Genesis Queen (The Road to Hell Series)

by Miller, Gracen

  “I won’t allow you to strip me for him.”

  Against her, Zen tensed. TMI, she guessed.

  “You might not have a choice.” Her Sherlock lover held her gaze as he sipped the steaming brew.

  “He’s right,” the immortal agreed. She cocked her head toward him and he explained. “You do need Micah. As much as I hate to admit it, I trust him when it comes to keeping you alive.”

  “We’re inviting trouble. But ganged up two to one”—not counting Amos or Georgie—“I know when to cave.”

  “You never cave graciously.”

  Madison grinned at Zen’s comment.

  Taking a deep breath, they exited the kitchen to greet her husband.

  The two men stood behind Madison at the front door, providing backup if she needed assistance. She could sense Micah on the other side. Nix squeezed her arm, offering silent support just before she swung the door open.

  Her husband braced his palm against the doorjamb. His blue-eyed stare so intense, crinkles expanded from the corners of his eyes. His blue aura tinged red around the edges suggested he was miffed. Okay, maybe a little more than miffed.

  “Going to shock me, huh?” After all he’d done, the vehemence in his voice confounded her.

  Madison shrugged. “Did it work?”

  “Do you know how adultery is punished in Hell?”

  “I’d think it’s a sin you Kings celebrate.” She held up her hand when he opened his mouth to reply. “I haven’t committed adultery in Hell.” Or otherwise. Had to be married for that to occur.

  Shocker, you are married. Usha’s sarcasm grated on Madison’s nerves. She ignored her demon.

  “Goddamnit, Madison.” His fingers curled around the wooden jamb until it cracked. “Infidelity has no boundaries.”

  “You’re just as guilty of the sin. Besides, what do you care? I admitted to fucking him earlier, and you were okay with it.”

  “Watching you perform with him”—he notched his head toward Nix—“to goad me, rankles, kitten.”

  “Did you like what you saw?” Madison jerked, thunderstruck by her audacity. That thought shouldn’t have left her mouth. A problem with the filter from her brain again. From the corner of her eye, she saw Nix flash a grin.

  Micah’s eyes blazed. “More than you can imagine.”

  No idea what to say, she gaped at him.

  “Your Southern manners suck, princess.” Elias spoke from behind Micah’s left shoulder. “We’ve been waiting for an invite for hours.”

  What’d she care how long they waited? She shrugged, but held her husband’s gaze. His eyes promised as much pleasure as Nix had given.

  Her brother-in-law pouted, put-on of course, because his special blend of sulk involved blood, pain, and if one was lucky, a quick death. She predicted one was never lucky. “You going to let us in, princess?”

  “Depends.” She ripped her attention off Micah. “Do you promise to behave?”

  He chuckled. “I don’t, but I’m sure he will.” He nudged his brother in the shoulder. “Right, Micah?”

  “The perfect shocked angel.”

  Madison snorted at the perfect angel remark, but couldn’t get a bead on his sincerity. She had trouble believing he was even a little shocked. His powerful focus remained glued on her. The lust rolling off him affected her physically and that frightened her.

  “It’s my turn to shock you, Madison.”

  Thinking Micah requested his turn at sexual play, denial tickled her tongue. He punched his fist through her force-field before she could utter a word. Her jaw dropped as the magic vanished. Elias sauntered into her home wearing a smug grin.

  “If you could get through it all this time, why did you ask to enter?”

  “I wanted your permission to do what should be my right as your husband.”

  They stared at one another. As far as she was concerned, he’d forgone his rights as her husband when he’d walked out on her. Not to mention she possessed very real divorce papers.

  “Protecting you—among other things—is my privilege.”

  Madison knew exactly what ‘other things’ he felt he was entitled to. “May I have a moment alone with Micah, please?”

  “Granted, so long as you point me in the direction of where that wonderful smell is coming from.” Elias breathed deeply as if he couldn’t get enough of the scent into his lungs. “Always did love your cooking.”

