by Brenda Trim
Zakara walked out from behind the bar and latched onto his arm, dragging him to an empty hallway. She stopped outside a door labeled supplies where she slammed him against the wall. He flared his wings right before impact, saving himself a few broken bones.
The growl that left his throat hinted at his conflicted reaction. The demon both aroused and pissed him off. Kara may deny him and turn him away, but underneath it all, he sensed how torn the Fallen Angel was. She did care about what happened to Izzy, even if it were for selfish reasons.
Zakara had made her choice so long ago he wondered if she regretted that decision. She was sent to Earth to retrieve the Triskele Amulet hundreds of years ago, but never returned to the Underworld. Why?
He didn’t understand the woman, and it annoyed him that he wanted to. She was the opposite of the being he’d become, and yet there was an undeniable kinship. Or maybe it was because she looked so damn sexy in that leather bustier with her scars proudly on display. It was sexual chemistry, not kinship, he amended. He could never be genuinely interested in a demon.
“You are walking a thin line, Virgin. I’d respect you more if you came in with a sex tape. This manipulation will not work. What you are asking for is not going to happen. That child is as good as gone. It’s not my fault, nor is it my responsibility. The only thing I can do is relieve some of that tension you carry around. It might bring a smile back to those lips,” she muttered and leaned against his bare chest.
The contact sizzled and had his cock impersonating a steel pole in his leather pants. He appreciated the soft and pliable material because his stiff erection was painful enough. Thank fuck the AORs didn’t wear tight jeans because he’d be in a world of hurt right now.
At a roll of her hips, the single-minded motherfucker jumped at the promise of release. Part of him wanted to take her up on the offer to relieve some tension, but the other protested the idea of giving into this woman. Women were nothing but trouble and Rami suspected Zakara was the queen of that nation.
“Not interested,” he lied then changed the subject. “Zakara, tell me what you’ll do when Lucifer comes to Earth. How will you escape his wrath? Where will you go? You do realize there will be no hiding from him once he’s free. And, from what I hear, he never forgets those that cross him,” Rami quipped before he stepped out from under her arm and put space between their bodies.
“I’ll relocate. I’m good at it,” Zakara replied and leaned against the wall, trying for an air of nonchalance. He saw right through the façade. She was afraid of Lucifer, as she should be. At least she was smart. Lucifer was a vile being that reveled in punishing those that pissed him off.
“Why waste time thinking about that when you can help me ensure he stays locked in Hell?” he asked and pressed against her body, pinning her to the wall. The vixen took it one step further and straddled his thigh. The heat of her core burned the flesh through his clothing.
“Why not put that erection to use instead of talking about the impossible. I’m horny as fuck, and you’re ready for me,” Kara countered and ground against his thigh.
A loud crash echoed from the central area of the bar, followed by snarling and shouting. Zakara didn’t so much as blink at the noise as she continued to rub against him erotically, driving him mad.
“Is it really impossible?” he husked and pressed his thigh against her core, using her need to his benefit.
“It is if I want to live,” she moaned then stood on tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. His mind blanked as arousal hot and fierce rushed through his system.
Her lips were soft and gentle as they slid across his. Utterly unexpected given her brash personality. A groan escaped him as she moved her mouth and grabbed hold of his shoulders. She could hold him, hostage, as long as she wanted. He suspected he wouldn’t object to her idea of torture.
Elsie was the last woman he’d kissed. Never in his twisted existence had he expected to be in an intimate embrace with another woman, especially a demon. And yet he was powerless to stop it. Zakara drew him into her web and wove her threads of seduction into his skin.
Her tongue teased the seam of his mouth, asking for permission. It was the most erotic moment of his angelic life, and he craved more. Zakara was unrepentant as she reached for what she wanted and took it. She licked his lip then sucked it into her mouth, all the while riding his thigh, attempting to reach climax.
Ramiel’s lips parted, and her tongue immediately dove inside to tangle wetly with his. She dominated the kiss and explored his mouth, leaving no spot unclaimed. She tasted of blueberries and sugar and something wickedly spicy. Delicious. His shaft pulsed as her soft abdomen brushed against his stomach. God help him, but he wanted to fuck her, standing in this dingy hall, against the wall.
