by Eve Newton
“Where to?” I whisper in panic.
“Later,” he mutters. “He’s fine, so don’t worry.”
“Luc,” I say again, my fear receding slightly. “Look, I thought it was you, but I would never… I tried to push you away…him away. Who was he?” I dare to ask this question because I really want to know who stitched me up to the ruler of Hell.
Luc just stands there and gives me a silent glare.
I start to wonder if this is even the real one now or the imposter. My panic returns, so I cross my arms defensively and ask, “How do I know it’s you this time?”
His eyebrows skyrocket, which pretty much tells me all I need to know, but I’ll be damned if I stand here and be accused of something I didn’t do.
“Of course, it is me,” he barks out.
“Well, I thought it was you earlier. Turns out I was wrong. I should have known,” I add bitterly. “You would never touch me like that.”
Luc purses his lips together, but still doesn’t say anything. He just watches me.
“What is that supposed to mean?” he asks eventually.
“You know what I mean,” I reply mutinously. “So, if you are you, prove it,” I add with a wicked sneer.
“How am I supposed to do that?” Luc asks. “I created you, I know you.”
“Do you?” I challenge him.
He lets out a soft rumble that shows his annoyance to me. “I know that you are a wicked, somewhat cruel, Seductress that can infuriate me with just one look,” he says in a dark tone.
I stay stock still as he approaches me cautiously. “Enough?” he asks.
“No,” I say, licking my lips.
His eyes fix on my mouth and stay there as he reaches out to cup the back of my neck. His manner is easy, but the hold is a hard hand against my skin, as he draws me closer. “I know how you react to me tasting the nape of your neck,” he whispers. “I know you want me to kiss you with my forked tongue in all of the right places.”
“Aah,” I cry out softly as he flicks his true tongue at me in a quick graze of my lips that has my body sweating and my pussy going damp.
“Do you dare to suggest now that I am not who I say I am?” he says, still in a low tone.
I shake my head as I’m unable to speak, and he releases me, stepping back and giving me room to breathe.
And himself, I notice with a thrill as he takes a deep breath with his head tilted just slightly away from me.
“The imposter was my father,” he says after a pause in which my body has calmed down, only just.
“What?” I ask, puzzled. “Your father? I thought he had been eradicated?”
“He was,” Luc says with an exasperated sigh. “I killed him in a battle which brought me to power. Unfortunately, he cast a spell before he died.”
“What kind of spell?” I ask, so intrigued by Luc’s sordid family history that I must know more, regardless of the nosey nose I’m sticking in.
“A fucking pain in the ass one,” he spits out, but I know he isn’t angry with me for prying, just at his father. “That bitch, Jezebelle, learned from the best.”
“I don’t understand,” I say. What has Jezebelle got to do with anything?
“It’s a long story,” Luc says dismissively. “All you need to know is that he will be here until I give him a grandson and that you need to keep well away from him. Are we clear?”
“Yes,” I say in a small voice, the disappointment over his use of ‘I’ almost gutting me.
“I know we had a deal, but I think it’s time you came home,” he states then.
I mull it over for a minute. He is right. I’m exhausted, in fear for my life and with the new Heaven’s hitman chasing my ass, my life on Earth is just getting too complicated. All I want to do is go home.
With Luc.
“Okay,” I say with a nod, “but I want my Reaper and my Angel back.”
He frowns at me. “Okay?” he asks.
“Yes, okay,” I repeat. “It’s too hard up here. Vazna won’t leave me alone, especially now and I feel like I’m walking around on eggshells, waiting for the bomb to drop.”
“Vazna?” Luc asks, instantly concerned.
“Yeah, he tracked us down, I got us away, but he is going to be even more pissed now,” I explain.
“Why?” he asks.
“Because of how I got us away,” I say. “I seduced him into letting us go.”
