Unlike Persephone, Lila would live in hell permanently. Which meant she needed to figure this realm--and her new husband--the fuck out.
Fast.
He traced them back to his bedroom. What would happen now? He waved his hand, and that familiar gold band appeared between two of his fingers. "I want you to wear this. I exchanged the confinement spell for contraception."
"Whatever." She snatched the ring and shoved it on. With that consideration taken care of, would he just toss her on the bed and do it? A shiver of dread coursed up her spine. "Now what?"
"You and I will take a bath."
"I figure I can stumble my way through one on my own."
"Alas, I cannot," he said with a smirk she longed to slap off his face. "In this realm, a wife is expected to wash her husband."
He took her elbow and guided her down a hallway toward a golden door that opened automatically for them.
Inside, steam wafted from a full copper bathtub the size of a small pool. Positioned atop a raised stone platform, the tub had submerged benches. Hell's hot tub. A few glass containers of bath oils and salts lined the dais.
A large modern shower took up the opposite side of the room. Lava flowed down one wall like an indoor water feature, heating the area and providing light. A stack of towels was at the ready, and an elegant silk robe hung beside the tub.
The demon stood before her and stroked the backs of his claws over her cheek. "You may undress now."
Sian enjoyed watching her choke back a thousand retorts. Nettling his mate was becoming his favorite pastime.
Her behavior had fascinated him from the beginning, and now he would get to investigate new facets of her. Sooner or later her demonic temper would overwhelm her, but how much could he vex her until then?
She stepped back. "Though I thought I would be a wife, you're ordering me around like a slave." Looking as if she faced a firing squad, she started to unlace her bodice.
She was cooperating? He'd expected her to tell him again to get fucked. Then they would bicker. Then he would toss her in the tub.
Instead, she was about to remove her dress for him. She must love her kingdom very, very much.
Some strange emotion churned in his chest. Guilt? He so rarely felt it he couldn't be sure.
Perhaps he could have finessed this situation more. His female was young, and she'd only get one wedding night. Yet she would have no flowers, finery, or well-wishers--just a demon she hated ordering her to strip.
Over this night, he'd been in conflict.
Whenever he softened toward her, he would remember their past.
Whenever he was harsh with her, he would grow uneasy about their future.
Eyes gone teal with fury, she said, "I guess I should expect commands since you pretty much bought me. But I want you to know that if the stakes weren't so high, if you and your alliance of monsters weren't about to murder my kind, I would never screw you, not in a million years."
He ground his teeth. Maybe he didn't want her to tell him her thoughts.
Like the concubines, Calliope would lie with him only out of duty. "Just for that, I vow I won't fuck you until you ask me to."
Instead of snapping a reply, she tilted her head. "So I'll have some control over the first time I have sex?"
He exhaled. "You call me a monster, but at least in that, you won't find me so."
She held her dress against her chest, hesitating to bare her breasts. He doubted the virgin had been naked with a fey male before, much less a demon enemy. She would need encouragement. He could give a little to get. "Delight me, Lila. Show me your stunning body."
Chin raised, she let the material fall to her waist.
He hissed in a breath. Her flawless breasts were upthrusting and pale, with rose-pink nipples and raised areolas. They swelled right before his rapt gaze, beckoning his mouth.
In Demonish, he rasped, "Exquisite." Less than an hour ago, he'd come harder than ever before, yet his cock grew painfully stiff.
Her breaths had shallowed, those breasts rising and falling.
The realities of his situation hit him. His mate was stripping for him. She was immortal. She would be his for all time. In a barely recognizable voice, he said, "You are so godsdamned lovely. I must see more."
She let the dress drop the rest of the way to the floor.
The sight left him unsteady on his feet. He'd known her figure was willowy, with graceful curves--that tiny waist flaring to the softness of her hips. He'd known her legs were shapely. He'd briefly seen the sandy-brown curls on her mons.
But altogether, her naked body rendered him thunderstruck.
