"You can't keep me!" The words roared out of her and she kicked him as hard as she could in the balls. Damn demons, they had the same kind of anatomy. He had balls just like any other man, and with him pinning her hands he wasn't likely to mist away just before contact. Her foot hit solid between his legs and Desiderus let out a muted groan.
"Female, if you do not stop, I will chain and possibly cage you." His voice was strained, hopefully from pain. Served the demon right.
Haven wasn't going to sit around and just take it. She'd find her way free one way or another. "You can't have me, I'll never give in. I should be free of you. You manipulative, slimy…"–fucking good looking–"...bastard demon!" She pushed with all her might and he let go. Haven fell back and the floor caught her. Haven scraped her arms on the way down but quickly regained her footing, standing almost as quickly as she had fallen and ready to hit him if he came anywhere close to her. She needed to find a way out, with the bird, and Desiderus stood between her and the damn creature.
***
Desiderus resisted rubbing his aching balls. He didn't want her to see the pain she caused. He needed to keep his cool. She was in sheer panic mode, and the only way for this to go well was for her to be in chains. He wished he didn't have to, to a degree. The thought of her in chains left a great image in his mind, but he'd hoped it would be in a much more sensual way. He didn't want to force her, but from her irrational behavior, he had no choice. Desiderus swirled his pinky finger, slowly drawing the chains closer to Haven as she threw her tantrum. She would honor this deal. He would see to it. She had no way out without him.
"If you'd just calm down, things could go a great deal better for you, Haven."
"What happened to you? You helped me in the Celest camp. I know you did. I can't remember it all, but you did help me. And you kept the bird from Ba'al. So why? Why make me do this?"
Desiderus squared his shoulders and looked at her down his nose. "I'm a demon. You made a deal and now your end must be paid. Humans don't get to back out because they changed their mind or think they are right. Even if I let you go, by demon law I would have to find you again, and the retribution would be bad for us both. I will not let you go." Even if he might want to.
"You are so greedy. All you demons are. Look at you dwelling in filthy sin, enjoying it, even." Haven's hateful glare cut him harder than he anticipated. There was so much more at stake than she knew, and he refused to let Undine have her. He lifted his pinky finger and the chains sprang up behind her, latching onto her wrists, clamping down. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened in a surprised oh.
"You are giving me no choice. It's time for us to be bound. It can't wait and I'm not fighting with you about it."
Haven pulled at the chains and tried to run. He grabbed the end from the floor and waited for her to reach the end of the length. She flew backwards falling again. He flinched as she hit the ground with a solid thud. He didn't want to hurt her. If she cooperated even a little, just enough to where he didn't have to chain her, he could have misted them both back to Ba'al for the binding, no fuss. But these chains were special and were good against magic. The iron nullified the power to mist. How else would Ba'al chain his demons when they didn't behave? If they could get away, Ba'al might not be in power right now. So he'd forged Hell's chains. They were everywhere, lying around in tunnels, halls, rooms, etc. Anywhere Ba'al could easily get to them and chain a demon at any given time. It happened to work in Desiderus's favor this time, but that meant they had to actually walk to Ba'al's chamber instead. And with her fighting him...
His heart skipped a beat. He liked the idea of her fighting him, he just wished it could be a bit more willing and a lot more foreplay. Though he supposed it was foreplay between them, either way. Eventually she would come to him.
Desiderus walked around Haven and pushed in a piece of stone. A door moved outward, heavy, scraping against the rock ground. He rarely used the door, but seeing Haven's reactions it would become more frequent, he was sure of it. He pulled on the chains, not looking back. Desiderus needed her up, and fully believing he was capable of more harm than good. It wouldn't do even a little for Ba'al to see any sympathy on Desiderus.
His arm yanked back unexpectedly the moment they cleared the door and were out in the hall leading to Ba'al's chamber. Surprised, he turned to see Haven had dug in her heels and pulled at the chain wrapping it around her wrists. "So you want to be closer to me? Let me oblige you, pet." He gave her a wicked grin, hoping to convey all the dirty thoughts he had while he watched her body strain with her efforts. Her beautiful, toned arms, pulling. His cock twitched at the sight of her. She had fire enough to burn them both and he wanted it to.
