“This is unfair,” I say to him.
“How?”
“I have no control over myself. You made me like this, Lucifer. You’re making me weak.”
“You’re anything but weak, Melody.” Despite the conviction with which he says the words, it’s hard to believe them. I’m the one inside my body, I know how I feel and what I feel when around him.
Lucifer’s hand wounds around the back of my neck, the pad of his thumb brushing my mark. “In fact, this only makes you stronger.”
“Bullshit.”
At that, he smiles. “I can’t fight it any more than you can, Melody.”
“Still bullshit. You’re Lucifer. The King of Demons.”
“And you’re Melody, the badass hunter. And you’re right. Fate is a cruel bitch.”
“Fate also makes people weak,” I add.
“Weak isn’t the word I’d use. You shouldn’t use it either.”
I should be annoyed but I only laugh. He smiles in response, then dips his head.
The kiss is nothing I expect it to be. I’ve imagined it a dozen times, in a dozen different ways. But not like this, nothing like this. Not what it makes me feel and not how it feels. It’s so much better. So much more impactful than anything my mind could have conjured up.
A chemical reaction is happening inside my body, lightning bolts sparking at my fingertips. My entire soul is reaching out of me, begging for more, desperate for his touch and I let him have it. I grab his head, pulling him closer to me, kissing him as fervently as he is me.
He’s right. I can’t fight it. I’ve tried, but it feels like a betrayal. Like I’m denying my body of something it needs and I know that that’s not correct at all. If there is anything I should not and do not and can not need, it is Lucifer. But sometimes, we have no control over what we feel and what our hearts and our souls and our bodies deem essential. And this isn’t something I can control anymore. It’s something that just is. Lucifer marked me and thus, there’s no way, no way in Hell, I’ll be able to stay away from him after this. No matter how much I try. No matter how much I should. Even when my thoughts are far away, I know he’ll always be a part of me.
As if he reads my thoughts, he picks me up bridal-style and carries me over to the bed. He lays me down gently, as if I’m a delicate flower and for once, I’m not offended by it. I enjoy his strong arm banded underneath me, tense as if there’s a primal passion curling within him, wanting to be unleashed.
He pulls away, breathless, and stares into my eyes. I see the question he’s asking.
The fact that he’s waiting for permission hits me so hard, I can hardly breathe. This man, this demon, who lords over all the creatures of Hell. This demon who gets what he wants whenever he wants it. The devil himself who I’ve learnt is the epitome of everything evil, a hunter’s worst enemy, is asking me for consent.
My heart explodes. I want to hug him tighter, to kiss him, to say things I’ve never thought of – or would have never allowed myself – to say. Instead, I nod.
The relief on his face is breathtaking and he dips his head again. This time, I incline my head, giving him the space he needs. Once his lips brush my mark, I am drowning in euphoria.
Nothing will ever compare to his bliss, to this erotic exhilaration that consumes my body until the world falls away and it is just us, together. No danger, no impending doom, no Mr. Black. Just the two of us and I don’t want it any other way.
I feel the bond between us deepen. My soul yearns for him, reaching out in desperation. Then, something brushes my hand, an inner part of me that I instantly know is afraid of what’s happening. It’s him, his own soul. My soul cries in elation and when the fear subsides our souls intertwine, becoming one.
We are soul bonded.
The sensations heighten instantly, and, even as he lifts his head, staring down at me with the very same things I’m feeling, the things I know he’s feeling, I can still sense the tremor of it rush through me. The bed reappears beneath my body, the room comes back into focus. I grab his head and kiss him. Then, it’s just us again.
Suddenly, my robe is open and his hands are on me. I arch my back, wanting to feel more of his touch. Eager fingers run over my breasts, lingering there, and then his hands palm roughly as his lips continue to devour mine.
When he lowers his head and captures one nipple his mouth, it feels like heaven has finally arrived in hell. I grab onto the headboard, trying to keep from crying out. I’ve had sex before, I know how great it can feel. But this blows great out of the water.
