The Devil You Know (Ceasefire Series Book 1)

by Claire Marta

  He blames me for what happened. I can see that clearly on his face even if he doesn’t say the words. Snatch is in a coma. Leo and Caesar are beat up, but in better shape. Cassandra is now under the archangel’s care. And we have a shit load of dead demons to explain and cover up.

  “You should be more careful who you fuck in the future.” He mutters, a muscle in his jaw jerking, surveying me with sky blue eyes.

  Trying to sit up, I wince when it hurts. “How was I supposed to know Max was one of Lucifer’s commanders? It’s not like he was wearing a neon sign.”

  I’m not perfect. I fucked up. I’m fully aware of that and don’t need it rubbed in my face. Guilt is already festering over what happened to Snatch and my brother.

  “Incubus’s feed on the sexual energy of women. They seduce them in their dreams. It can make their victims ill, even die. How could Max have taken my soul? They don’t have that ability.”

  Picking up the chart clipped to the end of my bed, Gabriel skims over the notes. “Maybe he was lying to you about being an Incubus. He lied to you about everything else. Lucifer picked his strongest to be his Generals. They would have to be something far superior than anything else in Hell.” Gabriel explains. “Anyway, he’s dead now. You don’t have to worry.”

  Which bugs me. Not once did he show off his full power or his true form. Maybe he felt I wasn’t worth the effort. Then again, demons I have run into before like to flaunt what they are when they get the chance. Questions circle in my head like vultures. So many that it makes it ache. I have more questions now than I do answers.

  “Why have you been visiting my brother? How long has it been going on?” I keep emotion from my tone. Hurt and confused. They churn inside me making me feel nauseous.

  Gabriel sighs, tiredly replacing the chart. “It’s...complicated,” he tells me, crossing his muscled arms.

  The way he doesn’t meet my eyes sends anger simmering.

  “I need to know.”

  “And in time you will. For now, be a good soldier and follow orders. He’s doing well, by the way, no relapses. The doctors are keeping him monitored but they don’t think he’ll sink back into his comatose state.”

  The news soothes some of my inner turmoil. I have my brother back.

  “You’re still under suspicion for the death of Colin.” He continues, his voice a soft rumble. “It’s the reason I called Caesar and Leo to Cease Fire to do some prying to clear your name.”

  The pain medication they’ve given me is starting to wear off. Barely dulling the sharp edge of my injuries.

  “You did it at the worst fucking moment.”

  Expression darkening, he looks even more uncomfortable. “Yes, well. The main thing is you saved Cassandra. She’s going to be a priceless asset for us.”

  One Max was desperate for too. One the Devil will still want. Gabriel is taking a hell of chance with this. She’ll never stop being hunted. Not with her gift. It’s a curse more than anything else.

  “A gift for you.” Holding up a piece of cord, a round, metallic disc spins at the end. “A lucky charm for protection.” Striding to the side of the bed, Gabriel carefully fastens it around my neck.

  I’m hurting again. I can’t conceal it from him. It’s there in my face. My barriers are lowered and for once I can’t hide behind a mask of indifference. I’ve placed my life and faith in his hands for four years. Fought for him. Done everything asked of me to keep Hell from over running the world yet now my trust is dented. I’m being deceived. And I don’t understand why.

  Gabriel’s lips press against my forehead in a soft Judas kiss. “Get some rest.”

  I don’t respond. Instead, I close my eyes and blot out the sight of him.

  He doesn’t move for a moment. Then his footsteps sound heavily towards the door before it opens and closes quietly.

  I’m pretending everything is fine, but it’s not. I feel hollow inside. Like a piece of me is missing. Max has left me nothing but ashes of betrayal. A trail of lies. First you care. Then you get hurt. There’s an ache in my heart that I should never have allowed to open.

  Gabriel’s secrets also weigh heavily. He’s lying to me.

  Listening to the silence tiredness takes a hold. With a concussion I know I’m not supposed to sleep. Calmness slips into my blood stream, stealing the pain and numbing my mind. The soft voices of the nurses out in the corridor lull me as I feel myself slip away.

