Until Aphrodite, the goddess of love and romance, had ironically ruined it.
Despite Natalie coming off as the more vehement participant in our own physical entanglements, she looked almost timid and shy now that she was confronted by the infamous vampire hunter, Victoria Helsing.
It…was endearing. And exciting. And infuriatingly cruel to the poor, blue-balled vampire.
I closed my eyes and took two slow breaths rather than allowing myself to envision what trouble they would have gotten into without me.
What fun might have been had between all three of us if the Sisters of Mercy and Aphrodite hadn’t interrupted what could have been a top contender for the best day of my immortal existence?
I stared into Natalie’s sparkling eyes as I trailed the back of a finger down her cheek, ending on her lower lip. I gently pressed down on her lower teeth with my finger to open her mouth so that she could breathe easier in the shower. Surprisingly, she wasn’t stiff. On the contrary, I barely had to try to alter her position. I picked her up by the waist and set her down beneath the water, not even caring that my sleeves got wet in the process. I stepped back, watching the two of them for a few moments, making sure they weren’t in danger of choking on water or anything. The lights shifted through two full cycles over their flushed flesh before I felt confident they were both warm and safe.
I gently closed the shower door behind me and let out a gentle breath, thumping the back of my head against the glass door. “I am the unluckiest, luckiest man in the world,” I complained under my breath.
Thinking about Aphrodite in the next room, I mulled over my knowledge of the Greek gods.
Aphrodite had a reason for freezing time to visit me, and I wasn’t sure I wanted any part of it. I flicked a switch to turn on the heat lamps as I left the bathroom, closing the door behind me.
Then I prepared myself for a fight with my sibling.
5
I looked up to find Nosh seated in the armchair and Aphrodite sitting on his lap, curling his hair around one of her fingers as she smoked a cigarette with her free hand. Nosh looked like a startled deer, fearful to move in any manner whatsoever. Except for his eyes. They latched onto me as I approached, and they were wild and wide as his fingers clenched the armrests like he was holding on for dear life.
Aphrodite playfully wiggled her rear into his lap, exhaling an unnaturally thick cloud of smoke into the air that somehow managed to portray an image of a woman riding a man in…
An armchair. The apparition looked to be having a lot more fun with it than Nosh.
I decided it was good to let him squirm for a few moments longer—as long as it kept her attentions away from me. She hadn’t put on the robe, much to Nosh’s torture. She also wasn’t completely naked—which would have been easier to manage in comparison.
I had studied up on high-class lingerie thanks to Aristos, but we had obviously missed a topic that had been relegated only to the hallowed pantheons of the gods of sex.
Aphrodite wore a pair of silk ribbons—one was a vibrant pink, and the other a royal purple.
That was the only way I could think to describe her outfit.
The two ribbons crisscrossed her body from shoulder to ankle, wrapping around and over her frame in a truly mesmerizing display. The ribbons also didn’t bother to cover up any of her important assets, but rather only served to emphasize them. Even as I watched, the ribbons moved, seemingly of their own accord, shifting and snaking across her body like serpents to form exquisite knotted bows and braids in one area before slowly shifting to emphasize another.
I was confident that I could watch the display for hours—and it had nothing to do with her ridiculous beauty. The ribbons were fascinating—like pieces of living art. They reminded me of my cloak and how it also had the ability to move about of its own accord. I was certain that I could watch for hours and never see the same braided designs two times in a row.
Which meant they were weapons intended to distract.
I cleared my throat pointedly. Aphrodite glanced over at me, draping her hand atop Nosh’s head so that her thumb caressed his forehead in slow, sensual circles that made him blink lazily, as if entranced. Aphrodite exhaled another impossible puff of smoke, and this time her smoky puppet show portrayed two males working hard to satisfy their female companion in the cloud above their heads. A suggestion for how we might pass the time, perhaps.
“H-hey, Sorin,” Nosh said lamely.
