by Layna Snow
“No, hot-stuff this is aftercare. This is about you and relaxation, not sexy-time. Just lean back and let us take care of you. You have to be sore. Death isn’t exactly small. Your muscles are also probably uncomfortable from walking all this way, and from being locked into one position. Just let us help.”
Sophia pouted, a facial expression that would have caused a small amount of annoyance to sidle into his mind, but only created a feeling of appreciation. It was…cute.
She continued to react, however, while Adrian continued to wash her systematically. When her body was clean, Thane took the portable showerhead down and turned it on to run warm water through her hair. Adrian helped, turning her so that she was facing him, straddling the young man’s thighs.
This made it easier to apply Adrian’s shampoo to her soft tresses, working the soap into a lather. He never thought that washing hair could be sensual, but he had to admit that the experience was turning him on.
It seemed to be doing the same to her, because her nipples tightened, drawing his gaze. Drawing Adrian’s gaze as well.
“Oh boy, you sure we can’t give her a little pleasure while we do this?” the man asked.
He would have agreed with Adrian, however this wasn’t the time. They were finished with the carnal part of this morning’s activities. They could do more, and would do more later.
“Pretty,” Thane said, his voice breathless even to his own ears. She wasn’t just pretty. She was gorgeous, with her wonderful curves that cushioned his body just right. It gave him more to stimulate, more to touch. Her face, set in aroused lines drew him, and her hair was like dark silk as he rinsed it.
“We are so going to keep you naked all the time. I love looking at you and touching you. I want to know that I can press my cock into you anytime I want to. That you are ready for us.” Adrian purred.
As if that sentence was an electric prod, Sophia gave a start. Her eyes opened and she pulled her head forward, away from his hand.
Unfortunately, he had his fingers gripping the strands to wash them, and he could tell that the pull caused her pain.
Seeing her discomfort caused a twinge in his chest. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her.
“Sorry,” he said, releasing her hair and turning the water off, however she was too busy scrambling to cover herself to notice.
“Whoa, relax baby. What’s wrong? Talk to Sin. Can’t make it better unless I know what the problem is.”
Sophia shook her head, her face hidden behind the wet fall of her hair.
Thane moved to sweep it aside, needing to see her face in order to comfort her, but she wouldn’t let him.
He could feel something pressing through the cold calm that he held within. It was sharp, chaotic and deeply unpleasant.
He was pretty sure that it was panic.
He pushed it away, needing instead to focus on the situation.
Obviously something had startled her. She had been relaxed a few moments before. Had she been reacting to his comment about her nudity?
Or was it about their future sexual activity that bothered her? He could not think that she was worried about sex with them, not after how she responded to them already.
“Sophia.” He said, his voice a command. He was used to issuing orders.
She stilled, proving that she did have a submissive quality. It was rewarding, to know that she followed his demand. She still, however, wouldn’t look at him.
Enough was enough. Thane would not let her hide her thoughts. It was not conductive to a healthy relationship of this kind. They had to know exactly what she thought and felt in order to make sure that she was not harmed in any way. They had to know what she liked and didn’t like. If she was not honest with them, they would not be able to carry on.
Thane reached in and picked her up, holding her against his body. Adrian also got up and retrieved a towel to dry her off.
He only put her down long enough for Adrian to dry her off some, and for him to wash himself quickly in the shower. He didn’t have any hair, so he didn’t need to take time to wash it.
After that, he returned to the bedroom to find Sophia sitting at the foot of his bed holding a blanket to cover her body. Adrian stood in front of her, still naked.
When he entered, the other man turned around and let out a frustrated breath. “I think she’s being ridiculous, wanting to hide her body and shit.” As immoral as Adrian was, Thane knew that he was not unintelligent. The other Fallen was very perceptive when it came to people and so Thane would not discount his theory.
Without pause, he walked to Sophia and took the blanket from her. The cover was offensive.
She didn’t need to hide her flesh from him. The fact that she wanted to put a barrier between them was unacceptable. It didn’t take much strength to remove it, tossing it to Adrian quickly. “Yours too.”
He knew that as sarcastic as he was, Adrian would do what needed to be done and hide the coverings.
After Adrian left, Thane turned back to see Sophia trying to hide herself with her hands.
With a growl, he picked her up, dropping her in the middle of the bed to sprawl on top of her. He took hold of her hands easily enough, containing them above her head.
“Talk, now.” He told her, giving her no room for argument. He hadn’t spoken this much. His throat already felt raw from the unaccustomed task. It would heal soon, though, he was not worried.
She kept quiet and looked at him like one look at would a weak-minded Human.
He could understand her confusion. She couldn’t speak. Not normally anyways. She could mouth words, whisper a little. He heard the light, airy breaths while they were having sex. Words so breathy that not many could hear.
It would stand to reason that she would be able to communicate that way again. She should understand that he would be able to hear her this close, however she stayed silent.
Thane growled. She was making this unnecessarily difficult.
