Into Hell (The Road to Hell Series, Book 4)

by Brenda K. Davies

  He took such complete possession of my body that I no longer had any control over it. I was his to do what he wanted with and I relished it.

  The slick feel of his skin against mine aroused me further. He’d possessed me before, but now I felt consumed by him. He released his bite on my shoulder and bit down on my neck, marking me as his again. His corded muscles against my back, his bite, the delicious feeling of him stretching me as he plunged deeper and deeper until I was sure he touched the very core of me, became all I knew.

  When he thrust into me again, I came apart with a loud cry. Sparks encircled my wrists as my fingers raked the surface of the table. Waves of bliss spiraled through my limbs, and my legs gave out.

  Holding me up, Kobal released my hair and lifted me off the table. Remaining buried within me, he carried me back a few steps and sat on one of the chairs. He placed a hand on my upper back and nudged me forward.

  ***

  Kobal

  I ran my hand down River’s delicate spine, savoring the curve of her back as I lowered her further before me. Beneath my fingers, her skin was like spun silk. I drank in the sight of her slender curves and the firmness of her ass as I squeezed it while I guided her against me.

  The exquisite sensation of her wet sheath clenching my dick as she rode me had me on the verge of coming. The pressure of semen building in my cock became almost too much for me to take. But take it I would, as I wasn’t ready for this to be over.

  I needed to be in her, owning her, staking my claim on her until nothing separated us. My gaze latched onto the marks I’d already left on her. My fangs tingled with the compulsion to leave more. Leaning forward, I sank my fangs into her side and smiled when her head tipped back and her body bucked against mine.

  Placing my hand on the small of her back, I urged her faster against me. I released my bite to run my tongue over the marks before scraping my fangs against her delicate skin. She squirmed in a way that made it clear she craved my bite again.

  Reclaiming her hair, I drew her up until her back was flush against my chest. Over her shoulder, I watched the rise and fall of her breasts with their pert nipples jutting out from her body. A bead of sweat slid down her skin in a tantalizing trail between her breasts. Reaching around her, I followed it with one of my fingers. I’d seen the most beautiful of sirens and canagh demons, but none of them held a candle to River as she completely gave herself over to me.

  “You are exquisite, Mah Kush-la,” I murmured before sinking my fangs into the tender flesh of her shoulder. Her back arched as she orgasmed again. I barely managed to pull out of her in time to spill my seed against her back. I groaned, my hands clenched on her as my semen flowed from me in a hot wave that branded her back and marked her further as mine.

  When the thick stream finally ended, I released my bite on her shoulder and lifted her off me. Turning her around, I settled her so she sat facing me in the chair with her legs draped over the arms. Her dazed eyes met mine, and a smile curved her swollen lips as her fingers played with my hair. The sparks she emitted lit her face and eyes.

  I clasped her flushed cheeks in my hands. “You’re mine.”

  Her smile slid away as she leaned forward to kiss me. Lifting her body, she slid herself slowly onto my still, mostly hard dick until I was buried within her again. “Always yours. I love you,” she whispered against my lips.

  “I love you too, Mah Kush-la. With everything I am.”

  Her tongue caressed my lips as she rose and fell in a sinuous movement that had me becoming fully erect again. I’d taken her too roughly last time, I knew, so I resisted the urge to drive repeatedly into her again and let her lead the way.

  Breaking the kiss, she moved her mouth over my cheeks and down to my shoulder. Her lips skimmed back before she bit into me and marked me as hers.

  ***

  River

  Releasing my bite on Kobal, I lifted my head to look at him again. His amber eyes burned like molten gold, his lips were compressed into a flat line. The angles of his cheekbones and face were sharper as I sensed the savagery still within him. He’d just found his release, he’d marked me and possessed me, but it hadn’t been enough to ease the tumult I sensed within him.

  We had lost each other.

