Greed's Charity (Seven Deadly Sins Book 1)

by R. A. Pollard

  “Please, tell me your name.” Her voice was barely a whisper.

  Greed was hanging onto his control by only the barest of threads. She should have walked out of the room. One of his brothers would have seen to her safety. But the very idea of one of them touching her, protecting her, was abhorrent to him. No one else would protect her, save him. He knew, down to his dark soul, he would turn the world upside down for her.

  Greed took in every nuance of her voice, every word, storing it away in his memory for when she was gone. His usual clawing desire to possess everything seemed to diminish in her presence. Her voice was like cool water running over his eternally heated skin.

  “I’m Greed, of the Seven Deadly Sins.” His voice toned low, he watched with satisfaction as she trembled. Her very scent exploding with the sweetness of arousal, he watched her pupils dilate and her breathing hitch. Whatever spell they were caught in, it wasn’t him alone. She wanted him, her body betrayed nothing. He could reach for her, and she would be willing, warm, and pure. NO!

  Dropping his gaze from hers quickly, he took in sharp breath. He would not corrupt her. He would not expose her to his dark desires. She was a Seer, a pure being who should never know true sin. He was a demon of the darkness. His very essence built from the sin of greed. He would take and take and take until she was drained dry of everything she was. Then he would want more than she could ever give. It was the nature of his curse.

  His growl turned feral as he stood and moved away from her, putting the length of the room between them. It would never be enough to calm the desire to pin her to the wall and taste that sassy mouth of hers.

  Isabelle blinked, trying to sort out what had happened in her brain. She had been drawn to him like a moth to a flame. Turning to where he had retreated, she watched his back as he breathed deeply. For the first time in her life, she wished she could read someone’s emotions. Was this how normal people felt all the time? Unable to read what another person needed?

  “Greed? Seven…Seven Deadly Sins?” That was crazy. People didn’t name their children Greed or Gluttony, not unless they wanted a lifetime of therapist bills for their damaged kid.

  “Human, you need to keep your distance. I am not some biddable mortal male you can command with those eyes of yours.”

  “Command men with my eyes?” The laugh left her before she realized it. “You’re seriously deranged. Me? Ordering men around? I don’t think so. I would rather not touch anyone, let alone send them off to do my bidding. And what’s with the human talk? Are you not so very subtlety trying to tell me we’re not the same species?” She ended with a soft laugh. But he turned his gaze to her with a total deadpan stare. Her smile faded as quickly as it arrived, and a chill washed over her skin. “You’re joking, right? You can’t seriously expect me to entertain the idea you’re not human? I mean look at you. If you ignore the fact you’re a walking god, you look just like me…”

  “Demon.” His voice broke through her rant.

  “What?”

  “Demon. Not god.” He turned to face her, taking one step, then another. Stalking towards her. A look of hunger and desperate need in his eyes.

  Isabelle stepped back each time he advanced, her breath caught in her lungs, eyes wide. Was he out of his mind? A demon? Surely he was on medication or something? Maybe this was just one of those role play dudes who got way into his ‘art’ and believed he was a demon. Yeah, that could be it. Yet the look in his sparkling eyes washed that idea away. Feeling the wall at her back, the man—no, the demon—stopped one step from her. The space between them seemed to shimmer and hum with energy, crackling with promise.

  “What no smart ass come back? I can see your mind working through your options. One, I’m delusional…” He moved his hands to either side of her head, effectively caging her in against the wall. “Two, I am just making this up and I’m dangerous, or…”

  He leaned in; the very air around them sizzled with power, flickering over their skin, causing a sharp indrawn breath. Heightened awareness sank into her flesh. If he kissed her right now, she would allow him. God help her, she wanted his mouth on hers. For all the fear rolling from her, her burning need outshone it. His lips brushed her ear and her knees went weak.

  “Or three…I am telling the truth.” His last words were spoken in a whisper that caused her body to go into meltdown.

