by Jana LaPelle
LJ pins me with a look, “How do you think, demon boy? I’m freaking the hell out.”
Chuckling, I pull her closer to me as the embers in the fireplace flicker between a brilliant green and a luminous black. So unlike the fires in The Mortal Realm. “Honey cheeks, you have nothing to worry about. I’ve got you now, and I’m never letting go.”
Smirking she says, “What a change from not so long ago.” Sighing, she snuggles into my hold, “Daxell? Why do you call me honey cheeks?”
Wrapping my arms around her more tightly, I can’t help the deep rumble in my chest as a chuckle escapes me, “That’s easy. That first night when I caught you in my arms, you smelled like honey and cream. Imagine my surprise when you traced the two of us out of Tarron’s Tavern. Not much surprises me, but I was totally taken off guard and stumbled as we exited your trace trail. You were dead weight in my arms by that point and your aim was true. You ended up face-first in your bed with me on top of you. As I pushed back off the bed, your luscious ass was right there, begging for me to cup those gorgeous cheeks clad in skin-tight leather. The first thought that entered my mind was honey cheeks.”
“That’s so … Well, I can’t even.” Her laughter is contagious as she purses her lips, shaking her head at me.
“You’re right, so lame and not even right.” Tracing my index finger over the curve of her cheek, I lean in to capture her lips with my own. The kiss is gentle at first, but when she opens to me I delve deeper, and deeper yet. I want nothing more than to devour her, heart, mind, and soul.
She pulls back, panting slightly, “We need to take this to a more private room.”
“Honey cheeks, I’ll do whatever you want. Are you sure you’re ready for this next step? I would have thought that you would want to wait till after our binding ceremony.” Just saying the words out loud has my inner demon stirring.
“Daxell, in the morning, we’ll be heading out into god knows what. Tonight is ours for the making and I want and need to spend that time with you. We have no idea as to what will happen in the coming days. So if this is our last night together, then I say, “You big stud. Take me to bed or lose me forever.” Her laughter is like music to my ears.
Smiling at her light-hearted banter, I stand and spin her around, “You don’t have to tell me twice. Is that a line from a movie?”
“Yep.” Her smile slips from her face as she grows more serious. Cupping my stubble covered cheek, she looks deep into my eyes and at that moment no words are needed.
I pull her into my arms cradling her close as we exit the sitting room. I quickly carry her up the large expansive staircase. I have eyes only for her. In such a short period of time, she has become my center. My entire universe and I can no longer deny the pull that I feel for her. She is my kindred soul, she completes me. How could I deny her or myself any longer?
“LJ,” I whisper as I swing the door to my rooms open.
“Yes?”
“I …”
“I know,” she whispers. “I get it.”
“You know I’m a bastard … I want you to be sure, because … one step further, there will be no going back. My demon will claim you. So … speak now.” Inhaling deeply, I stop short of slamming the door shut behind me.
“Close the door, Daxell.”
Not needing any further affirmation, I kick the door shut behind me, carrying LJ to my over large bed. My bedroom is at one end of the house and my kingsized bed sits in a spacious alcove. On either side, there are open doors to the balconies beyond. The white silk gossamer drapes are flowing in the breeze. The contrast to the red skies that haunt this place is dramatic. Looking about the chamber, I realize that my mother had a hand in making this setting perfect for LJ and me. Candles are lit all over my spacious chambers and the glow-globes are set to dim. Fresh cut flowers have been placed in vases about the room, along with chilled bottles of wine and a couple of wine glasses.
“Hey,” I whisper as I settle LJ down on my bed, “You doing okay so far?”
“Demon boy, I told you, I’m not fragile, I’m not going to break, but … I’ve never done this before. So you can take that into consideration.” She flushes nervously, her cheeks stained scarlet as she settles back on my bed, and damn but she’s the most tantalizing female I’ve ever laid eyes on and she’s all mine. My demon is all but purring as we take her in.
