Dev crossed his arms over his massive chest and stared soberly at his friend.
Tucking the tips of his fingers into the front of his pants pockets, his hips forward, Bowie shook his head tossing his short blond hair back as he pushed his shoulders back, chest thrust out.
His blue eyes amiable on his best friend yet serious, he said, “Dev, she’s going to do something, and soon. The terror of where you’re taking her is eating her up, she’s freaked. You know she will figure out a way to run, she’s wily, and brave, she will do it.”
Dev nodded, long hair swinging in front of his shoulders. “I know.”
The corner of Bowie’s mouth ticked up, then twisted to the side with a challenging grin. “I brought her back an hour ago from the game room. So then, what are you going to do about it? I know you have a plan.”
“I do.” Dev’s smile as usual wasn’t the most pleasant of things, he gestured for Bowie to sit down. “I have from the beginning.” Over a couple of drinks Dev explained what he was planning, and what he wanted Bowie to do.
As soon as Dev concluded, he got up and opened his door. “Now, go away.” He waited while Bowie set his empty glass down and got up.
At the door, Bowie stared at him for a moment, then flashed his typical impudent grin. “Okay then, bro, I leave it in your capable claws, I mean hands,” with a chuckle, he saucily saluted him and left.
Dev went to his bedroom and pulled on a shirt and boots. Buckling his belt, and a holster to his hip, he dragged a quick comb through his damp hair then left his suite.
While buttoning his shirt, he strode to Sveti’s room, nodded to Keldon, and knocked on the door. Dev could have Keldon unlock the door, or Dev himself could break it open like he did the other day, but right now, he wanted Sveti to feel she had some sort of control over her life, illusory though it was.
It took several knocks and many minutes before she opened the door. Reluctantly. Peering around the edge of the door she asked suspiciously, “What do you want?”
The curve of his lip twitched. “You asked me that the last time and my response is still the same. I want to come in.” As he figured, she didn’t move aside. So, he just started walking into the room and she was forced to get out of his way or he would have steamrolled over her.
She watched him close and lock the door, then stride right past her down the hall to her bedroom. His aura so strong and powerful, it was spine-tingling daunting to Sveti how Dev always filled the space with heat and vitality.
Warily she followed him, keeping a distance between them, as if she could really out run him if he chased her.
Her suitcase was on the stand and half packed. Just inside the lavender room, Dev turned to look at her, his lip quirked as his gaze rolled over the jacket she was wearing. Inside.
Setting his large hands on lean hips, his fingers stretched over the belt and holstered weapon, he asked amiably, “Going on a trip?”
“Uh, I um,” Sveti stammered, staying outside the doorway, “am just getting ready for when we, uh, leave.” Blinking rapidly at him, he was all in black; pants, shirt that covered but didn’t hide the expanse of his broad chest and shoulders, black boots, long loose hair, even eyes dark as midnight. She thought, villain.
“I see.” He looked pointedly at her jacket. “Is it chilly in here? You have control of the thermostat, Svetiessa.”
For some reason he always used her full first name when addressing her. Sveti found it disconcerting, formal, yet intimately erotic all at the same time, especially in that rough deep timbre with his unique accent. He was the only one who called her Svetiessa, his tongue rolled around it like he was wrapping them together in their own private sensual cocoon.
She could tell he already figured out she was going to attempt to leave her suite. Probably knew before he even walked in her door. She said nothing and went back to the living room.
Following her, he said, “I don’t know why I thought you were a good liar, because you really suck at it. Where do you think you are going?” Even from the side view of her, clear distress streaked over her soft face before it stiffened.
Letting out a big sigh, Sveti stopped, turned and faced him. “Fine. I will tell you.” She plumbed light elegant strokes with her small fingers through her flaming hair, separating the curly locks.
Her voice soft, melodic even in her anguish she answered, “I do not want to mate with my brother, nor do I want to mate with…some…hideous, deadly creature.” Her gaze raked him letting him know she put him in the same category.
At his passive expression, she crossed her arms under her breasts, took a deep breath.
