Lucifer's Cage (After Dark Book 6)

by Sarah Bailey

  “Why did you listen to her?”

  “I never wanted to force you. I wanted you to be mine because you wanted it that way.”

  Tears fell harder. His hands gripped hers, a groan escaping his mouth as he pressed deeper. Sparks ran up her spine, warning her she was on the edge. Once, twice more he thrust into her and the dam broke. She cried out, shuddering and trembling beneath him.

  “That’s right. Scream my name, my little witch.”

  She didn’t hold back, crying out as wave after wave of pure bliss consumed her whole.

  “Fuck, Lucifer.”

  He grunted, pulsating inside her. She could feel every inch of him and it only drove her higher. Even though her behind still smarted from his brutal spanking, she floated in the clouds.

  How is it that he does this to me? How can he take command of my body, know what I want before I do?

  He didn’t disengage from her immediately. His breathing was heavy, his body almost crushing hers.

  “I want to mark you. So you know you’re mine. So everyone knows I have claimed you as my own.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Candace blinked, turning her face to look up at him. His dark eyes glittered with emotions she didn’t understand.

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “Mmm, I’m going to give you the mark of the Devil.”

  She froze underneath him. What the actual fuck? Did he really think he could just do that without her objecting to it?

  “No. I already know I’m yours. You can’t do that.”

  “I wasn’t asking for your permission.”

  Anger flooded her immediately. He pulled off her, running his hands over her behind. She flinched away from his fingers. A tingling sensation ran down her skin, the sting of his spanking faded. He’d healed her just like he had done when he’d brutally pounded her mouth, leaving her jaw aching.

  “I will hurt you again then I’ll care for you, my little witch.”

  “What the fuck, Lucifer? You can’t just tell me you’re going to give me the mark of the Devil then start on about how you want to hurt me. And what the fuck is with you calling me your little witch? Where did that come from?”

  His breath fluttered over her thighs. She hadn’t realised he’d knelt down behind her.

  “Mmm, where should I brand you? You’re mine and a witch, are you not?”

  Not knowing how to respond to either of those questions, she kept her mouth shut.

  Is that how he’s thought of me all along? As his? His witch?

  His fingers trailed down her calves. He gripped her ankle, pulling her foot from the floor and placing it in his lap. His fingers brushed over the sensitive arch. She shuddered.

  “I think I’m going to place it here.” His fingertips traced a line around her right ankle, just above the bone. “It’ll be fitting. Don’t worry, it will only hurt for a moment.”

  She didn’t get a chance to open her mouth when the pain shot up her leg. She whimpered, tears falling again. It burnt. Every touch of his finger against her skin until he was done.

  He’d branded her.

  Marked her as his.

  She was broken.

  He’d ruined everything.

  How could she hide this? Her mother would never see it, but Theodus would. The man who would be her husband would see she was owned by someone else. Someone brutal. Someone who showed her no mercy. But someone she loved with a fierceness which consumed her whole.

  “Fuck you,” she whispered.

  He ran his fingers over the mark she couldn’t see.

  “It’s beautiful, just like you, Candace, little witch. You’re mine.”

  He placed her foot back down on the floor, his touch caressing rather than possessive.

  “I’m going to take care of you now.”

  The hold he had over her released. Her limbs trembled. She wasn’t sure she could stand on her own after what he’d done to her. She was angry at him for branding her, but the fight inside her died. All she wanted was for him to hold her and never let go. The fucked up part of her loved him for everything he’d done and everything he’d promised to do.

  He picked her up off the table, cradling her to his chest.

  “Where is your bathroom?” he asked, his voice soft.

  “The first door next to the kitchen. The second door is my bedroom.”

  He carried her into the bathroom, setting her down on the edge of the bath. Her skin was damp with sweat and her arousal had run down her legs. He reached into her shower and flipped it on. Taking her hands, he helped her stand up and brought her under the water. He ran his hands over her hair which untangled her braids.