Abyssian Infernas had waited ten thousand two hundred and thirty-four years, three months, and seventeen days for his female to return to him.
He met her gaze. "You were worth the wait."
THIRTY
The demon's husky voice made Lila's belly clench. His brows drew together, and his claws sank into his palms. His erection jutted like a steel rod in his pants.
But somehow she forced herself to stand bare before him. She'd expected him to leer at her or smirk.
Instead, he looked . . . awed. He'd sounded it too.
He made her feel beautiful--and powerful.
So he'd been right. There was power in desire. A small fey could affect one of the strongest beings in the Lore. She did have some sway over him, and it would only grow.
She found her shoulders rolling back.
When they met gazes, an understanding seemed to pass between them. She was reminded of the pomegranate. She'd given to him, and his expression told her he would reward her again and again and again.
He stood beside the tub, holding his hand out for her. Surprising herself, she took it and stepped into the deep water.
She caught his intoxicating scent, and her heart tripped.
Her first bath as an immortal felt heavenly--despite the fact that she'd have to share it.
He began to undress, so she looked away. She'd rather not see her future. . . .
Once he'd entered the water, she faced him. "What now?"
He reached for her, pulling her into his arms. "I'll start by washing you." He sat on one of the tub's benches and settled her sideways on his lap. She tensed when his hard dick pressed against her hip.
After selecting a bottle from the dais, he conjured a cloth, pouring oil on it. Lifting one of her arms, he drew the cloth from her wrist to her shoulder. His gaze roamed along with that cloth, rapt as he washed more of her body.
He discovered her ticklishness under her arms. He showed her the surprising sensitivity of her neck and collarbone.
With each moment, her resistance faded. She was growing more convinced that he would be gentle during sex, sparing her pain. But could it be . . . good?
What would an experienced demon king like sexually? As he began to massage one of her hands, she gazed at his chest. Those hypnotic glyphs moved across his flesh like the golden tips of flames.
She'd bet that raised skin was responsive. Would his heart pound if she flicked one with her tongue?
She recalled snippets she'd read on the walls in the tower. How would Abyssian react if she grabbed his horns and steered him to lick between her legs . . . ?
He kneaded her other hand, relaxing her even more. With a sigh, she leaned back against his arm.
Like this, she found his body less intimidating. Maybe she could get used to it in time.
They had nothing but time. I'm immortal.
"So this is the key to taming my firebrand queen?" he said, but his tone wasn't snide. "She likes to be petted." He threaded their fingers together. "Your little pink nails fascinate me as much as your ears. I'll have you digging these nails into me when you come. Scoring my back . . . my chest . . ."
Her cheeks heated yet again.
He noticed. "When you blush, the tips of your ears pinken." He nuzzled one, his hot breaths hardening her nipples and slicking her pussy.
She was about to c
ome before he'd even gotten to her breasts! She gasped when his big, roughened hand covered one.
He made a strangled sound. "So soft. Lush." He didn't hurt her with his claws. There was no pain. Just pleasure. Her nipple strained to his palm as he cupped her.
"I've waited ten millennia to see your breasts, picturing what they might look like." In a gravelly voice, he said, "I can scarcely believe how flawless they are."
When he removed his hand, she shocked herself by arching for more of his touch.
"Infinite times, I fantasized what color your nipples would be." He swirled his forefinger around one, making her jolt. "But I never imagined such a lovely shade of rose."
She started to pant.
"When I fantasized how sensitive they'd be"--he lightly pinched the other one--"I never imagined they would get so . . . very . . . stiff."
She couldn't bite back a moan.
Another pinch, another swirled finger. "Do you like when I play with your nipples, Lila?"
Her nickname, said in his accent, sent her heart racing. She nodded, biting her lip to keep from begging for more.
He sucked her earlobe, then rasped, "Am I making your pussy ache?"
She couldn't believe he was talking to her like this, but it only turned her on even more. "Yes."
