Havoc & Hell: A Dragon's Prize: Ethereal Foes, Book 3

by Marie Harte

  “Yeah, well, they never have.” James didn’t sound happy about the fact, but Teban was delighted.

  He finally withdrew, leaving a mess that satisfied him on another level. Another marker on the demon he planned to keep.

  “Teban, you are not satisfied yet. Let me ease you,” Kihra offered.

  James swore and turned around, watching him and Kihra with a strange look.

  “What?” Teban asked him as he shot flame over his stiff cock to clean himself up. Even dragons had standards about cleanliness. From the hungry look on the havoc’s face, she didn’t plan to wait much longer before licking him up. He was coming to like her more and more.

  Before she could drop to her knees, he lifted her in his arms and walked toward James.

  “Dragon?” She blinked.

  She felt so light in his arms. He wrapped her legs around his waist and thrust up into her.

  “Oh, yeah.” Teban groaned. “James, prop her back for me.”

  “You horny bastard.” James sighed. “Man, you are huge, you know that? Hold on, Kihra, you’re in for a rough ride.”

  She dragged Teban’s head close for a kiss, and then Teban lost all control as he slammed in and out of her with the same desperation he’d felt for James. A need to mark her, to sear her with his brand overwhelmed him.

  “Shit, Teban. Ease up.” James sounded uneasy, but Teban couldn’t stop. And when Kihra’s fingernails raked his back and she bit his lip, licking at his blood, he lost it.

  He shoved so hard and deep he felt locked inside her, spurting with more than just desire, but a biological imperative to procreate.

  “Yes, yes. So deep. Get deeper.” He grabbed past her shoulders to James and pulled him close, not hurting Kihra but keeping her between them. Where she belonged.

  He continued to come, the rapture instigating small flashes of change along his body. He felt his tail come and go, sensed scales appear and disappear as he continued to spend.

  “Holy hell, Teban, you are seriously giving it to her, aren’t you?” James’s smoky voice made everything better.

  And then he felt James doing something to their female. Penetrating her anus and moving deeper.

  “Oh, yes, demon. In me,” she demanded. “With him.”

  Teban felt James, separated by only a thin layer of Kihra’s flesh as they sexed the precious havoc. His orgasm finally seemed to taper off, and with a few last jolts he knew he’d spent his all.

  “Won’t take me long,” James warned, and in a few pumps he sighed and kissed Kihra’s neck, sucking hard enough to leave bruises. “Ah, woman. You are magical, you know that?”

  “My treasures,” she whispered as Teban softened enough to withdraw from her body.

  James left her too, and Teban lowered her to the ground.

  “Are you all right?” Teban had never taken a female with such ferocity. Or with another male, for that matter.

  “I am perfect.” She smiled at them both. “Now how much longer must we stay before I can take you both home with me?”

  Teban exchanged a confused look with James.

  James asked her, “What’s that?”

  “You are both now mine. How long will it take to get your things in order before you come back to my territory?”

  “Ah, Kihra, I think we’ve got a few things to set right.” Teban shook his head, now understanding why she’d been so amenable and pleased with them both. The havoc were rumored to be warmongers, lovers of chaos and fiercely possessive. A lot like dragons, actually. He smiled at her. “James and I aren’t going anywhere. But you’re staying here. You and he are mine.”

  To which both Kihra and James responded with, “What?” And, “The hell we are!”

  “And here I thought I was doing such a fine job communicating.” Teban, now replete, transformed into his dragon form and relaxed on his haunches. His scales settled, capturing the warmth of the Abyss close to his body. Looking down on his mates pleased him, and with his keen senses, he smelled his scent all over them. Ownership. Possession. Affection. And such glorious power in the claiming. “How exactly do you think to deny my marks?”

  James swore and ran his hands over his body, no doubt feeling the deep dragon burn within him. With both seed and fire, Teban had left his claim.

  Kihra’s eyes narrowed. “Well played, dragon. But know this. I marked the demon first. By right of conquest and sacrifice, he is mine. As are you.”

