by Eve Newton
Man, what is going on today? Or is this a usual day and yesterday was, like, a painfully slow day at the office?
Evan
I stand in the enormous queue for Inbound impatiently. This has been an unusually busy day. I don’t know what happened and I don’t really care. I’m sure whatever it was has the Devil all in a tizz about it. More souls to generate into Demons to send out to cause chaos in the world.
Speaking of chaos…my stomach twists into a small knot at the thought of seeing Axelle again.
I knew exactly who she was when I was assigned to her desk.
Everyone knows who she is. She is renowned in Hell, not only for her very lengthy stint on Earth as the best Seductress the Devil ever made, but for being the only female to have escaped, not once but twice. She is a legend. Not that I would tell her that. She is a first-class bitch. I mean, I knew she would be feisty, but man, that doesn’t even cover it.
The queue starts to get shorter and I can hear her giving every Reaper before me grief. It makes me smile in spite of myself. I have to admit that I’m looking forward to seeing her again, even if it means being insulted and sworn at. I want to gaze into those pretty blue eyes and admire that gorgeous rack while she leans too far forward to show off her cleavage. I know it’s ingrained in her to try and seduce the pants off every male she comes across. It doesn’t make it any easier knowing that she is doing it to all the other Reapers.
I shake my head at my irrational jealousy. I have no cause to be jealous, and if she knew, she would use it to ridicule me and amuse herself in her boring-ass job. It must be killing her.
That both pleases me and makes me wish I could save her from her plight.
“Fuck’s sake,” I mutter to myself, earning me a confused look from my soul.
Finally, I’m next and I start to sweat. I want to smile at her and flirt with her, but I’m completely useless in that area. I keep to myself down here because I don’t really belong, and everyone knows it. So socializing isn’t something that I tend to do often. I don’t get asked to the debauched parties that some Demon or another throws every other day, and I don’t ask to go.
I want desperately to ask Axelle out, but I’m not sure I can handle the rejection.
All I can do is stand here like an idiot and drool over her while she insults me and then go home and dream about her body writhing on top of mine.
I groan as that thought makes me hard.
I may not socialize often, but I’m not that hard up for female company. There’s always a slew of females eager to give up the goods. It’s not ideal, but a lonely Reaper doesn’t get much choice in the matter.
I hear her asking the Reaper in front of me what’s happened. If he knows, he isn’t saying. He probably doesn’t know anyway, like me. We’re just here to collect the souls that have passed and bring them here to Inbound. It’s not in the job description to ask questions.
I take a deep breath, hoping that this encounter goes slightly better than the last one, although I doubt it. This female is trouble and if there is one thing that pushes my buttons, it’s trouble.
Axelle
After the tenth soul has been shipped off to Assignments—all with their correct temperaments grudgingly recorded—I ask the next Reaper what is going on.
“Was there, like, a train wreck or something?” I ask sardonically.
“Or something,” comes the menacing reply from deep within the hooded, black cloak.
Okay, fair enough.
Mental note: Reapers—not big talkers. Except when they are being jerks.
“Speaking of jerks,” I drawl when I open the door again to find myself looking at Evan again. He scowls at me, so I scowl back.
Reap what you sow, asshole.
I chuckle to myself at my own pun, which turns up his scowl to about a twelve on the scowl-o-meter.
“Hurry up, would you? I’ve been waiting twenty minutes to get this one booked in already,” he says crossly.
“Geez, sorry,” I answer back sharply. “It’s been kind of busy today, if you hadn’t noticed.”
“No fucking kidding,” he replies. “I’m making my quota for the week today. Well, I would be if you would hurry the fuck up.”
“Attitude like that will only get me to slow down,” I say and deliberately pick up my stamp in slow motion.
Evan growls at me, but I take my sweet time in neatly rolling up the scroll and sending it on its way.
“If you don’t like how I work, go to another Inbound Administrator,” I say, crossing my arms.
