He’d backed me into a corner, but that was as much my plan as his. I pressed my back to the cool wall and waited. I wanted him to take me and make me forget where I was, what I had to do and who I was supposed to be. I closed my eyes and inhaled his scent.
The feathering of light kisses across my belly startled me. I opened my eyes to find him on his knees worshiping the tiny bulge of my belly. His lips were warm and gentle and my throat constricted with emotion. Neither one of us had truly had time to bask in the miracle we had created. My eyes pooled with tears and I realized I was no less aroused, but I was far more deeply affected than I ever had been.
“Come with me.” He took my hand and led me to the bed. I suddenly felt shy. Without a word he slid the boots down my legs and they dropped to the floor by my dress. His lips and teeth tickled my ankles and his hands massaged each part of my body till we were face to face. With his tongue, he teased the seam of my lips and I opened to him willingly. His taste was addictive and his large body covering mine made me feel safe.
He ran his open mouth along my jaw to my ear and I gasped in delight as his fang pierced the lobe. “You are my miracle,” he whispered. “I have waited my entire lifetime for you.”
His voice rumbled in my mind, sending little shockwaves of the purest pleasure I’d known. Wrapping my arms around him, I held tight to his body. The pressure in my chest verged on pain and I buried my face in his neck.
“What’s wrong, my love?” he asked as he took my face in his hands and searched my eyes.
The simplicity of the moment was harder to deal with than if we’d been wildly out of control and all over each other. I had never been loved like this—so completely. Never been loved by someone who knew my weaknesses and didn’t care. Someone whose strength matched my own and someone whose wisdom should have found me lacking, but didn’t.
I traced his lips, nose and high sculpted cheekbones with my finger and I was free. I didn’t need the love of a mother or a father. The love of a child would only be an added bonus to the overwhelming feelings I had for the man who lay atop me.
He shifted his weight to his elbows, but still covered me like a blanket. With his lips, he followed my tears from my eyes to my jawbone to my neck. My inside weren’t big enough to contain everything I was feeling and I thought I might explode.
“Ethan, I . . . ” Words were inadequate. I wrapped my legs around his waist and arched to meet him. I needed to show him with my body things that words simply couldn’t convey.
As his body joined with mine, I gasped and cried out. The slow pace was more erotic and frightening than the wild coupling we were more accustomed to. Our eyes locked and our bodies moved in a rhythm that was age old but perfectly new. My body contracted and tightened around his. We merged and became one sexual and spiritual entity. Two bodies—one heart.
“I can’t get close enough,” I murmured as the pace of our lovemaking increased. The intensity burned and my legs clamped tighter around him as my fingers tangled in his hair.
“Don’t close your eyes,” he whispered. “Watch what you do to me. Watch what I feel for you.”
My tears made him blurry, but the magnitude of what he felt could be seen without vision. It was in his magic, in the strength of his possession—in his essence.
We surged closer to crawling inside of each other than we ever had. He put his weight on one hand and skimmed my face, my breasts and hip with his other. He slid in and out and I raised my hips to meet his thrusts as the pressure built. His mouth came down on mine, hard and possessive. I bit at his lips as his body grew larger within me. The slow gentle lovemaking was over, but the ferociousness of our love and desire remained.
His inhuman beauty and strength sent my core into liquid meltdown and I writhed beneath him, unable to think or hold any part of myself back. His eyes never left mine and I struggled to keep mine open. The vulnerability was terrifying and raw. My insides danced and contracted around his girth and the sounds he made went straight to my most engorged and sensitive spots, unleashing a wild woman inside me that I gave to him freely—willingly and with every inch of my being.
I screamed as the orgasm hit. My eyes stayed open and I watch the explosion of pleasure rip across his beautiful features. With his fangs bared and his eyes hooded he came as hard as I did. I was more frightened and more satisfied that I’d even known I could be. The aftershocks of my climax continued to wrack my body as his mouth descended to my neck. My exhausted body reawoke as his fangs grazed the soft skin. The aftershocks turned into the feeling of a massive orgasm about to burst.
