Paramour for the Devil

by Savannah Hill

  “Hey.” The ultra-deep voice startled her as a pair of strong hands swept her into a closet and shut the door.

  A dim light flicked on, revealing Damian as her captor. “Is everything OK?”

  She didn’t want to lie to him just to be polite. The fact was, she felt very needy, but there was no way she was going to tell him that. She glanced around the tiny room, packed floor to ceiling with various weapons. “Wha— Is this…an arsenal?”

  “There are more throughout the house. Are you all right? I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  Haley met his deep gaze, caught in the chasms of his emerald eyes. “You didn’t.”

  “Are you sure? It’s hard for me to tell what you’re thinking without cheating.”

  Haley chewed on her bottom lip, at a loss for words. She wanted to tell him to stay with her, not to go to the unspeakably frightful Pit, but it was not a request she could make of him. Instead, she played with the hem of her shirt, fingering the soft fabric. “I’ll miss you.” She worked to keep the emotion from her voice.

  Before he could respond, she slid her top upward, taking it off for him, and tossing it to the floor. Damian’s hands floated to her waist, his gaze riveted to her body, topless in her low-rise jeans, and he dreamily lowered his face to her bare breasts.

  She could feel his rough jawline between them as he slowly devoured them, dragging his mouth across until he caught her nipple between his teeth, biting it ever so lightly, and the sensation strung all through her body. Her hands went to her jeans, trembling as she pulled open her top button, and Damian took over for her, tugging down the zipper.

  With a remarkably gentle hand, he brushed aside her long, heavy curls, sending soft tingles through her while his other hand found its way into her jeans, groaning quietly when he found her completely bare under them.

  “You’re the fucking hottest thing I’ve ever seen.” Absorbed in the sight of her, he grasped her tight jeans with firm hands, jerking them down.

  With desperate motions, he cleared a space on the shelf behind her and lifted her onto it. Standing between her thighs, he pulled her naked body up against him, the tough fabric of his jeans grazing her sensitive sex, and Haley shivered.

  Damian dropped his forehead to hers, gaping over every inch of her and the deep scar across her waist. “I need to feel like you’re all mine.”

  Undoing his jeans, he grasped his cock, holding it in a natural grip. Haley opened her knees as wide as they would go, showing him her wet flesh, and he pushed into her at an infuriatingly slow pace.

  “This is mine,” he growled softly. “Your pussy is mine.” He moved in and out of her with heavy thrusts, gripping her firmly so her hips didn’t thud against the wooden shelf.

  Her soft, pleasured sounds grew more desperate, and Damian clamped a hand over her mouth. “Shhh…” He leaned his face beside her ear, inhaling. “God, you smell so good.” His strokes became more deliberate. “I could fuck you for the rest of my life…”

  His affectionate whisper tugged curiously at her heart, and her body dissolved into his, gratefully taking his claiming thrusts as he relentlessly worked her needy ache. His rigid hand covering her mouth made her feel kinky, reminding her they could get caught at any moment, and she couldn’t keep from crying out softly into his palm as she fell over the edge. Damian buried his face in her neck as he followed, muttering her name with a deep groan.

  He stayed inside of her, holding her for a minute while she rested her cheek against his chest, and his heart thumped quickly in her ear as he caught his breath.

  “You’re going to be all right here by yourself?”

  It was childish to say no, and she’d been wrestling with despairing worry for hours, always coming back to the understanding that this was what it meant to be dating a soldier. Inevitably, she would experience this fear-stricken sadness any time he left on a mission, and the only way she’d get through it was with maturity and focusing on her own personal goals while he was away.

  “Yes.” Hiding her face in his T-shirt, she felt her mature, adult understanding go out the window. I just want him to hold me some more.

  “Good. And now you know where some of the weapons are.”

  “Actually, I think I’m going to stay at the castle.” Haley put on a brave front as she looked up at him. “I should work on getting my life together here if I’m planning on moving back.”

  Damian looked away with a frown. “As long as you’re cautious.”

  She nodded, feeling better already with a plan to focus on. “Yep.”

