In their previous encounters, she hadn’t had the opportunity to see Derick completely naked and she was dying to rectify the problem.
She looked down at his new outfit, amazed that she hadn’t torn if from his body before now. “I’m assuming Alazar dressed you, and I have no complaints. You look amazing in black leather pants. You can conjure whatever clothes you want, but this outfit really works,” she smirked.
“I woke up wearing this, but if you like it, I’ll definitely consider keeping it,” he chuckled against her ear.
She put her hands on the indents in his hips, and slowly slid them up his firm sides, lifting his shirt as she went. He obliged her by raising his arms until the shirt was gone. The sight of his muscled chest made her weak in the legs. He was gorgeous with his messy black hair and his mischievous blue eyes.
Leaning in, she ran her lips across his hard chest, pleased to find a small patch of hair that tickled her cheek. The groan that rumbled through his chest was delightful.
Her hands skimmed across his abs and down to his tight pants. She could see that he was excited by her wandering hands and was already hard. Pushing against his leather pants, she found what she wanted. She stroked and gripped him through his pants while she kissed his chest, grazing his nipples with her teeth.
Derick threw his head back. He never knew being touched could feel like this. He’d never allowed much contact before, but now he could have this alone and be happy. Her lips combined with her warm breath made him shudder. He pushed his erection into her palm, begging for more.
Anjali tugged at his pants, nimbly popped the button, and lowered his zipper. She was done teasing. She wanted more.
She lowered the edges of his pants until his full length was free, eager to be touched. Dropping to her knees, she brushed her cheek and mouth along the side of it from his pubic hair to the tip. She turned and stroked the other side. She looked up at him and extended her tongue, waiting until she had his undivided attention and slowly licked the underside of his broad head.
Derick’s breath rushed out of him while he watched the glorious woman in front of him staring at him with lust in her eyes. He nearly came when he saw and felt her tongue against him. Was she trying to kill him again?
She giggled when she heard his unspoken question. “No my dear boy, I’m not trying to kill you. No one will ever take you from me,” she chuckled. She quickly drew his head into her mouth and sucked him hard and fast until his knees gave out. He sat abruptly on the edge of the bed so he wouldn’t collapse to the floor.
“Anjali, I can’t take much more,” Derick gasped. His body tightened and his head swam with colors and lights.
“Sorry,” she giggled. She stood and hovered over his mouth. “Tell me what you want. Show me.”
Derick gulped when he looked into her sincere eyes. He knew what he wanted. It was something that had never appealed to him before, but was now desperate to do. He showed her the image and she nodded in agreement.
Determined to undress her, he faltered when he couldn’t see any zippers on her body-hugging dress.
Anjali chuckled and pulled the collar of her dress down over her shoulders. She proceeded to peel the dress from her body while Derick sat motionless, taking in every inch of her skin. Once past her hips, she released the dress and let it drop to the floor.
Derick’s mind crashed when she saw that she was only wearing black panties. He’d never seen a more beautiful sight. Anjali.
Before she could blink, Derick grabbed her and laid her down on the bed. He slowly pressed his body against hers. His weight was a welcomed treat after their standing encounters. She wanted to feel him, possess him.
“Are you sure you’re okay. I know you’re still healing,” she asked, brushing the hair from his forehead.
“I’m not feeling any pain at the moment,” he replied as he leaned down and kissed her neck.
She ran her nails along his spine down to his backside, delighted that he was enjoying her hands on him. It was impossible not to grab his perfect ass and kneaded it.
She opened her mind to him and showed him how desperately she needed him.
Derick kissed her graceful neck and nestled in the crook of it, licking and teasing her. He laughed when her back bowed beneath him and she clung to him with her arms and legs. It was an empowering sensation to hear her thoughts and experience what she was feeling. There was no question of whether she enjoyed a kiss or a touch; he knew it, saw it.
He crawled down her body, kissing her along the way. Quickly pulling her panties off, he grabbed his cock, and slowly guided himself into her body. She was warmer and tighter than he remembered. She was exquisite. Moving his body forward, he plunged deeply into her heat.