“I’m not sure I can . . . ”
“You can,” he muttered into my neck gruffly. “You will. I will take you there.”
He grew rigid inside me and all of my nerve endings jumped to attention with need. My fangs dropped and we bit each other at the same time. I was sure this would end me. The sheer passion that tore through me was more extreme and acute than I’d experienced. Colors ripped across my vision and I cried out against his neck. The frenzied exchange of blood, lust and pure love sent me to heights that would have destroyed a mortal.
As I floated down I heard his chuckle of pure masculine satisfaction and it made me smile.
I was so fucking glad I was already dead . . . because that would have killed me for sure.
Chapter 28
Holy shit, Carl had the hairiest back I’d ever seen.
“It looks like a fur rug,” I whispered to Ethan.
“I’d have to agree,” he muttered as he led us to seats beside the mats.
The fight exhibition was in full swing before we’d arrived. Our tardiness was due to a quickie meeting with the General who promised to get my Baby Demons and bring them back to the palace. I was concerned about them . . . actually that was inaccurate. I was more concerned for the Demons they might come across. I had no desire to be prosecuted because they munched on the wrong person.
The fight training room was impressive, although seriously over the top. I should have expected no less, but the gross show of wealth constantly surprised me. Padded bleachers with backrests lined both sides of the huge room. Padding was an understatement—the seats were covered in buttery-soft caramel leather. And from the thirty foot ceiling hung four exquisite crystal drop chandeliers.
Satan had yet to arrive, but the demonstrations had already begun. Carl’s preparation for the next fight was doing his left and right leg splits . . . Janet and Myrtle stood by him and growled at anyone who dared to poke fun at Carl’s unusual warm up. He wore a tight, fitted yellow wrestling suit that should have been burned in the eighties and, of course, the hair blanket on his back.
I poked Ethan. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”
“He seems to be fine with himself,” Ethan observed. “If he’s smart he’ll use it to his advantage.”
“How in the world can a hairy back be an advantage?” I asked as I wracked my brain.
“Well, he could wear a cape and then reveal it at the last second, alarming his opponent and getting the upper hand. Or he could slick it back with a conditioner or gel so it would be impossible to take him from behind due to the slippage factor.”
“That’s either brilliant or just really weird,” I muttered, trying to figure out if he was screwing with me. I looked around the room and got a wonky feeling. “Ethan . . . um, I think we were set up.”
“I quite agree.”
Everyone in the room was dressed casually, but not us. We were dressed in the workout clothing that had been delivered to our suite by a very timid Demon named Norm. Did my uncle expect us to fight? He was in for a surprise. I had no desire to fight unless it was life or death. Fighting for fun was not on my agenda today.
“Do you feel something odd?” I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something was off.
“A dampening spell,” he replied as he scanned the crowd. “Satan meant business when he said this would be hand to hand. The dampening spell prohibits magic.”
&nbs
p; “Oookay, that could be a clusterfuck if something hellish goes down.”
“True. The Guards are the only others dressed as we are.” He nodded in the direction of a group conversing quietly. Cole, standing in the middle, sported the same type of garb that we did—loose fitting black pants and tight black t-shirt.
“The Devil is always up to no good,” I said. Ethan just grinned and shrugged.
“All rise for Satan,” someone in the crowd yelled as Lucifer made his usual movie star worthy entrance.
“Good afternoon, my people!” He was dressed similarly to us and my stomach fell to my toes. Did he plan to fight today? Shitballs. “I see we’ve started, but I do believe I’m just in time for Carl and Moby.”
The crowd went wild and Satan took his seat next to Amanda. The Sins, along with Dixie and Dante, were right behind him but Lust and Wrath were missing.
“What do you suppose he did with Wrath?” I asked Ethan.
