Demon's Paradise

by Sara Humphreys

  “Get your hands off my wife. Right now.” His deep guttural voice was barely audible but his meaning was clear. “And I promise when I kill you, I’ll make it quick.”

  Kristine let out a beleaguered sigh and snapped her fingers again.

  The men who had her arms loosened their hold and Kai shook them off as the spear by her neck lowered. She stumbled. Asmodeus caught her around the waist, but still in survival mode, Kai shoved him away from her.

  “I can handle myself.” She shrugged off the towel and threw it at the guard who had held the spear to her throat. It landed in a comical drape over the tip of the weapon and the poor guy had to struggle for more than a few seconds to remove it. Pink tufts lingered on the tip and he picked it off before falling back into formation.

  “Finally.” Kristine rolled her eyes. “Are we ready to proceed or will there be more drama?”

  Nobody said another word and Kai forced herself not to look at her husband as they continued their march to wherever Kristine was taking them. Kai could feel his eyes on her—his judgment and his pity.

  Poor little Kai. Can’t use her magic and needs the big bad Demon of Lust to protect her.

  The voice in her head, the one that taunted and teased her, was one of her own. But was it really so far off from the truth? Asmodeus was overprotective before he knew her magic wasn’t working and now he would be positively insufferable. She couldn’t really blame him for being upset with her and snapping at her the way he did but that didn’t mean she had to like it.

  There was some truth to what he said. She couldn’t use her magic to get them out of there. She was a liability. She knew that. Yet, somehow, when he pointed it out, it made her feel even more pathetic because that look of disgust, the one he’d cast at her whether or not he meant to, was exactly what she had feared.

  By the time they reached the castle, Kai was physically and emotionally exhausted. The enormous glittering structure was exactly as she remembered and it looked as though it were made entirely from gem stones. She assumed that Kristine would take them to the dungeon, where they kept Asmodeus last time, but instead they were escorted into a lavish-looking bedroom.

  The entire space was decked out in white and pink with accents of silver glitter along the edges of the fluffy comforter and pillows which adorned the enormous king-size bed. Gauzy curtains framed the floor-to-ceiling windows. The white dressers and bed looked like they were made of marble. The gleaming silvery mirror-like floors reflected the light from the windows and beams of light bounced around the room from almost every angle.

  It was like being inside a disco ball.

  Asmodeus stood by Kai’s side but when Kristine came in behind them, he positioned his body in a protective stance in front of Kai.

  “I’ll admit this is far nicer than the dungeon you stuck me in last time but it’s still not where Kai and I want to spend our honeymoon.”

  “You are our guests,” Kristine simpered. “Think of it as a surprise getaway.”

  “Most little getaways don’t come with armed guards.” He gestured toward the guards who filled the open double doorway with their spears at the ready.

  “They are here to ensure your safety and Kai’s, of course.”

  “I’ll ensure Kai’s safety. Not you, Kristine, or your pathetic soldiers.”

  “Really?” Her brows arched and she let out a curt laugh. “You’ve done a fine job so far. Taking her to see the unstable portal wasn’t exactly keeping her safe, now was it?”

  “You know damn well that we are here because of your doing. Not the fucking portal.”

  “My doing?” Kristine’s voice grew more and more shrill as she spoke. “Make no mistake, Asmodeus. You are here, both of you are here, because of your deceptions. Kai’s life has been endangered since the moment she met you. If anyone is putting her in harm’s way, it’s you.”

  Kai was losing her patience. The two of them were acting like she wasn’t even in the room. They were treating her like a child who couldn’t speak or do for herself and it was really starting to piss her off.

  “Excuse me.” Kai stepped out from behind Asmodeus and gently nudged him aside. “I am right here, you know. Kristine, you can speak to me directly. I don’t need my husband to act as some kind of shield or filter. So how about you tell me what you’re babbling on about? I’m guessing it has something to do with Zemi’s absence. Isadora told us that you pitched a fit at the reception because you think the Brotherhood are holding Zemi against her will. That is ridiculous. Lucifer and Zemi are in the Underworld and if you just tried having a freaking conversation with someone, instead of all the theatrics, I’m sure you’d get the answers you’re looking for.”

