Eberny didn’t move. “It can only be done at the birth of day.”
Behind her came muffled gasps and many soft-spoken questions. Hellen shook her head. “We can’t stay here.”
The hybrid appeared confused. “Why not? It is your home. No matter where you travel or for how long, the Underworld—this compound—is your home.”
That statement brought Erion forward. As much as he’d given Hellen space and leadership in finding and traveling the portals, at his core he was her number-one protector.
“The scene in the theater,” he said in a rough voice, “what Hellen was forced to do by that male who dared to call himself her father—surely she is an enemy of the people now. We must leave right away. I will not see her or her sisters harmed.”
Eberny rarely showed emotion, but Hellen saw a flicker of insult. “We do not think as you do in the upper world. There is no mourning, no anger or resentment for a lost leader. Only the fact that another is needed.” She turned back to Hellen. “The compound is secure. I have seen to it. All spectators to your mating have gone.”
Hellen couldn’t believe what she was hearing. No retaliation? No anger? No justice for their leader?
“There is no other way out of here but the portals?” Erion asked, his tone heavy with concern.
“No,” Eberny told him.
Hellen turned to look at him. There was distrust and wariness in his diamond gaze, and she understood it. She felt it too. But what was their alternative? She took his hand. “We must stay for the night.”
His jaw worked and his eyes narrowed. “But only for the night.”
She nodded.
“Come,” Eberny said, loud enough for all to hear. “We have rooms for those who do not live here, food for all, entertainment if anyone wishes it.”
“I’ve had enough entertainment for one day,” Erion growled as they followed the hybrid back inside the compound.
“Can we play our flying game, Levia, then conjure the puppies afterward?” Ladd asked. Before the female could answer, he turned to Kate. “Wait till you see the puppies! They’re so cute. If we have to go back aboveground, maybe we can take one with us.”
“We’ll see, Ladd,” Kate said softly, her voice a thread of soft worry.
Hellen remained close to Eberny and spoke under her breath. “In the very first call of day.”
“Of course,” said the hybrid, clearing the archway and heading inside the dark corridors once again. “You will find your power, Hellen, create portals with the deep magic you possess, for all those who wish to leave.”
Erion came up alongside them and stated in a very cold voice, “That will be all of us, hybrid.”
Eberny said nothing while rounding the corner.
• • •
He had been a prisoner here.
Now he was a guest.
Erion left the room where Ladd and Kate were staying and walked down the long hallway toward the corner room that had been assigned to him. The boy was surrounded by females: Kate, Hellen’s sisters, and the two pups they’d conjured for him. He was in heaven.
The irony of that thought made his lips thin.
He was glad the balas held no fear in the Underworld, and yet it worried him how attached Ladd had become to Hell. It didn’t surprise him, because he too felt the pull here; he too felt stronger, clearer, better here than he did aboveground. Clearly it was part of having demon blood. But that didn’t mean it was where they belonged.
Once they left this place, once they had a chance to live as a family, everyone would settle. Ladd could have Nicholas and Kate and get to know Erion as a father. Perhaps the boy could even come to care for Hellen.
Hellen.
She had left after the meal, wanting some time to herself. Erion had given it to her. But as time ticked on and his mind conjured thoughts and fears and wants, he couldn’t remain closeted for much longer. They were a pair, connected on too many levels to count, and he needed to see her, touch her, hold her against him. He had to make sure she understood how he felt, that she belonged to him, and he would love and care for her always.
The word love inside his mind felt strange. He’d never experienced romantic, possessive, needful love. It made him both fearful and anxious. It made him want to rip the door off its hinges and find her, and it made him desperate to kill anything male that might venture to look in her direction.
“Do you need help finding your room?”
He turned and found Polly walking a few feet behind him. “No. Thank you.”
She nodded solemnly and was about to walk past him when Erion’s next words stopped her.
“But I do need help in finding her room.”
Polly turned, her amber gaze regarding him coolly. She didn’t like him, he could tell, and he wondered why. It couldn’t be just that her sister cared for him.
“I believe she is resting,” she said haughtily. “I didn’t see you eat at mealtime. I’m sure you are hungry. I can have something sent to your room.”
He grinned at her meaning. “The only thing I require is blood. Do you have that on tap in the Underworld’s kitchens?”
“Absolutely not.” She looked utterly repulsed. “So that is why you wish to find my sister? You want her to feed you?”
Just the thought made Erion’s body go up in flames, made his cock stiffen and his fangs drop a few millimeters. But Hellen wasn’t vampire. He would never ask for or expect such a sacrifice from her. “Not to worry, Polly. I will take care of my needs when we return tomorrow.”
She looked relieved.
But Erion was only more determined. “Now, are you going to tell me where her room is, female? Or do I need to use my nose to scent her out?” He lowered his voice. “It shouldn’t take long. I know her scent very, very well.”
Color stained the demon’s cheeks and she stepped back. She was a pretty female, but nothing compared to her extraordinary sister.
“I don’t think this is the time,” she said. “After what’s happened today . . .”