“She’s in Purgatory,” a large male Demon behind me whispered with delight. “She’ll be there for years.” His grin made my skin crawl a little, but I was glad to hear she wouldn’t be showing up any time soon. I nodded and gave him a polite smile. Everyone took way to much interest in others’ pain and suffering here, but what did I expect? It was how they thrived.
The crowd was larger than the dinner party last night and I wondered if Satan had added more suspects or if these Demons might be staff. I shook my head and worried about how this would all play out.
“Begin,” the Devil bellowed.
Carl, of the hairiest back I’d ever seen, and Moby, a sullen looking Demon, took the mat as Journey’s Wheel in the Sky blasted from speakers around the room. I suppose it was in preparation for tonight’s concert . . . The fighters bowed to Satan and proceeded to beat the living shit out of each other. What they lacked in finesse, they made up for in grunts and sweat.
“What the hell?” I mumbled, watching a bloody comedy of errors unfold before my eyes.
The mild mannered Carl I knew had disappeared and an out of control violent wooly monster had taken his place. Moby didn’t stand a chance. Janet and Myrtle jumped and cheered on the sidelines as Carl literally wiped the floor with Moby. Literally. The crowd roared their approval. I felt a little sick, but I was happy Moby wasn’t wiping the floor with Carl.
A bell chimed and the fight stopped. Carl stood victorious in the center of the mat. He slowly slid into the splits with his arms raised above his head. Rolling out of the splits he hopped up, ran to the barely conscious Moby and picked him up. Cradling him in his arms, he hugged and kissed him, then encouraged the crowd to clap for the loser too. The Demons managed a light smattering of applause for the bloody Moby.
The next several exhibition fights were far more polished and beautiful. No less blood, but far more finesse. The partners were more fairly matched too. They fought with many of the same techniques we used and I got lost in the beauty of the movement. The lack of magic in the room let me relax and take in the show without worrying if a mystical tsunami was going to blow up out of nowhere. Amanda looked fine . . . alright, she looked slutty, but she didn’t look like she been beaten and almost killed less than ten hours ago. Demons clearly healed as quickly as Vampyres. The music stopped abruptly, right in the middle of Faithfully.
“And now for the challenges,” Satan shouted to the delight of the crowd. “Do we have a challenge?”
The denizens of Hell murmured with excitement and Cole stepped forward. A hush went through the crowd and I watched many Demons slink low in their seats so as not to be noticed by the Devil’s second in command.
“My finest warrior has stepped up to the mat.” Satan was positively orgasmic. This was not good. Was Cole going to kill someone? “Who do you challenge?”
Cole glanced casually around the room until his narrowed gaze landed on Ethan. Ethan grinned at him and winked. Oh my hell, I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or groan.
“I challenge the Vampyre,” he said smugly. The crowd gasped and the large Demon behind us patted my mate on the back.
“It was good knowing you,” he sniffed sadly. Was he crying?
“Actually,” Ethan said, still grinning from ear to ear. “You don’t know me at all.”
I shuddered. To anyone watching it would have appeared I was nervous for my man. They couldn’t have been more mistaken.
Ethan stood and removed his shirt. I rolled my eyes at the gasps of appreciation for his ripped body. He was mine and I gave the stink eye to two buxom female Demons who were drooling. His ego was enormous and I suppressed a giggle. He sauntered slowly to the mat. The tension in the room was palpable.
Cole removed his shirt and I had to admit the sexy in the room had elevated greatly. Satan slashed his hand in the air and Steven Perry started belting out Who’s Crying Now.
“Oh my, Astrid.” Dixie slid into Ethan’s seat and gripped my arm in distress. “Are you okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“The last four Demons Cole fought with are damaged,” she whispered. “Permanently.”
“Did he cheat?”
“He doesn’t have to. He’s a weapon even without his magic.”
I rolled my neck, pulled my legs up to my seat and sat crisscross applesauce. Dixie gaped at me with concern.
“Astrid, this won’t end well.” She was a wreck and I felt bad for her.
“You’re right Dixie,” I told her. “It won’t end well. Watch.”