  “Lucifer…” she whispered.

  “Shh, we can talk when you’re clean.”

  It didn’t seem right to object to that. She let him wash her, soaping her body with her coconut shower gel. His fingers were gentle. The man before her was Lucifer and not the Devil. He was the damaged angel who was taking care of her. His little witch.

  When he was satisfied she was clean, he bundled her up in a towel. His power brushed over her, drying her hair and skin.

  He led her into her bedroom, pulling back the covers and tugging her down into the bed with him. She wrapped her arms around his back, pressing her face into his chest.

  Why does he feel so much like home? Am I crazy for loving this man? This angel who punished me and fucked me and confessed secrets to me.

  “Don’t you want to see how I marked you?” he asked.

  She did. The curiosity burnt inside her, but what could she even say? He wouldn’t take it away if she hated it. She shook her head. It was a problem she could deal with tomorrow. Just like all her other problems. She’d promised to see Theodus and talk about their future. The one she didn’t want and had no real say in.

  “You’re going to leave when I fall asleep, aren’t you?”

  “Everything has been unsettled since the portals reopened.”

  “Then we really broke whatever God did to prevent anyone from leaving? The three of us did?”

  “Yes. I have had to stop all my dukes from disappearing. Chaos will reign if I do not keep them in line.”

  She clutched him closer. Tension radiated from him. She ran a hand down his back, trying to soothe it away. Her fingers trailed, brushing over his skin. He murmured his approval.

  “I’ve missed your touch,” he whispered.

  “You have?”

  “Mmm, your soft skin soothes me. Do you really dream of me and wake up in torment?”

  “Why would I say it if I didn’t? I cried myself to sleep the night I left you. I argued with my father the next day and got horribly drunk on whisky with a friend. I felt like shit, but I woke up burning with need to feel you against me despite the hangover.”

  His arms around her tightened.

  “A friend? Not Jaxon?”

  She flinched at her best friend’s name. There had been no time for her to talk things out with him or maybe she just didn’t want to make time. She wasn’t sure how she felt telling Lucifer about Alistair but lying to him had only led to punishment.

  “Jax and I aren’t exactly talking because he wants to know what happened between us. So, no, it was another friend.”

  Something Alistair said tickled at her memory.

  “He told me about the Darkness. He was there.”

  Lucifer went deadly still. She pulled away, staring up into his face, which was haunted.

  “Will you tell me about it now?”

  His expression shut down, his eyes blazing with something she didn’t understand.

  “What is there to say? I tried to prevent it all, but Azrael was so obsessed with that girl. She was sent to destroy the world, you know. The vessel. I suppose it was resolved in the end. It was all part of His plan to punish Azrael because I apparently poisoned His children against Him. I did nothing but tell them they deserved the same freedom He granted humanity. Now Azrael lives happily up in Heaven with h
er and the rest of my brothers and sisters whilst I am consigned to spend eternity in servitude to Hell.”

  Every word made her heart contract further.

  All that pain inside him. All that resentment. I want to dig it out and lay bare his wounds so I can heal them all. And if he wants to take out his suffering on me, then so be it. I want to be his everything because he is mine.

  Knowing what she wanted and knowing she could never have those things sliced into her like a knife. Tearing her insides to shreds. And she couldn’t prevent the tears from slipping down her face.

  “What is it?” he asked, his face suddenly concerned.

  “Do you know how much I want you? Not just the things you choose to show me, but all of you, even the tormented and damaged parts you keep hidden away? And how much it breaks me knowing none of it is mine?”

  His eyes betrayed so much. Shock. Confusion. Affection. Longing. All of it flittering across his expression in quick succession.

  “Am I everything to you?” he whispered.

  “Yes. Everything and more.”

  She was done with keeping the truth of her feelings from him.

  “Then come home with me, my little witch. I’ll take you away from your fate.”

  “I can’t.”

