by Ashlee Sinn
“Mmm. Don’t stop,” he mumbled into the pillow.
Sleeping on his stomach, I’d been watching his muscles move slowly while he napped. Not an ounce of fat graced his sculpted body, and the only marks on his skin were the two lines behind his shoulder blades where his wings were somehow attached. I’d kept drifting over to them, circling my finger around the scars and wondering what the hell I was doing. Or really, wondering why the hell this felt so right.
“Stop second guessing yourself,” Jericho said.
“What?”
He turned his head and opened his eyes to see me. “It’s too late to go back.”
“I’m not—”
“You are,” he stopped me. “Quit fretting.”
“I don’t fret,” I grumbled. “Besides, you aren’t telepathic like your brother, so how do you even know what I’m thinking about?”
Rolling to his side, Jericho tucked his arm underneath his head and grabbed my hand in his. “Because you tap your finger and hold your breath when you’re thinking.”
“I do not—”
He kissed my palm. “You do. It’s cute. And sexy. But it’s not worth it. What’s done is done. We can’t change that and we can’t go back in time.”
I turned to face him. “Aren’t you worried we fucked up? Not only will Mammon most likely try to kill me, but you’ll have your brothers to deal with. And maybe some of the archangels too.”
With a shrug, Jericho pulled me against his body…and another erection. “I don’t care. We aren’t going to stop the reveal, so we might as well enjoy our time together before the world ends.”
I giggled. “Did anyone ever tell you that you’re dramatic?”
“Nope.”
“Well, you are.” Kissing his lips quickly, I rolled to my back and stared at the ceiling. “What about your feathers?” I whispered.
“The gray?” When I nodded, he continued. “It’s a consequence I’m willing to deal with.”
“You’re willing to fall to an earth angel just to be with me?”
“Sure.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ve been lonely for a very long time. I’ve worked for my father, doing his bidding without a care for my own happiness. And where did that get me? The world, as we know it, is still going to end, so all of my work was for nothing.”
I listened to his breathing slow again before asking my next question. “How many souls have you saved?”
“How many souls have you collected?” he asked sharply.
“Is that offensive? To ask you something like that?” In my world, it was something a lot of demons bragged about. I never thought it might be inappropriate elsewhere.
Jericho climbed on top of me and kissed my nose again—something that only he’d ever done. “No, not really. But I don’t want to be reminded about how different we are. I just want to enjoy now, okay?”
“Sure,” I whispered. Not understanding what kind of emotion I was feeling right now, I did my best to channel that elsewhere. “Do you really think they’ll reveal themselves?”
Jericho sucked on my nipple. “Don’t want to talk about that either.”
I writhed beneath him as he moved to my other breast. How many times could a person have sex in one day? I’d thought I’d reached my limit a few times in my past…but this, this was a brand new day with a brand new man that I couldn’t keep my hands off of.
My stomach growled.
“Mmm…hungry for more?” Jericho breathed into my ear while rubbing his erection between my already moist folds. A moment later, he slipped inside once more.
Arching my back, I let him fill me up. But this time, unlike the last three times, Jericho moved slowly and methodically. As though he wanted to savor every sensation, he kept the pace under control, gliding in and out of me with purpose and restraint. It felt like torture to me, and by the time the heat began to build inside of me, I didn’t want him to be in charge anymore.
Using my demon strength, I grabbed his shoulders and flipped him over on his back before he had a chance to stop me. With a chuckle, he said, “I didn’t know you had that in you.”
“Oh, I do,” I breathed, climbing back on top of him. Straddling his lap, I let the tip of his slick cock rest against my sex. “There’s a lot about me that you don’t know.”
“Yeah?” he asked, hands digging into my hips. “Like what.”
I slid down over him slowly and pulled away just as slow. “Like I’m a few centuries old.”
“A cougar. I like it,” he teased.
Pushing him inside me again, I added, “I’ve worked as a stripper before.”
