Lucifer (Vampires in America: The Vampire Wars Book 11)

by D. B. Reynolds

  LUCIFER FOUGHT HARDER than he ever had before, using his power to shield the small force defending the hole in the wall that used to be the back gate. The gates themselves lay in a twisted pile of metal, where they’d been blown using ordinary human explosives. And beyond that was a group of about fifty newborn vampires, fighting for all they were worth. These soldiers were on their own, commanded by an officer who’d been human no more than two weeks ago. Lucifer could taste the newly-made vampire’s desperation and confusion, but there was also hatred and a burning rage that drove the young officer forward, ordering his vampire force against the defenders time and time again. And every time they rushed forward, they left a few of their own lying dead behind among Sophia’s injured fighters.

  Lucifer strode back and forth on the combat line, shielding Sophia’s defenders from the common gunfire, boosting their energy for the hand-to-hand battles that occurred whenever Berkhard’s people launched another desperate assault. The newly-made vampires fought with a fierce desperation, as if Berkhard had planted an order in their minds that they were to keep fighting at any cost. Setting aside their useless weapons, they ripped at their opponents with gleaming fangs and curved fingers, gouging eyes and shredding flesh. It was brutal and primitive, and just plain, fucking sad. For all their urgency and courage, they had no chance against Sophia’s much smaller force, and especially not with Lucifer’s power bolstering their organized defense.

  The battle was nearly over, the ground littered with dead vampires too young to dust, when suddenly a blast of unfettered energy blasted through the ether, and hard on that came a howl of agonized defeat. Lucifer sensed Eleanor’s triumphant rush of victory a moment before the remaining newbie vampires at the gate fell to their knees and then collapsed completely, too weak to continue without the goad of Berkhard’s command.

  Lucifer grinned as all around him Sophia’s guards shouted their own victory to the night skies, some of them leaning on each other in exhaustion, but all of them laughing or smiling, exulting in the knowledge that they had survived, while their enemies had not.

  Lucifer’s grin died as his telepathy blared to sudden life, filled with images of vengeance and death. Not for Berkhard, he realized, but for Sophia. He spun, searching for the source, and his gaze settled on a female vamp racing across the empty ground behind the estate, rushing around the house, fangs bared in a determined grimace.

  Lucifer lashed out with his power, wrapping it around her and freezing her in place as he strode closer.

  “Eleanor,” he telepathed his lover, framing her name with just enough urgency to grab her attention.

  “Lucifer?” Eleanor’s response was hesitant and worried.

  “Bring Sophia, bella. I’ve found your traitor.”

  Eleanor’s response was wordless alarm, as he sensed her racing toward him. He was waiting when she rounded the house, her eyes wide with concern, blond braid flying behind her. She was the very picture of a vengeful warrior princess, and his heart swelled at the knowledge that she was his.

  Sophia and Colin came into sight behind her, moving quickly. Sophia’s power reached out to her people, the vampire guards who’d successfully defended this position. There was love and pride in the ephemeral embrace she wrapped around them, and her vampires straightened with pride and renewed energy.

  Eleanor reached Lucifer first, her eyes wide in disbelief, when she saw his prisoner.

  “Do you know her?” he asked unnecessarily. It was obvious that she did. Just as it was obvious his would-be assassin knew Eleanor. She struggled abruptly against the hold he had on her, her thoughts loud to his telepathic sense, her hatred burning for Sophia.

  “Tambra?” Eleanor faced the captured vampire, her face a mask of hurt and confusion.

  “She was going to assassinate Sophia,” he explained. “She was bound to Berkhard, emotionally at least.”

  “But that’s impossible. She’s one of Sophia’s closest—”

  “Not impossible, bella. Truth.”

  “So that’s my traitor.” The slow, lazy tone of Sophia’s observation was belied by the fire in her gaze as she regarded the frozen Tambra. “She was the only one of my inner circle that I never had a chance to interrogate. She was in Calgary. I considered her a fucking hero in that battle.”

