by Devyn Quinn
The heat intensified tenfold. No doubt about it. There was a serious power surge happening here. Awesome. And impressive. Hell certainly knew how to entertain. If she hadn’t quite believed before, this display of underworld fireworks had managed to do the trick.
Nikki clenched her teeth. Another moment and her flesh would begin melting off her bones. Her only hope was that this horrific torture would end quickly.
Just when she believed it couldn’t get any worse, a terrible grating sound tore through the chamber. An ear-shattering blast ripped through the stifling atmosphere. The earth beneath her feet rocked, buckling so violently it felt like the stone floor had turned completely liquid.
Groaning, then shrieking, the stone wall broke in half.
And then there was nothing.
Only silence.
And then she felt it.
A breeze.
The kind that cooled the earth after the sun had slipped beneath the horizon.
Delicious. Welcome. Bliss.
Nikki peeked through her hands and could hardly believe her eyes. The wall had evaporated. Paradise lay on the other side.
“I don’t believe this,” she breathed.
Jackson, apparently unaffected by the whole spectacle of near apocalypse, looked at her like she’d just lost every last marble out of her mental bag. “What’s not to believe?” He held out a hand. “Shall we?”
Without saying a word, Nikki reached for his hand. His strong fingers closed around hers.
He led her into paradise.
The parlor, as he so quaintly called it, looked like some Victorian gentleman’s club. The walls were paneled in heavy dark wood, and acres of carpeting stretched out underfoot. Thick heavy furniture was covered in a fabric of the richest scarlet shade. At least a dozen men, maybe more, lounged casually throughout. Like Jackson, they were all beautifully turned out in formal clothing. And like jackals scenting blood, they turned her way, hungry to feast.
Breath lodging in her lungs, Nikki fought to hold back a smile of delight. Holy smokes! It looked like she’d just walked into a Chippendales meeting. These men—not one of them appearing to be over the age of thirty—were the most gorgeous pieces of male flesh that she’d ever had the pleasure to lay eyes on.
And not a single female in sight.
Even as she ate them up with a mental spoon, every damn one of the breathtaking hunks were eye fucking her right back. The air around them, a heady mixture of cigar smoke, fragrant spirits, and rich male musk tickled her nostrils. As in the rest of the strange manor, she could find no source of illumination. Light seemed to seep from nowhere, merging and mating with the shadows.
Blondes, brunettes, even a tawny auburn head or two. Oddly, perhaps significantly, Jackson was the only one with coal black hair, as though his inky mane served as an indicator of what lurked deep inside his mind. Dark, dark things, indeed.
The way the others looked at him indicated he led the pack as its alpha male. Jackson clearly ran the show. The fact that he’d gotten the first taste of the fresh pussy in this place was another tip-off, and by the look on his face he wasn’t happy that he had to share his conquest.
Still, the leader must feed the horde to keep order. Unsatisfied demons would probably be a bitch to handle. Sort of like rednecks on payday. They wanted to drink, fight, and fuck after a week spent digging ditches.
Come to think of it, so did she.
The acorn clearly hadn’t fallen far from the tree. Nikki’s momma was the same kind of wild woman—six husbands, six kids, too many mouths to feed, and not enough room or money.
Nikki had gotten out on her own, young but not so tender to the ways of the world. She did what she had to survive on the streets, to have a place to lay her head at night. Maybe she hadn’t made the best decisions or picked the finest examples of men. There really hadn’t been many choices. Trailer trash didn’t come with any pedigree or degree. Survival meant using hook, crook, or her own shapely ass. This wasn’t the first time she’d faced down a room full of horny bastards.
Nikki felt her nipples rise to attention under the skimpy lace. She practically creamed against the crotch of her thong, the insides of her thighs moistening with lust. The sight of all these good-looking men waiting to fuck her delivered an instant carnal kick. And considering the way they were eyeing her, like hungry wolves, it was readily apparent that Jackson had chosen appropriate evening wear. Hot gazes burned right through the lacy nightgown, visually ripping away every last shred.
