by Lexi Ostrow
His body shook with exhaustion. It hadn’t felt like he’d been within her body for a long time, but he’d fucked her so quickly that his muscles were tired from it. He slid free from her body only when their bodies naturally stopped gliding together.
“I love you, Hugo.” She ran a hand down the side of his face. “And I’m going to love this moment forever.
He laughed. “I can promise you, there will never be anything else that tops seeing you scream as you climax. This moment will be forever burned into my mind.” He rubbed her shoulder. “Your beautiful body placed in a chair of power as I took you will be a memory I will never forget.”
She grinned up at him. “I think this makes two new places for you to have bedded a woman. Don’t let anyone ever say there weren’t thrilling perks to being mated to a Succubus.”
They both laughed, and he helped her to rise.
“Come, my demon. We had best get dressed before Jacob and McKenna return. Although I’m fairly certain, they knew precisely what would go on in their very throne room.”
Still beaming up at him she accepted his hand and rose like the sensual creature she was. “Oh, I’m almost positive they know.”
Epilogue
Clara lifted her face to the falling snow, and a smile spread across her lips as the cold flakes fell gently against her skin. “It’s a white Christmas,” she lowered her face to smile at her husband.
“I hadn’t known that mattered to you.” Smiling, he stepped up to her, so their boots were toe-to-toe. “Here I thought all you cared about was the twinkling lights I made possible for you hanging on the tree in the Great Hall.”
Giving him a quick peck she slipped her fingers into his hand and walked away from the newly erected Clockworker’s Guild. “My, you are ever so modest, how did I never know?”
“Perhaps it is because we spent the better part of the last year fighting for our lives, creating wondrous inventions and living a secret life that all but consumed our time for proper courtship?”
She kicked a small pile of snow and watched as the chunks flew. “Here I thought it was because the only reason we are together is that we did things a little backward and that left no reason for traditional courtship.”
“There is that as well.” He lifted her hand and placed a kiss onto the black gloves she wore. “Merry Christmas, Clara. I hope the demons of your past were left there when we wed last week.”
“Those demons are well and truly gone . . . except the few we work beside of course.” Though her tone was light, there was a part of her that knew troubled times were ahead.
A silence fell over them as they walked through the streets. Clara hadn’t the foggiest idea of where he was taking her, just that it had something to do with Christmas.
Christmas was a disaster last year.
The sky fight with Dieargog in spring had not gone unnoticed. The Angels had sought to wipe the memories of all that had witnessed even the tiniest glimpse of the battle. Whilst they had spent weeks searching, they knew they had not found each human. Some had written correspondence to others, leaving a paper trail that they could never hope to catch. Others seem to speak up in the rowdiest of moments in pubs. The tales kept growing and growing, some believing to have seen things that they had certainly not. Dieargog had destroyed the secrecy of the Alliance. Sooner or later the people that had their memories would come forward, and what Odette had planned for then was not within her realm of knowledge.
The Alliance of Silver and Steam had mostly been rebuilt, the former location giving birth to the new building. It had been a quick build, thanks to the hundreds of demons that had helped work tirelessly to create a safe place for all once more. Guardians had been put in place to guard the entrances and lock away any demon that did not have Seraphina’s seal. Each week it seemed a new guardian would turn up dead. Hunters that had been given extended periods of time off thanks to the reconciled peace were brought back in. The tenuous peace that had prevailed for nearly two decades was destroyed.
“You’re worried,” Hugo said, ushering her onto the sidewalk in front of a lovely row of homes.
“It is hard not to be. If the secret of demons comes out, humans will hunt them in a far greater and more dangerous way than the Alliance of Silver and Steam has. The safety of those of us that have served the Alliance would be destroyed.” She shook her head, trying to remind herself that it was a glorious day. “I suppose Christmas just reminds me of when it all started.”
Looking around she realized that Hugo had taken them to the block where many of the Alliance council members lived.
“Hugo? What exactly are we doing here?”
“If I told you, it wouldn’t exactly be a Christmas surprise.”
His tone was playful as he stopped before a large red brick home. A black wrought-iron gate featured fancy metalwork and shrub branches covered in snow appeared to line the walkway to the large red door. Hugo let go of her hand and trotted up the stairs like a young boy excited for a gift.
Cautiously, she followed behind him, stopping a step below him on the walk so as not to run into his back.
“It would seem that all married Alliance members must seek housing outside the guild walls.” He smiled at her and looked back up at the grand house they stood in front of. “It would also seem that creating electricity comes with a very, very generous pay raise.”
Her mouth opened and then closed. Turning, she looked behind her to see if any had followed her, ready to tell her it was all a joke. The streets were lined with carriages and families, but none that she could recognize.
“Is this real?” She finally asked, the disbelief impossible to hide.
“It absolutely is.” Hugo pulled a black skeleton key from his coat pocket and handed it to her. “I would like you to do the honors, Mrs. Clark.”
Still beaming, she wrapped her hands around the key and stepped passed Hugo. Hesitantly, she put the cut section up the lock, gasping when it slipped into the lock perfectly. Joy began to build through every part of her making her feel like a hot air balloon that was over filled with steam. She turned her hand so slowly she almost could not tell that the lock moved. Until Hugo put his hand on the door and pushed it open.
“Hugo,” she inhaled as the door opened to reveal a parlor nearly as large as the new Great Hall.
There did not appear to be furniture as she stepped inside, only a near eight meter Christmas tree. She heard Hugo close the door behind him. His arms wrapped around her, and she allowed herself to lean against him.
“Is this real?”
“It’s real, and it comes with a surprise. All Alliance and nobility were able to have a tiny piece of crystal placed within their walls. So—”
“We have electricity!” She yelped and pulled out of his grasp, racing to the wall to find something they’d used at the guild to turn on the very first Christmas Tree lights just moments before.
The small cord with a prong at the end lay just at the base of the dark tree. Letting out a small squeal she dropped to her knees and grabbed it, letting her eyes scan the wall for the lever it would attach to it.
“It’s actually on the floor. It was much harder to work on the wall than the floor.” He pointed to a spot just beneath a branch.
Without hesitating, she slammed the cord into the opening. Instantly, the tree blinked to life—colored bulbs of all varieties flicked on. As did a light overhead and something up the staircase behind her.
“Hugo,” she gasped his name again, too stunned by the beauty of the lights and her new home to form other words.
Dropping to the floor beside her he held her hands in his, kissing the gloved fingertips. “Merry Christmas, Mrs. Clark.”
“Merry Christmas, Mr. Clark.”
As she tilted her head to the side to give her husband a kiss that would take them many hours to finish, a knock at the door stopped her.
“Ahh, just in time.” Hugo stood. “There’s someone I want you to meet before you show me how m
any different ways there are to mark this house as ours.”
She rose, following him to the front door. When he swung it open, she was uncertain who stood before her. It was not an Alliance member, nor a noble. Perhaps a neighbor?
“Clara, I’d like to you meet Nikola Tesla. He’s agreed to help the Alliance figure out a way to power the light bulbs completely without the crystals.”