  Clasping his cheeks, I lowered my mouth to his and kissed him again. He nipped at my lip before drawing it into his mouth to suck soothingly on it. Releasing my mouth, he rested his hand on my chest to push me gently back.

  His eyes ran over me as I rested my palms on his knees. His knuckles brushed over my collarbone before tracing a line down my stomach. He clutched my hips with both his hands as I continued to set the pace. His claws curled into my flesh, but didn’t pierce my skin. My head fell further back, and my movements became more demanding as tension built within me once more.

  His eyes burned hotter when they latched onto mine. I locked my legs around the back of the chair and released his knees to drape my arms around his neck. When my eyes started to close, he squeezed my sides.

  “Look at me,” he commanded in a gravelly voice. “I’m going to watch you come.”

  My eyes flew open to meet his. I couldn’t look away as my body came apart once more and waves of bliss swamped me.

  CHAPTER 44

  River

  I’d never been more exhausted or sated in my life, yet I found myself staring at the flickering lanterns on the sideboard. We’d been too tired to go into the other tent with the bigger bed, but collapsed onto the cot and continued to make love there until I had no idea what time it was. Kobal’s leg was locked over mine, his shoulder beneath my ear as his hand lazily circled my breasts.

  “What did Mac say?” I asked.

  Lifting his head, he propped it on his other hand. “There have been casualties here and all along the wall. They stopped some of the creatures from going over, but they couldn’t stop them all. After the first wave from the seals hit, the ones your father released, they still had communication with the government, but that ended three days ago.”

  Horror curdled within me. “What happened to cause that?”

  “He doesn’t know. Before he lost touch with them, the government was working on evacuating some of the towns and relocating people to a more secure area.”

  “Were they bringing the evacuees to the wall?” I asked as I rolled onto my side to gaze up at him.

  “No.”

  “Where were they sending them?”

  “They were grouping them together with surrounding towns to increase the amount of people who could fight. They felt it would be better protection for all and was a safer option than having people traveling to the wall. They didn’t want a good chunk of the human population located in one place. I agree with their decision.”

  “Everyone would be sitting ducks with so many living near the wall,” I murmured.

  “Exactly. There also aren’t enough resources to sustain the surviving human population if too many of them live near the wall.”

  “Were my brothers moved?”

  “Mac doesn’t know, but he thinks they’re most likely still in the same place, or nearby. You came from a remote area, one that can be better guarded than some of the other towns and has a natural food supply in the ocean.”

  I took a deep breath to steady my nerves, but I couldn’t shake the crushing feeling growing in me. “What could have happened to the government?”

  “If they weren’t killed, they probably fled. Once we have your brothers, we will work to establish a new rule on Earth. I’ve asked Mac to work with us and to assume a larger leadership role with the humans. He will require other humans to work with him, of course, but I want him in charge of them. We will receive his answer when we return.”

  “They may have lost contact with our government, but there were still other ruling bodies around the world. What if those governments decide to bomb us all?”

  “All they’ll succeed in doing is killing the remaining humans and destroying the rest of their planet
. They know bombs don’t kill demons, not unless it’s a direct hit, and they also know we’re their only chance of survival.”

  I rested my hand over his heart, taking solace in the steady beat of it. “It’s going to be anarchy.”

  “We’ll find and kill Lucifer, which will chop the head off the snake. We will work to rebuild this world and make it a place where humans and demons coexist, but the humans will have to accept their new fate if they’re to live.”

  “They’ll accept it,” I said. “The ones who came to the wall already have. People are resilient, and they’ll do whatever is necessary to survive. If anyone can pull everyone together and rule over them, you can—”

  “We can.”

  I smiled at him. “Yes, we can, especially with the amazing group of fighters we have.”

  He chuckled as he caressed my cheek with his thumb, and his gaze fell to my mouth. I so badly wanted to lose myself in him again, but I couldn’t. “We have to get to my brothers.”

