The Third Throne: Angel of Darkness

by Tabitha Barret

  She held up the mirror to untangle her hair when she saw her face for the first time since the bathroom mirror in her house. She was beyond pale and her skin was gray. Her once red lips were now dark blue-gray and her eyes were a startling ice blue with purple circles under them. The firelight did nothing to improve her appearance. She was ghastly. She looked nothing like Hades or Lucifer, who were tanned; she looked the same as Caleb and Aganon, like walking death.

  She did her best to straighten her long black hair and pull it around her face. That’s when she saw her scars on her wrists. Her hands trembled as she stared at the thick raised lines on her wrists. How? How had she done it? She had no memory of picking up the razor. She had no memory of pushing it against her skin or making the cuts. Why couldn’t she remember something so important?

  She put the mirror back and carefully sat down on the bed. She pulled the long sleeves down over her scars, grateful that the dress covered something.

  Why was this happening to her? What had she done to deserve this? Why wasn’t she suffering in the realms like the other dead people? Not that she was interested in burning, drowning, or freezing as she had every night of her life, but she couldn’t understand why she was different. She was thankful to be inside the castle and not outside with the prisoners.

  Lucifer had called her a servant, not a prisoner, and therein seemed to be the distinction. Servant implied working to make Lucifer happy. Prisoner implied wrongdoing and punishment. She had killed herself, and according to him, that made her a servant, though she didn’t do anything wrong during her life. It had bothered her when he said suicide was the worst crime a person could commit, so where was her punishment? It seemed she would be working off her debt in other ways, which angered her. It was the one punishment that she had never endured in her trips through the realms, being taken against her will in the Realm of Monsters.

  The sound of heavy boots echoing on the staircase was the only warning she had before the door burst open and Lucifer appeared in the room. He appeared out of breath.

  “There now, let me see you,” Lucifer’s eyes gleamed as he slammed the door shut behind him and reached out a hand to her.

  Michelle slowly stood up and took a step forward, but she didn’t take his hand. She stood still while his eyes meticulously removed the barely there dress from her body. Chills broke out across her skin and fear crawled up into her stomach. She did not want to be on the receiving end of his visual or physical assault. He made her feel cheap and easy. She took a step back, but Lucifer reached out, grabbed her, and pulled her against his unyielding chest.

  “There is no running away from me. It will do you no good. I would find you. You will learn to do your duty, whether you learn to enjoy it is entirely up to you. I promise you, I will enjoy it,” he growled against her ear. He pulled her even closer, molding her lower body to his.

  His chest was broad and hard with heavy muscles. She had inadvertently put her hand on his chest to stop herself from falling completely into him. She shivered as he spoke against her ear and breathed heavily against her neck. This certainly wasn’t how she pictured her afterlife or being pressed up against a man.

  Lucifer was losing his mind. Images of the girl flooded his imagination. He had quickly removed the bloodstains from his face and clothes after he had caught sight of his disheveled appearance in the reflection of the windows in the main hallway. He wanted her to be intimidated by him, but even he had to admit that his brutal appearance would have been too much. Mark and his meddling were a distant memory as he stared at her.

  Ever since he’d seen her lying on his floor, his mind had stopped functioning. He’d wanted to take her right there on the marble that was as hard as he was. He was amazed that his pants were still on when Hades had so rudely interrupted. He’d waited countless millennia to have her in his arms, and here she was. She looked different from the last time he’d seen her, but she was still beautiful. Her bright blue eyes and long silky black hair made his knees weak. The firelight played across her face and accented her lush skin. Her lips, even cold with death, looked warm and inviting to him. Red would be a mind-boggling shade on them. He would have to remember that for later. White skin would bring out the shine in her dark hair rather than the corpse gray skin. He couldn’t decide what he wanted to do first. Every fantasy of her crowded his brain until he was dizzy. Then one thought stood out from the rest. He pulled back from her so that he could gaze at her. As much as he enjoyed the feeling of her against him, he wanted to visually explore his reward.