Anjali moaned at the full sensation of Derick. All thoughts of sending him away were gone from her head. He belonged to her and she loved him. Her only thoughts were of him and how much she loved him.
“I love you too,” he groaned and pushed harder into her.
He knew he’d never feel alone again. His search was over. He had finally found her.
Anjali pulled him closer and slid her tongue into his mouth. She clung to his back and she urged him on with her legs, pushing her body up to meet him. The pressure built inside of her while he found the exact spot that would drive her mad.
Derick chuckled at the benefit of knowing what his body was doing to hers. While it felt like cheating, he exploited every opportunity to make her moan and writhe beneath him. When she enjoyed to a movement or was close to losing control, he adjusted his pace and made her beg for more. He was in control and he loved it.
She squeezed him deep inside her body, laughing at his thoughts of being in control. She grabbed his ass and held him against her while she gyrated her hips and took control of his body. Feeling his body tense above her, she didn’t need to know his thoughts. She tightened her muscles when he was fully inside her only to release him when he slid out. His staggered breaths and shaking informed her that he was enjoying her body.
Derick threw back his head, trembling from her ministrations, but he was done playing. He grabbed her hips harshly and slammed into her body. He wanted her mindless, begging for release.
He drove his burning erection into her slick body, urged on by her nails in his back. He pushed and pushed, enjoying the feeling of her thighs wrapped around his body as she tensed. His hips were relentless as they moved between her legs, driving his own needs higher. No longer able to control himself, he kissed her mouth, hungry for the intimacy. He needed to be inside of her in every way.
Anjali was close to finding her release, her body hummed with excitement and energy. She put her hands in his hair and held him while he thrust his tongue into her mouth. Rocking her hips against him, she splinted into a million pieces and screamed out his name. She clutched the comforter beneath her and tried not to bite him. Her body arched as pleasure poured through her. The sensation ebbed, and then took her again as a body-jarring orgasm overcame her. Derick came inside of her, yelling out garbled, incoherent words.
Derick tried to slow his breathing. His body convulsed even after he stopped thrusting. He was afraid he would break apart. He’d never thought in all his life that sex could be like this, especially in his bed, in his room.
He carefully propped himself up on his elbows, taking the weight off her so that he could look at her. She was smiling, her lips puffy from his assault, and her hair was snaking around her head across his blanket. It was a beautiful sight and he wanted to see it again and again.
“You okay?” she asked shyly.
Derick’s eyebrows flew up to his hairline. “Seriously? You don’t think I’m okay after that. Are you still able to read my mind? Granted, it’s empty at this point, but it’s a good kind of empty.”
“I don’t mean that. I mean, about the bed. You told me the last girl you had in your bed didn’t do it for you. I don’t want you to do something that you don’t enjoy, just to make me happy,” she smirked
at the irony of her statement knowing that being her servant would entail doing plenty of things he didn’t enjoy doing.
“Anjali, that was the best moment of my life. I understand why I only wanted sex in public. Being with you has made me realize what I was doing. I hated having sex with those girls. I did it either to save my reputation or to blow off some steam. I am still a man and did have needs, but I always felt guilty for being with them. I know that I was searching for something, someone. I was searching for you. Part of me remembered you and missed you. You said that we’ve been together a number of times throughout the years. I must have felt guilty because I knew you were out there somewhere. I was frustrated that I couldn’t find you. I think having sex out in the open where I could be caught was a kind of challenge. I always got off at the thought of someone walking in on me and getting into trouble for it. I wanted you to find me and be angry with me for not holding out until I found you. I know it sounds weird, but that’s why I did it,” Derick rubbed his nose against hers and smiled.
“If I had found you having sex with someone else, I would have done terrible things to her. I was extremely jealous when you told me about the other girls. I considered getting their names and hunting them down. I especially wanted the name of the girl who walked away after you had confided in her. In fact, I’ll bet she’s still somewhere on this campus. I think I should go and have a chat with her,” Anjali shifted, trying to sit up to find the horrid little girl.
