by Lacey Savage
His tongue slipped over the bulbous head, dipping for a brief moment into the tiny slit to draw out the musky flavor of the man’s pre-cum. Sliding his lips down, Luke smoothed his mouth over the full length of Varin’s shaft before finally bringing it back up to the top and taking him deep inside.
Varin slipped his fingers into Luke’s hair. “And you called me stubborn.”
The soft rumble of Varin’s voice sent need quivering low in Luke’s belly. A drop of silken liquid dripped from his cock. Finding himself in completely unfamiliar territory, Luke sucked gently at the rounded tip before letting his mouth glide down further, taking more of the man’s shaft into his mouth.
Varin’s hips pumped upward as though of their own accord. His fingers fisted in Luke’s hair, tugging on his scalp. The pain blended with the other myriad aches that sizzled throughout his body, but Luke no longer cared. The pleasure that came from knowing Varin was enjoying this had the unexpected side-effect of banishing the lingering anguish to the back of his brain.
Luke released Varin’s cock just long enough to fist his right hand around it and pump fiercely up and down, then his mouth was on his lover’s cock again, licking, sucking, demanding. Varin’s shaft grew hard as a rock, heavier against Luke’s tongue than he’d imagined it would be. He cupped Varin’s soft sac in his palm, squeezing his balls gently, eliciting a strangled moan from the man’s throat.
In a heartbeat, the dam that had held back all of Varin’s pent-up desire seemed to crack and break, unleashing a downpour of pure lust. Varin’s entire body writhed, his hips working along with him, fucking Luke’s mouth with relentless passion.
Luke dug his fingernails into his palm, while his other hand cradled Varin’s vulnerable package. He took as much of Varin’s cock into his mouth as he could, forcing his gag reflex to unclench when the tip nudged the back of his throat.
His tongue swirled around the shaft. Varin grunted, deep and low, obviously pleased, so Luke did it again, and again. Varin’s thrusts grew more desperate, his fingers yanking Luke’s hair harder, urging him on. The tense muscles of the man’s thighs rubbed against Luke’s shoulders as his hips pumped.
Heat built within Luke, banishing the chill, building into an inferno. It seemed to center in his cock. Unable to hold back any longer, he dislodged his left hand from Varin’s hip and brought it down beneath him. Drawing himself up to his knees, he wrapped his fingers around his shaft and stroked.
Once. Twice.
The rhythm of his mouth never slowed. In Luke’s other hand, Varin’s balls seemed to quiver and separate from one another, lifting to either side of his shaft. A moment later, the first blast of hot cum spilled against the back of Luke’s throat.
The heady, intoxicating flavor drenched his senses, setting off his own potent orgasm. His seed spilled between his fingers to splatter onto the floor. Varin’s back arched as his cock spasmed, sending another jet of hot cum into Luke’s mouth.
He swallowed it down, trembling as his release swept through him. At long last, when he knew he’d lapped up every last drop of cum from Varin’s cock, he allowed the spent shaft to slip from his mouth and he collapsed against his lover’s legs, his cheek coming to rest on Varin’s abdomen.
Neither of them spoke for a long time, but the silence no longer seemed unwelcome. Varin drew small, sensual circles across Luke’s cheek with his thumb while his other hand slipped through the tangled locks of Luke’s long hair.
“I’m afraid.”
The words sounded so foreign, so unguarded, that Luke lifted his head and narrowed his eyes as he glanced up. The darkness made it impossible to make out Varin’s face in full detail, but he was able to take in the sharp cheekbones, the slant of his jaw, the way he’d leaned his head back against the rock and closed his eyes.
This was the Varin he knew. Dangerous, silent, rough. Deadly. Yet there was a vulnerability to him that made Luke’s heart knock hard against his chest.
“Of what?” he asked at last, when the silence had stretched on for much too long.
Varin sighed and opened his eyes. In the shadows, the black orbs looked shrouded and eerie, without a hint of light to give them the slightest human quality. “Baal isn’t going to be satisfied with punishing me this way forever. He’ll want more. He’ll want…” His voice slipped and fractured, as though he groped for a word he couldn’t find.
