Constricted: Beyond the Brothel Walls

by Ryans, Rae

  “I love you too.”

  We arrived and walked into the empty house. No words left her lips as she ran up the stairs. Korri kept her head down, and her shoulders pressed forward. The last time she’d been here, she was human. The last time she’d been here, Jules had attacked her.

  “Make yourselves at home.” I relayed to Veric to get our visitors whatever they’d needed, and I’d return to take care of sleeping arrangements.

  My feet grew heavy as they pounded up the stairs and the scent of honey and lavender filled my nose. Water ran; the sticky heat surrounded me as the foggy mist filled the bathroom. I needed her now more than I ever had before. Just to touch her, kiss her, and make sure she was all right. The door squeaked softly as I pushed it open. Her bloodied clothes were piled in a neat heap by the shower door. No tears or sobbing this time, but I remained unconvinced she was unfettered. How strong could one woman be?

  My clothes joined hers, and I slid the door open. She greeted me with a toothy smile and reached for me. Alone at last. No words needed as I dragged her mouth to mine.

  Our tongues clashed and drove the anguished journey away. The water cleansed the grime, but the kiss touched my soul. Angel’s breasts rubbed against my chest, small and perfect again, although I’d miss her healthy curves. I pressed her against the wall, sliding her up the tile as her legs wrapped around my waist. Korri’s pussy teased my hardened cock. The tip pressed and rubbed against her. All thoughts of Veric erased with just her mouth.

  The water ran cold, and I shut it off. Her grip tightened around my neck as I carried her out of the bathroom. Her teeth didn’t chatter, but I wanted a fire. Perfection, she deserved nothing less. I broke the kiss and laid her on the bed.

  “I don’t need a fire.” I grinned and shook my head. She sighed, leaning back into the pillows. Her damp hair framed her delicate beauty. Korrigan rolled over onto her belly, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the gentle lines of her naked body.

  Her forehead wrinkled. “Why are you staring?”

  Screw the fire. I closed the distance and rolled her over. My mouth claimed hers, before trailing down her stomach. Images of the dream attempted to break through, but I tossed them aside. She loved me, and I loved her. My tongue dove into her heat suckling her clit between my fangs. Korri arched into me and cried out my name, not his. I held that thought close as she ground against my mouth and yanked my hair.

  My fingers entered her, and I slid them as far as possible. They pumped faster as her hips rocked. Sweet words left her whispering lips as her amber eyes stared down at me. She stroked my hair, calling for me to move faster, and I gave in. Anything Angel wanted, I’d give to her. Korrigan cried out, tensing around my fingers, and she shattered.

  I kissed my way up her body as she came down from her high. Her juicy bottom lip beckoned me to suckle it. My cock teased her opening as she trembled beneath me. I fought the sigh rising in my chest. The demon within me rose and itched to thrust, to claim, to hear her scream.

  Korrigan’s eyes reflected turmoil as she chewed on her lip. She wasn’t ready anymore. After Jules, could she come back from his cruelty again? My body rolled to the side, and I swallowed a sigh. By law, she had not belonged to me either. Angel belonged to Veric, and I’d no right to take her, to kiss her, or even hold her.

  “Petre.” Korrigan followed me and rested her head on my chest. I shushed her and told her to rest.

  The second floor held four rooms and the guesthouse held even more. With Korrigan and me sharing a room, it freed up another on the third story. The first night, I wanted everyone in one house. Veric put in a call to the ABDA, and we’d have extra guards come morning, but his bosses felt he was enough for tonight.

  “It’s fine; we have a lot of cleaning up to do.” And shopping, but money meant nothing.

  The men wanted to work, but I set boundaries. The third floor stayed off limits unless they were invited or an emergency arose. I hadn’t wanted anyone up there with us except the demon, and even then I hadn’t wanted him nearby. The younger boys also had first dibs on the second floor. Korrigan didn’t want them outside of the house and feared trouble would arise.

  “Who’s food shopping?” I held a list up and handed it to Veric when he lifted his hand. “Each room has a bathroom, but we’re cramming the thirteen of you into four bedrooms tonight.”

