by Claire Marta
She flinches, cowering when I reach for her, making the phantom blade in my chest dig deeper.
Blood, pain, misery.
I’ve thrived on them for so long, drawing them out of every creature to fall under the Devil’s wrath. Seeing Tink suffering doesn’t bring me the same pleasure. It knots up my insides. Brings the need to hurt the ones who have done this even though they’re nothing more than ash.
Chapter Twenty-One
Raziel
“She wasn’t raped,” Gabriel informs me his tone low and hushed as we stand in the narrow corridor. “They didn’t get that far, but she was drained of blood. Her natural healing abilities have already activated, so I didn’t have to do much. She needs plenty of time to rest to regain her strength.”
Relief surges through me so strong I sway on my feet. They didn’t defile her. Maybe whatever power she wields kicked in before they had the chance. Whatever the reason, I’m grateful.
“Thanks for checking her over.”
Sympathy shines from the archangel’s blue eyes. “We’ll see how she is in the morning. She’ll need patience and understanding. If you can’t provide her with those, then walk away now, Raziel. I can send someone else up to sit with her.”
He knows about my mistake. How I accused her wrongly. That much I’ve given him to appease his questioning. Badden’s been clever enough to keep his mouth shut regarding her powers. If this angel knew of what she could do, he’d never allow her sanctuary here in Cease Fire. He’d deem it too dangerous. Taking her and the girls back to the fortress isn’t an option until I’m sure it’s safe.
I hold his stare unwavering. “No one else is touching her. I’ll make up for what I did.”
Gabriel nods. “Then get your arse in there with your woman.”
Giving him the middle finger, his chuckle drifts after me as I open the door and slip inside our temporary room. Cassandra’s and Juliana’s bedroom is across the hall. With Gabriel fussing over them like a mother hen, they won’t be interrupting us.
Rainbow colors streak along the white pristine pillows. Nestled beneath the blankets of the king size bed, Tink sleeps fitfully. After what she’s suffered, nightmares don’t surprise me. All I can hope that is my presence beside her will chase them away. Comfort is something I’ve rarely brought anyone. There were angry words between us I want to take back. I’ve never given a shit about a woman I’ve fucked. Jane has changed all that. I’d bathed her gently in the tub. Washed the blood and grim from her slender body and rinsed the smell of smoke from her hair. I barely know anything about this woman apart from her name. A month living under the same roof and I’ve never gotten to know her properly. Where’s she’s from. Her home and family. I haven’t given a fuck until now.
Padding to the bed, I join her on the mattress, sliding beneath blankets. She’s exhausted and needs to rest. I can’t just look at her though. The need to touch my lovely curvy fairy is something I can’t resist. Somehow, she’d been spared from death, and the thought of her gone is like a punch in the gut. I’d just gotten used to the smell of baking in the kitchen every morning. The sound of her tingling laugher and those big golden eyes that watch me with barely concealed lust.
Slipping my hand between her thighs, I seek out her heat. Teasing her slit, I find her clit. She squirms in her sleep against my touch, her juices starting to cover my fingers at the stimulation.
Grinding my groin against her arse, I score the skin at the back of her neck with my teeth. I don’t even bother with a condom. Can’t imagine feeling her with a barrier between us. Lining my cock up against her entrance I thrust home, taking her from behind.
Tink moans sleepily. It’s the sexiest sound. I want to give her pleasure. Right my wrongs. Wipe away the bitter, angry fuck I’d given her the last time I’d taken her. Something she never deserved.
“Can you forgive me? I made a mistake, and I’m sorry,” I murmur softly against her ear. Moving my hips, I focus on the woman in my arms. She comes first. This is for her. Tonight, I’ll give her something as sweet as she is.
She finds the slow, languorous rhythm, matching it, following my lead.