No doubt I’ll soon be naked.
And happily so.
Jackson glanced down at her. “What do you think of the men here, darling Nikki?” he whispered in an audible aside everyone heard.
Nikki gulped. Just looking at all these good-looking men sent her inner mercury soaring into the red. Adrenaline mixed with heat surged through her veins, searing them from the inside. This was the same reckless exhilaration she’d experienced when tearing through the desert, hell-bent on getting away. Half fear, half excitement, all pleasure.
She licked her lips. “I have to admit that these are some of the most fucklicious demons I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
Jackson held her hand, leading her into the center of the gathering. All turned her way, gazes riveted on her. Center stage now, she was on full display. “My dear,” he said smoothly, answering her statement. “These are not demons you are looking at, but angels.”
She looked at him with disbelief. “Angels?” Confusion followed. “I-I thought you said this was hell.”
Jackson laughed, then clarified. “Fallen angels, Nikki. All of us were cast out of heaven for rebelling against God. Fallen to earth, we are the princes of this world and shall infest this planet until judgment.” Laughing, he quoted from the bible, “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved everlasting chains under darkness.” He spread out an expansive arm. “And this is our darkness.”
Well, that certainly confused Nikki. “But if you had heaven, Jackson, why would you leave it? Isn’t it…uh, heaven? Eternal paradise?”
Jackson’s brow warped in sudden anger that rippled over Nikki in waves. “Eternal paradise is no paradise when you have no capability to feel any emotion.” He grimaced nastily. The light in his copper-green eyes sparked with a menace that wasn’t anywhere close to sanity. “Imagine standing by century after century while your Creator lavishes his love on a lesser—inferior—species. He loved humankind best just because He’d given them souls.”
Nikki’s heart thudded in long, jarring beats against the inside of her ribcage. Her mouth felt like someone had wrenched open her jaws and dumped a truckful of sand right past her lips.
Now she knew what he’d meant when he’d said he didn’t feel her the last time they’d had sex. But she didn’t quite believe that to be true. Jackson had felt her, all right. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have kissed her so deeply and desperately.
And the idea that he had begged the larger question: Give an inhuman being a grab at human emotions and what would you have?
Chaos.
She gasped out a half-strangled laugh. Not an ounce of amusement colored its tone. “Was it worth sacrificing heaven, Jackson? Falling to sin?”
Jackson’s misshapen smile widened, feral and chilling. “Oh, it most definitely was. Coming to earth we learned all about the pleasures of the flesh we’d been so long denied.” He gave her a glance that swept from head to toe. “And you know how I like to put that knowledge to use.”
Nikki grimaced and thought of her chafed wrists, aching nipples, and abused rear. Yes, she certainly did.
And all the other men in the room had the same idea. They wanted to put their knowledge to use too.
On her.
Looking around at their eager faces, she entertained the notion that not all of them would want to make the experience pleasant or enjoyable in the slightest. They were going to use her, brutally and sadistically.
A remnan
t of Jackson’s earlier warning flashed through her mind. It could all be very painful, or it could be completely pleasurable.
The choice was hers.
Closing her eyes, Nikki let her head drop, willing herself to dig deep inside and find the strength she’d need to get through her first night. She’d reached this point intact. She could go further.
I can take it, she resolved. Nothing had ever backed her down before. Certainly not a bunch of horny ex-angels packing cocks as dangerous as sub-machine guns. Otherwise, a long and miserable time stretched ahead. She was fairly sure Judgment Day wasn’t coming anytime soon for the rest of the world.
Jackson reached out, lifting her head so that she had to face him. He flashed that familiar pirate’s grin, the one that had so earlier beguiled Nikki when they were alone. His smile said that while he had to share her with others, part of her belonged to him alone.
“The ceremony is about to begin,” he said softly.
That one caught Nikki’s attention. Her protective antennae swiveled forward, centering and focusing. Ceremony?
“What are you going to do?”
“The mark of the beast shall be put upon your skin,” Jackson said, his voice dark and gravelly with anticipation.
