Envy rolled her eyes. “She barely looks like she could handle one of you, nevermind the entire kingdom. How could someone like her… control Lust? She looks… virtuous.”
“Virtuous? The first night she met me she had my cock inside her. She’s no angel…” Lucifer said, but there was a lightness to his words. Only he and Eros knew I was part angel, and I planned to keep it that way for now. Lucifer sipped his Vemon, a traditional Pride drink. “Isn’t that right, Dani?”
I swallowed hard, hoping to keep myself calm. “Yes,” I said, cheeks turning red.
“Oh, come on, Lucifer. She’s embarrassed by the mere thought of it.”
Lucifer leaned back in his seat. “You should be afraid of her, Akoda.” He swirled his drink in his hand. “She’s stronger than you ever will be.” His gaze flickered across the table. “Sathanus knows that, don’t you brother?”
Sathanus growled and slammed his fist on the table, making it shake. He leaned over it, stared right at me with his burning red eyes, and curled his tail around the leg of my chair, pulling me closer to Sloth. “You’re the one who killed my heir. Your entire kingdom will pay for your mistakes.”
Though fear ran straight through my bones, I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me scared. Instead, I did what any Lust would do: sat up, pushed my chest out, and gave him the same smirk I had given his son before I killed him. “I will become commander, Sathanus.”
He narrowed his gaze, fire forming on his fingertips.
Don’t let your voice waver, Dani. Don’t show him your terror. He feeds off of it.
“I am the daughter of Asmodeus. I am the best fit as the new ruler.”
But… I wasn’t sure I believed it myself.
Envy flicked her chipped nails at me. “How do we even know you’re telling the truth? Who is your mother?”
My mother? She wanted to know who Mom was? I couldn’t tell them. I had to keep it a secret. If I told them Mom was an angel, they’d throw me straight out of Hell, would refuse to acknowledge my claim to the throne, and would spew lies about me to everyone.
I slid my ring off my finger under the table so they couldn’t see my parents’ wedding band. “Does it matter who my mother was? My father was Asmodeus.”
“Probably one of the Lust whores,” Envy said to Greed.
Sloth looked at me and shook his head at the other commanders. “Why does it matter who she is?” He raised his brow, his bloodshot eyes looking me up and down. “She’s hot.” He took another hit of his blunt. “Come to Sloth, and we can chill sometime.”
Envy rolled her eyes. “I don’t think somebody who might not even be related to Asmodeus should wear the crown. And even if she is related to him, he was a traitor. He went against his kingdom to marry an angel.” Envy looked at me with glowing green eyes. “She will be a traitor too.”
Sathanus growled again. “A traitor and a killer. Somebody who’s willing to kill the heir to the throne of Lust and the throne of Wrath.”
Eros clenched his jaw and stepped forward, staring right at Satan. “Your son was not heir to the throne. Biast will become your heir. Dani didn’t kill anyone who didn’t deserve to die.”
Lucifer sat back in his seat, humming to himself. I cut my eyes to him. “Dani, Dani, Dani, always causing trouble, aren’t you?” He smiled and shook his head.
I ignored him and turned back to the commanders. Greed set up taller and pressed her lips together. “For what it’s worth, I don’t care who you are. Just don’t get in my way from taking it all.”
Envy flared her nostrils, and I pressed my lips harder together. Something inside of me wanted to show everyone right then and there that I was the true heir to the throne, that I could take their lives with a single kiss, that I—Stay calm, calm, calm, Dani. Don’t lose to the darkness inside of you.
Sathanus looked at me with eyes so similar to Javier’s, and I remembered everything that he had told me in my dream. That his kingdom would be mine and my kingdom would be his… That when I was crowded, we’d rule together… That… Stop.
He wasn’t here. He wasn’t real. He was dead. Dead. Dead. Dead.
“She is not heir to the throne. She doesn’t deserve it. One of my sisters should have it,” Envy continued, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “Maybe I should take it for myself.”
The darkness clawed its way up inside of me again, and an insatiable hunger appeared in the pit of my stomach. My demon ached to feed off of her, to learn how envy would taste on my tongue.
