by Eve Newton
The sooner I get this conversation over and done with, the better. I head back to the bedroom but meet her halfway there on the stairs.
She gives me a raised eyebrow and folds her arms across her chest. “What’s wrong?” she asks astutely.
“Nothing,” I lie. “But we need to talk. Not here.” I glance around and hold my hand out for her.
She nods and takes it immediately. I flame us out to the caverns. This is a delicate situation and I need complete privacy. No one can know of my plans and I have a more than strong feeling that Axelle is going to try and kick my ass when she hears what I have to say.
She stands there and watches me as I gather my thoughts. “Well?” she asks impatiently after a few minutes of my pacing up and down.
“Axelle,” I state, turning to face her. “I have a task for you. One last job before you retire.” I give her a glaring look that I hope speaks volumes.
She narrows her eyes at me, her lips pursed, and puts her hands on her hips. “Oh?” she asks archly.
“Just hear me out before you start bellowing,” I snap, even though she hasn’t raised her voice at all.
Yet.
She holds her hands out to her sides and makes a show of clamping her lips shut.
Oh, I do love her fire. It lights one in me. Any other wench would have had a punishment headed their way for such precociousness.
“Remember Trent?” I ask, searching her eyes to see what I can see there. To my relief, all I see is a complete blank.
“Who?” she asks when it becomes clear to her that I expect an answer from her.
“Trent. The Demon outside the residence,” I state.
She scrunches up her nose. “Oh. Him.” Her sneer does nothing to douse the fire growing inside of me for her. It is practically raging right now and so is my dick. Fuck, she is everything I never even knew I wanted from the bitch I conceived my child with. I expected to impregnate and discard.
“What about him?” she asks, drawing my attention back to the matter at hand.
“He is causing me trouble,” I grit out and start to pace again.
“How?” she asks sharply, jumping on it straight away in a manner that both surprises me and makes the fire in my loins become an inferno.
She cares about my shit. It…astounds me. I expected her to be complacent and bored by it.
“By existing,” I mutter, unable to help myself.
She snickers. “We’ve had this conversation, Luc. Just finish him.” Her eyes have become two little flames in her head. It makes me pause and stare at her.
“I told you, I can’t do that…unless I have a damn good reason.”
“Defying you is a fucking good reason in my book,” she states, clenching her fist and obviously forgetting that she has defied me more than once.
“Yes, well,” I say dryly, failing to point this out to her. “Wouldn’t that be nice. No, I need an actual cause and I think I have one.” I curse myself for using the word ‘think’. I should outright tell her I have one. End of story. She will pounce on any weakness from me.
“Go on,” she prompts, when I stop again to reorganize my thoughts.
“It revolves around you,” I say, facing off with her and showing her I mean business. “I’m going to present you as my wife, and the mother of my child. Today. Now. And then you are going to go to him, seduce him and screw him. Then, I can kill him for daring to go after what is mine!” I roar the last part at her, as if she had dared to refuse me.
The silence that descends after that is deafening.
Axelle
“Excuse me?” I splutter after a meaningful pause, in which I give my new husband a death stare. I feel death creep over me as my eyes go hot. I’m pretty sure had he been anyone but the Devil, he would have fried. When did I get that power? Does Luc have it? Has he ever used it? All of these questions distract me from the matter at hand.
“You heard me,” Luc says shortly and almost coldly.
“Let me get this straight. While we were fucking, not so long ago, you wanted me to retire, hang up my seduction hat and be a good, little wife to you. Now you ask me to forget all that and go on a job for you? With that…that…fucker?” I screech the last bit at him, so that he knows just how pissed off I am.
His eyes go hard, momentarily, before they soften, and he comes to me. “I know how it sounds,” he says, taking my hand. “This kills me. I don’t want you to be within a thousand feet of him, never mind have his dick in you… but I can think of no other way.”
I waver. Slightly. He sounds sincere, like he really doesn’t want me to do this and feels he has no option.