“I find that incredibly hot and sexy,” I growl, as I prowl over her suddenly inert body, “You are so much more than I could have asked for, so fucking beautiful.” I lean in to kiss the hollow of her neck. She stiffens slightly before relaxing beneath me. Taking my time, I intend to get to know her body intimately before I take her. Trailing kisses down her sun-kissed skin, I murmur, “Damn, honey cheeks, you’re wearing way too many clothes. I want to see you, I want to run my tongue over every fucking inch of your beautiful body.”
“Daxell?”
“Yes …” I breathe as I sweep her bra aside and pull her taut nipple into my mouth. She arches into my touch with a gasp. I can’t help the wicked grin that tugs at my lips when I hear her moan. Her body flush against mine.
“Love me, Daxell, because I intend to show you just how much I love you until the wee hours of the morning.” She breathes out.
I hesitate as fears spikes through me. Want? Hell, yeah. Need? Hellfire and brimstone, I need her so damn much, but love?
“Demon boy? Come back to me,” she demands. “I know you’re all in, so I don’t need to hear the words just yet.”
Sighing, I look up at her glorious face. Her rich dark hair is fanned out on the white raw silk sheets of my bed. Her luminous sapphire eyes watching me intently, and at that moment I surrender to her. “I do love you, Lillie, and I plan on showing you just how much. I never want to be parted from you again.”
Sliding up her form, I take her lips in a searing kiss as I press into her and we surrender to one another.
Hours later, Lillie lies spent in my arms, her gorgeous hair draped over both of us, and I can’t help but play with the silky strands. At some point during our lovemaking, our kindred bond kicked in and I can feel her happy contentment thrumming through our bond. Until this moment, in my life, I’ve never understood just how much I stand to lose if we cannot clear her name from Mammon’s charges.
“Mmm … you are a loud brooder.” Lillie stirs, nestling closer, her silky smooth skin sliding over me and damn if that doesn’t have me stirring again.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
Those jewel-like eyes of hers flutter up to mine. My soul is hers from this moment forward and she smiles, “As mine is yours.”
“Damn, honey cheeks. That’s going to take some getting used to.” I grin back down at her, cupping her delightful rear, as she begins doodling on my chest.
“I’ll treasure this time that we had together forever.” Her smiling lips lean in to kiss the hollow between my pecs.
“As will I.” I pull her closer to me. Wanting to feel every inch of her silky smooth skin against mine, needing to be inside her again. “Did you know it would be like this?” My curiosity is more than I can contain.
She sighs, “No. Not really.” She exhales, “Can you hear me?”
Her voice is an echo in my mind, “Yes”
“I think this is what your mother was eluding to. What do you think?”
Sighing, I have to agree, “Yes. She wanted us to complete the binding link, but I’m not sure if she just didn’t seem to think that it would take until we had our binding ceremony, or she was just being old fashioned.” I smile down at my kindred mate.
“Well, I guess our bond is a little ahead of schedule. We still need to visit the Tree of Life for our official binding, but until then, how much time do we have until we need to get up?”
“More than enough time for another round, and I intend to love every inch of your delectable body.”
“Oh, gods, bring it, demon boy.” She smiles back up at me and I flip her over onto her back. Batt
ing those baby blues at me for a moment until her smile slips a fraction, “You and I have bonded, Daxell, but now its time to let your demon out. He’s been patient and understanding of our time together, but I know that he’s brooding and pushing to the surface. You know it too. It’s time Daxell, he won’t hurt me. You know that, and just like him, you will be there in the background. I belong to both of you.”
A growl rumbles deep in my chest as my demon voices his opinion. Lillie is right. He needs equal time with her, as much as I want to keep her all to myself, I need to let him out so they can deepen our bond. Leaning down, I caress her rosy cheeks with my calloused thumbs and reverently kiss those full lips of hers. “You’re right. He won’t hurt you. He only wants to protect you …” A dark chuckle escapes me, “and have his way with you.”
“I’m not afraid. I can’t wait to see your demon again.” Lillie smiles encouragingly.
Stepping back away from the bed, I allow my demon to come forward. The shift is seamless and in a matter of moments, I’m taking a back seat to him. His emotions are always so carnal, so primal, and a feral smile inches up his face as he sees Lillie on her knees in the middle of the bed before him. The pale sheets pool just below her waist barely covering her. Long mussed chestnut-colored tresses flow over her amazing full breasts. She looks like a sacrificial goddess before her demon as she offers herself up to us. My demon needs no more encouragement.
