After giving me a long stare, she clenched her jaw and hurried to the door. I stepped forward, wanting nothing more than for her to stay, to get Passion Delights with me down at the palace bar, to listen to her talk about Aarav and Mycah. I wanted it all back.
God, I was all over the damn place tonight.
“Kasey, wait.”
She paused at the door, her chocolate brown curls bouncing on her shoulder. She didn’t turn back, and I was suddenly lost for words. What should I have said? That I was glad her mother and father were dead? That they had killed my parents? That… that I only dreamed about all the ways I could’ve killed them, if I had the chance?
When I didn’t say anything, she walked out of the door and down the steps toward the exit of Lust. My heart shattered into a million pieces when I heard the palace doors close.
“I… what’s wrong with me?” I asked, curling my arms around myself. Why didn’t she want to at least talk to me? Or look me in the eye? Sure, Maeve would be such a wonderful friend here, but she’d never replace Kasey, the one woman who wanted nothing to do with me anymore. What did I do that was so bad?
Eros tugged me to his chest, his cinnamon enveloping me. I rested my head on his chest, grasping tightly to him. He brushed his fingers through my hair, near my horns, in small circles. “You didn’t do anything, Dani.” He sighed into my hair, his warm breath making me tingle. “You didn’t do anything to her.”
Chapter 12
After Kasey left Lust, Eros told me I smelt like hot and angry sex and that he needed a strong drink too cool his nerves. So he had taken my hand, brought me to the portal room, and led me to The Lounge.
Buzzing with more people than usual, The Lounge had humans and demons flirting with each other. On Wednesday nights, this place was open to humans—who innocently thought it was a normal sex club. Unbeknownst to them, they were just lovely succubus and incubus prey.
I sat down in our reserved booth across from Eros. After some detective work on my end, I had found out that these private booths were reserved for the royals in Hell, plus some higher-ranked demons.
A candle flickered between Eros and me, illuminating his striking features. I took a big sip of my Passion Delight and kicked my legs back and forth under the seat. My mind was still buzzing with thoughts of earlier—not only thought of Kasey but of the Courting Pit.
Eros took my hands in his large ones and kissed my knuckles. He closed his eyes, inhaled sharply, and shuddered.
“What do I smell like?” I asked softly.
He traced the edges of my ring. “Vanilla.”
I scrunched my nose, a giggle passing through my lips. “Vanilla?” Way to be basic, Dani.
His full lips curled into a smile, his eyes softening into a lush green. “You might think it’s basic, but it reminds me of Heaven,” he said. The word Heaven rolled off of his lips so quietly that I could barely hear it. It sounded both so foreign yet so familiar on his tongue, like he hadn’t said it for ages yet the memories that the word brought back were both good and evil.
Just from hearing the word, some demons looked over at our table. Instead of sparing them a single glance, Eros placed his tattooed forearms on the table and interlocked our fingers together.
“Tell me about Heaven,” I said. Mom had always told me bedtime stories about her favorite monsters, but sometimes she spoke about angels. With their grand wings—which were their most sacred possessions—and their glowing white eyes and even the halos that appeared around their heads when they were doing charitable work. Her eyes would become stars, shining so bright that one night four-year-old me had actually asked Mom if she was an angel to which she replied, “I wish I was, Sweetheart...” with eyes full of tears.
At the time, I didn’t understand the feeling that had come over her and even now… I was clueless. Why would she lie to me about being an angel? Why didn’t she prepare me? Why didn’t we live in Heaven?
Eros rubbed soothing circles around the center of my palms. “Heaven was amazing for a long time. We had—we thought we had—everything. All the food and love and warmth we ever needed. We attended church every night; helped the humans down below.” He paused for a moment, a warmth that I hadn’t seen before crossing his face. “I had the blessing of making some of them fall in love…”
“Like a cupid?”
“Except without a diaper.” He chuckled, then a somber expression replaced his laughter. “It was blissful… until it wasn’t enough for some people anymore.”
