by Maya Nicole
Defuse
Infernal Council Book Two
Maya Nicole
Copyright 2020 © Maya Nicole
All rights reserved.
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.
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This book is currently available exclusively through Amazon.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real people, living or dead, businesses, or locales are coincidental.
Cover design by Avdal Designs
Edited by Karen Sanders Editing
Created with Vellum
Contents
Author’s Note
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Social Media
Also by Maya Nicole
Author’s Note
Defuse is a reverse harem romance. That means the main character will have a happily ever after with three or more men. This book also contains a gay relationship, as well as several romantic encounters together as a group. Recommended for readers 18+ for adult content and language.
Chapter 1
Samara
I looked at the mirror and examined the clothes Raphael had given me to wear. He called them sweats, and they hung off of me like they could fit another person inside. They were comfortable though.
Everything on Earth was so much more comfortable than Inferna. The beds, the clothes, the couches. Even the food was better.
I yanked on the strings at the waist of the pants and tied them as tight as they would pull before walking into the living room. The last thing I needed was to moon Raphael. The angel already looked at me like he wanted to do unangelic things.
Raphael was standing on a ladder, hammering a nail into a sheet over the large window in the living space. His back was to me and I took a moment to appreciate the prominent muscles as his back flexed.
I didn't look down at his ass. It was hardly the appropriate time to check it out.
I licked my lips as I approached him. "Let me help." I picked up the other end of the sheet and held it out to him as he moved the step stool. "Thanks for doing this."
I wanted to yell at him to take us back to Inferna. We shouldn't wait for it to be nightfall. By then it might be too late. Nico and Kage were hopefully still alive, and if they were, they needed us now.
Plus, I needed them now more than they could even imagine.
"I was just going to tell them to stay in the spare room all day, but I have a heart." His lips quirked as he moved down the step stool and then moved it to another window.
"Could have fooled me." I couldn't keep my eyes off his ass as he climbed to secure another sheet.
I didn't have the mental fortitude to wonder about what it said about me that I had slept with three out of the five men that had become part of my crew. Now I was checking out a fourth, even though he made me want to smack him.
I definitely wanted to smack his ass.
He hit a nail a few times and the sheet was set, blocking out any direct rays of sunlight. I hadn't felt any ill effects from the sun from before, but that didn't mean I wasn't negatively impacted.
"Is Reve affected by the sun?" I moved back as Raphael stepped down.
"He isn't as strong here, but he doesn't burst into flames or turn to stone like your boyfriends do. Shifters also seem to be fine." He put the hammer on the table. "You should get some fluid in you."
I followed him into the kitchen and he pulled a bottle out of the refrigerator and handed it to me. "What is this made of?"
I examined it before twisting off the top. I took a small sip and was pleasantly surprised it didn't have a taste. The water from the bathroom smelled like dirt.
"Plastic. Not good for the environment, I know."
I shrugged since I didn't know what he was talking about. He propped his hip against the counter and watched me as I drank. My neck heated, and I lowered the bottle to the counter.
I looked away and my eyes landed on a knife block just to his left. I bit my lip. It would be so easy to just grab one of the knives, slash him, and hop back over to Inferna.
He followed my gaze and frowned. "You wouldn't stab me, would you?"
My eyes widened and I took a step back from him, not liking the untrusting tone of his voice. He ran his hand over his face as he laughed for an uncomfortable amount of time.
"We'll go tonight?" I didn't meet his eyes, a weird sensation filling my gut having been caught thinking about using a knife on him.
"I'm an angel of my word." He stepped forward to put his hand on my shoulder. Heat seared through the thick fabric of the shirt I was wearing. I wasn't sure if it was him or me doing the burning.
I shook off his hand and crossed my arms. "Words don't mean much to demons."
"I forget, your kind is all about the blood oaths and sacrifices." I shook my head at him, but couldn't be mad. A lot of demons did deal in blood oaths and sacrifices, I just wasn't one of them.
"I'm going to go and check on my kind." I brushed past him and went down the hall. I figured they were in the room he had put me in a few days before.
I knocked softly before cracking the door open and peaking in. Val lay wrapped around Amari. The room was pretty dark with the covering Raphael had put on the window but I saw their forms on the bed and Amari's emerald eyes blinking back at me.
"Come in."
I slipped through the doorway and shut the door behind me, closing us in almost darkness. I let my eyes adjust before walking to the bed and laying down in front of Amari. He moved his arm like he was about to reach out and touch me, but then he growled.
"It's like my mind hasn't figured out my arm is gone yet." He shut his eyes. "My wings won't even come out."
I scooted closer and put my hand on his chest, causing his eyes to pop back open. "It was a lot of trauma on your body."
