From Ashes and Embers (Ceasefire Series Book 3)

by Claire Marta

  After being in a stalemate with Heaven for so long, it was a kick in the nuts to have his four demon generals betray him. Although Lucifer was one step ahead of them all the way, it still cost us soldiers. One thing he didn’t see coming was one of the idiots attempting to open the stoppers, which keeps Hell from Earth. Until they’re permanently fixed, we’re forever frozen in winter. Not so good for the inhabitants who are used to hotter climates. His subjects are less than amused, although they know better to complain to his face. It leaves us open to attack from outside forces. Fallen realms with masters forgotten by mankind. Heaven and Hell aren’t the only kingdoms to exist, and we both know the threat these other pantheons pose if they ever chose to move against us.

  Impatience flashes in the Devil’s red eyes, mouth twisting in annoyance. “The seals are being seen to. My army is replenishing with fresh recruitment through the seven hell dimensions. Things are settling before the next shitstorm hits. I want this union forged soon.”

  I take a moment to sweep a look over the demons kneeling around him, heads pressed against the marble of the floor. Unmoving they can’t hide the fine tremor quaking through their stiff limbs. By now their backs and muscles will be aching. He’s had them in that prostrate position for six hours and counting. One bastard dared to question Lucifer’s choice of woman. Now they’re all paying the price.

  People take Mavi at face value. They see her beauty, dark raven hair, pouty lips, and a slender graceful frame. What they don’t glimpse is the monster that it houses. The cold-blooded assassin who wouldn’t think twice in taking pleasure from gutting you. She’s Lucifer’s perfect match.

  The acidic smell of urine hits my nose. So far, none of them have shit themselves, but there’s still time. There’s no telling how much longer he’ll keep them like this in punishment.

  No one disrespects Mavi. The dumb fuckers who do aren’t left breathing for long.

  Rubbing sleep from her eyes with a delicate hand, the female in question comes slinking into the great hall. The clinging short satin nightdress she’s wearing leaves little to the imagination.

  “When are you coming back to bed? I just managed to get Juliana down, and why are they all on the floor?” she asks, taking the steps up to the throne before planting herself boldly on the Devil’s lap.

  Encircling his arms around her, Lucifer nuzzles the valley between her breasts. “One of them spoke out against you, so I decided to punish them.”

  The atmosphere changes just like that. Mavi’s exquisite features become blank. Hellfire dancing in her deep blue eyes, they look ready to burn.

  “Who?” Her question is soft, controlled.

  I don’t envy the one who’s about to feel her wrath.

  “Zida,” he informs her, a knowing sneer creeping up his lips. Her rage is something he enjoys along with watching her torture. “He doesn’t think your strong enough to rule at my side. Believes you weak and inferior.”

  Slipping free of his embrace, she stands tall. With a confidence that scares the shit out of me, because I know she’s capable of anything, she wanders down to the prone males.

  “Stand up.”

  Zida obeys the command shakily with a look of defiance tossed her way. “My Lord, I answer to you not this whore.” Straightening to his full height, he looms over her. Grey mottled horns curving from his mop of reddish hair, his attractive features hold a permanent expression of distaste. Muscular, strong, like any other demon sworn to serve in the Legion of the Damned, he’s built for battle.

  We’re all aware he’s vying for the King of Hell’s approval to become one of his generals, now the positions are open. Problem is what he’s got planned might have worked in the past with any other female, but Mavi is something else.

  Lucifer leans back idly, watching, but doesn’t say a word. We both know this is her show now.

  Mavi steps closer, her satin covered nipples brushing the demon’s chest. From the taut outline, the little nubs are hard with excitement. “You haven’t liked me from day one, have you Zida? Do you feel threatened by me? A female half your size?” she questions sweetly.

  He snorts. “You’re nothing but a slut, and I won’t acknowledge you as anything more. You’re not fit to sit beside our King. Filthy hybrid that you are. He may breed you, but that’s all you are. A pet.”

  Any other demon would be pissing their pants. They all know her reputation. What Mavi can do. Her name is whispered in awe and fear. The assassin who put down three of Lucifer’s most savage generals. She’s a no holds barred kind of girl. The Master of Hell can be a terrifying sight when riled, but nothing compares to his mate, not even him.