I gnawed on the inside of my cheek, unsure if I should urge him to continue. Mom had told me that some angels questioned God’s rule, how some couldn’t fathom why God had forbidden the pickings from the Golden Apple Trees or why angels were confined to love one person and one person only, when they had so much love to last a hundred lifetimes over and over.
“What happened?” I whispered.
Eros’s lip twitched, eyes turning a shade darker. “A woman named Belial rebelled.” After pulling his hand away from me, he grabbed his drink and took a long sip of it. My eyes widened slightly. Belial? That was the woman who prophesied The End from Dad’s journal.
The candle flickered between us, crackling softly over the hum of people around us. Eros gazed down at the table, staring into nothingness. “She told Lucifer that there was a world that we would never know about because God kept us confined within the Golden Gates.” He took a deep yet shaky breath. “Lucifer listened to her corruption. And then… when she fell, Lucifer followed.”
“You were there when it happened?” I asked, watching him nod his head. I sucked in a sharp breath. Dad journal entries were right. Belial had fallen first. I had learned from Mom that Lucifer was the first fallen angel… but maybe she was wrong. “Was my mother there?”
“No, she was born long after I was gone.”
All I wanted to do was ask him about his fall, but I didn’t want to overstep. Mom hated when I asked her about how good people became bad. She always repelled, as if it was horrific.
“And you?” I asked, testing the waters. He raised his brow at me, so I continued. “How did you fall?”
“I didn’t fall.”
“You didn’t?”
“No.” He tilted his head. “When an angel falls from Heaven—at least when I was there—God cuts his or her wings with a transcendental sword She kept around Her neck. My parents cut my wings.”
“So… how’d you end up in Hell?”
He stared at me for a long moment, lips pressing together and parting, as if he wanted to tell me but he didn’t know what to say. “Belial’s fell first.” He closed his eyes, jaw clenching like he was reliving some bad memories. “We were in the middle of church… she told God she didn’t want to be there anymore. Belial walked right down the center aisle, all the feathers on her wings falling off, and knelt in front of Mother with her back turned. And…” His jaw twitched. “God did as she asked, seared off her wings. Belial fell right through the glass floors and into the darkness.
“Everyone in the church heard the… the… the splat.” He shook his head and shivered. “Everyone thought she had died, everyone thought that where she went was the end of an angel’s everlasting life.”
“But it wasn’t…” I said. Belial had written prophecies for the people.
“We didn’t know that.” He pulled his hands away from me, tucking them under the table. Cinnamon drifted into my nostrils, but Eros wasn’t turned on. He was terrified. “Lucifer rebelled next. He walked right up to the altar where Mother stood and told Her to cut his wings, that he no longer wanted to be in Heaven with Her strict rules. Filled with pure rage, Mother cut his wings and he fell. I couldn’t let him have the same fate as Belial, so I followed him, caught him in my arms, and let him down in Hell gently.”
My lips parted at the pure passion in his voice. Something about the way he talked about Lucifer, the way his eyes lightened by a mere shade, told me he still wasn’t telling me everything that had happened in Heaven�
�� but I wouldn’t push it.
He had given me more information about Heaven than Mom ever could. And I knew why she had never wanted to talk about it. Eros was saving me the details, and it still sounded so gruesome. But I was thankful that he held back… because… well… I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about it.
Mom had two scars on her back, two parallel scars. I remember drawing my fingers against them when I was four, loving to feel the texture of the skin. Her imperfections were so beautiful to me. But… if she was an angel, why’d she have those scars. If my father told her to go up to the Heavens with me, why did we live on Earth with other humans?
I wanted to find out the truth. And, hopefully, one day, when I was prepared, I would.
Chapter 13
Eros pushed his drink to the center of the table and leaned back. “Enough about me.” His dark gaze hardened, and he stared at me with so much mischief in his eyes. “How was Chastion? I heard you went out with some people.”
My cheeks flushed, thinking back to all the men and women in those small cubicles, all the dirty things that were doing. I tapped my fingers on my glass. “Chastion was… good. Annen’s was better.”
