Unhallowed Redemption

by Tara Rose

  While he waited for the machine to boot up, he let his thoughts drift back to the patio and Faina’s lush body. She was so damn beautiful. Her warmth and the tenderness in her eyes had excited him as much as her curves. She’d given herself so completely to both of them, and had enjoyed everything they’d tried with her.

  Despite the years of being demons where they could seduce a woman with a single glance if they really wanted to, neither brother had resorted to tricks. It wasn’t ethical, and they couldn’t very well claim to be attempting to redeem their existence if they used their powers to trick women into fucking them. Faina, however, was the first woman Konstantin could remember who had known what they were and still wanted to make love to them. And she had gifts. That much was clear. But what Konstantin now needed to find out was whether she’d been marked all those years ago. It would explain a lot, and knowing would help him and Alexei keep her safe until this war was over.

  The site he dared to open once the machine booted up was one that a human couldn’t find without knowing the exact address. It wasn’t listed on a search engine, and had no meta tags that would flag it by typing in keywords. A fallen angel named Vassago had started it in 1995, before he decided he’d rather work for demons than against them. Dagon had been instrumental in changing the site’s address so Vassago’s followers would never find it, and had also worked tirelessly in getting the word of the site’s existence out to those dedicated to helping demons like him and Alexei.

  But it was always dangerous to use it, because computers were only machines. They worked by disseminating information through cables and over waves in the air like radios and cell phones used, which meant they could be detected by those with superhuman senses, like other demons, vamps, witches, magi, and ghosts. All the beings involved in the current struggle for New Orleans.

  But Konstantin needed to know if Faina’s name had ever been mentioned in certain circles before. He took out her ID from the locked drawer in which he’d placed it and typed in her full name and address in the search fields, then waited.

  The site was nothing more than a series of documents collected over the years, scanned in to provide a pictorial history of known demon-to-human activity. It wasn’t complete by any stretch of the imagination, but each time Dagon or one of his followers collected new information, they added it to the database.

  There were no message boards where they could ask each other additional questions or discuss a document. If there was no other way to contact each other, some of them resorted to e-mail, but they avoided talking in cyber space as a general rule. They wanted as few records as possible of actual conversations online. A follower of Vassago or Sargatanas gaining access to the site would only realize it was a place where scanned documents were available for viewing. If there were no conversations that could be linked to it, there was also no proof of collusion.

  Dagon had seen to it that a demon or anyone else finding the site couldn’t determine who had uploaded a document or when. It was a tricky process that he freely admitted wouldn’t work forever once the technology caught up with his ruse. But for now, Konstantin knew that at the very least, he could find what he was looking for, and then he’d log off. Detection was a chance he’d have to take.

  And if Sargatanas dared to show up at this house, he’d break the agreement and forfeit the sacrifice. Sargatanas knew that, and he knew that Konstantin, Alexei, and Dagon knew it. But Sargatanas played to win. He’d never risk coming to the house simply because one of them had gone online.

  Finally, a document popped up. Konstantin’s finger hovered over the key that would zoom in on it so he could read it. Once he did, he couldn’t unsee whatever he found there. And if it proved his hunch that Faina had been marked twenty-two years ago, he’d have to do something about it.

  But if he continued to pretend that her presence here was nothing more than a coincidence, he’d be breaking his promise to keep her safe. He couldn’t do that either. Not only was it as unethical as tricking a woman into making love to him, but he’d never do that to her. He’d never knowingly ignore a potential danger to her once he knew of its existence. No. He had to find out the truth.

  * * * *

  Faina woke from a horrible dream where the demon who had appeared in her room at age twelve wasn’t even close to friendly. He had red eyes, skin that was charred, and the smell of rotting flesh hung about him like a miasma. He chased her through her parents’ tiny apartment, which was huge, as homes in dreams usually are.

  But as she tried to outrun him, she was no longer in her childhood home. She was in Alexei and Konstantin’s home, and the demon knew his way around. His maniacal laughter followed her down every corridor and around every twist and turn she found to take. Alexei and Konstantin weren’t in the house, and Magda was dead. She was alone, and he had almost caught her. She could smell him behind her and feel his hot breath on her back.

  “No!” Faina sat up, bathed in sweat, and glanced around. Konstantin wasn’t next to her, but Alexei was, sound asleep. He hadn’t heard her shout out loud. Either that or she hadn’t actually done so.

  It was only a dream. She kept repeating that to herself, over and over, but couldn’t shake the feeling that something had gone terribly wrong.

  She started to crawl out of bed but was stopped by Alexei’s arms around her, pulling her back down. He crawled on top of her and caressed her face. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

  She told him about her dream, and he held her close. “Ah, Faina. It’s nothing. You’ve had a great shock, that’s all. And you finally told someone else that story. No one can get to you here. This house is…it’s protected. As long as you don’t leave it without us, you’re safe. Even on the grounds.”

  She pulled away and looked into his eyes, although the light in the room was too dim to clearly see his expression. “Protected? How?”

  “You think we wouldn’t have spells and enchantments placed on our own house? No one can touch you inside these walls or on the grounds.”