“I will become the Commander of Lust and if you stand in my way…” I stared right at her. “I’ll feed off you the same way I fed off Javier. With my hand around your throat, with lust pumping through my veins, and without mercy when you’re begging me to stop.”
Sathanus slammed his palms onto the table and postured over it, trying to intimidate me. But the darkness in me took total control of my body, and I mirrored his movements. I might’ve been smaller than him, but I was more deadly.
His tail wrapped harshly around my neck, and I gasped. It had come so suddenly that I didn’t have time to think about how a true commander should react to another commander’s threats. So, instead of killing him like I had killed his son, I grabbed his barbed tail in my fist and tugged on it—desperate for air.
“You will fucking pay for this.” Sathanus seethed. Eros growled and stepped forward, but I yanked Sathanus’s tail off of my neck before Eros could do anything else and then I glared right at Sathanus. “My son, Biast, will kill you and rule over all the kingdoms.”
Chapter 8
After the meeting, I hurried to the Throne Room and rubbed my throat. I could feel Sathanus’s tail burning into the skin, just like I could feel Javier’s fangs on my neck from the other night. What the hell did I just do? Talk back to Sathanus, one of the most powerful, wrathful men in all of Hell? That would lead me straight to the Pits of Tartarus before I could even be crowned.
I closed the door, breathing deeply, and stepped onto the red carpet which led directly to the throne. If I didn’t get this Javier thing under control and stop lying to Dr. U and finally tell Samantha to stay the fuck away from one of my friends, I would lose control and Sathanus would grind me up into tiny little pieces and scatter my organs all around Wrath.
The door opened behind me, and cinnamon drifted in through my nose. “Dani,” Eros said. I listened to him walk closer and closer, his steps soft on the carpet. My arms wrapped around me, and I suddenly felt like I was slipping out of control.
What if one night I end up losing it and killing Eros? What if I couldn’t control my lust, my need, my hunger to kiss someone, to suck their life essence between my lips, to watch them fall to their feet in front of me?
Eros wrapped his arms around my waist, his lips pressed against my ear, his shirt faintly smelling like apples. “Don’t let Sathanus get inside your head,” he said. But it wasn’t Sathanus that I was worried about getting inside my head.
It was Javier.
He nodded toward the throne. “You belong here, Dani. No matter what anyone ever says. You belong right on this throne.” He picked me up, and I wrapped my legs around his torso, holding him to me tightly.
I was scared. Scratch that, I was terrified that this would end all before it could even begin. I was terrified that I’d let down Mom and Dad. They had died for me to stay alive; I couldn’t honor them if I was dead too.
Eros placed me down on the velvet throne, his lips traveling from my lips to my jaw to my neck. “You belong as my Lust Queen,” he whispered into my ear. I shivered at his voice, the sweet melody bringing me back to the first day I met him. He brushed a finger against my ring, and I brushed my fingertips against his forehead, pushing some strands of his dark hair from his face.
The door opened behind Eros, and I watched Lucifer enter. He leaned against the door, icy eyes trained on me. “Looks like your demon is finally giving you a backbone, Dani.”
Eros sat on the side of my throne,
trailed his fingers up the insides of my thigh until they pressed against my core, and glanced at Lucifer. Lucifer's eyes dropped down my body for the slightest moment to his fingers.
“Leave us, Lucifer,” I said.
“Someone’s touchy this morning.” He smirked, turned back around, and threw his hand into the air. “Well, I’ll be in Pride if you need me.” Before he shut the door, he gazed back at Eros. “Don’t disappoint her, Eros.”
When the door closed, I raised a brow at him. “Does he think he’s going to get another threesome?” I asked. “Because I am not doing that again.”
Hell, I wanted to… but I promised Eros that it’d be us until we got this kingdom under control, and I planned on sticking with that, especially now that I kept thinking of Javier.
Eros’s lips curled into a smirk. “You seemed to like it last time.”
“Last time was different.”
He arched a brow, his fingers moving in harsh, little circles through my panties. “How was it different? You felt good, didn’t you?” He pressed his lips to my jaw, his cinnamon scent making me shiver. He curled a hand around my throat and pulled me closer to him. “Your preparations officially start today, Dani. How should we start?”
