by Jaye Shields
He growled as her lips wrapped tightly around his shaft. He jerked within the clutches of her mouth and she knew he was close. Once more, she savored the taste of smoke and sulfur. The friction from her tongue gliding quickly up and down his shaft created sparks of heat. Soon he was coming and she swore she tasted liquid fire.
Sephina glanced up at the demon and saw his blue eyes smoldering with both ecstasy and disbelief. Yeah. She was that good. She sucked the last drop out of his glistening shaft. When she glanced down, she saw smoke rising off his flesh. “Now that’s hot.”
“Shit!” The demon released the breath he’d been holding.
“You weren’t so bad yourself, demon.”
“That’s never happened before.”
She stood and adjusted her skirt before raising a brow in his direction. “Please don’t tell me I just popped your cherry.”
He finished fastening his pants and grabbed her, pulling her close. So close she could smell brimstone on his breath. His sky-colored gaze burned down into her and for the first time, she realized just how dangerous the man could be if he put his energy behind pummeling rather than pleasuring.
She exhaled through the sensual tension. “That’s quite the serious smolder you’ve got working there, dealer.”
He silenced her by crushing his lips to hers, diving into her mouth with his tongue. He swept inside her and their tongues met in smooth, liquid heat. His hands navigated their way down her curves. Good gods, she hoped this meant there’d be a round two. She was really starting to like this town.
He broke the kiss. “You’re my female. Thank gods I’ve found you.”
Her jaw dropped. Yes. It seemed there was definitely going to be a round two.
Chapter 4
Axel reached out and touched the soft flesh of his woman. He’d been given the gift of a hellion with the face of an angel. Her cheek fit perfectly in his palm as he cupped her face. Her eyes flickered in response, shifting from a playful, yellow glow to a deep, primal, amber hue. He drew his finger down her shoulder and observed the heated silk of her skin.
“You’re hot enough to be a dragon’s mate.” He spoke gently, afraid to spook her.
Her dainty hand swatted him away. “A sexual demon like you doesn’t need cheesy pickup lines.”
He frowned. “Your skin is very warm, woman. What are you?”
“I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”
Axel appraised her and was happy to note that her climax had helped stop the trembling of her hands. But it would only be a matter of time before the effects of the withdrawal continued. “My name is Axel Stavros, one of the few quetzalem in this realm.”
He searched her face for a reaction, but found none. Instead, the firecracker ran a hand through her electric pink hair, mussing it up so that she looked like she’d just rolled out of bed. He groaned at the thought.
“Quetzalem, huh? Well, that explains the tasty BBQ smokehouse quality of your skin.”
He frowned. There was no detecting how this woman truly felt about his intentions. “You are familiar with my breed then? Perhaps you know that once a year we go into heat for twelve hours, and during this time we need constant climax to fan the embers of the brimstone lacing our bones. If we do not, our brimstone dries. Never more can we get it back once the cinders turn to ash.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you found the sex demon in town, isn’t it?”
Of course. He should have guessed. She was too damn hot to be anything else; it was her young, innocent face that had convinced him otherwise. He’d already experienced the fire coursing through her veins like liquid passion, and he knew her claim to be more than true. It was an understatement.
He motioned for her to follow him. “Come to my home and I’ll give you what you need.”
That perked her up. No doubt she thought he meant the fae wing. “You know, sex demons can sympathize with your little problem. Except we have it worse. If we don’t get climax on a regular basis, we can weaken, and even die.”
“I doubt you’ve ever had a problem with this.” His gaze raked over her sumptuous, goddess-like body. He instantly regretted the words when her yellow eyes swarmed with a deep orange and flecks of brown. She’d gone from carefree to tormented in only the breath of a sentence.
“I haven’t, but my sister Zahra nearly died just last month. She was tortured by someone who knew this information. Not everyone likes sex demons. Surely you can appreciate this, dragon boy, since your kind has been hunted to near extinction.”