  As much as she desperately wanted to, she didn’t belong with him in Hell. She didn’t deserve him nor his gentleness or his torment. Not when she was supposed to be marrying someone else. He shouldn’t be in her bed, but she didn’t care. If she could have these moments with Lucifer whilst everything else burnt around her, then she would.

  He leant towards her, capturing her mouth in a soft kiss. Hands stroked circles along her back, fingers trailed along her sides. She felt him everywhere, caressing her. In that moment, she knew he was Lucifer, not the Devil. And he was going to make love to her rather than fuck her. Blood pounded in her ears. This was everything she needed. No more words were uttered.

  She drowned in him.

  And he ruined her with every heartfelt kiss he pressed to her skin.

  §

  Lucifer watched her sleeping for the longest time. He finally understood all the emotions coursing through him. Finally made sense of what she meant to him.

  I love her.

  It wasn’t something he thought he was capable of, but he loved Candace with every beat of his heart, every breath he took.

  My little witch has stolen my heart and made it her own.

  He knew he needed to return to Hell, but he couldn’t tear himself away from her. She’d accepted his darker side with no question despite her vocal objections to his punishment. Seeing her so vulnerable and open made him want to hurt her even more. It was sick and twisted, but her cries of pleasure and pain fed him in a way no one else had.

  He’d treated other women in this way, but he’d never been driven to soothe them afterwards. To punish and adore, worship every inch of their body. He wanted to spend the rest of eternity doing so to her. Candace would live longer than a regular human. She was half fae and they lived centuries.

  He shook himself. Now was not the time to be thinking about these things. There were so many pressing matters awaiting him. If she was refusing to come back with him, he wouldn’t force her, yet.

  Under no circumstances was she marrying that fae prince. He’d make her see she couldn’t.

  Her foot was sticking out from under the covers. The mark he’d left on her stark against her skin.

  No one will be able to take her from me now.

  Slipping out of bed, he ran a hand through her blonde hair, stroking it away from her face. He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

  “I’ll be back for you.”

  The next minute he was outside and airborne, soaring over London until he landed in the place he’d left Hell by. Stepping into the portal, he arrived back in the throne room within minutes. Mall was pacing, her expression wary. She inclined her head when he strolled in.

  “My Lord,” she said.

  She looked behind him, as if expecting someone else. Her face fell when she realised he was alone.

  “Where is Candace? I thought you went to retrieve her.”

  He sat on his throne, drumming his fingers on the arm.

  “She’s at home on Earth.”

  Mall strode over to him. Her eyes were wide with fear.

  “Lucifer, you should’ve brought her back. She’s not safe.”

  She never called him by his name. His eyes snapped to hers, a frown appearing across his brow.

  “Explain.”

  “Dantalion and Beleth have gone to Earth to find her. I fear they mean to torture her or worse. I thought she was safe because she was with you, but now…”

  Blood pounded in his ears at her words.

  “Why did you not prevent them from leaving?”

  “I only heard after they were gone. I apologise, my Lord.”

  She bowed her head, shame in her eyes. He rose from his throne. Rage. All he could feel was rage.

  If they’ve laid a hand on her, I will tear them in half.

  He could not blame Mall for their actions, but she was meant to keep an eye on things for him. He’d left her in charge.

  “Stay here and make sure no other fuck ups happen in my absence. Can you do that?”

  Her head was still bowed. He didn’t have time to deal with her.

  “Yes, of course, my Lord.”

  “Good. Now, excuse me, I have two demons to slaughter.”

  And with that, he strode from the room.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The ground shook as he landed in the street outside Candace’s flat. His wings flared out of his back, looking every part the dark, fallen angel that he was.

  The two demons in their human forms had a hold of a girl between them, her blonde hair covering her face. Beleth and Dantalion stopped dead when they saw him.

  “Fuck,” muttered Beleth.

