Sleeping Redemption (Feathers of Darkness Duet #1)

Chapter 3

Chapter Three

F rom the second I left the quaint coffee shop, I was in a foul fucking mood. What the hell had happened back there? I must have missed something, but what was it? I never overlooked even the smallest of details.

Fuck! I forgot my damn coffee.

Welp, I wasn’t turning around and going back. If I ran into him again that quickly, my ability to come off as a normal human would be totally lost. The idea of throwing him across the cafe until he confessed to whatever secrets he was hiding was already too tempting.

Humans didn’t just ignore my persuasions, yet this asshole had brushed it off like a speck of dust. Oh, I couldn’t wait to see if that abomination bled buckets like every other human. I would find out, after he paid and/or fucked me, of course.

My tech business, Systems Infotech Networking, was an easy way to get information on all the little bad girls and boys out there. Not to mention it paid the bills for my very high-maintenance lifestyle. Look, I had an image to uphold as Lucifer’s right-hand angel. SIN provided me with luxurious living arrangements at the expense of humans who had their free will manipulated at my command. Except for this fucking Alex individual.

I stomped my way back to my black Maserati, got in, and carelessly tossed my purse into the red leather passenger seat. The temptation was strong to simply plow down any pedestrian who looked remotely in need of a one-way ticket to Hell. The woman I had passed on the sidewalk moments ago looked suspiciously sinful with her floral-patterned socks. I prayed it was her who got in my way.

Fifteen minutes later, I arrived back at my house, pulled into the garage and killed the engine after the paneled door lowered behind my vehicle.

Alex was still at the forefront of my mind, leaving me wondering what could have rendered my powers useless against him. Everything about him had me on edge, especially the way he kept staring at me. You would have thought he was a lovesick puppy looking for a home.

Trapped in my thoughts, I got out of the car, preparing to go inside and pour myself a giant glass of wine, but something caught my eye. The access door of the garage that led out onto the side of my property hung open ever so slightly.

Walking over there, I inspected the door and wondered if the maintenance guy or cleaning crew had inadvertently left it open. If so, I was sure they were guilty of some other infraction I could make them pay for. Two tickets to Hell, please.

After pushing the door shut, I turned on my heel, and my heart nearly leapt from my chest as a towering body suddenly stood before me. My clenched fist swung on first instinct, but a long black cane crashed into it. The impact was a little aggressive to be fully defensive as it collided against the inside of my wrist.

Immediately, I recoiled my hand and held it to my chest while my fingers rubbed the intense throbbing of my wrist. “Ow! Son of a fucking Leviathan!” I shrieked as the pain lanced through me.

Looking up to see my assailant, a familiar face greeted me with a mercurial smile.

I gave a low growl of annoyance; Rook was going to be adding to my already shitty mood if I had to guess. His typical roguish look and a glimmer of mischief in his hazel eyes was unsettling.

“My, my, such a mouth you have, love.” The light hint of a British accent tainted his words.

His cane came to settle in front of him with both hands resting on top of it, his fingers curled over the top of its silver knob putting his decorated digits with several silver rings and black nail polish on display. The fucker only carried the damn thing around because he felt it added a special flair to his appearance. I thought it was fucking stupid. Nearly as stupid as his busted-ass maroon jacket that looked like it had been through a warzone. At least the fitted black tee and black jeans he wore resembled somewhat normal attire.

Everything he did had to carry a tinge of dramatics like he was some ringmaster of a demonic circus. I suppose that’s part of what made him a trickster demon. He derived pleasure from games he played, games that even I found tiresome. Introducing anarchy was his favorite pastime.

With a blistering glare that could turn Antarctica into Pompeii, I gave one final rub of my wrist. “I’m not in the mood for you,” I warned.

Rook stood there looking smug as shit. He was like a mixture of a carnival freak turned punk rocker in one package, and hell if it didn’t work for him.

Haphazardly styled shaggy black hair gave the appearance he put no effort into it. He sported a few piercings from the neck up, including a couple in his ears, his eyebrow, and a small hoop in his nose. I had heard that the piercings didn’t stop there, but I didn’t know to what extent. I certainly didn’t ask questions that would turn into a game of show and tell.

“Now, let’s not be dramatic. I’ve never known you not to be in the mood. Besides...” His tongue dragged over his upper lip as his eyes blatantly raked over my body.

He shifted his cane, slowly dragging the bottom of it up the inside of my leg. Higher and higher it moved until it pressed up between my legs. The deep gravel of his voice spoke with heated intent. “My first option was to strike you here, but you keep insisting we keep things ‘professional’.” His free hand provided the appropriate air quotes.

That was a nice way of putting it. I was technically his supervisor here outside of Hell, and getting involved with an off-kilter trickster demon was asking for a level of trouble I didn’t have time for.

I pushed his cane away from between my legs, ignoring the tug of need brewing in my lower stomach before crossing my arms in front of me.

“Stop with the bullshit. What caused you to grace me with your presence?” I asked, making it clear my temper grew shorter by the second.

