by Melody Raven
His hands gripped her ass and held her down as he moved within her. Her eyes closed and her head fell back as she focused on the overwhelming sensations that flowed through her, from the intense friction of their joining to the feeling of his chest rubbing against her sensitive nipples. She gave herself over to the sensations, just holding onto him tightly and enjoying the ride.
She felt him nuzzle at her neck and she knew what he wanted. She moved her head to the side, giving him unspoken permission. Without hesitation, his fangs sunk into her skin. He lost control as her blood flowed into his mouth, and his thrusting became frantic as he gripped her so tightly to him she was sure there would be bruises.
She returned his ferocity with equal passion, raking her nails into his back and softly nipping at his own shoulder until her climax broke over her like a tidal wave and she screamed her release into his neck.
Her release set him off as he let out his own moan and his entire body tensed above her. He threw his head back and bared his fangs as he groaned in ecstasy, still pumping inside her.
Kier collapsed on top of Muriel as they both tried to catch their breath. She wrapped her arms around his sweaty back and held him close to her. “What am I going to do with you?” she whispered.
Kier didn’t say anything. His only response was to grip her tightly to him.
Kier didn’t sleep much that night. He was soaking in the sensation of having Muriel curled up next to him, gripping him tightly as to not fall off the tiny bed they shared. It was by no means comfortable, but he enjoyed the excuse to hold her close.
He didn’t remember how he got to her room. He supposed he had been in great pain and so confused by everything happening around him that he subconsciously thought of her while transporting and ended up in her room.
It was possible that Azazel had manipulated his transport to lead Kier to her, but he didn’t think so. If Azazel could transport a demon to Muriel, why wouldn’t he just transport one of his guards to kill her?
When he told Muriel that Azazel wanted to keep her heart safe, she laughed at the idea. Samuel must have kept parts of the prophecy from her. Bastard.
He should tell her what she was getting herself into if he wanted her to risk her life to save the world. It was only fair.
Kier didn’t have to tell her jack. He didn’t want her going after Azazel. The king of Hell and he might have different end goals, but they both agreed that Muriel should stay far away from any assassination attempts.
She shifted in her sleep and her naked breasts rubbed against his arm. His cock filled with blood at the contact, and he was shocked that he was even capable of sustaining an erection at this point. He hadn’t let Muriel get much rest.
He’d spent the past month thinking of her constantly. Her smile, her laugh, her body, what she looked like naked, what she looked like under him. After thirty days of imagining all the wicked things he would do to her if he got her alone again, he made sure he took full advantage. He finally had her right where he wanted her.
Well, not exactly where he wanted her. The tiny dorm room was hardly ideal. There was only about three hundred square feet to move around in, and he had to make sure that they were not loud enough to attract attention.
It was a struggle. Who would have thought that his little fallen angel was a screamer? He would have thought her inexperience would make her prudish and hesitant, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. She was eager to learn different ways to please him and loved all the ways that he showed her that she could be pleasured.
He looked down at her. She looked so peaceful in her sleep, the scrapes and bruises from their frantic mating already mostly gone.
It was curious. He’d given her his blood over a month ago. The healing properties should have worn off long ago. Combined with her gaining hellfire and him gaining rather inconvenient emotions, something was happening to the two of them. Changing them.
Had they done something to unknowingly trigger the changes? Was someone pulling the strings? He was getting fucking sick of always being two steps behind.
The alarm clock next to the small bed blared a loud beeping noise. Muriel groaned a protest and slammed her hand over the snooze button.
She sat up and rested her tired head in her hands, rubbing at her eyes. “I don’t think I slept at all,” she mumbled.
Kier smiled at her. She looked so cute in her tired state. “Liar. I saw you sleeping.”
“Shut up.” She lightly hit him with the pillow.
He held his arm up to his chest as if he were hurt. “You are a violent one in the morning, aren’t you?”
“You have no idea,” she warned. “Morning is when Samuel likes to train. A majority of the ass kicking I do is when the sun is coming up.”
Kier looked at the bright rays of light creeping over the horizon. “You were banging down doors at a hot spot yesterday. Don’t you need more rest?”
Muriel shrugged. “I guess I don’t need much sleep anymore.” She hopped off the bed and sauntered into the bathroom.
Kier couldn’t help but admire her backside as she walked away. “You don’t think that’s strange? You’re shooting fire out of your hands, healing rapidly and suddenly only need three hours of sleep a night?”
“I think the whole thing is fucked up,” she replied from behind the bathroom door. “I just have bigger things to worry about at the moment. Maybe I have a guardian angel looking out for me,” she joked.
“Yeah, a guardian angel charging you up with demonic powers,” he replied, not amused with her brushing something like this off.
She emerged from the bathroom in black yoga pants and a purple tank top. Her hair was up in a tight ponytail and face free of makeup. “Have you been changing? Becoming more human or something?”
Time to come clean. “Nothing major in the past month,” he said.
Muriel saw the strange look on his face. “You already told me that you could feel me in your head. Did something besides that change?”