“This is precisely the time,” he countered, drawing closer to her. “She needs the soothing and care and love of her mate. Don’t pretend you didn’t hear her claim inside the theatre.”
She frowned, her eyes suddenly melancholy. “I heard many things.”
Erion felt pity for the female and all she had learned about her father and his plans for her, but it was Hellen who needed him now. “There is nothing to do but move on and embrace the new challenges of our lives.”
She looked down at her shoes.
“Listen, sister—for that is what we are now, whether you like it or not.” Her gaze slowly lifted, and Erion softened. “Hellen and I have chosen each other. We belong to each other now.”
“She might not want to see you.”
He laughed softly. “Then she will tell me that herself. She is anything but coy, yes?”
The female’s lips twitched. “You know her.”
He nodded. “I know her and I love her. Now take me to her room.”
19
Abbadon was dead.
At her hand.
Hellen paced the floor of her room, stopping every so often to look at the fireflower on her bed. It was still open, still alive.
What was she going to do? Where was she going to live? She was ready to run away with Erion, take her sisters along for the ride, all without a plan in place. She felt so insecure. Erion cared for her; she knew that. But had his feelings changed? Had seeing her end her father’s life in such a brutal manner endeared her to him more or made him question if he wanted someone like her in his and his child’s life?
Hell, it made her question it. The monster her mother had begged her never to release had protected him and Ladd and her sisters’ futures, but it wasn’t gentle and benign. It was capable of the darkest acts imaginable. In fact, she wondered i
f it might actually crave them.
A knock on her door brought her out of her anxiety-ridden question fest, and she immediately crossed the room and opened it wide.
“Hey, demon girl.”
Just his deep, magnetic voice made her feel better, made her feel calmer, but the smile he offered made her insides curl with arousal.
Would it always be this way with them? Instant chemistry, instant fire?
Beside him, her sister Polly was attempting to look put out. “He insisted I tell him where your room was.”
“And she insisted in following me here,” Erion said, leaning against the doorjamb.
Hellen’s gaze moved over him covetously. He was so handsome, so wickedly sexy, standing there in his black T-shirt and jeans, his black hair licking the edges of his wide, powerful shoulders. The male made her heart squeeze with wanting. Did it matter that they didn’t have a plan aboveground? He wanted her with him. Wasn’t that enough? “You can go now.” Her eyes remained on Erion. “Thank you for bringing him to me, Polly.”
The female grunted, didn’t move. “Perhaps you won’t be thanking me tomorrow, sister. He is hungry.”
“Is he?” Hellen smiled at him.
Erion growled softly, his eyes pinned to hers.
“Yes,” Polly said as though she and Hellen were the only ones standing at the door. “And do you know what he is hungry for, sister?”
Hellen’s breath quickened, her gaze never wavering from his. “I couldn’t possibly guess.”
“Blood,” she said on a horrified gasp.
Heat moved through Hellen at her sister’s words, and she moistened her lips. This male, this incredible demon vampire, wanted her. She saw it in his gaze, in the way he touched her, kissed her, protected and possessed her. While others had only ever found her unsightly, Erion somehow believed her beautiful, desirable—so desirable he wanted not only to claim her but to consume her blood.
Erion’s nostrils flared as he inhaled. His expression darkened and he lifted one black eyebrow, scenting her arousal.
Polly continued, completely unaware of what was happening right in front of her. “I told him you would most definitely not be interested in removing your blood and allowing him to consume it.”
“That is true,” Hellen said, heat now pooling in her belly and threatening to dip lower.
“See there, demon vampire male,” Polly said, gesturing to Hellen. “My sister has much more sense than—”
“If he wants my blood,” Hellen said in a soft, seductive voice, “he is going to have to take it himself.”
That was it. Erion growled, his demon exposed, his fangs too, and pushed his way through the door.
Hellen laughed and backed up. “Good night, Polly. I will see you later.”
“Much later,” Erion uttered tersely as he closed the door on the female demon’s shocked and appalled face.
He wasted no time in coming after her. He yanked the black T-shirt he wore over his head and tossed it aside. As she stared at his wide shoulders and smooth, thickly muscled chest, he flicked open the button of his jeans and sank the zipper.
“You’re hungry, Erion?” she said boldly, her hands itching to grip his waist, run her fingers over his hip bones, dip her tongue inside his navel.
He shook his head, his eyes fierce. “Do not play. Do not tease. Do not pretend to give unless you are one hundred percent sure.” He kept coming, stalking her until the back of her thighs hit the side of the bed. “Because once I have even a drop of your blood on my tongue, it’s over. You will not be able to run without me at your back. You will not be able to sleep without my arms around you. You will not utter a moan of distress that doesn’t end in my care or a cry of lust that doesn’t begin at my touch.” He stopped just inches away and narrowed his gaze on her neck. “Think hard, demon girl. With just one bite, you will belong to me.”
Hellen’s breath came out in a rush and she stared up at him, panting. His words had pushed her into a place of such deep wanting, she knew she’d never return. She was his. She’d been his since he’d stolen her away, and in doing so had opened her eyes to the truth about herself and her father.