In a blur of speed, he closed the short distance between us so his face was a single breath away from touching my own. The sudden movement caused the barest of breezes that shifted a few stray locks of my hair. Stubbornly, I stood my ground, refusing to flinch.

Rook waved his finger back and forth. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Watch that temper, Kinley. We both know what happens when you get emotional.”

Thoughtfully, he tilted his head. “What is the name of that small town that fell victim all those years ago to a particularly brutal ‘serial killer’ during one of the worst blizzards it had seen in nearly a century?”

Oh, I was at my tipping point now, and my hand grabbed him by the curve of his jaw, pushing him back until he was shoved up against a large metal tool cabinet. The force rattled much of its contents inside the drawers.

My grasp remained locked on his face as I looked into his eyes, the rest of my body pressed up against his as I pinned him in place.

Venom laced my words. “Don’t you ever bring up what happened at St. Cassius again. Do you understand me? If you do, I will personally see to it that your life from here on out involves staring at four blank walls in an insane asylum.” The heat of my face grew quickly from the rage boiling beneath the surface.

To give extra emphasis to my point, I gave him an extra shove into the cabinet before releasing him. I stepped back so I could try to reestablish something resembling self-control inside me.

That shit-eating grin never left his face. Setting his cane down, it stood balanced on one end all by itself.

Show off.

With a light scoff, Rook’s hands brushed off the front of his clothes, smoothing out the lapels of his jacket, all while he snickered in amusement to himself.

“Your wish is my command, mistress.” He gave a flamboyant bow accompanied by a sweeping gesture of his arm. From that bent-over position, his face tipped up with a sparkle of humor in his features, a few longer strands of his dark hair falling forward in front of his eyes. Then, he straightened up.

“As much as it brings me great joy to pay you an unannounced visit, I came to alert you that I overheard some chitty-chatty-chat that one of your feathered comrades may be paying you a visit soon. I heard about it earlier while I was playing with the hallucinations of some woman who overindulged in a narcotic cocktail. You really should have joined me; it was quite entertaining.” He chuckled to himself as he appeared to reminisce.

My eyes rolled in disinterest at playing with junkies. “And which one of my so-called friends should I be expecting?”

“I am not entirely confident that my information is accurate, but I believe it will be his royal highness, Sylas. He is always the bearer of bad news, you know. Always preaching about this or that. Quite the mood killer.” Rook rolled his eyes.

Sylas wasn’t Team Lucifer, but as business would have it, our jobs coincided with one another. He was the archangel who escorted departed souls from their bodies to the next realm where it would be determined whether or not they would be lifted into stuffy paradise or come on down to party town where we have all the fun.

Contrary to popular belief and despite differences of opinions, the entire Heaven versus Hell situation was blown far out of proportion by the wee mortals on Earth. Both sides relied on one another to strike a balance. Instead of being lifelong enemies, the dynamic was more aligned with two competitive sports teams relying on each other to have a league to play in.

Just what I needed today was Sylas, Mr. Grumpy Pants, to pay me a visit to further sour my mood.

“Lovely,” I said, speaking sarcastically. “If that’s all you have for me then you can disappear yourself out of here.” I waved dismissively at him.

Rook approached and firmly took my hips into his hands, leaning in and drawing in a deep breath against the side of my neck. “You sure you don’t have time for fun?” His gravelly whisper awakened something in my core. “I can smell how much you could use some release, love.”

His hands drifted down over the curve of my ass, kneading it in his hands. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t enjoying it. Rook had always wanted to show some of the other ways he liked to play, but I’d been hesitant. Not because I didn’t like a good time, but because getting involved with any demon was a tricky proposition—that was even more true when it came to Rook.

Deep within me, a part of me feared that I’d become addicted to his more unique methods of fun. A long time ago, I had already learned my lesson after getting involved with a demon, well…a half-demon. That lesson ended with Atlas being destroyed with a sword that was never meant for him–it was mine.

As I mulled over how desperate I felt, he raised a hand to wrap around the back of my neck firmly, and his mouth found the sensitive spot just below my ear. Growling playfully, Rook bit into my flesh possessively, tugging at it like a puppy claiming its new toy. Afterward, there was one long stroke of his tongue over the red crescents his teeth had left behind.

My lips parted as a whispered moan greeted the air. His attention made things challenging to the point where I found myself reconsidering my stance. Maybe a good fuck was what I needed to get my mind off of Alex’s immunity and Sy’s upcoming visit.

My hands slid up his arms onto his shoulders. “I swear, Rook, if I have any less than three orgasms, I will have you banished down to the fourth circle of Hell,” I warned.

Getting excited at the green light for him to continue, he smirked and looked at me with the weight of genuine promise in his eyes. “Love, if you have any less than five, I will banish myself.”

At least he could be my distraction from how my day had started so poorly, perhaps even the reward I needed for not losing my shit earlier. I pulled myself up against him, my hunger building quickly as my lips found his mouth. Getting lost in the kiss, our tongues mingled with one another as clothes began falling to the garage’s concrete floor.

Facing the workbench in just my intricate lace thong, Rook’s hands dragged down over my back. His fingertips slowed over the vertical, shimmering scar-like marks between my shoulder blades.

