by Tara West
And then there was the question of my relationship with Ash if and when I found her. As my gaze flickered back to the sergeant, I recalled the moment I’d walked into Ash’s room and caught them pulling out of an embrace. Ash had pretended she was merely friends with the soldier, but I’d seen the look of guilt in her eyes. Had she run into his arms so quickly after the incident with Mar? Was her heart truly that fickle?
Having collected souls in the sixties and seventies, I’d gotten used to the immodest behavior of men and women. I’d seen the experimentation, the break from traditional marriage. I understood Ash came from a broken home. I’d known she was no maiden the first night we made love. I only hoped that from here on after, there would be no others.
“Hey, you! Over here,” a voice called out.
Startled, I jumped up, unsheathing my scythe and looked for the demon.
Sarge was beside me in an instant, scythe in hand and legs braced apart.
“Jack. Get up, boy,” I called over my shoulder.
Jack woke up with two grunts and immediately went to sniffing the perimeter of the cave. Whoever was calling was in the back, though I had no idea how he’d gotten there. We’d inspected the cave earlier and had discovered no hidden exits.
“Over here,” the demon called again.
Jack emerged from the shadows, one of his heads panting, tongue lolling to the side, while the other head clutched a ball of sorts between his fangs.
Sarge squinted, raising his scythe like a club. “What the hell is that?”
Jack dropped the ball to the ground and it rolled right to my feet. Instinctively, I kicked it when I saw the rows of razor sharp teeth and big, bulging eyes.
“Ouch!” the demon cried as its head went careening back to where it had come from.
“Go fetch, boy,” I said to Jack.
The dog happily went after it, bringing it back and dumping it at my feet again.
This time, the demon’s head was covered in Jack’s saliva and sticky clay.
“Gross!” it cried as it spit and rolled side to side.
“I’ve seen this demon before,” I said to Sarge. I remembered dismembering it when it attacked Ash at her last ghosting assignment. Usually, decapitated demons carried their heads around or tied them back on. I nudged it with my foot. “Where’s the rest of your body?”
“I don’t know,” he cried. “Shadow threw my head down here, and my body hasn’t found me yet.”
My breathing stilled. “Shadow? When?”
“Earlier today.” The demon flashed a wide smile, revealing rows upon rows of sharp teeth. “He had the girl you were looking for. She was locked up in a cage.”
Ahhh, so the demon had been listening to our conversation earlier but had stayed silent. “Why did you wait until now to tell us?”
“I don’t know.” His bulging eyes blinked and then shifted. “I was scared.”
He was lying.
“What do we do with him?” Sarge asked.
I nodded toward the mouth of the cave. “Throw it down the cliff.”
“Wait!” He screeched as Sarge picked him up by the roots of his stringy hair. “Please help me.”
I pulled back my hood, scowling at him with a hard, skeletal face. “Why should we?”
His eyes shifted again, and I could tell he was formulating another lie. “I’ll lead you to the girl if you help me find my body.”
I leaned into his face, coming within inches of his sharp fangs. “How do we know we can trust you?”
“You can’t, but you’ll never find her without me. There are thousands of caves in these mountains, and no other demon will help a Grim.” He paused, then answered with a mocking tone. “You’ll be searching for eternity.”
Damn him to Hell, he was right, and damn me for being foolish enough to bargain with a demon.
Ash
I woke from my groggy slumber feeling a warm hand on my inner thigh and thick, clawed fingers tracing a lazy circle up to my super sweet girly spot. I gasped when smooth claws stroked my sensitive flesh. I hadn’t even remembered shedding my clothes, but I was definitely naked now. Every cell of my bare flesh came alive as another hand pinched and pulled my pebbled nipple. I fumbled for the knife at my side, clutching the bone handle as I struggled to sit.
That’s when I looked into a pair of molten dragon eyes.
Oh, damn. Callum’s been drinking the water.
“Callum, what are you doing here?”
“Giving us what we both desire,” he answered with a chuckle that snaked around my senses and sent a jolt of lust straight to that bundle of nerves that electrified my whole body.