“I’m assigned to this desk. You are my Inbound Administrator. So, you can’t get rid of me that easily,” he snarls, and off he goes with his soul in a foul temper. He needs to seriously lighten up.
I stick my tongue out at where he’d been standing a moment ago and close the door. If only I could get rid of him. Although, his feisty attitude is kinda sexy. Not my usual thing, as I prefer my men weak and submissive, but at this point I wouldn’t turn down a roll in the sack with a man burning with passion. And he is cute, in a college boy kind of way. Not sensually, smolderingly, good-looking like Luc, of course, but hot all the same.
After two more hours of non-stop booking in, I take a breather and find a coffee machine in the next ‘office’.
I saw Evan another two times, and both times, he was just as nasty to me. I wonder what I did to bite him on the ass? I have to concede, though, that he is the only one of them that has spoken to me.
Although, ‘spoken’ is probably being a bit nice about it. He growled at me more like, almost like he was trying too hard to be mean.
In spite of that, I kind of wish that he would show up again just so I have someone to talk to. I have to admit to a secret part of myself, that I’m quite enjoying our banter and I really enjoy watching his cheeks go red when I piss him off. Not for the first time today, I wonder if he would let me tie him up and whip him…
That wicked thought is interrupted by the light, and abandoning my coffee, I go back to work until five o’clock when I sign out and head home.
As I leave my office, I wonder what happens after I clock out. Is there a night shift? Or do the souls only get reaped nine to five? Purgatory should have a purpose, right? Perhaps a safe place to keep the souls until they get collected? It’s a theory.
As I hit the escalator that leads to Apartment Block D, I decide that I don’t really care. I have to find a way to get out of Inbound and soon. It is just another prison that I have been shoved into and I can’t decide which one is worse.
To my surprise, the stunning red dress is waiting in the closet for me when I arrive home. I hesitate for only a second to wiggle out of my suit and to put it on, not even bothering to wash away the workday from my skin. If tonight is going to be anything like last night, then I’m not making any effort to tidy up. All I care about is showing up and letting Luc have his way with me so that I might start to figure out what he wants with me. He wouldn’t have pulled me out of my fiery cell for no reason surely, and for the love of all things unholy, it cannot be just to have crap sex with me.
As expected, once the dress and shoes are in place and I’ve fixed up my hair, this time coiling into a severe bun, I dematerialize and end up directly in the dining hall.
Alone.
I blink a couple of times to get my eyes adjusted to the dimness of the candle-lit room. Then I shrug and take my place, where I’d sat last night, to wait.
I’m drumming my fingers on the table waiting for something to happen, when all of a sudden, Luc appears at the other end looking a bit flustered.
“Apologies,” he murmurs. “I was held up.”
“No worries,” I murmur back, avoiding his gaze, suddenly feeling shy after the weirdness of yesterday.
Luc takes his seat and picks up his goblet, all the while regarding me. “Are you hungry?” he asks.
I nod and a plate of food appears in front of me, this time, a piece of salmon. Where does all this food come from? No
t down here, that’s for damn sure.
“No twins?” I mumble around a mouthful of food, anxious to say something in the awkward silence.
“Not right now,” Luc answers. “I want you alone.”
“Why?” I ask, putting down my fork. I’m desperate to keep shoveling food into my mouth, but the opportunity to find out something has just arisen.
“You are special, Axelle. Strong,” Luc says.
“That’s not very helpful,” I remark, annoyed. “I already know how strong I am.”
“Arrogant as well,” Luc murmurs. “I have a great plan for you, Axelle, but you need to show me you are up for the challenge. I need to know you have what it takes.”
“To do what?” I ask, intrigued. I knew he was up to something. Maybe I’m not destined to be an Admin bitch for long.
“That I cannot reveal to you just yet,” Luc says, taking a sip of his wine. “I don’t want your head filled with those thoughts until you have shown me what you are made of.”
“I already have,” I snap. “I crawled out of this pit after I was sent back. Tell me how many others have done that, Luc?”
His eyes flash with a warning, and I pick up my fork again to fill my mouth with food instead of my foot.
