by Ivy Asher
He pauses for a moment, like he’s never really thought about it. I see him flip through options in his mind and then puff up a little. “I don’t mind Taz actually; don’t tell your sister, or she’ll just find something else she thinks will annoy me, but it has a nice familial ring to it,” he declares, that cocksure countenance back in full force. “Of course, Sire is always satisfactory as well,” he adds, and I bite back a chuckle.
“Taz, it is then. Thank you, Taz, for the invitation and the thoughtful gifts.”
He tips his head in my direction. “I will see you at the party in one week.”
“We’ll be there,” I promise.
He turns to look at my mates for the first time. “You three, take care of my progeny, or I’ll fucking string you up by your extremities,” he says sternly and yet somehow politely. With that, he turns and strides away without even waiting for a reply, the door closing loudly behind him, my mates left gaping after him.
As soon as the sound of his retreating footsteps disappears, I can’t hold back anymore. The laughter that’s been stuck in my chest comes bursting out until I’m laughing so hard I collapse on the couch, holding my aching stomach. “Oh my gosh, that was the best visit I’ve ever had,” I giggle.
“He just threatened to string us up by our extremities, and you’re laughing,” Toreon points out, looking even greener than usual.
“He likes that threat a lot, apparently,” I reply.
“For the record, I don’t think he was talking about our wings or arms,” Ire says wryly, and that just sends me into another giggle fit, because all three of my mates look horrified.
When my laughter finally subsides, I hear the crinkling of the bag and look over to see that Vudu now has the frozen tater tots, and he’s tossing handfuls into his mouth like they’re potato chips.
“Vudu, those aren’t cooked!”
He shrugs his massive shoulders, making his armored plating shift beneath his vest. “They’re good.”
I snicker and wipe the moisture that built under my eyes as I try to get my laughter under control. All of my mates are looking at me with various smiles on their faces. “What?” I ask. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“It’s just nice to see you smiling,” Toreon replies, and my heart instantly curls up into a cuddly ball.
I hum at the gooeyness inside my chest, and then a yawn sneaks out. As soon as I release it, Toreon catches the contagious gesture, and then Vudu and Ire. “Clearly, it’s time to rest,” I say before I get to my feet. I give the sugary pastry a longing look. “I’ll come back for you,” I tell it, and Ire snickers.
I glance around at my guys. “Can we go lie down together? Or is that weird?”
“Considering the fact that I don’t think any of us want to be parted from you just yet, I’d say it’s not weird at all,” Toreon tells me, and I give a little sigh of relief.
“Come on then,” Ire says as he starts leading the way down the hall. “The second bedroom has the largest bed, so we can use that.” Vudu tosses one more handful of tater tots in his mouth before leaving the bag behind as the three of us follow Ire.
He brings us to a bedroom that has black tile floors and bronzed accents on the dark gray walls. There’s a balcony off to the left, and even though the room is a little plain, it doesn’t need anything else, because the giant bed is all the embellishment required. I nearly whimper at the sight of all the plump pillows and plush bedding.
“I call the middle!” I say, and then I dive into it, immediately sighing at the feathery pillows beneath my head. “Oh my gosh, this is Heaven.”
“This is Hell,” Ire corrects with a smirk as he comes up on the right and wastes no time getting into the bed beside me. He looks up at Vudu and Toreon. “Come now,” he says. “We have to learn to share nice when it comes to the pocket-sized Annulus. Just neither of you bastards better spoon me. Especially the giant.”
“Fuck off,” Vudu grunts with a roll of his eyes, but then the big guy snags a pillow and lies spread out on his stomach at the foot of the bed. He reaches up and grabs one of my feet, and I get pulled down a little until he can rest his palm on my ankle. Seemingly satisfied now that I’m touching him, he stuffs the pillow under his head and closes his eyes.
Toreon hesitates at my other side, but I glance up at him and pat the empty spot beside me. I worry for a moment that he’s going to turn and walk away, that maybe this is too much for him too fast.
