Hell's Phoenix

by Gracen Miller

  “What you became for me.”

  “No. My fate was unavoidable.” Of that fact she’d grown certain. Maybe she wouldn’t have turned so soon, but she’d eventually have embraced her succubus.

  “Sometimes you’re too damn stubborn for your own good.”

  “That’s different than a normal day, how?”

  Nix sighed. “Sit.” He angled his chair to face hers. “I’ll clean your wounds.”

  Madison did not think that was a good idea, but how did she say no without hurting him further. And she sure wouldn’t tell him the demon inside sized him up like a child in an all-you-can-eat candy store.

  Nix cracked the seal on the liquor bottle and filled the crystal tumbler to the rim. “I can’t believe you paid three hundred dollars for a bottle of liquor for me.”

  “More like four hundred.”

  His hand froze mid-air as he lifted the glass to his lips. “Four hundred? For me?”

  “I planned to go to Hell for you.” She’d sold her soul in the process to save him, but she wouldn’t lay that guilt on his shoulders. “Why does four hundred surprise you?”

  In silence, he took her measure, while draining the liquid in one gulp. She admired his sexy neck, X-marking the spot she wanted to kiss when his Adam’s apple bobbed with his swallow.

  She pinched the bridge of her nose, reminding herself Nix was her friend, not her lover. Regardless of their taboo moments, he was not her lover. Never would be. Couldn’t be. Not if she wanted to save him from certain death. He and Alessa were meant to be together. Strong, capable and brave were the attributes of his woman, according to Georgie. Alessa would give him those qualities in spades. Most importantly, the horsewoman wasn’t a demon.

  “You know that’s sipping liquor, right?”

  A sardonic quirk edged his lips. If it held just a touch more tilt, it could have been deemed a smile. Instead, it came across as a grimace. “It’s not a sipping kind of night, Mads.”

  He swiped his mouth with the back of his hand, refilled the goblet and offered her the glass. She shook her head and he said, “Drink it. You look like you could use it.”

  “No, thanks, I already explained I need—”

  “There’s enough sugar in this liquor to tame anything darkening your soul.”

  Madison seriously doubted that, but his vigorous scrutiny compelled her to accept the glass. She sipped, but he wouldn’t tolerate anything so refined. Setting his fingers to the bottom of the glass, he tipped it until she ingested all of the spirits. Quickly. Much too quickly to protest.

  Belly hot and her throat protesting the burn of the liquor, he casually plucked the goblet from her fingers and set it on the table. “Give it a moment. You’ll feel better in a minute.”

  Give her a moment and she might be crawling all over him.

  Nix swung his frame into the opposite chair, and sat facing her, with his legs spread wide. Since he walked into the room, Madison resisted ogling his chest, but this new position drew her focus lower.

  “Right back where we started, huh, Mads? Just a different kitchen and a different year.”

  “Yeah and a different set of problems.”

  “Same problem,” he disagreed. Breath lodged in her lungs when his hand wedged between her knees and his fingers curled around the bottom edge of her chair. He pulled her closer, straight between his spread legs. “It’s always been Micah.”

  Not trusting her voice, she nodded.

  “Have you cleaned it?” he asked, drawing her forearm onto his lap and pressing it firmly against his thighs.

  Jesus God, she tried to suppress shivers of awareness.

  “Mads, have you cleaned it?”

  “Cleaned what?” She stared at his mouth and he smiled. That sexy, knowing grin that hinted he knew her wicked thoughts.

  “The wound, baby. Have you cleaned the wound?” A finger created lazy circles in her open palm. Her intimate flesh trembled at the caress and succubus began to pant, all from a single touch.

  “Oh.” She licked her lips. “Yeah. Antiseptic wash and warm, salty compresses.”

  “That must have stung.”

  “Yeah.”

  “This brand”—he glanced at her with his head down—“it’s my fault you—”

  “I swear, Phoenix Birmingham, if you say it’s your fault just once I’m going to punch you in the nose.”

  One corner of his mouth twitched at her outburst, until he managed to bite back the grin. “So, feisty,” he teased with a wink.

  Madison looked away and began to draw imaginary designs with her fingertip on the kitchen table.