  Just as unconscious claims me, I feel an odd heat tingle over my skin.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Groaning around the pulsing cock in my mouth, another orgasm rocks through me. Without breaking pace, the male body behind me continues to fuck my arse. My pussy throbs. Not once has it gotten attention. Wetness soaks my inner thighs as my juices flow, begging to be used as much as my other tight holes.

  Hand wrapped in my hair, the guy in front of me rides my face, his shaft nudging the back of my throat until I gag. I feel empty inside even though they’re filling me up. Hollow as the pleasure builds and ebbs. It doesn’t matter how many take me since I woke to this, it only leaves a needy ache for more.

  Groping hands find my breasts.

  Rounded supple tits press against my sides. Pink flesh writhes around me in an erotic orgy of giving and taking. It’s not enough. Never enough.

  Everything is endless. I’m delirious. Thoughts are lost under a sea of sensation.

  As the limp member slips from my lips another replaces it. Cum leaks from the corners of my mouth. Thrusting hard, the new lover eagerly slides his hips forward until I can’t take any more of him down my throat.

  Closing my eyes, I dream of blood and destruction.

  The heat of the bodies fucking around me fades away. At the awareness I’m suddenly alone, my eye lashes flutter up. I can’t stop shaking.

  A bare cell meets my vision. A cheerless windowless room. Cold stone is against my back. Trying to move the chains around my wrists and ankles, they clink and coil tighter from my actions.

  Where am I? Who am I? I’m blank. A piece of slate that has been wiped clean.

  A large hand grips my jaw, forcing it up.

  My gaze collides with spellbinding green eyes. So deep and bright, it’s easy to fall into them. He looks familiar. Stubble dusts his jaw. He’s handsome in a way he will never walk down a street and not be noticed.

  Something stirs on the edge of my mind. A memory. As quickly as it forms it’s swept away again.

  “I can feel a hunger burning inside you. You’re still not sated, are you?”

  I shake my head. Need twists my stomach. It hurts. Hurts so fucking much.

  Running his nose up along the side of my exposed neck, he inhales my scent. “You smell of death and sex, a seductive combination.”

  His fingers invade between my legs. Delving, seeking, they find my sweet spot.

  Wetness runs down my inner thighs as he teases. Whimpering, I rock into his touch. “Please.”

  Withdrawing, he releases me. “Soon. Not quite yet, Flower.”

  “What have you done to me?” My voice is no more than a raw whisper.

  With a cruel smile, he brings his fingers to his sexy mouth and sucks them clean. “Every hole you have belongs to me to do with as I please now. My incubus’s and succubi are allowed to have you anywhere but your cunt. That’s mine alone for the taking.”

  He leaves me chained to the wall, aroused beyond sanity, body screaming out for a release it will not be permitted.

  Chapter Sixteen

  As consciousness returns I’m aware of a mattress beneath me.

  Lips whisper over the roundness of my left hip. Gentle kisses work their way upwards.

  Bindings of silk are bound around my wrists, securing my arms up to the headboard of the massive bed.

  Eyes fluttering open, I find my tormentor looming naked over me. Beautiful emerald irises bore into me, penetrating my soul for a space of a heartbeat. He’s a vision of pure masculinity, raw intimidation. Every muscled inch of h
im is sculpted and well defined.

  He makes the blood sing in my veins.

  Raising his hand, he drags a long, black handled dagger up from the sheets.

  Shrinking back, terror swamps me. I’m trapped, unable to fight, unable to flee. At his mercy.

  Teasing the tip down between my breasts, my captor doesn’t break the skin. “I am your Master. Your lover. Your dark King. All that you are is mine. Given to me. I have the power to grind your bones to dust. To render you limb from limb. I will hurt you. Fuck you until your voice is raw from your screams. Body no longer with strength to hold you up as I take possession.” The blade circles my navel before dipping down over my shaven mound. “You will accept all of this and obey me or be punished.”

  Breathing rapidly, I clutch at the silkiness of my restraints. Fear and arousal collide. I want him to fuck me. Stab me with his cock as he would the dagger. So deep that we’ll be melded as one.