“Heidi.” Luke finished for him.
Varin nodded, swallowing hard. “Tell me she won’t do anything foolish, Luke. You know her better than I do. She’s not going to try again, is she?”
Luke’s thoughts scattered as he tried to come up with the reassuring response Varin longed to hear. In truth, he had no idea what Heidi would or wouldn’t do. He didn’t really know her any better than Varin did. The first time they’d met had been on stage at Luke’s magic show. She’d been an audience volunteer, a woman chosen to be a demon’s next victim.
A victim Luke was to provide. Only things hadn’t turned out as the demon had expected, and the beast had taken Luke instead.
“I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “But she should be safe, shouldn’t she? You told me you’ve given her some of your abilities. Won’t that protect her from anyone who’d wish to do her harm?”
“Out there, as long as she stays off Baal’s radar, perhaps. But in here… not necessarily. She’d be at Baal’s mercy, and he could strip her of her powers as quickly as he’s taken mine. This is his domain. Demons walk this world only because he allows it.”
Luke took a deep breath, pushing down the anxiety that had begun to rise like bile in his throat. His palm swept over Varin’s bicep, following the path of a knotted scar that could have been fresh, or might have been there for centuries. Varin’s body called to him, inviting him to explore its secrets and discover its mysteries. He only wished he could do it in a warm bed, without the threat of constant pain and terror that accompanied their every moment in the Underworld.
And he wished he could do it with Heidi.
The gate to their cell opened with a screech that jolted Luke upright. Varin’s arm closed around his shoulder, pulling him close in a protective gesture that made his throat tighten.
“Get up, scum,” a Demon Guardian said. “Baal has a surprise for you.”
“Tell him to keep it.” Varin’s voice was cold as steel and just as steady. “We’re not interested.”
“Oh, but you will be.” The Demon Guardian reached in and grabbed Varin by the arm, hauling his broad frame out as though he weighed nothing at all. “This surprise is like nothing you’ve ever seen before.”
“What’s he talking about?” Luke murmured as a second Demon Guardian yanked him from Varin’s side.
Varin didn’t reply, but he shot Luke a look meant to silence him. The message was clear. Whatever surprise Baal had in store for them couldn’t be pleasant.
The demons half-dragged, half-shoved Luke and Varin down a long, winding tunnel. Torches flickered at regular intervals for a while, then gave way to lava streams that poured across the face of the walls.
They walked past the torture chambers, where the screams of those condemned to suffer for all eternity reached Luke’s ears and faded into oblivion as they passed. With every step, the soul-numbing chill returned, banishing the warmth Varin had provided for such a short time.
Luke glanced at his companion, anxiety knotting tightly in his belly. The muscles in Varin’s arms and legs rippled with tension as he walked. Bruises stood out vividly against his skin, but if he felt the discomfort, he gave no indication.
The demons came to an abrupt stop in front of a streaming wall of flowing lava. The molten liquid poured down the rock face like a waterfall, soundless in its intensity. One of the Guardians reached through the cascading torrent of fire, not flinching when the lava made contact with his flesh and the scent of charred meat filled the air.
Abruptly, the molten downpour ended, revealing a deep, lushly decorated cavern. Luke had only a brief glim
pse of sleek black furniture and a real bed before his captor shoved him ruthlessly inside. He was vaguely aware of Varin landing on his knees beside him when a bright flash of blue light made him shut his eyes tightly against the brilliant illumination bursting from the center of the room.
The light died down as quickly as it had flared. In that heartbeat, Luke forgot to breathe. There, in the center of the room, Heidi lay crumpled on her side, her knees drawn up against her stomach, one arm splayed out beside her head.
Only it wasn’t his Heidi. This woman was the same height and weight, with the same perfect curves and long legs. A black leather bustier and tiny thong clung to her curvy form. Her skin was still impossibly pale; her red curls still the same wild riot as they framed her face.