“Did you flirt?”
Did I flirt? God, I could barely hold a conversation without stumbling over my words. Flirting was totally out of the question, especially when Eros wasn’t with me. If I had to do it—like if another Javier situation popped up out of nowhere—then I would. But… not now.
When I didn’t answer him, he raised a brow at me. “Well, if you didn’t flirt then, you’re going to flirt now.” Eros glanced at the pretty waitress behind the bar. She was shaking a cocktail, her breasts bouncing ever so slightly in her tiny little black dress.
My eyes widened, and I shook my head. “No, Eros. I don’t even know her name.”
“Go ask for her name?” Eros brushed his thumb against my chin. “Get to know her.” He paused for a moment. “I’ll come with you, if you want.”
I gnawed on the inside of my cheek. “You want me… to go flirt with her?” I asked, hesitantly. Don’t get me wrong, I knew that he wanted me to enjoy myself with her… but I had never flirted with another woman before and I was more nervous than I thought I’d be.
“Dani,” he said. “You need to learn how to control your power. Flirting will help you.”
“But… I thought you…”
“Yes, I wanted to keep you only to myself, especially emotionally.” His lips curled into their signature, sinful smirk. “But I like to watch you flirt.” His green eyes faded into black orbs, and I suddenly felt so hot. “You get all flustered.”
My pussy clenched.
“Your eyes get wide.”
I swallowed hard.
“You don’t know what to say so you stumble over your every word…” His voice was low, and he brushed his thumb down my lower lip and inhaled my scent. Then, suddenly, he grasped my chin in his calloused hand. “I can smell you, Dani. I can smell how wet the thought of flirting with her is making you. All those dirty, little thoughts running through your head about the things you could do to her.” He shook his head, giving me those I-can’t-wait-to-fuck-you eyes. “Tell me, Dani. Tell me what you want to do with her.”
Every word he said, I tried to deny to myself… but then I gazed over at the bar, watching her lean over the counter, her breasts pressed into it, dark eyes focused on one of the male customers. And my heart was racing.
Maybe it was Eros playing tricks on me, but I swore I saw her glance over at me.
“Fine,” I said, the warmth in my core growing hotter and hotter. “I’ll go over there.”
But only because my body felt like it was on fire, only because I needed to prepare myself for this Courting Pit, only because Eros was asking me to. Definitely not any other reason.
As soon as I stood, Eros grabbed my wrist and pulled me into his chest. “You didn’t answer me.” Cinnamon drifted around us, and I knew that he wanted me to tell him all the desires running through my mind at this very moment. I knew that it got him off. Every time he looked into my mind, he got hard.
“You don’t have to ask me to know what I want, Eros,” I said, because I wasn’t about to admit any of this out loud.
“You know that I’m not going to let you leave without an answer.” He slid his fingers from my wrist to my hips, then lower until they hovered over my core. “Now, you’re going to willingly answer me, Dani… or I’m going to make you.”
Fingers hovering over my clit through my dress, hot breath fanning my neck, dark eyes fixed on me. I parted my lips and stared back over at the waitress who was giving me those sultry eyes again. God, say something. Don’t just stand there and—
He pressed his fingers into me, the scent of cinnamon intoxicating me. I grasped onto his shoulder, lips parting wider. “Fine.”
“Fine, what?” he asked, fingers moving faster and faster. A wave of pleasure rolled through my entire body, and I could feel the tips of my horns protruding from my head. It was getting harder to breathe, my heart was stammering. He curled a hand around my throat. “Fine, what?” he repeated, dominance dripping from each word.
“Eros,” I breathed out, my cheeks flushing. The pressure rose in my core. If he didn’t stop, my horns would burst right out in front of all these humans. He slipped his fingers into my underwear, rubbing my swollen clit, feeling my juices on his finger. I was so close to a release, and I knew that as soon as I told him, he’d let me cum. “Please, Eros… I want… I want to flirt with her. To touch her. Feel how excited she is for me.”
