“For someone so old, you’ve really adapted to our world,” she said.
“We’ve made ourselves fit into your world so you humans won’t fear us as much, and so our species can aide each other. These clothes aren’t our way of dressing; your culture isn’t our culture. Your languages are not our languages.”
She tilted her head to the side. “But you speak English so well.”
“We spoke all languages at least a little before coming here. Over thousands of years of watching, human languages were picked up and spread amongst our kind. We weren’t proficient in them before, but we’ve learned a lot more since arriving here.”
“I never would have imagined demons to be so… ah… cultured,” she finished.
“There is much you wouldn’t expect of us.” I couldn’t stop my finger from tracing over her scar. “How did you get this?”
“Stupidity,” she replied with a smile. “I accidentally hooked myself on one of my first fishing trips. Thankfully, a neighbor helped me to get it out and made sure I caught fish instead of myself the next time.”
“And you fished often?”
“Almost every day. It was how I fed my family.” Sadness filled her eyes as they fell away from mine and onto the book beside her bed. “You read?”
“I’ve taught myself over the years.”
“What are you reading?”
“Of Mice and Men. Have you read it?”
“No. I enjoy reading, but I had little time for it at home. I taught Gage when he was old enough to learn. I hope he teaches Bailey one day…”
Her voice trailed off, and tears shimmered in her eyes as she remained focused on the book. More than her pain, I hated her sorrow. Her physical pain would fade soon enough; this heartache never would.
“Are they your brothers?” I asked.
“They are. Gage is fourteen and Bailey is only two and a half. I miss them so much.”
I didn’t know how I would do it, but somehow I would find a way for her to see them again.
“I borrowed the book from Mac, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you read it while you’re in here,” I said.
“But you’re reading it.”
“I can wait to finish it.”
“I’d like that.” Lifting it from the table beside her, I held it out to her. She went to take it from me but winced when the movement pulled at the needle in her hand. “Maybe when I’m out of here.”
“How about I read it to you?” I suggested.
“Aren’t you needed somewhere else?”
“They can wait.”
When she smiled at me, I knew I would have read her a hundred books to see her smile again. “Thank you,” she said.
I stretched my legs before me and opened the book to the beginning.
CHAPTER 18
River
I was released from the infirmary two days later. By then, Kobal had finished reading Of Mice and Men to me as well as All Quiet on the Western Front. Today he’d intended to start a book called It. He swore it would make demons look a lot friendlier by the time we got to the end, but I was cleared to leave before he could start reading it.
He’d told me he could be brutal and cruel, and he was a demon, so he would have to be, wouldn’t he? But no matter what he said, I couldn’t bring myself to actually believe it.
He’d been nothing but kind to me. Even when he was knocking me into the dirt, he’d never set out to intentionally hurt me. He’d spent hours reading to me in that deep, melodic voice of his. Hours in which I’d been enthralled by listening to him and watching him as he’d read the heartbreaking tales. He’d barely left my side for two days. I would often wake to find him watching me from the chair, or once sleeping himself.
How could he possibly be as bad as he said he was when he’d never purposely done anything wrong to me? Was I really feeling all warm and fuzzy and trying to say a demon was good?
I should hate him; he was the reason I was here. He was the reason I would wake crying in the middle of the night with Bailey’s screams echoing in my head, and he showed no regret over it. Despite those things, I found myself unable to hate him. My life had been torn apart, but he somehow made it all a little better.
There was nothing I could do to change what was done; harboring fury and resentment would only eat away at me. There was no way I was going to be able to escape past the wall. If I somehow could get to a weaker section, there were still too many guards patrolling for me to slip by unnoticed. If I did somehow get free, I would never be able to get to my brothers before the government found me or got to them first, or both.
The only thing I could do was train and get better at fighting. My only hope was that one day this war would come to an end, and I would be able to return home afterward. I didn’t think I was the person they were all searching for, but until they knew for sure, all I could do was play along, and I was okay with playing along if it meant more time with Kobal.
I didn’t understand what it was about him that had me so out of sorts. All I knew was I wanted more of him. More time, more touches, more smiles and talking.
Ugh, I shoved those thoughts away as I stood on the sidelines and watched the others going through hand-to-hand combat training. I’d been told I’d be on the sidelines for at least two weeks. I resented being forced to be here in the first place, but I didn’t like standing on the side and watching either. Especially when Kobal worked with other people, sparring with them like he had with me.
Jealousy slid through me every time another woman got to feel those muscles around her and inhale his entirely masculine scent. Born from the fires of Hell, he smelled faintly like fire, and despite the fact I knew I should stay far away from him, I desperately wanted to play with those flames.
I couldn’t help but admire the way he moved and the flow of his muscles beneath his smooth skin as he trained with the others. I watched the tattoos on his arms and the flex and bunch of his biceps as he lifted his shirt to wipe away the sweat beading across his brow from his exertion. My gaze latched onto his tapered waist and chiseled abs as I drank in the sight of his mouthwatering body before he pulled his shirt down again.