  Michelle remained still and silent like a bunny caught in a hunter’s scope, hoping that Lucifer had forgotten she existed. She wasn’t sure what he was doing. He was just staring at her, and smiling, letting his eyes roam over her body. She had expected to be thrown on the bed by now and had even braced for it.

  He took her face in his hand, only to stop. He was going to grab her and plunge his tongue into her mouth, but the feeling of her skin under his numb hands stopped him. Her skin was impossibly soft. It was the softest thing he had ever touched, softer than his own wings tucked deep in his back. It was beyond velvet or silk, and it made him gasp. He could feel, feel something other than bleakness. He trembled as he held her face. What would it be like to kiss her? He nearly fell to the floor, his knees no longer existing. He stroked her face and watched the confusion play across it. She was perplexed, while he was spellbound. He felt like he was flying, something he used to enjoy but had long lost the taste for.

  Michelle waited for Lucifer to hurt her. His breathing was staggered and rough. She knew it was only a matter of time before he pounced on her. She wondered if she could fight him off.

  He slowly trailed his hand down her neck to her collarbone, then between her breasts and further to where the dress hid her from view. Decadence. He studied her breasts and the way they defied gravity beneath the thin material covering them. He had never wanted to hold something so badly in his life. His hands shook as he laid them over the large full mounds. Perfection. All he had to do was pull the material aside and they would be laid out before him. They could wait for the moment. He wanted other things. He could feel his cold body surging to life. His skin tingled and tightened while his heart tried to break loose from his chest.

  Of all the countless sexual experiences he’d had in his unending life, this was the best by far. The other women, and men, he’d taken over the years physically satisfied him but left him barren inside. He felt nothing for them, except disdain or hatred. The sex had been good but never emotionally satisfying. He took no joy from it, only release. He never felt happy. It was purely an experience of the flesh, which heated him in the moment, but left him cold and empty. He was never excited nor did he experience the anticipation of the moment. He merely fucked and left. He took more delight from their pain, humiliation, or anger than from the actual act. He knew he was ruthless, but there was little to be done about it, until now.

  He grabbed the top of her arm and leaned down to crush his lips against hers. Again, he stilled at the contact. Electricity jolted through his whole body. There was a whirlwind of emotion raging inside him, barely contained. Was it possible that her lips were even softer than her skin? They were warm and sweet like honey. He moaned against them, and then inhaled her scent. Under the normal scent of Hell, he found the scent of her skin, sweet and sensual. He growled and pulled at her lips, nearly biting her. He kissed her roughly at first, but slowed to a passionate dance. Where her lips had been unyielding at first, she was now moving along with him and he liked it. He liked that she wanted to kiss him back.

  Mine, and no one else’s, he vowed to himself. He would kill anyone who laid a finger on her.

  His hands moved back to her luscious breasts and carefully squeezed one lightly at first, making her jump, but then more aggressively, which made her lean in for more. He noticed that she too was trembling; he’d thought it was his body moving hers. He thrust his tongue into her mouth and nearly came like a teenager
. Her mouth was pure heat and desire. She gave no resistance to him and moved along with him, enticing him further. He realized that her hand was still on his chest and not moving over his body as everyone else did. Once Lucifer kissed someone, they were his and they complied. They were fearful of him and did what he wanted, pretending to enjoy it. Yet she stayed close to him, touching his chest, but nothing more. He needed to remedy the situation. He wanted her hands on him.

  A rough hand came down on her shoulder and forced her down to her knees, as their kiss was broken.

  On to the main event, Michelle thought, swallowing roughly.

  Lucifer’s face showed the most emotion to date as he watched her with wide eyes and lips parted in a pant. He looked younger; all his stress lines were gone. He practically glowed.

  “You will please me now,” Lucifer hissed while holding her in place on her knees. He didn’t take his eyes off her for fear that she was a dream. One of his best dreams by far, but he wanted reality, not a dream. His body was humming and needed her touch.