Lucifer feeds off my reactions. His tongue is swift, rough and I can hardly last a second before I whisper, “Now.”
He’s just as ready. He undresses himself in record time and mounts me again. I’m ready to receive him as much as he’s ready to come to me. Our bodies join just as our souls have. His thick cock spreads me open, slowly easing into my center. My breaths are a mess of inconsistency, my mouth hardly able to close from the ‘O’ of wonder it forms.
“Tell me how much you want this, Melody,” he grunts.
“Uh huh.”
“Say it.”
“I…oh…Lucifer…oh my God.”
His pulls my legs even closer toward him and throws them over his shoulders. Deeper. Harder. Faster.
“Say it,” he demands.
“I want you Lucifer. I want you so bad.” The words leave me breathless and I don’t even attempt to force more oxygen into my lungs.
Instinctively, my hips buck and I take as much of him as he’s willing to give. Which is everything. Absolutely everything. The crash of our bodies against each other is fierce. It’s powerful. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. Despite how heavy my eyelids have become and despite how difficult it is to keep them open, I force the action anyway. Wanting to see him. Wanting to imprint the look of satisfaction, the agonizing need for release he wears across his lips and in the dip of his brow. Needing to remember that he’s just as far gone as I am. That it is not just a mere mortal entranced by the devil, but the devil entranced by a mere mortal as well.
Lucifer and I, we are alone in the world, rocking to the rhythm of our hearts, passion exploding around us until we both explode ourselves. He pulls my body toward him, so that my chest is flush against his, so that there isn’t even a breath of space between us. I hold on to him just as tightly as he holds on to me and we ride the wave of our ecstasy together.
Once our breaths have calmed, Lucifer tips my chin up so that we’re eye to eye.
“There’s no coming back from you, Melody Black,” he whispers.
In answer, I press my lips to his, kissing him with a gentleness that lets him know just how true that is for me too.
This. This is Heaven.
Lucifer lays down beside me, nuzzling his head into my side as he holds me close. I’m nowhere near recovering, but I hold him back, running my fingers through his hair.
The beat of his heart matches mine.
“Well,” I say, when I’m sure I’ve recovered enough of my strength to speak. “I think I can safely cross sex with a demon off my bucket list.”
“I think sex with the King of Demons should be something on its own.”
I huff a laugh. “Why? Isn’t the ruler of Hell just another demon at the end of the day?”
He nods against my breasts. “I am. But I am still the ruler of Hell.”
“Point taken. Will consider.”
He snuggles in closer. Holding him like this makes me happier than I’ve ever thought possible.
“I always knew this was going to happen,” he murmurs against my skin.
“Oh? You mean you planned for this?”
“Not at all. From the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew we were meant to be more than just partners. Merlidon and Brotus, they have the same look in their eyes when they look at you.”
“That’s funny. When I laid eyes on you, the only thing I wanted to do was rip your heart out. As for Brotus, I wanted to rip his he
art out a little less than yours. And Merlidon, I’m not sure I’ve gotten over wanting to drive my sword down his throat.” Those last words aren’t entirely true. Merlidon has rather grown on me, unfiltered mouth and all.
“It’s a good thing you didn’t get to do it then, since we wouldn’t be where we are right now and since you wouldn’t get the chance to see what the other men have to offer.” His finger trails a path around my belly button.
“Why does it sound like you’re trying to share me with your men.”
“They have interests, just as much as I do. And sometimes, our interests coincide.”
“You were against it with Jezebel.” Her name feels like a sin on my tongue. Like she’s exactly who I shouldn’t be talking about after having sex with Lucifer.
“That was different. Merlidon and Brotus had no interest in Jezebel. And what Jezebel gave to the other demons was what she gave to me. She wasn’t capable of something as complex as love. What you give to the others, if you decide to open yourself up to them, would be a different part of you. A part of you that I wouldn’t have been able to uncap anyway. It’s not sharing.”
