The Devil's Plaything (Ceasefire Book 2)

by Claire Marta

  I stare at the devious electronic device. “You better not be thinking about…”

  Not letting me finish, he rests the spikes on my breast. I yelp as the current pulses underneath my skin in one quick zap.

  “You son of a bitch!”

  Chuckling menacingly, he brings the tip in quick contact with my right thigh. A loud crackling is followed by sparks. Convulsing against the pain, I jerk, trying to escape.

  “Naughty girls get punished for their disobedience especially after your demonstration of hostility in your dream.”

  “Motherfucking, cock sucker, eat my arse!” I spit back, seething with anger.

  “Such a filthy mouth.”

  “You do that again, and I swear when I’m free, I’ll shove it where the sun doesn’t shine, right up your…”

  Electricity arcs through my other thigh, and I writhe, words turning into a yowl.

  “This can also be used for pleasure.” Lucifer confides, his voice lowering to a sensual purr. “Although I shouldn’t be using it on you in your condition.” He says more to himself than me.

  Conflicting emotions dance across his handsome features. A sadistic craving struggles with something else. With a hum of annoyance, he abandons his toy, strips off his gloves, and dumps them back on the cabinet. Letting my muscles relax, I droop in the restraints with relief.

  Carefully, he draws me into the hardness of his chest. For a moment, he rests his forehead against mine, a deep long sigh escaping his lips.

  “I have this insatiable urge to unravel you. Take you apart piece by delectable piece before fucking what’s left shattered and broken back to life. And I want you to desire it as much as I do even if you never vocalise that longing. I’ll still know when you do, my Flower. I will always know, and in time, it will be a magnificent surrender.”

  “Lucifer.”

  His name slips from my lips with so much longing it resonates from the depths of my soul. Love is the ultimate loss of control. I’ve lost all rhyme and reason since he entered my life. I know what I want now. Him. It’s always been him. It doesn’t matter who he is. What he is. My soul doesn’t care. I can’t ignore my need for him. Bad habits die hard. I’m relapsing, drunk on forgiving love. I’m done denying how I feel. He twists my affections into something sick and perverted, but I still refuse to walk away from his sweet poison, which will no doubt kill me again in the end.

  The shadows around us are a captive audience as we come together. His kisses brand me. With each passing moment they grow more passionate. I’ve been deprived of him for too long. I thirst for him with an uncontrollable need.

  Hand encompassing my throat, he squeezes until I struggle to breathe. Razor sharp, the tips of claws prick my skin. Startled, I find crimson red eyes boring menacingly into mine.

  “Don’t move.”

  Although his voice is a guttural warning, I catch the underline thread of protectiveness. Something savage and untamed flutters over his features. A dangerous shifting which makes me conscious of how easily he could destroy me if he ever made the choice.

  Fear trickles down my spine. I’m still bound with aching arms trapped above my head utterly defenceless and at his mercy. Eyelids fluttering shut, I shiver, letting my other senses take over.

  Fingers dance down the length of my body. Sliding my feet apart, I give him better access to his objective. His touch glides up and down the engorged lips of my pussy and along the crack between my cheeks. A digit circles the rim of my arsehole, making me moan.

  “What sweet depravities I intend to do to you. There will be nothing you won’t experience under my rule. I’ll have you drowning in sin.”

  Swaying, I keep my knees from buckling at his dark delicious words. I want it. Need it like I need to breathe. A thumb brushes my swollen clit. I swoon when it strokes up and down. Increasing the pressure, he toys with me until there is no turning back. With a low needy moan, I come, pleasure slamming into me so violently it leaves me shaking.

  A softer caress moves over my nub until his hand withdraws. Opening my eyes, lips parted, I focus on his features, my brain already fried from his foreplay. A sticky clawed fingertip gently traces the curve of my breast. Desire ripples through me.

  Exquisitely slow, his finger trails up to circle my taunt nipple. His breathing deepens, becoming shallow. The fascination in his demonic eyes is clouded now with want.

  “My seed took root inside you and grows strong.” His touch is reverent, as he splays his fingers over my swollen stomach. “I can sense her clearly, even now.”