  The girl looked up. Her lip was split, a dark bruise forming around her left eye, which was swollen shut. Violent rage simmered inside him, threatening to burst out at any moment. They’d hurt her.

  Her mouth fell open, but no sound came out. There were dark bruises around her throat. She was only wearing the t-shirt he’d put on her before he left, but it was torn in places, exposing her skin to the air.

  How could they have done this in the time I was gone? I’m going to kill them. They’ve gone too far this time.

  “I am going to give you five seconds to release her and kneel at my feet,” he said with barely contained fury in his voice.

  It took one second for Dantalion to drop Candace’s arm and rush towards him, pressing his knees to the ground, head bowed. She swayed on her feet, falling into Beleth’s side. The demon stood there, staring at Lucifer with a challenge in his eyes.

  “I’m sorry, my Lord. It was him. He made me come. I didn’t touch her,” Dantalion said, his words frantic.

  Lucifer ignored him. He didn’t care what the demon had to say for himself. It was obvious Beleth had instigated this.

  My little witch has suffered too much.

  His eyes fell to her bare legs where there were scratches and welts.

  “Stay there, Dantalion, do not move an inch,” he said.

  He stepped around the demon, taking several steps towards Beleth and Candace.

  “Don’t come any closer,” Beleth said, wrapping his hand around Candace’s neck. “I will kill her if you do.”

  “Tell me, what do you hope to gain from this?”

  There had been chaos in Hell since the portals reopened, but this was something else. There was no reason for his dukes to be restless any longer. They were free, but perhaps this freedom had come at a price. He needed to teach them a lesson. Put them back in their place.

  “You are no real leader, Lucifer. No one fears Hell any more. You are weak. Gone soft. She is proof of it. You say she’s your toy, but I don’t believe that for a second. Why would you allow her to leave and go back to her life othe
rwise? So, I’m taking her.”

  Did Beleth truly believe he’d gone soft? The demon was about to get a wake-up call. Beleth had hurt the woman he loved. It broke something inside him seeing her battered and bruised by someone other than him. She was his to ruin.

  “Weak? You think me weak?” He laughed, the sound echoing around the street. “Oh, Beleth, you really have no idea what you’ve awoken.”

  A huge, long black whip appeared in his hand. He cracked it. The sound made Candace flinch back. Beleth’s fingers were still around her neck.

  “I’ll tell you one last time, release her.”

  Beleth’s eyes blazed with anger.

  “No.”

  Lucifer’s eyes began to glow red, his entire persona changed from light to darkness. His wings turned black, a halo of fire appearing atop his head. Black armour built itself around his chest, arms and legs, glinting in the moonlight. The dark angel he truly was sprung free. The Devil who had no restraints. There was nothing holding him back any longer and Beleth would feel the full brunt of his wrath.

  Candace’s good eye widened slightly. Her expression wasn’t one of fear, but complete awe. If he had any doubts about how she felt for him, he didn’t any longer. She’d once told him he wasn’t a knight in shining armour, but now, that’s very much what he was. Her fucked up knight and he would rescue her from everything as long as the two of them continued to breathe.

  He brought the whip up and it cracked again.

  “Do you still wish to disobey me, Beleth?” he said, his voice not quite sounding like his own.

  The demon glared at him.

  “I see. Well, I’m going to send you back where you belong.”

  The whip sprung forward, wrapping around Beleth’s neck. Once. Twice. Three times. He pulled it taut. The demon didn’t release Candace, but his eyes began to bulge in their sockets. It was time he paid for hurting Lucifer’s woman.

  “You’re nothing, Lucifer,” Beleth said, his voice higher than usual and breathy. “Even your own father cast you out. No one cares about the Devil any longer.”

  Lucifer pulled the whip tighter, cutting off the demon’s airway. Beleth released Candace’s arm, putting his hand to the whip, trying to prevent it from strangling him. His fingers tightened on Candace’s neck. She whimpered slightly. Lucifer took a step towards them, pulling the whip ever tighter.