32
My Demon Lover
(Lillie Joanna)
Sweet baby demons everywhere. Daxell’s alter-ego is sin incarnate. Both his forms are hot as Hades, but his demon is seriously smoking hot. I have to be the luckiest female in all the realms because they are all mine. One refined and the other as wild and feral as they come. They are mine and I will defend my claim to anyone who dares to challenge me. Once again I notice the charcoal hue to his skin and those eyes. By the gods, they would be freaky if it weren’t for how they soften when they land on me, just before the smolder takes over. Those black orbs have me all but melting in a heap in the middle of our enormous bed.
“Mine … Finally. My brother is a selfish bastard.”
“You were there, big guy, just beneath the surface, so don’t sulk. You call him brother?” I ask.
“Yes, little one. We are brothers, two halves of a whole. Except not. Only with you are we complete.” My demon stalks toward me.
Smirking, I say, “Use your time wisely, demon. Tomorrow we head out, but you know this already.”
He growls as he prowls toward me. I take him in. In all his naked glory. His ebony feathered wings glisten in the low light of the room. Soon he’s standing in front of me and says, “Little one.”
“Yes?” I breathe out.
His movements are quick and in mere seconds I’m on my back, his dark wings arch high above the bed, “It’s time to play.” His low chuckle rumbles through me and a shiver of anticipation rocks over me.
Reaching up, I caress his angular jaw, “What will I call you?”
My demon hesitates, “No one has asked that before? Daxell and I are a part of one another.”
“But you are different and yet the same. I just felt that I should call you by another name. Something unique to you. You are both important to me.”
Daxell’s demon hesitates. He cocks his head watching me, his mind racing, “What would you like to call me, little one?”
Running my hands down his sides, I moan. Damn this male is rock hard. Everywhere. Sighing, I look up into those solid ebony eyes, “I think I’ll keep it simple, I’ll call you Demon because you’re my demon.”
His low laughter rumbles through me as his talon clawed hands gingerly run over my exposed flesh. “That I am, little one. I belong to you and you belong to me.” His hold is possessive as he cradles me to his naked flesh. I feel his nostrils flare and he inhales deeply and my girly bits begin to quiver. “I will have what is mine.”
His position above me shifts, pressing down on me and oh good god I’m all kinds of turned on. “Love me, Demon,” I whisper
He stills above me. “I will claim you as mine. I will mark you so that everyone knows you belong to me. I will bend you to my will. I will mate you and forge our bond, but I do not know if I’m capable of love.”
Oh my.
His gaze is possessive and his embrace is almost punishing, but for the light caress of his sharply clawed hands. Reaching up, I cup his chiseled face. “That’s okay, I will show you. I will make sure that you have no doubt as to what it means to love another.”
His grip tightens, “Little one, you belong to me. That is all that matters.”
“No, that’s only part of it. In time you’ll understand.”
He cuts me off as he captures my lips in a rough and demanding kiss. A kiss meant to dominate, a kiss demanding submission. At first, I balk against his crushing kiss, and then I slowly open for him, allowing the bond between us to pulse and thrum with life. Understanding his need to dominate, I submit to him. Welcoming his touch. Pulsing with need, a thirst that only he can quench.
My demon relies on his baser instincts, but he is not a selfish lover. Oh no, he worships my body with every nip, every kiss, every bite, and every lingering caress. Even the touches that are meant to be punishing to satisfy his dark cravings for pain and obedience are arousing. Soon he’s pushing me over the edge in his wicked desire to own me, body and soul.
“My pretty little flower. So very delicate and yet you are strong. Our perfect match.” He croons as we lie cocooned in his wings while stroking my back and cupping my ass, pressing us closer together, even though not a sliver of space is between us.