His dark hair was slicked with sweat as he pushed it back from his intriguing face and walked away from the man he’d left splayed on the ground behind him. Corson slapped him on the back and stepped forward to take his place in the sparring.
Kobal lifted his head, the black pools of his eyes latching onto me. I should have been embarrassed to have been caught staring at him, but I found I couldn’t look away. What I wouldn’t give to run my fingers over his face, into his hair, down over his arms, and lower across his abdomen. To sink my teeth into his flesh.
I had no idea where that inclination had come from, but it caused wetness to spread between my thighs. I had a difficult time catching my breath, but now it had nothing to do with my punctured lung and everything to do with the desire sliding through my belly.
His nostrils flared as his gaze leisurely traveled over me. I knew it wasn’t possible, but it felt as if his hands followed his eyes and caressed every part of me. I could almost feel him touching me, fondling me. My breasts tingled and became heavy in a way they never had before as he lazily perused his way back up my body.
His eyes latched onto mine again as Morax clasped his shoulder, drawing his attention away. Freed from his gaze, my shoulders sagged and I inhaled a ragged breath as I tried to regain control of my body.
“How are you feeling?” Carrie asked as she appeared at my side.
“Good,” I told her with a small smile. “I’m sidelined for a little bit, but I already feel better.”
“That’s great!” She gave me a cheerful smile before squeezing my arm and hurrying forward when she was called.
I glanced back to where Kobal had been standing. Disappointment filled me when I saw he was gone, but I knew it was for the best; I should keep my distance from him. Still, I couldn’t help wishing I was well enough to hop back into the
fight, if only so I could touch him again.
The next few days passed in a blur, and I saw little of Kobal outside of the hand-to-hand training. At the end of the week, I was told I could return to firearm training. I stood at the target line with my earmuffs on and repeatedly pulled the trigger. When I’d first come here, I hadn’t been good with a gun, but I was getting increasingly better with steady practice. When I went to retrieve the target, I was pleased to see only two holes outside of the range of the shadow person on the piece of paper.
Folding it up, I tossed it in the trash and pulled the earmuffs off. Glancing down the hill, I watched the training going on in the field below me. I easily picked Kobal out of the crowd as he weaved his way through the people fighting, kicking, and punching each other.
Lifting my head to the sky, I took in the streaks of pink and orange, but they were mostly overpowered by the red spreading toward me. The sun was a vibrant crimson color as it hung on the horizon.
“Red sky at night,” I murmured as I made my way down the hill toward Mac’s house.
I’d never asked why I wasn’t housed with the other volunteers or why I’d never been treated like any of the rest of them, and I doubted I would get an answer if I did. I was almost to the door when a lonely wail echoed over the hills and through the town. The hair on my nape rose, and I turned away from the door as the wail built in volume. I’d heard it the first night I’d arrived, but the following nights had remained blessedly undisturbed since then.
The soldiers patrolling the streets froze with their guns against their shoulders as more cries echoed through the fading daylight. I stepped off the porch and made my way down the street as the noise intensified until it reverberated off the windows and buildings surrounding us.
“What is that?” I asked one of the soldiers.
“It’s some of them,” he replied. His mouth flattened into a thin line and his skin turned an ashen hue.
“Them who?” I inquired.
“The beasts,” another voice answered. I jumped when Kobal’s hand slid around my elbow and sent a jolt of something hot and electric through my body. My mouth went dry as I tipped my head back to find his inky eyes upon me. I couldn’t tell if he’d felt the jolt too, or if I was simply imagining this magnetic connection between the two of us, but I welcomed his touch. I’d been starved for it this past week. “Come with me.”
“The beasts?” I inquired as I turned to follow him down the road.
“Not everything from Hell is a demon such as the ones you’ve met so far; some of them are what you might consider an animal. They are volatile creations that evolved to punish souls and were relegated to the lower-levels of Hell. Now they are taking advantage of their freedom.”
My gaze turned toward the darkening horizon as I searched for the creatures he described. “And they come here?”
“Sometimes,” he murmured.
“Where are you taking me?”
As I asked the question, we arrived at the steps of the home I’d just walked away from. He opened the door and walked me inside. “Stay inside.”
“Aren’t I supposed to learn how to fight them?” I demanded.
“Yes, but right now there is nothing for you to fight and your injuries will only hinder you.”
“I’m feeling better,” I protested instantly.
Turning me toward him, he grabbed both of my arms as he held me before him. Despite my irritation with him, I swore even the cells of my body flooded toward his hands, craving more of a connection to him.
“Stay inside tonight,” he commanded.
Before I could reply, he turned and walked out the door. I stared at his back as he descended the stairs and strode into the street. He stopped at the young man I’d been talking to before, said something, and pointed at the house. The young soldier hurried toward me while more wails resonated through the night and caused the glass in the windows to rattle.
The man climbed the porch steps and grasped the knob of the still-open door. “You should probably lock this, miss,” he told me before he closed it.