Derick laughed, but grabbed Anjali’s wrists and held her down, pinning her body beneath him. “I think she has suffered enough. She was knocked up two months later and had to drop out of school. Some jerk frat boy got her pregnant, but he didn’t want the baby,” he said quickly, hoping to deflate her anger.
“Oh, okay. I won’t look for her then,” Anjali frowned.
“Personally, I want to hunt down the guy who walked away from you. What's his deal?” he expressed his jealously from their original conversation in the bar.
She looked away for a moment, but decided he needed to know about CJ since she constantly thought about him. She motioned to the scars on her wrists, just above where he was holding her arms against the bed.
“He didn’t walk away. I did. I chose Lucifer over my life with him. We were friends, but I wanted more. He knew about my nightmares, but neither one of us knew my true identity. I was just the crazy girl who saw terrifying things. I yelled at him the last time I saw him. He wanted to fix me and find a way to for me to be normal. Part of me understands why I was so mad at him and why I left him in the end. I’m not meant to be controlled or changed. I am the Master, whether I like it or not. It’s ingrained in me. I can’t change that, and no one else can either. That side of me was mad at CJ. That side of me knew we couldn’t have a future together. He couldn’t accept who I was,” she explained. She hated thinking about it in those terms, but she knew it was true.
Derick released her arms and kissed her softly. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out with him.”
“Me too. It’s better if he forgets about me and lives out his life. I wanted the same for you,” she said quietly.
“I know. I knew when Aganon grabbed me and jumped off the roof that my life would never be the same. I really thought I was going to die. I was shocked when I opened my eyes and kept breathing. I was glad to have a few more moments to say goodbye to you. I was praying that you would find me in time. When I saw you, I was so happy to have the chance to tell you that I loved you,” Derick said as he leaned on his elbow and traced her lips. He wasn’t ready to move yet. He liked looking down at her beautiful face.
“Do you feel different? I don’t know much about Nachtghuls since they were destroyed long ago,” she asked as she nibbled his fingertip.
Derick bit her lip in retaliation. “Everything is different. I didn’t notice it as much until we arrived here. Hell was surreal, so I wasn’t paying attention to the difference in my body. I was too worried about the Council locking you away. I feel stronger, even though my body is still recovering from my fall. My sight, hearing, and touch are more intense, which means sex was phenomenal. It will take some time to get used to it, but I like that I can reach out to you at any time,” he said as he leaned down to kiss her.
Before she could respond, she felt a stir in the air. She didn’t need to look to see who it was.
“Anjali, I’m sorry to intrude, but there’s a problem. You’re going to want to see this,” Alazar said as he did his best to avert his eyes to avoid seeing Derick naked and on top of his Master.
“What’s wrong?” she grumbled. Why couldn’t she have one moment of peace?
Derick grimaced and threw Alazar a nasty look. He quickly removed himself from Anjali and jumped off the bed. He grabbed his pants and searched for his shirt.
Alazar’s expression was grim. “Aganon has escaped from the Hall of Mercy and is holding Maraquette hostage. He is threatening to kill her and himself. He said he regrets his actions and as his final act, he wants to present Maraquette’s head to you, as penance for all that he has done. Lucifer is inclined to let him kill her and himself. I thought you should know,” Alazar rocked on his heels, unsure how she was going to react.
She put her hands over eyes, pleading for divine inspiration. Snapping her fingers, she was dressed and off the bed in a heartbeat.
Chapter 22
Anjali, Alazar, and Derick appeared in the Hall of Mirrors, but quickly followed Alazar out of the castle, through the realms, and out to the Caves of Darkness at the edge of Hell.