Nikki breathed a soft sound, somewhere between a whimper and a low moan. She started to protest, but the words died in her tight throat unspoken. The searing heat of bestial hunger burned in his gaze, immediately silencing her with its ferocious intensity.
Sensing her unspoken acquiescence, Jackson smiled. “I suggest you do your best to enjoy the experience of the Claiming, darling Nikki.”
Struggling to suppress her fear, Nikki nodded. Tiny beads of perspiration dotted her brow, shoulders, and neck, trickling down between her breasts and shoulder blades. Fear scented the air around her, mingling with the musky smell of sex still clinging to her skin.
Nikki already knew she couldn’t hurt them physically. She’d taken a roundhouse swing at Jackson, and he’d brushed it off the way anyone else would brush away a gnat.
“I’ll t-try,” she stammered softly.
Jackson noticed the tremble in her hands, the shakiness of her legs. “Don’t worry.” He grinned. “We’ll start out easy on you.”
If that was supposed to reassure her, it didn’t quite make the cut. Nikki bit back the urge to ask him what he intended to do. That was already clear enough. Anything he—they—wanted.
The mark of the beast.
She glanced down at her wrists, so raw and red from the ropes he’d tied her down with. No doubt here. She’d already been marked once. That hadn’t been a bad experience at all, considering the mind-blasting orgasm she’d gotten out of it.
There was something arousing behind the idea of being forced to climax. Having her body so completely controlled appealed to her on a deeper level inside her unconscious mind. How else to explain her erect nipples rubbing against lace, and the ache beginning to bloom all over again between her thighs? Her mind might say no, but her body had said yes every damn time.
Nikki sensed her physical self awakening, slowly readying for the onslaught of a dozen hands, mouths, and cocks plundering her from every direction. The idea made her blood boil with a pure and undiluted lust. Her ravenous desire felt fueled with a darker, more demanding ache. It seared her senses like a slug of straight whiskey hitting the back of her throat.
Her clit swelled and pulsed even more between her legs. She could almost taste their desire, hanging hot and heavy throughout the room like a thick fog.
She cleared her throat. “What do you want me to do?” she finally asked.
“Just stand there.” Jackson produced a cigarette out of thin air, already lit and ready to be smoked. He trailed the tip of the cigarette along the length of her bare arm. The red-hot tip grazed her unmarked skin.
Nikki instinctively winced against the burn she imagined he planned to deliver. It took every ounce of strength she possessed to remain absolutely still. She had a feeling it would go harder on her if she tried to resist. She’d already had a taste of how Jackson handled resistance.
Jackson continued his tease. He trailed the tip of the cigarette along the curve of her left shoulder. “Scared?” he asked.
Nikki briefly gritted her teeth together. She forced herself to swallow down the thick lump clogging her throat, threatening to cut off her oxygen. “No.”
Jackson laughed. So did the rest of the demons. “You should be.”
Nikki clenched her fists tighter, until her fingers dug painfully into her palms. She forced a smile and replied, “What’s the point of being afraid? I haven’t got any choices here.”
Jackson considered. “True.” He sucked on the tip of his cigarette, sending a stream of fragrant white smoke directly at her. “You don’t.”
Fingers tracing the path his cigarette had blazed along her shoulder, he plucked at the bow holding the strap of her gown secure.
Nikki gasped as half of her halter disintegrated, baring one breast. The distended tip was obviously bead hard. Curiosity piqued, carnal interest raised its head and smiled. The slow rise of heat began to simmer inside her core all over again. The primal instinct of the female to be conquered and possessed wasn’t worth struggling to resist. Given the way she felt right now—hovering between fear and exhilaration—it would be a relief to get started.
Jackson’s wicked grin washed over her. It felt as though a thousand hands moved along with the skim of his gaze, invading every vulnerable spot on her body. “Time for my boys to feast.”
His simple look heightening every nerve ending in her body, Nikki drew a quick breath. The room began to spin around her as the hoard of fallen angels advanced from all sides.
Uh-oh.
8
Jackson faded into the background as two of the angels glided her way.