“Keyword being if,” I answer, sucking in a deep breath. I don’t try to understand what he’s saying. I know that I feel something, just a little spark of something when the other men look at me, but right now I don’t want to think about what that means.
A small silence slips between us and I hold on to it for just a moment before asking, “So…this whole marking thing…?”
“Demons don’t mark humans, only other demons. I thought there must have been something different about you because of that. Not to mention the fact that you can sense my power, and can feel when I use them on others.”
“I’ve always been able to do that. Not only with you.”
“Yes, which doesn’t rule out the fact that you are special. I’m yet to find out why.”
“So, when I told you you could feed on me, you already knew this would happen?”
“I had a feeling. A strong feeling, but a feeling nonetheless.” His finger plays in my belly button. “But I couldn’t have been sure until it actually happened.”
Normally, something like that irritates me but I merely smile wider, running my fingers through his hair. “I wanted to ask you if you marked Jezebel, but I’m assuming that isn’t the case anymore.”
He shakes his head. “No, I never marked Jezebel. But I was fine with it because only demons can be marked. Or so I thought.”
“Then, how are we marked?”
“I don’t know. Demons usually mark each other through sex. To a mark a human through feeding is, unusual.”
“Is it always like that?”
“I’ve never been soul-bonded before. But I hear that it is.”
Oh, wonderful. I’ll love to experience that again.
Lucifer laughs and his breath tickles my bare skin. “You’re shouting again.”
“I’m not trying to hide it.” After a moment, a thought occurs to me. “Can I read your thoughts?”
Yes.
I blink in surprise. A whisper of this voice fades from my mind. “Do that again,” I command softly.
Do what again?
You’re projecting your thoughts into my mind?
Yes, and as are you. My thoughts are normally protected, but we can communicate like this whenever you wish.
Lower your shields.
He doesn’t hesitate. A second later, his thoughts are laid bare. He opens everything to me, and I’m slammed with a myriad of memories, pain, and happiness. I see the moment he was created, a human staring up a large tree, reaching upwards to pluck the only fruit the tree has bared. He bites into it and everything he knows, everything he loves is warped.
I gasp in shock. “You were the first human.”
“I was,” he confirms, his voice soft. “But I ate the Fruit of Life and it made me this.”
“Then what about the others? What about Merlidon and Brotus? They’re high-ranking demons. How were they created?”
“They were also humans, but much younger than me. Merlidon drank from the Cup of Jamshid, where it was rumored to hold the elixir of immortality.”
“Of course he’s the one who would want to stay young.”
Lucifer laughs. “It worked, but not in the way he was expecting.”
“What about Brotus?”
“He withdrew Excalibur.”
“The sword of King Arthur? I thought that was just a myth.”
“I’ve learnt, Melody, that nothing we believe is myth is really so. But the truth is far from what we think it to be.”
I mull that over for a moment. “Do you know the truth?”
“No more than you do.” He sighs, but the sound isn’t heavy. It’s like he’s merely expelling his past and ready to move on. “Jezebel wanted to know how to become a high-ranking demon. I knew, but I wouldn’t ever tell her.”
“Good call, Lucifer.”
His arm tightens around me. “I haven’t been human in ages. The world has changed since I first knew it.”
“I think you’ve managed well as a demon, though. If I may toot your horns a bit.”
“I’d like to toot yours as well, but I think I’ve tired you out.”
“You suck at pick up lines,” I laugh, but my heart still leaps with glee and anticipation.
“I have an eternity to learn.” His voice sounds sleepy and he snuggles closer.
But I don’t. I lock the thought away. I don’t want him to hear the newly found fears I have.
Melody, his voice echoes in my head, tomorrow we strike.
Which means tomorrow, I’ll have to face Mr. Black again.
21
“Are you sure this will work?”
I look at Lucifer through the mirror, watching the way his eyes run over the length of me with appreciation. I glow, hiding my smile.
