Heaven to Hell (A Naughty Box Production Book 1)

by Rue Volley

  Gabriel’s laugh.

  The pain of the sword.

  Instinctively I reached over my shoulder and felt for the wings I knew were no longer there. Instead, my hand came away full of blood, staining the fabric I clutched in my fists.

  Fury pulled up from my toes, pinched every nerve in my body, clenched my stomach, and ripped from my throat. Pulling at the sheet, I tore it to shreds and screamed.

  Screamed until I thought I would turn myself inside out.

  The pain in my back was piercing once again. Though Gabriel had sliced off my wings, he only did so on the outside. Beneath the still fresh wounds were small joints still intent on beating through my rage, ripping me open with each pulse. Were Gabriel sympathetic, he would have removed the wings from the bone inside. Instead, he left enough to torture me over and over.

  Enough to scrape me away from the inside out.

  I hated him.

  “You’re awake.”

  A soft male voice floated to me and I snapped my head in its direction as I shrunk away.

  My skin began to crawl and my shoulders began to throb. I was torn between lust and pain. Often the two, I’d found were connected.

  “Are you okay?” the faceless man’s voice floated through the darkened space.

  “Fine. My back just,” I took a breath and tried to focus on anything but the rising pain, “hurts.”

  “Just lie down. I’ll call someone to check the wounds. They’re bleeding again.”

  “They’ll continue to bleed for awhile.” I responded with defeat swimming through my voice.

  “Will they? I mean, I don’t know anyone who’s had their wings removed other than—“

  “Cut off,” I said sharply and shrunk back against the wall as I saw him move toward me.

  “What?” He stopped.

  “Cut off. My wings were not removed. They were cut off.” My voice pitched toward madness.

  “No need to be alarmed. I won’t hurt you.” He held up his hands and stepped back.

  “She’s scared.” Another deeper voice cut through. “Turn on the light.”

  Dimmed lights flooded the space. They weren’t bright enough to hurt my eyes but the adjustment from the dark took longer than was comfortable considering I had no idea where I was.

  “Where is Gabriel?” I asked the shadowed figure standing closest to me.

  The question was answered with a laugh. “Gabriel is not here.”

  “Where is he?” I looked around, half-expecting him to pop out of the shadows.

  “Mila,” he stepped forward, his heavy boots echoing against the stone floor, “he is in Heaven. Though, honestly, not for long. Especially after what he did to you.”

  “Then where am I?” I leaned forward to get a better look at the man I could not see.

  “Purgatory.”

  Jumping up, I pulled the sheet with me and rushed away from the man, who was just coming into focus. “Why am I here?”

  “That’s what we would like to know.”

  The lights brightened a bit, and I finally saw the man. He was tall, imposing, muscular. Covered in tattooed markings, black hair that fell just above his shoulders. I was lost in eyes brighter than the bluest day and instinctively I stepped toward him.

  “Please, Mila. Put this on. I am sure you’ll be more comfortable.” He handed me a robe of sorts. The sheer material didn’t leave much to the imagination though it was better than the blood stained covering. “We do need to talk.”

  “How do you know my name?”

  “It’s my job to know your name.” He smiled and electricity shot through me. The look he gave told me he knew what I was feeling and enjoyed it. “And now it’s my job, our job,” he looked to the other man standing across the room but my eyes were still on him, “to find out why you’re here.”

  I laughed and paced in front of the man. “Okay, so I’m in Purgatory sitting naked in a room with the man,” I heard the man in the back clear his throat, “ I’m sorry men who are supposed to protect me? From what, exactly? Not like the devil himself is going pop up in here with his demon cock and fuck me until I pledge my undying faith to him.” I tried to swallow the lump that formed in my throat. My obstinance wasn’t welcome in Gabriel’s world. I wondered how it would fare amongst the soulless residents of Purgatory.

  Amusement danced in his eyes as he stepped toward me. Instinctively, I stepped back until his desk blocked my path. “The devil himself, you say? And say this devil wanted to ravage you? Bend you over this desk,” he knocked on the wood, “and fuck you until the angels cried for mercy?”