He walked the rest of the way to her, putting slack in the chains. His fingers were hell-bent on touching her soft, pliant skin. Damn it to the underbelly of Hell and back, he didn't want to cage the female, but she was leaving him no other choice. When he made it close enough to her he could reach out and pull her face toward him, stealing a kiss from those perfect damning lips, he fisted his hands trying not to touch her.
"I will fight you until I breathe my last breath, demon," Haven spit out, pulling at the chains he towed her along behind with. It irritated him she never used his name. She had at the Celest camp, but that was under what he would call duress. He wanted to hear his name free and clear, in a good way, coming from those lips. It would haunt him, for many nights to come, the way she had said it in the compound.
His hard-on pulsed at the thought of her ever using his name and how the sound would be with her writhing beneath him instead. He knew he could draw pleasure from her, had watched it come from her when he made her orgasm after she summoned him the second time, looking for information. "Please, do fight me. Makes it more interesting on my end." Desiderus pulled back from her, flaunting his erect cock. She looked, blushed, and then averted her gaze. Dare he find her reaction…endearing?
"I'll always find a way to escape. No matter what you do." Haven flopped her body to a sitting position on the ground. It looked as if she were pouting. While he willed his face to stay motionless even though his lips desperately sought a smile, he took the opportunity to really look at her. She'd spent all this time either trying to shoot him or run from him. They were outside his king's door. A few stairs to go and Desiderus would be delivering his female at Ba'al's feet. He didn't care if his king turned her into a succubus or kept her human, as long as she lived out their deal. He couldn't wait to have her all to himself...willingly, he hoped. Though Ba'al didn't know Desiderus still had her contracted with him, he was sure his king would be gracious and willing.
Sweat slid down her tanned skin and she crossed sleek arms over her moistened tank top, as if she sensed his perusal of her body. Downside for humans: Hell was hot. He liked the look it gave her though, her chest heaving with the strain she had put herself through, her nipples peeking out at him, begging for his attention. He groaned inside.
"Get up." He tried to sound exasperated with her. "Even if you run—" which he would enjoy to a degree he wasn't sure was sane, "—where would you go? You are in my domain now, Haven. Our deal will be honored. We are sealed by names and soon by more." Desiderus deliberately tugged hard at the chains around her wrists. They clanked together as she was yanked forward on to her knees. She sent him a glare that made his heart race with delight. Her reactions delighted him. Coaxed him into doing things demons didn't normally do, like save pretty humans from witches and Celest dungeons. If she only knew the depths he had already gone to for her. Undine would stop at nothing, and he couldn't keep Haven safe unless he made her bind with him. It would be sealed into her flesh and make it so much more difficult for Undine to even find Haven.
"Make me," she challenged.
"With pleasure..." Desiderus grinned making sure Haven knew he was enjoying her fight. He stormed over to the human and picked her up by her hair. She scratched at him, trying to free herself, reminding him of a cornered kitten. Desideru
s wrapped her arms up completely in the slackened chains, picked her up by the waist, and tried not to notice the swell of her breasts as he slung her over his shoulder. She would go, even if he had to carry her the entire way. Desiderus skipped up the blackened stairs leading to Ba'al's door two at a time.
Chapter Seventeen
Haven's stomach threatened to heave down the demon's back. He was jarring her all over the place as he skipped up the stairs. The ignorant demon was doing it on purpose, she was sure of it. A door flung open.
"Desiderus, back so soon? And what have you there? A present?" Ba'al's nasty voice filled her ears and she shuddered. She kicked at Desiderus, trying to get him to drop her. It might hurt, but she could try to run. He might be right, there might not be anywhere to run to, but she couldn't let a small thing like that stop her. Desiderus put an arm over the back of her calves and held her legs to him so she couldn't strike him again. Damn, the demon and the length of his arms.