“Oh, fuck,” Luc says with a little laugh. “Yeah, that’ll do it. Wait! You didn’t…”
I roll my eyes at him. “Of course not. We have a deal. Besides, corrupting someone that innocent would definitely have made the front-page news in Hell.”
“Well, you’re not wrong there,” Luc says, taking my hand. “So, you’ll come?”
“Yes,” I say with a nod. “I’m ready, if you’ll give me Evan and Dashel.”
“Are you?” he asks warily, once again ignoring my request.
I purse my lips, but then nod again. “Yes, I’m ready for whatever is to come. I–I accept my fate if you’ll give me Evan and Dashel back.”
Luc nods back at me, the relief evident for only a split second, before he transports us back home in a burst of flames.
I look around to find myself in a room so dark, it takes a minute for my eyes to adjust. I spot a pedestal over in the far corner on which lays a tome shimmering with black magick.
“The Codex?” I ask, stepping forward, my eyes flashing with excitement.
“Not for you,” Luc tuts at me and pulls me back. With a wave of his hand, he makes the book vanish. “You will stay here in my room until the trial ends.”
“Your room?” I ask, looking around with renewed interest. “You want us to sleep in the same bed together?” I add as I see only one bed.
“I don’t sleep,” Luc replies stiffly.
“Huh,” I mutter, the pang of disappointment once again hitting me. “Look, I came home like a good, little girl to give you what you want, but I want what I asked for in return, Luc. It’s not fair.”
“You will get them back. After the trial ends,” he says.
“I assumed you would say that,” I say dryly. I’m no fool when it comes to his tactics anymore. I just hope that I get to see them again and that I don’t die before I can kiss them one last time.
Speaking of kisses…I give him a look, but then face him square on. “Kiss me,” I demand. “All I want is one little kiss. You owe me that.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Luc says. “If I kiss you, I may not be able to stop at just that.”
“You will because this is important to you. Please,” I beg him, brushing my fingers lightly over my lips, still feeling where he grazed me with his real tongue.
“One little kiss,” he murmurs to me, pulling me closer to him.
I can feel him hard and ready for me and I can’t resist pressing myself even closer to him. He grips me by my shoulders, his lips inches from mine.
I tilt my head up, not believing that I’m about to get what I want, when we are interrupted by a female voice.
“He is distracted for now,” a woman drawls, strolling into the room as if she owns it.
Luc hisses and pulls away from me. The moment has gone, slipped through my fingertips like sand.
“Get out,” Luc snaps at her.
She gives him a seductive smile and runs her hand down his arm before she turns her cold gaze to me. “The bitch has returned, I see,” she says.
“Yeah, I’m back,” I spit out, seeing now that it’s Jezebelle. I have to wonder why she is still living in Luc’s house and why he isn’t pushing her away right now. “And I’m outta here,” I add, giving Luc a fierce glare. He distractedly glances back at me, totally oblivious to Jezebelle cozying up to him.
“Where are you going?” he asks me.
“Somewhere that isn’t here,” I sneer at Jezebelle and stalk off to find my way back to the room I was assigned when I first got here.
Fucking asshole.
Jezebelle is quick to follow me to my annoyance.
“This is my room, get out,” I say.
“Actually, this is my room,” Jezebelle states. “You get out.”
“Oh, I’m not going anywhere,” I say, getting pissed off. “I’m here to stay so you can fuck off and get on with your life. You are done here. Luc is done with you.”
“Hmm,” Jezebelle murmurs. “At least I can fuck him, unlike you. That’s why I’m still here, to see to his needs.” The innocent look she gives me makes me see red.
What was I thinking coming back here?
Luc is quite happy to get on with his life, while I’m tucked up in my metaphorical chastity belt. This ends now.
I will not moon after him anymore. He isn’t worth the heartbreak. Nothing is worth the pain I feel when I think about him. He doesn’t want me, so I will see to it that he never gets me. I just hope Evan and Dashel can forgive me eventually and come and find me.