  He helped her down from the shelf and picked up her shirt from the floor while she pulled on her jeans.

  “Neil is not a bodyguard.” She repeated his words.

  Damian rolled his eyes. “Please don’t mention his name in our sex closet.” He pulled up his zipper.

  “OK, I’m sorry.” With an amused smile, Haley slipped on her top, adjusting it around her breasts. Our sex closet. The term sounded so pleasing. “You say the sweetest things sometimes.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Two days later, Sunday evening, Damian drove into the spacious driveway in front of the castle—surprised to find it occupied with cars he didn’t recognize—and parked beside Noah’s Camaro. Stephen hobbled out of the passenger side of the Chevelle on awkward limbs, snatching his pair of crutches from the backseat to better support himself.

  They’d encountered a swarm of dragons in Hell, and Stephen had been swept off the ground by one during the attack, dangling by his leg in its mouth. Damian had managed to get onto the dragon’s back, commandeering it and forcing it to release its prey, but not before Stephen’s leg had snapped. The dragon’s teeth impaled his thigh, mangling his leg to shit, and the copious amount of dragon venom in the wound made it impossible for his powers to heal it.

  They’d used the Drakpiece, flashing themselves to headquarters where the Healers casted his leg, though the scalding hot venom couldn’t be treated by any spell or remedy. Luckily, his magical Healer blood had naturally expelled most of the deathly venom within a matter of hours, and he would be fully healed by morning, but the bulky cast was clearly a hindrance for him as he limped inside the castle doorway. “Guess I’m gonna go find a couch.”

  “You need help getting down the stairs?” Damian spotted Noah in a far hallway, heading in their direction.

  Stephen exhaled. “I can handle it.”

  Noah approached them wearing a fedora and black suspenders over a starched white shirt, and Damian gave him a questioning look. “Why are you dressed like a douchebag?”

  “Ginger’s dragging me to this cabaret dinner theater thing. She gave me a dress code. What the fuck happened to you, Hawthorne? I didn’t expect you guys to be back so soon.”

  “My extensive research didn’t really prepare me for dragons.” Stephen turned for the stairs.

  Noah raised his eyebrows. “Well, at least you can tell your lady you slayed the dragon.”

  Stephen shook his head. “I mean, I’ll still tell her that.” He grinned. “But Damian’s the one that actually slayed a few…and even fucking rode one.”

  “Dude, you rode a dragon?” Noah jabbed at his ribs, and Damian swiftly avoided his playful punch.

  “I have experience with them.”

  Stephen swung his crutches toward the top of the staircase. “I could go the rest of my life without seeing one again.”

  “You’re gonna bust your ass on those stairs.” Noah chuckled.

  “I got it, thanks.” Stephen hopped down onto the first step, teetering at the edge. “Goddammit.”

  Damian took the crutches while Noah lent him a shoulder.

  “Wyoming must have gone well if you’re back in town.” Stephen concentrated on moving down the steps.

  “Boss called me back before I even got there. Someone else took care of it.”

  “Huh, that’s good. Those things were evil as fuck.” The living room at the end of the hall was rowdy with laughter and voices,
and Stephen took his crutches, tilting his head toward the sound. “Thanks, I’m gonna go find my girl.”

  “Later, man.” Noah proceeded down the next flight of stairs, away from the noise, and Damian followed beside him.

  “Who handled the djinn?”

  “Local branch in Wyoming. Harris said they swarmed a few Adversus soldiers outside a bar and didn’t expect the rest of their division to be inside.”

  He nodded, glad to hear the monsters had finally been put to death.

  “I kinda wanted to be the one to take down the evil cocksuckers after seeing all those bodies in their nest. Must have been in the hundreds.”

  Damian agreed with a weighted breath at the memory of hauling the corpses, the abhorrent sight had reminded him of the Pit. “I’m ready for some time off.”

  * * *

  Haley stood alone in Ginger’s bedroom, rustling through the vanity drawers for something to hold up her thick hair. She gave up the search, deciding on the vintage comb she had in her own bedroom, and straightened her black thigh high nylon stockings, held up by garters hidden under her dress. She brushed on a touch of shimmering gold and white eye shadow before slipping into a set of black heels from the closet, each with a gold T-strap that wrapped around her ankle.