  I started to roll off the cot, but he held me back. “You need rest.”

  “I did rest, and if I stay in this bed with you, I definitely won’t get any more resting done.”

  I tried pulling my hand free, but he planted it against his chest. “Mac is organizing things for us with weapons, vehicles, and troops. It will still be some time before we are ready to leave.”

  “What if Lucifer gets to my brothers first?”

  “He exited Hell on the other side of the world. Even if he knows about your brothers and where to find them, we would most likely still beat him there. He can fly, yes, but his demon followers can’t.”

  “But some of the creatures from the seal can,” I protested.

  “Yes, and though they are lethal, they are not as cunning, pissed off, or deadly as the upper-level demons he freed from the hundredth seal. He won’t risk going after your brothers, and possibly running into us, without a large number of fighters behind him.”

  My blood ran cold at the possibility of Lucifer descending on my brothers with his army of craeton followers and seal creatures. They’d be terrified, and if he didn’t kill them outright, the things he would do to them—

  No, I wouldn’t think of it. I couldn’t. “Kobal, I have to go.”

  He hesitated before leaning forward to kiss my forehead. “We will see how things are progressing with the supplies.”

  Rolling on top of me, he pinned me to the mattress with his thigh between my legs as he planted his hands on either side of my head. I bit my lip as my body instinctively sought out his.

  “I will find your brothers, Mah Kush-la,” he promised before rolling over and fluidly rising.

  I sat up on the cot as Kobal lifted the tattered remains of my shirt and tossed it onto the table. “Does Mac know the ghosts are coming?” I asked as I rose and walked over to the adjoining tent. Lifting the flap, I slipped inside it. I strode past the bed and opened the doors on the armoire to peer inside.

  “I told Mac to prepare for their arrival,” Kobal said from behind me.

  I turned to find him standing at the foot of the bed. “He must have been thrilled.”

  He smiled at me as he walked over to stand behind me. His body warmed mine as he reached around me to pull out a pair of pants and a shirt for himself. “About as much as I am about it, but we all must adjust to living with each other now, and the ghosts could prove helpful here.”

  “Yeah,” I muttered as I uncovered some of my clothes.

  It was still nightfall when Kobal led me out of the tent and to the house I showered in. He didn’t like using human showers, but he took a quick one too while I dressed. Lifting the hairbrush I’d brought with me, I worked the tangles from my hair while I watched Kobal exit the bathroom. My gaze lingered on the bites I’d left on his flesh when he dropped a towel from his waist.

  My Chosen, for eternity. That was still going to take time to process, but once I had my brothers back and Lucifer was dead, I would take the time to enjoy having an eternity with this demon. I couldn’t wait.

  I hastily pulled my wet hair into a ponytail as Kobal finished dressing. Taking my hand, he led me out of the house and back to the area where the demons resided. All their tents formed a circle around an open clearing. On the horizon, the sky had lightened from a velvety black to a deep gray.

  We passed three tents before Kobal stopped and rapped his knuckles against the outside of one.

  “What?” Corson demanded groggily from within. The murmured complaints of more than one female could be heard as something clattered within.

  “Time to go,” Kobal said brusquely and pulled me away from the tent.

  A giggle from the woods alerted me to a nymph loping through the trees. Two completely naked male demons chased behind her. “The demons are already adapting to their new world,” I murmured.

  “I think many of those who first came to Earth with me would have stayed even if they had to travel back and forth to Hell to keep their immortality,” Kobal replied. “The ones who remained in Hell while we were on Earth will acclimate soon enough.”

  “The nymphs already are.”

  “The nymphs could adapt to life anywhere as long as they have trees to play in and partners to satisfy them. But they will make it easier for the other demons to adjust too. They’ll make them happier.”

  “That they will,” I agreed.

  We stopped in front of another tent. Kobal raised his hand to hit the side of it, but the flap pulled back before he could and Bale stepped out with Verin at her side.