“Well, good luck with that,” I say and with the force of a Demon with ten times my experience, I transport myself back to the hotel room on Earth, ready to drag my essence out of this body and try to find another host as quickly as I can. I’m done trying to please Luc when he doesn’t give a rat’s ass about me.
~ CHAPTER EIGHTEEN ~
Luc
“Where is she?” I thunder at Jezebelle as I storm into the room.
“She left,” Jezebelle says, her face pale and her eyes slightly wide in fear.
“Left?” I roar. “Left?” My stomach twists. This can’t be happening. Not again.
“Yes,” she says. “In a… in a burst of flames.” Her fearful look makes me frown at her.
“Flames?” I ask.
“Yes, just like…like you,” she stammers.
“Hm,” I say and rub my chin. I can’t help the smile that passes over my face. Her powers have grown to the point where she will soon be my equal, in theory at least, which means nothing can stop us now. Only her stubborn, pain-in-the-ass self. “What did you say to her?” I add.
“Why, nothing,” Jezebelle starts her defense, but I hold my hand up to stop her.
“I know you and your lies. What did you say to her to make her leave again?” I ask quietly and with a calmness that only belies my fury.
“She told me to leave, that you were done with me,” Jezebelle suddenly wails. “I told her that I was here to service you, that’s all.”
“You did what?” I thunder at her. Oh, for fuck’s sake. She couldn’t have said anything worse to Axelle right now.
“She was so smug, I just wanted to tease her. I meant no harm,” Jezebelle cries.
“Get out,” I seethe. “You are no longer permitted to remain in my house. I should never have given you back your body, and I sure as shit should not have allowed you to live here all this time.”
“No!” Jezebelle cries. “I don’t have anywhere to go. You can’t just throw me out into the pits. We have a history. You–you cared about me once.”
“No, I didn’t,” I say and see her flinch at my harsh words. “I didn’t care about you, Jezebelle, as I was incapable of such feelings. I found you interesting and intriguing and a good fuck. Nothing more.”
“Please,” she begs. “Please don’t do this. I can be useful with your father still.”
“I’m going to bring Axelle home, and I want you gone by the time we get back. There is no place for you when she is here,” I say.
“Luc, please. I am begging you. I will do anything, just please don’t send me out there with nothing to my name.”
Without a place to live and no money, she will be eaten alive in the pits. I know that, and I don’t give a shit.
“Go now. Or I will take back that body and make sure that your demise is at the hands of a certain Demon guard that would just love to eat your essence.”
I don’t wait for a response from her. I know the threat is enough. I’m quite certain that the body I gave her won’t hold up for much longer anyway. She is a different breed and the casing around her warped essence will probably soon start to fade. I close my eyes, able to find my Demon Bound now that she is definitely connected to me in a way that she wasn’t before. I curse when I find her back on Earth in that hotel room.
I have pushed my luck with this, the other side won’t hold out much longer if I keep this up.
With a deep breath, I flash to her side, ready to bring my female home.
I peer down at Axelle lying on the bed with her eyes closed and her arms crossed over her chest as if she is lying in a coffin.
“What in the blazes are you doing?” I ask her, causing her eyes to fly open and for her to sit up in shock. “Are you trying to abandon your body?” I ask with absolute incredulity as I see her guilt flitter across her face.
“What’s it to you,” she mumbles. “Just go back to your precious Jezebelle and leave me the fuck alone.” She bounces off the bed and crosses over to the far side of the room.
“Oh no!” I yell at her. “You do not get to brush me off. And you DO NOT get to abandon me just to show me your displeasure. And for your information, I haven’t been screwing Jezebelle.” The need to get that point across is clawing at me. I have to make her see that my ex means nothing to me.
She gives me a look that tells me she doesn’t believe me.
“I have banished her,” I say hurriedly. “She is gone from my home. You may return without fear of her presence.”