Strengthening her tone, she continued, “The only reason for you, or anyone to take me to Krystian is because of the warrant. He wants to sell my virginity or take it himself. I have decided I will resolve the whole issue and quickly go find my own prince and give myself to him. That will negate the need for the warrant and my having to return to Krystian.”
His boots braced hard on the floor, arms crossed, hair flowing over his shoulders, the only thing that moved on Dev was his arched black brows. “Oh yeah? You’re going out there,” he jerked his jaw towards the door, “and find the first male prince you come across, and offer yourself up like dinner on a platter?”
She nodded sharply. “Yes I am. At least it will be my choice, not anyone else’s. Maybe the person I chose will not want me to stay with him and I can go back and be with Ryen. Now,” she moved towards the door, “if you will excuse me, I am removing myself from your mission.”
“Ah,” murmuring, his legs longer, Dev leisurely stepped in front of the door before she could get to it. Setting his hands on strong hips, he said calmly, “Not happening.”
Her lips bunched. “Get out of my way. There is no longer any reason for you to keep me prisoner. I am sorry about your loss of funds, but se la vie. Maybe my new prince will pay you my debt. Now, move. If I don’t go now I will just find a way out later. Get out of my way.”
She slapped her hands on her hips and looked belligerently up at him, and frowned at the placid expression on his harsh face. He should be looking angry that he would lose the money the warrant would have paid.
He moved his bulky arms to cross over slabs of steel, and smiled down at her, but it wasn’t a nice smile. Sveti’s skin crawled in response to it.
His age was always indeterminable to her. He looked young, but there were demonic years in the weathering of his face, and a primordial soul glimmered from the ancient, opulent dark eyes drenched in simmering danger.
Bucking up her nerve, she reached for the button to release the door, but he was in front of it. She tried to physically move him knowing it would be in vain, and it was. It was like trying to push a tank. “Sire, Captain Dravidian,” she sucked in aggravated air, “step aside.”
“You should call your lover by his first name.” The smile sharpened. “That would be Devilos, or Dev if you prefer.”
Her brows blew into her hairline. “What?” she sputtered, glaring at him. “We are not lovers. I am going to go find a prince, now move out of my way!”
“You are not leaving sweetheart, you are going to mate with me. Right now.”
Chapter Sixteen
Sveti’s eyes popped wide in disbelief. “I most certainly am not. I need a prince or the spell will not work for Krystian and he’ll never let me go. Please, Sire, move.”
“I am a prince, Svetiessa. Hence the title of Sire. But you will call me Devilos.”
“What? Prince of what? Where?”
“Ah, there’s the rub. You would actually call me the Prince of Darkness.” He watched her strive to decipher his words.
She shook her head in bafflement, long bright tresses swung across the back of her frilly yellow blouse. “That makes no sense. That would be saying you are…the- the devil.”
Nodding, he affirmed, “That would be correct.” The features of his hard face remained impassive but with a slight rise to the edges of his harshly carv
ed lips.
Watching him lazily unbuckle his holster and set it on top of a tall cabinet, out of her reach, she stammered, “You- you’re saying that you- you are the devil?” Her face flushed with incredulity. Then her gaze trailed up to his horns, remembering his fangs digging into her neck, her eyes lowered to his big hands, claws had extended from them.
Recalling the flames that danced around him, the beast that rose in his anger and his lust, she bit back a gasp as she looked up at his eyes, they were flickering between black and white. She started backing away from him.
The rise to the corner of his mouth edged up further, he said with a shrug, “In a way. I am actually a great-great-great etc. grandson, the spawn of old Satan himself, Lucifer. Ergo the horns, fangs, claws, superhuman strength, hearing, sight, flames, again, etc.” He moved towards her.
“But- but you are from Nasitar, the planet of born and trained killers, hunters, it can’t be,” she moved around furniture to get away from him. He kept coming after her, unhurried, shoving things out of his way with one hand, an easy chair, solid steel dining table.
Her hands up, she ordered him, “You stay away from me,” voice shaking with her demand.