  “It looks infected.” He traced his thumb along the red line that ran from the sigil to her elbow. Every inch of her body tingled from the stroke.

  She shrugged and kept her sights focused on the table. “Angel poisoning, can’t be as bad as blood poisoning, right?”

  “Wrong. Let me heal it and save us some trouble.”

  Us? What an odd choice of words. “Don’t start that argument again, Nix.”

  “I could force you.”

  She turned her head to face him. The challenge in his eyes met hers dead-on. “You’re welcome to try. Regardless of the outcome, our friendship will suffer irreparable damage.”

  An angry tic settled in his jaw. He squeezed antiseptic ointment onto his fingers. “Just trying to help,” he said, sounding exasperated. “You ready?”

  She nodded. Madison winced at his soft touch. “I appreciate you playing doctor for me.”

  His gaze flashed upward and caught hers a second before lowering to stare at her mouth. He swallowed and went back to dressing her wound. Knowing the way Nix’s mind worked, she could imagine the things he fantasized.

  He could doctor me all night.

  Shut up! Madison growled at her demon.

  His ring she’d slid onto her thumb to protect him from low-level demons twinkled, reminding her she still wore it. “I should return your ring when you’re finished.”

  “Why?” He glanced up. “As long as you’re wearing it, I’ve got a demon-free pass. What Sherlock can say that?”

  True. She held no desire to remove it either, because it made her feel closer to him. “Not sure Sherlocks are going to welcome you with open arms after what you did in the honky-tonk.”

  “Yeah.” He dragged out the one-syllable sound and cleaned the salve off his fingers with a wet-wipe. “I did cause a bit of a mess.”

  Sugarcoating that dilemma! Usha snorted, but Madison said, “Just a bit.”

  He ripped open the package of a non-stick pad and placed it over the angelic mark. “Do you still feel different, like when we were in Hell?”

  “I am different, Nix. The demon is beneath the surface right now, prowling like a zealous warrior.”

  “You think the sugar will tame the Lynx’s desires?” He secured the pad by winding gauze around her arm and cutting it with scissors.

  She refused to meet his eyes. “It’s worth a try.”

  Nix didn’t release her arm, but held the edge of the dressing in place with his fingers. Madison didn’t want to draw attention to her awkwardness, so she endured his nearness without reminding him to finish playing doctor.

  “Would you prefer to have Micah’s seraph instead of the sugar?”

  “It’d probably work better at settling my demon.”

  “That’s not what I asked, Mads.”

  “Yes, Nix,” she said and his gaze whacked hers. “If I were given a choice, I would return to Hell and seek out his elixir of my own free will. But that’s not an option. As always, Amos needs me.”

  He seemed to gauge his words carefully before he spoke. “From what I remember, you…um….” Nix cleared his throat. “You liked his seraph. A lot.”

  “Too much.” Her cheeks flamed and she wished the earth would open up and consume her. “Worried you’ll have to hunt me if I go rogue, Nix?” Oh, shit, that came out way too teasing, with a dash of too much sultry.

  Using on
e hand to hold the roll of surgical tape, Nix used his teeth to rip off a strip. She smiled, biting her tongue to keep from offering help. Adorable and sexy. What a dangerous cocktail in a man.

  Nix secured the gauze with the tape, while chewing on his bottom lip.

  Do his lips taste as good as he makes them look doing that? She gave a mental shake, but failed to eradicate the disturbing thought.

  His voice had a weird, unidentifiable tone to it and he glared at her arm, angled high across his thighs. “Not funny, Mads.”

  It took her a moment to remember her question. He found amusement in the oddest things, but suggest hunting her and his humor vanished. She was lucky to have a friend like him.

  “Nix?” She put a finger under his chin and nudged his head back. Unable to resist temptation, she traced the square line of his chin, any excuse to touch him. Stubble prickled the pads of her fingertips. How wicked would it feel to have it abrading her skin. Realizing she’d strayed out of friendship territory, Madison flinched and lowered her trembling hand back to the table, fingers curling into her palm.

  Almost fearing what she’d see when she looked at him, she peeked up and discovered he watched her. All traces of laughter were erased from his face. Drowsy-eyed, too much emotion bled from his scrutiny. She’d never wanted to crawl straight into his lap so much as she did in that moment.

