Hardest Fall (Dominion series)

by Juliette Cross

  “I will kill him,” I stated quietly, my voice shaking.

  She scoffed and moved out of my grasp, pacing toward the pool table. “You don’t have the power to kill a demon prince.”

  “I’ll find a way.”

  The truth in my promise seemed to jar her. She spun and crossed her arms.

  “Why are you taking this so personally?”

  Closing some of the distance between us, I kept a few feet away. “You really have to ask that?”

  She shook her head in disbelief. “I thought we’d gone over this three days ago. I’m not going to join the Twelvers and your damn cause to save the world.”

  A little closer. “And yet, here you stand…fully armed and conspiring with us.”

  She turned around and braced her palms on the lip of the table, hunching forward. “I’m only here to see if Axel found any news.” Her voice dropped a few decibels. “I just need to figure this out and get past it. Then I can go back to my life.”

  Edging right behind her, I swept her heavy braids over her shoulder to bare the side of her neck without Rook’s injury. She let me.

  “Why not play a little?” Placing my hands on the table close to her hips, caging her between them, I dragged my lips along the curve of her neck and shoulder.

  “Xander,” she warned breathily, but made no move to push me away or escape. “This isn’t wise.”

  “Because I’m a hunter and you’re a demoness?” I grazed my teeth up the slender column of her graceful neck.

  “Yes.” She tilted her head to the side, giving me better access. Submitting. “Besides…you don’t bed women who have no souls. Remember?”

  I chuckled, biting harder. She flinched. I soothed with a suckling kiss, making it last long enough to leave my own mark, this one vastly different from the kind Rook left behind. She grabbed my wrist and squeezed.

  “Xander,” she scolded, but the heat in her voice had nothing to do with anger. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Showing you how a real man touches and marks a beautiful woman.”

  I sucked again, leaving a bigger love bite, some primal urge pushing me on. For whatever reason, no woman had ever ensnared me the way she did. I’d had a few long-term relationships before. But they’d never lasted. None of those women had caught me—body and mind and possibly more—the way this goddess-like creature of the underworld had. Need was a paltry, sad little word compared to what I felt for her. And it was only when I saw that fucking demon prince’s wound on her throat that I understood how deep this went.

  Her throaty moan resonated through my chest and traveled down south, making me hard as rock. Her nails sunk into my wrist, but not as a protest. Shifting my weight, I skimmed my other hand over her gun holster, across her chest and her harness of blades, then cupped her full breast, which filled my hand perfectly.

  I nuzzled her ear and nipped her lobe. “If you had no soul, you wouldn’t be here, Carowyn.”

  “Stop calling me that.”

  “Never.” I licked and nipped the sensitive place just under her ear, molding her breast, brushing my thumb over the center till I felt her taut nipple rising through the layers of fabric. Widening my stance and positioning my feet right outside hers, I rocked forward with my pelvis, keeping her close, letting her feel the intensity of my desire. “We’d feel so good together, you and I.”

  “Since when does a hunter do things just because they feel good? I thought you were noble and all that.”

  “Not that noble. Since when does a demoness fight the chance at pleasure because of her misguided morals?”

  “I never said I had morals.”

  “No need. You’re riddled with them. You think you’re free, but your rules keep you caged in between one world and the other.” I skimmed my mouth lower, licking a path as I went. “And alone, Carowyn. So alone.”

  “I like being alone.”

  “Liar.”

  I pinched her nipple softly between thumb and forefinger. She made a throaty sound before cutting herself off, obviously trying not to feel too much.

  “Let me show you what it could be like.” I moved my hand farther down, slowly unbuckling her gun belt.

  Her other hand gripped my forearm, this time to stop me. I did.

  “Let me pleasure you, beautiful.”

  Panting, she said nothing. Neither did I, just waited, until finally, she let go of me and raised both arms, letting her head fall back against my chest, her fingers combing into my hair. Sweet, fucking submission.