  Leaning in, he kisses the soft mounds of my heavy breasts. Moaning, I offer them up for his attention, desperate to feel the pleasure only he can bring me. Such wickedness. Such wantonness that always leaves me aching for more.

  Stalking around me, he moulds his front to my back. The sensation of his warm naked muscled flesh tears a mewl from my throat. His hardness nudges the base of my spine. Thick and ready.

  “Fuck me,” I beg. “Please, just fuck me now, and put me out of my misery.”

  With practised effectiveness, he frees my wrists from the restraints. Urging me down onto my hands and knees, he spreads my legs wide as he covers me with his body. Warm lips trail across my shoulders. The tip of his moist tongue circles a pattern on the back of my neck.

  I shimmy back against him, craving the feel of him inside me. With a gentle thrust, he grants my wish. Groaning, I push myself harder against him. Rocking his hips back and forth, he moves within me in the most divine way.

  “Mavi.”

  The way my name is uttered from his lips sends a jolt of pleasure straight to my core. The bite of his claws dig into my hips as he thrusts roughly into me over and over. Closing my eyes, I revel in the way he takes me.

  “Please, I need more.”

  A growl rumbles from his chest, an inhuman sound. Responding to my demands with his own urgent fervour, he quickens his movements. He’s unleashed a passion so intense it controls me. The sweet lethal taste of his possession lures my need for everything he can give me. I don’t want to be saved. This is where I belong. In the Devil’s arms. If this is damnation, then I embrace it without reservation.

  Skilled in ways to punish and pleasure me, this new tender side of him makes me want to weep.

  With a sharp cry, I come. Snarling like the beast he is, he continues to pound into my pussy. Another orgasm sweeps me up so intensely I lose awareness. Coming back, I find the mattress cradling my back.

  “Your cheeks are flushed a lovely colour,” Lucifer croons softly. “Can’t you see now that you’re lost without me? I accept you as you are.”

  He’s crouched over me, holding my wrists tightly above my head. Feeling wetness against my skin, I stare in confusion at the deep claw marks bleeding from his bronzed chest. The wounds already in the process of healing.

  Wiggling out of his grasp, I sit up. “Did I?”

  “It’s nothing, my Flower. Put your worries to rest,” he assures me urgently.

  The scent of sex and sweat linger on my cooling skin. Pulling me into the circle of his arms, he rolls me onto my side. Resting his chin on my shoulder, his hands settle across my swollen stomach. I savour the feeling of his warm embrace. The strength of his muscled naked front pressed so intimately to my back. Stickiness between my thighs is evidence he took his own pleasure from our coupling.

  “You had me brought back to life.” I whisper into the silence of the room.

  I feel him smile against my shoulder. “Raziel retrieved a rare resurrection stone from Egypt and I made a bargain with Gabriel.”

  “But why didn’t I remember anything? Why the new life?”

  “That was Markaz’s doing. He’s a strategist. A planner of how to bring an enemy down without ever getting his hands dirty himself. He always found fighting distasteful and used his cunning to his advantage. We had to wait for the right moment to initiate the ceremony to bring you back. He took you before you awoke and stole your memories. But what he didn’t
realise is I will always find you no matter where you go or how far you travel. There is nowhere beyond my reach.”

  Whispered secrets in the dark. Truths. They close around me. Fears and doubts cram in, stealing my post-fucked glow. All my misgivings are suddenly at the forefront of my mind with no way to shut them down. Why am I here? What are his plans for me? Are we allies or enemies now?

  “Did you bring me back to kill Markaz and finish our bargain?”

  “No,” he replies simply. “Have you thought of a name yet for our daughter?”

  Our daughter. The words send warmth swirling out in waves heating my skin.

  “Juliana,” I murmur back, suddenly shy. “Not that I’ve ever considered children’s names before. With the job I do I never contemplated becoming a mother.”

  Something hard greets my arse, grabbing my attention. Wiggling, I feel his cock swell further.