Oh, this was so not good.
My grip on the knife loosened. “But I thought it was a sin.” My protest was weak. I’d wanted to fuck this dragon ever since he’d first freed me from my cage. I knew it was wrong. I knew I’d regret it for all of eternity, but dammit it all, at the moment I didn’t care.
I struggled to sit up as his body heat encompassed me, enveloping my senses in the scents of sulfur and spice. As I got lost in his mesmerizing eyes, I was vaguely aware he’d given me strict orders to use the knife on him if he came for me. I hesitantly squeezed the handle, but he grabbed my wrist with a growl, climbing up the length of my body and knocking the knife off the bed with his knee.
“What about Aedan?” I asked as I lost myself in his liquid lava gaze.
“He’s not here, but I am.”
He pulled my hand toward him, settling it on a very thick and hard erection. I looked down to see he was naked as well. His glorious, throbbing human cock wasn’t scaly like the rest of him, and he wanted to put that thing inside me. Dear God, the temptation was more than I could bear.
Aedan doesn’t love you, anyway. He loves Mar, a taunting voice inside my head echoed. I could almost imagine a little demon on my shoulder telling me these things. And for the first time, I actually wanted to believe it so I could have an excuse to screw Aedan’s brother. Maybe I did deserve to be in Hell.
I knew it was wrong to encourage Callum, but I wrapped my fingers around the width of his erection, stroking downward until I cupped his heavy sack. He hissed, blowing out steam as I stroked back up his length.
With his cock still in my hand, he sat on his knees, smiling down at me as I stroked him a few more times. Then he grabbed my hand, pulling it to his lips and tenderly kissing my palm. My insides quivered with need.
“We’re already suffering for our sins. Might as well steal pleasure when we can,” he said with a wicked gleam in his eyes. “We can always blame it on the water.”
He leaned over the bed and grabbed a goblet off the floor. When he handed it to me, I didn’t hesitate to drink. I took long gulps of the refreshing liquid, relishing the relief it brought to my parched throat as its effects spread through me like liquid desire. It was like someone had turned my horny volume up from one to one hundred.
Water spilled down my face as I finished off the drink. Chest heaving, I handed him the empty goblet. “More, please.”
His eyes darkened as he produced another goblet from beside the bed. I leaned against a fur-covered wall and grasped the goblet with both hands, crying out as he began stroking my swollen sex while I drank.
When he leaned down and nuzzled my pussy with his mouth, pleasure rippled through me as I dropped the goblet to the floor. He licked the pearl of my sex with long, languid strokes, stopping to lap up my dripping juices and then spearing deep inside me with his serpentine tongue. His fangs scraping the sides of my swollen folds only heightened my ecstasy. With my orgasm about to crest, I begged him to suckle me harder.
And that’s when he stopped.
“Damn you!” My buzzing wings bucked me off the bed.
He climbed up the length of my body, his wings unfurling with a snap. “I’m already dammed, my angel.”
Then he grabbed my ass and hauled me up with him, nearly knocking the air from my lungs as he flipped me on all fours.
H
e grabbed my hair by the roots as he dug into my side with sharp claws, nearly piercing my flesh as he anchored his cock against my ass.
Leaning over me, he growled into my ear. “Prepare to scream for mercy.” Then he bit down on my neck, hard, laughing against my flesh as I whimpered for him to stop.
He released me, and I felt warm blood trickle down my collar bone.
“Is this what you wanted, baby?” he teased as he dug his claws into my ass before spreading open my folds. “I hope you like it rough.”
I sucked in a scream as he rammed his thick cock into my weeping flesh with one fluid thrust, jarring my swollen center as if he was trying to break through. He grabbed my hair again, pressing my face into the furs as I cried out. He rammed me over and over, digging into my ass so hard, I knew he’d leave welts.