  Kor piped up as he entered the living room and invited everyone into the kitchen. She placed bowls out and ladled soup into each one. Tomas’ staff had delivered bread and a few other supplies for tonight, but I’d sent the demon out for more. Unlike my friend, most of the food had spoiled in our absence without my housekeepers.

  A round of thanks was exchanged as each man or child took their fill. She stayed in her element, busying herself around the kitchen. I kissed her temple and headed upstairs to start fires in the rooms. As I loaded my arms with wood, I glanced back into the kitchen. My heart warmed watching her tend to the children. Maybe she’d pull through this too. The strength of her heart blossomed. I wished I’d known her when I was human. We would have surrounded ourselves with children, watching them grow as we aged. There’d be no worries of demons, vampires, or witches. No curses, prophecies, or demonic brothers trying to harm us. Just us and a cackle of wild kids to love and nurture until we died of old age. I loved her more than I’d ever loved another in that moment.

  Her gaze met mine and her smile brightened. “I love you,” I whispered.

  “I love you too,” she whispered back.

  Veric returned with everything I’d requested and more. Everyone else headed to bed hours prior with the promise of a better day. My lips twisted as I slowly warmed the blood on the stovetop. I prayed I wouldn’t let them down for her sake. Korrigan’s fingers danced over the tabletop, as the two of them played a card game. Our life was almost normal, and no one would’ve thought we’d battled for our lives these past few days.

  I ladled the blood into a goblet and brought it to her. The demon lifted a brow and shrugged. He liked his position as meal bag, and it was no secret that I hated it.

  “Hate to bust the proverbial bubble.” The chair skidded as I pulled it out. Veric leaned back, the wood groaning in protest under his weight. “But can we figure out what happens next?”

  He stretched, and Kor eyed her blood. “We keep our Angel safe.” His hand reached across the table, and he knocked the deck. “They can’t open Hell without her.”

  “How am I a key? I’m a human being or I was.” Her shoulders weighed down. A pure accident or fate, but I’d rather have her as a vampire then not at all.

  Veric laughed and ran a hand through his short red hair. “You aren’t the key, but you know where the keys are.”

  “Oh.” Confusion crossed her face. “I don’t remember.” Her hand grasped the goblet, and she glanced to me. I nodded, smiling and reassuring her. Korri wrinkled her nose. “It doesn’t smell right.”

  Her gaze dropped to her lap, and I swallowed my sigh. The demon flashed me a wolfish grin. It disappeared as she lifted the metal chalice to her lips. As the blood touched her tongue, she grimaced and gagged. I cursed under my breath.

  He leaned back, chuckling, and fell backwards. “That’s what you get for gloating.”

  “Sorry.” Korrigan stood and hurried toward the servants stairs. I moved quicker and grasped her hand. She turned and fell into my arms. “I’m so sorry, Petre; you didn’t …” Tears blinked from her eyes and sliced through my heart.

  I kissed her forehead and shushed her. “Stop apologizing, you did nothing wrong.”

  “All of this … I didn’t know … I don’t know about keys or why I can’t drink human blood.” I lowered her to the stairs and smoothed her hair back. She shuddered. “I don’t want to drink demon blood either.”

  Korrigan’s head nestled into my chest as I rocked her. Veric approached and knelt before us. He smoothed her hair back. “You don’t have to drink from me forever, luv.” Red eyes met mine, and I nodded. Veri
c rolled up his sleeve and offered his wrist. “I’ll put in a directive in the morning.”

  Her fangs sliced into his flesh, and the demon closed his eyes. Veric’s lips parted and a sweet breath hissed from pink lips. My cock stirred from his reaction to her feeding, and I swallowed the burn away. The dream haunted me now even in waking moments, and I had to push the fantasy aside. No good would come of it.

  She released his wrist, and the wound sealed. “The good news is that none of us require much sleep,” he said. My eyes met his gaze. “And ducky here is immortal now.”

  “You knew me.” The demon nodded. “I saw it.”

  “Long story luv, but like I said, I trusted Jules to keep you safe.” He repeated what he’d shared with us. She remained silent and laid her head on my shoulder. Kor hid three of the seven keys to the gates of hell. To some, even those who fought against the released evil, she was better off dead than alive. Veric and the ADBA hadn’t wanted the keys found. He hadn’t lied either, and I found myself grateful for the honesty. Unfortunately for me that meant he didn’t want Korrigan back for any other reason than love.