  “Minx,” he growls, kissing the sensitive spot behind my ear. “You think you can entice me into fucking you again?”

  “You certainly feel up to it,” I tease.

  Teeth nip sharply at my earlobe. “My more exotic tastes in sex will have to wait until after the birth. They are…extreme.”

  Exhaustion washes over me. Lethargic, my eyelids begin to droop. Warm and relaxed, the stroke of his hand lovingly caressing my heavy stomach lulls me to sleep.

  “I love you.” The words escape me in a sigh so soft I doubt he hears it.

  Raising his dark head, the searing heat in his eyes proves me wrong. It’s the last thing I see before sleep claims me.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Waking from a dreamless peaceful slumber, I discover myself alone in the bed. The warmth of Lucifer’s body still lingers on my skin. The scent of his aftershave remains on the pillows. Smiling sleepily, I press my cheek to the coolness of the material.

  I’m in love with the Devil and now he knows. I have no idea what made me betray my feelings, but I’m glad I have. Three little words I’ve never spoken to a lover before. Softer emotions like these both terrify and thrill me. Leave me open and exposed.

  “Mavi. You have to get out of here.”

  The whisper comes from the end of the bed.

  “Nate?” I question drowsily. Blanket concealing my nudity, I clumsily push up onto my elbows.

  Crouched on his haunches, he peers at me through a disarray of pale blonde hair in the early morning light streaming in through the window. “He’s lying to you.”

  “Who?”

  “The Devil. She’s going to be very special. Once you’ve delivered her you’ll be no use to him.”

  Crimson eyes meet mine with a look of such strong sincerity it sets a sick feeling of desolation washing away my good mood.

  “How can you be so certain and why should I believe you after you beheaded me?”

  “That was an accident. You got in the way. I was trying get rid of the root of our problems. Why did you protect him?”

  Caution stops me from answering his question. He doesn’t need to know my feelings for the Devil, not with his obvious hatred towards him.

  Nathan continues, despite my silence. “I’ve heard him talking. They’re talking now.” He nudges his chin towards the door when I don’t reply. “I’ve only ever wanted to keep you safe. To watch out for you.”

  Scanning the doorway, I see no sign of the Devil. Glancing back, I find my brother gone. Dread churns in my stomach, increasing the nausea as I clamber from the bed in search of my clothes. If Nathan risked coming here, then perhaps I should trust his words? His misguided actions cost me my life, but I was the one who threw myself in his sword’s path. The killing blow wasn’t meant for me. He’s been trying to protect me even if he is unstable.

  Dressing quickly, I find my holster discarded on top of a cabinet. Several clips of ammo have been left beside it. Looping the leather over my shoulder, I automatically reload. The routine eases some of the tension. Armed and ready for anything, I tread quietly from the room.

  If Nate is close I can’t sense him. Yet, I know he won’t abandon me now. Not after his warning. Feet drawn along by some unseen force, I head towards the main hall. Voices reach me, echoing along the corridor.

  “We haven’t seen any indications we have anything to worry about. No link was formed when he tried to get close.”

  “And the task I set you on?” Lucifer replies to his second in command.

  “All bloodlines are now severed apart from the ones we know about. I ended them quickly and limited the suffering.”

  “You’re too soft, Raziel.”

  “They never asked for this. Their only sin was being born.”

  “He has no avenues of escape now and he knows it.”

  “Where’s Mavi?”

  Taking the chance, I slide around the open door until I have the perfect advantage point. Sitting back insolently on his throne, dressed in his robes, Lucifer strokes the hair of the blonde demoness, kneeling naked between his spread legs. Cheek resting over his crotch, she’s practically purring at his attention. The other two bitches are massaging his shoulders, long slender fingers working the muscles hidden beneath the coarseness of the material that covers him.

  “Still sleeping.”

  Arms crossed over his brawny chest, Raziel stares pensively into the leaping flames of the great hearth. “And the baby?”

  “I sensed her in the womb. She is just as strong as Cassandra predicted. The combination of demonic, angelic, and my own genes have created something unique. From her development, she was indeed conceived the first time I brought Mavi to Hell and took her in my bed.”