  She should be screaming, running, beating at him, something! But her brain was on hiatus, misfiring with the proximity of his body to hers. Her mouth opened and closed, trying to form words. But her body was no longer hers to control. His scent wrapped around her like a blanket, shutting out everything but him. When his lips brushed her throat, she felt her heart rate jump. Her skin tingled, every nerve came alive. She had never felt desire like this. It was a palpable need pounding in her veins, blocking out everything but him. Had he drugged her? No, he wouldn’t, she knew in her very soul. He would never harm her.

  Her hands lifted to his sides. His breathing was hard and deep. She could feel each expansion of his chest. He was shaking, his hands now fists on the wall beside her. Her fingers found the edge of his shirt, sinking under it, feeling the heat of his skin against her palms. The man before her went as tight as a bowstring, a low almost agonized groan set off sparks deep in her womb. His body closed the distance, pinning her to the wall. Fire rushed over her skin, sinking in and taking hold, robbing her of any desire to leave him.

  What was happening to him? One touch from this little human and he knew he would forsake the gods themselves for her. The desire to strip her naked, sink deep into her body, a body he knew would be welcoming, raged inside him. He had to taste her, had to delve between those lips and drink down her pleasure.

  His body physically burned and she was the only balm to cool the fever. His cock, a part of his anatomy he had long thought dead to him, strained against the confines of the jeans. Pressing himself against her soft belly, shocks of long forgotten pleasure rushed through him.

  Oh God, how long had it been since he had felt any sensation other than the bite of pain against his ravaged skin? Her throat was so soft against his lips, the skin of her cheek like velvet. Shit, it might as well have been. He felt like he was thief in the night, and having conned his way into her home, he now sought to ravish the fair princess. Oh and he could think of so many ways to ravish this temptation before him. With a low growl, he breathed her in, the Sin inside him in full agreement. She belonged to him. Greed did not share his things.

  He pulled back, his gaze burning into hers. He knew she was caught up in this whirlwind of need with him. He was reminded she was made for better than him. Ah, but no. He was Greed. She was made for only him.

  “So, little minx, which do you believe?”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  He pressed against her Isabelle could feel the steel length of him as he rubbed back and forth like some great cat marking her. Liquid need was soaked her panties, and she knew from the low rumble in his chest, he sensed it. A demon, he was a demon. How was it even possible? But then again, she experienced the emotions of strangers as if they were her own, so it didn’t seem as farfetched as one would expect.

  His words were like fingers brushing through her folds, sending sparks deep into her womb. Greed, one of the Seven Deadly Sins, was looking at her with such blatant hunger, she didn’t need her empathy to know what he felt. She wanted to answer, even collected the thoughts and opened her mouth to speak. But his voice brushed over her skin again, robbing her of rational thought.

  “Am I crazy?” His hand moved from the wall to brush over her shoulder, slowly trailing down the shirt over the swell of her breast. His fingers popped one button after another until her belly button appeared. Brushing the shirt to the side, his fingers left a blazing trail over her exposed stomach.

  The black of her bra and panties matched, thank you Natalie! Clearly he appreciated the black because he groaned, he was pressed so hard against her she felt his cock jump inside his pants. He hesit
antly reached between them, his fingers brushing over the lace covered juncture of her thighs. When he found her panties soaked, he made a low appreciative sound that made heat curl in her stomach. The touch pulled a soft moan from her, it encouraged him to press harder. The bastard smiled and leaned in rubbing his finger in circles against her clit, her head threatening to explode.

  “Am I living in a fantasy world?” She was caught in his game. The end goal, of course, was her submission.

  Isabelle was at his mercy. His fingers massaged slow agonizing circles through the material, giving her an echoed taste of what he could do to her. Her body was wound tight, heat rolling through her, she wished to God there was no barrier to his touch. Pleasure tingled through her veins, rushing over her in waves. Her nails dug into his sides as he leaned his head against her shoulder and hissed his need. Her body pulsed, with a maddening slow climb to the crest of bliss. Whimpering softly, her eyes closed as she reached for it, but he held her back, his finger slowing the torturous touch.

