The Demigod (Seven Sins MC #6)

Chapter Sixteen

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Nox

I didn’t want to admit it to Daemon, but I was really starting to get worried about how exhausted I was, how achy and shaky I felt.

I mean, I’d slept for hours on the car ride. I felt like I’d just nodded off.

How much longer could I go on like this? I hadn’t even been using my powers in the Underworld. I’d been relying completely on Daemon and his powers.

Which, yes, were hot.

Even just remembering him springing into action, effortlessly carrying me, fleeing from an evil dog with me, climbing a tree with me, had desire blooming in my core again.

As if sensing where my mind was going, the shower curtain pulled back, and Daemon was standing there—gloriously naked, his cock already hard and straining.

“Love that sound, shadow girl,” he said as a little whimper escaped me.

He stepped into the tub, pulling the curtain closed behind him, then walked toward me, backing me up against the wall.

His hand reached out, framing my jaw, watching me with an intensity that had my stomach flip-flopping for a moment before his lips claimed mine.

I expected hard and hungry, borderline brutal.

But he was all soft and sweet, teasing, exploring. But that sweetness had little whimpers escaping me as I wrapped my arms around him, holding him close as the hot water cascaded down over us.

It wasn’t long before the need became too strong to ignore.

Hands roamed, teased, tantalized.

Daemon’s lips were on my neck when his fingers teased up my cleft, working my clit with his thumb as two of his fingers slid inside me.

He worked me in lazy strokes, driving me up slowly.

“Daemon, please,” I whimpered, rocking against his palm—needing more, needing him.

His fingers slid out of me, reaching to pull up one of my legs, then stepping closer.

His hardness rocked against my cleft for a moment. Then he was sliding deep inside of me. My moan mingled with his groan as he settled deep.

There was just intimacy then—gentle touches, soft moans, and this strange, swelling sensation in my chest as he moved inside me.

“Love how you moan when I’m deep inside you,” Daemon said, lips near my ear, making my sex clench around him. “You feel so fucking good,” he groaned, rocking into me, pushing me to the edge, then sending me tumbling over.

The orgasm was deep and long, leaving me clinging to Daemon as he pressed deeper, his body shuddering as he came.

We stayed just like that for a long time afterward, bodies connected, arms wrapped around each other.

Until the water started to run tepid, then just shy of cold, prompting us to pull apart, quickly washing and rinsing, then climbing out of the shower.

Somewhere along the journey, I managed to sleep through Daemon not only stopping for food, but also grabbing more clothing for himself—and a new jacket for me—as well as some other goodies.

Daemon slipped into his fresh clothes as I set up the tacos and dug in.

“What’s all this?” I asked, waving toward a mix of camping and cooking supplies.

“Arick had instructions for preparing the poppies if we couldn’t get the water. We have to boil them over a fire until the fluid reduces. Then let it sit for a few hours before taking out the poppies and putting the liquid in a bottle.”

So he’d gotten a pot and one of those little camping grills with extra bottles of butane.

“We haven’t talked about how we are going to get this in their drinks,” Daemon said, waving toward where he was dumping the flowers into the pot, then taking it into the bathroom to put some water in it.

“That’s easy,” I said when he came back. “I have to do it.”

“I don’t like that idea.”

“I don’t think we have a choice,” I said. “They know you. You can’t go in there.”

“Momus knows you too.”

“Well, I wasn’t talking about just walking in there,” I said with a little eye roll.

“I don’t think using your powers is a good idea right now.”

“We really don’t have a choice,” I said, shrugging. Even if, secretly, I had to agree with him. My powers were making me too weak. But for just this one last mission, I could make it work. “I will just get a lot of rest beforehand,” I added to try to ease his nerves. “Once the wine is drugged, I can get right back out.”

It was the only option.

I could see him grudgingly coming to the same conclusion.

“For the record, I don’t like it.”

“For the record, I didn’t like chaining you up each night to get tortured,” I told him.

“I know you didn’t,” he said, sitting down next to me and rubbing a hand down my leg. “Full?” he asked when I put a half-eaten taco back down in the container.

“Yeah,” I said, leaning into him as another wave of exhaustion hit me.

“Why don’t you get some sleep? I will handle the poppies.”

“Will you lay with me?” I asked. “When you’re done,” I clarified.

To that, his face softened. And, oddly, his eyes turned a bit redder—like they did when we were intimate.

“Of course,” he said. “How about I lay with you until you fall asleep?”

Even better.

“Okay,” I agreed.

“Hold up. One second,” he said, jumping up off the bed to cross the room where the pile of bags from the store was located. “Got you a new blanket since your other one needs to be washed.”

The new one was just as soft and warm as the other but featured a darling little moon pattern which, I hoped, he picked out because of my lineage, not because it was the only option available.

“They didn’t have shadow girl blankets,” he told me as he flicked it over my body. “So moons and stars had to do.”

My heart squeezed at that as he climbed on the bed and slipped under the blanket with me.

His arm slid under my head, curling me into him, giving me his warmth.

One arm held me tight while the other started sliding up and down my back, through the damp strands of my hair.

My heart did that swelling thing again. Only this time, I recognized it for just what it was.

Not just warmth or affection.

No.

This was something deeper.

Something a lot like love.

Maybe it was foolish—to fall for anyone in such a life-or-death situation. It was certainly insane to fall for a demon . I mean, could an evil creature even feel love? Could he ever return the feelings that were building in me?