  Removing the gun belt, I dropped it onto the pool table, then unsnapped and unzipped her pants. At the same time, I finally lifted my other hand from the table and pulled the collar of her fitted knit shirt down off her shoulder, thanking fashion designers for super-stretchy material. I pulled the strap of her cream-colored bra down, too—still trailing open-mouthed kisses up her throat. Curling my fingers over the front of the material, I pulled both the shirt and bra down to bare one breast. I couldn’t help but stop and admire the view—her perfect, plump breast and hard, dusky nipple, the leather of her black chest harness still crossing her naked skin. It was far more erotic than it should be.

  I groaned, licked my thumb, and circled her nub, slicking it with my own saliva. She whimpered, arching her back, pressing her ass against my hard cock. Shoving her pants down with one hand, just enough to bare her hips, I whispered, “Spread your legs wider for me.”

  She did, her nails biting into my scalp. Then I slid my middle finger between her folds, her sex hot and slick.

  “Fuck,” I mumbled, molding her breast harder, tweaking her nipple as I glided my finger around her swollen nub. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”

  She said not a word, just relaxed into my arms and let herself go. Trusting me with her perfect body. It was enough to make me come right then and there.

  I stroked lower and slid two fingers inside her. So tight. So perfect. She’d not had a lover in a while. And that dragged a growl from deep within. I would be her next lover.

  I’d be her only lover.

  Where had that come from? The urge to be the only one to pleasure her ever again struck me with such ferocity that I saw white spots on the edge of my vision.

  I slid a third finger inside her, stroking deeper. She thrust her pelvis in small circles, trying to get more of me, trying to make me go faster. I kept my pace steady, slow, wanting to draw it out, to feel her body helpless in the curve of my own, seeking her own pleasure on my hands and fingers alone. Her keening moans and panting breaths built higher, louder. I flicked and pressed her clit with my thumb, her hands fisting in my hair.

  “Kiss me,” I demanded.

  Without hesitation, she curved her neck back. I angled my mouth over hers and stroked my tongue inside, the both of us trying to devour one another, to soak each other in.

  I wrenched my mouth away, pressing my forehead to hers. “Come for me, Carowyn. Let me feel you, hear you come for me.”

  She squeezed her eyes tight, her mouth falling open on a whimpering cry. I captured her mouth again, humming a satisfied groan as she came apart, her inner walls clamping and pulsing around my fingers. God, what it would feel like when it was my cock inside her. Her knees buckled, but I pressed my thighs against the back of hers, bracing her up on the table.

  I kept a possessive hold on her breast, no longer moving. Just holding. I kept my fingers in place between her legs as I kissed her down, licking softly, gently, nipping at her perfect fucking lips till her breathing steadied, slowed, then finally she pulled her mouth away.

  Staring up at me over her shoulder, her golden gaze simmering with inner magic, she whispered, “You can…let go now.”

  Let go. That was laughable. Never.

  Still keeping her in the circle of my arms, I righted her bra and shirt, mourning the loss. Then I slid my fingers from inside her, but kept them firmly cupped on her heat. Possessively. Before she could retreat entirely, I leaned down and bit her bottom lip, staring
close. “Next time, I’m going to fuck you with my tongue.”

  Her eyes widened with shock and definitely anticipation before they narrowed again. She pulled me by the wrist out of her pants and hastily zipped and buttoned, looking down to put herself back together.

  “Who says there’ll be a next time?”

  Grabbing her waist, I twisted her around, firming my grip on her hips as I pressed her back into the table. Her hands went to my biceps, but again, she didn’t push me away, just held me there. I didn’t kiss her this time, but lowered my head to eye level so she could see my full intent.

  “There will be far, far more than a next time.”

  I pressed my thumbs into the hollows just below her hipbones.

  “Xander—”

  I shook my head. “No more pretending. You can call this whatever the fuck you want—lust, infatuation, dopamine-infused attraction—but it won’t change the inevitability that we will be lovers.”

  She huffed in challenge. “So sure of yourself, are you, hunter?”

  “One hundred percent.”