But, oh, God, that face. Dusky eyeliner rimmed each eyelid. Lipstick so dark as to be almost black filled in her full lips.
Most astonishing of all were the two demon horns that protruded from just above her hairline. The same color as her lipstick, they were perhaps the length of his pinkie finger and curled downward at the front.
Varin’s howl of fury tore through the chamber, alerting Luke that the man was on his feet and running toward the center of the room. Before Luke could even open his mouth to speak, Heidi’s eyes fluttered open.
She had perhaps a fraction of a second in which to make sense of her surroundings. Her gaze settled firmly on Varin, who was rushing toward her with a speed borne of pure desperation.
She lifted her hand. “Lee’raa ti!”
For the second time that night, Varin’s body was hurled through the air and launched at a rock wall.
Chapter Three
Molten lava spilled silently over black rock, casting the cavernous room in shifting golden light. The flickering blaze illuminated a man’s broad-shouldered, lean-hipped form as he flew through the air to land halfway between his companion and the door.
Magic swarmed at Heidi’s fingertips, tickling her skin. Her entire body thrummed with it, as though she’d become a living conduit for the power that spread through every blood cell traveling through her overheated veins. She rose; her gaze fixed firmly on the man who’d attempted to attack her.
Despite the incessant pounding behind her temples, Heidi’s hand remained steady as she raised it and took aim.
“No!”
The savage cry had come from the golden-haired man. From the corner of her eye, Heidi saw him run to her attacker’s side, but her focus remained fixed on the man on the floor. Dark hair spilled halfway down his back, framing a slanted nose that looked to have been broken at least once, a firm mouth and chiseled cheekbones. He rolled onto his stomach, lifting himself to his hands and knees. She had a brief glimpse of an erect cock jutting out from between his legs to point forward, thick and long and hard.
He turned his head then, and his gaze locked with hers. The man sucked in a breath between clenched teeth and froze in mid-rise as he took in her battle-ready stance.
Heidi swallowed hard. His eyes were like nothing she’d ever seen before. Midnight black, deeper even than the color of his hair, they looked bottomless in his impossibly handsome face. She could get lost in those eyes. He had the power to hypnotize her, to hold her prisoner for as long as he cared to look at her that way -- as though his entire world had suddenly shattered around him, and she was at the center of the turmoil ravaging his soul.
Heidi’s heart thudded a desperate rhythm, beating out of control. A jolt of recognition slammed into her gut, so potent and unexpected that it made the magic wrapped around her index finger flicker and begin to fade.
The tangible thread of power that had wound up tightly within her began to unravel, dissolving into an ethereal fog that dissipated through the room. Her arm fell to her side, the magic lying dormant for the moment.
“Who --”
The sound of applause flooded the room, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. Thunderous clapping filled the air and thrummed against the pounding that had already settled behind her brows to turn the ache in her head to sheer agony.
She dropped to her knees and pressed the heels of her palms against her temples in a feeble attempt to drown out the noise. The faint light in the room intensified, turning a deep crimson red. Brightness flooded Heidi’s vision, adding to the agony assaulting her senses.
“Wonderful! For a moment there, I thought you were actually going to kill him. Although that is the point, isn’t it? In any case, it’s rather more fun if you take your time to play with your toys before destroying them, don’t you think?”
That had apparently been a rhetorical question, as the masculine voice continued to boom through the room. “I gave no orders that they should be released. Grab them both and gag them.”
The clapping had stopped. Heidi dropped her hands to her lap and lifted her head, squinting through wary eyes against the harsh red glow. To her surprise, the light had dimmed as well, leaving the orange diffusion of lava to imbue the room with a soft incandescent flush.
A few feet away from her stood a man who looked wholly unfamiliar to her. Shadows shrouded him, despite the fact that he stood in the brightest spot in the room. The light from the flowing lava seemed to stop just short of the edge of his shoes, unable to penetrate the near proximity of his personal space.
Heidi could barely make out his features, but she had the impression of a lean, almost gaunt face, black hair tied low at the nape of his neck and strong jaw. He seemed to be wearing a stylish suit that encased his broad frame to perfection.