  She walked out of the bedroom, pulling her hair up into a twist. Her heart lurched at the sight of Damian in the hallway. He wore a gray T-shirt and jeans with his hands in his pockets, talking to Noah, and glanced in her direction, his voice trailing away when he caught sight of her.

  He seemed transfixed by her glimmering gold dress, the filmy fabric loose and clingy at the same time, thin gold fringe sparkling faintly at the hem. Haley let her hair fall freely as she moved toward him.

  “Hi.” She smiled. “You’re back.”

  “All right, man.” Noah slapped his arm and started toward the stairs. “Let me know if you need anything.”

  “Yeah.” Damian glanced at him briefly as Haley drifted up to him, and he took her by the waist. She grinned at his first touch in two days, warmed by his heated palms through the thin fabric of her slinky dress.

  “Don’t you look like a fucking dream come true.” His gaze wandered over her.

  “Thank you.” She leaned upward, her lips grazing his, and wrapped her arms around his solid torso. Her hands ran along the cotton fabric of his T-shirt, and he flinched just slightly at her touch. Pulling away from his mouth, she searched his face. His eyes seemed to reflect a hidden pain. “Are you all right?”

  “Yeah.” Damian nodded. “Well.” He rolled his eyes away from her. “I got bit by a dragon.” Damian brushed it off, treating it as a mild annoyance.

  In utter shock, Haley looked him over. “Where?”

  Leaning back, he pulled up his shirt, the muscles in his abdomen tightening as he did so, and Haley took a sharp breath at the crescent shaped wound that covered the length of his rib cage. Craning her neck around to look at his back, she found matching bite marks there, evidence of a massive jaw closing its razor-sharp teeth around his middle. The large wounds had thinly closed on their own but were still red and bruised, nowhere near being healed, and she stared at the tender gashes in wide-eyed horror.

  Damian lowered his shirt. “Stephen broke his leg, but we made it out.”

  “What about the venom?” Haley recalled that a dragon’s bite released enormous amounts of boiling venom.

  Damian casually furrowed his brows and shook his head. “I’m gonna feel like shit for another day or so, but I’ll be all right.”

  She pouted with worry, and he broke into an amused smile. “I’m immortal, Haley. You don’t need to worry about me.”

  “You should be resting.”

  He nodded. “I will, I promise.”

  Haley sensed a burning heat emanating from his muscles and eyed him with concern.

  “I looked into our situation with the Drak, and it’s not an issue.”

  “It isn’t?” She stared up at him, frightened at the mention of the bloodthirsty monsters, and he brought her closer.

  “The girl didn’t make it. When they found her, stabbed by his blade, they assumed they’d killed each other in a fight. They don’t know anything about you.”

  “Oh.” Her lower lip trembled at the revelation. She’d always assumed Lazarra had died, but knowing it for certain gave her a sick feeling. Careful not to put any pressure on his wounds, she leaned into him, and Damian nestled his face against her neck, breathing in her perfumed skin.

  “Tell me about this dinner thing you’re going to.”

  Her fingertips softly gripped his shoulders as he trailed his lips up her throat. “It’s called Teatro Zinzanni…it’s a cabaret circus…”

  “Mmhmm.” He snagged her earlobe in his teeth. “Have you been there before?” His words breathed into her ear, sending shivers downward, spurring a wetness in her silk panties.

  “No.” Her reply was laced with arousal, and she felt an overwhelming urge to cancel her dinner plans and spend the evening blissfully enveloped in Damian’s arms.

  Adam came thundering down the stairs. “Haley, are you almost ready? I need your help with my cufflinks.”

  Damian slowly pulled away from her just before Adam appeared.

  He wandered toward her, dapper in a charcoal-gray suit that perfectly matched his eyes. “What’s up, Dragon-Rider, I heard about what happened.”

  Haley fidgeted with his sleeve.

  “Yeah.” Damian ran his hand along the back of his head.