  “I’m in hearing distance if you need me, Madison.” Zen motioned for Eliel to follow him. Of course, the immortal was also available through a mental call.

  “Run along, puppy.” Her husband shooed Nix away with a flick of his fingers. “This conversation is between husband and wife.”

  Madison slapped Micah. His head jerked slightly and the action yanked his hostility off Nix. A hint of a smile tweaked his lips as he rubbed his cheek.

  She jabbed him in the chest with a finger. “You rescinded your privilege as my husband”—she finger quoted the word—“the day you walked out on me.” She slashed her hand through the air when he would’ve spoken. “I don’t give a damn why you left. All that matters are the dynamics of our relationship have altered. That was your choice. It sure as hell was not my preference. So, this is how it’s going to be.” She dragged in a breath, realizing she amused him with her temper. “You’ll respect Nix and my relationship with him, or I’ll send your ass back out my door.”

  “The princess became a queen when I wasn’t paying attention.”

  “Oh, good God.” She groaned her frustration and made to walk off.

  Micah grabbed her hand and spun her around. She collided with his chest. Before Nix could aid her, he erected an invisible shield between them with a wave of his hand.

  “Micah?” She glanced warily toward Nix.

  “Release her!” Her Sherlock punched the magical wall but didn’t dent the light-blue mojo.

  “Rest easy, Phoenix. I’ll bring her right back.”

  “No!” Her protest was useless. He bustled her through a portal, and she found herself in her bedroom a moment later. She breathed a sigh of relief and let Zen know she was okay because she knew Nix would go for his help first.

  “This is how it’s going to be with me, Madison.” An arm around her waist and his fingers in her hair held her steady. “You and Phoenix are temporary. You’re discovering your sexuality with him and that pisses me off because it should be me. But…I’ll respect your relationship until I get my dick inside you. Then you are solely mine.”

  She shook her head. Screamed it’ll never happen, but the words wouldn’t depart her mouth.

  “Don’t shake your head. You know it’ll come to pass.”

  “I made a promise to Nix. I won’t break it.”

  “You made a vow to me first.”

  The doorknob wobbled and pounding ensued against the wood. “Open the fucking door,” Nix demanded. Zen had obviously told him where they’d gone.

  “Soothe the man you fornicate with, or I’ll take you to Hell.”

  “You wouldn’t dare.”

  Micah arched an eyebrow. All by itself, it said, ‘Wouldn’t I?’

  “I’m okay, Nix.”

  “Smart girl.” Madison came close to popping him in the face again for that goad.

  “Mads?” The pounding silenced.

  “Yeah. I’ll be out in a second. Just…hang tight.”

  “Micah still in there with you?”

  “Please. I’ll be out in a second.”

  A tense moment of silence. “I’ll be right here.”

  “If it were me, nothing would persuade me to settle down.” Calm words from her husband, but he made it obvious he disagreed with her lover’s compliance.

  “Thankfully, you’re nothing alike.”

  “You still want me, kitten. You’re just being stubborn.”

  “Keep dreaming.”

  “A challenge.”

  “No. The truth.”

  “Too late, I accept the challenge.” His mouth wa
s on hers before she could protest.

  His kiss was nothing like it’d ever been before. Nothing controlled about it, but insistent, and chock-full of emotions.

  Usha purred and would’ve dragged him closer if Madison hadn’t executed some willpower. His tongue moved against hers, and her heartbeat escalated until all she heard was it pulsating. The hand on her waist dipped lower, cupped her bottom—Madison shoved him backward.

  Drowsy-eyed, he watched her. Fire blazed from his gaze, and not a demon sort of fire. “Phoenix ever kiss you like that?”

  She put some distance between them. “Don’t do that again.” Her demand might have made more of an impact if her voice had been steady.

  He stalked toward her.

  “Stay away. It wasn’t a challenge.”

  Micah grabbed her arms and spun her around, facing away from him. He shoved her face first onto the mattress. She hadn’t realized she was so close to the bed until then.