Inside her thin, white silk nightdress, her breasts felt heavy and her nipples ached to be touched. Her belly convulsed with each breath she tried to pull into her lungs. Her legs felt unable to hold her weight, and between her thighs, heat swirled inside her tight, soaking-wet pussy.
Was she sure?
Did she want him?
His hands on her? His mouth on her? His tongue inside her?
His fangs sinking deep and stripping her of the blood that would satisfy his hunger?
He towered over her, his fangs so low they pierced the flesh of his bottom lip. “Am I easing you back on this bed? Am I taking your vein as I take your body?” His nostrils flared. “The answer had better be yes.”
“Yes, Erion,” she breathed. “Gods, yes.”
His satisfied grin made her tremble with anticipation. She’d thought about this moment too many times. Erion taking her completely. She’d never felt the intensity and pleasure of a thick cock pushing into her, but she wanted it—she wanted him.
He pulled off his jeans and threw them in the same direction as his shirt, then grabbed the top of her nightdress and in one clean movement ripped it from neck to knees.
She sucked in a breath as the material slipped off her shoulders and pooled on the floor at her feet. “I would’ve taken it off for you.”
His arm snaked around her and he lifted her onto the bed. “You will never remove your own clothing again,” he commanded with a sexy purr. “If I don’t ease them over your head with my fingers, rip them from your body with my fists, or bite them off with my fangs, they remain. Understood?”
She nodded, swallowed as he rose over her. She couldn’t get over how beautiful he was and how terrifying. Everything about him was large and overpowering, from his shoulders and chest to the thick shaft between his thighs that was so hard it stood tall against his belly.
“You are perfect,” she whispered, her eyes meeting his. “The most beautiful male in the world.” She smiled. “And you are mine.”
He grinned back at her. “I’m glad you finally understand that.”
“And I am yours,” she added, her hands going around his neck.
“That too.” He growled and leaned down to kiss her. “My good little demon.”
“Not so good,” she whispered right before his mouth claimed her.
The kiss was anything but soft and slow. They had wanted each other for too long, their need too intense. He took her with ravenous abandon, his tongue plunging inside her mouth to find hers, and once he did, he groaned with possession. She didn’t need to hear him say it to know what he was thinking: MINE.
And she was.
Wanted to be in every way.
He tore his mouth from hers and dipped his head, brushed his lips across her neck. Hellen sucked air between her teeth with the feeling, every nerve ending on alert, the muscles between her thighs clenching.
“Are you going to bite me now?” she asked breathlessly, wanting him so badly, wanting his fangs inside her—wanting him inside her.
His warm breath caressed her ear. “Not yet, demon girl.”
She shivered, then cried out as he raked his fangs ever so lightly up the shell of her ear.
She was going to come, just from his voice, his breath on her skin, the anticipation of his touch.
He eased to one side of her, his hand finding her belly. He stroked her gently, teasing her navel until she felt tears in her eyes.
“Please, Erion,” she begged, her hips lifting, straining, to get to him.
His hand stilled on her rib cage. “What is it, my beautiful one? What do you need?”
“Touch me.”
He chuckled softly, tracing ea
ch rib until his fingers rested just below her right breast. “I am.”
She whimpered. “It’s too slow. It’s torture. I won’t be able to hold on.”
“You don’t have to,” he uttered, leaning down, kissing her cheek as his fingers brushed over her breast, his nails raking her stiff nipple lightly. He purred when she cried out. “Come, demon girl. Come for me. It will be the first of many.”
He found her ear and licked the shell as he squeezed her breast against his palm, then drifted up to pinch the hard peak.
The sensation went straight to her cunt. “Oh, gods. Erion.”
His tongue laved her as he tugged and circled her nipple. Shards of white-hot pleasure assaulted her and she reached down between her legs to touch herself.
“No,” he said harshly. “Your cunt belongs to me now.”
It was too much for Hellen; his words, his tongue on her ear, his fingers pinching her nipple. Then he bit down gently on her earlobe, and she lost her mind completely. Teeth clenched, hips jutting up, a cry wrenched from her throat and she came so hard it was almost blinding.
“So beautiful,” Erion whispered against her ear as his hand moved down her torso, over her belly. “The state of euphoria suits you, demon girl. I intend to keep you there.”
Hellen’s mind felt heavy and her eyes were unfocused, but her body called to him. She had a feeling it would never stop calling to him.
“Touch me now? Please.” She was begging and she didn’t care.
He chuckled softly as he lowered his head and kissed her nipple, the one he had pinched and tugged that sent her over the edge. Then he shifted to the other. Hellen arched toward him as her hips continued to lift and lower. Why was he torturing her? And yet even as the thought entered her mind, she brushed it aside. His lips were on her nipple, sucking it into his hot, wet mouth, his tongue flicking the tip as he moved his head up and down. She’d never experienced such a delicious sensation. He was fucking her breast, and she keened and convulsed and felt the rush, the heat, the overwhelming sensation of impending orgasm move over her. She was going to come and the male hadn’t even touched her below the waist.
Eternal Demon: Mark of the Vampire Page 23