His hands slid around her back and encountered her scars, reminding him of who, and what, he was kissing so passionately. She was the enemy. And, had refused to help him rescue Izzy. Breaking the kiss, he panted as he rested his forehead against hers.
“Please tell me how to get into the Underworld. You don’t have to do anything except point the way. And, I won’t tell anyone where I learned the information,” he pleaded and stared into beautiful blue eyes specked with brown.
“Fuck. You never give up, do you? I can’t tell you. I’m the only being on Earth that knows this information. Lucifer will know who told you and I’m not going to give him reason to seek me out,” Zakara said then planted her hands on his bare chest and shoved him out of her way.
Ramiel adjusted his shaft then walked out the back door of the bar, wondering how he was going to change her stubborn mind. Zakara might be defiant and bullheaded, but so was he. And she was the key to saving Izzy.
Isobel shivered as the devil yelled so loud her ears hurt. Her parents and the Goddess had warned her about Lucifer and how he would use her to get free from his prison. She was looking at his legs in the frozen lake. It reminded her of when Uncle Bhric would freeze the pool with Uncle Orlando in it. But Bhric wasn’t evil and cruel. He was teasing Orlando, and they would laugh and joke. There was never yelling or pain involved.
She wanted to go home. Tears made her eyes watery, and Lucifer’s massive body became blurry. Opening her mind, she tried to reach her mommy and daddy, Aunt Cailyn or even Ramiel, but nothing worked. There wasn’t any noise when she tried to contact Rami. Complete silence. It was like when she and Dipple hid under a blanket from Pepper.
She was terrified but had to hide it. When the devil saw her fear, he pushed his way into her mind and showed her things that made her tummy upset and her chest hurt. The sight of her mommy lying on the black rock naked and cut open with blood everywhere made her throw up which made the big demon happy.
Every time he tried to convince her to set him free he showed her that awful image. It still made Izzy want to throw up, only now it made her so mad she wanted to touch him and turn him into a statue, like the other demons. She glanced around, counting all the statues near her. Every time one of Lucifer’s demons got too close, she reached out and touched them. Now they stayed away from her, which made the devil even madder.
Izzy’s only hope was the Goddess. She’d heard the stories about her being special and somehow connected to the Goddess, and tried her hardest to call out to her again. No matter how loud she yelled for Morrigan in her head, nothing happened. Wherever Lucifer had her, she couldn’t talk to anyone or see a way out of the scary place.
And, her tummy hurt. She was hungry and thirsty. No one had given her any water or fed her since she’d been down there. Her body was getting so tired she wanted to lie down and go to sleep, but it wasn’t safe with all the bad demons around her.
A rock suddenly hit her shoulder. Turning, Isobel saw Lucifer waving his hand at the side of the big mountain where lots of them were. He flicked his fingers, and another rock went sailing toward her.
“You cannot beat me, child,” the devil yelled. His massive black wings never stopped beating, and it made the air arou
nd Izzy cold. But it kept the awful smell away, too, so she didn’t mind the cold whipping against her skin.
“I want to go home. Now!” Izzy yelled back. “My daddy is going to kill you for hurting me.”
Lucifer’s laugh boomed and echoed around her. Then he smiled, showing his sharp teeth. Those didn’t scare her. Her daddy grew long sharp teeth when he tickled her mommy, and they laughed about it. Plus, Izzy had fangs, too, so she bared them right back at him.
“You will never see your family again, Isobel. Set me free and I will allow you to return home,” Lucifer cajoled.
“No. You’re lying,” she replied. There were times when she just knew things, and this was one of them. The devil wasn’t telling the truth. He was going to kill her and her family the moment he was out of that lake, and she couldn’t let that happen.
“I promise you will be in your mom’s arms again if you simply touch the lake,” he tried again while she listened to the sound of loud footsteps as the big demons stomped around.