  Her eyes danced between Veric and me. “So your plan is to hold me hostage forever?”

  Yes. “Of course not.” Her snort told me how much she believed me. “We don’t have to discuss this now.”

  Korrigan stood and walked toward the table. A sigh left her lips. “What happens if they catch me?”

  “You become Lucifer’s whore.”

  She turned and crooked her brow. I blinked at the demon too. He’d left that part out before. “Then why did Jules say I belonged to him?”

  Veric rose and grasped her hands. “Like I said, luv, not all demons want to free him. The one on the train did. Jules and the King do not.”

  Her head tossed back and forth. “What happened to the other keys?” He shrugged his shoulders and dropped her hands. She swallowed as the fire in the hearth crackled. “What would’ve happened if I died?”

  “Asking all the tough questions tonight?” He chuckled. “The location would be lost forever.”

  She chewed her bottom lip for a long moment and twisted her hands. One question tickled my tongue. How had an eight-year-old girl obtained keys to Hell? Angel asked to speak with Veric alone, and I swallowed hard but granted her wish. I couldn’t seem to say no to her.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Petre’s shoulders stiffened as he sauntered up the stairs, but the demon owed me answers. I was ready to collect on our unspoken agreement whether he liked it or not. Wrapping my head around this key nonsense proved hard enough without his secrets about my past. Didn’t I deserve to know the whole truth?

  Veric’s hands shoved into his pockets, and he stared out the backdoor. He knew what I wanted, but I wasn’t about to let him fly off into the night again. Those red glowing eyes reflected his usual pain-filled gaze. I wondered where it stemmed from, but he refused to talk about himself. Like in the dreams, where I’d press him, he’d just fade away before my eyes.

  I touched his shoulder, and Veric tensed. The air about him sucked in, but he hadn’t faced me. At times, he appeared like a giant teddy bear, and I’d want to wrap my arms around him. Other times he remained closed off and unapproachable.

  “Have you told me any truth yet?”

  He nodded.

  “Why did you leave me with him?” The words choked from my trembling lips. My eyes burned at the thought of what I’d endured under the care of Jules.

  He sighed. “I didn’t—”

  “I believe you, you hadn’t known what a scumbag he was, but why did you send me there?”

  I leaned on his back and savored the warmth of his skin. The heat reminded me of a fire, and the flame warmed inside and out, but not the soul tearing heat of passion. That seemed to occur when he kissed me or looked at me certain ways. “Because I had to.”

  “I was a child,” I whispered. “You erased … you.”

  My hands trembled as those memories replayed through my mind. Neither he nor Petre had the slightest clue of what brothel life was like. We walked on eggshells around Jules and his men. A closed palm could carry a treat or wrath, and I’d obey just to find out. He chewed on his lip and met my gaze in his reflection. The words repeated inside my mind. I had been eight or so in the memory, maybe a little younger, when the man who looked like him patted my head. He couldn’t have loved me or cared if he’d left me there to rot.

  He cleared his throat. “Only in appearance. I stayed in your subconscious.”

  “What?”

  “Yes.” Veric faced me and engulfed me. His body bent forward. Our noses touched, and my insides swelled into my throat. I opened my mouth to speak, but his palm covered my lips. “You are not eighteen. You were not a child when my bloody brother sentenced you to this prison. You, however, were my wife. There’s your bleedin’ truth, luv.” I bit his palm, and he smiled. “The vampire you tossed yourself at took what wasn’t his and so did Jules.”

  The intensity of his words brushed over my skin. “That doesn’t make any sense,” I said muffled by his hand.

  “No, it wouldn’t.” His brows furrowed. “Boric reincarnated you as part of your punishment.”

  Oh … I mouthed, “Punishment,” and glanced away. The burning tears, I held them at bay. If what he said was true, it all made sense. The beatings, the sodomy, the emotional abuse … it was my punishment too? I glanced at Veric. My husband, I swallowed the thought. Reincarnation, that word I hadn’t understood. Punishment, though, I’d known for as long as I could recall.