  Adam whistled. “Dragons are fuckin’ deadly. Thanks for getting Stephen out alive, man.”

  “All set.” Haley kept her tone pleasant, swiveling for the stairs as images of his horrific wounds invaded her thoughts, bringing her close to tears. He’d seemed different to her, almost vulnerable, and she knew he must be in severe pain.

  Bellowing laughter filled her ears as she entered the living room on the next floor, slipping through a crowd of people she barely knew. The TV blared Pulp Fiction, and Noah sat in an armchair, watching it with Ginger on his lap, sparkling in her iridescent white mini-dress. Aimee lounged on the couch with Stephen’s head resting on her as he lay with a casted leg propped up on a pillow.

  “Is that Haley?” A deep male voice resounded nearby, and she turned to find Talis’ dark brown eyes appraising her favorably. “My God, girl, you look…”

  “Talis.” She stared, out of breath at the sight of him. His thick, dark hair hung in perfectly wild locks, and he gave her a charming smile, showing off a dimple in his dark, olive colored skin. He pulled her to the side of the room, away from the lively group, and gently took her elbows into his large hands,

  “It’s been so long.” His voice was smooth and velvety. “How have you been?”

  “Great.” Haley wrapped her arms around herself, awkward and uneasy at his touch. She could still feel the prickling sting of his rejection years earlier, and her face warmed with humiliation at the memory.

  Talis leaned in close. “I’ve thought about you a lot over the last few years, Haley. You deserve an apology. I shouldn’t have just left like I did.” Pausing, he boldly gaped over her. “You’re a very sexy woman. I was lucky to be in bed with you.”

  “It’s fine.” She gasped with claustrophobia under his vulgar gaze and glimpsed Damian leaning casually in the doorway with his arms crossed over his expansive chest, glaring darkly.

  “Damian.” Her voice came out more desperate than she’d intended, and he walked toward her with a dismal expression. Her heart pounded heavily. “This is my boyfriend, Damian.” She politely removed Talis’ grip from her arms. “Have you met him?”

  Talis frowned, leering at him with barely masked contempt. “Yeah, I know him.”

  Haley reached for Damian, and he drew her away from Talis’ overpowering stance.

  “This is your boyfriend?” Talis laughed. “You’re joking, right? Don’t you know who he is?”

  Rattled by his audacity, Haley clammed up, unable to find her
voice, and gently slipped her arm around Damian’s torso.

  Talis raised an eyebrow, staring her down. “Adam told me you were single just a few days ago. How long have you been with him?”

  She shifted her nervous gaze toward Damian, a hint of apology in her eyes. “Awhile.”

  Talis narrowed his eyes at her, skeptical.

  “Whoa. What?” Stephen lifted his head from Aimee’s lap. “What did you just say?”

  Distressed to discover the room had emptied considerably, Haley glimpsed Adam standing next to them with a stunned expression, inquisitively eyeing Damian.

  “Are you banging my little sister, man?”

  “No,” Damian abruptly denied, his body stiffening. Haley awkwardly moved away from him, utterly dejected. She scolded herself for announcing him as her boyfriend. They’d never discussed what their relationship was, just an unspoken agreement to keep it from her brothers, and now Damian was caught off guard, having to explain himself.

  “I’m not banging her.”

  “Ahh.” Talis was at Haley’s ear. “Why did you lie to me?” He had a trace of delight in his husky whisper, and she shied away from his hot mouth.

  Damian glowered in Talis’ direction. “I’m her boyfriend.”

  Haley’s heart drummed wildly at his words.

  “No shit, really?” Adam’s tone perked up.

  “I knew it, man. I totally knew it.”

  Aimee looked down at Stephen, lovingly shaking her head. “You didn’t know anything.”

  “Congrats, bro.” Adam gave him a warm smile. “You got yourself a good woman.”

  Damian nodded in agreement, distracted, and Haley watched him, concerned by his rigidly set jaw.

  Ginger briskly changed the subject. “Well, dinner’s in less than an hour.” She rose from Noah’s lap. “I’m gonna finish my makeup.”