  Madison cleared her throat, but her voice still sounded off like she’d just risen from sleep. “You hate to mitigate anything, and we both know hunting me has always been a future possibility. Everything’s different than before. The succubus power—”

  “Lynx,” he corrected. “According to Micah, being part Lynx is so much more than the basic succubus.”

  “Giving it a pretty name only disguises the evil, Nix, but doesn’t change the face of the demon beneath.”

  “You’re not a demon.”

  “Nix, don’t delude yourself. I am very much demon. No arguments.” She placed a finger over his mouth when he would have argued further. “The powers are addictive. They frighten me. Zen can’t help me contain Pandora power any longer.” Not having Zen as a backup plan scared her to death, proving she’d leaned on the immortal more than practical over the last four years. “The sugar made the succubus bearable before Hell. I’m hoping it’ll help now that I have Sybil in my head, but my optimism is low.”

  Nix didn’t take the bait of her Sybil joke. She took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. Sugar either worked, or she’d go to Zen and demand he put her out of her misery. She couldn’t live with the dark, erotic thoughts Usha spewed. Stronger now than before entering Hell, she wouldn’t be able to withstand the urges long.

  Nix reached out and brushed his knuckles across her cheek. “I don’t ever want to hunt you, Mads.” Neither did she wish for that to happen. “Don’t know that I could.”

  “I promise if I ever become a danger, I’ll do myself before I force you to make that decision.” And she would, too.

  Nix kissed her palm. Madison had forgotten he still held it. Chills scattered across her body. She tugged her arm free and hoped he didn’t sense her physical reaction to his simple gesture. “Nice dressing, Dr. Nix,” she said with a cheeky grin.

  “Yeah,” he agreed with a snort. “Award-winning Doctor Nix at your service.”

  Silence descended, lengthened, and grew. They stared at one another. Regardless of their easy banter, his countenance didn’t map to amusement. The strength of his gaze was so severe she resisted the temptation to squirm in her seat. Whatever thoughts bothered him, she wished he’d just get them off his chest already.

  Madison broke eye contact first because she couldn’t take the intensity any longer. She felt naked beneath his regard and she didn’t do well when vulnerable. She tapped the bottle of liquor with a fingernail and could still feel him watching her. She needed another drink.

  A drink of him, Lynx suggested. Letting him go to waste is a criminal felony.

  Hand shaking, she lifted the bottle to pour a hefty amount into the glass, but Nix covered the goblet. “It’ll go straight to your head, Mads. I don’t think you need more.”

  “I didn’t ask what you think I need.”

  “You can’t feed your Lynx sugar forever.”

  “Unless my bank account goes south sometime in the next two hundred years, I have plenty of money to buy all the sugar I need.”

  “Don’t varnish the truth with lies, Mads.” Her breath caught in her throat, as he extracted the liquor from her hand and sat back in his chair, with the bottle resting on his thigh. “We both know the sugar only works so long before a succubus must partake of the flesh.” He half filled the crystal and set the bottle aside, out of her reach. “Micah punished a succubus while I was there. She was denied sex, fed only sugar, and in less than twenty-four hours, the sugar didn’t alleviate the shakes even minimally.”

  Horrified, Madison gaped at him, praying her future didn’t hold the same fate. She waited to hear more, but couldn’t bring herself to ask.

  “The succubus screamed and begged for leniency. Micah offered no clemency.” It bothered her that she wanted her husband’s seraph even knowing his lack of compassion. Nix’s eyes grew dark, glazed with memory, but she didn’t encourage him to share what he withheld. “She cut herself into ribbons with her fingernails just to experience the pain. I watched that creature do other things to herself….” He shook his head, and his attention refocused on her. “It wasn’t a pretty sight, Mads. I don’t want that for you.”

  Madison gulped, but what could she say? She wouldn’t be going dick-hunting to put herself out of misery. She didn’t have an unlimited supply of seraph. And she wouldn’t ask for his messian. “When I can’t deny my demon’s…needs.” She almost choked on the final word. “I’ll get Zen to put me down.” If I can’t do it myself.

  “When Zen puts you down, I’m going after him.” He drank half the spirits from the glass and handed her the rest. “Finish it, but no more.”