Most stunning of all, though, were his eyes. While the dark-haired man’s black orbs had drawn her into their forbidden depths, this man’s fiery red eyes had the opposite effect. They repelled her the longer she looked directly at them. A feeling of despair washed over Heidi as she tried to hold his gaze. Bile rose in the back of her throat.
At last, she lowered her head. The feeling of hopelessness lifted, leaving behind the same deep sense of confusion and unease.
“Who are you?” Heidi asked when she could trust her voice.
The apparition waved a hand through the air. “That’s irrelevant at this point. The question you really should be asking is… Who are you?”
Heidi shook her head. “I know who I --”
The words halted in her throat, along with her breath. She groped for the answer she knew to be lying on the tip of her tongue. Finding an empty, gaping space where her sense of identity should have been, she frowned, adding to the throbbing ache behind her temples.
“Silina vi.”
Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, Heidi gathered the magic drifting around her and used it to delve into the deepest, most intimate parts of her mind. She had to find an answer there. She obviously knew who she was. How else could she remember the words of power that brought order to the chaotic energy floating through the room?
And how else could she remember her name?
“Heidi Cole,” she said, relief suffusing every word. “I’m Heidi Cole.”
“So you are.” The dark man took a step toward her. “Traveling to the mortal realm always leaves you a little addled when you return. Thankfully, any lingering memory loss is only temporary. And this time, you still seem to have full control of your abilities, which is another positive sign.”
She glanced up only as far as the space where his mouth would have been, trying to avoid gazing into his daunting fiery eyes. “I -- I do this often?”
“Every decade or so. I can’t seem to stop you.” A flicker of a smile beamed from within the darkness, sending a skitter of fear to shiver up her spine. “You’re absolutely stubborn when you want to be, my love.”
Heidi took a deep, trembling breath. The way this man addressed her, with so much familiarity, made her slightly queasy. “I don’t think I should be here. This doesn’t feel right.”
The shadowed figure shrugged. “Here we go again. We’ve been through this a dozen times, sweetheart. Reach within yourself and feel the truth of what I�
�m telling you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “That’s what I’m trying to do. It’s not working. There’s something… wrong about all this.”
“I knew you’d say that. So in the interest of saving time…” He threw up his hand and swirled a few strands of magic around his thumb. As he did so, Heidi had a clear view of long tapered fingers, square nails and a perfect masculine manicure. Another jolt of recognition slid through her, bringing with it the remnants of a brief recollection. That same hand, slipping through a patch of midnight to reach for her -- and then nothing.
She sighed, aggravated by her inability to remember key pertinent things about herself and what had happened before she awoke.
“Here.” The man handed her a bronze mirror he’d conjured out of thin air.
Heidi grabbed the handle and raised a quizzical eyebrow. “I know what I look like.” At least, she thought she did. She raised the mirror slowly, remembering her pale skin, her unruly red curls, her deep blue eyes, her black horns --
What the fuck?
“Horns?! I have horns?!”
“Every royal demon has horns, princess. I guess I’ll have no choice but to do what I should have done from the beginning, but I’d hoped you’d remember everything on your own this time.” The man bowed low at the waist, though the gesture seemed stiff and mocking. “My name is Baal. I’m the ruler of the Underworld. And you, my blood goddess, are my mate.”
A muffled cry came from somewhere behind Baal, shifting Heidi’s attention from the mirror to the two men who were struggling in the death grip of two tall guards. At least, she assumed they were guards, judging by the charcoal metal armor they wore. Their faces sported twin snarls. They held each man’s hands bound behind his back, their palms pressed against the men’s mouths to stifle any sound they might make.
Apprehension swirled in Heidi’s stomach as she returned her attention to the mirror and tried to make sense of what she’d learned. Even her face looked different. She’d always been pale, but now she looked positively ghostly, as though she’d lived without the touch of the sun on her skin for an eternity. Her eyes were rimmed with black makeup, her lashes impossibly long, her full lips the same shade of dark crimson that had almost blinded her when Baal had appeared.