“Ever since that night that I—” He couldn’t bring himself to say it aloud. “Ever since we first met, I was messed up by that. I couldn’t hunt like I used to. I started to feel guilt. Shame.”
”You mean that after I drank your blood, you had some type of psychic link with me and caught my conscience?”
“I don’t know what I mean. None of it ever made any sense.”
A loud beeping noise interrupted the silence in the room. Muriel must have hit the snooze on the alarm clock instead of turning it off. She jumped at the noise and ran to turn off the intruding sound. “I have to get down to training before someone comes up here looking for me and ends up finding you,” she said.
“I can transport when someone comes in, so I’m not too concerned about being caught.”
“Well, since the entire purpose of the little operation we have going here is to kill demons, maybe you should be a little worried.”
Muriel picked up a large duffel bag from the corner of her room and the metal clanking sounds told him that it was her stash of weapons. “This conversation is not over, Kier.” She headed to the door.
As her hand touched the handle, she abruptly stopped and turned back to him. “Is this conversation over? I don’t exactly have any way to get in touch with you.”
He walked over to where she stood and pushed her up against the door. His hands rested on her hips; his pinky fingers played with the hem of her tank top, skimming over the small amounts of skin bared above her pants. “Is this your way of asking for my phone number?”
“It’s my way of finding out if I should expect you to be showing up at random times in my bedroom.”
“For now, let’s just assume that you will.”
“That is a very noncommittal answer.”
“I’m four hundred years old and have never been in a serious relationship. I’m a noncommittal guy.”
“I have you beat by double,” she pointed out.
“Cradle robber,” he whispered
right before he swooped down for a kiss.
Muriel pulled away before the kiss got too intense. She rested her forehead against his. “I really have to go.”
Without another word, Kier was gone. He transported himself to Las Vegas. It was an old favorite for many demons. Easy pickings for formerly innocent humans who lost their way.
The early morning streets were not busy, but there were already plenty of people wandering around the Strip. Some were getting in their morning workout while others made their way home after too much excess the night before.
Easy pickings.
But Kier didn’t want to hunt. He wanted to be with Muriel. To protect her from the idiocy of Samuel and keep her from storming into Hell on her own.
He finally admitted it to himself. He didn’t want to gather any more souls. He wasn’t even hungry, even though it had been almost six weeks since his last soul. He didn’t want to corrupt an innocent. They could damn their own souls if they were so inclined, but he didn’t want anything to do with it. Not anymore.
Was he even a demon? Had he morphed into a completely different species?
His phone rang and he looked down to see Teryn’s number. “It’s Kier,” he answered.
“Where are you at?”
“Standing at the base of the Eiffel Tower.” One second later, Teryn appeared next to him. “That was fast.”
Teryn hung up his phone and his stone-cold expression had Kier on alert. “We need to talk,” he said.
“Do you know somewhere safe?” Kier knew Azazel was probably keeping tabs on him. There weren’t many places he could go that the king didn’t have eyes.
Teryn nudged his head, signaling Kier to follow him as he walked down the street. Kier walked behind Teryn until they reached a dive bar about half a mile away from the Strip.
No bars were open at seven in the morning, but Teryn reached above the doorsill for a hidden key. They walked through the empty bar to a back room.
The room was pitch black, with no windows to allow light in. Teryn signaled for Kier to walk in first and Kier’s guard was immediately on high alert.
Kier reached into his jacket as he concentrated on calling his hellfire. He felt the warmth flow into his fingertips but was careful to keep the fire close enough to him that no light shone in the dark room.
Teryn followed Kier in; the heavy door swung shut and surrounded them in darkness. Teryn fumbled around the wall and a dim light filled the small room.
There wasn’t much to the space. A filing cabinet that had seen better days and an old safe were set up against the back wall. The hardwood floor looked as though it had suffered water damage more than once, and the walls were covered in peeling wallpaper.
It was what was painted over the wallpaper that drew the eye. In a bright red paint, there were hundreds of intricate drawings of what appeared to be an ancient angelic language.
“What is this place?”
“It’s a safe spot to talk. These wards will keep Azazel from using his powers to listen in.”
Kier relaxed a bit, relieved that Teryn hadn’t been searching out a quiet place to kill him, but not completely trusting him yet. “What are we doing here?”
Teryn folded his arms over his chest and faced Kier. “What happened to you last night?”
Way too much. “What do you mean?”
“What do you think I mean? I saw Azazel’s guards grab you. I thought you were a dead man but obviously I was wrong.”
“He isn’t exactly my biggest fan at the moment.”
“What did he want?”
Kier tried to think of a way to evade the question, but that was hard when he was locked in a room with the guy he was evading. “The old king is crazy and thinks he’s about to die. He’s just spouting nonsense.”
Teryn sighed in exasperation. His brown eyes looked tired, and dark circles showed around them.
“You don’t look too hot,” said Kier. “When is the last time you fed?”
“Do you know where the angel is or not?” snapped Teryn.
Kier stiffened at the question. “I told you that I wasn’t interested in her bounty.”
