by Jean Murray
“I am the Devourer, not by birth, but a condition of my sentence.”
“Christ, you can’t even lie well.” She shoved at his arms pinning her against him.
“Asar can confirm this, if you do not believe me.”
“You and Asar are so close. What could you have possibly done to deserve suffering the way you did last night? God, please tell me it isn’t like that every night? Why would he ever do that to you?” Disbelief, but also concern, laced her blue eyes.
She was more concerned about his suffering than him being a criminal? This was going to take a while to explain. Not to mention they were both completely naked, and it was making it difficult to focus. He pulled a shirt from the bureau and placed it over her head. Acutely aware of her eyes traveling downward, he shoved his legs through a pair of pants. “Come.” Grabbing her hand, he pulled her into the bathroom and opened the secret door to the chamber.
She paused at the threshold. Goose bumps rose on her skin as the opening filtered cold damp air into the room. “What’s down there?” she asked and stepped back.
Her heart hammered in his ears. Could she sense the souls? Or, was it the infection? “Are you okay?”
She nodded and tightened the grip on his hand. “Please tell me this will all make sense.”
“You asked once, where I go.”
She swallowed and followed him down the black stairwell to the chamber’s stone. “I have to return here to devourer the souls not worthy for the afterlife.” He met her gaze in the darkness.
“God, they lock you in?” she gasped.
“I lock myself in, Kit. For everyone’s safety.”
She laid her hand on the stone door. “Alone?”
“Yes.”
“How do you stand it?”
The scent of her tears compelled him to pull her closer. He did not want her pity but understanding of why he wanted a better life for her. Why he let another male touch her the way he dreamed about. “It is my duty, my punishment. This is my life, Kitten.”
She broke from his grasp and ran up the steps. He trudged up after her, hating he hurt her, even if it was the truth. He found her sitting at the edge of the stone tub. She wiped her cheeks of her tears.
“What did you do to deserve this?” She clasped her hands in her lap and stared at him across the sandstone room.
He hesitated, not wanting her to know that part of himself. As far as Kamen was concerned that male was destroyed long ago. He struggled every day to become something more. “I helped my twin, Set, to kill Asar.”
She stared at him for a long moment, her face blank. “So there is truth to the legend?”
“Yes.”
“Set is the god on the boat. He is your brother.” She leaned her elbows on her knees and covered her face with her hands.
“This is who I am.” He could not bring himself to tell her of the beast, at least not yet. She had already lost all the color in her face at his admission. He feared she would pass out if she heard any more. He took a few steps towards her and knelt down. “I should have told you sooner.”
“How long has it been?”
“Since the ancient war.”
“And, how long ago was that exactly?”
“Four thousand years.”
She sucked in a breath and held it, so long he reached out and touched her. Tears welled in her eyes and she threw her arms around his neck. “None of that matters.”
He sighed and pulled her into his embrace. It mattered to him. He did not want her to be shunned as he was by the other gods. She was the daughter of the Mother Goddess, ruler of the Creation Pantheon. Royalty. The Council would revolt if they found out Kit bonded with the likes of him.
He pulled her back. “You don’t know what you are saying or what it would mean to be bonded to me, assuming we even could.”
“I don’t have much time here to debate this. I don’t give a damn what anyone else thinks. Nothing you say is going to convince me otherwise. For once, stop trying to control the situation and just kiss me.” A flare of anger replaced the sorrow in her eyes.
She brushed her palms against his bare chest. A multitude of electric shocks penetrated his skin and cascaded warmth through his body. He curled into her, a slave to her caress. Her fingers tracked along his shoulders and neck. He was playing a dangerous game, not unlike in the shower. “I do not want to hurt you,” he groaned as she tracked her hands down his back and pressed her body against his.
“I’m not unfamiliar with pain.” She nipped his ear.
“That is not what I mean,” he said hoarsely.
She pulled back, annoyance clearly written on her face. “What else? Spill it because you have five seconds before I rip your clothes off.”
Her arousal filled his senses. The desire to mark her burned through his cells.
“One.” Her fingers strayed to the tie on his pants. “Two.” She slowly pulled the string.
His cock tightened to an unbearable ache. He searched for the words to describe the beast that stirred beneath his skin. She reached for the other tie and grazed his erection. His entire body jerked at the sensation.
“Three.” The knot loosened and his pants dipped at his waist. Her tongue darted out to lick her lips.
“I cannot do this.” He tightened his grip on her hips.
“Four, you are running out of time.” She pulled her shirt over her head. Her taut nipples drew his gaze. Words, right. She inched his pants off his hips. The fabric slid down his legs to the floor. She pressed her body against his, trapping his erection between them. “Five,” she said in a husky voice against his lips.
He captured her mouth and pulled her into a deep kiss. Arousal surged through his body. He slid his hand down to her ass and picked her up. Her long legs cinched his waist. The heat of her core pressed against him.
He carried her to the bedroom and lay her down on the mattress, pinning his arms and knees on either side of her. “I am not some toy that you can play with then put away. There will be no running from my bed,” he warned, his voice rough.
“I would not do that, not to you.” She pressed her lips into a thin line and stared him straight in the eyes.