  “Micah, don’t—”

  He leaned over her, pressing his nose against her hair and inhaled. His hands clutched her hips, and he kicked her feet apart. Settling his pelvis against her backside, his erection pressed against her bottom and she gasped.

  When he spoke, his voice had deepened. “Phoenix take you like this yet, kitten? It was one of his favorite positions in Hell. You want to know why?”

  He rotated his pelvis against her, and she shook her head, curling her fingers into the comforter.

  He ignored her negative reply. “He favored it because he could fuck pussy and ass.”

  “Micah!”

  “He tell you how we fucked male and female together?” Moist lips nuzzled her neck. “At the same time. Or how we enjoyed one another?”

  “I do not want to hear this.”

  “Your Ark is no goddamn saint.”

  She knew that.

  “Play us right, Madison, and you can have us both.”

  “I don’t want you.” Madison flinched. What the hell was that burning on her tongue?

  “Made all the more obvious by the way you’re grinding against my cock.”

  Madison assessed the situation. His hands had moved to the mattress on either side of her hips. And she was grinding back against him, not him making the movements as she’d thought.

  Oh my God!

  What was wrong with her? Come within an inch of him and her body went viral for a fucking. Embarrassed, she groaned and halted her undulations.

  He brushed the hair out of her face and scrubbed his chin along her jaw. Against her ear, he said, “Tell me no.”

  To what? It didn’t matter. Logic dictated she should always rebuff him. “No.”

  Since she wore yoga pants, he easily slipped his hand between the cotton and over her ass. He cupped her mound. Breath fled while she told herself to fight, but instead she yielded beneath him.

  “Say no with conviction and I’ll stop.”

  “Micah….” She sucked in an abrasive breath as his finger slid over the seam of her pussy. She jerked beneath him when he located her clitoris with shocking deftness through her panties. The slow circle of the pad against her nub teased a whimper from her.

  “That’s right, kitten, move against me. Take what you want.”

  She shouldn’t be allowing this. Should not be participating in the quest for carnal gratification with her freaking manipulative ex-husband. Putting him in the ex category would—rather should—help her remain devoted to Nix. A promise had been made to him. Keeping it was important to her.

  The soft circular pattern matured into a firmer stroke as his free arm slid beneath her belly and pushed upward to curl his hand around her neck. Micah lifted her upper body off the mattress and compressed her against his chest. He scraped his teeth along the side of her neck. “Mmm…my kitten is purring for me.”

  That comment served as ice water to her libido. She strangled on the moan exiting her lungs, her eyes going wide at the ramifications of what she’d allowed. Baser instinct must take a back seat to common sense and principals. The succubus in her could be micromanaged. And would not be allowed to govern her.

  Hardening her tone, she said, “No. Micah.”

  One thumb swished along her throat, the other against her clitoris. “You’re wet through your panties and so goddamn close to orgasm. Allow me to make you feel good.”

  No one knew better than her how close to the edge she was. “Release me.”

  His repetitious strokes halted. “You’re positive?” He sounded baffled that she would resist such temptation.

  “Yes.”

  He kissed her temple and stunned her by letting her go. Hands flattening on the mattress, she caught her fall from his abrupt let-go. As much as she hated to admit it, she missed his touch. Yearned to allow him to finish what he’d begun. Legs jellied from denying gratification and uncertain of her ability to stand, Madison executed a hip-roll on the bed. She took a moment to collect herself, then gripped the bedpost and hauled herself to her feet. They locked gazes when she gained steady footing.

  “I’m not the prize of your twisted game, Micah.”

  “You are not a game to me, Madison.” Close enough to touch her, he made no move to do so. He widened his stance, glanced about the room and shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. Vacillation from him baffled her. “Once, you were a means to an end.” The intensity of his focus made her feel special. “That changed when I fell in love with you.”

  “I don’t believe you know the meaning of love.”

  “I know the sentiment. Very few are worthy of my devotion. Until the last fifteen years, all I loved was my brothers and our creation.” Hell, in other words. A hand emerged from his pocket and he tipped her head back with a finger beneath her chin. She didn’t dare look away. “They were all that mattered until I looked into the eyes of a fifteen-year-old abused girl on Christmas morning. You and Amos are all that is important to me now.”

