans.

  I didn’t know if what Aaliyah told me was true—if they truly were

  murderers and rapists—but I wasn’t going to drink from them either way. I

  knew that if I gave in, the blood-lust would pull me back under kicking and

  screaming. I would become the ravenous, blood-sucking monster I strived to

  escape from.

  A Nightmare.

  Instead, I stealthily moved away from the prisoners and climbed up the

  stairs on silent feet. I had to be careful—if Aaliyah suspected I wasn’t under

  her control, she would be livid.

  I pressed my ear to the door, but the wood muffled any sound. Silently

  cursing, I pushed the door open inch by excruciating inch, willing it to remain

  silent. I practically sagged in relief when the door was open enough for me to

  stick my head out.

  Clipped voices greeted me from further down the hall, and I tapped into

  my enhanced hearing.

  “...get it done,” Aaliyah said curtly, and I imagined she would be folding

  her arms over her chest. There was a heavy sigh, the sound of crinkled

  papers, and then silence.

  I had begun to believe that the mysterious visitor had left when I heard a

  contented moan and a harsh grunt.

  Aaliyah.

  And a male.

  Straining my ears, I heard what sounded like skin hitting skin, and

  something inside of me died forever.

  Yup. I was going to gag on my own vomit.

  Their fuck-fest went on for what felt like hours—but was probably more

  like a few minutes—when I heard the sound of a zipper and a deceptively

  light giggle.

  “Don’t worry,” Aaliyah purred. “I keep my promises.”

  “You better,” a rough voice snapped, and every hair on my body stood on

  end. Cold fear skated down my spine like an ice cube. My hand tightened on

  the doorframe until my knuckles turned white.

  “We’ll see you soon,” a third voice declared, sounding bored with the

  entirety of this conversation.

  Aaliyah laughed again, high-pitched and child-like, as the footsteps

  retreated down an opposite hall. I quickly ducked back into the room, racing

  down the stairs and sticking my fangs in the neck of the nearest man. I didn’t

  suck—and I didn’t pierce him enough to draw blood—but the angle from the

  staircase didn’t show that.

  Aaliyah bounced back down moments later, significantly more cheerful

  than before. There was a rosy hue to both her cheeks that had been absent

  prior, and her red hair was tousled.

  “How does he taste?” she asked coyly as I pulled away from the

  trembling man and pretended to lick him with my venom.

  “Sour,” I growled, staring at the woman with newfound horror.

  I had recognized the two voices she had spoken to, and it felt like an iron

  vise was closing around my heart, drawing blood with each consecutive

  squeeze. My head buzzed like a hornet’s nest had been set loose.

  Why the hell were the Incubus King and Mage King visiting Aaliyah?

  And how did they even know about her in the first place?

  I feared my family and I had found ourselves trapped in the sticky strings

  of a web, seconds from being devoured. The more we unraveled the secrets

  plaguing this world, the further trapped we became.

  Pulse skittering, I followed Aaliyah back up the staircase.

  Please be safe, Z. Please.

  THIRTY-TWO

  DAIR

  M y wheelchair didn’t come with me.

  I only realized it when we pulled to a stop at the side of

  the road, directly beside a rundown truck. A growl of fury

  emerged from my throat as I stared down at my stubby legs.

  Failure.

  Worthless.

  Nothing.

  Each of those words scraped at my heart like a blunt-edged blade. It

  didn’t quite draw blood, but it was a constant presence that I couldn’t escape

  from.

  It was ironic, in a way, the amount of power we gifted physical strength.

  It was why women were often seen as weaker than men. Why men and

  women alike with disabilities were frowned upon. I was just beginning to

  realize that my apparent “inadequacies” were no
t inadequacies at all.

  But now, watching my mate and brothers strap weapons onto their bodies,

  all of those emotions returned with a vengeance.

  “I want to come with you,” I whispered, drilling a hole into Devlin’s

  head. He spun, brown brows raised as his violet eyes widened.

  “You don’t have your chair,” he stated, already dismissing it. Dismissing

  me. I fucking hated when they did that.

  “And it’s uphill,” Lupe added offhandedly. He eyed a dagger with

  obvious aversion before slipping it up his sleeve. I didn’t think he would even

  end up using it—but, then again, what did I know?

  “Then fucking carry me!” I snapped, leaning forward and piercing them

  with a scathing look. “I’m not leaving my mate.”

  “Dair…” Z’s voice was soft, almost placating, and that pissed me off

  even more.

  “No, Z.” I turned towards her and gripped her cheeks fiercely. She was so

  beautiful it physically pained me. “I’m your mate. I need to protect you.”

  A somber smile flirted across her face as she placed her palm over my

  hand. I couldn’t help but note how jagged my nails appeared when compared

  to her perfectly trimmed ones. It was a product of the damn chair—I

  constantly tore my nails off when they got stuck in the wheels.

  “And I need to protect you. ” I opened my mouth to protest, but she cut me

  off by climbing into my lap. She nestled her head beneath my chin, and I

  peppered kisses on her hair. She felt warm in my arms— right—as if the

  world was finally beginning to make sense.

  “Because I’m weak,” I lamented bitterly, tilting her head up to stare

  deeply into her eyes. Her long lashes fluttered as she met my penetrating gaze

  with a fierce one of her own.

  “Because you’re you,” she responded matter-of-factly. “You’re not

  weak.” She pressed a tantalizingly soft kiss to the corner of my lips. “You’re

  not less of a man. I don’t know how many times I have to remind you of that,

  but I will. I will remind you every day of my fucking life if that is what it

  takes.”

  “I love you so damn much,” I whispered, capturing her lips fully with my

  own. She tasted sweet—decadent—like when you had dessert before dinner.

  Nirvana and bliss overshadowed the darkness, filling those spaces with light.

  “I love you too, my perfect Mermaid.” She ran her fingers through my