  “Well then.” Stroking a hand up his abs teasingly, Mavi smiles seductively. “If I’m a slut, why don’t you fuck me? That’s all I’m good for, right? That’s how you all view females, isn’t it? Vessels for your pleasure?”

  Zida’s gaze snaps up to the Devil’s, but she draws it back to hers with a finger under his chin. “Don’t look at him. What’s that matter; don’t you want me?” She purrs.

  “If you want her, take her,” Lucifer tells him smoothly. As if he doesn’t give two fucks what happens. “That applies to any of you who want her. Here on the floor before me, if it pleases you. I won’t lift a finger to stop you.”

  He’s allowed it before with his play things. Demon females he’s used for his own enjoyment until he’s grown bored. Everyone knows his attention has never lasted long. That was of course before Mavi came into the picture, guns blazing with a psychotic smile on her young face.

  There’s no denying the lust Zida can’t keep hidden in his expression. Tongue tracking over the bottom of his lip, he drags his hands up the backs of her bare arms.

  Goosebumps travel in their wake, but Mavi doesn’t shiver in reaction. She remains still and impassive. Whatever her aim, she’s not going to make a move until she’s ready.

  Clasping the front of her nightdress, he rips the flimsy material into two halves with ease. It flutters free, falling to the ground in a pool of silky material. Stomach flat, her limbs toned, lean, she’s slender and deceptively delicate appearing. Between her legs, her mound is shaven and smooth.

  Mavi continues to stand, head held high under the heat of male eyes without an ounce of embarrassment. A regal stance to her posture that would grace any royalty or Goddess.

  Zida bends over her greedily, taking a nipple between his lips. Groaning in his throat, he suckles frenziedly, weighing the weight of the perfect breast in his palm.

  The rest of males around them, who are watching from the floor, are practically salivating. They want her too. If he manages to get her down, nothing will stop them crawling over her to have a taste.

  Mavi tangles her fingers in his hair, holding him in place. A low moan trickling from her throat as she rocks forward into him invitingly. Turning her head, eyelashes half mast, she meets the Devil’s gaze head on.

  Seems she’s started a game of her own. Jealousy is something the boss never does, but if Mavi presses all the right buttons, I’m more than sure she’ll get a rise from him.

  Zida moves his attention to the other breast, licking, nipping, sucking, he’s now thinking with his cock not his brain.

  Stroking his hair, Mavi winds an arm around the back of his neck.

  As it slides over his windpipe, some spark of awareness makes him catch on. Before he can react, she uses her leg to sweep his feet out from under him, bringing him to his knees. At the same time, she twists his head sharply to the right. He’s ridged for only a second before he goes limp. Neck snapped, he thuds heavily to the marble floor. Stepping over his twitching body, she pads toward me, hand out stretched. There’s no emotion in her face. She moves with the ease of a killer who’s done this a thousand times before.

  I don’t even hesitate. Drawing the blessed knife from its sheath on my belt I hand it to her with a wink.

  Nodding in thanks, she stalks back to her victim. Rolling him over with a delicate foot, she stra
ddles his hips over his crotch.

  “You wanted me so badly, didn’t you, Zida? Well guess what? I’m going to return the favor with Raziel’s knife.” Spitting the words, she drives the blade through his chest, forcing it down hard, straight through his ribs. “I’m more than some submissive Demoness. You forget your place. All of Hell shook at my feet in fear and wonder. No one is going to take my position from me, especially some bigoted arsehole. I don’t give a shit what any of you think of me.”

  Yanking it out again, she slams it through his flesh over and over until his shirt is nothing more than a bloody mess. With her expertise and aim, there will be nothing left of his black heart. One sure way to kill an immortal.

  Mavi sits, surveying her handy work with clenched fists resting on her hips. Red streaks her legs, hands, and arms. “Any more of you cocksuckers think I’m not up to the job?” she asks, pleasantly eyeing the rest.

  Silence greets her question. Maybe these demons aren’t as stupid as I’ve thought all these years.