  She should be stopping him. He was a stranger, claiming to be a demon, his hands in places no man had ever touched. For the life of her she couldn’t stop him, didn’t want to stop him. She felt his lips brush over her throat, and she melted in his arms, his tongue finding that sweet spot just behind her ear, making her knees go weak and her body burn.

  He had never appreciated the coverings modern women wore over their bodies until now. The small scraps of delicate lace hid just enough his imagination ran wild with ways he could remove them. His eyes flicked up to her face. She watched him with rapt attention, her tongue darting out, licking those luscious lips. He growled low, his fingers brushing over the edge of her panties, feeling her tummy tremble and her body clench. The soft whimpering moans wrapped around his cock, pulling his skin tight. She was so wet, her body ready. All thoughts as to why this was wrong were gone, all that mattered was her.

  He had caught his prey, enraptured her totally. He pulled aside her panties, and she spread her legs further apart for him. His fingers slid through her swollen folds, sinking into her virgin body. He was touching heaven, as close as a damned soul could come to pure grace.

  Greed groaned long and low. She was so fucking tight, visions of her gripping his cock as he rode her to orgasm slammed into him. She was a virgin. Her innocence permeated every scent her body released. Inside his head he roared. No one had touched her, only him. She would be his alone!

  She was panting now as he gently added a second finger, his thumb brushing against her swollen clit, sending shock waves through her body. He was about to spill in his pants like an untrained youth, but fuck, she was fire and lightning, and her body reacted as if it were made for him. Pulling back, his free hand moved to her hair, tilting her head down so he could see her eyes. She was dazed with need, so close to oblivion.

  “Am I telling the truth, little human? Am I a demon?” More like a bastard, he thought to himself, but he couldn’t stop.

  “Yes! YES!” The gasped acceptance was all he needed.

  “Good girl.” Claiming her mouth, he marked her with a branding kiss, his tongue spearing deep, tasting her, bringing her exquisite flavor to his tongue. His fingers began a slow, torturous slide in and out of her slick body. She moaned into his mouth as he plundered deeply, etching each second into his memory. Curse him a million times into the Pit for this, but damn he craved more.

  She cried out into the kiss, whimpering as her body convulsed, her core gripping his fingers. He pumped them in and out of her, wringing out her climax until she was whimpering and trembling against him. He was going to have the worst case of blue balls tonight, for he would not sully her precious body with his own. He had already taken too much of her innocence. He would not take her maidenhood as well.

  God’s he wanted to fuck her, wanted to slide through her silky folds and lose himself in the purity of her. Pulling on the iron will that had kept him alive in his prison, he withdrew from her. Taking one allowance, he lifted his glistening fingers to his lips and sucked her sweet honey from them. She tasted like the amber of the gods themselves.

  She trembled, her knees giving way, and with one move Greed swept her up into his arms. His eyes trailed over her now flushed skin as he laid her on the bed. He had touched heaven, given her bright sparkling soul a taste of pleasure, but now he had to return to the darkness. He wouldn’t drag her down into his hell. He would however take the small spark of light she had just gifted him and hold it close in his solitude.

  “Greed. Stay…please.” He turned to leave and felt a hand grab his wrist. Her plea was so earnest and she looked upon him with latent desire, not revulsion.

  He needed to leave. He had done more then he should have. But the look in her eyes…he couldn’t deny her. Her very essence now permeated his soul. No one would ever take her place, and he found himself nodding. Damn him again. He moved to lay down beside her. She was so small compared to him. He lifted his arm as she curled against him like a contented cat, the heat from her body sinking into him, burning away some of the loneliness that tormented him. Even a temporary reprieve was a gift.

  Only problem now, he was in bed with a woman he couldn’t have. His cock was harder than steel and there wasn’t a chance on this earth he would defile her further. As she fell into an orgasm-induced sleep, he groaned and leaned his head back against the headboard. This was going to be a very long and very unfulfilled day.