He skimmed his hand down her belly, circling her navel. "Your skin is like silk." His fingers descended to her mons, lightly grazing it.
Just when he was about to make contact with her clit, he pulled back.
"What? Nooo."
"I thought you liked it when I played with your nipples." He pinched the puckered tips again.
"More." She yearned for this demon's hands on her, for the orgasm that danced just out of reach.
"That's it, beautiful girl. You need these sensations, do you not?"
She could only moan in answer.
"I can give them all to you, Lila." He sounded like a monarch, one seething with power. "Anything you crave can be yours." He rolled her nipples between the pads of his fingers.
Could he make her come like this? "Wh-what are you doing to me?"
He trailed a hand down once more. "Is the flesh between your thighs the same shade of rose as your nipples?" His own breaths grew heavier. Was his hand shaking as he teased her navel?
She murmured, "Lower."
"Tell your husband what you need."
"I need you to touch me more."
"Where? How? Say, 'I need my husband to . . .' "
Hearing him talk dirty was different from doing it herself, but she was too far gone to be embarrassed. She spread her legs and said, "I-I need my husband to stroke my pussy."
He groaned. "You make my cock so fucking hard." It jerked against her hip.
Would he want her to suck it? Right now she would. She'd do anything if he'd just let her come--
His forefinger covered her clit.
"Ah!" She rocked up to the contact.
"No, beauty. Still. You're not to come yet."
"Why?" she cried.
"I want you wanton."
"I am!" Her head thrashed against his arm. "Do you want me to ask for it?"
He nuzzled her ear again. "No, little wife, I want you to ache for it."
Focus. No battle had ever meant more to Sian. Go slow with her.
His forefinger dipped to her slippery entrance. Slow, Sian! To restrain himself, he called on every ounce of the strength he'd earned just by virtue of surviving for millennia. "You've never had anything inside you, have you?"
"N-no." Her eyes were ablaze--that sultry teal.
He watched her expression as he gently probed her. When her core clamped his finger, his engorged cock pulsed in response. "Lila."
Her lids fluttered. "Ohhh, demon."
He delved his finger deeper, his instincts screaming for him to put his seed inside her. To impregnate his mate.
Why would a demon like him be fated to a fey if the result was so bad? "You like being penetrated?" His breaths were now heaving.
When he stirred the tip of his finger, she gave a throaty moan. "I love that."
Though her channel was slick with welcome, she was too tight. He would hurt her if he didn't work with her. "I feel your virginity. You're going to give that to me, Lila. One day, you will." In Demonish, he told her, "I'll claim this hot, wet sheath with my seed."
But not until she asked. Which meant denying his most primal instincts and subjecting his cock and balls to excruciating pain. "Do you want your husband to keep fingering your pussy?"
Her breathtaking body writhed in the water, those flawless tits quivering. "Yes, yes!"
He wanted to roar his victory, but he was losing control. He'd been so confident that he could maintain it with her--because he had so easily with other females.
Once I enter my mate's body . . . His resulting culmination, spending in the throes, would rob him of sanity, not to mention all restraint.
His body had been built to kill; hers could barely accept one of his fingers.
He was glad he wouldn't be claiming her until she asked. They had time. Unfortunately, his instinct wouldn't rest until he'd marked her. Somehow a male like him would have to go through the most intense and powerful transition in his long life--gently.
Even now he teetered on the edge. Could she handle what was about to be unleashed?
This demon was a sex god. His voice, his reactions, and his sinful touch all combined to make Lila wild for him.
How had she lived without this?
At first, she'd been nervous about his finger inside her, but the pressure felt wonderful, necessary. Shameless, she said, "I-I need my husband to make me come!"
He rested his forehead against hers. "Look at me." Their gazes locked. His eyes were black as jet. "When I claim you, nothing will stop me from giving you this kind of pleasure."
Right then, she was ready. Sign her up. Anything.
In Demonish, he said, "We will wait until your body's prepared for me."
It was! Once she hovered on the very brink, he held his finger still inside her.