This was not a gentle lovemaking like I’d been used to with his brother. This was a hard, relentless fucking, and damn me for loving every second. His dick was so huge I feared he was about to break me in two. The more he thrust into me, abusing my battered barrier, the more I wanted. I knew I was going to be as sore as shit the next day, but I didn’t give a damn. My orgasm was building. Any moment and I’d have the biggest climax in all eternity.
He growled as he pumped into me, his claws raking up my ribcage and across my breasts. When his hands roved to my back, stroking the length of my pulsating wings, I nearly came undone. My pussy was swollen and hot, my juices gushing with each hard thrust. It hurt so damn bad, but I was so close to orgasm. So very, very close.
And then he roared as he stilled. I felt his dick throb against my channel as his hot seed poured into me. I knew this was the moment I’d been waiting for. My body was on the precipice of a powerful orgasm, threatening to send me spiraling into oblivion.
“Please,” I begged. “I’m almost there.”
I bucked against him, expecting him to push back with that glorious head as it still throbbed inside me. I braced myself as he pulled back, and then gasped when he slid out of me.
I turned over to see him wiping his cock with a discarded rag.
“Hey!” I screamed as I slapped the fur beneath me.
“Hey, yourself,” he chuckled as he threw the wet rag on my chest. “Clean up. I left a hell of a mess inside you.”
Then the asshole winked as he turned and strutted back toward his makeshift bed. I was struck somewhere between horror and amazement as he stretched out on the fur rug and turned his back to me. In the next moment, he was snoring loudly as if he’d fallen into a deep slumber.
That dick!
My brain went into attack mode. I clenched my hands tight, preparing to fly out of bed.
I sat up, kicking my legs and screaming obscenities. It was then I noticed I was still wearing jeans. Wait a minute? What had just happened? I reached for the knife. It was still on the furs beside me, right where I’d left it. I ran my hands over my neck and collarbone. No blood. I sat up on my knees to see Callum was on the floor, but instead of sleeping on top of the fur, he was beneath it with his back to me.
No way was that a dream. It felt too real.
I reached between my legs, amazed when I found I’d soaked through my jeans. Well, my girly spot had obviously thought the dream was real. What the hell had happened? Had it been some sort of illusion? Was this all part of Hell’s torment? Have dream sex with a hot dragon stud only to wake up unfulfilled? Well, that sucked. That sucked major dragon dong!
Speaking of dragon dong, I glared over at my tormentor. This was his fault for turning me on all evening long. I was horny and unfulfilled, and someone was going to pay for my suffering.
I slid off the furs and marched across the stone floor. My wings popped open, their buzzing matching the throbbing between my legs. When I stomped up to him, he rolled over, the fur draped across his body covering him from his waist to his feet. His laceration looked slightly swollen, and I wondered if it was infected, but as he looked up at me with blinking red eyes, I remembered I had a more pressing matter we needed to discuss.
“Good, you’re awake,” I said, and then I kicked his thigh.
“Ow!” he roared as he sat up, rubbing his leg. “What was that for, woman?”
I leaned over, wagging a finger in his face. “For fucking up a perfectly good dream.”
“I can assure you, Ash,” he said through a groan. “I had nothing to do with it. I was having my own dream of unfulfilled desire.”
I jerked back. “What?”
“Do you think the torture ends when you go to sleep?” His mouth pulled back in a devilish grin. “Tell me, were we being intimate in your dream?”
I looked away as heat inflamed my chest and face. “Maybe.”
“And then you woke up unsated.”
“Yes!” I hissed. How did he know? Had he been part of my dream, too, or was that how all dreams played out in Hell?
He chuckled. “Welcome to Hell, Ash.”
“That sucks!” I stomped a foot. “How am I supposed to sleep like this?”
“Take matters into your own hands, as I do every night.” He nodded toward his crotch. For the first time I realized his hands were underneath the furs.
I scrunched my brows. “Wait a minute. You mean you?” I stumbled back. “What were you doing under there?” I pointed a shaky finger at the bulge beneath his furs.
He shot me a look so devious, I swear my jeans melted onto the floor.
“What do you think?” he chuckled.