  Isabelle was floating, her mind set free, the clouds drifting past her like great misty beasts, rolling and molding into fantastical shapes. She was trying to remember how she got here. One second she had been experiencing the best orgasm of her life, and the next, sleep pulled her under and she was here. In the same clothes—or lack thereof—she had on before. This was hardly an outfit in which to go fluttering about in the clouds. Surely her pleasure-addled mind could have come up with something better?

  Isabelle was sure her brain was out of commission right now, no doubt still recovering from a demon’s masterful touch. She felt the heat flush her skin as she remembered his words, and how he pulled from her the acknowledgment he wasn’t human. This was beyond surreal. It was starting to sink into the realm of insanity, if not for the fact she believed him.

  The clouds began to rush faster around her, yet the breeze didn’t strengthen. It took a few moments for her mind to catch up to the fact she was heading towards a large crested hill protruding from the sea of mist and cloud. She could see a stone structure, circular in nature, standing proud against the green of the grass and the almost blinding blue of the sky.

  Everything seemed so bright. The grass shone, almost as if lit from inside. The sky was the kind of blue you only see in a dream, each cloud fluffy and white, as if drawn by some child’s imagination.

  Okay, that hill was getting damn close. It was rushing at her now. Wait—was it moving or was she? Panic gripped her and she covered her face, pulling her body into a fetal position, not that it would help when crashing into a floating hill. When nothing happened, Isabelle opened her eyes to find her feet upon the soft grass. It took a few moments for her to realize she was now dressed in a flowing white dress.

  “You are here, finally, thank Zeus.” A voice floated to her. It could only be described as wind through the leaves. It was so delicate, floating and ethereal. Isabelle whirled around, coming face to face with the smallest female she had ever seen.

  She had long black hair, pin straight, hanging over her shoulders. She couldn’t be more than five feet tall, her small feet peeking out from the hem of her white dress. Her hands were clasped before her, and a smile lit up her small, heart-shaped face. But it was her eyes they mesmerized her, such a bright metallic gold that shimmered with joy.

  Isabelle blinked as the small woman rushed up to her and grabbed her hands. Warmth seeped into her fingers and rushed up her arms. Joy spread from her heart, suffusing her body, bringing with it a deep sense of contentment and acceptance. She had never felt anything like it before. T
he shock vanished as she sank to her knees on the cool grass.

  “My name is Ilianna. I’m so pleased to finally meet you, Isabelle. I have waited for so long.” The small female knelt before her and smiled, brushing back the mass of curls from her forehead.

  “How do you know my name?” Isabelle watched her with a sense of awe as the woman smiled again, the very world around her lighting up.

  “I know everything about you. You and the six others who will soon awaken. The power of the Seer is finally returning to the world. You are just the first my dear child.” Someone had just told Isabelle she knew everything about her and started spouting something about Seers. She should be getting a little freaked out, right? But that wasn’t happening. Isabelle felt as if she knew this woman, like the very words she spoke rang with the truth of prophecy.

  “A Seer? I don’t…I don’t understand.” Isabelle frowned, confused, and the woman just laughed softly, smoothing her hair again. Calm rushed through Isabelle.

  “Long ago, the bloodline of the Seer began with me. We were a race of women born with amazing powers. Healing, foresight…” She smiled and cupped Isabelle’s cheek gently. “Empathy. Revered as the communication line to the gods, the tellers of the future, we lived as protected maidens, worshipped for our power. But over time worship turned into greed, greed into lust, and soon wars were fought by humans and gods alike over who would possess our power.”

  “Over time our women were taken, made broodmares for those who owned them. Our blood thinned and our powers diminished, forgotten to memory. The few who remained were hunted, hiding their powers so deep, they themselves forgot the power that once ran in their veins. History was forgotten, memories lost, the old stories became myths, and so too did we. Until you, Isabelle, you and your sister Seers. You will return power to our race. You will return the balance to the world.”