“Can I think about it?” I ask, after a pause. “Evan and Dashel will also need to know.”
“Of course,” he says quickly, which surprises me. Before it was a demand. An order. Something that I had to do or face his wrath.
“Really?” I ask, unable to help my surprised tone.
“Yes,” he says kindly. “You are my wife. I will not order you to do this. I want you to be on board with this plan, because you can see we have no other viable option. We need to get rid of him, and thus his supporters, and remain at peace while you prepare our child for his birth.”
Oh, that fucker!
He completely cornered me.
There is absolutely no way in Hell’s bells I can refuse him now that he has united us in this quest and thrown ‘we’ out there. Not to mention bringing our child into this. He knows how to play this game. I thought that I could once upon a time, but that seems like a long, long time ago.
“How do you know he will even go for it?” I ask eventually.
He gives me a look that borders on scathing, his eyes flashing with fire, and I step back, a bolt of fear shooting through me.
What?
What did I do to piss him off?
“Darius told me how your charms affected him outside. So, don’t even bother to play coy,” he says dryly.
“Oh,” I say and look down. Dammit. Damn that ugly Demon and his big, wide mouth. I must play this just right. “I caught him off guard. He thought I was a weak bitch, banished to the outside. I won’t get that close to him again.”
I dare to bring my eyes back up to my husband’s to find him regarding me without suspicion. I let out the breath I was holding, only slightly.
“You are mine,” he says after a lengthy pause. “He will want you simply because of that, but especially when he learns you are my wife. Show an interest and you will get close enough to him for your powers to work. I can guarantee it.”
“That doesn’t exactly shine a great light on me, though, does it?” I inquire, suddenly very nervous about this plan. “Besides, if I throw myself at him and you kill only him, it will look suspicious.”
“Dammit,” Luc mutters under his breath.
I can see that he knows I’m right.
“There can be no witnesses. Simple as that,” he states and somehow that is the end of this conversation.
“Okay,” I squeak as he squeezes my hand tightly, almost daring me to carry on.
I’ve been railroaded, but I’ll be damned, again, if I’m not going to get something out of this first. “I will do as you ask, however, I want something in return.”
“Oh?” he asks menacingly. “And what would that be, wife?”
“Playtime,” I say. “You cannot expect me to squash the Demon inside me. It doesn’t work that way. It isn’t just a job to me. It’s who I am. I will become frustrated and angry if I can’t do what I was created to do.”
“Go on,” he says, darkly.
Okay. I didn’t actually think I would get this far. I thought he would slam my request down before I even got started. Man, he really wants to get rid of this Trent dick.
“Human males to seduce and destroy,” I say quickly before I lose my nerve. The atmosphere has gone beyond tense and it is making me quiver inside. But I’m only testing him. They have all given me a leeway with this and I intend to stick to i
t. However, I’m madly curious about why Luc wants Trent gone so badly that he is willing to throw me to the wolves in order to do it. I need to know just how much he is willing to sacrifice.
He blinks at me. “No,” he says with ice in his tone. “I told you that I didn’t want you screwing other men apart from Evan and Dashel. This Trent thing is a one-off. A job to secure the safety of our reign and our unborn child.”
His whole demeanor has gone so scary, I feel like wetting myself. I forgot, momentarily, who I was dealing with.
I look down and I hear him sigh. “I understand,” he says softly before he sighs and runs his hand through his hair. “But we had a deal with this, and I will not give you any more leeway on it.”
I allow myself a small smile. He passed the test with flying colors. He really does love me.
“I love you,” I blurt out and fling myself into his arms. “I will do as you ask about Trent. I will do as you ask about anything!” Okay, so I know I’m getting carried away now.
“This is for all our good,” Luc says, clinging to me briefly before he lets go. His tone almost sounds like he is trying to convince himself of this. “Now. Isn’t there something that you want to ask me?” he asks pointedly.