  The validity of that statement remained to be determined. “What if I asked you to give up Hell for me?”

  “I’d consider it.”

  Not enough. But something about the directness of his gaze and his resolute tone implied he would indeed contemplate the request. Her hands shook at the likelihood. If he ever convinced her of his willingness to sacrifice a legacy of this magnitude for her…well, that was more romantic than Cinderella or Snow White.

  “Right. You say that because I’m not asking.”

  “Then ask and find out.”

  Afraid to call his bluff, she inched toward the door. “What happened on the bed won’t be repeated.”

  “It likely will.” Hawkish stare, as if he assessed her from all vantage points. As if this incident granted him a heads-up for future success. She feared it very well did. “When it comes to you, I don’t think clearly.” An understatement. “I vow you will always have the choice just like now.”

  The alternative to the choice was the ass-kicker.

  Finally breaking eye contact, she squared her shoulders and walked to the door. She flung it open. Nix stood there, waiting. Upon sight of him, she feared she’d fall apart and confess her wicked behavior.

  He must have read her reaction accurately because he quickly said, “It’s okay.”

  “Not okay.”

  Her faithful Sherlock tugged her into his arms. She maintained a fraction of distance by placing her hands on his chest. All she wanted was to collapse into his arms, but after what she’d allowed, she didn’t deserve comfort. Instead, she should be begging for his forgiveness. “He kissed and touched me.” The muscles in his arms tensed just enough she felt it. “I allowed it.”

  “Ah…confession time,” Micah drawled from behind her. “She also stopped my advances.”

  Ignoring her husband, Nix held her eyes.

  “I’m so sorry, Nix.”

  “Me, too.” She knew Micah wasn’t sorry for the same reasons.

  They ignored the King.

  “I love you, baby. It is okay.”


  Relieved he could forgive her transgression, she collapsed into his arms, gripping him as tight as she could. Too important to lose, she would do almost anything to keep him with her. He was all that kept her grounded.

  Disappointed in herself, she couldn’t understand how she’d risk what she had with Nix for one orgasm with her husband. How many climaxes did one succubus need anyway? After last night, she should be exhausted and unable to become aroused.

  But we’re still hungry. That fact scared her to death. So hungry.

  She sensed the men glared at one another. What did Micah think of her in Nix’s arms? What did Nix imagine happened in this room?

  “Don’t manhandle her like that again, Micah.” Her Sherlock’s demand rumbled against her ear.

  “Or what, Phoenix? You’ll boot me out the door, too?” Her husband snorted. “Good luck with that, Ark of Heaven. It’ll take much more than you to remove me from Madison’s presence.”

  What Madison heard between the words: Micah declared all-out war to claim her.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Micah watched as Madison grated potatoes. He’d watched her cook often during their marriage, and he’d always been struck by how unintentionally sensual she was while preparing food. One of his fantasizes had been to have her cook naked. That daydream always ended in her splayed on the table, clothed with his body, while he thrust deep into her. The woman he married would have tolerated such a display with as much grace as humans tolerated termites infesting their home. He suspected this new woman she’d become would be game for untold kink.

  His earlier intentions in her bedroom had escalated further than he planned. The main point of getting her out of Phoenix’s presence was to explain to her that he had no intention of pining for her and doing nothing to claim her. But she’d tossed him her haughty expression—a goddamn challenge. She’d always been able to push his buttons. The succubus emitted pheromones he couldn’t deny, and he reacted on instinct to her arousal, sought to provide her relief.

  Maybe he’d gone too far bringing Phoenix into the commentary. Detailing how the Ark of Heaven liked fucking in Hell had been unnecessary, but her affection for the other man made his chest ache. The pain had a name. Jealousy. He disliked the fucked-up emotion. Rendered him moody and unstable. More than that, he detested his ambiguous relationship with Madison.