“We don’t have much of a choice,” comes Merlidon’s voice. He picks absentmindedly at his nails. “The longer we wait, the more people go missing.”
“I know that,” I snap, rolling my eyes. Merlidon laughs, his eyes not leaving me as I finish putting my hair into a ponytail. I shoot him an exasperated look.
“It’ll work,” he smiles. But I don’t take his word as gold. Merlidon is the optimistic kind, not the cautious kind.
“We don’t know if it’ll work,” Lucifer steps in, his voice a pacifying calm, needed when you see the mischievous look Merlidon wears.
“Our options are limited,” Brotus chimes in. “If there was another option, we’d all be behind it, but I’ve gone over every possibility and…”
Lucifer nods. “This is it, Melody. There’s no other option.”
“Oh for the sake of everything good and sane, will the both of you stop acting like a comet crashed into hell.” Merlidon rolls his eyes, mockingly. “Pardon the compliments, Melody, but they’re acting like you’re some regular weak human. You’re not. You remember the plan?”
I nod.
Merlidon claps his hands together. “Good, then you’ll be fine. You’re not dumb and you’re not weak and I’m pretty sure you could wade around hell without us by your side and still leave unscathed. Angels will be a breeze for you.”
I nod at him, trying to keep the pleasure of seeing him in his battle suit from my face. Fuck, he’s so handsome. Or maybe I’m just entranced by the fact that Merlidon just gave me my first compliment and it wasn’t a ‘you look nice’ or ‘I like your hair like that’, but something meaningful. Complimenting a girl’s beauty is one thing, but complimenting her strength, that’s a whole other ball game.
“He’s not wrong,” Brotus pipes up. “If there ever was a human cut out for this kind of thing, it’s you.
My eyes are all the thanks Brotus needs. After a deep breath, I pull myself together.
“Okay so I go back to the Guild and pretend everything is fine and dandy. Wait until they come for me again. Let them take me and lead you to them. What happens after that?�
��
“We do exactly what you’re hoping for.”
I grin. “We fight.”
Lucifer matches my smile. “Are you ready?”
As ready as I’ll ever be. I’m dressed in one of their battle suits, similar enough to the suit I usually wear on missions although the cut is much more revealing. My sword is, once again, strapped against my back, hidden within a black sheath Lucifer gave to me this morning.
I don’t look the same as I did when I left the Guild, and I don’t have a suitable explanation for why I haven’t been around as yet either, but I don’t think about it. I’ll just deal with it how I normally do, on impulse.
The others are also in their battle suits, weapons out and ready to do damage. The mace Brotus wielded hangs low in his hand as he watches me from across the room. When he catches my eye, he gives me an encouraging nod. And then, in complete contrast to anything I expect from him, he pads closer. When he’s within a breath of me, he closes his hands at either side of my face and stares an ocean into my eyes, then, carefully presses a kiss between my brows.
“Be safe, Melody Black.”
I nod, all words failing me in that moment. It’s only when Brotus puts some space between us that I feel like I can breathe again. Instead of seeking out Lucifer’s gaze, my eyes fall on Merlidon.
Merlidon’s claws are elongated, and he picks at them, that wicked smile spreading across his face. I think he’s imagining sinking those claws into fresh blood.
Lucifer approaches me, taking my hand. “Stay safe, Melody. You have the strongest demons counting on having you back,” he whispers to me.
“Don’t worry about me. You just come when I call.”
“Always.”
My heart leaps and so does his. He takes me in his arms and we disappear a second later.
We reappear in an underground park, one I instantly recognize to be a few blocks away from the Guild. The area is untraversed, though this level is filled with cars. Lucifer steps away from me. He plants a kiss on my cheek, which I replace with a long one on the lips. When he pulls away, he smiles broadly at me before disappearing.
Hunting Darkness: Hunting her Lovers (Demon Hunter Book 1) Page 16