  Slithering up, the weight of his chest crushes my breasts as he lays over me. Against my stomach the hard ridge of his cock twitches hungrily where it’s sandwiches between us.

  Grasping my hair, he forces my head back. The bite of something sharp presses gently at the exposed flesh of my neck.

  “A sacrifice of blood. Is what I want from you.” He says with deadly calm.

  I’m drowning in his dominance. His dark masculinity.

  “Yes.” I agree. It’s a promise. A plea. A breathy prayer.

  Whimpering, my legs fall willingly apart around his hips. Ready to accept him. All I want is fulfilment. I ache for it. Will do anything he asks just to have it. Even if it means I have to bleed.

  “Good girl,” he praises.

  The sound of the dagger clattering to the floor reaches my ears.

  Fingers swipe across my nether lips making me mewl.

  “Your pussy weeps for me,” he growls.

  Undulating my hips against his touch, I beg for more. “Please.”

  Hands move under my knees opening them further. Crawling between them his cock slides into my soaking wet pussy. My sex reacts hungrily. He’s not all the way in before an orgasm instantaneously takes me.

  With hard brutal strokes he fucks me.

  Legs clamped around his waist, I imprison him. Claiming him as mine.

  I can do nothing but moan as he hammers into me, hands still tied above my head. I’m nothing and I’m everything. This male is the centre of my universe. Nothing else exists.

  Teeth bite down against my neck. Gasping, I bare my throat at the sting. Not enough to break skin but adequate to leave a mark.

  I want him to mark me. Conquer my body, my mind.

  “My dirty slut. My whore who worships my cock. That’s what you are.” He tells me on a deeper penetrating thrust.

  Fingers push against the seam of my mouth. I comply with the silent command, allowing the digits into the warm wetness. Swirling my tongue around the ends, I suck them, desperate to please him.

  A deviant smirk plays across his sexy lips.

  With little effort he knows how to unravel me. He sets a fire ablaze inside me. I lose myself in the act. Instinctively, I know I am somehow bound to him.

  Concentrated low in my body, a tingle swells upwards until another orgasm detonates, making me arch my back. Crying out, I feel the loss when my captor removes his fingers from my mouth.

  Gripping my hips, he fucks me mercilessly. Taking me over and over like a mindless beast. Ravaging. Devastating every one of my senses.

  Throwing his dark head back, he snarls, teeth bared like an animal, cumming inside me in thick ropey spurts that brand my insides.

  Slumping over me, he mutters something incoherent under his breath.

  I’m dazed. Heart hammering against my rib cage as if I’ve just ran a marathon.

  “That’s it. Take it all, Flower,” he groans, the last spasms filling me with his seed.

  Breathing hard, I freeze. An explosion ricochets through my head. Memories hit me like shrapnel. Sharp and painful, they rip through me until every piece has fallen back into place.

  Reality slams back.

  Max. Son of a bitch.

  I stiffen in denial of what has just happened.

  He moves. Bracing himself up on his elbows, he scans my expression.

  My eyes lock with his own hovering above me.

  How is he still alive? I buried a blessed dagger in his demonic heart. No normal Demon walks away from something like that.

  “Did you miss me?” He taunts, stare intent.

  “How are you still breathing?” I whisper back in confusion.

  His savage look spears me to the core. “You didn’t really think you could kill me, did you?”

  Fuck.

  “Then why pretend?”

  We’re still a tangle of sweaty post sex limbs. His weight is keeping me pinned. Inside me, his cock is still semi-hard and pulsing with his release.

  “Good for appearances.” He replies, flexing his hands still gripping my hips.

  He’s like a fucking cockroach.

  “Is this your sick idea of revenge?” I question. “Stealing my memory, having me fucked by your minions before you fuck me yourself?”

  “I need you to do a job.”

  He’s serious.

  Tugging on the silk ties, I try to break free. “And why would I help you?”

  “Because I still have your soul.” Max’s formidable presence encloses me. You don’t need to be a sensitive to sense the power rolling off him in waves. Dark. Menacing. It holds me prisoner.