“Omigod!” I squealed, my wings beating hard as I flew back to bed.
Holy heck! I just caught a dragon masturbating!
His tormenting laughter echoed off the cave walls. I dove under the furs and prayed no other soul had to suffer through the same experience.
Hey, God, if you can hear me all the way up there, please get me the hell off this crazy train ASAP.
Too bad even after his laughter subsided, my desire did not.
Maybe Callum was right. Maybe I should take matters into my own hands.
I carefully and quietly slipped off my jeans and underwear. Since they were soaked through, I figured it would do them some good to air out. That’s what I kept telling myself, anyway.
I spread my legs, stifling a groan as my fingers found the center of my aching desire. A few slick strokes was all I needed to achieve orgasm. I pressed a firm finger into my weeping flesh as it pulsated against me. With a satisfied sigh, I sank into the furs, holding my finger steady until the pulses subsided. This so wasn’t the orgasm I’d wanted, but it would have to do.
At least until I got some real penis.
I hoped Aedan found me soon. I didn’t know how long his brother and I could remain in close contact without jumping each other’s bones. And then what? I’d become the world’s worst girlfriend, not to mention a lying cheat. I’d never been tempted to cheat during any of my relationships. Not like this. It was so hard saying “no,” and I feared it would only get harder. As I drifted off to sleep, I couldn’t help feeling guilty over my desire for Aedan’s brother. Hopefully, Aedan would forgive me. Hopefully, I’d forgive myself.
Aedan
“Well, where is she?” I rumbled as I stared into the empty cell. The demon had led us up the steep incline of a cragged cliff to a musty, dark cavern that appeared to have been abandoned. To say I was unhappy would have been an understatement.
Sarge held the demon’s head up against the bars.
“She was here earlier,” the demon whined.
Sarge looked at me, snarling as the spines on his back stood on edge. “I knew we shouldn’t have trusted him.”
“No,” he whimpered. “She was in that cage, I swear.”
Jack scoured the cavern, panting as he sniffed every inch of the place. The cage was locked, but Jack seemed determined to get inside, whimpering against the bars. Though Ash wasn’t here at the moment, I was certain she had been. Where could they have taken her?
I scanned the empty cave for any sign of her. The fire in the pi
t had died down, the sconces on the walls were barely flickering, and the stone floors were bare. There was nothing else other than a wooden stool and a table. Then Jack drew my attention to a pile of ash by the cage door.
Sarge rattled the demon’s head against the bars before nodding toward the fire pit in the heart of the cavern. “Can I burn him now?”
“No, please!” the demon cried. “Shadow was here with her, and so was Beast.”
I bent over, setting my scythe to glow as I tapped it on the floor, illuminating the pile. Bits of fur were mixed in with the debris, as well as a horned blade. I motioned for Sarge to bring the head. “Beast?” I asked him.
His eyes widened. “That’s Beast’s fur.”
“What happened to him?”
The demon frowned. “Looks like he was burned up.”
Obviously. “How?”
“I dunno. Not many demons have fire strong enough.”
Ahhh, but I knew of one demon whose breath was as hot as Hell’s flaming embers.
Heat infused my skull as I realized who may have taken her. If he’d seduced her, so help me God, all the flames of Hell would not keep me from exacting my revenge. “What about dragon demons?”
“Oh, yeah.” His eyes bugged, and he nodded emphatically. “Those demons have powerful fire.”
I stood, squaring my shoulders while clenching my scythe in a death grip. “Do you know where the red dragon named Callum lives?”
“Yeah, I know. I can show you.”
I spun around at Jack’s low growl. A headless body stumbled into the cavern, arms extended as it rubbed its hands up and down the walls.
The demon’s eyes bulged, and he squealed. “My body!”
“Don’t let it near his head,” I said to Sarge.
“I’m on it.” Sarge tossed the head to Jack and then wrestled the body to the ground. I handed him some rope from my satchel, and he bound the body’s hands and feet before throwing it over his shoulders as if it were a sack of potatoes.