  “Yes, Daddy.” She smiled sweetly and he shivered. Madison accepted the glass and leaned back to drain the contents. Her head spun from the sudden movement. Maybe Nix was right and she didn’t need more. Liquor on an empty stomach never ended well.

  She felt Nix shift to the front of his chair and encase the outside of her legs with the inside of his thighs. Before she could tilt her head forward to determine what he intended, he planted his mouth on her neck. A kiss in the hollow of her throat, his tongue dragged to the side where he nipped the curve between her shoulder and neck. And stubble, dear God, his whiskers electrified her flesh with erotic prickles and created pulsations in the burned sigil that couldn’t be normal.

  Chapter Forty-one

  Every part of Micah’s body burned, seared in a fire hotter than Hell’s inferno. Each touch, every breath, ignited freshly abraded nerves. His brother, Lucifer, prodded the hole in his chest and Micah clenched his teeth to halt his screams.

  Madison hadn’t enjoyed wounding him, that’d been obvious. She’d cried. A beautiful sight, since those tears were for him. Victory teased his fingers, if only he lived to grasp it.

  There’d been a time he’d speculated Madison would always remain the docile, Southern church-mouse he nurtured throughout life and then married. Supreme arm candy, yes, but she’d been obedient and never questioned his authority. Even when she should have. Not the type of Queen he’d wanted for his kingdom, but he loved her still. He adored her imperfections, even as they had frustrated him.

  But a woman that could look her husband in the eye and ram a knife into his heart and twist for maximum damage…that was the Queen he’d envisioned. And she’d done it only to prove she could defeat him.

  “Where’d she get the dragon blade?” Lucifer stuffed his finger to the knuckle inside the injury.

  “Kur!” Micah rasped out, biting his cheek. Fuck! Did Luke have to do that? He swore his eviscerated heart pumped around the digit.

  “Micah, if you die, I’m going after the bitc
h.” Elias’s upper lip curled at the depth of his hatred.

  “No!” Micah fisted his brother’s shirt, panic twisting his gut more painfully than the hole in his chest. “I love her. Fucking proud of her. She didn’t wish to harm me; we were fighting only to see who would be the victor.”

  “That what she said?” He nodded at Elias’s question. “That shit was spewed so she could defeat you. You fell for the oldest routine in history, zkihtak.”

  Micah choked, spit up blood, and reiterated. “I love her beyond immortality. Vow to me you’ll leave her be, Elias.”

  “How did Kur escape the cage?” Lucifer’s tone remained bland, unconcerned with Madison’s survival.

  “Madison released the dragons,” Elias snarled.

  No doubt with Zennyo Ryuo’s aid. Micah groaned and couldn’t believe he would die on a slab of granite in a domain of his making. He wouldn’t tell his brothers Madison wore one of the Scrolls of Cursed Souls. That’d be her secret if he died. If he survived…he strangled on laughter.

  “Be still,” Lucifer commanded.

  Micah coughed up more blood and its thick wetness spewed all over his face and neck. Lucifer held him against the ceremonial slab with a hand to his shoulder. If he survived her attempt to murder him, his Queen was primed with power to assist him in dominating the world. She’d murdered Pandora without a stitch of remorse and held command over Zennyo Ryuo’s pet dragons. Not to mention the Lynx she’d become. Colossal power at her fingertips and he’d bet his kingdom her pet immortal wouldn’t offer to train her to use them. Zennyo Ryuo’s mistake would be Micah’s gain.

  “I vow to you, brother.” Elias reminded him of their conversation as he pried Micah’s hand off his shirt. Micah sighed with relief, but Elias finished with, “If you die, the bitch will suffer at my hands for a long fucking time.”

  A vow among them served as a blood covenant.

  Helpless to stop Elias if he died, he turned to the only brother who might offer assistance. “Luke, you understand how perfect she’s become.”

  “Indeed. Madison’s a polished gem among unrefined stones. A woman that possesses the audacity to do what she’s done could force a world to its knees without suffering a hangnail. That hinges upon your success of altering her stance, of course. But….” Lucifer ripped Micah’s shirt open. “Eliel made you a vow. I won’t stand in the way of what’s in his heart.”