  Teban chuckled. “And so begins the courtship.”

  Chapter Five

  On his second day of penance, James thought Teban had finally gone out of his mind. Around the bend, never to be sane again. Sure, claiming the havoc made sense. She felt like a shock of everburn with each kiss and caress. A formidable source of power that a dragon would love to keep his claws on. Plus, she was mean. He’d sensed that right off when she’d dug her fingers into his wounds after Naya had tagged him.

  All traits he admired, to say nothing of her full breasts, slender waist and sexy-as-hell ass. Fucking her was a true joy, but taking her with Teban made all his other sexual experiences fade to nothing.

  James frowned. He could become seriously addicted to the pair of them, who even now, a day after Teban’s insane declaration of ownership, continued to argue about who owned who.

  James questioned the whole notion of mating two beings not demonic or human. Demons typically bred with humans, creating full-blooded demons. Only rare cases of demon-on-demon mating ever produced offspring. Not so with fertile mankind.

  But the havoc didn’t fit into any mold he knew of. Teban had pretty big balls to suggest keeping her. For all they knew, that might start a war with the havoc. And man, that would not go over well with Ranton, Eve or Jentaron.

  Asael, though, would love the idea.

  James frowned. The idea of the havoc distracting the dragons would be just the thing Asael needed to spread his power around the lower realm. A clever ploy, except Asael couldn’t have arranged for James to encounter the havoc while running from his debt. And he couldn’t have known James would meet Kihra, could he? No. James had followed bad directions, nothing more.

  He joined the arguing pair sitting by a flow of lava near the common courtyard and heard his name mentioned repeatedly. “Okay, you two, let’s get something straight,” James tried again. “You can claim each other, but I belong to Asael and the demon world. I have an important job to do, remember?”

  Kihra frowned. “Swaying souls on Decision?”

  “On the brink of Decision,” he corrected.

  “Yes, yes, we know how important you are to the balance between worlds,” Teban cut in. “But you can continue to sway souls here in my keep. That’s a nonissue.”

  “It would be more difficult in my territory,” Kihra said, seeming to consider all possibilities. “Yet with your ability to teleport, you could live anywhere and do your job. Thus you will come home with me. Both of you.”

  James had to laugh. “You two are seriously insane. No way Asael is going to let you keep me. Keep me? Ha.” The scourge of the lower realm? His father’s favorite demon? No way in hell. Literally. “And speaking of which, you only have eight more days, Teban. Then I go back to work.” He pointed above.

  “To the Ordinary.” Kihra nodded. “What is it like?”

  He studied her. She grew more beautiful each time he looked at her, and he had a hard time not growing aroused in her presence. In the brief time he’d been able to talk to Kihra without her and Teban arguing, he’d learned that she had no mate, no young, and a rather boring job defending her territory from intruders. She sounded a bit lonely, and he hated the thought of such a perfect creature living so isolated from everything.

  She’d proven herself a deadly threat, though, explaining how she’d killed the last blood elf patrol that had gone venturing into havoc lands to hunt down her kind for spor
t. Now without her there, her brother, the frickin’ chieftain, would have to find someone else to monitor the border.

  That James still lived turned out to be a miracle in itself. She’d admitted her first thought had been to kill James and use his entrails to see into her niece’s future. Such a doting aunt.

  Good thing he had some power and a nice cock, he thought with a smug bit of self-assurance.

  “Would you like to see the middle realm?” he asked her, aware he felt protective toward a creature that could turn him into a meat sack if she really wanted. She’d already proven herself stronger than him, and she’d lifted Teban in his human form.

  Her eyes lit up. “I would. Will we all go?” She put a hand on Teban’s sleeve, tugging at the expensive silk shirt.

  “Damn, female. For the millionth time, I’m not your possession,” the dragon growled, trying not to smile. For all that he and Kihra had been squabbling, it seemed the argument was more over which of them would be in charge, not that they didn’t belong together, which James just found weird. Especially because his name and the word pet continued to go hand in hand. He did his best to ignore that.