  “Very well.” A wicked smile curved Kristine’s lips and she shifted her attention to Asmodeus, who stood motionless next to Kai. Heat thrummed from his body in thick penetrating waves, a sure sign of his increasing anger with the situation. “Your wife seems to think you have all the answers. So, demon, where are Zemi and Lucifer?”

  Asmodeus didn’t respond. Tense silence filled the room and the temperature increased as he remained quiet. Kai looked from Kristine to Asmodeus, who were staring each other down like a couple of cowboys from the Old West.

  “You bitch,” he seethed.

  “Asmodeus?” Kai touched his arm and urged him to face her. “What is going on?”

  Her husband didn’t look at her but kept his furious expression pinned to Kristine. His body was tense and he vibrated beneath her touch as his power coiled inside him. The heat rolling off him intensified and Kai started to sweat. Her heart beat faster and a tickle of fear flickered up her back. If he couldn’t use his power but it could still build inside him, what would happen if it had nowhere to go?

  “He’s been lying to you, Kai.”

  “What are you talking about?” Kai kept her attention on Asmodeus and moved in front of him, taking both his hands in hers. She had to get him to calm down and reel the power in before he lit the entire room on fire or something.

  “He doesn’t know where Lucifer and Zemi are. He never did. Your new husband has been keeping secrets from you. He’s been placating you with half-truths. Isn’t that right, Asmodeus?”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Kai laughed incredulously. She looked over her shoulder at Kristine who was staring at Asmodeus with a smug satisfied grin. “He wouldn’t lie to me. Asmodeus, tell her where they are.”

  When she turned back and locked eyes with Asmodeus, the look of pity in his gaze was nothing short of soul-stealing. The heat waves rolling off of him began to cool and Kai’s heart clenched in her chest because she realized that everything Kristine had said was true.

  “Kai…” His voice was quiet, barely above a whisper.

  “Why wouldn’t you be honest with me?”

  “I recently asked you the same question.” He stilled and his expression hardened as he withdrew his hands from hers. “Didn’t I?”

  The weight of his words stung. He was right. She had lied to him too.

  They stood there for what felt like an eternity with neither one saying a word but they didn’t have to. The truth had come out for both of them, but where did that leave them?

  Kai squeezed her eyes shut and fought the tears but she wiped them away. When she glanced down at the mirror-like floors, the reflections stared back at her and Isadora’s words came racing to the surface.

  You can’t hide who you really are.

  Chapter Nine

  Asmodeus could never recall a time, not once throughout his entire existence, when he was at a loss for words or action. Since the beginning of recorded history, humans were at his mercy. The other supernatural creatures of the universe respected the Brotherhood and, truth be told, the majority feared them. Even the Fae had a healthy fear of the demons, at least until recently.

  However, not one single soul had ever had the nerve to ignore him.

  Until now.

  Asmodeus, the Demon of Lust, was being ignored by hi
s own wife.

  He had heard about people being given the silent treatment but this was the first time he had been on the receiving end of it and he didn’t care for it one damn bit.

  Ever since Kristine flounced out of the bedroom, locking the doors behind her, Kai hadn’t uttered more than a few words to him. After spending an inordinate amount of time in the bathroom, showering and ignoring his calls for her to answer him, she had finally unlocked the door and emerged. Clad in a gauzy white nightgown, that did little to hide her beautiful curves, she brushed past him. Strands of her wet hair tickled his arm. He reached out, briefly tangling her fingers with his, but she slipped from his grasp and climbed into bed before whispering, “Goodnight.”

  He could have pressed the issue. Demanded she speak to him, but to what end? What good would it have done to upset her more than he already had? Sadness oozed off of her in palpable waves, surges of grief that threatened to choke him. He deserved to be choked, didn’t he? After all, he was the cause of her distress.

  If Belphegor were here, he would tell him what a dumbass he was.

  And he would be right.