  Veric explained as I stared at the ground and expunged all the energy that I could muster to stop the tears. Boric –his brother- put him in charge of Garland’s military, and he became royalty in his own right. He’d led expeditions and brought people, who were stranded after the sundering back to Garland. At the time, I’d been born to a wealthy family within the state of Texas, which became the country of Garland. We’d met during a fancy dinner they’d held in his honor and months later we’d married.

  He caressed my cheek. “You had dreams, and I loved you enough to see them through, but my brother caught on.” He placed his hat on his head and pulled the brim down to cover his auburn brows. “I was too late, and the magic can’t be undone.”

  The weight in his legs shifted as his knees popped. I’d expected a large secret, but not this. “Say I believe you. Why’d Jules think I belonged to him?”

  “Everyone thought I died. Demon law gave him possession of all I owned.” His forehead wrinkled. “Did Petre explain the laws?” I shook my head, and he sighed. Veric’s eyes skirted up, and he snorted. “Figures, well ducky here’s another bomb. Vampires are types of demons too, same with witches and warlocks. We have laws spoken and unspoken that we have always followed. The moment Jules thought me dead, by law you became his property.”

  My brow rose; had that been the reason Jules waited so long to touch me? The thought unnerved me, and my hand flew to my mouth. My head tilted, and I stared up at Veric. His eyes and tight jaw reflected how serious he was. My hands dropped to my hips. I turned, ready to stomp up the stairs and end this nonsense, but something inside of me knew he hadn’t lied. I placed my hand back over my mouth. This was too much, and I didn’t know how to react. Did I laugh, cry, or scream? Life with Jules hadn’t come easy. Sure, he’d made me watch, but no one else touched me, and he’d fed me too. Then one day it was like he flipped a switch, and I became like the others. Almost, except I belonged to him, and no one else was supposed to touch me. My body crumpled, and the tears erupted. I heaved and pounded the wooden floor. Veric’s arms grasped me, and I melted into his smoky scent.

  Veric dragged me to my feet. “If you want Petre, I’ll let you go.” His muscular arms wrapped around me again, and he held tight as if it were the last time. “Just know I’ll never stop protecting you. No matter who you choose, I’ll never stop loving you. You loved me once, Angel but I never stopped believing in your dream.”

  My
dream? “What dream?” He knelt down, and I backed away to the wall. The demon still managed to tower over me. “What about the key nonsense? What about the curse?”

  “First of all, ducky, it’s not all nonsense.” He unfolded his body and stretched out on his side. “You hid the keys, and now Boric knows where you are.” His fingers tapped over the floorboards as his massive body inched closer. “Petre wanted you to know the truth, but I was waiting until you were ready. I don’t give a damn about his bloody curse. Your dream was to stop the slave trade.”

  “Do I look the same?” A smile cracked over his lips, and he nodded slowly. I wiped the tears away and sniffled. “Why does he care about me?”

  Veric shrugged. “Power. Twice now you’ve shown his weaknesses.”

  He touched my shoulder, and I met his gaze. “You were always good.” I snorted at the thought. “He gave you back to me as an infant. Boric sentenced you to life in the brothel you liberated.” He cracked another smile and this one I returned. “I ran for eight years, and he almost caught us; I hid you with Jules to keep you safe. Angel, I swear …” Another pained expression twisted his face.

  “You’re crazy. All of this is crazy.” My head leaned against the wall, and I closed my eyes. What if these were more lies? How would I ever learn the truth?

  The tears tried to return. Petre, sweet and honest Petre, I was confused. I’d lived before, and my angry brother-in-law changed me into a child? I held the laughter in. As if I could be that significant. Heck, I could almost believe the key to hell more than being married to Veric in a past life.

  I blinked and stared at the charming demon. The attraction was there. What did we even have in common? Granted the same could be said about Petre and me. He inched closer. Our fingers laced together, and he lifted my hand to his lips. “I’ll never remember that life?”

  Veric shook his head. “You loved me.” His scent didn’t change, but it seemed like he wanted to add more. A man of few words, he silenced and stared into my eyes. Veric leaned in as if he meant to kiss me. “I’ll prove it if you let me, Angel. You loved me once. Maybe you don’t now, but you’ll love me again.”