by Larissa Ione
She’d paid for her failure in blood. After two months of torture, she’d been sent back to the human realm to make up for her mistake.
“Tell them the rest.” Pestilence folded his arms over his broad chest, the metal clanking loudly in the cold night air. “Tell them how you worked against us for hundreds of years to break my Seal. And tell them how you were responsible for stealing Deliverance from The Aegis, not because you didn’t trust The Aegis to keep it safe, but so you could destroy it and prevent Ares or Thanatos from killing me if my Seal broke.” Pestilence bared his fangs in a diabolical smile. “The best part of all of this? She killed Sartael to shut him up, isn’t that right? You thought he was the one person who could find your agimortus, but you were willing to give that up just to protect your piece of shit self. You pissed off the wrong person, Limos. Sartael was Lucifer’s pet, and Lucifer’s sworn to take out his fury on all of you. So not only did Limos ruin your old lives, she’s going to fuck the shit out of your current ones, as well.”
“Limos.” Ares’s big body trembled with the kind of rage she rarely saw—and she’d seen him murderously angry. “You lying, scheming spawn of hell.”
Agony fisted her heart, so powerful she cried out. “Ares, please—”
“Please?” Pestilence spat. “You should be Satan’s whore. Not the human’s. The Dark Lord would give you the pain you deserve—”
Rapidfire gunshots rang out, and the top half of Pestilence’s head exploded in a grotesque rain of bone, blood, and brains.
“Christ,” Arik said calmly, as he holstered his weapon. “Do you ever shut the fuck up?”
Pestilence fell backward into the blood-soaked snow, but even as he landed, he opened a gate and hurled his destroyed body through it.
Limos looked over at Arik, who stared at her as if he didn’t know her at all. Anguish squeezed the blood right out of her heart. “I’m sorry, Arik.”
“Oh, Limos,” he murmured. “What have you done?”
Twenty-eight
The rumble started first. Then the confused expressions.
“Oh, Jesus,” Arik said. “Oh, fuck, I said your name.” While he hadn’t been in misery, exactly, it was fair to say he was pained by what had gone down. Damn its cleould g to hell, Limos had gotten him to say her name with a freaking apology, when some of the nastiest, most vicious demons in the underworld couldn’t do it with torture.
Ares had reminded them that her contract with Satan wasn’t broken until they’d consummated the marriage, and now they were screwed.
“We gotta go!” Limos opened a Harrowgate just as the biggest, ugliest beast Arik had ever seen bashed up out of the ice-covered ground. Chunks of frozen earth and ice the size of train cars tumbled through the air and crashed all around them. From inside the keep, the partygoers ran out, prepared to fight.
“Go!” Than shot Arik a do it look, and he nodded, dragging Limos through the portal.
They stepped out in a strange living room decorated like a beach house. “Where are we?”
“My second Hawaiian villa. I wasn’t thinking. I just… I had to get us somewhere.” She swallowed. “Arik, I’m sorry—”
“Sorry? You lied to me, betrayed your brothers, got their families killed, and you’re sorry?”
The floor shook and bucked as she gripped his shirt collar. “Please, Arik, I swear, I meant to tell you…” It felt as if the entire island was rocking, like a lid on top of a boiling pot.
Arik’s adrenaline and sense of self-preservation kicked into high gear. “Doesn’t matter. I have to fuck you. Now.” Yup, that was all kinds of sexy.
Limos didn’t hesitate. Reaching up, she tore her bloody gown from the neck to the hem, ripping it in half. Arik’s breath caught at the sight he was left with, of her in a white, lacy bra, the pearly belt, and thigh-high white stockings. She wore a white garter, which rimmed the tip of one of the stockings mid-thigh.
If things were different, meaning he wasn’t pissed as hell and they didn’t have the king of all demons after them, he’d strip everything else off with his teeth.
A horrifying howl rent the air, and the wall behind him exploded inward. Screaming, Limos opened a gate and dragged him through it. They landed in what appeared to be a jungle, damp, dripping, animals screeching. Limos spun toward him.