Izzy ignored Lucifer and tried to think of her pretty pink dress. She wanted to play dress up with Pepper. He always let her put sparklies on his head. They would dance around and play with Pip and Squeak. She missed her room and bed.
Her tummy rumbled again. It hurt so bad and thinking of her mom’s yummy taquitos made it worse. Maybe her mom would make some for her when she got home. With a big key lime pie, too. Donovan loved key lime pie as much as he did strawberry ice cream. She missed her best friend something awful.
Another rock hit her back when she wasn’t paying attention, and she fell to the ground. Her hands went out so she didn’t hit her head and her chest knotted. She couldn’t touch the lake and twisted enough that her palms landed on a black rock.
A small cut in her skin burned. The ground rumbled loudly and rolled under her feet. The demons looked scared as she stood up and brushed her hands on her dirty dress. The dirt where her blood touched turned white, and a purple flower bloomed in its place.
“Seems you are as stubborn as your father, but you will not win this battle of wills. No one can reach you. I have sealed the Underworld. You will be my prisoner until you free me from this infernal lake,” Lucifer promised.
Izzy ignored the devil and reached down to admire the flower she made. Nothing would stop her mommy or daddy or even Ramiel. She wasn’t entirely cut off from the rest of the world. She’d pulled Rami into her dream once, and she would do it again.
* * *
Chapter Eight
“Don’t take another step, Sitri,” Zakara growled. “Humans aren’t allowed in my bar, and you know it,” she added, thinking the creature a total dumbass.
Unfortunately, more and more demons were testing the limits lately. Ever since Ramiel walked through her door, the rules went out the proverbial window.
It was all that sexy angel’s fault, too. She was wound tight with arousal, and left frustrated and wanting for days now. Why the fuck hadn’t she grabbed one of her patrons and relieved some of her tension? Probably because it would do no good. She’d just want the angel more.
And now the demons were bringing humans into her establishment. If she allowed that, she was asking for nothing but headaches. She wanted to keep their existence secret from the humans, and she didn’t want them to discover her bar. Most demons weren’t on Earth long enough to pose a problem but since the crossovers were sealed, the demons couldn’t return to the Underworld and controlling them was becoming impossible.
Sitri flipped her off and strolled to a table in the back with the female clinging to his arm. The human was shaking like a leaf, her fear a tantalizing perfume that filled the air and attracted the others. Yeah, dimwit. You’re in over your head. That pretty face is a trap, Kara mused, as she watched the female. The human couldn’t see past Sitri’s beautiful façade to see the Deumus demon that lay underneath. In her defense, she couldn’t see through the glamours to his six horns or large fangs, let alone the fact that he wasn’t some handsome model, but had the legs and cock of a dog.
Zakara squashed the flash of sympathy that flared in her chest and focused on the potential devastation to her property. Grabbing Fred from below the bar, Kara placed her weapon over her shoulder as a clear sign to everyone that they best behave.
Sauntering over to the couple, she made sure to growl as she passed a group of fear demons getting juiced from the human’s terror.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” she asked Sitri as she stopped next to him. The female’s eyes were saucers filled with tears as she looked from Fred to Kara’s horns to the pus demons at the next table.
“I’m on a date. She’ll have a margarita, and I’d like some Shax venom,” Sitri replied as if she hadn’t threatened him at all. The highly potent drink made from the venom of a Shax demon was the last thing this male needed.
Before she could reply, a Valec demon entered the bar with two highly intoxicated humans. The Valac wasn’t as adept at glamouring as other demons, but the two human males didn’t seem fazed by the long pointy nose and wrinkly old skin. No doubt the Valac gave them some of his blood to get them high and at his mercy.
Things were officially out of hand. She looked across to Joe who was wrangling with a hellhound. Whimpers behind told her the human female was one second away from losing it. Who did she bludgeon first? Sitri? Or the Valac? Or perhaps the hellhound was biting her barkeep’s shoulder.
Choices, choices, she mused and wished she had a vampire’s power to erase human memories. Demons could lower a human’s resistance, but they couldn’t manipulate their minds and remove memories.