  “Yes, we’ll all go,” Teban continued. “I don’t trust James not to try to escape again.”

  “Hey.”

  “He is very tricky.” She grabbed James by the hand and stroked his palm, making his cock leap with each press of her thumb. “You are a good dragon to be so careful of our pet.”

  “Ahem. A lover, not a pet,” he tried to emphasize and was ignored. “I’m an important demon with skills.”

  Kihra seemed focused on Teban while she stroked James’s hand. Seducing me without even trying. Man, I am done for if she realizes how much power she has over me. He glanced at Teban, who watched the pair with speculation. Even worse if the lizard prince realizes I’m gone for him too.

  “Let me check in with Ranton and we’ll head out.” Teban stood and walked them back to his room. “James, there are some clothes in my closet that might work for her, some of Eve’s leavings.”

  “Why are my sister’s clothes in your closet? Does Ranton know?”

  “He knows. The horny bastard keeps sexing her up all over the place, and I keep finding her clothing in the hall, my room, the closets.”

  “Ah. Enough said.” James shuddered.

  Teban made a face before leaving the room.

  “So, James. You will come home with me soon, yes?” Kihra continued to stroke his hand with a sly expression, and he realized the little charmer knew what she was about.

  He hadn’t yet had the opportunity to fuck her senseless, but he planned to later today. If that blasted Teban would let him have her without being tied up for once.

  “Kihra, I love being with you.” Truth. “But my responsibilities to the balance of all things make it necessary for me to live in the Abyss, away from the havoc.” He paused. “From what I understand, your kind rarely tolerates outsiders. I can’t imagine they’d be okay with me living with you.”

  “But you are mine. Kingu blessed the union.”

  “Wait. What?”

  She pulled her hand from his and squeezed his shoulder. “I am glad I did not kill you. Such a waste of a fine specimen.”

  “Specimen?”

  “Of male power and drive. You are a Decision maker.” She nodded. “We know of your kind, James Sinclair. As we know of Asael. That you are his son only makes your worth that much greater. You are mine. We are bound.” She touched her chest. “In here.”

  Now that she mentioned it, he did feel heavier in his chest than he normally did. “Meaning what, exactly?”

  “That I will bear young, and you will protect them while I protect you.”

  “Ah, hold on.” The discussion had turned ludicrous. He put some distance between them and found her a pair of jeans, a bra—a pity, but she’d need one above—and a shirt and sandals. He helped her to dress, doing his best not to get distracted with her nudity as she changed.

  “It will all work out. Especially with our grand dragon to round out our family.”

  “Do all the havoc live in threesomes?”

  “Or more.” She tugged at the bra and shifted in the clothing. “But most havoc live with our own kind, and the pairings are accepted for practicality. We feed off sexual energy. We breed to keep our numbers full, though our young are few.” She sighed. “I should not say so, but life in havoc lands grows…tedious. There is no spark, no war, no vibrancy of chaos among our lands anymore.”

  “That’s because the rest of the Abyss has been warned to leave the havoc the hell alone. Is it true your kind eats souls?”

  She snorted. “Not at all. We have no interest in the soul.”

  Yet she had one that was unclaimed. He still didn’t know what to do about that, and he was oddly loath to ask his father for advice. “Well, what do you guys do in the Empty Lands? Guard those bone stacks all day?”

  “We protect Kingu’s monuments. We pray to our creator. We farm and fight, but mostly we train for a war that never seems to come.” She sounded glum about the fact. “When the angels and demons last tangled, we received visits from a few interlopers and made fine work of them. But then everyone stopped coming.”

  “Because you ate them.”

  “Only one angel, and his light inside hurt to partake of. We never have again.”

  “So you did eat a soul. Not you.” He hoped. “Your kind, I mean.”