Aphrodite laughed, sounding like faint windchimes. “I was just getting to know my newest nephew,” she murmured in a voice like warm, dripping honey. She shifted her rear into a better position, and I watched as Nosh swallowed tightly, closing his eyes for a moment. Aphrodite leaned down close to his face. “Where do you stand on keeping things in the family?” She licked her lips. “Ever slept with an older woman before? You can call me auntie. That sounds fun. I have much that I could teach you, little shaman.” She poked his nose gently with her finger. “Just think of all the lessons you could later share with your fire-haired witch.”
Nosh grimaced upon mention of Izzy, looking further emboldened now that he was no longer alone and concerned about risking her offense while I tended to Natalie and Victoria. “No thanks. I don’t even know where to begin on how messed up that is. Auntie,” he added dryly. “Unfortunately, we must be going soon.”
She pouted. “Let me know when you are more interested in discussing your comings than your goings,” she said with a smoldering look. Nosh’s eyes widened in disbelief and he struggled to get out from under her.
He didn’t have to try very hard because Aphrodite was suddenly standing directly before me, resting her fingers over my heart as she stared deep into my eyes. She flicked her clove cigarette into the fire without looking. The cloud of flavorful smoke reminded me of the candle in the bathroom—an almost identical scent. She began to circle me, trailing her fingers across my shoulder, the back of my neck, and then all the way around to the other side, murmuring to herself in obvious approval. Not that I cared.
“Aphrodite,” I warned. “I had hoped our first interaction would be slightly more professional. Instead, you’ve attempted to seduce your nephew and your brother. And failed, I might add.”
“Yeah,” Nosh piped up lamely. “Failed horribly.” I ignored him, trying not to be embarrassed by my progeny.
She smiled at me in amusement, leaning close enough so that only I could hear her voice. Her breath hit me like melted chocolate and fragrant rose oil. “They’re so cute when they’re that young. Do you remember what it was like to be so naive?” she asked softly, sounding genuinely curious.
I thought about it and shook my head. “No, actually,” I admitted. “But we had to grow up a lot quicker in our days.”
She nodded thoughtfully, eyeing me studiously. “And I’m only your half-sister, Sorin. Life is about new experiences. Keeping things in the family wasn’t always a crime, if you recall. It’s kind of our motto, to be honest.”
“And how has that worked for our family? Has it kept us all close and friendly? No one hunting down their other siblings by any chance?” I asked dryly.
She laughed, looming before me so that her breasts pressed against my chest. She hummed as she massaged my shoulders and studied my face with anticipation. The tension in my muscles melted away like hot butter beneath her expert touch, and I had to force myself to bite back a groan. I was close enough to lick her lips, and the steady throb of the vein at her throat was as loud as a drum. She leaned closer, grazing her cheek against mine as softly as an imagined feather. As she moved, she slowly slid her forearms over my shoulders and clasped her hands behind my neck, trapping me with all the physical strength of a butterfly’s wings. I knew I could pick her up and snap her in two. And that she would let me.
That vulnerable acceptance was part of the fun for her, after all. She was immortal. Any pains I caused could be later shrugged off.
Yet her very presence was the real danger. Her aur
a was an enticing prison: a barred cell of cool, silk ribbons; towers of melted chocolate fountains; fiery, sweaty flesh; seductive, breathless whimpers; and a never-ending bed of plush pillows. The prison warden of lust whispered directly into my ear. “Some juice is worth the squeeze, Sorin,” she breathed, her hair tickling my nose. “Trust me.” Her voice was a promise I felt deep within my chest, vibrating like a struck chord.
I focused deep on my blood reserves to withstand her charm, ignoring the fact that my cheeks were inflamed where she had caressed them with her skin. “What are you doing here, Aphrodite?” I rasped, stepping back from her clutches. Like I’d thought, she did not attempt to stop me, but she did wear a thoughtful frown. More of a pout, really. Even that looked sexy. “Not that it isn’t a pleasure to meet you, but my trust is in short supply these days.”
I didn’t know Aphrodite, but Selene had warned me against her fellow Olympians. Aphrodite could be a wolf in sheep’s…well, lingerie. I glanced back at the door to the bathroom, desperately wanting to wrap up this conversation so I could check on the devils before confronting the Sisters.