  “Honestly?”

  “Honestly. Where is my brother? He’s left your bed already? His loss.” Alexei nuzzled her neck, and Faina’s body responded, despite her pulse still racing from the dream. If he was using his powers right now, she didn’t care. Anything to dispel the images from that nightmare.

  Alexei sat up and took her hand, then led her down a series of hallways. They were both naked, but since that didn’t bother him, she let it go as well. Her clothes were probably still downstairs on the patio, at any rate.

  He opened a set of double doors at the end of a hallway and waved her inside. “This is my room.”

  She crossed the threshold, and he flipped a switch that lit several soft lamps. His room was decorated like the rest of the house and contained a massive four-poster bed with a canopy overhead. But it wasn’t the bed he led her to. It was a large claw-foot bathtub hidden behind a silk screen with an erotic design woven into it.

  He turned on the taps, then took three soft-looking towels from a shelf and placed them on a stool at the foot of the tub. “I’m sure Konstantin will find us eventually.”

  “Where do you think he is?”

  Alexei shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. He rarely sleeps.” Alexei kissed her, and Faina forgot about her dream and where Konstantin might be at that moment. She wrapped her arms around his warm, hard body, marveling that she could even stay awake after everything they’d done to her. His tongue teased the inside of her mouth, and despite the fact there wasn’t a spot on her body that didn’t ache, all she could think about was having his dick inside her again.

  When he released the kiss, he tested the water and then took a bar of soap off a shelf and placed it on the stool next to the tub. “I’ll be right back.”

  She watched him cross the bedroom to his dresser then light a tall, thick candle and walk it over to where she stood. He placed that on the shelf behind the tub, and the flame reflected off the tiles, making playful designs on the water’s
surface and the ceiling.

  He tested the water again and then turned off the faucets. Taking her hand, he stepped into the tub then helped her step over the edge. He positioned his back against the edge across from the faucets, and she sat with her back nestled against his front. The tub was about half full, but once they lowered their bodies into the water the level was perfect.

  “This feels wonderful.”

  He agreed, then wrapped his arms and legs around her and pulled her back against him. Faina moaned softly as the warm water and his body helped soothe away the last of her cares. They sat that way, not talking, until Faina heard Konstantin’s voice call her name.

  “We’re in here,” said Alexei.

  “How did you know he’d find us?”

  “I’m magical.”

  She smiled at the humor in his voice and turned to watch Konstantin cross the room. He was naked as well, and she wondered if they both routinely walked around their house in the nude. Not that it mattered. It was their home, after all. But she’d lived with her parents for so long that even now, living alone in her apartment, she threw on a robe after she showered.

  “How long have you two been in here?”

  “Just long enough to fill the tub. Climb in. There’s plenty of room.”

  He was right. There was more than enough room for the three of them, leading Faina to wonder if they’d done this before. Konstantin climbed in and stretched his legs out in front, lifting hers to rest on them. She smiled at him, and he returned the gesture, but she didn’t need supernatural powers to see something was very, very wrong. He looked distressed, and that was putting it mildly.

  “Faina had a bad dream,” said Alexei. When he told it to Konstantin, Faina’s heart raced as she watched his reaction. If her dream didn’t have something to do with what was bothering him, she’d eat the candle Alexei had lit.

  Faina took Konstantin’s hands. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  His smile was too quick and forced. “Wrong? What could be wrong? Alexei is right. It was only a dream. And now that we have you prisoner in this tub, we’re both going to make you forget it.”

  She definitely suspected they had gone back on their word and were using their powers, just a little, because when they took turns kissing her, Faina once again forgot about the dream and melted into their embraces. Or maybe her forgetfulness had something to do with the romantic candlelight? It didn’t matter. She wanted them both again, in every hole this time.

  Alexei took the bar of soap and lathered her entire body, paying special attention to her breasts and pussy. She let the scent fill her head, and drifted away on the erotic sensations coursing through her body. When he’d rinsed off the soap, Konstantin turned her toward the back edge of the tub and pinned her there while he washed her ass cheeks and then ran his finger over her asshole, again and again.

  Faina inhaled the smell of the candle, catching hints of vanilla, lavender, and sandalwood. Those combined with Alexei and Konstantin’s unique scents sent her mind reeling with decadent images, and the dream faded away as if it had never happened.

  She heard Alexei leave the tub, but she was too focused on what Konstantin’s fingers were doing to her, so she didn’t glance over her shoulder to watch where he went. Konstantin had one finger in her pussy and one in her asshole now, but it burned a bit because of the soap, and she told him so.

  He withdrew it and kissed her so tenderly it brought tears to her eyes. “Hang on a moment, my sweet. Alexei is getting something that will help with that.”

  As if on cue, Alexei climbed back into the tub, and when Konstantin inserted his fingers into her ass and pussy again, she surmised that Alexei must have retrieved the bottle of lube, because this time, it didn’t hurt at all. It felt incredible. When Alexei reached around and teased her clit the same time Konstantin fucked both holes with his fingers, Faina threw back her head and moaned continuously.