Nikki swore she could smell the desire simmering under their skin, even though they had yet to make physical contact. Looking at them, her slit swelled and pulsed between her thighs. A blonde and a brunette, both stood at least a head above her, and both were drop-dead gorgeous. It was hard to choose which one she would have preferred. Didn’t matter, though. They weren’t going to give her any choices.
The dark-haired angel slipped around behind her. A big hand brushed the hair off her shoulders, baring her nape. Warm lips nibbled a slow tease along the curve of her shoulder. “My name is Phenex,” he murmured softly. “And it is my pleasure to serve you.”
The touch of his lips against her bare skin hit Nikki like a thousand-megawatt bomb. A little sizzle crackled between his mouth and her skin, jump-starting a sweetly erotic pulse in her veins. The promise of pleasures to come. Arousal spread through her, hot and fast.
As Phenex nibbled, he pressed his hips against her rear, dragging her back against his straining erection. As the thong left her ass totally bare save for the thin piece of string between her cheeks, she immediately felt his bare skin against hers. His clothing had already melted away. The heat of his cock seared like a hot iron rod.
Feeling Phenex grind against her from behind, Nikki gasped. Damn! These guys didn’t waste a second. The hard cock wedged between her cheeks taunted her, intensifying the ache between her legs.
The angel in front of her also took up the cause.
“My name is Dagon,” he said. Reaching out, he slid the other side of the halter down her arm. Both breasts were deliciously bare. He palmed both her breasts, squeezing, testing their weight. Steamy lust darkened his gaze. “And it is my pleasure to serve you.”
“Nice to meet you,” Nikki choked, not knowing what else to say. Gathering her thoughts proved difficult, considering she was locked between two of the hottest men she’d ever encountered. Both with the intention of having their way with her.
Dagon moved closer, bending his head to the level of her breasts. His tongue played around one distended nipple, teasing the peak into full attention. Every time his tongue made another arc around the tip, Nikki felt the he
ated throb of need in her clit.
This was excellent. Better than good.
Phenex’s big hands settled on Nikki’s hips even as Dagon unlaced the rest of her gown, then tugged it away from her body. All she wore now was the skimpy little thong, garter, hose, and heels.
“Does it make you hot when a man suckles at your breasts?” Phenex breathed in her ear. His erection nudged deeper between the cleft of her ass, though he didn’t attempt to make entry into her tender anus, just rubbed up and down in the most enticing manner.
Nikki gulped her answer. “Oh, yesss…,” she breathed. The mass of pleasurable sensations swamping her body felt like a hypnotic drug. She’d gladly overdose just to get more.
Clothing fading away, Dagon slipped to his knees. His palm brushed across the smooth plane of her belly, followed by the brush of his lips. The tease caused her breath to catch in her lungs as he paused to gently tongue the dip of her navel. She whimpered softly at the suggestive penetration.
Mind spinning, Nikki could barely catch her racing thoughts. This was better than she’d expected. As Dagon slipped lower, her head lolled back against the solid support of Phenex’s shoulder.
Phenex took the chance to pounce. His mouth traced soft, wet caresses on her neck. His hands slipped beneath her arms, cupping the breasts Dagon had too quickly abandoned. Thick fingers tugged and rolled the sensitive tips. “And do you like it when a man’s mouth claims your clit?”
The words had no sooner left his mouth before Dagon’s hands tugged her thong over her thighs and halfway down her legs. At the same time, Phenex angled her hips upward with his.
Nikki moaned and shuddered all the way to her toes when Dagon’s tongue penetrated then probed the soft inner folds of her sex. Back arching against Phenex’s hard body, she grabbed handfuls of thick blond curls and held on.
Seeming impossibly long, Dagon’s tongue delved deeply, probing her wet pussy to find every slippery crevice of her sex. His mouth devoured.
Looking down through half-lidded eyes, Nikki held her breath in anticipation as Dagon pleasured her orally. Watching a beautiful man give her oral sex while another teased her nipples and rubbed her from behind was a turn-on beyond any she’d ever experienced.