  “No, not I. The great war happened before I was born.” She cocked her head. “Perhaps you are right. From all Teban and you have said, our reputation as bloodthirsty beings is true, but misplaced. I fear we grow lazy and weak without worthy opponents.”

  “If you try keeping me, I can assure you you’ll have some demonic battle to look forward to.” When she smiled and seemed to perk up, he blew out a breath. “Forget it. I’m no one’s prize.”

  “That’s for sure,” Teban said as he returned. He grinned and removed his clothing, then handed it to James. “Put that in a sack for me and keep it close, would you? But fold carefully. That’s an Alexander McQueen shirt.” He turned into his dragon form. “Hop on. We’re going for a ride.”

  “Couldn’t I just meet you there?” Like his sister, James didn’t particularly care for heights. Riding Teban to the Ordinary didn’t sound like fun, not when he could simply teleport into his condo in Philadelphia.

  “We will ride? You will fly?” Kihra rushed to perch atop Teban. “I’m so excited.”

  “I can tell,” James said wryly. He teleported himself on top of his friend, behind Kihra, and held her tight. “Stick with us and we’ll show you how the middle realm works.”

  “Such joy to witness different worlds. You have given me much, James. And you too, Teban. Kingu obviously favors you both; you deserve to be mine.”

  James swore he heard Teban mutter for the woman to “let it go” before the dragon left the catacombs and headed up, toward the opening of the lower realm into the Ordinary—James’s turf. Finally, he’d show the stubborn pair who was really in charge.

  Chapter Six

  An hour later, a curious Kihra sat in James’s favorite dive bar, surrounded by a bevy of scum suckers and lowlifes James liked to call friends. Bikers, cheaters, a few murderers here and there and the occasional crooked cop sat among the regulars. James usually got his information, as well as tips on those needing to be swayed, from these people and others like them around the city.

  His siblings and he had the greater Philly area to monitor. Talk about a town of living sin. He loved it. The sights, the sounds, the cheesesteaks. So much joy and pain, passion and problems swirling in the air these humans lived and breathed.

  “It’s so quiet here.” Kihra frowned and stared at the glass of ale James had bought her. “Where is all the magic?”

  “It’s here,” James said. “But not in a form you�
��re familiar with.”

  “Form?”

  “He means mana,” Teban explained. “The Ordinary has no magic the way we Ethereal do. They live without it.”

  In the Abyss, demons and devils mined for the magic buried in the ground. A substance that was sometimes solid and sometimes liquid, mana could only be collected by specialized workers. It was the true currency below, and Asael had a knack for getting his money’s worth from those who needed it.

  Mana fueled many of the creatures in the Abyss. Like food, but more necessary and longer lasting. James thought it looked pretty. He didn’t need it the way some of the hellspawn did. Which made him wonder about the havoc.

  “Are you doing okay being here? In the Ordinary, I mean?” he asked Kihra. They sat at a corner table, and no one had bothered them once they got a good look at Teban’s hard glare. With James they’d joke and pal around, but the dragon had been putting out an invisible “stay back” vibe since they’d entered.

  “I am fine. I just feel…odd.” Her wide eyes took in everything around her. As curious as a cat, James thought, feeling possessive around the gorgeous woman. She looked natural in Eve’s clothing, even if the top was too tight.

  “By odd, do you mean empty?” Teban asked. “I feel that way when I’m here, distanced from the warmth and solid rock that is my home. Dragons need heat the way havoc need sex.” He smiled. But when a drunken bully got a little too close to their table, he flashed a fang at the male and gave a subtle growl.

  Those nearby cleared out. Immediately.

  “Teban, I work here,” James reminded him. Again.

  “Not when she’s around,” the dragon ordered. “Her protection comes first.”

  “She can bench press a five-ton truck.”

  “In the lower realm. Things are different here.” Teban frowned. “You belong here, but she and I should be below, where it’s hot and dense, closer to the Earth’s core.”

  “Yes, I like the heat.” Kihra nodded.

  “See?” Teban put an arm around her. “Our female comes first.”