  She pushed me off and turned around to get her gun belt, hoisting it back around her waist. “Arrogant ass.”

  “Tell me it didn’t feel good.”

  She said nothing, tightening the belt and buckling.

  “That’s right. Because I know it did.” My voice dropped low and husky. “God, I know it did.”

  Hands on my hips to keep them off her body, I leaned forward and whispered. “It felt good to me. Felt like fucking heaven. I’ll still smell you on me when I go to sleep tonight.”

  She spun, a mixture of fury and pleasure on her face, her eyes dilated. Then someone walked in behind us.

  “Axel is here,” said Dommiel. “If you two care to join us.”

  Carowyn said nothing. I grinned and stepped aside.

  “After you…my lady.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Bone

  Orgasms are nice. A good, physical release of endorphins. What woman doesn’t like them? I’ve always enjoyed a good orgasm to take me away for a few moments, to relieve built-up tension, to get my head back on track once my libido was taken care of.

  But that. What the ever-loving-hell was that? It wasn’t an orgasm. It was a pleasure-induced episode encapsulated in the heat of a demon hunter’s strong arms, hard body, and magical fingers. And his voice, telling me to spread my legs, to kiss him, to come for him. I’d nearly passed out from the violence of the crashing force of that single climax.

  And we hadn’t even had sex. He said we’d be lovers. I protested because all I saw were red flags and danger signs. After feeling such a powerful wave of emotion from getting finger-fucked, I couldn’t imagine what he’d make me feel when he lay on top of me, when he was inside me. Truly inside me. The thought left my mouth dry and my panties wet. And my heart racing like mad.

  I tried to ignore his tall, hard presence behind me as I walked into the parlor where Dommiel had led us. Wolfrick and Gustav sprawled on a sofa, staring longingly at Kat, while Axel laughed at something Kat had just said, sitting in the chair closest to hers. George stood near the crackling fireplace, one arm braced on the mantle. His demeanor, always calm and in control—very similar to his kin, Xander—seemed to be slightly rankled by the presence of three demons who stared at Kat like smitten schoolboys. Whatever her history had been, it seemed to mesmerize every demon in her presence. She, meanwhile, seemed completely immune to their longing looks.

  “Ah, there you are,” said Axel, swiveling his attention to us.

  “How’d you find us here?” I asked.

  Axel tapped his index finger, studded with three silver rings, on the leather upholstery of his chair. “I tried you at your place, but it was bolted tight. No one home.” He shrugged. “I figured Dommiel would know where to find you.” He glanced around. “So, your new accommodations are not quite what I expected.”

  “I’m not living here.” I leaned on the arm of the sofa next to Wolfrick.

  “Really?” Axel’s brow pursed together. “I figured you’d made yourself scarce since your place is being watched by red priests.”

  “What?” Xander’s kill-voice was back. Shit.

  I tried to steady him with my quick explanation and, quite frankly, confession.

  “Rook and Simian came to see me earlier today. Rook was pissed I hadn’t started working on his little project yet.” Xander’s scowl morphed into a murderous glare. I kept talking. “I promised him I’d have it done in two weeks. Well, eleven days. I made sure to pack on weapons, because I could sense something more was going on. Rook never loses his cool. That’s his brother’s MO. This weapon is important. Very important. And yeah, when I left, I noticed he’d left some priests behind. But I sifted away before they could follow.”

  I didn’t add that I’d sifted to the Twelver’s neighborhood to avoid bringing any of them to Xander’s doorstep, should one have somehow slipped into the Void with me and trailed me there. I’d never bring him to harm.

  “You need to lie low,” said George. “Stay here while we work this out.”

  “Agreed,” was all Xander said in his beast-mode baritone. His electric-blue eyes could’ve set the room on fire.

  I nodded, then turned back to Axel. I wasn’t about to argue with Xander in this state. And I actually did agree. I needed to keep out of Rook’s clutches until I could figure out what he needed this torque for.

  “Tell us what you discovered.”