“Svetiessa, I am a prince, therefore I qualify for the requirement to bed you and thus release you from the warrant.” Stalking her languidly like the jaguar slinking after the tasty soft doe that had nowhere to run, he pushed aside an oak hutch to close the distance between them.
“But- but you are a different species!” Her quarried eyes never leaving him, she felt the way behind her, maybe if she could get to the bathroom she could lock herself in. He would have to go away eventually.
He smiled with a shrug. “That’s true, but we have most of the same parts, gods and angels, archangels and humans mated billions of years ago to create me, my kind, you, us, don’t worry we will fit.” And in a minute you’ll find out I have a few extra things to bring to the table.
As much as it vexed her to say it, she said, “Sire, you don’t understand, whoever uh, deflowers me, in my culture as the princess of my planet, owns me.”
“I’ll do it.”
“But then you would own me!”
“Aye. I accept that.” His smile leveled into a grim line, his eyes narrowed in menace at her. “But, let me warn you, my beautiful Prințesă; I have never had nor wanted a woman of my own to keep.” His shoulder bumped.
“I am afraid I will be quite possessive of you. I already am. Once we do this, you will never be with another man. I will not allow you to go home to your Ryen. You will be with me, stay, with me.”
He let her see the grave threat before letting his face relax back into a mild smile. “Now, let’s do this,” he reached his hand to her, she slapped it away.
“No! You are not giving me a choice!”
“So what? A moment ago you were going to sashay that fine ass down the main avenue and give it to the first prince you got to. You don’t need to do that, as I said, I will do it. You know me as well or as little as some other Tom, Dick, or prince out there. So why not me?”
“Because you are cruel and brutal and- and a killer, a beast, and…I am terrified of you.” She stumbled a few steps backwards.
He took a step forward. “Ah, that is all true, and your terror of me will only get worse.”
“You see!”
Shaking his head, he said matter-of-factly, “You’ll get used to it. Come, let’s seal this contract. We are doing this now. Take off your clothes. I promise, I will not be such a savage animal this time. I know you will need it gentle, careful, slow, at least until your body can take more of my...toughness, my strength. I can control the beast,” to some degree, he reached for her again.
Again she slapped at his hand. “No! Stay away from me! You don’t like me, you hate me for thinking I tricked you, and I am not even your type, why would you want to tie yourself to me? I heard the mean things you said about me being so much less than the other women.”
“Ah, but my little human, a man can change his interests when he finds something he’s never experienced before and finds it… extraordinary, alluring, exciting, sexy, hot, irresistible. I was struggling to fight my overpowering desire for you, I thought stupidly by disparaging you I could get you out from under my skin.” He raised his palms with a shrug. “Alas, it didn’t work.”
“What are you saying? That makes no sense. I don’t understand.” As he moved closer, her back came up against the wall.
“You don’t need to understand, come here, take your clothes off.” Without even touching her he had herded her near the hall to the bedroom.
Bewildered, her head shook back and forth. “But why are you doing this? Why would you want to?”
“Because I want you, and you need me.” He scraped his nails down his harsh face, then shoved his loose hair back with both hands.
“You got under my skin, Prințesă, like snow under ivory. You are sweet and brave, timid and assertive, soft and shy and feminine, and have the most tempting ass I’ve ever wanted to bite.”
Appalled, her voice squeaked strident, “Oh! How dare you-”
“Okay, sorry, aye, those plump tits are quite a draw too. I can’t wait to get my hands on them, bare I mean.” He smiled at her anger, his gaze dropped to her chest. “My mouth too.”
As she sputtered in fury, he said drolly, “Oh, and, I kinda want to drive my cock deep and hard inside you like a fucking jackhammer until you are shrieking my name and begging for more.”
When she opened her mouth to rebuke him he cut her off, his eyes narrowed, “At least I am a known danger. For fuck’s sake, Svetiessa, you were just about to go out there and launch yourself at some unknown male.”