“A tremendous feat, of course,” he says in a dark tone that I don’t care for. “But all that shows me is that you have a lack of respect for authority and the rules.”
“Hm,” I mutter and ponder his words. “Are you seeking my respect, Luc?” I add brazenly.
“The last Demon who disrespected me, isn’t around to tell their tale,” Luc points out mildly, but the threat is implicit. “You would do well to learn from their mistake.”
“Show me the real you and maybe I will start to respect you,” I challenge him, gripping the handle of my fork in case I have to attempt to gouge his eyes out with it if he attacks me.
Luc just chuckles. “You aren’t ready,” he says and stands up. He walks over to the door that we went through last night and opens it. He waits for me to stand up and walk over to him.
“Does that mean that one day I will see your true form?” I ask him quietly as I pass him and enter the bedroom.
“If you prove yourself worthy enough,” he replies quietly, making me shiver.
“All I needed was an incentive,” I say, giving him my most sultry look that has swayed a thousand men. “Tell me how to prove my worth.”
“This is show, not tell,” he chides and pushes me over to the chaise where twin number two is already waiting for me.
I heave a sigh. It appears that we are going to go through the same process as yesterday. I strip off before the female can touch me and sit my ass down on the chaise. I open my legs, fixing Luc with a steady look.
He chuckles at me again. “You’re learning,” he says as ‘his’ twin starts to remove his clothes. “I like that in a bitch.”
“Never let it be said that I’m slow on the uptake,” I drawl and drop my gaze to Luc’s cock, which is currently being placed in the twin’s mouth. I lick my lips and cast my eyes back up to his. I see a quick flash of lust in his eyes before he drops his gaze to ‘my’ twin.
“Get her ready,” he growls and turns his head away from me.
I narrow my eyes at his change in attitude. It has suddenly gone icy cold in here, making my nipples respond to the chilly air. I tweak them as the twin concentrates her efforts lower down, and after a few minutes of intense tongue-fucking, I feel my orgasm pump through me. I clamp my lips shut and make no sound, deciding not to give anything away to Luc now. The only sound in the room is twin number one’s slurping and then the clack of my heels on the floor as I’m escorted to the bed.
I crawl onto the huge bed and hold my position on my hands and knees. If Luc wants me, he can take me this way tonight.
I feel the sharp sting as my ass is slapped hard and I wiggle in rapture. Oh yes! Now this is more like it.
“Turn around,” ‘my’ twin says.
I look over my shoulder and see it wasn’t Luc who’d slapped me, but the female. Luc is waiting impatiently for me to comply, giving me a menacing stare.
I think briefly about telling them “no”, but the air of danger is currently really high, and I’m a survivor at heart. I turn around reluctantly and flop back to the bed, bracing myself. I feel Luc enter me and pump away, but this time the twins have my ankles held and Luc has his hands loosely at his sides. He couldn’t be touching me less if he tried.
This is just getting weirder.
Before I can even warm up, Luc is pulling out of me and splashing his black cum on my stomach before he pulls on his robe and exits the room.
“What is this?” I demand as I sit up. “Why is he doing this to me?” I feel used tonight and that is a feeling that I’m not used to. I am the user. I use men to satisfy my depraved appetite, reveling in their weakness. Now I’m the weak one, my body being taken to service another.
The bitch just ignores me as she cleans me up and as soon as she leaves, I throw the dress back on. Fighting back my frustration, I vanish back to my apartment even more confused than I’d been last night. So much for finding anything out. The mystery of Luc and his actions has just doubled and now I wish I was back in my prison cell, where I, at least, knew my place, if nothing else.
I yank off the dress and let out a roar of rage. I have no idea what Luc’s game is with me, but I hope that it ends soon so that I can get out of here.
I place my hand on my bare stomach. I can feel the evil still coating my skin from his cum. I shudder as I take stock of everything that happened tonight, and decide if that dress shows up tomorrow, I’m not putting it on.