"It was my help that let loose her brother, so she is still bound by contract to me, per the terms of our agreement. Not for her lack of trying though, I assure you. It's time to bind her fully."
"I love a good binding. The look on the human's face when they realize what has happened for the first time is priceless." Ba'al's voice took on a giddy tone Haven wished she could unhear. "Put her down and let's have a real look at her."
Desiderus pulled her from his shoulder and set her on her feet. He gave her a wicked grin before turning her around. Ba'al stared inches away from her face. She could feel his hot breath flow over her check as his faces flittered between toad, cat, and human, almost blending together in a gross overlapping. It was so horrible. She couldn't stop looking at the constant changing of his flesh. Haven swallowed and tried to take a step back. Desiderus stood behind her and she only found herself flat against his chest, his heat rushing into her.
"Hold still, human." Ba'al's voice sounded strangled, as if he were speaking through animal and person at the same time.
Haven's body shook despite the heat radiating from Desiderus. He put his hands on her shoulders to help keep her in place. It was a light hold, as if they were friends. Haven snapped her eyes shut. She couldn't keep watching Ba'al's faces. If she had to be truthful with herself, she didn't want to see what was coming from the king of demons. How would he bind her to Desiderus? Images of being chained, literally, to the demon forever flittered through her head. Cages, like the one her brother was in. Or worse, what if he took her soul for the duration of the contract? A contract she would spend forever trying to get rid of, because she didn't want to belong to anyone, not human or demon.
"This will do wonderfully, Desiderus. Yes. I can bind you and I'm sure much entertainment will come from it," Ba'al said. Haven could feel his presence backing away from her. She let out a breath and opened her eyes. Ba'al had returned to his chair. His eyes were alight, amused by something he'd seen.
Haven had no words for the horror seeping into her, a dread filling the inside of her, so cold and so heavy. Instead of running at the danger, she balked. She would fight this. "I refuse." Haven spun around and pointed a finger into Desiderus's chest. "I mean it. I am rightfully out of the contract. I have to be. You can't keep me, or my soul. I won't let you."
"Oh my dear…" Ba'al's voice echoed in the chamber. "What fool told you that you ever had a choice?"
"I…I don't want this! I'm out. I have to be out. I can't be in Hell. I can't stay in hell. I want my life." The despair crawled inside her stomach, tucking itself inside Haven. Her brother was free. Free to live his life, and to ruin his life again. Disgust tasted like rotten apples in her mouth as she realized she had literally traded her life for his, and what would he do with his new chance? Haven knew without a doubt he would fall right back where he had been, and she would be doing this for nothing. She clenched her jaw. How could she have been so stupid? He was her brother, but now who would try to save her from the contract she'd made? Haven wanted to feel at peace, because she had set out to get Jeremy free and unbound and that was exactly what she had done. But part of her hated herself for doing it, too. She was always the strong one. Always giving up for him. Now when she needed someone to sweep down and help her out of the fire, literally, no one was there. Not work, not family, not witches. Only demons to see her into her new bondage.
When the tears stung the corner of her eyes, she didn't try to stop it. She let them fall to the ground of Hell. Hot, angry, they ran their way down her cheeks, and she didn't brush them away. Anger had her heart, disappointment had her mind, and hope hid inside her soul, somewhere deep where Haven had pushed it to keep the anger ever-present. It would be the anger to see her through this. She wouldn't survive the horrors she was sure Ba'al and Desiderus had set up for her without some kind of rage to keep her going. In Hell, one good person couldn't fight off the hordes of the devil. She was alone, and being sweet or kind wouldn't get her far in a place where demons played dirty. Kindness here would be backwards.
Haven settled into the fact that for now she would have to do what she was bound to do, or they would force her anyway. "Fine." She glared at Desiderus and then turned to Ba'al. "Let's get it done and over with. I'm done with the sight of you both." She was quite aware the king of demons could have her boiled alive if she even looked at him in a way he disliked. Haven should care, yet somehow she knew he wasn't angry over anything she'd said. The corners of his mouth came up into a wide grin over his human lips and a purr erupted from his throat. She had entertained him.