I lose myself in her body. Drunk on the taste of her. The way her cunt fists my shaft nice and snug in welcome. I know I don’t deserve her. Not after believing she’d betrayed us, but I can’t give her up. I’m rough and raw. A beast who could so easily break her. Yet she’s a rainbow in the darkness. A precious light. Rare and prized. Something I’ve never had in my existence, but now I greedily covet.
“Raz.”
The way she groans my name sends my excitement spiralling higher.
“That’s it baby.” I croon roughly. “Just let go and let me make you feel good.”
Changing my angle, I aim for her g-spot, knowing from experience it will drive her wild. Shuddering to an orgasm, her pussy squeezes my cock, and it’s all I need to find my own heaven. Still pulsing inside her, I bury my face in the side of her neck, breathing in her vanilla scent.
She deserves so much better. I should let her go. Walk away. Let Gabriel take care of her.
Spooning my female, I hold her closely, wrapped in my arms until our heart beats slow as one. Revelling in her softer frame cradled against my larger one, I know then it’s never going to happen.
She’s mine.
I’ve marked her as she’s somehow branded me.
I vow silently to protect her. I’m no hero. But even a devil knows how to protect their own with blood and hellfire. Rosella and her accomplice are still out there. Every fiber of my being knows Jane won’t be safe until I kill them both.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jane
“I’m no good for you. I’ve killed babes in their beds. Crushed people’s dreams. Tortured and maimed. Drenched myself willingly in blood without regret and sold my soul to the Devil. I’m a monster. Evil by choice and that’s never going to change, but I swear to you I won’t let anything bad happen to you ever again,” Raziel whispers softly in a husky promise. He cradles me so gently, his muscular body curled around mine under the blankets, bringing with it the illusion of safety.
I don’t reply.
Does he think he’s the only one with demons?
I’m a monster, too. Death lays at my feet tonight. My powers are what snuffed out every life in that bar, not his. The walls I’d kept locked tightly for so long have shattered like glass. Energy had spilled through my being unstoppable, primal. It’d infused me with adrenaline, a chaotic booming sounding a death toll in my head.
I can no longer pretend I’m innocent. Care free. I’ve kept it buried and dormant for so long, but now I can feel it brewing within my cells. Destructive. Deadly.
How can I trust myself?
That it won’t happen again now it’s been unleashed. This was what my guardians have feared. A loss of control. I’m dangerous. It’s the reason I was forbidden to use it.
My guardian’s words from so long-ago ring through my head.
“You will always be judged for who and what you are Jane. No one will want a creature like you. A half-breed with a bloodline so muddied it’s no longer pure. That’s the true reason your great-grandfather can’t stand the sight of you. You’re a monster, and who could ever love one of those?”
A life time of pain and anguish hidden behind iron bars inside me threatens to break. The mask of coping and normality I’ve worn for so long on the edge of finally slipping free.
Raziel is all protective now, but if he learns I have been lying to him, all that will change. My motives would be judged. He’ll think I’ve betrayed him all over again. After witnessing his rage the last time, it’s something I don’t want to experience a second.
The silence of the room cocoons us. Lips wander along my neck, as his hands caress the length of my side in a calming gesture. Sensual, caring it’s all I’ve ever longed for from a lover.
“Jane, do you know why Rosella tried to have you killed?”
“No,” I answer honestly.
She’d harbored so much hatred for me, but I don’t understand why.
Smoothing my hair back, he leans over me, studying my face. “What you did in the bar…has that happened before?”
His quiet question sends my nerves tumbling with guilt. I can’t trust him.
“Fuck me, Raz.” Rolling over, I meet his tender gaze. “Until I forget. I don’t want to remember what I did…that I murdered all those people.”
His soft, long, brown locks trail over my cheek as his mouth fleetingly finds mine in the sweetest kiss. Raziel. Angel in the dark. His face crafted by angelic hands. Gorgeous, muscled physique refined by battle and bloodshed. He treats me gently as if I might fall apart. Something precious to care for.