"How do you feel? We tried to tell the dickhead angel that you should be in here with us, but he said he needed to keep an eye on your light levels. He said you were lit up like a Christmas tree. Do you know what that is?"
I raised my eyebrows and then moved my hand to his cheek. He leaned into my touch. "I have no clue what a Christmas tree is. When he mentions things from Earth sometimes I just nod and smile. I don't remember anything from last night."
"It didn't stop, Sammy. It was like it was giving you everything it had stored up inside of it." He brought his hand to cover mine. "He wouldn't let me shield you from it." He lowered his voice. "I think he knows what it is."
I trembled slightly at his words. "He says I have more light than he does."
Val's fingers tightened on Amari's abdomen. "Silencio. Can you two keep it down?" he grumbled against Amari's back.
I couldn't stop a small smile from turning up my lips. Amari's eyes fell to them and he shifted closer. "The sun sucks the energy from him, even though he's not in it."
"What would you think Inferna would be like with the sun?" It was a silly question, but I had to wonder.
"It would be like hell." Amari chuckled and leaned forward to brush his lips over mine. "I'd be stone half the time."
I spoke against his lips. "Nico and I…"
"I know. I heard." I pull
ed back and he moved to bring his left hand up to my face and cursed under his breath. He switched to his right and stroked my cheek. "I don't care who you're with, I just want to be part of it. So does Val. Well, I'm pretty sure Val does. We haven't exactly discussed it." Val made a committed sounding grunt. "The question is, is Nico going to have an issue with us?"
I leaned into his touch and shut my eyes. The truth was, I didn't know if he was going to be okay with it. He didn't ask me to choose, but the invitation was open.
"I told him I'd choose him if it came down to it." I kept my eyes shut. It was something I could have kept to myself, but if we were all serious about being with each other, we needed honesty.
"Look at me." I opened my eyes to meet his. They had darkened. "Would you do the same for me or for Val? Choose?"
I thought carefully about my words before speaking. "Nico and I have known each other for so long. Ideally, I wouldn't choose at all."
"Any man that loves you would never make you pick." His lips brushed against mine again, and this time I didn't move away.
I moved even closer to him and sandwiched my leg between his as his tongue swept across the seam of my lips. I would have never thought the growly panther could be so gentle.
His lips moved to my collarbone and I trailed my fingers over his arm until I stopped on the stump. I stroked it gently and his body trembled.
"Do you still want me to ask permission to kiss your boyfriend?" I ran my hands across his back.
He nipped at my neck and dug his fingers into my hip. He pulled me close to him and yawned. "No permission needed. I'm so tired. I want to sleep."
I sighed because that could only mean one thing. Whatever was happening with the lightning and me was changing Amari when we touched. "Then sleep. There were no weird side effects before, were there?"
He didn't answer and a soft snore escaped him. I shut my eyes and tried to relax. I didn't know what was going on with me. It was unnerving being struck repeatedly by lightning that was supposed to zap my light from me.
I would have thought I'd be able to do something with it. But anytime I held up my hand and tried to summon the power that had to be in me somewhere, nothing happened. Not even a spark.
Part of me wished I was able to throw lightning bolts around. Maybe then the uncertainty of it all would be worth it.
With thoughts of walking around Inferna, zapping people in the ass, I fell asleep in Amari's arms.
"What the actual fuck?" Val's frantic voice drew me out of a deep sleep.
I blinked several times, rubbed my eyes, and sat up. Val was staring down at Amari. A small lamp on the nightstand was on.
"What is it?" I narrowed my eyes. Maybe Val had bitten into him while he slept and taken a little too much blood. He had to be hungry after everything that had happened.
"His arm. Look at it," he choked out.
My eyes dropped to Amari's arm. My heart stopped beating and I looked from it, back to Val, and then back to it again. It had grown back. Was that even possible?
Panic welled up inside me and I jumped up from the bed, breaking connection with Amari. As soon as our skin was no longer touching, he grumbled and sat up abruptly.
His eyes went wide and he just stared down at his arm. He flexed his fingers and poked it with his other hand.
"How?" Val moved his hand across the new flesh. "I mean, you've never lost a limb before, I guess it's possible. I didn't know gargoyles could grow parts of their body back."
Amari's eyes met mine and his eyes softened around the edges. "It's her. Something about her."
I tried not to freak out. It wasn't a bad thing that I had possibly grown his arm back. I just didn't know how I did it. I knew I was giving him some of the light energy, but beyond that, I was clueless.
"But how can she grow an arm back?" Val rubbed his face and stood up. "I've never even heard of a witch or warlock growing back limbs."