Axel looked upon the woman in a new light. She wasn’t just a sensual hellion. She’d seen enough things in her obviously young life to be a woman who knew how to take care of herself. Contemplating what kind of hard times would have led to the thick skin she possessed fueled his veins with rage. Thinking of anyone hurting this beautiful woman brought a haze over his vision. Remembering her current condition, he took her hand in his, but she jerked it away. He’d held it just long enough to realize the shakes had returned.
“Forgive me, succubus. I know not the trials you’ve been through, but I admire your spirit. I am truly fortunate to have found such a woman to fill my bed. First, I’m going to help you with this problem.” He watched her shift the weight on her feet. He saw the conflict spreading over her light blonde brows as her forehead furrowed. She wanted the drugs, but he gathered she also wanted to be clean. “For how long have you abstained?”
He looked over at her as they walked through the darkened town toward his home. She swallowed before answering, and he wondered if she was choking down pain to keep a game face for him. He’d seen enough withdrawal to know her insides probably felt as if they were soaked in acid, being pickled in bitter liquid need. Her mind would only be half-registering his words. The other half would be an evil mantra teasing her with the desire to make this itching of her skin and pain within her body go away.
“I’d been clean for a month, but I had a slip up the other day.” Her gaze flickered with disappointment. “My sister still doesn’t know. We left our hometown mostly on my behalf.” She laughed, but it escaped in a bitter, desperate cry. He searched her face for tears, but found none. “Gods, why am I telling this to my dealer?”
“I’ll be more than your dealer soon.” He was surprised at how dangerous and low his voice rang. The woman was affecting him more than he could have imagined. “We are here.” He motioned her inside the thatched-roof home. She entered the room, nearly engulfed by the obscurity of the large space. All he could see of her was pale, ghostly skin and flaming, yellow eyes like lanterns to light his way. The pink hair around her burning gaze looked like fire rising above embers in the darkness. “You’ve still not told me your name.”
“Sephina Antara from Sprecia.”
“Instead of dealer, perhaps you could call me by my name, since I’ve already introduced myself.”
“Sure thing.” But she didn’t say his name. Instead, she appeared to be waiting, fighting with herself over taking the drug he’d be offering her.
“Wait here.” He disappeared into a back room and retrieved what he knew would help him serve Sephina. She was still standing in the large, dark living space when he returned. He could already make out drops of sweat on her forehead. The sickness of withdrawal was getting worse. He had to act fast. “I have something that will make you feel better.”
As she reached out, he swiftly grabbed her and tied a silken rope around one of her wrists. “What the fuck!” She fought and as she did so, the fabric knotted even tighter. Axel spun her so that her back was against his chest. Keeping her close, he wrapped her formerly free wrist as well.
Her body shook, whether from anger or the pain of withdrawal, he’d never know. “You sick bastard! I would have had sex with you if you’d asked nicely! How dare you!” She kicked out at him and he let her shin drive into his legs like a petite sledgehammer. He took a deep breath, keeping his scales buried within his skin so she could take out her anger upon him. She had th
at right after what he was about to do. She’d thank him later when she was clean.
“I’m sorry, Sephina. I want to have you in my bed, it is no lie. But for now, I want to help you, and you and I both know it will be hard. Tying you is the only way until after your medicine is administered. It will help with the urges, the pain, and eventually it will cure your addiction.”
Tears were flowing down her cheeks freely now, and it pained him like a knife in the gut. Sweeping her into his arms, he carried her down the hall to his bedroom. She kicked and screamed, sobbing the entire time. Axel realized he’d flipped a switch, bringing to light a very painful memory that obviously still haunted her. Fury peeled back his skin and he had to command the scales to remain embedded as his anger rose. He’d kill the man that brought Sephina such pain.
He laid her on his bed and flinched at the agony in her eyes. Not only was she clearly experiencing mental anguish, but the effects of the withdrawal were more obvious. Her skin had paled and sweat covered her in a thick sheen. Her usually warm flesh was covered in goose bumps and she shook with chill.
“I’m going to make you better.” He tied the bindings around her wrists to the bed.