  “What better way to secure your confidence in her?” Lucifer suggested. His head was filled with Tambra’s images of revenge, of vampires sacrificed to secure her position with Sophia, to prove her false loyalty.

  “Was it all staged then? For my benefit? People died in Calgary, damn you.”

  “I can dig through her brain for you, if you’d like,” Lucifer offered, “discover her co-conspirators.”

  “No. I’ll handle that,” Sophia said grimly. And with a wrench of power that Lucifer felt like a tug on his own heart, Sophia rammed her awareness into Tambra’s mind.

  Lucifer released the female vamp with a growl, pissed that Sophia hadn’t given him any warning of her intent. But he stood back and watched in vicious admiration as Sophia literally scoured the female vamp’s brain clean, until Tambra’s eyes were vacant holes and drool dripped from her open mouth, with her fangs a grotesque exclamation over a drooping lower lip.

  When Sophia finally withdrew, Tambra slouched like a puppet whose strings had been cut, her hands practically dragging on the ground. But not for long, as Sophia lashed out with a blast of focused power and dusted the traitor where she stood.

  “Well,” Sophia said, brushing her hands together in an efficient motion, “that’s done with.”

  “Are all of those newbies dead?” Colin asked, shifting everyone’s attention to the Canadian soldiers, who’d done nothing to deserve their fate.

  Lucifer surveyed the battlefield, looking for signs of life. “Most of them,” he admitted. “Those who survived the fighting couldn’t handle the shock of Berkhard’s death. There might be one or two still alive, though.”

  “Danika,” Sophia said, gesturing to a sturdy-looking blond vamp who was just rounding the house. “We need to set up search teams. Anyone who’s still alive goes inside before sunrise. I don’t care which side they fought on. Those boys didn’t sign up to support Berkhard. They were forced.”

  “My lady,” Danika said, and rushed off to gather a search party.

  “You two,” Sophia said, smiling at Eleanor, and then giving Lucifer a grim look. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

  “My lady,” Eleanor said immediately, bowing her head. Lucifer tipped his chin down slightly, but no more than that. He’d saved Sophia’s ass tonight, and he wasn’t going to let her forget it.

  ELEANOR LED LUCIFER into her quarters in the barracks’ section of Sophia’s estate house. Though calling it a “barracks” was misleading. One entire wing of the huge house was dedicated to private quarters for Sophia’s guard contingent, and her other vampire staffers.

  She glanced around when she walked into the room, trying to see it through his eyes. It had always seemed spacious enough for her, but when she turned, the room shrank around the physical presence that was Lucifer. His muscular six foot, three inch frame took up so much of the available space that she was embarrassed at her suddenly modest digs. She was certain he had better living arrangements back in Chicago, probably a big house all to himself, while all she had was this single, small room. And a private bathroom. Yippee.

  “It’s not very big,” she said ruefully.

  He’d been studying the place, but his gaze settled on her, and he smiled. “But then, neither are you, princess.”

  “Shut up,” she said in mock irritation.

  He chuckled knowingly. “We’re definitely going to need something much bigger than this, though. And far more private.”

  “We?” she repeated. She told herself to be cool, and not to make assumptions. But he’d said, “we.” That had t
o mean something, right?

  Lucifer stepped closer and cupped her face with both hands. “I love you, Eleanor. I always have. And if you’ll have me, I want to be with you forever. Here, Chicago, or somewhere else. I don’t care where, as long as we’re together.”

  Eleanor fought not to cry. She’d given up on love a long time ago, because deep in her heart she’d known there could never be anyone but Lucifer. But she’d never once considered the possibility of finding him again, or of him finding her. This was like a dream come true. Her best. Dream. Ever.

  The tears came anyway.

  “Bella,” he whispered, kissing away the tears as they rolled down her cheeks. “Don’t cry. If you don’t want—”

  “No!” she protested, wrapping her fingers around his wrists. “I do want. I’m happy. These are happy tears.”