  Double Fuck.

  Fingertips dancing up my sides, they caress me soothingly. “I want you to take out the other three Generals in the coup.”

  His words halt my attempt at escape from my bondage. “The ones who moved against Lucifer with you to break Hell up into Kingdoms for themselves?” I query.

  “Yes.” He replies calmly as if it’s nothing at all.

  I’m suddenly out of fucks. He’s lost his fucking mind. What he is asking is suicide. I may be the best of the best as an assassin but powerful demons like these would crush me into powder even before I could get close. I never stood a chance against him. Why would I survive them?

  “Why?”

  It’s not the foremost question at my mind, but it’s the only one I can ask without going into a rant.

  Reaching up, he patiently unties my wrists from the head board. “Because I want it all.”

  I’m not quite sure how I can lay here talking to him so sedately about this. He betrayed me. Tried to kill me. Took my soul which I realise he still has. Mother fucker. Put my friend in a coma and threatened my brother. So why am I not trying to kill him?

  “And you think your ex-Boss is going to allow that? Hand you over his domain?” I say, rubbing the bruises forming around my wrists. He’s still on top of me. I’m trying to ignore the fact he’s getting harder again. Pulsing, swelling, his cock thickens inside my core, making me stifle a moan.

  Leaning down, he nuzzles my cheek. “Darling, we’ll deal with the Devil when the time is right.”

  “No way. You’re crazy.” Hands on his shoulders I push him away.

  A cruel hand captures my chin. “You will kill when ordered and fuck when instructed. Are we clear?”

  I stare defiantly back. I need to get out of here. Wherever the hell I am.

  “If you run, I will drag you back.” Voice low, it’s as if he’s read my mind. “I know every inch of this world and there is nowhere you can hide that I won’t find you. I’m Master here, Mavi, remember that.” Extracting himself from my limp hold, he climbs off the bed. “You better get used to this situation fast because I have little patience.”

  Cold eyes survey every inch of me as I lay stunned and thoroughly fucked. The evidence of his deception still leaking from between my thighs. Without a backward glance he strides from the room.

  I should be pleased he’s finally left me be. Done with taking my body. Fucking with my mind. Yet an odd sense of mise
ry overruns me.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Wincing as I sit up from the fucking I’ve taken at the hands of Max, I study the bedroom. Black marble makes up the floors and walls. A huge empty fireplace dominates another. Two doors exist the spacious room. A window is to my right.

  I spy a walk-in wardrobe to my left.

  Clothes. That’s what I need.

  Using a corner of the sheet, I wipe the sticky results of our sex clean from between my thighs. For now, that will have to do until I can find a bathroom.

  Rolling gingerly off the bed, I hurry to open the wardrobe. I have no idea how long he’s going to be gone. If I hurry I can get the fuck out of here.

  Rows and rows of suits greet me. Snatching a crisp white shirt off its hanger, I slip it over my shoulders and button it up the front. It’s oversized but keeps me covered.

  Nothing personal sticks out. The place is cynically clean. Lacks any signs or uniqueness of its owner. Am I in another hotel?

  Wiggling my toes, I note the marble which should be cold feels comfortably warm. Heated from beneath?

  Padding to the window, I stop in my tracks. A harsh landscape stretches. Vivid orange cracks glow brightly, marking the lava flowing. Thick rivers of hot magma light the blackness, making the craggy, sharp rocks that make up most of the scenery discernible.

  Where on earth? Then it hits me. I’m not on earth. Oh fuck.

  Possibilities race through my head but I can come to only one conclusion.

  Max stalks gloriously naked back into the room. A trail of shadows billows out behind him like a sinister cape. As he continues to move, they swarm over him, sheathing his form in a long black flowing robe. The coarse material pools on the marble floor, hiding his bare feet.

  He’s Max, but he’s different. There’s a broodiness to him now. All the layers of sophistication and refinement he once had have been stripped away. A rougher, more primal version of himself.

  “Is this Hell?” I ask, turning to meet his watchful gaze.

  “One of the dimensions that falls under its rule, yes.” He confirms with a tilt of his head.