Backing away, he commanded his scales to harden. Slowly, the thick, blue, protective covering jutted out from his body. She’d need a lot of blood. He traced three deep slits in his wrist. As he did so, Sephina’s eyes widened with terror and she flopped up and down on the bed, going nowhere thanks to his tight bonds.
“I’m sorry, but this will take away your pain.” He placed the crimson-soaked skin to her lips and as she was forced to drink the liquid, it seeped across her cheeks, waterfalling down her neck and onto his blankets. As she fought against the invasion, he pressed his wrist harder against her mouth until her teeth dug into his flesh.
He wavered on his feet, dizziness consuming his senses. He’d not needed to give so much blood in some time, and he was already in a weakened state. She was worth dying for though. The realization struck him. What did this mean?
Finally, Sephina’s eyes shut and the goose bumps disappeared from her skin. The warmth of his fiery essence was already warming her body from the inside out. As she lay in a deep sleep, a pink glow covered her skin like it had when he’d nearly trampled her outside the whorehouse. Seeing her look so peaceful and healthy stirred something deep within him. She looked gorgeous, but it was more than his lust. Much more. He’d be able to save Sephina from her addiction. Thank the gods, for clearly, she’d already saved him as well.
Chapter 5
Surrounded by warmth and a bed made of feathers, Sephina inhaled the subtle scent of frankincense. She bolted up, realizing that she was in her old bedroom, back in Sprecia. The only difference was her old, bug-ridden mattress was now a cozy sanctuary. The sound of her father’s voice in the hallway made Sephina swallow a lump of hatred gathering in her throat. How had she ended up back in her childhood home?
“Hey, sugar lips.” Her father appeared in the doorway, and Seph pulled her comforter closer. It didn’t stop him from leering at her. His pants were already unbuckled, but when his hands went to drag them down, Sephina prepared to fight. She wasn’t a little girl anymore.
A scream tore through the room, but it wasn’t hers, it belonged to her father. His body jerked forward and blood seeped from the middle of his chest where a large barb had stricken through his heart from behind.
Confusion parted Sephina’s lips as she sat in stunned silence. As her father’s body slumped to the ground, the image of his murderer was revealed. Bright eyes shone like sapphires from where they stared at her in the doorway. Axel stood, seeming taller than ever, this time with steely blue wings curled behind his back. They were both beautiful and deadly, pointed by barbs, one of which was still covered with her father’s blood. As he strode toward her, she noticed hard scales covering his body. Those hadn’t been there before.
Axel didn’t speak. As Sephina read his strong, angular face, she realized one thing. He was capable of murder, but his intention for being in her room was not to kill. It was to pleasure.
Sephina scooted away on her mattress until her back hit the headboard. Hoping her cowardice went unnoticed, she met Axel’s determined gaze. He smiled down at her, revealing tiny fangs that’d escaped her before. Seating himself on the bed, he reached out toward her. Seph looked down and saw her naked body was a bared feast for his eyes. Her heart raced. The space slowly morphed into the room Sephina slept in at Zahra’s house. Just a dream.
Axel’s hand immediately found her neck. Fear coursed through her for a moment, but his gentle touch upon her flesh made it clear there would only be pleasure. His fingers pushed aside her hair so his lips could find her earlobe. He whispered to her in an ancient language she didn’t understand, but the foreign words only worked to make her even hotter as his lips sucked on her earlobe. His teeth nipped at her ear as his hands massaged their way south from her neck. Her breasts were already aching for his touch, and as his soft palm traced downward, it seemed to take forever. Sephina groaned when his lips moved to the tender flesh of her neck and sucked hard. Finally, his fingers found her nipples and he twisted gently. Her apex throbbed so hard she could have sworn there was an invisible vibrator between her legs. Her breasts filled his hands as his lips moved to suckle the tips.