“Sexy.” He tried to keep me on him, but I lifted away again. “What else?”
“I like dogs.”
“Me too.”
“And I hate birds.”
Even as I rode his cock like it was the first time, Jericho managed to laugh. “Birds? Why?”
“It’s the feathers,” I said, much to his amusement. “They’re weird.”
“Weird?”
“It should be hair. Birds should have hair or just skin. Not covered in those symmetrical things.”
Picking up the sped, Jericho rocked up against me. “You hate symmetry?” he asked with a smile in his voice.
“Maybe.”
“You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?” he breathed. I pumped faster, and he closed his eyes in pleasure. “Yeah, like that,” he growled.
With my hands pressing against his chest, I rode him hard. Each time my clit hit his lower stomach, I let out a little pant. My sex was swollen from our morning together, but it still couldn’t get enough Jericho action. Hit after hit sent me into a spiral of pleasure, and just as I felt Jericho’s cock tighten inside of me and watched him tremble with release, I let my body give into the desire. Sliding back and forth until we were both finished, I smiled down at him. “Tell me something about you,” I whispered, still trying to catch my breath.
“I love to cook.”
“Really?” I asked, genuinely surprised.
“Yes,” he chuckled. “Shocked?”
“A little.”
“Why?”
Because you’re too perfect, I thought to myself. Instead, I said, “Because I’m starving.”
Jericho lifted me off him and set me on the other side of the bed. He jumped to his feet and pulled on his boxers and jeans. With his messy hair hanging in his face, and those ridiculous abs staring back at me, I almost had to pinch myself to see if this was real. He tossed me my thongs and his black tee shirt. “Give me ten minutes.”
His smile was contagious. “Okay. I should shower anyway.”
He laughed and leaned across the bed on one knee so he could kiss me. “You should. You stink.”
I tried to slap him on the arm, but he was too quick. “Thanks,” I mumbled as he continued to laugh. A few moments later, I heard him banging around in the kitchen looking for supplies. But by the time I’d showered and slipped into his shirt, the whole house smelled delicious.
As I rounded the corner, and ran into a wall of aroma, I sucked in a deep breath. Bacon, eggs, potatoes, mimosas…he’d made us a breakfast fit for royalty. When he caught me staring at the display, he smiled. “Breakfast for dinner. My favorite.”
“Me, too.” Surprised that we had this in common, I took the piece of bacon he was holding out for me. “Crisp,” I marveled.
“It’s the only way to cook it.”
I agreed. And as I watched him load our plates while I ate my perfectly cooked bacon and sipped on my drink, I realized I’d never done this before.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, suddenly stopping and instead studying my face.
“Nothing, it’s just…I never shared a meal in this house with a man before.”
His mouth turned up in a grin. “So, I’m the first, huh?” Wiggling his brows, he handed me a plate.
“You’re the first of a lot of things.”
“Awesome,” he said with
a smile. “Now, eat before it gets cold.”
He sat next to me on the little stools I’d placed on the other side of the island. Shoving another piece of bacon into my mouth, I looked down and realized I was running low on my mimosa. “Is there more?” I asked, lifting the glass. He nodded and started to get up, but I held out my hand to stop him. “I’ll get it.”
I gave him a quick kiss and he slapped my ass as I walked by. Giggling all the way to the fridge, I had a moment of pure joy. This was nice. Jericho was nice. Not only was he fucking awesome in bed, but he really could cook, and he really did seem to enjoy my company outside of the bedroom. I glanced over my shoulder and gave him a wicked grin.
“Hurry back over here,” he teased. “I’m lonely.” He stuck out his bottom lip and pouted and my heart pounded with…well, with a feeling I couldn’t quite explain.
I opened the fridge and started to reach inside for the pitcher, when a sharp pain raced through my stomach. The burning sensation exploded from inside and wrapped around my ribs and legs and eventually my arms, to the point I dropped my glass and heard it shatter on the ground.