“Good girl,” he mumbled against my lips. He pulled his fingers away from my clit, smoothed out my dress, and pulled me to him by my throat. “Someone’s learning.”
I stared at him with wide eyes, my core aching. “You’re just going to stop?”
After giving me one of his signature smirks, he took my hand and led me to the bar. I hazily walked after him, my mind buzzing with excitement. Humans and demons alike moved out of our way, letting us sit front and center. Eros slid onto one of the beige stools, and I sat next to him, trying to gather my thoughts before—
“Hi there,” the waitress appeared in front of us, her tight black dress hugging her frame perfectly. “Eros… Dani… nice to see you again.”
I glanced over at Eros, and he watched me curiously. I licked my suddenly dry lips, trying to think about something to say to her. Sure, Asmodeus might’ve been my father and I might’ve improved on this whole flirting thing with Eros… but, overall, I sucked at it.
Eros’s gaze burned into me, and I kicked my legs back and forth, wishing that he hadn’t come over with me. It was… embarrassing, to say the least. Though she had turned me on—and there was no hiding that—I hadn’t flirted in front of Eros before with anyone besides with Lucifer.
“Hi.” My face flushed a deep red, and I awkwardly smiled at her. Say something, Dani. Don’t just sit there and be awkward about it.
“Commander,” Eros said to the waitress, squeezing my knee. “She will be crowned as our new commander in less than two weeks.”
The waitress’s eyes widened, cheeks flushing like mine. “Commander…” she corrected. She bowed her head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
We stayed quiet for a few moments, and Eros nudged me. I could just hear him trying to tell me to flirt in my ear, trying to prepare me for the Courting Pit. But my thoughts were rushing too fast and I couldn't think straight.
“So, um, what’s your name?” I asked.
She stared at me with that lustful glint in her eyes and said, “Jasmine… you can call me Jasmine, Commander.”
I shifted in my seat. “Nice.”
God, I was bad at this.
Someone down the bar called for another drink, and Jasmine hurried over to him. When she turned around, I leaned closer to Eros and sucked in a deep breath. “Can you… um… go sit back down?”
Eros stood faster than I thought he would and walked back to our booth, his scent
lingering at the bar for only a moment. He sat back down at our booth and threw me a curious gaze. Well, this was it.
I turned toward the bar and toward Jasmine who was back, standing right in front of me, her chocolate scent filling my nostrils. “Do you enjoy working here?” I asked, awkwardly tapping my fingers on my glass of Passion Delight.
Her full lips curled into a smile. “It pays well, and…” She leaned across the bar, her breasts pressing against it. My gaze flickered down to them for a moment, then back up into her piercing dark eyes. “I got to meet you.”
I crossed my legs and leaned forward in my seat, staring into her hazy eyes. “You do this all night, don’t you? Find innocent, impressionable people who come into The Lounge and flirt with them until you get what you want.”
She brushed her fingers against my forearm, leaning even closer until she was inches away from me. “I haven’t gotten what I wanted yet, Commander.”
Heat warmed my core, and I shifted in my seat, trying to ease the throbbing between my legs. “What if you did?” I asked, testing her. “What would you do with me?”
She paused, gaze flickering to my lips. After brushing her thumb against my bottom lip, she licked hers. “Is that an offer?”
I placed my pointer finger under her chin and lifted it, so she was staring into my eyes. She inhaled sharply, unable to pull her gaze away from me. My lips curled into a soft smile. “Depends on your answer,” I said.
Another customer called for Jasmine to come back over to get him a drink, and I took a deep breath when she turned away from me. Her deep brown eyes were still burned into my memory, her scent becoming a part of me.
She walked over to them, her hips swaying back and forth, strands of her curly black hair bouncing on her shoulders. I rubbed my fingertips against the Passion Delight glass. My mind was racing with a thousand different thoughts of her, all of her deepest desires, every single thing that my demon wouldn’t mind doing to her.
Demonic Desire (Becoming Lust Book 2) Page 6