He leaned in so their faces were mere inches apart. “I can smell your fear. You do not want this.”
“I might be afraid, Kamen, but I never said anything about not wanting you. I’m scared because I do, and I’ll lose you because I don’t know how to handle us and everything else that is going on with me.”
His next retort caught in his throat. She needed his seed, his bond to save her. Without saying as much, her eyes revealed the knowledge that her transition did not lessen Apep’s hold on her. The fine threads of his defense started to unravel. She had taken her reluctance to transitioning off the table. Nor could he ignore Inpu’s words. Kamen just needed to hold it together for her.
“Being with me is complicated. I am not like other males.”
“I’ve seen you. All of you.”
Not all, he thought. “When we bond, you will carry my burden. My shame.”
“Who’s fearful now?” She grunted. “Have you ever tried to be with someone?”
Since the change, she was the first to ever penetrate his life. To think of the amount of time she had spent with him the past day. He would never forget the incredible warmth she had given him while his body cleansed itself. He had been so cold. Her touch was like fire. His hands itched to be on her body, feeling those curves that had hugged so closely to his.
She was right about one thing. It scared the hell out of him.
Her fingers touched his chest and he flinched. Her hand trembled ever so slightly. “I’m tired of being alone. I have seen this for some time now but didn’t understand the dream. I was so scared. I ran when I should have stopped to see what was right in front of me.”
Her soft lips brushed his and he groaned. Still weakened, it shot through him unregulated. “You are so beautiful,” he whispered across her lips. He placed weight
on one hand and grabbed behind her neck. His back ached with a vengeance, but the beast was sluggish from overindulging on evil souls.
His craving for her would never be sated. It burned in his gut like fire. The fact that she was reciprocating even stoked the inferno. A combination of fear and desire rolled out of her in strong waves.
“You will need to submit to me,” he said, knowing he needed to dominate her to mark her as his own. One of the many complications. A fighter by nature, she would have difficulty accepting the subordinate role. “And I meant what I said before, you will not be able to run. Once I am inside you, we will be locked together even after I orgasm. At least until I can control my desire for you, which will be considerably difficult.”
He grazed his lips and teeth up her neck and stopped at her ear. “Do you still think being with me is worth it?”
Her panted breaths fell like warm water across his skin as he prepared himself for her refusal. A part of him still expected her rejection. She never stayed more than five minutes in a man’s bed.
“Worth everything.” Her hands slid down his chest and abdomen, tracing the lines of his muscles. She slipped her leg up his inner thigh, pressing against his erection and testicles.
Pleasure shot up the length of him. He slipped his hand from her neck and grasped the round curve of her ass to pull her tighter against him. “Forgive me.”
She clasped her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist. The extra weight shifted him forward and pressed her into the mattress.
Lacing her fingers through is hair, she pulled him to her lips. Soft and warm, she pressed into his. “I will submit to you,” she whispered.
He kissed her then with all the pent up hunger inside of him. He thrust his tongue in her mouth, demanding hers. Hot and penetrating, her tongue swiped into his mouth. He sucked it in deeper.
Her beautiful round breasts and nipples taunted him. His mouth watered to have them in his mouth. Soft and smooth, he traced the outline of her breast with his fingertip and down her abdomen.
Her breath caught as he reached just above the delectable and clean shaven cleft between her legs. “Are you sure about this? You will be mine, Kit. You understand what that means?”
“I do, but do you? You’ll be stuck with me.”
He had been so focused on how it would affect her, he had not considered it would mean the same for him. This was not just sex, feelings were intimately tied to the union—unlike what she had endured before. He thought of Inpu. The priest had given a portion of his soul to Nebt during their bonding, only to have her betray him. Kit would have his when this was all said and done.
His firm cock lay against her abdomen. She reached for him, but he snagged her arm and pressed it over her head followed by the other.
“I do not want to hurt you,” he added, gently biting her neck. His arms were already shaking from restraint. She arched up against his body. He grasped her hips and pinned her back down to the mattress.
He brushed his lips and stubble on her neck and shoulders, leaving a trail of his bonding scent behind. Keeping her tightly restrained he marked every inch of her skin. His scent now filled the room, smothering any evidence of the other god. She groaned and writhed beneath him. His lips found the sensitive skin of her nipple and tugged it into his mouth. He did not stay long, another begged to be bitten.
She yelped but arched into him, pressing her nipple deeper into his mouth. She bucked and tried to wrap her legs around him. He shoved her legs back to the mattress. “You are not the one in charge of this.”
“God, Kamen. You’re driving me crazy.”
He met her glowing blue eyes and smiled. It had been millenniums since he had lain with a women, he was not going to rush it. “I am just getting started.” Without touching her where she desperately wanted him too, he flipped her over onto her stomach.
* * *
Kit expelled a heavy breath. Out of her mind with desire, she struggled to restrain herself. His whole body seduction drove her wild. When he asked her to submit, she thought he’d pin her down and get to it. Instead, she was begging for it. Damn his control.
“Keep your arms up,” he commanded. When she stilled, he let go of her wrists. She gripped the pillow in an attempt to stop shaking. His lips and tongue found every crease and dip in her body, all but her core that ached and pulsed. The brush of the sheets almost had her orgasming.