Sophie shook her head, her deep chocolate eyes keeping contact with his.
“Yes.” He gritted, and watched her wide eyes widen even more before she finally opened her mouth. Her words were mouthed, not whispered.
He understood. Whispering hurt the throat.
And he didn’t want her hurt more.
But he still understood them. They still caused a dart of anger to build in his body, tightening his muscles involuntarily. As if to make sure of comprehension, she repeated her statement. It was not a mistake. He had followed her words perfectly.
She was scared about what they expected of her, what she thought she could expect from herself. She wasn’t the type of girl that did this, and thought that now that they were done, that they might not want her anymore.
She also said that she wanted out.
But he was not letting her out now.
She had some personal issues that needed to be addressed. She needed to know that they would find her attractive no matter what.
They were her Doms. He understood that she was afraid, that this was an awakening for her, just as he had his many years ago.
But she could not just run away when she was scared.
“Oh, hot-stuff. You got Death all fired up. You don’t want to do that baby. Whatever you ‘said’ to him, you should probably take it back now.” Adrian said, his voice coming from somewhere around his left side. He didn’t take his eyes from Sophia. He wanted her to know that he was serious.
“No. Stay.” They would help her work through this. They would let her confront her fears, and be there to support her.
They would train her. They would give her pleasure. And in the end, she would look at herself differently.
For now, he was going to show her how attractive he found her. He would show her that she was safe, and that her fears were baseless.
She just had to accept it.
12
The morning only went up from there, which was saying something since it had been awesome so far. And, Sophie reflec
ted, that wasn’t supposed to sound as dirty as it did…but it was true in all meanings.
After Thane demanded that she stay with them, he waited for her to agree.
Adrian gave her the choice. Told her that she could leave. He told her that her fears weren’t necessary, but that they’d get through them.
She thought that he’d demand, that he’d seduce her, but the look that Thane had given him must have stopped him.
The look also made her think about her decision.
They were right. She was just afraid. She was just worried that they wouldn’t like her once they got what they wanted. Worried that she couldn’t handle this.
But it was amazing. And they always gave her a way to say no.
After she agreed, Thane got up to get something. Soph had to admit that at first she was worried. Why would he walk away?
She could feel his arousal. And she started to feel awkward, laying there on Thanatos’s bed, stretched out with damp hair. She wanted to curl in on herself, but Adrian wouldn’t let her.
She wouldn’t let herself.
Instead, Adrian made her turn over onto her front.
And as soon as Thane returned she found out why. He got massage oil. And what a great massage it was!
They started on her back, rubbing the oil into her muscles until they relaxed. All the while Adrian talked about her ‘gorgeous bod’ and how his member needed attention too. But he didn’t push her. He simply worked out all the knots in her back as Thane did the same to her legs.
When it was time to turn, Soph wasn’t even worried. She simply lay there as the men touched her so wonderfully.
Adrian paid extra attention to her breasts, kneading them until her nipples pebbled. And then he licked and sucked at them, causing her to writhe against him. She was sure that she would have begged for more, if she could, but Adrian slowly pulled away and continued to make his way along her torso.
They made her feel good about her body, made her feel better about being naked around them, at least for now.
And Adrian calmed her fears about her reactions. He told her how natural it is, how normal it is to feel turned on by spanking and by this sex. He mentioned about how men liked to suppress women sexually so that they would feel bad, so that sex could be a commodity that men took, while women did what men wanted.
And even though that sounded like a BDSM relationship to her, he told her that she really held the power, because if it wasn’t for her, who would they f… err have relations with? They liked that she gave herself to them. Not because she had to, but because she wanted to.
Now, hours after, she was sitting in a different room, this one a large mostly empty cave. It wasn’t attached to the main one, and they had to leave the cave to get here, but it was the only place big enough for them to practice in, or so they said.
Soph would have loved to say that it was nice to get out, but she was still in a darn underground cave!
She wanted sunlight, fresh air and flowers. But she wasn’t going to get that any time soon. Instead, she was going to go from this to fire and brimstone.
Well, she was already in Hell, technically, but she was really going to go into the bowels, and talk with the big flaming honcho. It was kind of a shame that she had plans to make, that she couldn’t just relax and enjoy what these men gave her.
But, she wasn’t going to think of that. She was going to hold this stolen selfish thing. Just for once.
Sophie sighed silently, and turned her attention back to what was happening. The men were fighting. It wasn’t the semi-wrestling/punching that she had witnessed back home.
No, this was the crazy kind of fighting that you saw sometimes in movies or documentaries. This kind involved knives, or in Thanatos’ case a sword. And they weren’t holding back! She cringed once or twice at how close they came to hurting each other.
Adrian was amazing in his skill. He looked like he was performing some kind of macabre dance, moving from foot to foot while weaving around Thane. His body moved fluidly, twisting and turning to avoid blows. His knives were like a part of himself, their curved surfaces gleaming through the air, almost too fast to track. The shine, she was sure, would distract some enemies.