  Instead of following my gut and backing down, I painfully pulled my shoulders back and kept his gaze. “Then I’d tell him to wrap his hands around my throat, kiss me deep enough, and fuck me hard enough that I forget my name.”

  Leaning in, he ran his finger along my jaw line and whispered, “In due time. If he has his way. And he always gets his way.” I felt his fingers as they dropped slowly from my face and slid along my breast, stopping at my nipple for a small moment. His face gave away nothing. “You rest. We’ll talk later. We do need to figure out the hows and whys you are here, after all.”

  After one last deep breath, he turned on his heel and walked out. I let my mask of self-confidence fall a bit until I remembered there was someone else in the room with me. Someone who hadn’t taken his dark eyes off me.

  “Can I help you?” I knew my time in Purgatory was limited. I’d be cast back with the humans before the day was over. And I’d become hunted by both Gabriel and the devil himself. Didn’t matter. I couldn’t fight it. One of them would get to me eventually.

  “You’ve got some balls. I’ll give you that.”

  “What? He’s gonna go run and tell the boss I like to talk back? Will I get a spanking for being naughty?” I laughed and fell into the chair, wincing when my back pressed against the leather.

  “He is the boss.”

  “He’s the what?” The smile fell from my face.

  “The boss.”

  My stomach crawled into my throat. “He’s Satan?”

  “No, Satan is in Hell. At least for the moment. You’re in Purgatory. But, he does work for him if that makes you feel better.” The man chuckled and settled into the chair across from me.

  I chewed my lip and contemplated the information as I considered him. He had tattoos like the other man, but not nearly as many and they seemed more personal. His hair was short and tousled on top, like he’d just rolled out of bed, and his five o’clock shadow looked to be a permanent fixture along his chiseled face. Whereas the other man was large and imposing, this man was leaner, but no less strong. But like I had with the man who just left, I wanted to crawl across his body and consume him until I was satisfied. Of course, that was the general reaction I had around people.

  Insatiable.

  That’s what Eryn called me once.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Noah.”

  “So what now, Noah?” I raised an eyebrow and leaned back.

  “Now we get you ready to leave here.”

  “And go where?”

  He pulled a card from his front pocket and scanned it. “The United States of America.”

  I nearly choked. “Earth?”

  “Yeah, sorry.”

  “With humans? But I’m an angel, I can’t live amongst humans.”

  “Sorry to say, doll. You aren’t. Not since Gabriel sliced off your wings.” Noah must’ve seen the tear slide down my cheek because he suddenly looked sad. “It’s not so bad.”

  He knew he was full of shit.

  I knew he was full of shit.

  “How long before I have to go?”

  “When you’re healed.”

  “Gabriel will be able to find me.”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, Noah,” I stood and glared at him, “I’m just going to have to not let him find me.”

  THREE

  Five years later

  I watche
d him cut through the bar and zero in on me the second our eyes met. The bar was unusually packed, and the heat was getting to me. A sheen of sweat covered my body and my clothes clung like second skin. I couldn’t keep my eyes off him, and I tingled with anticipation with every step he took. He mesmerized me. Images and thoughts flooded my mind as if he and I had met before.

  When I was hungry, he was the only thing that satiated me.

  When I was thirsty, only he could quench my thirst.

  Touching him was climactic.

  Kissing him was like tasting lust.

  Fucking him was addictive.

  He was temptation in the flesh.

  I was hell-bent on revenge.

  And that was why he chose me.

  I shook my head and smiled wide as he reached the bar. “What can I getcha?”

  “Depends.” He smiled, my knees gave out, and I winced in pain as the remnants of my former life scraped through my skin.

  I plastered in the smile I wore when it hurt the most. “Depends on what, sweetie?” If he wanted to flirt, I’d give him a run for his money.

  I felt a small trickle of blood slide down my back.

  He didn’t answer. Instead he turned, leaned on the bar and scanned the room, his eyes landing on nothing in particular.