“Ugh! I don’t ‘fear her presence’,” Axelle scoffs. “I’m pissed that you have been banging her while I’ve been trussed up like a fucking nun!”
I give her a sour look at the reference to the ‘other side’. “I have not been banging her,” I say with absolute honesty.
“But she said…” Axelle whines, looking away.
“She is a liar and she’s gone. I want you there not her,” I say, edging closer to her. She looks so upset; it is hurting me for some reason.
“I’m so tired,” she says quietly.
“I know,” I say, going to her now and taking her hands. “The power has built up in you so quickly, it is remarkable, but it is causing your irrational thoughts and it is draining you. It will take some time until you are used to it.”
“Or I die,” she says with a little sniff.
“You aren’t going to die,” I scold her. “If anything, this proves that you are ready to be my one.”
She looks up at my words. “Your one?” she asks.
“Yes,” I say and take a deep breath.
This is it.
This is the time where I have to reveal my feelings. “You are my one, Axelle. I have feelings for you that I have never experienced before, and I know that you feel the same.”
“What feelings?” she asks in a small voice.
Dammit.
I’d hoped by telling her that she felt the same, that she would take over from here. I’m going to have to spell it out for her.
“I know that you drive me crazy with your rebellious nature, but it doesn’t make me really angry, it makes me smile. I know that you make me laugh like I never have before. I know that you challenge me, you give me something to think about and I enjoy it. I know that when I look at you, all I want is you. I know that I want you to be the mother of my son and I want you to want that too. I am the Devil, Axelle, I may not know precisely what these feelings are, but I know that I have them for you and only you. I don’t know if this is what you want from me, or what you deserve, but I—I think this is what love is for me,” I finish simply.
Axelle gasps at me as I stop speaking, her eyes wide with adoration. They draw me in, capture me.
“I feel the same,” she whispers. “And I know that I love you, Luc. I have been denying it for so long because I didn’t want to get hurt by you.”
“I can’t hurt you. I don’t want to cause you any pain.”
“Fuck,” she breathes. “This is so…so surreal. Wait!” she suddenly shouts and pushes me away. “Oh no! I won’t be
fooled twice, you bastard!”
“Axelle, it’s me. I promise you that,” I say, reaching for her again. “I know how confused you must be. I am too, believe me. This is the last thing I ever expected to happen. I didn’t even know it could happen. Love is pure and good. I don’t know how I can feel something that isn’t evil.” I frown and suddenly my words make sense to me. It’s not possible, I’ve convinced myself otherwise because the Dark Oracle told me I had to.
“Don’t,” Axelle says, dragging me as close to her as she can. “Don’t talk yourself out of it,” she adds with a small smile.
“I need to kiss you,” I murmur to her.
I know once I’ve done that, this declaration will be sealed, the trials will end, and we can finally conceive my son.
“I need you to,” she says and tilts her head up.
I bend down to press my lips to hers, but before I reach her, she gasps and then goes slack in my arms.
“Axelle?” I ask, staring down into her glazed-over eyes. “Axelle!” I shout as her knees buckle and I’m the only thing holding her up.
“How touching,” Vazna drawls from the doorway.
I whip my head to the side to see the Angel approaching us with Heaven’s elite behind him. At least ten Angels, brandishing swords of pure light, all aimed at me and Axelle.
I growl and look back down at Axelle. She has a dart sticking out of her thigh that they shot at her. She has been tranq’d by a celestial elixir that has knocked her unconscious and will prevent her from returning to Hell with me. Heaven’s army uses this poison to capture my errant Demons and I have no way of summoning them back to Hell. It borders on offensive and only just fits into their precious rules.
I grab it by the small tuft of white feathers and throw it with all of my supernatural speed at Vazna, aiming for his eyeball. But the Angel anticipates the move and catches it deftly, inches from his face.
“That little whore is going with me,” Vazna says, stepping forward, and throwing the dart to the floor.