“Come on, T. I’m dead on my feet, and I know you are too,” Vudu mumbles.
Toreon glances from Vudu to me, but I don’t want to push him. I open my mouth, ready to tell him that it’s okay, that he can go sleep alone if that’s what he’d prefer, but before I can, he slips into bed beside me.
I turn my head to look at him as soon as he’s settled. “This okay? You don’t have to stay if you’re uncomfortable,” I say quietly.
“No, I want to stay here with you,” he replies.
I look at him dubiously, but he convinces me when he reaches over and sweeps his arm beneath my head. I scoot over, immediately finding that delicious crook that shouldn’t be comfy but somehow is as I turn slightly on my side to cuddle on top of him.
“Better?” I ask, one hand resting gently on his chest.
“Perfect,” he replies, and then he kisses the top of my head.
“Mmm, I get the ass now, so I agree about this being perfect,” Ire says behind me, and I laugh, a warm blush coming up my chest as I feel him scoot closer, resting a hand on my hip. “Pull your wings a little closer against your back, Snarls,” he tells me.
I do, and Ire taps my butt like he’s giving me a job well done pat.
I fall asleep like that almost instantly, with all three of my mates touching me, surrounded by their warmth and affection and safety. And even though Ire is right—we are technically in Hell—he’s also wrong. Because this is most definitely my heaven.
43
I look down at the dress I’ve been shoved into and frown. “Umm...you can see my nipples,” I point out to Lousen.
She’s a demon with colorful polka-dotted skin and really long black hair, the ends skimming against her kneecaps. Tazreel sent her here to help me get ready for tonight’s festivities, much to Ire’s irritation. As soon as she arrived, she marched me off into one of Ire’s large bedrooms to get me ready, shifting in with some questionable makeup and hair products, and I’ve been stuck with her ever since.
The she-demon just looks at me blankly like she doesn’t see the issue. “Yes, Sablepierce. They’re lovely nipples,” she offers, as though a compliment is what I was after. She also keeps saying my name like it’s one word all shoved together, even though I’ve tried to correct her multiple times.
“No, see...” I begin, taking a deep breath and trying not to show too much frustration. “The nipple thing isn’t lovely, because you can see them clear as day, and this dinner party is with my father, and the Devil, and the Sins. And did I mention my father?” I stress again. “I can’t be nipping out like this the whole night.”
“Ohhh,” Lousen says, finally getting it. I smile in relief.
She pats me on the shoulder and leans in conspiratorially. “I can assure you, they all like nipples,” Lousen tells me, and that smile just wipes right off my face as I just stare at the demon. No wonder Miss Nipples at the Sin party had her goods showing. The dressmakers in this realm just flaunt them all willy-nilly.
Vudu chuckles in the corner of the room. I shoot him a look over my shoulder, but he’s not cowed at all. He’s decked out in a linen tunic with holes in the back for his wings and espresso-colored pants that look like they’re made of suede, which he changed into while I was getting my hair done.
Ire and Toreon are off getting dressed themselves, but Vudu refused to leave me alone with anyone we didn’t know, regardless of the powerful references that Lousen listed off to him for the first hour of this awful dressing session.
So my gentle giant has been lea
ning up against the wall, with his arms crossed over his chest, watching over me and sometimes, like when I’m naked, just plain watching. I may have shimmied my hips a little more than necessary when I was putting this thing on, hoping he’d send Lousen out of the room and put his hands on me, but no such luck.
I look down at the satin dress I’m wearing, nipples primed and shouting hello, and then over to the other option that’s hanging from a rack. Lousen only brought the two dresses with her, and this one looked way comfier than the layered thing hanging in the corner of the room, but I need to reconsider.
“Okay, can I try on the other dress? This one just isn’t going to work,” I tell the demon stylist.
Her brow dips. “But this dress is perfect! I’d press your back to a table and fuck you myself,” she announces. I blink for half a second, not sure why she thinks that will make me feel better.
“Um...noted,” I finally answer. “But again, I’m going to a dinner with my Sire and his old ass founders of Hell friends, so fuck me on the table is not the look I’m going for,” I explain, exasperation hammering through me.