“Hurry,” she breathed.
Man, talk about pressure. He was supposed to get it up while demon hordes were trying to kill him, and Satan himself was knocking at the door.
But then Limos dropped to the ground and reached up for him to join her.
In the distance, the rumble started up again.
“Arik.” Limos’s violet eyes were pleading. “He’s coming for me.”
As pissed as he was, as hurt as he was, he still loved her. He wasn’t going to let her be taken. Dropping to his knees, he reached for the chastity pearls, hesitating a centimeter away. “If this doesn’t work—”
“It will,” she swore.
“If it doesn’t…” He inhaled a ragged breath. “If it doesn’t, I’m sorry.”
A single tear formed in the corner of her eye and dripped down her cheek. “I’m sorry too.”
Steeling himself, his ears vibrating at what sounded like a freight train bearing down on them, he wrapped his hand around her chastity belt.
And nothing happened.
“Holy shit,” she breathed. “It worked. Break it!”
Adding another hand, he gripped the fine chain, amazed that something so delicate could have been so strong and deadly, and he yanked it apart. Tiny little pearls flew everywhere, raining down on the lush jungle floor.
“Please, Arik. Now.”
He looked down and swore. He wasn’t hard. This was not going to fucking work. But then Limos sat up and took him in her palm. Before he could suck in a breath, her mouth was on him, her tongue lashing at the head of his cock, and despite the earthquake that was growing more intense all around them, arousal stirred.
He’d always heard that danger was an aphrodisiac, and as it turned out, it was true. Adrenaline surging, his body went safety-off, gunning for action. His blood was hot, and Limos’s mouth was silken magic.
A tree only yards away came down with a crash, and a godawful roar rang out. Despite the fact that he wasn’t fully erect, he pushed Limos down on the ground and cupped her core, sliding his finger along her slit. Shit. They didn’t even have time to get her wet.
A snarl ripped through the air, and he swore he felt warm, rancid breath on his cheek.
“Do it!”
He punched his hips forward and entered her in one stroke. Her barrier gave way, and he sank against her, holding her so tight he doubted she could breathe. They were both shaking, and in his hand was the dagger he’d strapped to his ankle before the wedding. He didn’t even remember grabbing it, but he was ready to use it. No one, not even the devil himself, was going to take Limos without a fight.
There was a distant, horrifyingly angry screech, and then the rumble stopped. The jungle went silent, and the only sounds Arik could hear were his panting breaths and the pound of his pulse in his ears.
Carefully, because every muscle in his body had gone rubbery, he pushed off Limos.
She grasped his biceps, her bright pink nails digging into his skin. “Arik, please…”
“I can’t.” He stood, buttoned his pants, and shrugged out of his uniform jacket. After helping her to her feet, he wrapped her in his coat. Wasn’t he just the gentleman. Pissed as he was, he didn’t want her to feel exposed.
Fucking idiot.
A trickle of blood ran down the inside of her leg, and she looked down, confused. “Somehow, I didn’t think that would happen to me.”
The vulnerability in her voice took his fury down a notch, and had this been any other situation, he’d have pulled her into his arms. “Make a gate and get us out of here.”
Limos’s shoulders slumped. She said nothing, merely opened a gate, and they stepped through, coming out at her pri
mary residence. One of her guards waved and averted his eyes when he noticed that Arik’s coat didn’t quite cover everything. Silently, they went to her bedroom, where she disappeared into the bathroom. He sank down on the bed next to a pink and white box.
Curious, he pried off the lid and lifted the tissue paper away. Inside was the sexiest lingerie he’d ever seen. A sheer, black babydoll top with half-cups designed to show nipple, blinged-out straps studded with what looked like tiny diamonds, and hot pink lace stitched around the edges. A matching black string bikini sat at the bottom of the box, and with it, a pair of lacy black thigh-highs.
It was every man’s wet dream.