  Michelle had been on fire, not the typical kind of fire, but the good kind. Who knew such a thing existed? She had been afraid when Lucifer first touched her, but when he trailed his hand down her cleavage, something opened up inside of her. Pure desire filled her and she gained strength from it. When he kissed her, she embraced the kiss and rejoiced in the passion that it invoked. In the beginning, his lips were bruising, but she enjoyed it. Her knees gave out when his tongue rubbed against hers. Thankfully, he had a good grip on her arm. She was surprised to hear herself moaning. She never thought she would want Lucifer to touch her, but when his hand was on her breast, she could feel her core coming to life. She’d never known want before, not like this. Everything that came before this was merely girlish curiosity. This was the real thing. She felt hot liquid rush through her core and down her leg. She should have been embarrassed, but she wanted more. She was too warm and achy between her legs and thought about what it would be like for him to move his hands down to the other slit in her dress, the one she no longer considered ridiculous. Then his hand had pushed her down to her knees and passion was quickly replaced by terror, afraid that Lucifer would force himself on her.

  Michelle’s breath caught in her throat. She looked straight ahead to his leather pants and saw the huge bulge practically ripping through the leather.

  Oh…dear…Lord. He’s enormous, she thought to herself.

  Her lust-filled bravery was gone and her nervousness returned. She’d never even seen a naked man before, nor had she ever touched one. Her fear tripled when she thought she might do something wrong and enrage him. She had no idea what she was expected to do, take him in her hand or her mouth. She wasn’t sure that he would fit in either.

  Lucifer became impatient and pulled at his pants while still holding her shoulder. His grip tightened as he made his way through the button and zipper. There were no other layers to Michelle’s dismay. His large full erection sprang forward and practically hit her in the face.

  She took a second to gaze upon Lucifer, in all his glory, and was startlingly in awe. It was nothing like she’d imaged when she pictured CJ or any of the other boys. Certainly not like the health videos and diagrams from class. Lucifer was a man, and it showed. She wasn’t quite sure where to start first.

  Lucifer’s growl was her only warning. There would be consequences soon, she realized. She took a breath and reached out tentatively to brush her fingers against his long shaft. Lucifer jerked as if she’d hit him. She immediately stopped and moved back, bracing to be slapped or shouted at. Instead, Lucifer grabbed her hand and forcefully wrapped it completely around his shaft.

  “More. Keep going,” he grunted, more animal than man.

  Apparently being hit was a good thing. She moved her hand up and down his hard shaft and watched his head fly back. Snarls erupted from this throat. She started to relax as the soft sensation of his skin caught her attention. While he was harder than the stone walls around her, his skin was amazingly smooth. She had no idea. She flushed with embarrassment when she decided to move her hand over the thick ridge that separated the head from the shaft. She was curious to see what it felt like. She wet her lips at the thought and tightened her hand around him. The head molded to her hand and she tightened her grip even more, afraid that he would fall out of her hand.

  Lucifer shouted and howled as she continued to rub him. He thrust violently into her hand, so much so that she had to stop moving and let him do the work, or her hand would leave him. She watched him close his eyes and moan. She was doing this. She was making Lucifer feel good. Admittedly, she was seriously turned on. The moaning made her skin tingle and her body grew even warmer. She noticed that her breasts were more sensitive against her clothes and felt fuller. She watched with fascination as his hard thick length plunged into and out of her hand. She wanted to know what it would feel like if he were inside of her.

  Without warning, her hand was pulled away and his hand was on the back of her neck, pulling her closer. Lucifer demanded entrance has he slammed against her mouth. She had little option but to comply. She took his smooth, full head into her mouth and reveled in the feeling. She had no idea she would actually enjoy having an erection in her mouth. He was smooth and warm. She rolled her tongue around the full head while Lucifer moaned and jerked. She explored the intriguing slit with her tongue and was rewarded with the salty evidence of his enjoyment. Lucifer pushed further into her mouth and she closed her lips around him. She slid her tongue back and forth over him slowly as she moved her mouth across him a few times. She sucked in her cheeks to squeeze him.