I swear to the Origin Stone itself, if I can see any body parts that should not be shown at a family gathering in the next dress, then I’m going in sweats. Lousen and Tazreel can just deal with it.
Lousen huffs and stomps over to pull the other dress from the rack. I slip out of the barely-there satin number, feeling Vudu’s eyes on me the entire time, and then step into the flowy layered skirt of the other gown. I try not to sulk as Lousen fits it to my bust and starts buttoning up the back beneath my wings.
When she’s done, I turn to look at her. “Well? Is it okay?”
She looks me over with scrutiny. “It’s missing something…”
“Nipples?” Vudu snickers from the corner.
“Shut it,” I reply before I move away from Lousen to walk over to the large mirror that an imp carried in here. I step in front of it, fully prepared for sweatpant plan C, but my reflection stops me. “Oh.”
“I agree,” Vudu says behind me, his red eyes dragging over my body so intensely that it makes butterflies start to flutter in my stomach.
The dress is strapless, and it matches the color of my eyes. The bottom is made up of layers of tulle. The top is a corset with cups that lift but hold everything in. There’s a darker gray velvet that outlines the boning in the top, and I’m cinched in but completely covered, aside from a little cleavage. It’s beautiful.
I let out a sigh. I guess no sweatpants for me.
Clearly attuned to my varying emotions, Ire’s voice pops into my head. “You okay, Snarls?”
“Yeah, I’m just glad my nipples are covered,” I say.
I feel him pause. “What? Who’s seeing your nipples?” he demands.
I turn around as Lousen comes to spray my low side-bun updo one last time, a few dark purple tendrils hanging around to flatter the shape of my face.
“Oh, Sablepierce, I’d fuck you in this dress too,” Lousen tells me with a decisive nod.
Ire growls in my head. “Did someone just say they’d fuck you?”
I laugh to myself, which Lousen mistakes for appreciation of her joke. But really, I know Ire is probably on his way over here. I can’t help feeling excited about that. Their protective possessiveness over me is a real turn-on.
Lousen looks me over one last time before she nods. “You’re now acceptable.”
I snort out a laugh. “Thanks?”
“Not acceptable. Beautiful,” Vudu grunts out, a heavy frown creasing his brows as he glares at the she-demon.
I blush lightly at his words, but inwardly, I’m secretly hoping he’ll come over here and kiss me. All over. But he doesn’t. I can’t help the sigh that slips past my lips.
Lousen starts to pack up like her Rapunzel hair is on fire, and honestly, it’s probably smart with the way that Vudu is looking at her, and the fact that Ire is on his way over to yell at her appreciation of my nipples.
“Hey, I meant to ask before, what happened to Shateel?” I ask Vudu curiously.
My mate’s eyes dart away for a second. “Umm…”
A smile threatens to come over my lips at his sudden discomfort. “What did you do?” I press suspiciously.
He shrugs a large, plated shoulder. “As soon as you left, I buried her alive in the tunnel.”
My eyes widen and my mouth pops open. “Vudu!” I exclaim with a shocked laugh. Even though it’s probably really messed up, I can’t help it, and I’m not sorry. She deserved her end for almost getting my mates killed.
“What? She had plenty of air to last her for the night,” he says dismissively. “Besides, I wasn’t going to let her hurt you or disguise you ever again. I didn’t like your face and body being hidden from me.” His words are fierce and protective, and my amusement immediately dies away for an appreciative aww moment, my heart squeezing in my chest.
As she continues to pack up, Lousen bends down to retrieve the body-hugging satin dress from the floor, but Vudu suddenly stalks over and takes it from her hands. “We’ll hold onto this one too,” he declares in his deep, rumbly voice, and my cheeks heat at the knowing look she gives him.
“Of course,” Lousen says before shooting me a wink.