With that decision made, I screw it up into a tight ball and shove it in the back of the closet. Then, I head straight for the shower so that I can wash away the darkness that is starting to scare me. I’m in way over my head here and not knowing what to expect around the next corner is unnerving. I don’t like feeling so vulnerable and exposed.
As I duck my head under the pitiful water stream, I wonder why he would want me to feel this way. Unfortunately, the possibilities are endless and every single one of them makes my skin want to crawl off my body so that my essence can go on the run, never to be seen again.
~ CHAPTER SIX ~
Axelle
The next day, I’ve gotten over my pansy-ass feeling of being used and afraid and have found my anger. Luc doesn’t get to treat me this way without telling me why he is doing it. If that fucking red dress shows up tonight, I’m going to go and find out what the hell is going on and if he doesn’t tell me, then I will tell him to fuck off and find some other Demon whore to play with.
My bad temper travels with me to work, like a black cloud over my head. The only thing that puts a smile on my face is the fear emanating from the souls as they come face-to-face with my wrath.
I tick the ‘terrified’ box time after time, getting even more on the bad side of the Reapers, who wish to stay away from the fearful. An amused soul collects many more brownie points down here and the feeling that I’m destroying quotas left and right makes me feel empowered.
This is more like it.
I have missed the stink of fear and it is not a stench I wish to ever smell on myself again.
“A word,” Roberta suddenly snaps, right next to my ear, the second I slam the little door so hard it shakes the wall it is attached to.
I turn my head and eyeball Roberta from millimeters away. “What?” I snap back.
“What do you think you are doing scaring the souls?” Roberta yells. “My ass is on the line now after today.”
“That’s nineteen words,” I remark, “and it’s not my fault your Reapers are bringing in the scaredy-cats.”
Roberta gapes at me in a very unflattering way, her big lips parted in shock. “Why you little bitch!” she screams. “How dare you talk back to me?”
“Whatever,” I say breezily, really not scared of this female, and turn back to face my door.<
br />
“I—I…” Roberta stutters and then slams her rubber lips shut with a narrow-eyed look. She leans down to hiss in my ear. “Do not make the mistake of thinking my Lord has an affection for you, just because he let you go and gave you a body. Your ass is mine, bitch.”
I’m about to make a snappy comeback, when Roberta stands up straight and goes an ugly, pasty color. Stepping back from me, she vanishes as quickly as she arrived, leaving me puzzled. What was that?
Luc
“Stay away from her, do you understand me?” I roar at Roberta as she quivers in front of me.
“Yes, sir,” she says with her eyes lowered. “But she isn’t doing her job properly, she has messed up an entire day’s worth of assignments.”
“Bite your tongue,” I hiss at her.
She takes me literally, as I expected her to do, and she bites her tongue in half. The tip flops to the floor and I stare at it for a moment before I bend down and throw it into the fire.
Roberta’s muffled cry of pain makes me relax slightly. I’m wound so tight, I need some enjoyment, but unfortunately, Roberta is invaluable to me so I cannot destroy her. It would take a couple of centuries until someone is as experienced as she is, and I don’t have the patience to take on a trainee with no trainer to guide them.
“You get a pass,” I say formally, and snap my fingers, giving her a new tongue.
“Thank you, sir,” she whispers.
“I will deal with Axelle, but you will not approach her in a threatening manner again,” I say with a dismissive wave of my hand.
“Of course,” Roberta says and with a slight curtsey, she disappears from my sight.
I sigh. I knew Axelle was a handful; it’s one of the reasons why I chose her, but I cannot have her fucking with my figures. She is clearly in a temper about the way I’ve been treating her, and it makes me smile. I’m getting to her, and now I’ll see how far she will go to stay loyal to me.
I send the twins off to sort out the mess in Assignments—Axelle’s actions will take hours to fix—and then flame out to my bedroom. I sit in a deep armchair in the corner of the room to wait for my time with Axelle. I’m going to push her to a limit that she will be uncomfortable with tonight and I cannot wait for her reaction.