“Daemon?”

“Hmm?” he asked, the sound vibrating against my cheek.

“Can you tell me about… you? Your kind? Your friends? Anything.”

“Need me to bore you to sleep, huh, sweetness?” he asked, fingers gently rubbing my scalp. A shiver moved through me at the sensation. “Don’t go getting all shivery on me. You’re supposed to be sleeping,” he said, tone light.

“It just feels good,” I said, already feeling my eyelids getting heavy. “Talk to me.”

Then he started. At first, he just told me everyone’s names and some basic personality traits—Ace with his grandpa sweaters, Minos with his depressing playlists, Aram with his crush on Red, who had apparently run off a while ago and hadn’t been heard from since.

But it wasn’t long before he started to get more personal, explaining how much he hated his homeland, how ecstatic he was when Lenore opened a Hellmouth and he and his—less enthusiastic—brother got sucked through.

I was almost asleep when he finally started to talk about the things I wanted to know the most.

Claiming.

Apparently, it was what happened when a demon fell in love. And it made it impossible for them to go back to hell.

I had to admit, the idea of Daemon possibly having wings had all sorts of ideas drifting across my mind as I slipped off to sleep.

It was the cold that woke me up. I knew instantly that Daemon had not only left the bed, but a while before, judging by the chill in my bones.

The room was full of a strange earthy, almost smoky smell that had my nose wrinkling.

“You’re supposed to be sleeping,” Daemon’s voice said, making me turn to find him coming in from outside.

Where had he been?

Though, as if answering my question, he held up two cups of coffee and a brown bag of some sort of food.

“What time is it? How long have I been out?”

“Almost sunset. Nearly sixteen hours.”

“ What ?” I yelped, shooting up in bed, feeling my head immediately swim.

I wanted to say it was from the lack of food for so long, but I had a sneaking suspicion it had nothing to do with food and everything to do with whatever was wrong with me.

“You okay?” Daemon asked, head tipped to the side.

“Yeah. Just… confused,” I lied, holding gimme-hands out for the cup of coffee, hoping it would ward off the chill. And maybe give me the energy boost that even sixteen hours of sleep didn’t seem to accomplish.

“Might have considered holding a mirror under your nose a time or two,” Daemon admitted, coming over to sit on the bed with me. “Feeling better?”

“Yes,” I lied again.

If sixteen hours of sleep wasn’t enough to revive me, it didn’t seem likely another day would do anything. I knew that would be exactly what Daemon would want if I told him the truth. But we couldn’t waste any more time.

My stomach already felt twisted into knots at how many innocent humans had already suffered because of our adventure. Even if it was necessary for us to leave to put an end to this, once and for all.

“Just gonna be glad to get this over with,” I added as I sipped the coffee that was jam-packed with caramel and sugar, which was somehow exactly what I needed.

The nearness of Daemon was already chasing away the chill, but the coffee was sure helping from the inside out.

“Are the poppies ready?” I asked.

“Ready and already very carefully transferred into the jar we’re going to use to transfer it. Once we are fueled up, we can go,” he said, sounding hesitant.

I understood.

I didn’t want to go either.

But want had nothing to do with this situation. We had to do this. Or my siblings’ reign of terror was only going to expand until who knew how many humans would suffer and die.

“So, the plan is, I shadow up, go into the estate, find the bottles or the communal drinks, pour the poppy juice in, then…”

“Then leave,” Daemon filled in. “Come back outside with me. Then, once the gods are good and fucked up, I will go in, find the witch or warlock, get them out, and we go to your sister.”

“It can all be over by morning.” I was speaking my thoughts aloud.

“Yeah, that’s the plan.”

“I almost can’t believe it. I’ve been at this for so long.” And getting weaker by the day .

“What do you think your sister is going to do once free?” Daemon asked as we started to eat the sandwiches he’d bought.

“Hopefully, swing right into action. I mean, she’s got to be pissed, right? Being imprisoned like that. I mean, she is the goddess of vengeance.”

“Can’t think of a more deserving group of assholes,” Daemon said. “I mean, I know they’re your siblings…”

“They’re awful,” I said, shaking off his worry about offending me. “I’ve seen firsthand all the awful things they’ve done.”

To others, of course.

And especially to him. The only creature they’d come across so far that they could torture endlessly.

“Do you think they’ve been abusing their warlock or witch?” I asked.

“I guess it depends on how powerful they are.”

“Well, they’re powerful enough to imprison a goddess.”

“Yeah. But there’s a hierarchy of power, right? Being able to fend off Zeus, for example, must require more power than keeping Nemesis trapped.”

“Yeah, that’s probably true.”

“I do think that some spells, though, continually drain the one who cast them. Arick was a shadow of his usual self. It’s draining him to keep himself and his house safe. So, I imagine that whatever witch or warlock your siblings have up there, they’re probably pretty weak.”

I knew that feeling far too well. Suddenly, I really wanted them free of that torment.

Determination did manage to bolster some of my power. But the glass jar was shaking in my hand in the car on the way back to the woods.

Some part of me was worried my shadows wouldn’t protect me inside the estate. Would it be dark enough? Might they see me? What would they do to me?

No.

Nope, I couldn’t go there.

I had to keep my mind on the mission.

Because suddenly, we were climbing out of the car.

And it was go time.