I blink at him. I can’t think of a single thing.
He huffs at me. “Yes, Axelle. I will remain faithful to you. I do not feel the need to take other lovers as I know that you can satisfy me completely in bed and out.” His raking look makes me chuckle.
“You would do that for me?” I ask, carefully.
“Of course,” he says. “All you have to do is ask.”
Have to. He still wants me to say the words. “Luc, I don’t want you screwing any other bitches. You are my husband, and I expect you to keep your dick in your pants, except around me, of course,” I add with a smirk, but then I go serious. “Even if you feel you need to…uhm…unleash the beast, you can do that with me.”
His surprised look turns to one of adoration for a microsecond before it gets wiped off to be replaced with an arrogant, Devilish look.
“As you wish, my wife,” he says and leaves it at that.
No gushing from him.
Nah, isn’t his style and I would lose respect for him if he did.
Too bad, I’ve now been roped into a seduction with a snake that makes my skin crawl. Evan and Dashel are going to be so fucking mad. Perhaps, not telling them is the best way to go about this.
~ CHAPTER SIX ~
Luc
I avert my eyes from Axelle’s before she can deduce how profoundly her words have affected me. I need to brush it off. Dismiss it, so that she doesn’t see how she can sway me with just words.
Luckily, we are interrupted at this point by the Dark Oracle.
“What do you want?” I snap at her, to cover up my growing desire for my wife. I take Axelle’s hand as the Dark Oracle’s eyes land on her with an interest that I find uncomfortable and plain rude.
“Who are you?” Axelle sneers at the Dark Oracle, using bravado to cover up the sudden nervousness that I feel shoot through her. I don’t know how I felt it, but I did, and it is definitely something I intend to explore more of.
“This is the Dark Oracle,” I say before the old crone can say anything. I don’t want her addressing my wife in any way whatsoever and I sure as shit don’t want her touching Axelle. I smack her hand roughly away as she reaches out to Axelle, her fingers hooked into claws and aimed straight for her stomach.
“You are with child,” she croaks out, causing Axelle to give her a pinch-eyed look.
“How do you know?” she asks derisively.
“It is my job to see things, girl,” The Dark Oracle returns back with the same scornful tone that Axelle had given her.
Axelle opens her mouth angrily, but I shush her by squeezing her hand.
“And what of it?” I ask the ancient witch.
She breathes in deeply. “Twins,” she says on the breath that she lets out. “A boy and a girl.”
I snort in contempt. “No,” I say. “That is not possible.”
Axelle splutters and says, “Girl?” in a fairly reverent tone.
I give her a vicious glare. What is she doing encouraging this nonsense?
“May I?” the Dark Oracle drawls, waving her hand in front of Axelle once more.
I shove my wife forward now, ignoring her snapped, “Hey!” and look of annoyance.
I watch as the witch places her hand on Axelle, primed to strike out if I see anything untoward occur to Axelle’s person.
“Well?” I snap after several, long minutes in which Axelle hasn’t taken a breath. She is going a shade of puce that I don’t find attractive at all.
The Dark Oracle ignores me in favor of speaking to Axelle, to my absolute fury. The insolent, little bitch!
Axelle
“Twins,” the Dark Oracle says to me, as I puff out the breath I’m holding. “As I said, a boy and a girl.” The old crone’s eyes land on Luc in an ‘I told you so’ glare that has me snickering. This old bitch has balls. I’ll give her that. But she still creeps me out and I want her to remove that wrinkled hand from my stomach. Now. Is she the dark witch that my host body talked about?
She brings her black eyes back to mine. “My Queen,” she murmurs, bowing her head.
I choke on that title. Queen? What will Luc think of that?
I cast my glance over at him, but he hasn’t even noticed. He is frowning down at my belly in consternation.
“But the boy is strong?” he asks.
“Oh, yes,” the Dark Oracle replies. “He is the one.”