“That was for our wedding night,” Limos said from behind him. He hadn’t even heard her come out of the bathroom.
He didn’t look back at her. “Guess it didn’t go exactly as planned.”
“Yeah. It’s silly, but all I wanted was a beautiful human wedding.” Her voice held a tremor… barely noticeable, but Arik knew her well enough now to recognize the emotional warble. “You know, like a normal girl. Not some horrible demon.”
His fist tightened reflexively on the lingerie, crushing it, just like her dream of a perfect wedding. How could he hurt for her so much, and yet, be so goddamned angry?
“You’re neither, Limos.” He heard her sniffle, and he finally shifted on the bed to look at her and nearly revised his last statement, because she certainly looked like a normal girl right about now.
She was wearing the fluffy pink robe that wrapped her from head to toe. Her hair was dripping wet, her makeup gone, and her gorgeous eyes were swollen and red-rimmed. What was it with women crying in the shower? He remembered his mom and sister doing the same thing. They’d denied it, but he wasn’t stupid, and sometimes he’d hear the sobs over the sound of the water.
He’d been so helpless back then, but never again. It went against his nature to let a female suffer, and he came to his feet to move to her.
He’d only gone two steps when the door burst open and Ares strode inside, his expression a black cloud. He sized the situation up in a heartbeat, knew the threat to Limos had passed.
At least, the threat to her from the underworld had passed. The threat from Ares was still on the table, and Arik moved to intercept.
“Let’s give this some time,” he began, but Ares cut him off with a snarl.
“Time? She had five thousand years of time to comof height="0e clean.”
“Ares.” Limos’s voice was desperate. “Listen to me—”
“I’ve done enough listening!” Ares moved forward, and Arik met the big guy head on.
“Don’t, Horseman. Not another step. I suggest you leave now.” He waited, chest to chest with Ares, aggression winging through the two inches of air between their noses.
Arik had no doubt he was going to be beaten to a pulp, but hell if he wouldn’t cause some damage before he went down.
Ares bared his teeth, and a low, animal growl rumbled in his chest. “She’s my sister. I’ll handle this.”
“She’s my wife,” Arik shot back. “Husband trumps the brother card. So get the fuck out and don’t come back until you have your temper under control.”
A tense heartbeat passed. Then two. Then about a million, and just as Arik thought he might as well throw the first punch and get the party started, Ares gave a curt nod.
“I’ll go because I respect you, human. What you’ve done for us can’t be repaid.” His black gaze shifted to Limos. “But this isn’t over.”
Ares left, and Arik swore the entire island sighed in relief.
Limos’s hand came down on his shoulder. “Do you hate me?”
Closing his eyes, he turned into her. “No.” He folded her into his arms, his anger ebbing as his adrenaline crashed. “I hate that you lied to your brothers for so long, but I don’t hate you.” He pressed a kiss into her hair. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think your brothers hate you either.”
A shudder shook her frame, a reminder that for all the power she carried in that body, she was still vulnerable to pain, and right now, she was as emotionally fragile as she’d probably ever been. The desire to fix this made his heart ache. Give him a disassembled M-16 or a Humvee engine on the fritz, and he knew what to do.
A broken female left him with that awful feeling of helplessness… and a primal desire to kill whoever had hurt her. Unfortunately, her brothers had the immortality thing going for them.
Her arms wound around his waist, and she buried her face against his neck. “Make love to me, Arik. Make all of this go away.”
That, he could do. No, nothing could make what had happened tonight go completely away, but he could distract her for a little while.
Finally feeling like he could help her, he let his hands drift down the back of her robe, caressing, easing the tension out of her muscles. Slowly, she began to respond, kissing his throat, pressing her full breasts against his chest.
“Oh, yeah,” he murmured, his body coming alive a lot faster than he’d expected. But he should have known better, given that Limos had a way of turning him into a live wire from nothing more than a sultry look.
