Chapter 7
“Huh?” He looks around like I’ve lost my mind, and at this moment I don’t see a demon at all. “You want me to join... after everything?”
Shrugging, I pull a handful of water up to my chest and let it slide down. “I can’t force you to, but it’s big enough for both of us. Even with your... wings.”
Because my accidentally murdered ex-boyfriend has raven wings now. Because I killed him and turned him into a demon.
I’m not sure I’ll ever wrap my head around it.
His head tilts as an amused look overtakes his face, and it’s an expression I missed so fucking much my chest tightens. He’s not the same man, yet I see phantom glimpses of that man when I truly look at him.
“Alright, fuck it.” He steps into the water and makes himself comfortable across from me, his arms spread out as he stares unblinkingly. “You actually handled the wings better than I thought you would. I thought you’d run.”
“Where exactly would I run to?” I ask. “If everything you’ve told me is true, there’s nowhere for me to go.”
“You’d be surprised at how many people still try.
I had one burst through my door a while back asking for help.
I guess they thought Christmas seemed safe, but the second you’re brought down here you’re marked by whoever brought you.
There’s no escaping. Kael found her within the hour, and it only took that long because he thinks hunting them down is fun. ”
Well hello, Kael.
“And you? Are you disappointed I didn’t try to run?”
“You’re the only human I’ve ever brought down here, and I didn’t want you to run. Not like that, anyway. Feel behind your ear.” I do as told, sliding my fingertip down what feels like it could be a symbol or letter. “Mine.”
“What is it?”
“That’s my mark, inked with my blood. You’d see it as an A but other demons would be able to smell it before they ever set eyes on it.
Not that it’d stop all of them. There are demons out there who would hunt you specifically because you have a mark.
I’d prefer to chase you somewhere where that isn’t a possibility. ”
So he’s still just as possessive as ever, only now, there’s no escape for me.
“So Hell is more than just individual nightmares? Do you guys have like... bowling alleys and shit?”
Snorting, he splashes water at me like he thinks that question was nothing more than a joke, but it wasn’t. I genuinely need to know what’s out there.
When he realizes I’m serious, he shakes his head. “Demons don’t tend to have those sorts of hobbies, but I imagine if one wants to bowl, they’d just go topside. Someone’s Hell may be a bowling alley though.”
Yeah, that tracks.
I take a moment to actually clean up, then scoot forward to climb into his lap. “What are your hobbies then?”
His hands find home on my hips as they have so many times before, his tongue snaking out to slide along my breasts like he’s stalling to answer.
“I didn’t have many options.” I wait. I know there’s more, and for some reason, I don’t want to let him off the hook.
“I usually burn this place to the ground and sit in the embers.”
Blinking, I glance around, not seeing any evidence that this place has ever been on fire. “And then... build it again?”
The damn song begins to skip, his jaw tensing and eyes closing as it does. “I guess I could show you.”
Adrian spins me around so I’m facing away, my back flush with his chest as he raises a hand and snaps his fingers, and in seconds the world around us is ablaze.
Sitting in the center of it is surreal, the crackling almost deafening as the Christmas decorations fall to the ground and the music begins to warble and distort, but somehow I feel safe. Or maybe I’m losing my mind.
But together, we watch the tree, the wreaths, and all the garland whither and shrivel, the glass bulbs burst from the heat, and the snow covering the ground melt and evaporate.
The smell is almost overwhelming, but it’s oddly peaceful when the fire fizzles out and our tub is the only thing left standing in the ashes.
It just doesn’t last.
Within about two minutes, things shift. I watch the room come back together as though I’m watching the video of it burning down in reverse, and the music starts louder.
“Oh, fuck,” I grumble, disgusted on his behalf. “That sucks.”
“Yup,” he says with a sigh. “Nice while it lasts though, huh?”
He spins me back around and meets my gaze, overwhelming me once again with how dark his eyes are. There’s no mistaking what he is now, even if he’s being sweet.
“So how do I make you happy then?”
“You ask that like you don’t actually hate me,” he replies teasingly. “Are you forgetting I brought you down to Hell?”
“No, I don’t think I’ll ever forget that even for a second. But if I’m stuck down here with you, I might as well try to lower the music.” Pausing, I look just to his left. “Let your wings out.”
“Bossy,” he mutters, but his wings flutter out almost immediately, the sound making me flinch slightly. “Do you plan on washing them for me?”
He can call me bossy all he wants, he’s the one consistently ruining surprises. Sighing, I reach out with one hand to gently touch the feathers, and I’m taken back by how soft they really are. “Would you let me?”
“I don’t think so,” he clips, yet his wing moves forward to chase my touch, making him scoff. “Unless... you really wanted to. Do you?”
Do I? Yes. Our banter has always been fun, but if I’m being honest with myself, I owe him.
I owe him more than I’ll ever be able to repay, and if the last few hours have taught me anything, it’s that I desperately missed him.
All of him, even the jagged edges. “I won’t push you, Ade.