I stood and stared at the door for a minute before walking forward and turning the lock into place. I tiredly climbed the stairs and entered my room. Drawn to the window, I rested my fingers against the glass as I stared out at the night. The wails continued to resound throughout the town. On the hill with the tents, a fire blazed to life, its flames leaping into the air to illuminate the night.
I spotted Kobal with the demons on the hill. They lined up together, facing over the top of the hill to look out at the nothingness beyond. I wondered what they saw out there. My gaze traveled to the wall. I wasn’t surprised to see more troops than usual patrolling the top of it.
Feeling eyes on me, I turned my attention back to the hillside. An ache spread through my belly and deep within me when I found Kobal’s hungry gaze riveted on me. The glow of the flames danced over his striking face and those intricate tattoos as he watched me. I’d never seen his emotions so clearly before, never seen him look so stark and ravenous, for me.
Wetness spread between my legs, and I was unable to stop myself from swaying toward the window, a motion that caused him to take a step toward me. The temptation to stroke my breasts, to slip my hand down my pants and ease the growing need between my thighs while he watched hit me.
What would he do if I did? My heart hammered so loudly the noise of it drowned out the wails.
Unable to resist the aching, heaviness of my breasts, I slid my hand leisurely up over my belly and brushed it against the bottom of my breast. His eyes fastened on me; I didn’t have to be near him to know he stopped breathing as he watched me. An overwhelming sense of power made me braver as I slid my hand further up and brushed my thumb over my sensitive nipple. My need for him made me forget all about the creatures stalking the night outside of this town.
I swayed toward the window again when his hands fisted and the muscles in his corded arms vibrated. His gaze remained locked on my hand as he watched my every move. I’d never experienced anything like this before, never felt so out of control. I’d explored my body before, when the yearnings of it had awoken me in the night and I’d sought some release, but never had it felt this erotic and sensual before, and it was all because of him.
I couldn’t move away from the window as I slid my hand across to knead my other breast.
Bale stepped before Kobal, pointing toward something beyond the hill. His eyes remained on me until she grabbed his arm. The look that crossed his face caused Bale to take a step back from him.
With his eyes drawn away from me, and the strange spell between us broken, I retreated swiftly from the window. My cheeks burned with the realization of what I’d just done, but his gaze had been an erotic spell I’d been helpless to resist.
My body ached with need when I stripped and crawled into bed. With the hungry look on his face emblazoned in my mind, I ran my hand down my stomach and slipped it between my legs to ease some of my sexual tension. I knew it wouldn’t be enough, nothing less than Kobal himself would ever be enough.
***
Kobal
As soon as Bale moved away from me, I looked back to River’s window. My lips curled back in frustration when I realized she was gone. I took one step toward the house before I froze. I could go get her right now, and she wouldn’t put up a fight, not after her little display at the window.
However, I could not throw everything away for sex, even if that sex was with the most unusual mortal I’d ever encountered who now had me harder than I’d ever been in my life. I could still picture her at the window, her hands sliding over her belly and breast. The image caused my dick to strain so forcefully against my pants that I worried for my button.
My fangs tingled, but this time it was not from rage over being interrupted. Now, I hungered to run them over her flesh while she moaned and writhed beneath me. I knew she was up there now, running her hands over herself, easing her longing for me without letting me play a part in it.
Instead of going to her, like we both wanted, I turned away and stalked toward my tent. Ignoring the startled looks I received, I flung open the flap of the tent and stalked inside. I could go to the fire, someone would be there who could ease this throbbing tension from my cock, but none of them would be good enough. None of them would be her.
I tore my pants from my body to release the pressure against my erection. The need for release was so intense that I knew I wasn’t going to make it to my bed. Wrapping my hand around my shaft, I groaned as images of River touching her breast pummeled my mind. Jerking off was not something I did often; I’d never needed to as I’d always sought my sexual release with another when I required it.
Now I had a feeling my hand and I were going to become well acquainted with each other before I was able to either free myself from thoughts of River or bury myself in her delectable body. The only problem was I didn’t want to be free of her, so that left only one other option. As I continued to stroke myself to images of her, I knew it was only a matter of time before I went against what I knew was best and brought her into my bed.
CHAPTER 19
River
I got little sleep that night, or any other night over the following week, neither did anyone else within the town as those endless cries tormented us. For the first few days, the sound had me wanting to tear out my hair. Now they were a distant, annoying noise I’d somehow managed to shove into the back of my mind.
When I did sleep, I dreamed of Kobal and would wake filled with a yearning so fierce I couldn’t ease it no matter what I did. I’d never been like this before. I wanted him so badly it had become a hollow pit in my stomach.
At least I was finally able to go back to training on the field today, where I could try to work out some of my increased sexual frustration. If I was exhausted from training, I wouldn’t dream of him, or at least that’s the lie I told myself.
Good Intentions (The Road to Hell Series, Book 1) Page 14
