She didn’t answer, only grinned wider. He grinned too. He’d never enjoyed himself this much in bed play. He’d had his share of sexual adventures, but no pleasure as pure as being with Irena. Their bodies seemed perfectly attuned and her response to his touch was nothing short of exquisite.
He kissed her once more, his tongue dueling with hers, stoking the passion higher.
Irena grew restless beneath him and Chago returned one hand to her breasts, toying with the sensitive peaks while his other slipped lower to her slick folds.
His swollen cock pulsed against her belly, throbbing in time with his heart. She grasped his rigid length and, for a moment, he allowed her caress, craving her touch too much to resist. He struggled for the last shreds of his control and fought against the torrent of need fizzing in his blood.
With urgent, gentle force, he drew her away from his shaft and secured both hands above her head with a singled-handed grip. Nestled between her thighs, Chago poised his throbbing manhood at her wet entrance. “I’m sorry, carina, but I can’t wait any longer. I must have you now.”
From the first touch of her heat against his tender tip, he was lost. Base urge demanded he take her now, brand her with his possession. He clenched his teeth and resisted. Not yet.
She raised her knees and locked her heels behind his buttocks. The silent plea in her eyes was all the encouragement he required. With a savage growl, he buried himself within Irena in one powerful thrust. Hilt deep inside her heat, he dropped his head and surrendered to his instincts. His thrusts started slow, increasing with her response to his rhythm. He nuzzled her neck, his meager restraint fracturing by the second. “Cristo, carina. You are so beautiful.”
Her fingers gripped tight in his hair. Her moans became deeper, huskier. His own need pushed past the edge of civility. He reached between them and circled her most sensitive spot to press and stroke and drive her over the brink. She clenched around him, her slick passage milking his shaft while she climaxed.
Irena pulled him to her, begging him to join her in ecstasy. His thrusts grew more savage as his body drove harder, faster, deeper toward release.
Chago froze, teetering at the precipice. His balls tightened and his spine bowed. His seed erupted and the surge of orgasm carried him away. He mumbled incoherent endearments, a garbled mix of Spanish, English and some lost, ancient language — words of passion, of love, of commitment.
Reality cascaded back in slow ripples, returning him to the present. He kissed Irena, couldn’t get enough of her taste, her essence. Chago rolled them to the side, still joined, and tucked her close, his mind a pleasant blank of contentment.
Chapter 17
A persistent knock resounded through the marble foyer.
Divinity saw no sense in postponing the inevitable. Her plans were progressing well and she couldn’t resist a poke at her eternal adversary’s bear. She opened the door, plastered on her most benign smile, and stepped out on the porch. This conversation was best had in private.
Lucifer choked the space like mustard gas. “’Ello, dearie.”
“What do you want?”
He trailed behind her as she walked to the far end of the veranda, the scrape of his bare, twisted toes against ancient marble creating a lyrical nightmare. “Thought I’d stop by. Be neighborly.”
“You never stop by without a reason.” She perused her uninvited guest with loathing. “State your business and be gone.”
“I’ve just been to see your precious Scion.” He flashed a sinister smile, the gesture rife with contamination. “Poor lad’s messed up pretty good.”
“My Scion are none of your concern. Your concern should be your son’s escape.”
Lucifer settled into a nook of the lanai, showing no apparent hurry to depart or heed to her quiet warning. “Archon is weak and useless. I should have eliminated him long ago.”
“Instead you tortured him for millennia. Making him pay for mistakes that should have been your burden to settle.”
He glanced at her, a tiny flame sparking at the center of his pupils, threatening to overtake his entire vision. “Watch it, Divinity. For a moment, I almost thought you cared.”
Divinity considered him with growing fury. “Your illicit affair ruined many lives. Eloa spends her days in the prisons now, tending to the sick. She’s never recovered from your betrayal.”
“As if I give a shit about your precious angels.” He pushed off his seat and stepped closer. “My goal was to bring the whole lot of them with me when I left. If a few insipid relics decided to hang on, it’s my pleasure to tear them away, piece by tasty piece.”