  I, however, stood watching my friend Megan as she wove her way through the crowd, her hips swinging in time to the thumping music that always reminded me of fucking. It was that kind of night, the kind of night when strangers eye fuck each other from across the room before, inevitably, pressing themselves against each other on the dance floor. Before zippers are unzipped in darkened corners and skirts are pushed up over round asses.

  Christ, she reminded me of Eryn. But she may as well have lived a thousand lifetimes ago. I poured myself a shot of whiskey and stubbed out my cigarette.

  The number of bodies moving, gyrating, bouncing to the fast and hard beats of the music made it difficult to focus. I couldn’t get distracted. Megan was across the room, but knew she was being watched. She turned, made eye contact with me, and blew me a kiss. She knew how to get the attention. She craved it. And every time we fucked, it was a revenge fuck I drowned in for my heart that was shattered and a life that was stolen from me. After what Gabriel did, I was never satisfied, and revenge was all I craved.

  I squeezed my eyes shut, willing the joints to stop throbbing. As the pain slowly subsided, I wiped a stray tear from my cheek. Gabriel ensured that every time I felt pain, I’d think of him. Every time I was tempted, it was his face that clouded my mind with the promise of agony.

  “So, what do you have on tap?” The sexy stranger finally decided to continue our conversation. Normally, I would’ve rolled my eyes and pulled him a beer, but something in my gut held me close to him.

  “Is beer what you’re really looking for?”

  “Not really.” I watched his face morph from curious and bold to lustful and horny.

  His brown eyes drank me in, and I grabbed his hand as he reached out to touch me. He looked like Gabriel. They all did. Glancing over to check on Megan, I saw she was busy with customers, which meant I had time for a small break. He was fuckable enough, I figured, to join me in Hell for some fun.

  “Do I know you?” His smile was bright and wide as I asked. There was something so familiar about him.

  He laughed, leaned down, and asked, “Do you want to know me?” I got the feeling he already knew the answer.

  “Yeah.” I breathed as my skin crawled with heat. Just being near him made me loopy. I quickly poured myself another shot. I concentrated on keeping the pain in check.

  “Well, I was hoping we’d get to know each other.” His breath was hot on my neck, sending shivers down my spine. And flutters thorough my shoulder blades.

  Just don’t bleed.

  Leaning in, my lips brushed against his, and his eyes searched mine for permission. “What’s your name?”

  “No names.”

  He dropped his lips to my neck, and grazed his teeth along my collarbone. My head fell back as I sighed, and his tongue dipped across my throat. Goosebumps covered me and I shivered. He took my hand in his. “Follow me.”

  I caught Megan’s eye and tilted my head toward the door. With my hand firmly in his, he led me to the darkened back room. The second we stepped inside and I closed the door, he had my back up against the wall.

  “Close your eyes.”

  I did as I was asked and didn’t fight as he slowly turned me around and moved my head so my cheek was flat against the smooth surface. He slowly wrapped one arm around me and pulled me in. I felt like he couldn’t pull me in tight enough. I moaned as his other arm wrapped across my shoulders, and he splayed his fingers across my throat. My breath hitched and I felt his cock throb to life. His hands fisted in my hair and he pulled my head back toward him as he ran his teeth along my jaw.

  “Fuck.” I moaned. I could feel his smile as he buried his face in my neck.

  “Soon.”

  His touch made me high and my heart beat with every pulse of his cock against my ass. I pushed back into him, grinding against his ever-growing groin and he growled deep.

  His hand slid from my waist to my hips, and he fisted the fabric of my skirt, inching it up slowly, until he pulled it above the swell of my ass.

  “Perfect,” he whispered before drawing his hand back, slapping it across my rear.

  He ran his fingers across the lace of my panties.

  I moaned and said, “I don’t know your name. I want to say your name.”

  Fingering the elastic, he pushed his hand inside my panties, his palm flat against me and his thick fingers pressed against my clit, he said, “No names.”