  “We’re ready,” Verin said. She lifted her chin and stared at Kobal as if she were gearing up for an argument.

  I opened my mouth to tell her to stay so she could grieve, or cry, or whatever demons did when they lost a loved one. Then I realized that demons fought, and if Verin had a chance to help end Lucifer, she wasn’t going to miss it. Nothing would have stopped me either.

  Kobal stared at her before speaking, “Good.”

  Turning, we walked down the hill together. Verin kept her shoulders back, but her eyes remained focused on the ground as she walked and she began to fall behind.

  “How is she doing?” I whispered to Bale.

  Bale brushed back a strand of her fiery hair as a raven landed beside her. With a ripple of wings and feathers, Caim appeared.

  “She is still breathing, but she does not live,” Bale said without so much as a glance at the angel who fell into step beside her.

  Her words sounded like one of the skellein’s riddles, but unlike their riddles, I understood what Bale meant. My eyes lifted to Kobal. Knowing that I would have left him like Verin, if not for Raphael’s intervention, made me shudder.

  We were almost to the wall when a squeaking noise drew my attention to the field where I’d spent many days training with Kobal. On the horizon, a pickup crested the hill. It idled for a minute before descending toward us.

  CHAPTER 45

  River

  “Shax and Magnus,” Kobal said and halted beside me.

  A few dozen humans followed the truck. They walked with their shoulders back and their weapons at the ready. A flutter of wings drew my attention to Raphael as he landed beside Caim and shook some of the dust from his wings.

  “How did it go?” Caim inquired of him.

  Raphael hesitated long enough that I didn’t think he would answer Caim. “Well enough. They are strong for humans,” Raphael finally said. “They are ready for war. I’ve seen them use their weapons, and they are very skilled with them. The woman, Wren, says she can bring more humans to the fight, if she believes they’ll be treated fairly here.”

  “Hmm,” Kobal grunted and turned his attention to the pickup as it came to a stop before us.

  A pretty woman with pale blonde hair slid out from behind the wheel. I recognized her as the woman I’d glimpsed at the gateway. “Is that Wren?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Kobal said.

  Now that I knew she’d been the one to shoot Kobal, I contemplated
setting her ass on fire as I eyed her up and down.

  Two men also exited the truck as Shax and Magnus broke away from the other people and strolled forward to join us. “I know what Shax thinks of them, but what do you think?” Kobal inquired of Magnus.

  “I think they’ll kill any one of us just as easily as they’ll spit at us. And unfortunately, I’ve discovered they’re a bunch of spitters,” Magnus snickered. “However, they are definitely survivors and could prove valuable.”

  “They also know the wilds better than any of us,” Shax said.

  “True,” Kobal agreed.

  “Perhaps you should be asking us what we think of you,” Wren said as she strolled forward with her rifle against her shoulder.

  “I know what you think of us,” Kobal replied. “And if you think that gun will help you, you’re wrong. I didn’t want to kill you before, I won’t hesitate now.”

  Wren slid the rifle down to rest the butt end on the ground. “I’ve no doubt,” she replied.

  “I told you if I ever saw you again, I’d kill you,” Kobal said to her. “Why would you go to the gateway after that?”

  “You said to me that I had no idea what monsters truly are and that, if you failed, we would know. You made me curious about what you meant by that and what it was you were trying to succeed at doing. And when I learned what it was, I decided to help. We’ve been fighting to survive for years. It’s what we do, but we would like for the fighting to end one day.”

  “That day may never come,” Kobal stated.

  “Maybe not,” she replied. “But we can come together against a common enemy instead of fighting each other. There is also the possibility for a better life for us,” she said with a wave of her hand at those gathered around her. “We’re not stupid or stubborn enough to think we can survive in the wilds without help anymore, not with everything we saw come out of that gateway.”

  She turned her attention to me. “Speaking of which, I saw what you did at the gateway. What are you?”