Hand curving over my hip, his callused fingers find my core. “Whatever you want baby, it’s yours. All you have to do is ask. I can make you forget until you’re ready to talk to me.”
Thrusting them in and out of me, he finds a quick rhythm that soon has my breathing ragged. There’s just the two of us. Nothing else matters. Mind focused on the pleasure, everything around me melts away.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Raziel
Padding down the stairs, I head for the bar. Tink’s only just stirring, and I need to have some breakfast for her ready. My fairy is full of surprises. I thought yesterday would have broken her, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. She’s stronger than I gave her credit for. Her sweetness sheathes a resilient steel. She’d been voracious in her appetite for sex. Revelling in my body and taking charge of my cock.
“Hey, Gabe you got anything edible in this place?” I call, hitting the bottom step. “I want to feed my woman.”
I need to question her over her powers. The devastation she unleashed at Titianna’s. I feel there’s something she isn’t telling me. That can’t remain hanging between us. Jane has some explaining to do.
The silent bar greets me, the smell of stale alcohol in the air. Chairs stacked on the wooden tables waiting to be put out ready for customers later in the day. Stopping dead in my tracks, I stare at the figure in the center of the room.
Lucifer.
He exudes danger in daunting waves. Darkness writhing around him sending shadows dancing over the material of his polished, stylish suit. “I return to find my daughters under the protection of Gabriel. Without my knowledge, without my consent. What exactly have you been doing in my absence?”
“Where’s Mavi?” Gaze hunting round, it comes up empty. The only other being in the room is Gabriel, and he’s watching us silently with a brooding expression from behind the bar. Arms folded over his chest, the tattoos up his arms bulge and tense. Whatever they’ve been discussing, it’s left him grim and unapproachable.
“Chained up and indisposed, but my Flower won’t remain that way for long so start talking.”
I know better than to show disobedience. I’m already knee deep in shit, and we both know it. Lucifer has reason to punish me.
“A group of vampires tried to snatch baby Juliana,” I explain slowly, mind racing with dread. “I thought Tink…Jane, the nanny, was responsible. While I was getting the kids to safety, Rosella, who arranged the attack, took the nanny instead. She was the real target, although I’m still not sure why.”
Lucifer’s eyes bore into mine, probing for truth entwined with lies. “And how did my ex-mistress just take her from under your nose?”
Unease settles in my guts. He’s far too calm. Not even a ripple in his façade to the emotions that lay beneath. He’ll pick me apart until he gets what he wants. A weakness.
“I’d locked the kidnappers in the dungeon awaiting torture. I put Jane down there, too, and they snatched her from her cell.” Regret unintentionally rings in my tone before I can prevent it and from the fractional raise of one dark eyebrow, I know he’s picked up on it to.
“And where is the nanny now?”
“Upstairs. I hunted them down, but Rosella and her demon accomplice escaped.”
Lucifer studies me for one long moment. “You disobeyed me. I told you not to touch her. Yet you went against my orders and took her anyway.”
I don’t bother to deny it. With his abilities, I knew when I first sunk into Jane’s virgin sweetness he would know. Maybe it was an act of defiance. A boldness to rebel after so long.
“I screwed up,” I admit, breaking his icy penetrating gaze. I’m not going to tell him I regret it. That I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I’m already risking his wrath. His fury is something I want to avoid. He rarely bestows second chances. If he suspects I care for the fairy more than just a fuck buddy, nothing will keep her safe.
“You’ve disappointed me, Raziel. In all our time together, you have never defied me before, and I find it disturbing you would do so now.”
“I’m sorry, Master.”
“Who do you think you are, hmm? Her knight in shining armor? Her savior? A hero? You can’t rewrite who and what you are. That’s not how this works. You’re fallen. Although your blood runs red, it’s tainted as black as your soul. No, you’re nothing but an impetuous boy, thinking with his cock.” He stalks across the room giving me no choice but to move out of his way. “I’ll deal with the Fae.”
No. Fuck no. She hasn’t done anything wrong.