“That wasn’t what I asked,” said Teryn. “Mother fucker, I can’t believe it. The rumors are true.”
That didn’t sound good. “What rumors?”
“You’re with her! A fucking angel! What’s wrong with you?” Teryn shook with rage as he turned and slammed his fist against the filing cabinet, adding a large dent to the metal.
Kier took a cautious step back. “C’mon, man. Just relax. It’s nothing serious. Me and Muriel are just having a good time.”
“Don’t call her by her name! Fuck Muriel! She’s just the fallen angel that you damned. She doesn’t have a name. You already know she’s going to hate you by the time this is all over. Why even bother?”
Because he would never break her heart. “Even if I wanted to stop it, Azazel would kill me in a second if I did. He’s pissing himself with fear that the prophecy will come true and he wants to make sure her heart stays full and happy. I don’t really have a choice in this.”
“Do you have any idea what I could do with one hundred souls? Of course you don’t. You never felt the hunger like me. One whore of an adulteress would keep you sated for weeks while I can barely transport across a state after three days with such a weak meal.”
“I’m still your wingman. I’ll make sure you don’t go hungry,” said Kier.
“Then take me to her. Let me finish the job. Just one minute alone with her and Azazel will be off your back and everything will go back to the way it was.”
Kier couldn’t hold himself back. He reached across the room and slammed Teryn’s weak body against the hard corner of the filing cabinet. Bones cracked under the force. “You’re never going to touch a hair on her head,” he spat out menacingly. Teryn helplessly groaned in pain under Kier. “Do you understand?”
Teryn nodded and Kier dropped him to the ground. Kier walked to the far side of the room and stood by the door. He took a few seconds to compose himself and regain his calm.
“You actually care about her?” asked Teryn with disbelief.
“I don’t want her dead,” clarified Kier.
“When did you change?” Teryn was visibly shocked at the idea of Kier having true feelings for Muriel, and Kier didn’t blame him.
“I started changing five years ago, but the Muriel thing just happened last month,” said Kier. It felt good to finally admit what he had been going through. He’d told Teryn bits and pieces, but never fully disclosed the changes within him.
“You’re still with her, even knowing how it’s going to end?”
Kier didn’t have an answer to that. “Listen, you and me are good. I’m still here for you to help you hunt and keep you healthy. But if I ever see you around Muriel, I’m going to rip your spine out and choke you with it.” Kier transported away and left a speechless Teryn to deal with his broken back on his own.
A swift punch from Jared sent Muriel flying backward, where she landed unceremoniously on her rear. She grimaced as she pushed herself up and resumed her defensive position.
“Going a bit slower this morning. You have to get your head in the game. You can’t be distracted,” taunted the vampire.
“Keep laughing, alien. I’m not through with you yet.” Her insult hit its mark and the grin was wiped off his face. Vampires had only recently discovered that they had invaded the Earth realm a thousand years ago and it was still a touchy subject.
While Jared was distracted, Muriel threw a right hook at his jaw. He must have seen it coming because he tensed up and readied himself for the blow.
Upon seeing him tense up, Muriel switched tactics and her foot hooked behind his knee; the large male toppled to the ground.
His hand gripped her arm and pulled her so forcefully that she flipped over and landed on her back next to him. With his super speed, Jared was on top of her in an instant, but Muriel was ready for him. She aimed two wel
l-placed blows to his throat and sternum, leaving him to reflexively cough while she pulled the dull training blade from her thigh holster and stabbed downward until the blade rested against his ribs.
“Now who is distracted?” She removed the edge of the blade from Jared’s side and stood up to take a breather.
“Protest all you want.” Jared’s smug smile was firmly back in place. “I heard what you were doing last night.”
Muriel froze in place. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’ve been around long enough to know exactly what you were up to. The only question I have is who. My first guess was Samuel, but he’s wrapped way too tightly around Ava’s little finger to go sniffing around another female.”
Muriel turned to Jared, a mortified look on her face. “Would you please stop talking! Someone could hear you.”
They were alone for the moment in the little makeshift gym, but people came in and out all day long. Besides that, Jared had just pointed out how strong a vampire’s hearing could be, and Muriel figured that a werewolf’s would be just as strong.
“Just tell me who it was and I’ll leave you alone.”
Nosy vampires could mean trouble. There were ten of them on the base and any one of them could hear Kier sneaking in and out of her room, let alone what they would be doing together. It wouldn’t look good for her to be caught fraternizing with the enemy. “I don’t think Hell has frozen over yet. Once the demons are lining up to buy ice skates, we can have a nice, long discussion about my love life. Until then, keep your ears to yourself.”
“Yeah, because I was bored and thought to myself, ‘Hey! Let’s go spy on Muriel on the off chance she’s having hot angel sex!’” Jared gave her a look that told her exactly how little he cared about her extracurricular activities.
“Then I’m sure you can live with the suspense of not knowing then.” She turned her back and walked away. She would just have to hope that he truly didn’t care.
“If you’re not careful, you’re going to get your heart broken,” he called from behind her.
