“FBI, Mr. Templeton,” she said sharply. “Special Agent Gabriel Nicholas. We need to talk.”
With apparent unconcern, she looked at the man in the very expensive suit who looked up in alarm from his seat in the elegant leather chair in front of Templeton’s large glass-and-steel desk.
“Unless you want to be a part of this,” Gabriel said, “you need to leave.”
She had the satisfaction of seeing the faintest flash of alarm, of shock, in Templeton’s eyes at seeing her. So, he hadn’t been certain she’d survived but he had thought she might have. Now it was confirmed.
The look in his eyes was clear, he was recalculating swiftly.
Even so, he was also angry, caught off guard, unprepared and Gabriel took some satisfaction in that.
As he rose to his feet, his fingers curled beneath the edge of his desk.
“Marcus,” Templeton said tightly, “would you be so kind as to wait outside while I speak to Agent Nicholas?”
The other man looked from one to the other uncertainly.
“I’ll leave you to talk,” Marcus said, his voice thickly accented—French perhaps but with odd overtones.
He was clearly uneasy but whether it was due to her status, the situation or an issue of his own, Gabriel didn’t know. And she didn’t care.
With a nod, Marcus rose and strode toward the doors.
“Thank you,” she said and received a surprised glance at the courtesy as the man passed her.
He would have no cause to complain about his treatment.
She gave him what she hoped was a winning smile and received a polite but cautious nod in return.
Gabriel took advantage of the moment to clip her ID to her belt and to reach in her pockets to remove two more of the plastic vials. She placed her thumbs at the edge of the rubber caps. Her heart hammered as it always did at moments like this.
Life-or-death moments.
The next few were crucial.
It would be now, or very soon.
Gabriel flipped the caps on the vials, and with a small snap of her wrists sent the two little vials spinning away from her, their contents scattering across the carpet.
Before the other man was clear of the room Templeton said, his tone vicious, “This was a very foolish thing to do, Agent Nicholas.”
She knew he pressed the alarm button that was surely there beneath the glass desktop, hidden by one of the supports.
“I wouldn’t,” she said quietly. “I have two agents outside your office, one in the lobby and one in the street.”
On cue, hidden doors swung open and men stepped out. Templeton gestured.
Check.
With only a thought she called Asmodeus and Ashtoreth as only the queen of the Daemonae could.
In the next instant there came the sharp aroma of brimstone and the room was suddenly filled not just by Templeton’s men but by two very large, very angry demons in full Daemonae splendor, their wings spread. Asmodeus was to her left, Ashtoreth to her right.
Both wore their swords.
The expansive room abruptly felt smaller and not just because of their size, although that was certainly some of it, but it was their presence that consumed the space.
Beside her, Asmodeus drew himself up to his full height, his face tight and grim at the sight of the armed men.
He was beautiful when he was angry, looking more like an avenging angel than a fallen one with his wings spread around him and his flashing ruby eyes. A shot of lust went through Gabriel just at the sight of him in all his magnificent rage.
He was intimidating, awe-inspiring. The air seemed to crackle with his anger. The long-checked wrath at being imprisoned and then tortured by this man now had release.
If he was intimidating though, Ash, in his cold, implacable fury, with his deeply slanted eyes narrowed and his sharp-boned, almost cruel face drawn tight, had to be terrifying.
Though they filled the room with their sheer physical presence and Asmodeus filled it with his rage and fury, Ash needed only to stand there to fill it with menace.
They were an impressive sight, impressive enough to have Templeton’s men suddenly shoulder their weapons.
Gabriel held a hand out to all of them warningly and put her other hand on her own weapon, her gaze on Templeton, who glared back at her in defiance. There was assessment in that look, his eyes narrowed as he looked from Asmodeus to Ashtoreth to herself.
“You don’t want to do this,” she said to the men.
It was a standoff, she could sense it in the tension that filled both Asmodeus and Ashtoreth but they still had to get the answers they needed.
“Hello, Gordon,” she said, an echo of her first words to him from not so long before. “We would like to talk to you.”
“You should know,” Templeton said calmly, his eyes going from one to another of them, “that my men are armed with silver bullets.”
Asmodeus eyed him. “A waste, Templeton. Silver has no more effect on us than any other metal, save iron.”
Which was the truth, just not all of it.
The truth was that whether made of steel, iron or silver, enough bullets in the right places would kill him and Ashtoreth just as dead as they would any man.
It seemed wisest not to share that knowledge. If Templeton thought they were immune to such things, so much the better.
Their visit had been a calculated risk, to weigh what they knew and what Templeton might know against what they did or he didn’t.
It was obvious Templeton wasn’t surprised to see them. He had expected that Asmodeus would survive the bomb. He had also learned there were more Daemonae than he had known. More Daemonae to summon, more to trap if he could find and recover the Book of Demons with its spells and lists of names.
That was dangerous knowledge, the knowledge they had come for.
It chilled Asmodeus to see that expression in Templeton’s eyes, to see that knowledge in them.
Templeton’s power had somehow increased too, although Asmodeus didn’t know how that had happened.