Aphrodite followed my wandering attention with eyes like a hawk. She glanced back at me with an approving look. “Your eyes betray you, brother, but I like the way you think. Pleasure before business, as I always say. That being said, your words are correct. This might be the only time I have ever cautioned against lust—at least for a little while longer. And I’m hating every inch of it.”
“Minute of it,” Nosh corrected, tugging at his collar as if having difficulty breathing.
“Hopefully longer than that, shaman,” she chuckled suggestively. “In more ways than one. Double connotations heavily emphasized, of course.”
I turned my glare on her. “Explain yourself, Aphrodite. If any harm comes to them, I will choke you to death with your own skimpy thong.”
“She’s not wearing one,” Nosh piped in helpfully.
I shot him a dark, withering glare before turning back to my sister and the slithering ribbons, still sliding across the rises and swells of her body. They had moved down to her legs, wrapping around her feet and calves like knee-high sandals. “If any harm comes to them, I will choke you to death with your own skimpy ribbons.”
“You know, there’s a fetish for that kind of thing…” she said thoughtfully. I just stared at her, folding my arms. She sighed, walking over to one of the other armchairs. She sat down sideways, dangling her legs over the armrest as she crossed her ankles and leaned back, giving us yet another show. To be honest, it was getting rather old by now. Even though it was pleasurable to witness—a woman who fully owned every aspect of her beauty, not even acknowledging the meaning of the word shame. It was…powerful, actually. “You have several problems, and I don’t think half of them are your fault,” she said, staring into the fire pensively. The firelight struck her eyes, making the flecks of pink and purple glitter like precious gems.
I arched an eyebrow, seating myself across from her. “How so?”
“Dracula, witches, and Olympians,” she said, not looking over at me as she ticked up her fingers with each word. I had to force myself to focus on her voice and eyes so as not to get distracted by the ribbons still slithering across her body.
I waited, wondering where she was going with her explanation. “Dracula is my problem, certainly. I inherited the witch problem and inadvertently made it my own—at least regarding the Cauldron. The Sisters of Mercy are a problem related to Dracula, so that’s on me as well. The Olympians…I honestly have no idea how to approach that topic. I’ve only known for a few days. So, two out of three are on me.”
She lifted a finger, clucking her tongue. “Ah. But you are presuming much. You do not have the full answer regarding our family. Even I do not have that, but I know more than you.” I waited, not liking the direction our conversation was taking, but knowing that it was important—even if she was deceiving me herself. I wouldn’t know that until I learned her angle. “Your story started off with the twins—Apollo and Artemis—setting you up. I don’t know if Hades was in on it or if that was just a happy coincidence on their part. But…” she trailed off uneasily and I narrowed my eyes. She sighed in resignation. “You’re about to make Hades your problem whether you want to or not.”
Nosh let out a long whistle. “What makes you think Sorin will do anything you ask?”
“Because his loving, doting sister batted her eyelashes,” she said sweetly. Then, case in point, she turned to me, batting her eyelashes as she spoke in a honeyed, simpering tone. “You need to break into the Underworld and get your soul back.”
Nosh burst out laughing. “He’s sitting right in front of you! What makes you think he doesn’t have his soul—”
Aphrodite was suddenly out of the chair and pressed up against him, not seeming to cross the space between. She licked the side of his neck as her hands gripped a handful of his crotch through his pants. “Say bonds,” she whispered.
Nosh didn’t even hesitate, looking panicked. “B-bonds.”
The silk ribbons abruptly whipped off Aphrodite’s body and wrapped around Nosh’s wrists, lifting them high over his head so that he was forced up onto his toes. My eyes widened in disbelief, but she held out her free hand in my direction, commanding me to remain seated.
Without waiting, she pressed her chest against Nosh and cupped his cheek with her unencumbered hand—the other still had a firm grip on his crotch. It was the main reason I hadn’t attacked. What if she castrated him the moment I interfered?