“Arabella!” Jericho shouted, already darting around the counter and racing toward me. “What’s wrong?”
“I…I don’t know.” My chest clenched tight and I could barely breathe. Every inch of my body burned with an invisible flame.
“Arabella!” Jericho’s voice began to fade, even though I could still see him clearly.
The pain in my stomach intensified and I fell to the floor. I watched Jericho reach out for me, but some kind of forced pulled me across the room away from him. His wings appeared and he flew over the island, yet he still wasn’t able to catch up to me. With a sharp hit to my back, I was yanked through the brick wall until the cool, evening air hit me like a blast of truth.
Someone had found me.
Jericho shouted something as the invisible force wrenched me through the sky. The pain in my stomach had subsided, but now I couldn’t feel anything at all. Even as I was pulled toward the ground, and even as Jericho did his best to catch up to me, I knew this was all over. There would be no playing house with the angel. No more cooked meals. No more sex. No more Jericho.
His green eyes widened when I hit the ground and sunk into the pavement. He never gave up. Not even when the ground above closed back up a second before Jericho was able to fly into the hole. Darkness surrounded my paralyzed body, and as I was forced deep underground, I knew my tears were there even though I couldn’t feel them.
Nothing would be the same ever again.
The damp air reeked of blood and mold. I’d finally woken up about an hour ago but found that I was still adjusting to the dim lights in my prison. I knew I was deep underground—I could feel it in my bones. But I wasn’t in Hell. No, I was in a place much worse.
My ribs ached and my head throbbed from the pain of being forced through the portal, or whatever it had been. Still wearing Jericho’s black tee, I pulled it over my knees as I sat scrunched up in the corner. The shirt, in combination with the lace thongs, didn’t do much to keep me warm against the rocky ground. And it was rock—like a cave that had been carved out of stone. Three walls and the ceiling dripped with the moisture coming from somewhere above. The fourth wall was made of iron bars. Thick as plumbing, the metal had been welded to keep something very dangerous inside.
A shadow moved on the ground outside my cell. Narrowing my eyes, I did my best to see out into the darkened room. Another movement in the corner by my bars drew my attention quickly to the side. A scratching sound across the room, followed by a door creaking open somewhere outside of my vision, had me curling in on myself even more. I wasn’t afraid of the dark. But I was leery of someone who was capable of capturing a demon.
Footsteps. Slow at first and heavy. Like a man’s.
Something hissed above me and my breath hitched. Stop being so fearful. You’re a fucking demon. Sometimes I really hated that inner voice, but right now I was grateful for her. I needed to get my shit together and figure out how to get out of this mess.
More footsteps scraped along the floor. The door to the cavernous room must be off to my right, but I still couldn’t see it. Was that the way out?
“Arabella.” The deep timbre struck instant fear in my heart. Leviathan was harmless if he was on your side. But cross him and…well, let’s just say there was a reason he was called a monster.
The tall man with his dark skin and darker hair stepped in front of my cell. He wore a business suit, which led me to believe we were still somewhere above and possibly still in the city. “Arabella,” he cooed, shaking his head back and forth. “I am so disappointed in you.”
“Good,” I mumbled from my spot on the ground.
“Come here.”
“No.”
“I said, come here.” He growled the last part and flicked his fingers toward me. In the same way I’d been ripped out of Jericho’s arms at my apartment, I was now sliding across the ground toward Leviathan like he had a damn magnet. The stone scraped my bare legs and I smelled my blood as it left a trail across the floor. But I didn’t scream. I didn’t even wince. Leviathan would not see any weakness from me.
As my body slammed into the iron bars and the archdemon forced me to stand, I bit my lip and held in the anger and fear. Leviathan reached out and grabbed a piece of my shirt. Pulling it through the bars, he bent forward and sniffed. Sucking in a deep breath, he raised his head and looked at the ceiling when he blew it out.
“Sex with an angel?”
“What?”