Vudu drapes the other dress across the back of the chair and then sits down casually. Turning around, I press my palms to my stomach as though it will calm the nerves floating around. I feel so out of my element, all dressed up and decked out, off to spend a night with the Devil and his inner circle of the Seven Sins. I mean, just saying that out loud sounds completely crazy, but that’s my life now.
This will be the first time since getting here a week ago that we’re venturing out of Ire’s wing of Wrath’s palace. We’ve just been resting, eating, talking, and getting to know each other every second of each day.
Unfortunately, aside from the time in the tub, I haven’t been intimate with any of the guys. Even Ire’s been holding out on me. He says it’s only fair until I’ve solidified things with Vudu and Toreon, which sounds all gallant and respectful, but honestly, it’s been a difficult cross to bear. More difficult than I thought it would be, because being around them so much has made me want them more and more.
My connection with each of my mates has grown stronger, but...not physically yet. I don’t want to push Toreon or Vudu until they’re ready and feel safe and right about things, but it’s hard being patient. Despite Vudu’s claim that he would have me soon, neither he nor Toreon have initiated anything.
Tricky gargoyle. Bet Elisa didn’t have to put up with this crap from Goliath.
I try to tell myself that, in the Mortal Realm, this wouldn’t be a big deal. But the fact is, I’m not human, and neither are they. Plus, dealing with the pull of mate bonds is intense, and it’s wreaking havoc on my damn hormones. It’s seriously messing up my whole no time like the present mantra that I’ve adopted. But more than anything, I just want to make sure that they still want me. I worry that now that things have settled, they’ve changed their minds.
What if they don’t want me as their mate anymore?
I try to bury that fear deep in a box and shove it into the naughty corner of my mind, but it’s hard to ignore it all the time when this is all so new and fragile.
“All cleaned up,” Lousen says, drawing me out of my inner thoughts. Her head cocks, and I don’t know what she hears, but behind me, the door to the bedroom slams open. Quick as a blink, Lousen shifts away.
“Yeah, you better run,” I chuckle as Ire comes storming in the room. He scans the space, clearly looking for Lousen. “You were too slow. I think she heard you coming, because she ran out of here as soon as she got me in this dress and shellacked my hair in place,” I tell him.
Ire narrows his eyes as if he can see the spot she just was before he stomps over to me, his blue eyes looking me over from head to toe. “You look good, Snarls. Very, very good.”
“So do you.”
He’s dressed in a light gray
suit sans tie, the collar of his crisp navy blue shirt open. I roll my shoulders at the sight of him, wondering how he wears so many layers with his wings. It looks heavy and stifling, and my wings give a twitch as though they find it uncomfortably restrictive too.
Ire drinks me in with a heated gaze, but when my body responds to his molten look, I snort derisively. Yeah, don’t get your hopes up, body.
My wings twitch again, this time with annoyance, and Ire tracks the movement with a slight frown.
Before Ire can bring up my agitation, Toreon walks into the room. He’s also in a suit, only his is taupe, and his button-down is as black as his beautiful hair. When he sees me, he breaks out into a smile, and my stomach squeezes.
Touch me, I want to plead. Come over here and make me yours.
But he doesn’t.
I sigh and run my hands down my tulle skirt, trying really hard to keep the disappointment at bay in case Ire is spying on my thoughts and feelings. “We should go,” I announce, just wanting to get out of here and get this night over with. The restless itch below my skin is extra irritating right now, and I know my mind is spiraling more with every time I want them, but they don’t make a move.
“Sable—” Ire begins, but I cut him off.
“Don’t want to be late,” I chirp, a little too saccharine as I walk over to them, ready to be shifted to Tazreel’s.
Toreon lifts my chin with a finger, his golden eyes blazing when my gaze lands on his. “You look stunning, Sable,” he tells me, and the reverence in his tone cools some of my frustrated fire and softens my uneasy edges.
He leans in, pressing against me, and my lips part in eager anticipation. But just when I think he might lower his head and kiss me, he leans away, and disappointment makes my lips press together in a hard line.
“Ready?” Ire says. All of the guys grab hold of me, and then Ire instantly shifts us out.
To Pride’s house we go.
44