A scowl pulled his black brows and full lips down. “If you’re going to spread your legs for anyone, sweetheart, it will be for me. Only me.”
Breathless and enraged at his audacity, she cried, “But I don’t accept you. I want to live with my husband, I want to love him, raise a family, there has to be more than- than sex between us. You…are too- brutal, we would never live together. You have your planet and I have mine with galaxies in between. I assume the prince I give my virginity to will take what he wants then set me free, to go live where I please, not stay with him.”
His face darkened. “Oh, but you will live with me, why would you think otherwise? You will sleep beside me in my bed every night.”
“No, I- I don’t want to, you are a heartless, cold, violent fiend, stay away from me!” She held a hand up to hold him off. As if she could.
“You will get used to me. Do I complain you are so soft and pretty? Now, come, stop making this difficult, go on, do as I say, take off your clothes, do a sexy strip for your male.” Like a dance, he moved forward, she retreated, tripping along the wall.
“No! You are not and never will be my male. There has to more between a couple than just desire. You cannot force me to take my clothes off, to do this, I am leaving now.” She turned her small nose up in the air and went to march past him.
Growing impatient with her resistance, he said, “Come, Svetiessa, this is it. We are going to mate right now. I am a true blooded prince. I will take your virginity, your bráthair will be satisfied,” except for the part where the sick bastard won’t get to fuck his own deisfiúr, “and we will be wedded.
“And you better get used the sex, honey, because when we are wed, I will expect my husband’s due when I want it. And believe me,” his heated gaze raked her body, “that will be often. I apologize ahead of time, you’ve already noticed, I tend to be quite…rough. But again, you will get used to it. The first few times, as I said, of course I will be gentle, careful as I initiate you into our coupling.”
A lascivious smile pulled his lips up, with a lewd twinkle in his eye, he said, “Trust me, Svetiessa, you will soon become addicted to it. I am like no other male you could be with.”
“Huh, a tad conceited, aren’t we?” She slid her back along the wall keeping space between them.
He moved a hand to her, she shoved it away.
“Stop! I said no! I am not doing this with you, you would have to- to force me, rape me, and I would never forgive you if you did. I swear, our marriage would be miserable. I would leave you first chance I got. So step aside right now.” Again she tried to push past him but he stood in her way like a big brick wall.
His dark eyes glazed with sudden leaden fury, the timber deep and scary rough in his powerful chest he decreed, “You will never leave me, Svetiessa, you will be my wife and always by my side. Always.” He sighed as he saw the fright slick across her face.
“Come on, sweetheart,” he said more quietly, snatched up a lock of her hair, twirled it between his fingers. “I may have to help you move along, but trust me, it will not be rape, you will beg me to take you. You forget how aroused you were at the river. If I hadn’t spoken that day this would have already been done. Your arms would be around me right now, not pushing me away.”
“You are delusional!” Sveti suddenly made to rush past him.
Prey should never run, it always makes the predator automatically chase after it. He grabbed her, she screamed, he lifted her up holding her so she was forced to straddle him and he carried her towards the bedroom.
“Let me go!” Fighting him, she pummeled his chest with her fists, shouting, “You are too big, I need to go find a- a smaller, more gentle man that won’t brutalize me- put me down!”
“Hush, sweetheart, we will fit perfectly together,” after a while. His hands cupping her butt, he leaned her against the wall. Bracing her back on the wall, he lifted a hand and cradled her head, then lowered his and seized her mouth in a pervasive feral kiss.
Trying to turn her face from him, keeping her lips closed, Sveti hit at him. Ignoring the blows, Dev drew his thick hard fingers along the crease in her butt, she jumped and yelped, he slammed his mouth over hers and shoved his tongue inside.
Angling his head to fuse them more tightly he kissed her with relentless vehemence until her struggles lessened and she was lured in under his spell. Her tiny innocent mouth pulsed with hesitant ambivalence against his unyielding pressure and skillful strokes. Feeling her starting to respond, Dev set her on her feet and kept her pressed flat against the wall.
Devil's Prince (Satan's Brood Book 1) Page 14