  If they had been anywhere else, Asmodeus would have left her alone and given her the solitude she obviously craved. Since the entire room was enchanted with Fae magic and his powers were basically unusable in this realm, he had little choice at the moment but to stay right where he was. Leaving her alone in the Fae realm was not an option either.

  The dual yellow suns in the pink sky began to set and night was falling quickly. Asmodeus sat in the overstuffed pink and white chair by the door of the bedroom and watched the sheets move as the slow, deep, steady breath of sleep began. He wanted to climb into bed beside his wife and pull her soft curves up against him, bury his face in her sweet freshly-shampooed hair and breathe her in. She fit in his arms and against his body perfectly. It never ceased to amaze him how perfectly her body nestled with his as though it had been made for him and him alone.

  However, as he sat in the chair and watched her sleep, or pretend to sleep more likely, he knew there would be none of that tonight—or tomorrow night. His heart squeezed in his chest and an ache welled as he realized that it was entirely possible Kai may never want to take him into her bed again.

  He had lied to her.

  Asmodeus’ mouth set in a tight line and his body tensed as he recalled the moment when it all came to light. The look on her face, one of absolute heartbreak, had been like a stab in the heart. She had withered beneath the weight of the realization that they hadn’t been honest with each other.

  Where did they go from here?

  Damned if he knew. Asmodeus was squarely seated in unfamiliar territory and if his brothers, wherever they were, could see him now, they would have a hell of a laugh at his expense. Kai wasn’t some human minion he could control like a puppet or a supernatural foe he could dominate. She was the one person he had ever truly loved and he had wounded her with that same love. His love for her, his incessant need to protect her had been the very reason why he kept the truth from her about Zemi and Lucifer’s disappearance.

  “Are you going to sit there glowering at me all night long?” Kai’s voice, sleepy and soft, drifted across the room so quietly he almost wasn’t sure that he heard it.

  “Kai?” He stilled. “I thought you were sleeping.”

  “Nope.” She sat up and pulled her knees to her chest. Awash in the silvery moonbeams that streamed in through the windows, the woman looked every bit the fairy she was. “Too many thoughts racing. When I was little my mother said I was like a bulb that wouldn’t go out when I got upset. Missing aura notwithstanding. It’s weird, isn’t it?”

  “What is?”

  “Not being able to see our auras in the Fae realm. I remember how strange it was the first time I came here. Nobody had auras or at least I couldn’t see them in this realm. That was the first time in my life that everyone around me looked normal.”

  “Is that so surprising? You are part fairy, after all.”

  “Maybe,” she murmured. “Mostly human, it turns out.”

  Asmodeus leaned back in the chair and held her serious stare. Her blonde hair was still damp from her shower and drifted over her forehead, partially obscuring those gorgeous brown eyes. But there was no hiding the whisper of fear, uncertainty and hurt behind them.

  “I was beginning to think you were never going to speak to me again.”

  “Believe me, I considered it.” Kai rested her chin on her knees and let out a slow breath as she fiddled with the blankets covering her toes. “But I’m not exactly in a position to be casting judgment on you, am I? I should have told you that my powers were gone once the Ring of Solomon came off.”

  Silence hung in the air between them and particles of dust glittered in the beams of moonlight which shone over Kai like a spotlight. She looked so delicate and beautiful it almost pained him and for a moment he feared she might vanish right before his eyes. It had happened before, when she unwittingly used the Fae’s power of light travel. Had that only been few months ago? Funny, it seemed like far longer.

  Yet, if she disappeared now, in this realm, he would be helpless to find her.

  Asmodeus swallowed the sudden surge of fear, tamping it down, refusing to feed the beast he knew it could become.

  “Why didn’t you tell me what was happening to you, Kai?”

  “Why didn’t you tell me about Zemi and Lucifer?”

  “I wanted to protect you. Give you the luxury of plausible deniability. If you didn’t know that they were missing, then you couldn’t be accused of being complicit in their disappearance. My brothers and I knew that eventually the Fae Courtiers would come looking for their Queen. Although I have to admit, I didn’t see this scenario as a possibility.”