“You were supposed to kill that being and instead you…seduced him.” He glowered at me like a jealous school boy.
“I am a demon,” I mocked. “I’ve been known to seduce to get what I want.”
Leviathan continued to stare at me. “And you wanted the angel?”
Did I? Had I? My mind drifted to our breakfast together and then I realized that he was the first man I’d ever shared that with. He was the first man to stay in my apartment. He was the first one who I felt like I could really talk to.
He was the first one to steal a piece of my heart.
Had I wanted Jericho? Hell, yes, I had.
Leviathan jerked his hand away from my shirt. “Mammon told me you were her best. Her favorite of all her children. But I’ve yet to see what’s so special about a lowly demon like you who can’t follow a simple order and who spreads her legs to anyone who gives her an ounce of attention.”
“Just not you.”
“Excuse me?” His voice had a hint of a hiss behind them and his eyes got a little brighter.
“You’re pissed because I didn’t choose you.”
Leviathan laughed. “Oh, sweet young one. How you are mistaken.” He jerked his chin to the side and two snakes slithered up against his legs. “Having you as a mistress was not a part of my plan.”
“But you told Mammon—”
“I told her I wanted you, yes. But not to share my bed.” He smiled at me as he shook his head.
Should I be offended? “If not as your mistress, then why?”
The two snakes continued to crawl up his body. He placed his hands down by his thighs, allowing them to wrap around his forearms and watch me in the cell. “You’re obedient. And strong. I needed both.”
“I still don’t understand.”
Turning his back to me, he shrugged. “It’s not important now. You failed to kill the angel. And now you will be punished for your indiscretions.”
“Does Mammon know I’m here?”
Setting the two snakes on the ground again, he still refused to face me. “She might. But we had a deal.”
“She’s my sire.” I didn’t like the way my voice trembled. Mammon would be the only one who could fix this.
“Who sealed the deal in blood.”
Leviathan started to walk away as I stood there dumfounded and sick to my stomach. A blood deal could not be undone. Mammon had placed a great deal of faith in me by agreein
g that if I didn’t kill the angel, then Leviathan could have me. She thought I would do it. She trusted that I would do it.
Sinking to the floor, I let the tears burn my eyes. How had I been so stupid? Jericho was just one man. One angel. I probably sacrificed everything for him. I was never getting out of here. Mammon wouldn’t renege on her deal. Ashby would be forbidden from tracking me down. Echo…well he didn’t really give a shit about me. Who did I have to help me out of this mess?
No one.
A snake slithered across the top of my foot and I jumped up, kicking my leg into the air to get the hideous thing off me. Somewhere from the dark, Leviathan laughed.
“Enjoy my girls,” he taunted a moment before I heard a door open and close again.
The torch lighting the exterior of my cell cast a lot of shadows on the ground and all of a sudden I swear I saw several snakes slinking about around me. The hissing grew louder, their scaled bodies scraping against the stone with a grinding sound. I pressed myself into the corner again, standing on my tip toes. One of the snakes, a black one the size of a boa constrictor, lifted its head and stalked toward me. It’s green eyes almost glowed in the darkness and I swear they projected a bit of light on their own. A second snake appeared on my left. Posturing the same way, this one had red eyes that reminded me of my own. Both snakes moved slowly, taunting me with their presence and seemingly enjoying the fear they produced. I slid my hands along the walls behind me. If I could just find a rock or a piece of something to use as a weapon…
One of the snakes morphed into a woman.
Beautiful and tall, her dark skin shimmered in the light and her green eyes stayed slit like the snake she’d been a few seconds ago. Tilting her head to the side, she looked at my legs. “You must be cold.”
“I’m fine,” I said, pressing my back into the wall some more.
The other snake looked up at us and the woman smiled down at it. “I think she’s lying,” she whispered. If she expected an answer, she didn’t get one, but a moment later, her naked and ice-cold body brushed up against mine. “You smell of lust.”