  Lucifer removed his hand from her shoulder and entangled it in her hair. He didn’t hurt her; he merely hung on to her. She quickened her pace when she found a rhythm he seemed to enjoy. She looked up and saw him watching her mouth as he slid in and out. He appeared mesmerized by what she was doing. She felt pride in her ability to please him, despite not having the adequate knowledge and experience she thought she needed. Lucifer’s body suddenly jerked and tightened. He quickly pulled away and slammed into the stone wall behind him. He released his desire onto the floor as he growled and shook. When it was over, he fell to his knees.

  Michelle scrambled to her feet quickly. Her body was shaking, though not from fear this time. She liked watching him spill onto the floor. Her body was uncomfortable and throbbing. She wanted to be touched, but she wasn’t sure how Lucifer would react if she moved closer.

  He remained on the floor for a few minutes trying to calm his breathing. He slowly lifted his head to look at her.

  The first thing she noticed was his eyes. Instead of black and soulless, they were lighter, almost blue and filled with emotion. The second thing she noticed was the tear running down his cheek. She was shocked. Lucifer was crying? The third thing she noticed was that his hair was also lighter. Instead of dark brown, it was almost a golden brown.

  Lucifer jerked to his feet and grabbed his pants from around his ankles. He quickly redressed, but didn’t speak. He looked at her as if he’d seen a ghost.

  She reached out to comfort him or something, she wasn’t sure what she was going to do, but he backed away like a terrified animal. Before she could get a word out, he waved his hand at the door and ran out, slamming the door behind him.

  Staring at the door, she was completely dumbfounded. Lucifer had just run away from her. Why had he run? His reaction was unexpected and disconcerting, and definitely not what she had expected.

  It took Michelle awhile to calm herself. She replayed the encounter over and over again. It was certainly nothing like her fantasies with CJ. She had pictured doing the same thing to CJ, though it never ended there. Fantasy CJ was kind and left her satisfied. Lucifer was obviously a selfish lover, but then again, what did she expect? In the real world, she was left yearning for more, while her lover ran away. Regardless, she liked doing that to him and was open to the possibility of doing it again. After his bizarre reaction, she wasn’t sur
e he would want her to touch him.

  She had clearly pleased him physically; the evidence was still on the floor. He said that he didn’t care if she enjoyed herself, though he would enjoy it, yet he’d looked freaked by what happened. It didn’t make any sense. He was frightened at the end, not pleased. And why did his eyes and hair color change?

  She’d had her first sexual experience and she was left unfulfilled and confused, though, all things considered, it could have been much worse. While he did hurt her shoulder, which was surely bruised, and bit her lip a little, she was relatively unharmed. Even when he was in her mouth, he didn’t try to choke her, which she had been concerned about.

  Surprised by her yearning, she had no idea that she was capable of such a reaction, especially with a stranger. Lucifer was attractive, but it was something else. His movements had been fierce when he first touched her and kissed her, but passion had quickly taken over and he had touched her with care. It was his touch that had made her body come to life. She had been drawn to his passion and wanted more. It didn’t matter that he was the devil; she just wanted his hands on her body.

  She sat down on her bed, not really sure what she should do next. A sound at her door answered her question.

  Chapter 6

  Her door burst open and Caleb rushed toward her. Still having no tongue in his head, he grabbed her and pulled her out of the room. Caleb looked frightened so she didn’t think too much about where they were headed. She assumed Lucifer had come to his senses and called for her.

  He pulled her from her room, but they didn’t go back up to the Throne Room. They went down. At the bottom of the staircase was a landing that didn’t appear to have any doors or openings. The walls were solid.

  “Where are you taking me?” she gasped as Caleb turned on her and stared at her.