A moan escaped her throat as he pushed her back against the headboard. Liquid heat stirred beneath her skin. Her hand went to his shaggy black hair, but just when she reached out for him, he caught her wrist. His blazing blue eyes smiled at her with sheer sex. Yanking her forward, he flipped her onto her belly. Her stomach bounced on the mattress and molten heat seared through her veins at the unexpected roughness. Before her body collapsed on the bed, his arms were on each side of her and he was driving into her from behind. The sudden entry provided enough ecstasy and pain to overwhelm her body and nearly bring her to climax with one single thrust. His wide girth filled her, finding the deepest crevice. She cried out as the bomb within her detonated under Axel’s expert command.
Her cry echoed off the walls and the headboard faded before her; then she was in another room. Axel retreated slowly, letting every centimeter of her smooth walls beg him to come back soon. His large shaft withdrew from her completely, prodding at the entrance once more. Her mind spun as it anticipated the second penetration. He slammed deep inside her and she cried out in rapture. The slow, hard thrusts were torture. She opened her mouth to scream, intending to beg him not to stop, but no words came out.
He must have read her mind, for the next time he rocked into her, he didn’t stop. Instead, he pounded away, each violent assault causing her breasts to bounce against the mattress. She arched her back so that her ass ground against his hips and she met every thrust. Ecstasy came barreling toward her. In response, Axel quickened his pace, sending Sephina into a dizzying frenzy. Her head collapsed into the soft mattress as her climax exploded, igniting a stream of fire through her entire body. The heat from her orgasm surrounded her in flames. The soft blankets around her crackled with the soundtrack of the inferno reaching toward the ceiling. The fiery blaze surrounding her didn’t worry Sephina, for she already knew everything was just a dream. A really hot one.
* * * *
Sephina awoke, and the first thing she noticed was the damp sheets tangled between her legs. Not only that, but she was on her stomach and her pleasure center was still throbbing. Mortification coursed through her. She hadn’t only come in her dream.
“You look much better this morning.” The low, masculine voice complimented her from the doorway. Sephina flipped over on the bed and was glad to be fully clothed, a contrast to the wickedly erotic dream she’d had. “Sleep well?”
He smiled and Sephina was stunned at how gorgeous he looked. She briefly wondered what it would be like to be the female who made him smile like that. Oh wait, she’d just done that. She searched his lingering grin. He was smiling because he knew. Her jaw clenched in response. “So the rumors are true then.”
“Yes.” He stopped smiling and sat on the bed next to her. “Don’t be embarrassed.”
Heat flooded her cheeks anyway. It wasn’t because he knew, it was because he thought she cared. A succubus wasn’t exactly shy. Not that she minded being treated like a lady for a change. “Why would I be embarrassed? You made me come for real last night in the alley.” She savored the shocked reaction on his face. Clearly, he wasn’t expecting her to be so abrupt. “I hate to tell you this, dragon boy, but I think the dream might have been better.” Lie. The night before had been just as hot, if not hotter.
He glared at her and she noticed a tick in his jaw. “I’ll take that as a challenge.”
A subtle heat crept into her cheeks. “So, about that heat you mentioned yesterday?”
“Should we get a head start?” His voice was a low promise that she knew he could fulfill.
“Actually, I’m going to have to take a rain check. All this hot sex has really worked up my appetite.”
He growled with disapproval. “We only tasted each other once. The dream doesn’t count, scintillating as you claim it was. I will make you breakfast.”
“You forget that we first met outside the whorehouse. I’d had a busy day.”
A dark wave passed over his expression. She watched his jaw clench so hard she thought he’d break a tooth or two. He thought she’d been with a man. Uh-oh, stage-five clinger. Yep, she definitely had to make a quick exit.
“Anyway, thanks for the orgasm and the sleep orgasm, which by the way, totally still counts even though it was kind of a creepy turn-on when you killed my father.” She jumped out of bed. “See ya around, dragon boy.”
She passed him quickly before he could stop her, making her way through his house. She barely remembered the night before when he’d carried her in. Silence made her realize Axel wasn’t following her, so she poked her head back into the bedroom. “Stavros.”