She gazed up at him, her eyes darkening to a rich, smooth amethyst. “Touch me.” Her words were both a command and a plea, and hell, yes, he was going to touch her. And taste her.
He held her with his gaze as he smoothed his hands around to the front of her robe and untied it. The sash fell away, and the fabric parted. Her magnificent body was exposed, ripe, waiting to be plucked and eaten like a juicy peach. His mouth actually watered.
Arousal tested his patience, because as much as he wanted to drop to his knees and use his tongue to make her scream, he was going to do this right. He was going to worship her body and make it last.
Leaning in, he kissed each shoulder as he pushed the robe down. It pooled on the floor, and he kicked it away so nothing was touching her creamy skin except her Seal and agimortus pendants.
When he brought his hand down to cup one breast, she gasped his name and threw her head back. He seized the opportunity to ravage her neck with kisses as he stroked her. Her long, lean body was the definition of elegance, the perfect blend of hard and soft, and in moments, he forgot the whole, make it last, thing, because he found himself rubbing against her, straining, mating with her even with all his clothes on.
A sudden pounding on the door had him wheeling around in a snarl. “Dammit, Ares, I fucking told you—”
“Limos!” The unhinged voice didn’t belong to any of her brothers, and she scrambled to throw on her robe.
“What is it, Kaholo?” She whipped open the door. One of her servants stood there in the doorway, his hands covered in blood.
“It’s Hekili,” he said roughly. “He’s been… butchered. There’s a message for you. Lucifer… he said that you took his pet, so he took yours.”
Twenty-nine
Ares couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this angry or hurt. Oh, he’d been murderously furious at Pestilence when he’d captured Cara and meant to torture her to death, but this was different. Ares didn’t want to kill Limos. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, but right now it was taking every ounce of restraint he had to keep from going on a rampage. There were battles all over the world to join. He wouldn’t take sides—he’d just fight. And kill.
He gated himself back to Thanatos’s place, and wasn’t at all surprised to find that all the wedding guests had gone.
Cara approached him as he crossed the great room toward Than. “Everyone left out of respect for you and Than, but they want you to contact them if you need anything. Are you okay?” Her sea-green eyes were dark with worry, and her concern helped level him out. She didn’t deserve to feel the weight of his fury.
But she didn’t deserve to be lied to, either. Clearly, there had been way too much of that going on for way too long. “I don’t knple h ofow,” he admitted. “What Limos did was—”
“What she’d been raised to do.”
“I’m not defending what she did.” Cara laid her hand on his chest, which always had a calming effect on him, even through his armor… but then, her very presence turned the hard leather to soft doeskin, so he could feel her touch right through it. “But keep in mind where she grew up and who raised her. She didn’t know any better.”
“She still should have told us before this.”
“I’m sure she’s regretting that decision.” She went up on her toes and pecked him on the lips. “We should go. It’s time for Rath’s feeding.”
“Give me a second to talk to Than.” He pulled her close, needing the brief, full-body contact for just a second. “I’m sorry about the hellhound Pestilence killed.”
“I am too,” she murmured. “But I’m glad everyone else is safe. Tonight could have gone a whole lot worse.”
Ares didn’t tell her he had a feeling the “worse” was coming. Maybe not tonight, but soon.
He left her to help Than’s vampire staff with cleanup, and joined his brother at the hearth, where he was standing very still, head bowed, doing his best to keep himself under control.
“I’m guessing Arik was successful in freeing Limos?” Than’s voice was icy cold and as calm as the ocean before a storm, and Ares’s hackles raised.
“It appeared so.”
Thanatos peered into the fire, the flames dancing in his eyes. “Losing Reseph was hard. But the things he’s done since his Seal broke have been because he isn’t himself.” Around his feet, the shadows began to swirl. “But with Li… she did what she did with no broken Seal. Because of her, we suffered the curses. And now we could have Lucifer up our asses because she killed Sartael. How the fuck are we supposed to deal with that?”
“I don’t know, brother. But for now, we have to stay level.”