My wings didn’t emerge often, but when they did get expelled from my body it was an intimately beautiful and nearly violent process. The skin along the seams of the marks on my back split open, each wing causing the bloody wounds to stretch as they forced their way out until their magnificence was fully released.

Using my hands to brace myself against the edge of the table in front of me while his hips pressed against the round curve of my ass, Rook let me feel the hard as steel cock still trapped beneath his boxers.

Getting distracted by the sensation of his hand tugging the thin straps of my underwear over my hips, I hadn’t realized he had reached over into one of the drawers in the tool cabinet to my right. It wasn’t until I heard the drawer clink shut that my attention drew away from his hand as it stripped away that fundamental piece of fabric between my thighs.

Looking back over my shoulder at him, I raised a brow. “What are you doing?”

Rook grabbed a handful of my braided tresses, pushing me forward until he had me bent over the table for him. My hips pushed back toward him in anticipation.

He gave a hum of approval at the sight of my ass on full display for him. “Just getting you warmed up, love.”

My core ached for attention, and I began to get antsy for the first of the five orgasms he’d promised me. Using a hand against the center of my back to keep me in position, I felt cold metal sliding between my thighs.

At first contact, I squirmed at the unexpected touch. The unforgiving object pressed against my clit, and I gasped before he dragged it through my arousal back to my entrance.

“Do you trust me, Kinley?” he murmured as he leaned over me, laying a kiss on my back.

I snorted. “I don’t fucking trust anybody, especially not you.”

“That’s probably wise, love.” He pushed the long metal tool into my cunt, causing me to moan out at the hardness of the device now deep inside of me.Only Rook would be crazy enough to fuck a girl with a purchase from the hardware store.

My hips jerked, having nowhere to go between him and the workbench he’d bent me over. He groaned as he began fucking me with the long object. “You’re doing so good letting me stretch you out with a wrench.”

“Oh God, Rook,” I moaned out in both pleasure and surprise.

He was relentless with the thrusts of the tool into me, shifting the angling just slightly with each entry. My body began to shake as my first release approached.

“You better get used to having metal in this tight pussy of yours, love. When you take my cock, you’ll be full of it.”

So the rumors were true, his dick was pierced. The imagery sent the inferno building in my core straight over the edge as I screamed out. The darkness turned my eyes fully black, leaving no white behind except for a pinhole of light where the pupil used to be.

My cum coated the tool while my hands clawed at anything in reach on the table where my upper body sprawled out. Several items got knocked onto the floor, including a can of dirty motor oil my mechanic hadn’t yet disposed of.

“Fuck! Rook!”

The wrench was withdrawn from my body, and I heard it clang against the floor off to the side as it was discarded.

My breaths heaved as my fall into ecstasy finally leveled out. I looked back over my shoulder at him, a smile tugging at my lips. “You’re fucking insane.” And I was here for it. My eyes gradually faded back to their typical glacial blue hue.

Rook pulled me upright, spinning me around to face him with a grin. “Oh, we’re only getting started.”

Our mouths collided again, this time my hands feverishly working at the waist of his underwear, shoving them down until the last piece of clothing fell to the floor. His massive cock sprang forth, and when I looked down to admire it, I saw the series of piercings along its underside. There were seven from my quick count, not including the Prince Albert at the head.

With eyes full of amusement, he asked, “Have I managed to render you speechless?” He smiled wide as though he had just accomplished marking the final square on his bingo card.

I laughed and shook my head. “You’d have to do a lot more than pierce your dick to have me at a loss for words.”

He cupped my face in his hands, staring into my eyes like there was nothing else worthy of looking at in the universe. “Challenge accepted,” he murmured.

Using his strength, he grabbed me by my waist, lifting me up until my legs wrapped around his hips.

“Better get to work, you owe me four more orgasms, demon.” I smirked at him, reminding him who here was of the higher rank.

Tightly gripping my waist, he guided my opening to the head of his cock. “Be careful what you ask for, I have been waiting ever so patiently for you to let me play with your cunt.”

Rook forced my hips down onto the length of his pierced dick, every inch stretching my walls around him while his metal barbells dragged along my insides. My mouth sealed against his, and I screamed out at the intensity of the pleasure as my body took him in.

He slammed my back against the closed tool cabinet roughly before his hips began pummeling his cock into me, tearing my moans out from deep inside my chest. Each shove back into my core meant the rows of steel balls from his piercings rubbed against the interior of my pussy. The piercing at his rounded head continually pushed at my most sensitive spot.

“It seems angels really do like demon dick better.” He flicked his tongue over my collarbone before his teeth sank into the firm mound of the top of one of my breasts, making a mark and prompting me to yip at the pain that blended into the sinful noises I made.

My hips pushed down on him, getting lost in the pleasure of my body as he kept fucking me like a starved man…or demon as it were.

Clawing at the skin of his back, my nails nearly embedded themselves into his flesh as I tipped my head back against the tool cabinet at my back. My pussy started to tighten around him, only making my ascent towards my climax faster.

“Rook, your fuckin’ cock… FUCK!”