Wind swirled around them, the gusts growing stronger as her ire soared. “Your torture has turned your son into nothing but a monster, a vile half-breed abomination that must be contained. Take care of the problem Lucifer, or I’ll have my Scion handle him for you.”
“Promises, promises.” Lucifer backed away, his furious expression transforming into a wild grin. Soon his boisterous laughter filled the night. “Archon’s got too much of his mother’s heart to be of any real value. Pity. I had plans for him.”
“Then let me house him here, in my prisons. Tell me how to capture him.”
“And have him spill all my dirty little secrets to you? Try again, dearie. Besides, I think I’ll deliver my riddle personally to your Scion and his new mate. Loss is always a powerful motivator, eh?”
Lucifer backed away and disappeared in a puff of putrid black smoke.
A small smile of satisfaction formed on Divinity’s lips. Things were progressing well indeed.
• • •
Buzzzzzz. Buzzzzzz. Buzzzzzz.
Chago rubbed his eyes and squinted into the sheltered dark of the room. A glance at the nearby clock showed the time approached seven in the morning. Light emanated from his phone on the bedside table.
Shit. He fumbled for the device and clicked it on. The tiny screen filled with texts from Xander, asking where the hell he was.
He got up and headed toward the bathroom, tripping over something on the floor on the way. He suspected the object could be his jeans or maybe her shorts and thong. Memories of the frenzied tempest of their lovemaking made him smile. The image of Irena in only the scrap of scarlet silk made his cock twitch anew. He reached to dislodge whatever object now tangled around his feet and grinned. When he returned, he’d give her a proper awakening.
He stumbled into the loo and closed the door.
“Hola, Chago.” The greeting was a horrific stew of nightmares incarnate. Lucifer.
Fuck. He turned as the surface of the bathroom mirror rippled and out stepped the Posterboy of Sin in all his dubious glory.
Lucifer approached Chago with his arms outstretched. “What? No hug?”
“Explain your purpose here, Devil,” he said, grabbing a towel to cover his nakedness.
“You’ve got yourself a fine mess here, my pet.” Lucifer draped himself over the ledge of the tub and toyed with the curtain.
“My mission is none of your business. Leave now before I get violent.” Chago stepped forward in a vain attempt at intimidation. Lucifer only chuckled and trailed one blackened, sticky up the inside of his calf. He jerked away, disgusted with both Lucifer’s smarmy intentions and the overpowering rotten-egg smell permeating the air. He turned on the exhaust fan, seeking some relief.
“You wound me Scion. I’ve only come to help.” Lucifer clutched his claw-like hands to his chest, his expression crestfallen. Chago shot him a look of pure revulsion. The bastard erupted in a cackle of laughter on the tub edge, teetering precariously. “Damn, I’m good.”
“I will ask you one last time. State your purpose and be gone.” He stepped closer, his knuckles white above clenched fists.
Lucifer leaned back against the wall. “How’s my Irena?”
“She’s not yours.”
“You forget I helped create those Seals, Scion. Makes them half mine.”
“The Seal, not the host. Irena is human wi
th all the freewill and other rights that entails. And why would I share any information with you? I serve Divinity, no one else. You got a problem? Take it up with her.” Chago glowered and assumed his most intimidating warrior stance. Lucifer gave him a slow perusal and grinned, making his skin crawl. Cristo. After this meeting he’d require nothing less than a full-body bleach bath.
“Yes. Your Scion loyalty is quite … admirable.”
He scowled, watching Lucifer fuss with his perpetually stained dress shirt. Hell, if you added in the grayed, worn polyester leisure suit with lapels wide enough to park a Pontiac and the meth-addict green undertones of his complexion, the term repugnant might begin to cover the abomination before him.
“Loyalty is not a foreign concept to me.” Lucifer glanced up. A small red flame sparked to life at the center of his coal black irises. “I have recently discovered what a valuable commodity it can be.”
Chago gave the non-committal shrug of a lifelong mercenary and continued to tread lightly. “Your brand of loyalty involves only pain and subservience. Those won’t go far when times grow difficult.”