  I didn’t have time to object because he pushed farther down between my legs and dipped a finger inside my slick pussy, already throbbing with want. A shudder flew through my body, and my head fell back against him. I gasped for air trying to control my ragged breathing.

  The hand still holding my neck tightened as he pushed me harder against the wall. His mouth hovered against my ear as he said, “These fingers,” he wiggled his fingers inside me and I inhaled sharply, “are going to fuck you until you can’t breathe. Until you can’t stand. And just when you can’t take it anymore, you will be fucked harder. Do you understand?”

  I nodded but still he tightened his grip. “Say you understand.”

  “I understand.”

  “Tell me you want this.”

  My knees gave out and he righted me back to standing. “Oh, my God. I fucking want this.”

  “God has nothing to do with this.”

  He pulled his fingers out and dragged them across my skin as he turned me back around to face him.

  “Open your eyes.”

  I didn’t trust myself to open them.

  “Look at me. I want to see you come.”

  His fingers pushed inside once more and I could feel my eyes roll to the back of my head as a deep, throaty moan escaped from my mouth. My body became foreign—a puppet held up by thin threads.

  I no longer had control. Pain and lust intermingled, and I couldn’t tell which made me scream louder.

  My mouth opened as his tongue dove inside. His teeth scraped and bit my lips as his fingers pushed hard and deep inside me. I could have sworn that, for a moment, our souls were locked together.

  He placed a hand on my chest to hold me up as he dropped to his knees, spread my legs wider, and pushed in a third finger. My moans turned into guttural growls. He pushed into me until his forearm shook, and my voice grew hoarse.

  I could feel myself tighten around his knuckles, and I barely stifled a scream as I poured down his hand. My breath was manic as I cried out and fell down against his shoulder. As I clawed at his back, his arm moved faster, shoved into me harder and deeper until I tightened enough to push him out. He growled along with me, his voice as scratchy and distorted as mine.

  My orgasm rose inside me and he pulled away, shoving me back to standing.
I grabbed his head and pushed it between my legs. I felt his jaw open wide, his mouth catching every drop of cum that fell from me. I came in waves and every surge released more into his mouth.

  As the last orgasm wracked my body, my legs gave out and he helped me to the floor. Dazed and spent, I closed my eyes and curled up into the fetal position.

  “Fuck me.”

  “I kinda just did.” He laid his head on my hip.

  “Who are you?” I concentrated on regulating my heartbeat. Something I didn’t have to deal with before Gabriel punished me.

  He ignored the question. “Come with me.”

  “Where?”

  “My place.”

  “I don’t even know you.”

  “We both know that doesn’t matter.” He leaned down and turned my face to his before crashing his mouth on mine.

  FOUR

  My contact lenses suction cupped my eyes shut and I had to peel my lids open. Blinking was a chore, but when I was finally able to pull the cracked and stained ceiling into soft focus, I watched the third drop of dirty water freefall onto my bare stomach.

  “Fuck.”

  My hand inched to the other side of the bed, stopping when it felt the smooth skin of a muscular arm. I knew what I would find when I turned my head. I didn’t know his name, but I still felt him between my legs. Once again, I allowed a bad decision to introduce me to the bed of a stranger. A long night at the bar, a dozen shots too many, and I was naked in a bed with no sheets, in a room with no air conditioning with a ceiling about to cave in from the apparent flood in the apartment above.

  Unfortunately, I’d seen worse.

  Careful not to make any noise, I slid off the bed and tiptoed through the room, careful not to knock over half-empty bottles of beer and vodka. Goosebumps littered my arms as I forced myself not to retch from the smell. My panties were easy enough to find, and I slipped them on though my bra was nowhere to be found. Gathering up my bag, clothes, and shoes in a bundle, I made my way to the bathroom.

  The tiles of his shower walls were cracked and some were missing altogether. Dark brown water stains surrounded the bottom of the tub and sink, and the pipes behind the toilet provided a steady drip drop of water hitting tile. Even the caulk around the window was peeling along with the paint.