  Rising, swaying provocatively, she makes her way back to the throne, wearing nothing but an evil leer.

  Gripping her hips roughly, Lucifer drags her forward until she straddles him.

  “I want to skin you with my teeth.” His voice is husky and dripping with lust. “Shatter your bones. You have a simple choice my Flower: Your arse or your neck. Both I promise will leave a mark, one way or another. Where do you want my belt when we go back to bed?”

  Desire flashes in Mavi’s eyes, wiping out the other emotions. “My neck but only if you take me like you hate me first.” Reaching down between them, she unzips his trousers with a shaking hand.

  Leaning forward, he teases her mouth with his own. “Hmm, I like the sound of that.” He doesn’t care that she’s smearing Zida’s juices all over his suit. It’s not the first time and won’t be the last.

  “I knew you would.” Biting down hard on his lower lip, she doesn’t stop until blood wells.

  Lucifer growls in his throat in answer, “Bad girl.”

  Lifting her up, he allows her to spear herself on his hard waiting cock. Their groans mingle together as they become linked as one.

  Watching, I feel my own dick thicken in my pants. It’s always hot watching these two together. In a fight, they’re both lethal. Around each other, they melt. I know from experience Mavi can deep throat like a pro. Her pussy, though, is exclusively Lucifer’s. Anyone who tries to have a taste dies in the most imaginative and excruciating way he can come up with.

  She begins to ride him. Hands braced on his broad shoulders, she bounces up and down, slowly at first before building a swifter rhythm. Cupping her arse, he urges her faster. Eyes fixed on each other, they’re oblivious to the rest of us. Neither of them cares who’s watches them fuck. It only excites them more. A pretty flush spreads over Mavi’s skin. From her sweet little moans, it sounds like she’s close to coming. Head tipping back, eyes pinching shut, she arches as she orgasms. Lucifer follows quickly behind her. Fingernails biting into the flesh of her hips, he lets out a shuddering roar.

  He’s trying to put another babe in her. That’s more than obvious to me. The more ties of blood they have, the more they’re bound. One sure way to make Mavi never leave. A killer she might be, but she adores their daughter, Juliana.

  “We won’t be leaving for a few days, so you have time to prepare and govern while we’re gone.” He tells me with a contented sigh, voice slurred and sated.

  Mavi flops into his chest, breasts heaving with exertion. Curled in his arms like a sleepy kitten, gaze happy, you can almost forget she’s just murdered someone in cold blood for pissing her off.

  “I’ll be sure to keep everything running smoothly until you return,” I assure him. I’ve done it a few times before. It’s nothing I haven’t been able to handle in the past. After all what can go wrong?

  Chapter Two

  Raziel

  Shifting impatiently from side to side, it does little to keep out the chill. It’s cold as fuck. Waiting for a portal to open is not my idea of fun. The frozen tundra stretches around us, bleak and white. It’s been months since I saw hellfire crackling and dancing from the natural rocky vents. Even the orange magma that flows has hardened into solidified rock. If the wolves Lucifer hired to sort out the problem don’t fix this soon, I’ll be more than happy to take their heads.

  “Why are we out here again?” I question. I’m tired and grouchy. My usual pleasant dreams have been plagued with an eerie sense of weightlessness and darkness that presses in leaving me unnerved. It’s the silence I hate the most. Thick, barren, it’s like a poison seeping into my consciousness until I wake sweat soaked with a startled jerk.

  Mavi tosses me an impatient look, her beautiful features pale from the bite of the winter wind. “Because the new nanny is arriving, and I want to check her out before she sets foot in the fortress. If she’s not suitable, I’ll send her right back instead of wasting my time.” Arms wrapped around her middle, she shivers in her leather jacket, her skinny stone washed jeans already soaked to her knees in the snow. Lucifer stands beside her, silent and brooding. Clad in his long black swirling robes, the snowflakes sizzle into nothing every time they touch him.

  “Don’t you think you’re being overly paranoid?” I reply, thankful for the thick animal furs I’d changed into at the last minute. Made for this climate, they’re warmer than the man-made garments I’d shed that she’d convinced me to wear in the fortress.