She whispered in a tone that was loud enough to be heard from across the room, and she somehow made it into a moaning, sexual sound at the same time. “I can give you such an orgasm that you will literally want to end your life the moment of release. You will taste heaven before being forced to crawl back to a living hell, your desire for my touch so profound that you literally won’t be able to string two syllables together. If you interrupt me one more time, I will give you this pleasure and then I will watch you suffer through the loss of your very soul.” Her words rang through the room like a bell. She finally pulled away and gripped his chin with her other hand. “And that, my dear nephew, will be the moment I finally allow myself to climax.”
He shuddered, his face as pale as a sheet. Aphrodite then kissed him on the lips and spun on the balls of her feet, sashaying back to her chair at a semi-natural pace rather than the supernatural, predatory speed she’d just displayed.
She lifted her hand and the ribbons released Nosh, answering the call of their mistress.
6
I shared a long, significant look with Nosh, but he was too busy staring at her and her ribbons in disbelief. And…a perverse curiosity—which I knew was part of her allure. To literally sex a man—or woman—to death, using both her body and her victim’s mind to torture them with their own desires.
I could tell that he’d tried to use his magic to stop her, but it had obviously been ineffective. I would never look at a ribbon the same way again.
I cleared my throat. “I appreciate your blunt example, but you will never again threaten a member of my family,” I said in a calm, soft tone. “I already warned you once. The same goes for any of my loved ones. If you are here on good faith, you will abide by my terms. If you cannot do so, the door is right there.”
She studied me from her chair, peering at me with the lazy gaze of a cat—the deceivingly innocent look before they pounced to kill. She nodded slowly, assessing me with a pensive smirk.
I turned to Nosh. “Control yourself. You asked for that. You know who she is, and you should have had some inkling of the weapons she might have at her disposal. Rise to the challenge, understood?”
Aphrodite chuckled at my phrasing, but I ignored her. Nosh gave me a jerking nod. “Y-yes.”
I turned back to the Olympian. “Neat trick with the ribbons. But why did you ask Nosh to say…that word?” I asked, carefully reconsidering saying it out loud so I didn’t end up like him.
&nbs
p; “Consent matters,” she said with a wry smile. “And hands can often be busy with other…matters, so Hephaestus made them voice-activated. He is just as talented at making implements of pleasure as tools of pain.”
She was grinning at me triumphantly. She may as well have been a cat unsheathing her claws and raking them against the armchair. I studied her up and down, sighing in disappointment to see the playful, carefree gleam still dancing in her eyes. As much as she got off on teasing and drawing out my lust, I could tell she actually wanted to push me over the edge and break me—to satisfy her own curiosity. I sensed that she was often overlooked by her fellow Olympians in the halls of power, and she wanted to dispel that fact. She wanted to see what it was like to fuck the newest godling who had everyone so up in arms, and to have that godling beg for the experience. To personally assess my capacity for giving pleasure by seeing how much ecstasy I could give her with my bite.
“I’m not convinced you fully understand the depth of my convictions, sister. Let me show you,” I told her, gently.
She cocked her head with curious excitement, sensing she had finally won her little game. I saw the telltale flash of a woman daring me to do my worst. It wasn’t her fault. She didn’t know me. And she had underestimated me.
She didn’t know that I preyed on the overconfident. They were my greatest conquests.
And I was feeling more sexually frustrated than I had at any point in my life. The perfect storm. She wanted to see what I could do? How experienced I was in the act of destroying while delivering pleasure?
Okay.
Completely motionless, I focused my powers, sinking to the very depths of my blood reservoir. I scooped up one of the strange blood crystals I had managed to form the last time I had fed upon Natalie. I held that dark ruby of blood, sensing the immense power within. Then I coated the ruby in Victoria’s incredibly potent blood, enveloping the crystal in a metallic shell of Olympian-infused power. Oddly enough, I found some of the metaphysical blood Castle Ambrogio had given to Victoria in order to save her life, adding a clear coat to the metallic ruby.
Devil’s Blood: Shade of Devil Book 3 Page 4