On his knees, he straddled her hips and placed his hands on either side of her shoulders. He brushed her hair to the side to expose the base of her neck. He leaned in allowing only a brush of his lips, tongue and chest. The tip of his cock pressed into the base of her back, making her shudder. She inhaled his scent. Her lungs tingled with each breath. She had no doubts he was marking her inside and out.
She gripped the pillow until her fingers turned white, and she buried her face in the padding. The soft stuffing muffled her scream as he moved lower down her back. She detected her own scent of arousal mixing with his. Blood flowed to her core, worsening the already unbearable ache.
Kamen trailed kisses down the back of her thighs and nudged her legs apart. “You smell so good,” he growled. His fingers brushed her from front to back, dipped into her folds just enough to trail her wet arousal along the crease of her bottom. His tongue followed that trail back and brushed the entrance to her vagina. She cursed and kicked her feet.
She looked over her shoulder.
His black eyes flickered with orange flames as he looked up at her. One side of his lips rose, exposing a hint of fangs. She shivered. The thought of him actually biting her sent electric shocks through her body.
He prowled up her body. His hot breath tickled her neck. Wondering what he would do to her next, her heart hammered in her chest. She couldn’t take much more.
“Are you ready, Kitten?”
“God, yes please.” She tilted her head, inviting him to nip her neck.
“I need to get into you soon, before I cannot.”
“What?” She said, alarmed. The idea of enduring this and not getting to feel him was unbearable.
Instead of answering, he snaked an arm underneath her hips. With a hard yank he pulled her to her knees and elbows. He stayed tight to her back. She spread her legs farther. Putting weight on his one arm, he reached down behind her.
She gasped when he rubbed the tip of his cock against her clit and her entrance. He groaned and bit her shoulder gently. “You smell and feel like roses.”
“Please, Kamen.” She pushed back into him. The head of his penis pressed heavily into her. Realizing how huge he really was, her breath hitched.
“Kitten,” he hissed and pressed again without retreating.
She exhaled a breath, trying to relax. His grip on her hip tightened as he inched forwarded filling her. “Isis.”
The pressure built to the point of being painful, but the most erotic feeling of being stretched by his potency. Orgasming, she leaned into the pillow and screamed. His entire body tightened against her back.
He kissed the back of her neck. “You are mine.”
She couldn’t agree more. He commanded every cell in her body. The thought of being only his didn’t scare her as much as it did before. She sighed as he slowly moved inside her. He shifted his weight to his knees and straightened up away from her. His hands traced her back and the snake imbedded there. Electrical shocks of pressure shot down her spinal column to the point where he was seated deep inside her.
Without breaking their union, he pulled her up onto her knees, so she sat in his lap. With her back pressed to his chest, his hands were free to roam the front of her body. She had control over the depth of his thrusts, which became increasingly urgent.
Heat burned at her core as this hand grasped her breast and brushed against her clit. The tip of his penis grew, stretching and rubbing against the delectable spot inside her. He grunted when the wellspring of her orgasm broke. She arched, driving him deeper, mixing little tentacles of pain with t
he euphoria.
He grasped her hip on one side and her shoulder on the other and sheathed himself completely. She reached back over her head and wrapped her fingers around his thick neck.
As another orgasm shook her body, she realized she could never be with anyone else. This wasn’t sex, it was something beyond amazing. Her body, mind and soul were his, completely and utterly his.
Meeting her demands, he exploded in hot bursts inside her followed by a deafening roar of ecstasy. She gasped and arched back. He held her tight as a dark power rocketed through her body with each burst of his seed. Her entire body tightened and she screamed again. She jerked and thrashed against him with what seemed to be every individual cell responding to the change.
He lowered them both onto their sides. As promised, he spooned against her back, locked within her. He pulled her hair off to the side and kissed her neck.
Her teeth chattered as her entire body quivered against his. She closed her eyes and willed her body to relax.
“Are you okay?” Kamen asked, concern lacing his words.
She laughed. “I’ve never been better. Just need to stop shaking.”
“It will pass, but I can place you into sleep to make it easier.”
“No, I don’t want to sleep.” Bad things happened when she slept. She placed his hand over her heart. This was where she needed him for more than the reason Apep had taken part of it. It had always been empty until now. She turned her shoulders so she could look up at him.
With his mouth slightly parted, the gleam of teeth showed through. She traced his lips with her finger, coaxing him to open further. He pulled away slightly. “Sorry,” he said, embarrassed.
Despite the angle and still being filled by him, she pulled him down to her lips and kissed him. She pushed her tongue through his tight lips, sending a strong message he need not hide from her. He cautiously opened his mouth to her probing. Her tongue traced the outline of large incisors. He closed his eyes and finally kissed her back.
The tip of his fang grazed her lip and drew a small amount of blood. His tongue danced across and the hunger of his kiss deepened, leaving her breathless. A deep purr rumbled through his throat. He broke her kiss enough to shift them without pulling out of her. He now settled on top between her legs. He found her lower lip and sucked it into his mouth.