  “The first nanny we hired turned out to be a child eating demon, recommended by an arsehole with a grudge.” Mavi ticks off fingers on her leather gloved hand. “Number two took selfies all day and neglected my child. Three, four, and five walked out after a few days without a word. They will not be getting a reference from me if they request one.”

  I slid a glance Lucifer’s way. Expression impassive then his lips curve with the barest smile. We both know what happened to those women. Three came up close and personal with a blow torch after being disrespectful. Four was given as a gift to a demon clan leader, and five made the mistake of trying to seduce the Devil.

  “I’m not going on vacation until I’m certain Juliana is in good hands. Once I’m sure, then we can go. We’re like a bloody magnet for weirdos and nutcases with childcare. For once, I want something normal for our child. She might be a princess of Hell, but I’ll do everything in my power to make sure she has a healthy upbringing full of love, rainbows, and sodding unicorns.”

  Mavi’s mothering instincts have kicked into overdrive. Like a mother grizzly bear, she’s deadly when it comes to her daughter. She’d go to the ends of the earth and beyond to make the six-month-old happy.

  “I’m sure this one will please you, my Flower, and if she doesn’t, Raziel is capable of looking after our daughter.” The distinct crack of command laces the Devil’s tone.

  I’d rather be knee deep in battle and bloodshed than change a poopy diaper, and the bastard knows it.

  “He’s your second in command not a wet nurse. You can’t expect him to change and feed a baby while I’m working.” Mavi points out, rescuing me from supplying a sarcastic reply that would only get me into trouble. “Unless you’re prepared to muck in and help?”

  “I have Hell to run,” Lucifer continues calmly, his breath coming out in a white puff. “Souls to collect, torturing to be done, and schemes to bring down the Heavens and take over Earth.”

  Swivelling to face him, she gives her mate an incredulous look. “You know I still work for the good guys, right? Gabriel and the other Archangels? You promised me we weren’t going to mention what you do when I’m not here. I would also like to remind you that you have a truce.”

  Cupping her jaw gently, his thumb presses against her pouty blue tinged lips seeking entry. “Good is only a matter of opinion my love. I am what I am, and you know that’s never going to change. Besides it turns you on when I make you gag on my cock while whispering all my villainous plans in your devious little ear.”
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br />   Mavi’s eyes dilate, her mouth parting to suck the tip inside with such a look of passion I’m surprised she doesn’t combust. Lucifer’s own darken with predatory lust and possession.

  A hum resonates from the stones, interrupting their intimate moment. Purple lights glimmering in a swirling circle above the snow, they dance and spin rotating upward.

  “Don’t be a bitch,” I warn Mavi with a hint of teasing as we all turn to watch. “And maybe give her a chance to talk before you decided to put a bullet through her head.”

  She rolls her eyes in response. “No promises. If she makes me twitchy, this won’t end well for her. Besides let’s look on the bright side. With all this snow, it won’t take long to dig a shallow grave.”

  “We could always make a bet of it,” I suggest, half tempted to teleport my arse back to the warmth of the fortress and leave them to it. “How long she’s going to last?”

  With a penchant for gambling, there’s nothing I won’t bet on. This new nanny’s life is just another wager to bid on. A moment of fun. It’s not the first and won’t be the last.

  The light fades, and a form is revealed.

  Long hair loose around her shoulders, each lock is streaked a different color of the rainbow. Fine delicate pointed ears poke from the brightness. Elfin features, her pert little nose is speckled with a light sprinkling of freckles. Bow shaped mouth curved in a hesitant smile, I can’t help but be drawn to the warm liquid gold of her irises in her almond shaped eyes. Fingers clutching the handle of a worn brown suitcase she has positioned in front of her, she shivers in the thinness of her puffy green jacket.

  Attention dipping, I examine the rest of her. Petite, curvy, skin flawless with a radiance humans lack. A Fae? Not many of those venture our way. Stuck up and pompous, they usually don’t deal with us.

  Her eyes settle on mine, pink blooming across her cheekbones from my blatant sexual interest. It makes me wonder how far it spreads? Down her pretty neck? Her chest and breasts? The urge to take a peek hits me strongly.