I’m fascinated by his feathers and find myself stroking his primaries and whisper, “They’re so beautiful. I’ve always been a little jealous of my winged friends. Poppy’s wings are so different from yours, but still, she can fly. The Valkyrie’s wings are stunning and yet the one thing that I’ve always wanted to be able to do alludes me. The only time I have ever soared was in my spiritual form when delivering souls to The Overworld, but that’s really not the same. Is it? Stretching your wings, preparing for take-off. Lifting into the air and finding an air current to just glide upon. The freedom of that must be intoxicating.”
His obsidian eyes bear down on me as if he can see into my soul, and as the bond between us pulses, I know that he can. Gently, he sits up and pulls me with him to the edge of the bed, “Come, little one.” He makes to stand and instantly I feel the chill of the breeze and my flesh pebbles as he takes the warmth of his embrace with him. He steps into a pair of well worn black leather pants, and urges, “Well? Put some clothes on. We’re going out.”
“Out?” I ask as I look around finding a pair of form-fitting black leather pants and a matching sleeveless vest.
“Yes, by way of the balcony.” He says with a smirk, his teeth are a bit pointed and if I didn’t know him, the look would be lethal.
I have yet to look outside of this room and step through the white drapes to see that this side of the residence appears to be a part of the mountain. The balcony juts out over the broad expanse of the empty space below us. Demon is suddenly behind me and he wraps his strong arms around me and lifts me off my feet. Before I can utter a word, he leaps forward off the balcony and we are free falling. I stifle a scream as my demon angles us head down and we speed downward like a bullet at a dizzying speed. Holding my breath, I shriek as Demon’s wings snap out carrying us up away from the ground on a wind draft. Demon pumps his wings slow and strong carrying us upward while using the current to increase our speed as we race over the bleak terrain of this realm. Everything is bathed in the everpresent scarlet of these unnatural skies. His arms tighten around me, holding close as he nuzzles the crook of my neck. I have never felt so much for another. These two have managed to get under my skin, so fast that my head is still spinning, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Sighing, I utter, “This is amazing. I want to do this every day.”
“Then it will be so. Daxell agrees, we will take time every day to fly with you,” his voice is but a low rumble that has butterflies taking flight in my belly.
Needing a distraction, I ask, “Tell me about this place. What are all these landmarks?”
Demon begins, “Our parents made their home in the mountains of the Great Divide. See?” He angles us to the right and for as far as I can see there is a mountain range that looks like a barrier. One that my parents and Pip made mention of, and I nod. He continues, “Our home faces Luc’s domain which is tame compared to the other side of the divide where the Fields of Punishment can be found.” A shudder runs through me at the thought.
“See in the distance? There is a fortress, black as tar. That’s Luc’s abode. That’s where we will head once we find that damned whip. I can shadow-walk us there, keeping us off the radar. Not many can follow us taking that mode of transportation.”
“Shadow-walking? What’s that?”
“You don’t remember. Once Poppy woke you from the dark spell those wicked little sprights cast on you. We shadow-walked back to our parents House. You were in and out of consciousness and in a bad way. I wanted to end every last one of those foul little creatures for what they did to you.” He growls and we stall in mid-air. His wings beating slowly and rhythmically. He flips me around so that we are chest to chest, “I’ve never felt such rage before, little one. Not just at what they had done to you … but that I didn’t get there sooner. We had failed you in a moment that you needed us most.”
Reaching up, I cup his strangely handsome face and admire his impressive horns before saying, “No. Neither of you failed me. You were right on time. I’m here for a reason. There are things that I need to experience. Things that I need to understand. Without that, I can’t become what I’m destined to become.”
“What is that, little one?” His dark orbs bore into me.
“I think that I’ve known for a while now, but I’ve been reluctant to take on the mantle. I’m a keeper of souls in my mother’s order. I was born into that station. It is something that I know in my heart I will always be a part of, but for me to ascend to my destined station, I must accept that I’m destined to become the goddess of retribution.” Sighing, I look down and whisper, “I am Retribution.” As I utter those words something inside me begins to fracture. It’s as if my inner soul and reason for being are clawing their way out of my chest. I suck in a sharp breath as a metamorphosis begins to take hold. Like the shell of a boiled egg, it begins to crack and fall away, revealing what has been there all along. Revealing my inner goddess.