Zakara’s heart skipped several beats, and she became lightheaded. Since when did she stop and consider the welfare of anyone but herself? Before Ramiel walked through her door, she’d have taken care of the demons and eliminated the humans without a second thought. She wanted to kick her own ass for hesitating.
She shook it off. No, nothing had changed. She would put these demons in their place then terminate the humans.
Turning, she glimpsed the human female’s terrified expression and hated the way her chest twisted. Had to be heartburn from the pastrami on rye she’d had for dinner. The helpless human was not her responsibility or her concern.
A loud crash made her growl as she turned to see Joe shoving a broken chair leg through the hellhound’s chest. As a Valac demon, Joe was strong enough to hold his own against most patrons, so she didn’t go to his aid as she watched the killing incite the rest of her patrons.
Countless eyes watched the humans with an insatiable hunger. Things were about to get ugly, real fast. “Alright assholes, Fred’s hungry and you’ve pissed me off,” Kara announced as she headed toward the fury demons pacing around Joe.
A table flew overhead, causing her to duck. She watched as the multi-colored wood broke into pieces. Glass shattered and littered the floor, along with spilled alcohol. A growl escaped her throat as she swung Fred, hitting the demons around her. A vicious yank tore flesh and had black blood flowing from their wounds. Down went several jackasses as she completed her arc.
It was enough to make some nearby demons pause while the humans screamed in terror and ran for the door. “Shut the fuck up if you want to live,” she chastised the humans. “You’re only making them salivate.”
Rolling her shoulders, she didn’t hesitate to introduce Fred to a couple of fury demons before pointing the bloody weapon at Sitri. “Out, back. Right the fuck now,” she ordered. The Deumus demon stood and leaned down to kiss the human female. The loud shriek told Kara Sitri dropped his handsome disguise in the wake of chaos.
Zakara grabbed him roughly by the neck and yanked him away from the human. “If you’re lucky enough to make it home, get your shit together, female. Bad boys aren’t worth the time,” she told the hysterical human.
“You’ve fucked up for the last time, Sitri,” Zakara told the male loud enough for everyone to hear. She threw a punch of her power as she made the announcement.
She wasn’t as mighty as Lucifer, but she was higher than the scum frequenting SLS. Her ability pulsed, electrifying those around her. The smell of urine told her she might have inadvertently killed the humans, as well. If that was the case, it was inevitable.
A glance at the door showed males writhing on the floor near the exit, and the woman slumped in her seat. Perking her ears, she heard shallow breaths from the human female. Good. Explaining her death to an infuriating angel wasn’t high on her list tonight. He’d be back soon. She sensed his presence nearby. The creeper was probably lurking on the nearby rooftops. Arrogant AOR that made her blood heat to scalding.
It was unusually quiet in the bar as she marched Sitri to his doom. Thankfully, her torment worked. The demons stopped trashing her place, and there was no more screaming. The pain for demons was minimal, but it reminded them who was boss. She could do far worse, and they knew it.
Her boot met the metal bar across the back door, and it swung wide and slammed against the exterior brick wall. Taking her time, Kara pushed Sitri in front of her and laughed when the door rebounded into his large nose.
“Fuck, bitch,” he snarled.
“Only my best friend is allowed to call me bitch, asshole. You fucked up royally this time. I have no patience for your games. Between the angel sniffing around and the restless demons, I am tapped out,” she informed the demon as she threw him to the ground. The male flew and rolled across the asphalt, leaving a trail of black blood.
Zakara stalked toward the downed demon, wondering where Ramiel was perched. “Please, run. I haven’t had a good chase in way too fucking long, and I need the exercise,” she told Sitri as he glanced to the end of the alley.
The Deumus demon shook his head and got to his feet, grabbing a broken board on his way up. Before the beast could gather his bearings, Kara rushed him with Fred held out to her side.
Fucker was fast and ducked before she reached him, swiping right. She didn’t ask him for a date, dammit. Her momentum carried her forward, and his move took her legs. Bracing for impact, Zakara landed in an awkward heap. The loud crack that echoed was her collarbone.