  “Right.” Kai let out a bitter laugh and sighed heavily. “We really are sucking at this marriage thing so far. First we have the Jerry Springer-esque wedding reception, we’re both keeping secrets and then we get kidnapped on our honeymoon.”

  “Not the fairy tale you had in mind?”

  “Hardy-har-har.” Kai bit her lower lip and looked away from him, as she always did whenever he tried to get her to laugh at inopportune moments. “Cut it out. I’m mad at you.”

  “Fair enough but since we’re equal partners, allow me to remind you that you were keeping secrets as well. A big one. Why didn’t you tell me you were having trouble accessing your magic?”

  The smile that had begun to emerge swiftly vanished and the glimmer of humor they shared evaporated just as quickly. Kai looked toward the window and hugged her legs tighter as if contemplating whether or not to answer him and finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she met his gaze once again. Taking a deep breath as though mustering up all her courage, she said, “I was scared.”

  “Of me?” His body tensed and he studied her carefully, searching for an answer before she gave him one. “You were afraid of me?”

  “Not of you. I was afraid of losing you.” Kai shook her head furiously and squeezed her eyes shut before wiping at them and letting out what could only be described as a growl of pure frustration. “I didn’t think you would want me anymore if you found out that the magic I had was because of the ring and not really mine. If I’m just me, just plain old Kai, then there aren’t going to be any super magical babies or anything. I mean, you’re the Demon of Lust, one of the seven lords of the Underworld. Why would you want someone like me if I’m just…me?”

  Asmodeus didn’t think he would have been more stunned if she had sprouted wings and flown around the room. How could this spectacular creature think for one millisecond that he wouldn’t want her?

  Willing to risk her rejection, Asmodeus went to her and sat on the edge of the bed, the mattress dipping from his weight. Facing her, he brushed the strands of hair from her forehead and swiped at her tears with his thumb before gently cupping her cheek. Her silky soft skin settled against his palm with exquisite perfection.

  “Just you?�
� He rasped, his voice gruff as he fought a powerful surge of emotion. “Kai, I’ve failed you miserably if you could believe that there is any world, time, universe or dimension in which I wouldn’t want you.”

  He cradled her face with both hands and pressed his forehead to hers, wanting and needing to connect with her in mind, body and spirit. She sniffled and settled her hands over his. For a split second, he feared she would push him away but his concern was short-lived as she pulled him closer to her.

  “I didn’t fall in love with you because of your Fae magic or your witch’s blood. The magic you possess, Kai, goes far beyond the supernatural world. You cast your spell on me the moment you looked at me in that gas station.”

  “If memory serves, I called you a Dark One and then I fainted. Not sexy.”

  Asmodeus pressed a kiss to her forehead and pulled back so he could look her in the eyes and be certain his words and meaning were clear.

  “I was a Dark One until I found you, Kai. You, my beautiful sexy wife, are the magic. You gave me my soul. Not the Fae, the Ring of Solomon or any witch’s potion. Don’t you see?”

  “Are you su—“

  Covering her mouth with his, Asmodeus kissed her deeply. It was a long, slow, soul-fueling kiss that made him burn for more of her. Even though he wanted to peel her nightgown from her body and worship her from head to toe, he suckled her lower lip and pulled away, wanting to be certain her fears were put to rest.

  “I love you, Kai Kelly.” To his great relief, he saw love and trust in those big brown eyes and something inside his chest tumbled, like a lock slipping into place. “You loved me into existence…and that is magical.”

  Chapter Ten

  Early morning sun streamed in from the windows, but Kai kept her eyes closed and reveled in the warmth of Asmodeus’ muscular body curled around hers. She loved the weight of him, the way his leg draped over her thigh and the slight tightening of his arm in response to her movement. Contentment washed through her while she recalled the powerful, heartfelt proclamation of his love. Of course he loved her. She knew that. But it was a relief to hear him say it all out loud. To hear him reassure her, that her magic was not the reason he fell in love with her, was a precious relief.