  Axel’s relaxed smile tightened as he reached inside his leather jacket and removed an envelope. I walked over and took it from him, opening up the thick, cream vellum. Xander followed and read over my shoulder when I pulled out a black satin invitation embossed with red lettering.

  “You are cordially invited to the Masters’ Masquerade to be held on the first full moon of May at Allerton Castle. No familiars or humans allowed. High demon companions only. The party commences at 9:00 p.m. The special viewing, at invitation only, will be held at midnight in the Obsidian Gallery. Present the enclosed card at the door.”

  I opened the envelope and removed the small square crimson card. Embossed in gold was the symbol Maximus had told us about: a smiling death’s head inside a wreath of flame, a crown on his head.

  “Special viewing of what?” asked Kat.

  “I don’t know,” said Axel.

  “Where did you get this?” asked Dommiel, now taking the invitation and passing it to George after a quick look.

  “I stole it. Actually, Wolfrick did.”

  “You’re welcome,” said Wolfrick in his thick German accent with a salute to the air.

  “From whom?” I asked.

  “A friend. He runs the fighting pits in Germany. Works for Vladek.”

  Dommiel laughed. “I know who you’re talking about. Skaal.”

  “Thanks for giving away my source, bro,” said Axel, not especially disturbed by it.

  Dommiel added, “Anya fought in one of his fucking pits when we went to find Uriel.”

  Gustav leaned forward, dark eyes shimmering. “The blue-winged angel fought in the pit? Scheiße.” He glanced at Wolfrick. “What I would have paid to see that.”

  “Mmm,” Wolfrick hummed sensuously. “Ya, bruder.”

  “Get your dirty fucking minds off my woman,” said Dommiel.

  “So hard to do,” said Gustav in a purr of German.

  “So hard,” agreed Wolfrick, shifting his cock.

  “Enough,” said Axel. “Fucking arschlochs. Dommiel will rip out your guts if you keep on.”

  “After what we did for him?” asked Gustav, innocently. “Though, I did enjoy slaughtering those red priests.”

  “Ya,” agreed Wolfrick again, grinning like a fiend at the memory.

  Dommiel crossed his arms. “Are you done?”

  They shrugged in unison, eyes wide in a ridiculous pretense of innocence. They couldn’t pull that off even when they tried.

  Axel continued. “Skaal hates me but puts
up with me when I show up because I spend a lot of coin. While I distracted him during the fight, Wolfrick rummaged around in his office. And found that.”

  “Again,” said Kat, “what’s the special viewing?”

  “That, we don’t know,” answered Axel. “But we know when it will take place.”

  “What does this Skaal look like?” asked Xander.

  Dommiel glanced over, measuring Xander from head to toe. “He looks a lot like you, Goldilocks.”

  “That’s what I hoped you’d say,” replied Xander.

  “It could work,” agreed Dommiel, the two of them having a partly silent conversation. “Same height and bearing.”

  “Wait,” I stood and stared at Xander. “You want to pretend to be a high demon and waltz into Allerton Castle. Rook and Simian’s lair?”

  “Yes,” he answered casually.

  “To go in there alone?” huffed Axel, leaning back in the leather chair. “Fuck, you’ve got balls, hunter. Big ones.”

  “Not alone.” Xander plucked the envelope still in my hands and flipped it over, reading, “Skaal gets a plus one.” He glanced at George and arched a brow. “I’ll need a demon to cross the wards.”

  “True,” said George. “If you expel enough demons before you go, you’ll darken your essence enough. But you’ll still need a demon to help you cross their boundaries.”

  “Not Dommiel,” Xander added, glancing toward the demon. “We couldn’t disguise you enough.”

  “Why would I want to hide all this beauty?” he waved to his body with his metal arm.

  “No.” I nearly choked on the bile rising up my chest and burning my throat. They’d kill him, slaughter him, cut him into a thousand pieces if he was caught. “It’s too dangerous for you.”

  Xander smiled, seeing the fear in my eyes. For him.

  “I’ll go as your plus one.”