It sure distracted her! She had missed the kick that was aimed at Thane’s groin, even though it didn’t hit.
And of course Adrian was never off balance. He didn’t stop between moves but moved from one to another, making judgements quickly. Instead of falling forwards when his target had moved, he rolled with it, bringing his knives into play again. That time, he did cut Thane, leaving a thin red scratch across the skin.
Soph stood, wanting to do something to help, but the guys ignored her. They weren’t going to stop and she wasn’t going to wade into the fight. She didn’t know how to do this, and could very easily die if she wasn’t careful. And careful meant staying at least ten feet back from the guys.
So she sat down again, resting her back against the uneven red rock.
She didn’t really want to be here, she didn’t want to sit in the dust and watch these men hurt each other.
Sophie knew that she shouldn’t be worrying about men that she didn’t know well, but she felt like she did know them. Felt like they were more than just temporary sex partners.
They saved her, and were really kind to her. She was still surprised how Adrian had talked to her throughout the massage, although he said plenty that left her cringing or blushing.
She just hated seeing their blood, their bruises and pain.
Thane didn’t appear to notice the cut on his leg, sidestepping Adrian’s movement to avoid other damage. He wasn’t like Sin, didn’t make a production about fighting. He didn’t taunt, or laugh, instead he carried on with calm determination, his moves precise and without flare. He didn’t waste extra energy, didn’t move without thought.
Thane was also larger, at least 50 pounds of extra muscle, and so his blows were harder. His sword, the massive, shiny metal thing, clanged against the knives with purpose, and required most, if not all, of Adrian’s strength to keep the blade away from him—another feature of the curved blades, she was sure.
She should have been watching for strategy, anything she could use when she had to confront the Devil. Not that she was going to fight him!
That would be really dumb.
But she did need to get to him. And anything could happen. She’d rather get out alive.
And so, she should have been watching, but instead she couldn’t help but notice the play of muscles. She couldn’t ignore the sweat that dripped down their bodies, or the way they moved. She shouldn’t have been so preoccupied—she had just had sex, awesome sex, this morning—but something about these men brought out the worst in her.
Before coming here, Adrian had told her that they needed to practice. Apparently they did so every day, either with each other or on Demons. They also patrolled the upper part of Hell—the part that they were in now—to keep Demons away from the gates. They couldn’t reach all the gates, of course, but they could get to a few.
Even though they were exiled from Heaven, they still did their best to fight for Human lives. They still did their jobs.
It was probably primarily Thane’s decision, Soph reflected as she watched them. Even now Thane didn’t use dirty tactics to win. He didn’t go after Sin’s soft spots, didn’t hassle him into making a mistake. He just struck with efficiency.
He was like a machine built for killing. It didn’t surprise her that the Greeks had created their death God based on him. She was sure she’d see him in her nightmares, if he hadn’t just cuddled her after the massage five hours before.
“Come on, Death. You can do better than that!” Sin taunted, sticking his tongue out at the bigger man. “You could probably do more damage while Phie danced around topless.” And of course, the man sent her a pleading look. As if she’d do it!
She was just finally able to dress, getting clothes from the guys. She wasn’t going to take them off no
w. She was awkward while naked, at least like this she felt a little more composed. Not that she looked great or anything, but you had to appreciate what you had. As her Abuela often said.
But, for all that meanness, Sophie was sure that Adrian was right. Thane could probably do a lot more harm. She’d seen him take on so many Demons. She knew that he was capable of overpowering the other man. And if Adrian was to be believed, that Thane was thousands of years older, then he would have the skill to do major damage.
Why was he holding back?
Could it be that the emotionless being in front of her actually felt something towards Sin? Could he be reluctant to engage fully to avoid hurting him? And why did that make Soph feel hopeful? It had nothing to do with her, it wouldn’t affect how Thane felt about her!
But… could he be worried about frightening her? She didn’t want to be selfish and contemplate that possibility but it created enough warmth inside of her that she couldn’t ignore it either. And that dichotomy just left her confused.
Either way, she wouldn’t think of it now. There was nothing she could do about his potential feelings.
Sophie could, however, do something about the physical future. She was here to get help, information and resources, but she hadn’t even thought about the skills that they could teach her. If they could show her how to defend herself, she’d have better luck fighting Demons. It would also help her if she was ever held at gunpoint again.
Standing, Sophie waited for them to take a break. They were about due for one anyways, having been fighting for a half hour already and in fact, it didn’t take long for them to stop, Sin breathing heavily with a smirk on his face, while Thane stood impassive.
“Was there something you wanted, hot-stuff?” When she didn’t answer right away—because, heck, how could she?—he continued to talk. “We don’t have all day.”
Well, wasn’t he in a cranky mood? Soph thought as she watched him. His brows were lowered and he no longer smirked at her. He had no reason to be annoyed at anyone. He was free to come and go as he pleased. He didn’t have to be worried about being Demon-chow if he was alone.