  “Okay, then,” he said, smiling. “Cry away. But you know what happens to your face when you cry. You’ll get all blotchy, and your eyes will puff up, and—”

  “Shut up!” she said again, slugging his arm.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll still love you, blotchy face and all.”

  “You’re so romantic,” she murmured, going up on tiptoes to kiss him. “I love that about you.”

  “So, you do love me.”

  She smiled against his lips. “I do love you, Lucifer Scuderi.”

  He kissed her, but ended the kiss with a quick nip to her lower lip, mindful of the looming sunrise. “We need to sleep on the plane, Elle. Or, at least, I do. I know Sophia’s your lady, but she’s not mine, and she’ll see me as a threat.”

  “Oh, I don’t think so. You just don’t know her very well. You saved her life. She won’t forget that.”

  “I’m sure she’s grateful, but that won’t trump her vampire instincts. I’m too powerful, and, on top of that, I’m sworn to another lord. She’ll want to be rid of me.”

  “But . . .” Eleanor looked up at him unhappily. “Does that mean you can’t stay in Canada? What does that mean for—?”

  “It doesn’t mean anything. Not yet. But we need to have a conversation with Sophia, or rather, I need to have a conversation. I’m the problem, not you. And I have a solution. I’m just not sure she’ll listen to it.”

  “Sunrise is still more than an hour away. We can find her tonight, and—”

  “Not tonight. Sophia has other business to take care of, and I’m tired. I’ve spent a lot of energy on your lady’s interests over the past few nights. Besides, I don’t know how our meeting’s going to go, and I need to be at full strength.”

  “Should I ask for a private meeting tomorrow night? I can call her directly.”

  Lucifer thought about it, and said, “Sure. Go ahead. But make it late enough that we don’t have to rush. I want time to feed and fuck.”

  She gasped in feigned shock at his crudeness, but there was nothing feigned about the blush that heated her face.

  He stroked a finger over her hot cheek, and grinned. “The two activities often go together, bella.”

  “Well, I know that,” she said primly. “How about midnight, then? Will that be enough time for you, you big stud?”

  Lucifer barked a surprised laugh. “There’s never enough time when it comes to fucking you. But I can make do for one night.”

  “You’re incorrigible,” she muttered, and pulled out her cell phone.

  “Why on earth would you want to corrige my perfection?”

  She just rolled her eyes and listened as Sophia’s direct line rang, before someone picked up, and a deep voice said, “Yep?”

  “Hey, Colin,” she said, recognizing his voice. “Lucifer wants to meet with Lady Sophia at midnight tomorrow. We’ll both be there. Does that work?”

  She heard the rumble of his voice, but he’d covered the phone and she couldn’t make out the words. He was obviously checking with Sophia, though.

  “Midnight tomorrow it is, babe. Anything else? Sophia needs to rest.”

  Eleanor looked up at Lucifer in question, knowing he’d have heard every word of the conversation. When he shook his head, she said, “That’s it. Enjoy your . . . um, rest.”

  Colin gave a smug laugh. “You, too.” And he hung up.

  “You heard,” she said to Lucifer, disconnecting and pocketing her phone.

  He nodded. “Gather whatever you need. I don’t want to cut it too close, just in case we hit delays on our way back to the airport.”

  “Delays?”

  “Enemies. Erstwhile allies. The usual.”

  “You’re paranoid,” she observed, but set about gathering some fresh clothes. After too many battles in too few days, everything she’d brought with her to Montreal was now in desperate need of cleaning. She pondered the difficulties of getting out bloodstains. And other stains, too. Ick.

  Chapter Fourteen

  LUCIFER’S FIRST thought on waking the next night was that he was tired of sleeping on planes. He rolled over and studied Eleanor in her sleep. She was on her belly, which was the same position she’d favored as a human. He’d worried back then that she couldn’t breathe, but she’d just laughed and said that it suited her. And it did. It also suited him because her tight, little ass was on full, pert display. Once he’d pulled the sheet down, that was. Something he did without any qualms. He was a greedy male, and Eleanor was his.

  She stirred, and for a moment her pretty ass lifted up even higher. But then her eyes opened, and she smiled. “Are you staring at my ass?”