"As you wish, human." Ba'al slipped off his chair.
Haven jumped when candles popped out of the air, black and floating. They rotated in a slow circle around Desiderus and her. Desiderus snapped his fingers and one by one the candles lit, casting cruel shadows to dance around the chamber. Haven's heart sped up. A heat latched onto her, but not her flesh, something just beyond her skin, hovering around her. Her aura maybe? Haven was forced to her knees by an unknown entity pushing down on her shoulders and the back of her knees. "Is this going to hurt?"
"It might sting a little toward the end," Desiderus, said moving her arms out from her sides so they were straight out like a t-shape. The heat increased around her arms.
Ba'al let out a long bellowing cat howl, the kind of call a female cat makes when she's in heat, beckoning her lover to come find her. Only this call was not for a lover. Haven was pretty sure it was calling on an ancient magic. What else would Ba'al call upon? The heat intensified a little at a time. Sweat slid down between her breasts. Just when she'd gotten used to the heat of Hell, Ba'al had to go and pump it up a notch.
Desiderus knelt in front of her, his arms out like hers. He was calm, collected. He'd probably done this a thousand times over his many years walking in hell and on earth. "Are you ready, Haven?"
She swallowed the panic and forced her body to be still. "As ready as I'll ever be."
The moment the last word left her mouth, Desiderus was there. His lips locked with hers. Haven tried to move her arms and push him away, but they didn't budge. She squirmed and he kissed her harder, as if coaxing her into something other than what was happening. His tongue slipped out and softly stroked her bottom lip. Surprised she gasped and he took advantage of it, slipping his tongue between her lips. Heat welled up inside her. A pinching sensation started in her fingertips. Desiderus put his chest up against hers, keeping them in constant contact. He was hard. She could feel his shaft pressed against her. Haven ached deep between her legs. Why him? She wanted to not want him, needed it. She'd have to hate him to face her fate.
Burning pain seared over the back of her hands and she stilled. Her breath stopped itself from releasing as her eyes sprung open. Desiderus pulled back and Haven could hear someone screaming. Her throat became raw and she realized it was her. The burning traveled through her palms and settled as if poking repeatedly into her wrists. Worse than tattoo needles, more like a thousand knives on fire. Haven tried to stop the sounds coming from her mout
h as her mind tried to catch up with what was happening to her body.
She could smell her flesh burning, like ham seared on the stove. Slowly the pain began to subside. A coolness settled on her aura, calming the heat of her body, of the pain. She gasped for breath like she had just finished running five miles. Her hands fell to her sides with a thud. Haven desperately wanted to fall to the ground, to curl up on the rock to cool her body further and rest. But they were there. Watching her every move. Haven steeled herself, making herself ready for whatever would come next. She swayed, then rolled her shoulders back, lifting her chin. She met Ba'al's eyes first.
"Oh look, Desiderus. She's defiant still." Ba'al's eyes twinkled at her. She imagined knocking his eyes from his head with a stick. Haven wiped her sweaty hands off on her tank top.
"What's next?"
Ba'al laughed, a full, evil laugh that echoed off the walls of the chamber and rumbled over her body, reminding her he was the king of demons for a reason and her control was only given because he allowed it. She knew he let her be defiant, felt it in the very depths of her soul. Ba'al was there, all-knowing, all-seeing, and taunting her to go further. Haven resisted despite her anger. If she gave in, if she let him work her into an angry frenzy, he would win and it would be the first loss on her end in an endless line of always losing to Ba'al. She held her ground inside, revolting against the feelings he pressed upon her. This would be a war. A war inside and outside of her being. She knew she would continue to face off with them, and she refused to allow herself to break, to show them an ounce of her fear, her weakness. Demons exploited everything. God forbid they ever found a true fear. She bit her cheek to keep herself in check, lying to herself that she could handle anything after what she'd just went through.
"My dear girl, it is done."
"Nothing else? That's it. So what now?"
Impure Bargains (Impure series Book 1) Page 13