My hand finds his arm, preventing him from heading to the stairs, before I can think it through. “She’s powerful…”
Attention dropping to my grip, his green eyes snap up, a knowing smirk inching up his mouth. “I’m very aware of that.”
“You know what she can do?” Shock slackens my fingers as he shakes off my grasp.
“That attractive body houses the destructive power of ten atomic bombs.”
Gabriel makes an odd strangling sound in his throat. When I dart him a glance, he spears me with an accusing look. He’ll be pissed I’ve brought danger to his home and kept it a secret. Great, now I’m on both of their shit lists.
“Harnessed, she is a weapon of immeasurable force, but unfortunately, she’s proven to be far too weak willed. Although the thought of taking her is a very heady aphrodisiac. All that latent power that could slip free if she lost control,” the Devil continues, not bothering to hide his lust. “The devastation it could wreak.”
A growl escapes my throat. He hasn’t touched another female since bonding with Mavi. The thought of Tink writhing in pleasure beneath him as he fucks her has every possessive instinct in me rising to smash his face into the wall.
Eyes narrowing, Lucifer’s expression twists with disgust. “My vacation with Mavi ends before it starts. My proposal will have to wait. Get out of my sight before I do something I might not regret.”
Curling my fingers into fists, I keep them firmly at my side as he sweeps past me. The sound of his footstep ascending to the next floor thud in my ears. On heavy legs, I make it to the bar, forcing myself to sit on a stool. As much as I want to go after him. Stop him. I can’t. If I try to intervene, he’ll kill her. That’s something I’m certain of.
This is my punishment for failing him.
He’s going to have sex with her, knowing I don’t have a choice but to let him.
Tink’s about to pay for my mistakes.
A test to see where my loyalties lie.
My life isn’t mine. It belongs to Lucifer. Everything I am, he owns. Body. Soul. Bones. Muscle. Mind. It’s been the Devil’s since we struck our bargain centuries ago. With his ability to read people, he’s found my vulnerability, and he’ll use my fairy to his own ends without a flicker of care.
“You’re going to just let him go up there?” Gabriel asks incredulously. Reaching for a bottle of alcohol, he grabs a glass filling it to the brim.
“Yeah.” Snatching it up, I avoid his probing look.
“Raz...”
“If I don’t, things will be worse. Trust me; I know.” Knocking back the whisky, it burns its way down my throat but does nothing to take the edge of my emotions. I swore to Tink I’d protect her. Keep her safe. The Devil is going to prove
me a liar.
Gabriel refills it the second I set it down on the counter. “And this isn’t? After what she’s been through? I’m going to stop this before it starts.”
“No. You can’t interfere. I know what I’m doing.” It’s not true. Everything churns inside me in one huge ugly mess. I’ve never been put in this position before. Allegiance warring with a jumble of emotions.
The archangel grunts, leaving the bottle beside me. “You could have fooled me, and while we’re at it, you can tell be exactly what happened at that titty bar. I want to know what your girlfriend can do, in detail.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jane
“Your ploy has failed.”
Lucifer’s voice freezes me on the spot. I’m half way across the cozy room from a trip to the bathroom. Raziel’s t-shirt is hanging off me, just covering my arse.
“I don’t know what you mean.” I manage to get the words out, my tone laced with shock.
Dark, lethal, and intimidating the King of Hell stalks toward me with a sinister intent. His green eyes bleed to red. The look in them is terrifying. The elegant grey suit he’s wearing accentuates his muscular frame.
“You want a cock? Seed? I’ll give you both. But I warn you now, only one female has survived bearing my offspring, and I had to cut it from her belly myself to assure it.”
He has me against the wall before I can blink. The hand around my throat squeezes viciously as I push desperately at the hard wall of his chest caging me in.
“Get off me.”
His lips thin in anger. “Did you think you could hide it all from me? It amused me for a while, but don’t think you can play games. Don’t ever think you’re capable of that.”