"Nooo!" She reached down, crazed enough to do it herself.
"Ah-ah." He gently captured her wrists with his free hand.
"Abyssian!" She rocked on his finger, sending it in and out of her, fucking herself.
His glyphs were on fire. "I can't take much more of this, beauty." He couldn't? "Nearing the point of no return. I'm going to bring you off."
"DO IT!"
He gave a strained laugh. "My fey mate loves her pleasure. Doesn't like to be denied it."
He released her wrists. With one forefinger still inside her, he used his other to cover her throbbing clitoris. "You want my touch here?"
"Yes!"
"On this needy little bud?"
She whimpered, tremors of her orgasm beginning. "Pleasepleaseplease."
"What will you do for it?"
"Anything, demon!"
"Good girl. Come for me." He rubbed her and finger-fucked--
"Ahhh!" Coiling pressure . . . released. Bliss exploded, sending her flying. She screamed as her core contracted on the demon's big finger.
He growled, "I feel you! Feel your tight pussy coming for me."
His voice spurred another series of contractions that went on and on. . . .
THIRTY-ONE
My mate's virginal sheath . . . milking my finger . . . as I bring her to come.
Too much . . . Sian nigh lost his senses. Had to fight not to spontaneously culminate. His hand--steady for lifetimes--shook wildly as he drew out her orgasm.
Once she was spent, she closed her legs and pushed at his wrist.
He shuddered as he removed his finger from her body, reluctantly surrendering his prize. He would never get enough of her quivering tits, her gripping pussy, her desperate moans. The way she called him husband and looked at him with trust. Want her so fucking much!
She was pleasure godsdamned embodied.
"Abyssian?" she said, her voice uncertai
n. "You look really . . . demonic."
The unbearable pressure racking his body demanded release. He'd be finished with one pump of his shaft. "Slake me, wife."
"How?"
He took her hand and raised it to his face. He kissed her palm. Flicked it with his tongue. Rubbed his cheek against it. Then he placed it high on his chest, dragging it down. "Touch me. Touch my cock."
Every time he mentioned his cock, her ears twitched, and her eyes grew brighter. Wicked little female. She rose to stand between his thighs. With a trembling hand, she caressed the length of a glyph.
He sucked in a breath. Exploring me? He'd expected her to tend him in a perfunctory manner. If she knew how close he was to coming . . . He was almost fearful of his impending release.
Eyes watchful, she did it again. "Your skin is hot like fire, and when these glow they look like flames." Another light stroke. "Are they sensitive? Do you like them to be touched?"
He sensed her rebounding excitement, and it made his shaft jerk in the water. "Yes." He stared into her eyes. Between breaths, he said, "No part of me . . . is off-limits to you. Touch where you will."
She surprised him by reaching for one of his wings.
Lila smoothed her palm over the exterior of a wing. That side was roughened like callused skin, yet he seemed to feel even the slightest contact. His muscles rippled when she lightly raked her nails across it.
After the orgasm he'd just given her, she was more curious about her new husband--about what made him . . . demonic. "You don't fly a lot?"
He shook his head. "I trace too easily. They're more for battle."
She let go of his wing. Always back to war with this one. The impulse to touch his horns struck her, but she held off. She reached down and began trailing her fingers up his neck. He swallowed thickly, his Adam's apple moving between her fingertips.
She grazed her knuckles along his wide jawline and his prominent chin. Tracing the piercings above the bridge of his nose, she asked, "Did these hurt?"
"Fleetingly."
She cradled his face, then smoothed her thumbs over his sharp cheekbones, his stern brow, his sensual lips. . . .
The gold band on her ring finger glinted in the firelight--a wedding ring of sorts.
Returning her attention to his chest, she traced a fingertip over one of his pierced nipples.
He inhaled sharply, nostrils flaring. His wings fluttered uncontrollably. Sensitive!
She grazed him again, and he groaned, his brows drawing together as if she'd struck him.