He curled a finger around my bra strap, then released it harshly. “By taking this off?” He slipped his other fingers inside my panties. “Or these.”
My mind buzzed with excitement; lust pumped through my veins. He pressed two fingers into me and his eyes flashed maroon for a moment. Just like Javier’s.
God, no, not again. I swallowed hard. It’s all fake. It’s all fake. It’s all fake.
Eros chuckled in my ear. “Your pussy just got so wet,” he said.
Damn it.
I closed my eyes again. He wasn’t here. Javier wasn’t here.
Eros’s fingers pumped slowly in and out of me, and when I reopened my eyes, the black eyes that I fell in love with stared down at me. Eros pushed his fingers into me again, his thumb massaging my clit.
I threw my head back against the throne, digging my fingers into the plush velvet. “Eros… I’m going to…”
He pulled his fingers away from me, just before I came, chuckling menacingly in my ear. Tingles shot up and down my arms and legs from his mere laugh. I felt like I was lying on the pink feathery clouds of Lust, being devoured by a higher being, a god, a demon.
For minutes, if not hours, he teased me, getting me to the very edge but refusing to give me such a simple pleasure. He placed his lips all over my body, worshiping me. I rested my hand on his cock through his pants, stroking him gently.
“Eros…”
“Beg for it, Dani.”
“Please.”
“Louder.”
“Please.”
He grasped my jaw in his hand, forced me to look up at him, then rested his forehead against mine and closed his eyes. When his forehead touched my own, my mind raced with a hundred thousand visions of us. I walked through Eros’s thoughts, staring at all his deepest, darkest desires.
Me on the bus. Me in the car. Me in Lust on this throne.
Him grasping my horns, letting me ride him, fucking me senseless.
When the images stopped, we suddenly appeared in Trevon’s bar, Elysium Taproom. Sitting at the wrap-around bar in the back, the dim white accent lights glowing against my thighs, Eros wrapped his arms around my stomach and let me sit on his lap. His cock was buried deep inside my pussy as everyone drank and talked around us.
The bright lights, the smooth texture of the finished wooden bar, the stench of alcohol… it felt so real, like we were really there. But we were only in Eros’s mind.
I grasped onto Eros’s wrist, digging my claws into his skin. He trailed his lips up the side of my neck. “Here he comes,” he whispered against me.
My brows furrowed. Here who comes? Was someone joining us? Would someone see us? Trevon walked out of the hallway, saw us from across the room, smiled, and started our way.
I readjusted myself on Eros, smoothing out my skirt to hide what Eros was doing to me as my heart pounded in my chest. God, this felt too real to be just a mere thought. Eros curled his arm tighter around my stomach, drawing me closer to his hard abdomen. “Settle down, Dani.” He thrust up into me slow enough to not draw attention, but I could feel his bulge inside of me, stretching me out, filling me up, claiming me as his.
Trevon appeared at the bar next to me, leaning over it. “Dani…” His gaze traveled to Eros, and he nodded his head. “Eros.”
Eros continued to thrust into me, his fingers slipping lower and lower down my stomach. I curled my toes and pressed my lips together, careful not to make a sound.
“Wanna drink?” Trevon asked, hopping over the bar.
“N—”
“She’ll do a shot of Vodka,” Eros said.
I nodded, wanting him to just leave us. Trevon turned toward the bottles, and Eros gazed up at me and began pounding into me. “I’m going to make you scream, Dani. Right in front of your ex-boyfriend.”
I pressed my lips together, keeping my eyes on Trevon and watching him look for the best bottle of Vodka to pour. He grabbed one toward the top, his muscles flexing through his shirt. Eros groped my breast, tugging on my nipple through my bra. Heat warmed my core, and I clenched hard on him—unable to think of anything other than the indescribable pleasure pulsing through me.
Just as I was about to cum, Trevon turned back to us and Eros stopped as if nothing had happened. I grasped the counter, and Trevon furrowed his brows at me. “Are you okay, Dani?”