  How had they done this? She was sore in places she didn’t think could get sore, and yet she wanted them both again, over and over. All fragments of the dream were gone, as were her earlier worries about the look on Konstantin’s face when he found them in the tub. She only knew two things. She’d never been touched like this—body or soul—and she never wanted to leave this house or these two men.

  Chapter Ten

  Her orgasm was swift and powerful, rocking her body to the core. How the hell she could climax so many times in one night was beyond her, but she no longer gave a shit about the principles of physiology that made such a thing possible. She was here, with them, and that’s all that mattered.

  The water was warm, their breath on her body was hot, and their fingers took her to heights she’d never known existed. When they gently leaned her over the edge of the tub, placing a rolled up towel under her abdomen to cushion it, she closed her eyes and absorbed the competing sensations.

  They kissed her everywhere, and she couldn’t keep up with who was where. Hands caressed her breasts, teased her nipples, and rubbed her clit until it was so sore she almost asked them to stop. But she loved it. The water stayed warm. How, she didn’t know and didn’t care. The candle flickered, and scents wafted past her nose, sending her into the same floating state of pain and pleasure as she’d been in before.

  Only there was no spanking or paddling like they’d done earlier. There were only fingers and tongues, teasing her pussy and asshole until Faina whimpered and tears leaked from her eyes. Her need for release again grew to a frenzy, and then she was pulled back to reality when she heard a condom wrapper. She had no clue where they’d come from, and it didn’t matter. Finally, one of them gently slid his dick into her asshole.

  She knew he had put lube in there first, but it still stung for a moment or two. Alexei kissed her back as he whispered words of encouragement, and Konstantin was at her side, caressing her hair. “You’re doing great. He’s almost all the way in.”

  She didn’t answer. She couldn’t. It was the ultimate surrender, and she wanted to do this for them more than she’d ever wanted to do anything in her entire life. Once he was in, he thrust slowly, letting her grow used to it, and then when she couldn’t hold back the moans any longer, he increased his speed. Konstantin continued to touch her nipples and clit, and when Faina came again, she nearly passed out from the intense contractions.

  She was barely aware that Alexei had pulled out and Konstantin had taken his place, after donning a condom as well. She could only guess they were using them for her comfort and cleanliness, and that made her even more willing to give all of her body to them.

  The water splashed gently as Konstantin fucked her in the ass, while Alexei caressed her hair, her back, and her breasts. He kissed her neck. “I’m so proud of you.”

  “Thank you.” It seemed horribly inadequate, but she had no words for what she felt at that moment. There was nothing she’d deny either one. All they had to do was ask and she’d give them anything they wanted.

  They changed places one more time, and then both men removed their condoms. Alexei sat down in the tub again and pulled her onto his lap, straddling him. He kissed her, and Konstantin helped her sheath Alexei’s dick with her pussy. She couldn’t even move. She merely let Alexei grasp her hips and move her up and down until he cried out, and his movements became quick and forceful.

  He kissed her again, whispering how incredible she felt, and then he helped her off his lap. Konstantin took his place, and once again she lowered her pussy over his dick where he fucked her with so much force Faina knew he’d never be able to do that if he was human. After he came inside her, he held her close and stroked her back and hair, kissing her neck over and over.

  They both had to help her out of the tub, and she could barely stand as they dried her off and gave her water to drink. By the time Alexei carried her to his bed, she was half asleep. She curled up in his arms, with Konstantin behind her again, wondering if she’d be walking in the morning, and not even caring if she couldn’t.

  * *
* *

  Alexei eyed his brother. “Is this what you found earlier?”

  They stared at the computer screen together as Konstantin nodded. “Yes. I didn’t want to risk going online, but when she said she’d reached puberty a few months after the demon appeared to her, and she believed that’s what sparked her BDSM fantasies, I had to find out if her name was associated with them.”

  “She was visited by one of the Lidérc. It makes sense. It’s a Hungarian legend, but her parents no doubt would have known about it. She was marked from a young age. You think there was more to her visit that night that she doesn’t remember or hasn’t told us about?”

  They’d both known about Lidérc since they’d become demons, but they didn’t associate with them. They weren’t the kind of beings one made friends with, in any form. The legends said that once they became attached to their victims, they never left unless banished.

  Konstantin shook his head. “No. I think her mother came in and the being left. What I don’t know is why he never returned. But perhaps there was something about her that unknowingly banished him? Something Faina herself possesses that she isn’t even aware of?”

  “Or maybe he meant to come back and didn’t for some other reason? Either way, her name is here.” Alexei shuddered at the thought of Faina being hounded by one of these creatures. Just knowing he’d been in her room at a time when she’d been so curious about demons and sex made his skin crawl. She’d had no idea what she was dealing with. Her fascination with supernatural creatures had been so romanticized over the years, she no doubt thought all of them would treat her as he and Konstantin had done. She couldn’t be more wrong.

  Konstantin nodded, glanced at her driver’s license, and then at the screen again. “Faina Teresa Andropov. There could be more than one, you know. It’s a common first name and surname in the Ukraine.”