And with that, she vanishes from sight as quickly as she appeared, leaving us to stare at each other.
Me in delight.
Him in annoyance.
I frown at him. Why doesn’t he seem happy about this? “A girl as well,” I say lightly, taking his hand.
“Hm? Yes, indeed,” he clips out. “A daughter for you and a son for me.”
His words leave me feeling slightly hollow. Is that how he sees this parenting thing going down? It’s not exactly reassuring.
To cover up my growing trepidation about his, quite frankly, stinky attitude, I sigh and say, “I’m tired. Can you take me back now, please? I need to see Dashel and Evan.”
His eyes snap to mine quickly. “Of course,” he says, scooping me up into his arms with that devastating smile that has me forgetting all about the recent revelation. “Anything for you, my Queen,” he adds with a knowing look.
“I like it,” I say airily, as he flames us into the bedroom. “Queen of Hell. That is what I want to be called,” I add imperiously as he dumps me lightly on the bed, and goes about pouring me a glass of blood, straight from his wrist. My stomach growls unappealingly and I shoot him an apologetic look as he grimaces at me.
“Suits you,” he murmurs and then removes my shoes and tucks me in.
I yawn, and while this was just a ruse to begin with to distract him, I suddenly find myself exhausted. Evan and Dashel are nowhere in sight. I close my eyes and soon I feel sleep pull me under.
~ CHAPTER SEVEN ~
Dashel
I look around the room that I entered a few moments ago. It is dark, really dark and I don’t only mean because there is limited light. The walls are adorned with instruments of torture, some caked in blood and the stench of evil surrounds me. But I can also pick out Axelle’s scent amongst the death and destruction in this room. She must have resided in here for it to be so strong. It’s a beautiful smell. Exciting, even though it makes me a little bit afraid. Not of her, just of the power she harbors now. I can see it shimmering around her since she bonded with Luc. If she is indeed pregnant, then it stands to reason that the power boost comes from the child, mostly. She has her own, of that I have no doubt. I’m disappointed that the child isn’t mine. It can’t be. I’d wanted to plant my seed inside her as soon after Luc as I could, but the time was too long. It had to have been. The only thing I can hope for now is a
second chance once the first has been born. A child with power to rival the Devil’s spawn.
I gulp and sit heavily on the bed. I take my shirt off and let my wings spring out of my back. I flap them lazily, taking in the glossy black feathers. It’s shocking and it turns my stomach slightly to see them this color. But there is no denying that my destiny has been changed by this. I’m a fallen Angel. One of two to ever fall, and the other one wasn’t the current ruler of Hell. No, it was the original Lucifer. Luc’s grandfather.
I groan out loud and flop back to the bed in a flurry of feathers. Luc’s rage when he finds this out is going to surpass anything that Hell has ever seen before. I can challenge his rule. He will not want that. I don’t want that, but that won’t stop him from seeking my ultimate destruction. I just hope that Axelle can prevent that from happening. I cannot be without her now that I’ve known her.
I clutch my chest as I feel the gaping hole where my soul used to be. It isn’t as agonizing as it was earlier. It still hurts so much, I want to crawl under the bed and not come out, but I can deal with it now and try to pull my life back together. My life with Axelle. She is the only thing that matters to me. Her and her happiness.
I mull over what Luc asked of her. I have to agree that she needs to hang up her Seduction Demon ways. I couldn’t handle her being with another man now apart from Evan and Luc. But I also know that it is going to hurt her. I will have to be as supportive as I can in letting her go so far. I don’t care if she kills now. That no longer matters to me. She can strip souls and damn them to Hell all she likes, but she cannot have sex with them. We will have to take it in turns to be used by her in that moment that she wants to join bodies with her victims.
I’m surprised that I find that exciting.
I feel myself start to grow hard as I think about it. I want to be with her again. I want to slide my cock into her, feeling her wet heat surround me as I pump in and out, bringing us both to a climax that feels like nothing I have felt before.