But yeah, I want to. Let me do this for you. ”
Jaw tight, he nods his permission. “Only if you won’t judge the noises I make. Your touch feels —” he pauses a second, and when he finishes that sentence I have a strong feeling he went with a different word — “good.”
A bottle of different shampoo appears on the edge of the tub, so I grab some and lather it in my hands.
“I think I lost my right to judge you a long time ago,” I admit quietly, meeting the tip of his right wing as he brings it to me.
For some reason, nerves form a ball in my throat as I start. “Is this okay?”
“Yes,” he replies so throaty and rough I feel my clit throb. “Fuck.”
His wing shivers under my touch, spraying water droplets everywhere.
It’s kind of cute.
Grinning, I do it again, threading my fingers a little deeper this time. “I bet these are comfortable to sleep on. Warm, too.”
“You’ll find out soon.” I catch his gaze and see he isn’t joking, he has every intention of pinning me down tonight so I can’t leave, and the thought actually confuses me.
Where does he think I’d go? It’s not like the zoo where you get a map upon arrival and the trail is basically a circle anyway. This is Hell, and I’ll be sticking with the devil I know.
“So what will happen back home? Will someone have to find like... a replica of my body or something?”
That makes him chuckle. “You’re missing. Remember those unsolved mysteries you used to watch where the person up and disappeared without their license or anything? They were likely brought to Hell. Or just murdered I guess.”
“Well, I always wanted to be on TV,” I comment dryly. “I guess that means I’m debt free at least, though I’m gonna miss my pillow.”
“I might be able to retrieve it.”
His voice is softer now, eyes closed as I continue cleaning his wings.
Mariah’s still singing, just a little quieter now. “It’s a black body pillow, soft as a cloud. There’s a bronze Ouija board hand-painted on it that I might’ve used once or twice to try to talk to you.”
Adrian laughs lightly. “Oh, did you? What were you going to ask?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to tell you I was sorry.”
His eyes open and the honey brown ones I see completely take my breath away, but when I blink, they’re gone. “Yeah?”
“Of course. I never wanted to hurt you, Ade.” My chest tightens as I remember the look on his face, how devastated I was when it hit me. “Never.”
His fingers curl into my hips before he decides to lighten the mood and pull my gaze off of his scar. “Remember that time we got in an argument and you said you wished you could roll me into a ball and kick me over a fence?”
“You took your socks halfway off and just let them dangle off your toes. I had every right to roll you into a ball and kick you over a fence.”
“You still hate that, huh?” The laugh that bubbles out of him sounds so much like my Adrian I lean into him, the song fading away even more. “I only did it to annoy you. You’re fucking hot when you’re angry.”
“Is that also why you left all the cupboard doors open?” I giggle. “I think I might’ve tried to stab you that day.”
“Fair, honestly. I just liked getting a rise out of you, and I know how much you need to go off on someone every so often for your sanity. I didn’t mind being your target, especially because of how crazy you always rode me those nights.”
I’d argue that makes me sound like a terrible person, but he’s not wrong. I am. I’m not proud of it, but I could’ve been better. Maybe it’s a good thing I ended up in Hell a little early.
Frowning, I rinse off his wing and turn my attention to the other. “We were good together.”
“Mmm,” he hums, and with the soft smile on his lips I know he agrees. “You know I loved that about you, right? The way you’d make people second guess ever opening their mouth to argue with you. Yeah, Hellcat. We were great together.”
So why is he still so angry with me? Even now, with my fingers gently carding through soapy wings and my tits hanging out, the music is loud enough to be annoying.
I understand that what I did was horrific, but being a demon with magical powers who can hop from earth back to Hell sounds way better than paying bills and going to work every day. I’d argue that I did him a favor.
Come to think of it, maybe that’s why he’s upset with me. Hmph.
“So where do we go from here?” I ask. “What does our life look like to you?”
“I don’t know,” he admits. “I didn’t expect to be taking a bath with you on night one.
” He dips his wings into the water to get some of the soap off, shifting slightly.
“I thought I’d slowly give you glimpses of the hell I’ve endured to be where I am today and scare the fuck out of you, yet here I am purring like a damn cat under your touch. How is it you still fuck me up inside?”
“Because we were made for each other,” I say simply. “If you’d prefer to continue living in misery, then by all means — scare me, punish me, hurt me to your heart’s content. From what you’ve hinted, it’s not like I have any way of escape.”
He tenses under me, his head turning away like he doesn’t know how to respond to that. “I’m a demon now, all I know is misery and this fucking song.”
“And I’m just a girl who doesn’t care what you are, where we are, or how you got me here. I’m just happy to have you back.”
Slowly, I slide back just far enough to get my legs behind me and dip under the water. I kiss his thighs, his balls, and the tip of his cock, then pepper little pecks on his stomach as I come up for air.
When I dare to glance up I see his mouth slightly agape as he stares down at me with those honey-brown eyes once again.
“If life is what you make it, then so is the afterlife. Or whatever half life I’m living.” Butt naked and soaking wet, I wink at him before climbing out of the tub and sprinting toward the door to our little Hell.
It’s time to play.