“Just must be under the weather,” Eros said, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear.
I opened my eyes and pulled my forehead away from him. I gazed around the Throne Room, horny and upset. “Why do you keep doing this to me? I just want to cum.”
He pressed his lips to mine, letting them linger. “To teach you control.”
Chapter 9
Control. I blew out a deep breath and slouched on the throne. I had control.
“You need to learn how to control your urges. Most demons learn control when they’re young, others… don’t and end up screwing people up like Javier did with Trevon.” Eros brushed my hair from my face.
Was Javier out of control? Crazy? Would he have ruined me if he, instead of Eros, slept with me? Something inside of me stirred, my demon awakening. Would I have let him?
Eros picked me off the throne, sat on it, and placed me in his lap. “I’m not going to lie to you, Dani. People have been talking and questioning your ability to rule, especially since you’re so young.”
I brushed my thumb against my ring in my pocket and slid it back onto my finger. “I know…” People were whispering about me around the castle, out in Chastion, everywhere. I had hoped that the rumors would die out soon, but with Sathanus and those Envies instilling fear and lies into my people, they wouldn’t just disappear. “How do I gain their trust and loyalty?”
“Go out, talk to some people around Lust, make friends.”
Friends. Friends like Kasey. Except… I sucked at making friends. I rather stay in and keep to myself.
“You don’t have to go far, just go down to Chastion,” Eros said, placing me back onto my feet. He took my hand and walked with me down the red carpet. “Why don’t you go get some Fervor Crisps at the bakery, talk to some people, and come home?”
I sighed through my nose, gazing out one of the palace’s open windows. The rose sun was setting over the Garden of Passion, the stone walkways buzzing with people going into Chastion for a night of drinking or toward the castle to use our Lust Rooms.
“Okay… I’ll go out for a bit.” I swallowed nervously, drawing my finger against my ring. “Just to get Fervor Crisps.” I placed one longing kiss on Eros’s lips and walked toward the palace’s doors.
During times like this, when I had to socialize, I really missed Kasey. Hell, I missed Kasey all the time. She would be so outgoing, could talk to anyone. Me, on the other hand, not so m
uch.
Without waiting for my guard Esha to follow me, I hurried down the stairs and started for Chastion. The walk was short and surprisingly chilly, a strong gust from Pride rolling into the city.
Bustling with people, Chastion was surrounded by the Garden of Passion. The highest buildings weren’t taller than ten stories, the sidings either a shiny, metallic fuchsia or a soft, bubble-gum pink.
I ran my fingers along the edges of buildings, remembering the city back home, when Maria would drag me out late for ice cream, when Eros pulled me into his arms next to Ollie’s Diner, when Trevon and I used to stay late at his bar and come home early in the mornings.
There were enormous groups of demons around me, laughing with each other. Yet, I didn’t know the first thing about how to make friends with them. We were so different. They had spent tens, if not hundreds, of years in Lust… and I had barely been here for two weeks.
So, instead of trying to make conversation with any of them, I made a beeline for Annen’s Bakery with the neon purple sign out front, flashing Open to fill all those late night cravings.
I was sure there was a double-meaning to that, but I didn’t want to think about what Annen—the elderly woman with silver grey hair and cute little glasses—really meant by it. She greeted me behind the counter with a big grin. “Oh, there you are. Dani, how are you?”
“I could be better,” I said, frowning at her.
“Does the weather have you down? Lust can get pretty cold when the wind is blowing from Pride.” She took out a basket and started placing my usual order into it.
I leaned against the counter and sighed. “No, just… stress. Eros wants me to make more friends here because—”
She eyes me through her thick glasses. “Don’t say it. I don’t want to hear a word more out of you.” She pointed a wrinkled finger at me. “You tell that boy Eros to get his little ass down here and help you make friends yourself. He’s the one who brought you here to rule.”
My body relaxed, and I grabbed the basket from her. “Thanks, Annen. I’ll be sure to tell him.” I tossed her some Joss money—Hell’s currency—and smiled.
Demonic Desire (Becoming Lust Book 2) Page 4