He walked around the bed and started pacing by the side I was on. I sat in silence, watching him. He was completely naked, but didn't seem to have an issue with his dick bobbing around as he walked back and forth.
"Can you put some pants on? Amari's arm growing back is not a conversation I want to have with your dick hanging out. Not that there's anything wrong with your dick." I looked at the ceiling sculpture. It looked like a wheel with five paddles. Did it spin?
"I didn't know my dick was so distracting for you." Val grabbed his pants off the floor and pulled them on, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
The addition of pants didn't help my thoughts. They hung low on his hips, showing the deep cuts leading straight to his dick. He was still on my shit list, but I could appreciate his well-sculpted torso.
He crossed his arms over his chest. "What we need is to talk to the shaman. He knows everything about how magic works and interacts." He brought one of his hands to his face and rubbed his chin before dropping both of his arms to his sides. "The shaman ran though. We'd have to find him."
I cocked a brow. The crown had never cared much for the self-proclaimed shaman. He didn't even have a name. From the stories my father told, he just showed up one day at the castle and professed he was there to heal Inferna.
Inferna was far beyond repair. We had learned to live in the darkness with the unsavory characters of our world.
My father had banished the shaman from the castle and the Royal Village, and that was the end of it. I only knew about him from my studies. The shaman was a whole other level of magic. What he could do with that magic was unknown. As far as anyone knew, there was only one.
"We aren't going to go find a crazy man that was helping Lilith. Let him stay on the run." I shook my head. We had enough to deal with.
I put my hand on Amari's arm. He had been staring at it in shocked silence. His eyes met mine. "If Val thinks the shaman might know what's happening with you, we should find him."
My lips pulled into a deeper frown. "He was trying to bring down the only thing between Earth and Inferna. You've seen these humans. Can you imagine if demons got through? The less than civil demons are the ones that will come here." I shook my head at the thought and then looked at Val. "If your family was working with Lilith, how can your ideas be trusted?"
I wanted to trust Val, I did. But he had played a role in what had happened with the Infernal Council. Even if he didn't intend to encounter me again, his goal had been clear. Take the crown for his family.
"There are a lot of people who want his head. But there are also a lot of people that want to find him and to find the magical chalice he was using." Val certainly knew a lot about what had happened at the castle for his family pretending to be far removed from Lilith and her coup.
"How do you know so much about this?"
Val looked at the ceiling and shifted his weight to his other foot. He had to know that we were all going to question everything about him now. He might have killed his father and fought against all the guards that were against us, but he had still lied. He couldn't be trusted, at least not yet.
"My father knew everything. He made it his mission to know every single thing that went on in Inferna and the castle. I know most of what went on, but he left me in the dark about a lot of things. Like your brother, Taylor. I had assumed he had run like you or was dead."
The last thing I wanted to do was talk about my brother. He was controlling the vacants. That could mean one of two things. He was now a turned vampire or was something else entirely.
I didn't even want to know how he managed to make vacants.
"Did your father make my brother a vampire?" I crossed my arms over my chest.
"Not to my knowledge. That's something that we would have to figure out. Maybe Raphael's sources would be able to confirm what kind of demon he's morphed into."
"Did you turn him into a vampire?" Amari stiffened at my question as I rubbed his back. "I find it hard to believe your father was working with him and you knew nothing about it."
Val
stood in front of us and looked at me with pinched brows. "Is this how it's going to be from now on? You're not going to trust anything I say?"
"Why should she trust us? You haven't been around her in centuries, and within a few weeks of reuniting with her, you deceive her?" Amari's words sounded pained, as if it was a struggle for him to say them. "Deceived me."
Val grinded his teeth and seemed to be holding back his emotions. "I said I didn't know that she was back. I didn't know what he had planned. I didn't know he would have his own son thrown in a cell."
"I don't think that was your father, Val. I think that was just the rest of the council members being scared of a woman. It was a majority vote and we stood in the way of that." Amari rubbed at the side of his face. "I think now we have bigger problems than asshole council members."
"I want to trust you, Val. It's just that now…" I put my cheek against Amari's arm. "The only one I trust is Nico and he's missing."
Val's frown deepened so much I thought the edges of his mouth were going to fall off his face. His jaw clenched. "We'll find him. I promise you."
"You shouldn't make promises." I stood and walked to the bedroom door. "I'm going to see if Raphael can order pizza. You have to try it. If Inferna had pizza, maybe everything would be peaceful instead of everyone always trying to murder each other." I walked out of the bedroom and shut the door behind me.
I exhaled and tried to steady my shaking hands. I really needed a bar of soap and a knife to calm my nerves. I walked down the hall and up the stairs to Raphael's room.