Understanding flashed between him, Gabriel and Ash, mind to mind, in an instant.
Templeton thought he had the upper hand here and it wavered only slightly at the revelation about the bullets.
Their next move was imperative as it was the other part of the reason for their visit and yet Asmodeus must be careful here. Templeton had to remain unaware of Asmodeus’ true relationship to Gabriel. Nor could Templeton become aware that the Daemonae had returned to this world. It would give him too great a weapon. He had only to inform the church and the Daemonae would find themselves hunted once again. That would give Templeton an important and powerful ally.
More importantly, his Gabriel, as capable as she was, would be out there in that world, vulnerable. That worried him, even more so now, although Asmodeus did not let that show.
“We wanted to let you know we will be watching you, Templeton,” Asmodeus said.
Smiling tightly, Gabriel said, “I don’t like being kidnapped, Mr. Templeton. Just so you know. My superiors know that I’m here and why.”
No one knew that Asmodeus and Ash were with her, but that went unspoken.
“We can’t touch you, Mr. Templeton, but my superiors wanted to let you know that we will be watching you, also.”
The explosion had eradicated any evidence that Templeton had held her and Asmodeus but a blast that large didn’t go unnoticed. It left evidence behind.
Using the date and time when she returned to this plane, she had been able to determine roughly where they had been held—on a property owned by one of Templeton’s subsidiaries. The building had been condemned after a sudden “gas leak”.
That, along with her abrupt disappearance and equally abrupt reappearance, had been enough to convince her superiors at the Bureau, if not a court of law, that something had happened.
The Bureau had given her a great deal of leeway, had permitted her to pursue her obsession with Templeton quietly and carefully,
given his wealth and connections.
Now she was running checks on all of Templeton’s holding companies, cautiously searching for and identifying everything he owned.
No one liked the idea that he thought he was above the law.
Stopping him was another matter.
Gabriel looked at Asmodeus, at Ashtoreth. “Are we done here?”
With a look to Ashtoreth, Asmodeus nodded.
Both Daemonae vanished.
There were murmurs of shock and surprise from Templeton’s men. None of them liked the idea of an enemy that could disappear and reappear at will. Several of them looked around quickly.
Looking at Templeton, Gabriel smiled with a confidence she didn’t feel and said, “Remember, Mr. Templeton, we’ll be watching.”
Turning on her heel, she strode out of the room. Even with Asmodeus only a thought away, her back still felt vulnerable but then given the visual daggers Templeton was probably boring into her that was understandable.
It was a relief to have the doors shut behind her and her companions fall in around her.
As they walked out of the building onto the street, one of them asked, “So, how did it go?”
She sighed and shrugged. “Hopefully he got the message.”
Privately she didn’t think so, but they had at least given Templeton something to think about. It might only make him more cautious.
“Thanks, guys, for the backup,” she said sincerely. “Since my husband is in town, if it’s okay with you, I’d like to see if I can meet him for lunch.”
All four of them grinned. “No problem, Gabriel.”
Their amusement at her expense was a little embarrassing. Everyone at the Bureau had been startled at the sudden announcement of her marriage but to her surprise they seemed happy for her. She couldn’t help but grin too, especially with the picture of Asmodeus bristling with rage still in her mind. He was sexy when he was angry. A flash of heat went through her.
With a wave, her coworkers climbed into the car and pulled out into traffic.
Even as she turned to walk down the street Asmodeus and Ash in their human guises stepped out of the alley beside Templeton’s building.
As she joined them Asmodeus slid an arm around her waist, tightened it possessively.
The knowledge was there between them, it took only a glance.
“He knows.”
“Knows or guessed,” Asmodeus said. “It doesn’t matter.”
Asmodeus looked at his brother, his trusted right arm and friend.
As was his habit when he spoke of emotions Ashtoreth looked outward, across the busy street and the throngs of people there.
He glanced only briefly at Asmodeus and then at Gabriel.
“This world is different from what we knew. The church is not as strong as it was. There are laws to protect those like us. We have a chance, finally, to return to this world. You have found your mate. For the first time in centuries we have hope.” Ash’s haunted and shadowed dark eyes met Asmodeus’. “And yet, Templeton still seeks the Book of Demons,” he said grimly.
With a sigh, Asmodeus nodded. “Something will have to be done about that but there is nothing that can be done about it now.”
He looked at Gabriel. That prim suit, with the crisp white shirt taut across her breasts, and that skirt… He loved that she wore them but she went through a lot of them. The thought made him grin. Already his cock was rigid beneath his slacks at the thought.
“So,” Gabriel said with a smile as she turned in his arms to look up at him and he swung her up into them. “Where would you like to have lunch?”
Looking into her blue eyes with a smile and a glance at Ash, Asmodeus said, “Home.”
Gabriel laughed and shook her head at him.
It took only a thought and they were there on the porch of their cabin in West Virginia, surrounded by the lush green mountains. Above the birdsong the rustling of the grasses could be heard. And the distant sound of hammers.
Shaking his head, Ash said with a tight smile, but a smile all the same, “You’d think he doesn’t see enough of you.”
Impatient, Asmodeus shifted his fated mate and tossed her over his shoulder, despite her mild protest.