Derick tried to take in everything he saw as they moved quickly through the bleak landscape. The real Hell was beyond his wildest imagination and scarier than what he’d pictured, just as Anjali had warned. The smell of blood and decaying flesh, the oppressive heat, and the sound of tortured prisoners screaming was enough to make him miss his room in the castle, but he held firm and focused on Anjali. She quickly explained the realms and the general layout of Hell while they walked. He reminded himself over and over that he had volunteered for this.
They entered into the carved-out cavern in the heavy rock walls that formed the Caves. The Caves were desolate areas that were once the main access points to the Mortal Realm. As the world grew, the tunnels were abandoned because they became too hard to patrol and keep secret from the curious mortals. The Hall of Winds was created to funnel the souls in and out of Hell and the tunnels were barricaded off and loaded with traps in the event that an escaped soul managed to attempt a prison break. If an escaped soul tried to leave through the Caves, they would first have to get past the Bhakṣaka who prowled the area. They were vicious creatures who fed upon the souls who dared to enter. They would destroy the souls and leave behind their animated corpses called Shades who resembled rotting zombies. However, an escapee should be more concerned about the Shades devouring them alive long before the Bhakṣaka found them.
“Why did Aganon bring Maraquette to the Caves of Darkness?” she muttered to Alazar as they made their way through the dimly lit cavern. The torches on the walls barely combated the darkness to light their way. The smell of rotting corpses hit her hard and she tried not to breathe.
“I’m not sure, perhaps he wanted to keep the audience to a minimum since most aren’t allowed here,” Alazar shrugged. He stepped over the scattered bones, ignoring them.
In the distance, Anjali recognized the infamous blue glow of the Celestial Sword over Maraquette’s neck. She thought it looked better on Maraquette than sticking out of her own chest. At least that answered the mystery of what had happened to the Celestial Sword that Michael was demanding. Part of her wanted Aganon to kill Maraquette and turn the sword on himself.
Maraquette was kneeling on the craggy floor with her hands behind her back, seething with rage.
Lucifer was casually leaning against the uneven walls with his arms crossed, looking bored while Dorian stood at his right side. The firelight from the torches made him look beautiful, yet sinister. Dorian looked terrif
ied. He kept looking over his shoulder for the Shades.
Hades was nowhere to be seen.
So much for overseeing Maraquette’s punishment, she snickered to herself.
She wondered how Aganon had escaped the Hall of Mercy and how many Fallen he had wounded or killed to break Maraquette out of the Hall of Torment. Perhaps Hades was cleaning up the mess.
The shuffling sounds echoing through the cave instantly put her on edge. While Lucifer commanded the Bhakṣaka, or soul eaters, he didn’t have control over their victims that roamed the caves. It was rare for the Shades to attack angels, but she, Derick, and Dorian weren’t angels.
Aganon acknowledged her with a nod, but didn’t move from his stance over Maraquette. He gripped her red hair tightly in his hand and held Maraquette’s head at an uncomfortable angle.
“Aganon, you wanted me here. What’s going on?” she asked. She did her best to ignore the scratching sounds around her and focus on Aganon. Alazar had informed her that Aganon was refusing to move until she arrived.
“I want to apologize for all that I have done and beg for your forgiveness,” Aganon was calm, as he held the sword firmly in his palm.
Looking to Lucifer, she tapped her foot. “Why have you allowed this display to continue, my lord?” she grimaced at Lucifer, wondering why he hadn’t commanded Aganon to stand down.
“Let’s say that I’m curious. Maraquette’s life is now in your hands. I wanted to see what you would do with it,” Lucifer waved his hand toward Maraquette.
Even though Maraquette had been found guilty and sentenced to the Hall of Shadows by the Council, killing her was off limits, unless Hell had a very good reason to take her head. It was doubtful that the Council would be terribly upset by her death, but she assumed that Lucifer wanted to avoid seeing them again so soon.
“Aganon wouldn’t listen to you, would he?” she knew Lucifer would never admit that his own servant had refused to do as he commanded.
“Let’s call it a difference of opinion,” Lucifer shrugged nonchalantly.
The Third Throne: Angel of Death Page 61