“Divinity has denied you boys freewill while lavishing it on humans and handmaidens. That’s got to chafe a bit, eh?”
“Scion affairs are none of your concern. I will not divulge any mission secrets to you.”
“You don’t have to. I already know.” Lucifer looked at him, the fire in his eyes now a raging inferno. “My fucking turd of a son, Archon, is responsible for all of this mayhem.” He sidled up to the vanity and propped an elbow up on the marble countertop. “Mutiny is not something I take lightly.”
While Ultimate Evil preened in his bathroom mirror, Chago sighed and crossed his arms, his patience wearing thin. “You’re family rivalries are not my concern. My concern is protection of the Seal.”
Lucifer smiled. “Have you forgotten poor Yana so easily?”
Before Chago could squash the impulse, he reached for the bastard, gripping his scrawny neck and squeezing hard. He ignored the burning sizzle as Lucifer’s acidic skin seared through his palm. “Don’t you ever say her name again, fucker. You’re not fit to think of her.”
“Hit a nerve?” Lucifer flicked his wrist and sent Chago tumbling into the tub. “You really must learn to control your temper, Scion. I’m way beyond your league.”
“Fuck you, Beast.” Blood poured from his decimated hand, but Chago refused to relent. He stood and grabbed another towel off the rack. “Tell me how to stop Archon and solve both our problems.”
“Where would be the fun in that?”
“Don’t push me, Devil. You won’t like my reaction.”
“Hmm.” Lucifer’s expression grew distant, as if he were picking up some far off radio signal. Moments later, he straightened. “I must go.”
“Wait! Tell me how to defeat your son.”
Lucifer smiled. “From one serpent to another.”
Before he could question the cryptic reply, Irena called to him from the bedroom, her husky voice an invitation to sin. When he glanced back toward the vanity, Lucifer was gone. Only a single word remained, scrawled across the glass, etched in black, putrid ooze.
Venom.
Chapter 18
Raw and angry, Chago strode into the café a half hour later with Irena by his side. He’d seen the disappointment in her eyes when he’s awakened her abruptly and forced her to dress alongside him. He’d wanted nothing more than to tumble her back into the sheets and ravish her until they were both sated once more, but duty called.
On top of deciphering the clue Lucifer had provided, he’d promised to help Innocent train the militia that afternoon. With both himself and his trusted sidekick out in the field, he needed to ensure Irena would be protected in his absence. He discovered Xander and Luther lounged at a table near the windows.
“Where the hell have you been?” Xander asked, his quicksilver gaze narrowed and suspicious.
“With Irena.” He ignored the unspoken question in his commander’s eyes and continued. “And I had an interesting meeting with Lucifer this morning.”
“What?”
Chago waited for a server to fill his coffee mug and depart before answering. “The bastard cornered me in the loo. Said he’d met with Divinity and asked about his son. And he gave me a clue on how to defeat Archon.”
“A clue?” Luther plunked his soda can down on the table. “Can you trust him?”
“No. But what other choice do we have?” He scowled into his coffee and fought the rising tide of bile in his throat. “After the attack at Innocent’s home, Archon knows we’re here. He won’t wait long to make his move.”
Xander sat back in his chair. “What was the clue?”
“Venom. And some cryptic remark about one serpent to another.”
A flood of police cars pulled up outside the hotel entrance, interrupting their conversation. Soon, Innocent arrived as well and spoke to one of the officers. Afterward, he entered the lobby and proceeded to the café entrance. Chago waved him over to the table.
“What’s going on?” Irena asked, her voice tired, quiet. Small shadows marked the delicate skin beneath her eyes. Protectiveness surged within him. He longed to snatch her up and take her far from this danger, to keep her safe, to keep her period.
“Officers say someone was murdered here last night.” Innocent avoided Irena’s gaze and fiddled with the back of one of the chairs, obviously uncomfortable.
“Murder? Who?” Irena asked.
Innocent hesitated, meeting Chago’s gaze as he answered. “Ms. Adrienne.”