  “Yep.”

  “I thought you wanted to hit up a blood club.”

  His eyelids drooped as he contemplated the sexual temptation that was Eleanor. “I don’t feel like sharing you tonight,” he murmured, and pulled her across the bed until he could feel every inch of her soft curves against his body.

  Bending his head, he nuzzled her ear, smiling when she shivered against his lips. Kissing and licking his way to her mouth, he touched his lips to hers in a soft and sensual kiss, barely touching the tip of his tongue to hers, before continuing his assault. Eleanor moaned softly, arching her back in invitation when he licked along the curve of her clavicle. His hand closed over her breasts, one at a time, weighing the heavy mounds, pinching her tender nipples until they thrummed between his fingers.

  He pulled back to admire the beauty that was Eleanor’s breasts. They were full and round, with pale pink areolae and large nipples that darkened to a bloody rose when she was aroused, as she was now. Those nipples were part of what had earned his nickname for her, his pink princess, and he lowered his head to suck on their loveliness, to feel them harden like precious pearls against his tongue.

  But there was more to his princess—more pink, more lusciousness. His slid his hand between her thighs, feeling the heat of her pussy . . . her pretty, very pink, pussy. He smiled against the delicate skin of her breast as he stroked her gently, listening to the rapid beat of her heart, her quick indrawn breath.

  The soft folds of her sex were puffy and swollen when his fingers slid between them, when he delved even deeper and felt the liquid heat of her arousal.

  “So very wet and hot,” he murmured, his tongue rasping over her nipple. “Such a slick, pink pussy you have for me.”

  He sensed more than heard the sudden hitch in her breath as he dipped two fingers just barely inside her, teasing her, before filling his mouth with her breast, pulling the entire tip between his lips, and his teeth. He bit down carefully, wanting the taste of her blood, but unwilling to mar his Eleanor’s tender flesh.

  But Eleanor had no such reluctance. She groaned loudly, and scraped her fingers against his scalp, twisting to rip at his hair as she tugged him closer, thrusting out her breasts in silent demand. She wrapped one leg around his hips and crushed her hot cunt against him hungrily.

  “Shall I fuck you?” he w
hispered, before closing his teeth over one engorged nipple, and biting hard enough to draw blood. He hummed deep in his throat at the delicious taste. He couldn’t feed from her, couldn’t draw nutrition, but her blood was still delectable. Hot and sweet, and spiced with power. Just like his Eleanor. “What do you want, bella?” he murmured.

  Eleanor bit back a moan, covering her mouth with one hand and sinking her teeth into it, before whimpering, “Don’t tease.” She was panting, her breath coming out in short puffs as she tried not to cry out loud.

  Fuck that. Lucifer knew she worried about the guards, but they were all outside in the hangar, and wouldn’t hear her cries of pleasure. He didn’t tell her that, however. He wanted her to lose control, to scream his name, no matter who might hear her.

  “Tell me what you want,” he insisted, lifting his head to blow on her wet and bloody nipple, the perfect color of a red rose.

  “Lucifer,” she pleaded softly, but he had no pity.

  He bent his head and his tongue swept out to curl around her other nipple, sucking that breast into his mouth and sinking his teeth into the satin flesh. The pulse of her blood was loud in his ears, a seductive counterpoint to the pleas she was whispering over and over again.

  He soothed her abused flesh with another swipe of his tongue, then lifted his head to stare at her, his eyes narrow slits as he demanded, “Tell me what you want.”

  Eleanor growled and lifted her hips to smash against his, holding their bodies together as her strong legs wrapped around his hips and she began thrusting against him. She was so close that her pussy slid along the length of his rigid cock, hot and slick and delicious. Lucifer swallowed a groan of his own. He was going to fuck her so hard, ram his cock so deep in her sweet cunt, but first he was going to hear her say the words.

  “I can feel your pussy, baby. It’s dripping wet, like silk against my cock, and so fucking hot. I love your cunt when it’s like this.”