The sex gods bowed to Satan and began slowly circling each other. Ethan’s perfect body was completely relaxed and excitement coiled in my stomach. Everyone, including the Devil sat forward in their seats.
Ethan refused to make the first move and waited patiently for Cole. Cole was stupidly cocky. He took Ethan’s inaction as fear. Mistake number one . . . He smirked at the Vampyre and made his move. It was the most violent balletic battle I’d seen. They were well matched and utterly focused. A bomb could have detonated and they wouldn’t have taken their eyes from one another. It was a mixture of martial arts and pure brute strength. Ethan was the deadliest fighter I’d ever seen and I hoped he didn’t accidently kill Cole.
They parried, each getting kicks and punches in. Ethan deflected most of what Cole dealt out, but it was inevitable that he would come out scathed. My beautiful man was getting bored. Cole’s moves, while powerful and potentially deadly, were predictable.
“You have nothing more than that?” Ethan asked in a disinterested voice. Cole sucked in a furious breath and attacked.
Ethan ducked to his left and Cole went tripping forward. His roar of fury made the hair on my neck stand up. Dixie’s grip on my arm was going to leave a mark, but I didn’t have the heart to peel her off. She was a mess.
Ethan was over it. As Cole charged, Ethan gave him an upper cut that sent him reeling backwards. He then aerial cartwheeled forward and scissor kicked his neck, dropping him to the floor. Cole jumped up and did a back tuck, aiming to land a foot on Ethan’s spine to break it, but my lover was too fast. The crowd cheered and hissed. Cole came down so hard and fast on the mat that his foot, meant to maim, twisted beneath him. He grunted in pain and slashed out with his fist catching Ethan near his eye. It swelled shut almost immediately, but Ethan’s reply was devastating. With right-left upper cuts, I heard Cole’s jaw shatter and his nose crunch. The blood spatter would have been comical if it hadn’t been real. The Demons gasped and chattered with glee.
Bleeding and broken, Cole refused to give up. Ethan had taken his fair share of brutality, but he was nowhere near the broken man that his opponent was. Cole came at Ethan like an out of control train. His wreck was imminent and I clutched Dixie in fear for Cole.
“Don’t kill him,” I told Ethan.
“Don’t worry. He’s a Demon. He’ll heal.”
“Of course he’ll heal,” I snapped. “Unless you kill him.”
“Fine,” he huffed. “Shall I knock him out and end it?”
“Yes, but D
O NOT use the death touch. I know it doesn’t work on Vamps, but it might kill a Demon.”
“Good point. This is why I love you.”
“Not for my boobs?”
He laughed aloud at my last transmitted message and I was sure everyone in the room thought he was insane. He wasted no time and Cole probably never knew what hit him. With Vampyre speed and the precision of a surgeon, my mate destroyed the finest Demon warrior in Hell. I idly thought these Demons needed some lessons, but I realized in battle they most likely used their magic. Ethan doled out punch after punch and kick after kick until Cole went down. The blood pooled around Cole’s body, but Ethan had quite a bit of his own to wipe away as well.
The bell rang and the room went silent.
Oh shit. Were we about to get attacked by every Demon in the room? I rushed to Ethan’s side and the noise started. Whistles and shouts bounced off the walls of the training room. The screaming and cheering made me want to cover my ears. Ethan nodded once to Satan, took my hand and walked back to our seats. He pulled his shirt back on, much to the sadness of the women in the room and took a seat. My instinct was to attend to his wounds, but I did nothing. Showing weakness was not an option. I’d fuss over him like a mother hen once we were alone.
“Impressive,” Satan said as the crowd quieted. Several guards tended to Cole and took him from the room. “I was going to offer to fight the winner . . . ”
“It would be my pleasure,” Ethan said flatly, not fucking around or playing games. “We can go right now.”
The Devil’s eyes widened for a brief second—so quickly, I wasn’t sure I saw it. He was scared. Oh my God . . . Satan was scared.
Fashionably Dead Down Under Page 23