“You wouldn’t think so,” she said and laughed.
“Wait until it’s you, Ash,” Asmodeus said, and with a pang saw Ash’s expression shutter, saw the pain there and grieved for his friend.
But there was Gabriel over his shoulder.
Asmodeus smacked her bottom sharply and saluted Ash, who saluted his king in return.
Gabriel smiled and waved goodbye to Ash before the door closed in front of her, separating them, and Asmodeus’ hand slid beneath her skirt to stroke her already damp panties. His fingers speared past them and deep into her pussy.
She moaned as he finger-fucked her slow and deep while he carried her into the main room, her body going hot as he played with her.
In one motion he pulled his fingers out of her to let her slide off his shoulder and his clawed hands went to her shirtfront to rip it open and expose her to him.
She lost more shirts that way but couldn’t bring herself to regret it much.
Another flash of heat burst through her as he pushed her back against the dining room table, tugged her bra down from her swollen breasts and sucked on first one nipple then the other as his tail slid beneath her skirt. It eeled past her panties. His hands slid up her ribs to push her breasts higher, to squeeze them. She cried out as he suckled hard at her nipples, as his mouth tugged to send sharp bursts of pleasure shooting to her core. In an instant she was drenched. His tail thrust up inside her and she arched as ecstasy burst through her.
“Tell me you want me, my angel,” Asmodeus demanded with his hand tight in her hair, drawing her head back, his voice a low growl.
She looked into his whirling ruby eyes, at the bright golden sparks that danced in them.
“Don’t you know I always want you, Asmodeus? Always. Take me, Asmodeus. Please.”
His tail pulled out of her to leave her empty but so close to coming that she cried out even as he spun her around. One hand cupped her mound while the other dove beneath her skirt and ripped her panties from her.
Then the broad head of his cock slid through her juices teasingly, another torment. But only for a moment, then it pressed at the tight sphincter of her ass. She moaned softly in anticipation as his fingers trapped her clit to pinch and press while his tail fluttered at her pussy.
Heat exploded through her, spun out from his fingers as they worked her clit while his tail pushed up inside her to rub at her G-spot. Her body went rigid as pleasure built inside her.
“Asmodeus,” she whispered, as his tail withdrew.
His long, thick shaft entered her slowly and she groaned deeply as he filled her, inch by long, slow inch.
She arched even as her body stretched to take him and the hand around her belly slid up to cup her shoulder, to pull her back against his muscled chest. His hot mouth settled against her throat. His fangs scraped against her hammering pulse, pressed there.
“I love you,” he whispered against her skin.
One deep thrust of his cock impaled her on it completely as his fangs pierced her throat. His fingers played with her clit as his venom hit her bloodstream. The heat of it whipped through her as he fucked her ass hard and deep, plunging into her.
Gabriel shouted as she came violently in what seemed a never-ending orgasm.
The sound of her cry of pleasure was music to Asmodeus’ ears even as the taste of her pleasure erupted into his mouth, as she filled it with the sweet, hot flavor of her ecstasy. Her pussy clenched around his tail and her internal muscles flexed wildly as her climax took her. Her ass was deliciously tight around his throbbing shaft as he fucked it in time to the rhythm of his mouth sucking on her throat.
Beneath his hands, his body, she bucked with each hard pull of his mouth. He loved feeding on her, fucking her, couldn’t get enough of her.
/> For now though, there was the glorious tight sheath of her ass around his swelling cock as her hips pumped to take his thrusts. He filled his hand with one swollen breast, tightened his fingers around the nipple and felt her jolt as he drove deeper into her. Pleasure filled him and he feasted on her even as he fucked her.
I love you, he sent, in that most intimate of communications, as the taste of her, the feel of her swallowed him up.
And I you. So much, Asmodeus, she replied and her pleasure exploded through him too, echoed in his mind.
He came with a roar, his cock gushing into her tight, tight ass, his arms holding her close, his hand held protectively around her belly.
Lying in bed with Gabriel curled warmly against him, Asmodeus looked out the window, listened to sounds he had not heard in ages. The chirping of the birds and the rustling of the grasses. From farther off came the distant sounds of hammers, of good-natured shouts and jibes in a language that had not been heard in millennia.
Voices of the Daemonae.
His people.
Asmodeus’ spirits lifted even higher.
The first building completed had been a long dormitory. One day it would be a meeting hall. For now it was a place to rest for those whose homes had not yet been completed, but who could not bear to return to the sere and barren world that had been their refuge for so long.
This was their sanctuary now, this green and verdant valley.
In human form they had hosted a picnic for the neighbors, declaring themselves refugees from some of the war-torn lands to the east. It wasn’t all that far from the truth.
Maybe, finally and at long last, the Daemonae had come home.
About the Author
V.J. Devereaux currently keeps company with two dogs, two cats, a ferret (since moved, sniff), an African clawed frog and a very forgiving (and sometime inspiring) spouse. He loves the research. The spouse, that is, not the frog.
She self-published and illustrated her first novel on dinosaurs at eight (and got an A) and has been in love with writing ever since.
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