  “All that fucking worked a treat.”

  “I’ve never enjoyed executing a plan so much. Mavi was ripe and ready for plucking from the moment we met. She is the perfect choice to breed with. Even without the prophecy, I would’ve taken her. The ultimate prize is almost within my grasp.” Lucifer’s tone oozes self-assured arrogance.

  Reality rips through me as sharp as a razor blade. It sends pain shooting straight to my heart. I can’t stop the small sound of denial escaping. Any trust I started to feel shatters like fragile glass.

  Raziel’s head twists to where I’m standing by the door. “Oh fuck.”

  Alerted to my presence, his master rises swiftly, his bitches scurrying to bow at his feet. “You should be resting, my Flower.”

  “Getting me pregnant was another one of your mind-fucks? I’m just a vessel for some fucking prophecy? A broodmare for your offspring?” Outrage and hurt entwines in my voice.

  He’s the greatest conman in existence. Of course, he would tell me exactly what I would want to hear. I’ve deluded myself into thinking he could care. All he brings is a web of deceit and misery. All he’s done is cut out my heart again after I offered it up as a willing sacrifice. Why the fuck do I fall for him every time?

  Something ugly flashes in his expression before it’s gone. “If all I wanted was the child I would’ve ripped her from your belly days ago. Do you think I don’t have the powers to do so?”

  “You’re an arsehole,” I holler back.

  “I’ve never pretended to be anything different, my darling.”

  Curling fingers around the handle of my gun, I free it with no other thought than to rid myself of the root of my misery.

  “I hate you.” Arm shaking, I aim for his head.

  Eyes narrowing, he gives me a long, silent, considering look. “Your hormonal and not yourself, so I will forgive that tone you’re using, and this outburst.”

  I can’t stop the tears of rage and pain.

  “Fuck you. All you’ve ever done is screw with my head.” It’s a scream as tears roll down my cheeks unchecked. “Everything that comes out of your mouth is a fucking lie. I swear to God I won’t let you use her like you have me. I’ll go somewhere you’ll never get your evil hands on her. I’ll kill you first to prevent that.”

  Squeezing the trigger, I fire, my focus wavering at the last second. Jerking from the impact of t
he bullet meeting his shoulder, he gestures Raziel back when he moves to intervene.

  I hate him.

  I want to see the Devil bleed.

  Ripped apart by the same feelings that are destroying me inside.

  Nathan appears beside me. Curving a supportive arm around my waist, he sweeps me against his side protectively.

  “Mavi, move away from your brother,” Lucifer Commands.

  A deadly vibe thrums through the room. I recognize it easily. Predators sensing prey. Using my arm to bar their way, I push Nate behind me.

  “No. I won’t let you hurt him or bring him into your demented games.”

  “He’s dangerous,” Raziel growls, taking a step closer.

  Swinging my weapon his way, my finger teases the trigger. “Nathan is family. He’s not the one lying to me. His motives have been to help and he’s the only person left I can trust.”

  “He’s not your only blood family.”

  “Gabriel?” I scoff. “I can’t trust him or any of you.”

  “He sits on a throne of lies. He stole you and took your memories. Kept you pregnant and alone for his own amusement.”

  It takes me a moment to understand my brother’s bitter murmured words. When everything falls into place it leaves me dizzy with the Devil’s treachery.

  “It was you? They were your minions, not Markaz’s who had me.”

  I think Lucifer’s going to spin off an elaborate tale, but then his lips quirk in a villainous smile.

  “Gabriel was planning on taking you back. I couldn’t allow it. You have belonged to me since the first time my cock found a home in that tight pussy. I had a couple of half demons watch you. Being born mortal, they’ll do anything if they think it will earn them my favour and immortality.”

  All of this has been more smoke and mirrors? He loves to mess with my life for shits and giggles. Nothing has been as it seems on the surface. Despite my better judgement, I let him pull me further under his spell.

  “You’re a sick, twisted, egotistical arse with nothing but a compulsive need to control me.” I seethe, feeling my heart shrivel further into a bloody pulp.