“Shit.” Irena reached for her water with shaky fingers.
Chago grabbed her hand and stroked her knuckles with his thumb. “Don’t worry, querida. I’ll keep you safe.”
“Her room is just down the hall from ours.”
He darted a glance to Xander and cringed at his commander’s inquiring look, not ready to reveal his new relationship to the world yet. Instead, he danced around the unspoken questions and addressed a more pressing concern to Innocent. “How was she killed?”
“Not sure.” Innocent slumped into the empty chair beside him and stared at the floor. “Them officers said the maid who found the body was pretty upset. Said there’d been blood and stuff everywhere, like a massacre. All they found left of Ms. Adrienne was her shell.” He looked into Chago’s eyes. “Same as the one we had at the house. Same as the Bantu.”
Fuck. Archon was close. Too close. He glanced back at Irena. She met his eyes and held. Warmth spread through his chest and filled his heart. Chago swallowed hard and leaned forward to place a kiss on her cheek.
Luther coughed, finished his soda, and stood up. “I’ll hack into the local university’s database and start researching that clue you found.”
“Good. And I’ve got a status meeting with Divinity.” Xander stood and turned to leave.
“Wait, Xan. I need to speak with you privately for a moment.” Chago led him to a deserted area of the café. “I promised Innocent I’d help him with the militia this afternoon. Can you and Luther keep an eye on Irena for me until I get back?”
“Help?” Xander’s cool reply held a decided undertone of suspicion. “What kind of help?”
“This conflict is too one-sided for my tastes.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Innocent has the men, but they’re not well trained. I can get them ready for the coming battle.”
“I thought her mission was to keep the peace.” Xander jerked his head in Irena’s direction.
“Sometimes to keep the peace, one must fight.” Chago smiled, remembering Innocent’s similar words from a few days earlier. Memories of his ranch flashed across his mind and the promise of sweet retirement, of a life with Irena. “I must do this, Xander. Please understand.”
“Fine. But know if Divinity calls, Luther and I must go.”
“Agreed.”
They walked back to the table as Irena finished up her coffee, her face ashen beneath the harsh sunlight. “I can’t believe
Adrienne’s dead. Who would do this? Has anyone let her family know?”
“I don’t know, querida.” Chago scooted his chair closer and placed a protective arm around her shoulders. He met Innocent gaze over the top of her head. “I must go with Innocent to the militia base for awhile today. Xander and Luther are going to stay with you while I’m gone. Will you be alright?”
Irena looked at him, her eyes oddly blank, as if his words were penetrating quicksand. At last she gave him a small smile and a tiny nod. Irena traced absent, heated circles on the chilled skin of his forearm and burnt a path straight through his the heart. Without thinking, he twined his fingers with hers.
In a tiny voice she answered. “Yes.”
Two hours later he and Innocent stood beneath the blistering Congo sun on the deserted grassland, a small army of able-bodied men spread before them and a pile of weapons and ammunition at their backs. Innocent addressed them first, explaining the training regimen. He then turned over leadership to Chago.
Chago led the men through a series of hand-to-hand combat exercises, accessing their skill level and making adjustments where needed. When each man had mastered those techniques, he moved on to weapons and artillery. As he showed them the proper placement of C-4 charges and where to aim for a slow death versus a quick demise, satisfaction fizzed through his mind. He’d missed having a justified purpose and a worthy adversary.
Vision of Yana danced through his head, followed in close order by memories of his night with Irena. He would not make the same mistakes again. This time he vowed to protect the woman he loved at all costs. He would not be distracted by revenge. He would not be swayed by duty. He would succeed.
“Innocent, what do you know about poisonous snakes in this area?”
“I know you run like hell if you sees one.” Innocent carefully packed up a crate of C-4 and slid it back under a protective tarp in the back of the van. “Why?”
“I need to find out what the most poisonous snake in the region is.” Chago shoved a crate of AK-12s back into hiding. He dusted his hands on his faded denims and pinned Innocent with a serious stare. “The answer could save Irena’s life.”
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