He wanted her just as bad as the rest of us. He just wouldn’t give in.
I wasn’t nearly as selfless, or stupid. It’s what kept me here, in her bed. When I knew I should have left. She was a temptation; not quite forbidden, but entirely unexpected. When Lucifer brought us forth from the flames and gave us our purpose, I never imagined that I would want to fuck her like I do now.
I was supposed to protect her from men like me. Like Laran. Like Rysten. Especially Julian.
She wasn’t a child though, and I never knew the child she was. The babe I saw all those years ago was gone. A week ago, I thought I hated myself for it because I missed out on knowing her. What I really hated was that I wanted her. If I’d been here when she was a child, that would have never come to pass. I wouldn’t be in her bed right now, contemplating all the ways I was going to fuck her.
There was no going back now, not when her lips had my mind painting pictures of her on her knees. Putting her smart mouth to much better use.
Her dark blue hair slid across my chest as she twisted around in her sleep. So beautiful. So unique. She thought that we had the wrong girl, but never before have I met someone with hair the color of the flames. Not even Lucifer. I slid my hand through the slippery strands, mesmerized by the color change. The blue was dark enough to pass for black, until the light reflected the most stunning of azures.
“Where is she?” Laran’s presence brushed against my mind, uninvited.
“She’s at home. What do you want?” I replied tersely, brushing my fingers across the curve of her neck. The skin was so soft. Supple. A breathy little moan escaped her lips.
“I’m going to stop by and check on her. Can you tell Jul—”
“There’s no need. I’m here with her.” I sent back, focusing on the girl before me. They would call me away soon, but I didn’t want to move. Not yet. Not when tomorrow was already coming.
“Why are you still with her?” There was a challenge in his tone. I frowned in annoyance, running my hand over the curve of her hip.
“Because she was so fucking high on white lotus, she may have hunted down the first man on the street to sate her if I hadn’t made her go to sleep,” I snapped back. There was no need to mention what happened before she went to sleep. Not even I would have been strong enough to calm her had I not given her what she needed first. She was the strongest succubus I had encountered pre-transition. The oldest, too. She was using powers she shouldn’t have before the change, and starving herself while she did it, no less. I don’t know what went down in her past, but something happened that made her hesitant with men. Male demons even more so. Her body was begging to be touched and fulfilled, but her mind wanted no part of it.
Not consciously anyway.
“Meet me back home. Rysten is on his way to watch her.” A sudden flash of anger boiled within me at his blatant attempt to get me away from her. He even went so far as to call in Rysten, who he hadn’t bothered with at the bar. The fucker needed to remember it was his carelessness that caused this, and I had just as much right to her as he did.
“Feeling a bit heavy-handed, War?” I mentally growled back, sending my displeasure along with it. Ruby winced against me, pushing back. Her mind lashed out with power like an iron lifted right out of flame. It speared through my shields without effort, and took a sharp stab at the innermost part of myself. Attacking, where no demon had ever held the power to before. I recoiled from her, catching myself as I toppled out of her bed.
Had she felt my displeasure? Had that made her lash out? Or was it something more?
Even more curious, was where that power came from when she’d never given a hint of it before. I knew that something lurked inside her, as it had her father. I was almost certain that was not it, but something else entirely.
I watched her for a moment longer, the blood in my veins calling me back to her bed. As much as I didn’t want to, I needed to get back and report what just happened.
It appeared our girl had more to her than meets the eye.
Chapter 10
The birds were chirping. The bees were buzzing. It was Saturday morning, and I didn’t have work. The pounding in my head served as a reminder for the bad choices I made the night before. Like letting Laran take me to a demon bar, and getting felt up on some creepy imp’s lap. Oh, and let’s not forget how I finished the night off by throwing myself at Allistair.
Yeah. Last night was a shit show by anyone’s standards.
I wanted to yell at Laran and blame him for putting me in the situation to begin with, but he didn’t really make me go. He didn’t make me high. I’m also equally sure he didn’t make me seduce Allistair. All of which meant that as much as I wanted someone to blame, this was all on me, and it fucking sucked.
Being a demon and having lowered inhibitions wasn’t always fun, compared to what people might think. At the end of the day, or really, the next morning, we still had to wake up and deal with the consequences.
“I’ll have four orders of bacon and a cup of coffee. Thanks, Martha.”
Yep. My consequences were me hiding in Martha’s Diner and treating myself to bacon while I sat at my usual booth and stewed about the bad life choices I’d made. I liked to pretend it was a pre-reward for when I chose to do the right thing next time, but honestly, it was just another Saturday morning, and that meant this booth was the only place my ass would be.
The jingle of the bell on the front door pulled me from my inner rambling. Please don’t be Kendall. I was not in the mood to deal with her shit today. By the time my head swiveled around to check the door, the shift in power that was seeping through the room left little guesswork about who it was.
Golden eyes bore into mine and the sinking feeling in my stomach became an anchor tugging me to the linoleum floor. I wanted to evaporate on the spot, but not even disappearing would save me from the embarrassment of last night. I straightened my spine and kept my head high.
“I went by your shop, but you’re closed on Saturdays,” he stated. He wasn’t loud, but he projected enough that I heard him from across the diner. Devil damn him. Between Allistair and Kendall, the Saturday crowd would not be happy with me. I chose to ignore him, but I knew he wouldn’t go away. “What kind of tattoo artist are you? That doesn’t make a lot sense.”
“It’s the one day I have off, and it has been that way since I started taking care of myself. Now, if you’ll excuse me…” I let me voice trail off, making it abundantly clear that I wanted him to leave. Silly me, thinking one of the Horsemen knew how to take a hint.
“Rather limiting, don’t you think?” he continued, crossing the diner in smooth, measured steps. I growled under my breath, but shoved down the urge to throw a salt shaker at his head.
“If someone wants a tattoo, they can come in the other six days of the week. I’m not staying open until two in the fucking morning on a Saturday for drunk rejects to stumble in and get something they’ll regret in the morning. That’s not how I run my business, and it’s a great way to tarnish your name.” I leaned back in the booth and crossed my arms over my chest.
“If you say so,” he said when he reached the table. He placed a hand on my shoulder and I slapped it away instantly, like he was an annoying fly and not someone whose every movement I was keenly aware of.
“What do you want?” I snapped at him. Allistair grinned at me, like he knew exactly where my thoughts had been going.