Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Mine. Mine. MINE.
The word pounded through his brain like an ancient drum beating tattoo across time itself. The Demon of Lust was brought to his knees, at the mercy of one single woman.
Someone call the fucking papers, he thought with a self-deprecating grin.
“Now, Ash,” she said firmly. “Take me home, now.”
His still unmated female spurned him into action with her strongly uttered command, and he was helpless to resist.
Why the fuck would he even want to?
“Yesssss,” he hissed his reply.
Shit.
He hadn’t almost lost control of himself like this since he was new to the universe. His kind was not exactly born, and yet, he felt like a child. Like he was experiencing everything for the first time. And with her at his side, he was.
“I need you, Gabriella,” he whispered his confession, and the responding look in her luminous blue eyes said everything. It said it all.
When he’d met her, during a speed dating event run by Aphrodite and Eve, Ash was afraid the mostly human female would refuse him.
After all, his world was not hers. But she’d taken it all remarkably well.
Offering to help her through her Change was an excuse to be with her. Though, of course, he wanted to help.
And now, here she was, willing and wanting, and in his arms. His soul was calling out to her, and miracle of miracles, hers was answering.
What glorious mercy had gifted him such a chance to be happy as this?
He’d certainly never expected it. But Ash was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Her sweet, seductive scent was heady and enticing. That crisp raspberry lime mixed with a woody vanilla warmth that he was dying to experience straight from the source.
“Hold on,” he growled, every inch of him attuned to his female.
So attuned, in fact, Ash missed the pair of glowing eyes watching from beyond the thorny expanse of bushes that warned Purgatory dwellers they were too close to the border.
Having her there with him was too much for his senses. He needed to possess her. Wanted to claim her. Was dying to sink into the heaven that awaited him between her perfectly thick thighs.
“Ashhhhh,” she whimpered, pressing her lush body firmly against his while she nuzzled his jaw and neck, sending all available oxygen south of his belt buckle.
Fuuucckk.
“Hurry.”
He didn’t have to be told twice. Moving through shadows was something not every Demon was gifted with, but Ash was very old and very powerful.
The urgency with which he found himself moving would have created quite the scene had he not slipped into shadow at the end of town, only to reemerge just outside his own back door.
“Boss? Can I help the good mistress?” Ernie scuttled toward them.
The Imp quickly turned around, a small squeak of surprise escaped his mouth as he shielded his vision from the sight of Ash’s naked mate wrapped around him.
Smart.
Very smart.
“Go home, Ernie. We won’t be needing you,” Ash growled, tucking his wings back into the shadow realm while Gabby started unbuttoning buttons and tugging on his belt.
“Yes, boss!” Ernie said, scrambling away.
Ash heard the approval in his servant’s voice but paid it no mind. His heart was racing, palms sweating, and everything in him was focused on one ultimate goal.
To claim Gabriella.
Here.
Now.
And for always.
Her hands worked together with his, and Ash was undressed in under a minute.
Still, it was too long to be separated from her.
Burning need rose, engulfing him swiftly in an inferno of desire.
He reveled in the flames licking at his skin as he nudged Gabriella down onto the new mattress and sheets Ernie had so quickly provided.
Good Imp.
He deserves a raise.
Ash would ensure it. Later though. Much, much later.
“Ash,” his mate whispered his name, whimpering as his hands brushed over her silken skin tentatively, reverently.
He wanted to memorize every smooth inch of her. To commit even the smallest detail, every nuance of her physique, to his eternal memory. So soft. So beautiful.
“Gabriella,” he growled deep in his throat.
Her name was lovely too. It suits her, he thought as she lifted herself onto her knees, hands on his shoulders as she pressed her sweet, soft form to his muscular chest. Ash hissed at the contact, swallowing her responding moan as he crashed his mouth to hers.
He wanted to woo her. Should have been able to, given his extensive history.
But for the first time in his life, the Demon of Lust was rendered undone by this sweet, mostly human vixen.
Like a virgin, Ash’s hands trembled as he took her in his arms, swallowing her exquisite flavors with every lap of his tongue against hers.
“More,” he growled, insatiable for her.
Ash pressed his lips to her ear, her neck, licking a trail to her collarbone and down to the rounded perfection of her breasts.
Gabriella moaned, hands clutching his hair as she threw her head back, lips parted.
She was so fucking beautiful. It almost hurt to look at her, but nothing could make him close his eyes or turn away from her.
Neither wild horses, nor hordes of the soulless could force his eyes away. No force in the universe could make him stop gazing at the only woman in the world who owned him body, heart, mind, and soul. His need was immeasurable. And even greater was the desire to please her.
Gabriella.
Mine, his Demon whispered in a deep, guttural voice.
Possession pulsed through him. The need to claim, to become one with her so great, he thought he’d perish without her.
But he would not rush. And he would never, ever force.
Gabriella was everything to him, now. She would always have the last say.
And as Ash’s focus remained firmly on her, he continued to kiss, lick, and suckle her sweet and swollen nipples.
All the while his hands traced her plentiful curves, reveling in the sumptuous flare of her hip, the petal soft skin of her inner thighs as he traced small patterns on her flesh, forging a trail to her most secret place.
“Yesssss,” he hissed as his fingertips delved between her slick folds.
She was wet and hot, so hot, for him. The knowledge had his cock throbbing, jutting forward, desperate to enter her tight heat. Ash was no stranger to carnal pleasures, but nothing compared to his making love to his one true and fated mate.
Nothing on Heaven, Earth, Hell, or Purgatory.
Nor on any of the planes in between.
“Mine,” he grunted, settling himself between her thick thighs.
Gabriella panted, her hips rocked gently, trying to entice him closer. But he needed a moment. Had to take the time to simply appreciate the beauty of her womanhood.
“Look at you, my love. So pink and perfect. Can’t wait to taste you. Can’t wait to make you come,” he growled, nuzzling her lips with his nose and tongue.
“Oh please, Ash, please,” she begged, rocking her hips a little harder.
He grinned, holding her still with two hands on her hips. His mouth watered at the tiny little taste he’d permitted himself.
But it was not enough.
Not nearly.
Unable to wait any longer, he leaned forward, his tongue snaked out of his mouth, and finally, he tasted her from her forbidden rosette to her tiny, swollen clit. Again and again he stroked her, using the flat of his long tongue. And fuck, how she loved it.
“Ash!” she screamed his name, moaning and panting, pulling his hair as he increased his pace.
Faster, harder, longer, he fucked her with his mouth, refusing to slow down or use any other bit of him. Ash grabbed onto her hips, holding her nice and steady, nudging her legs farther apart. He speared her with his tongue.
Growling at the intense pleasure he felt in pleasuring her. Fuck, she was so hot. Her needy little pants and moans nearly his undoing. His dick ached to be buried inside her.
But he wouldn’t give in.
Not until she came.
Everything else was second place to that one goal. She would come. And she would come hard, or he’d die trying. And Ash had no intention of dying save for the Medieval version between her gorgeous legs.
“Oh god, Ash, no more, can’t take it, can’t—”
“You can, love. Come for me. Then I’ll fill you, ease the ache here, want that?” Ash asked as he cupped her mound, loving the way she moaned and nodded her head. Then he closed his mouth over her clit, and he sucked. Hard.
“Ahh!” With a roar-like scream, Gabriella came. He swallowed every drop of her raspberry lime honey, kissing his way back up to her mouth while his engorged cock pressed inside her.
Slowly, feeding her an inch of his swollen cock at a time, Ash kissed Gabriella’s eyelids. Loving the way she responded, body opening, face turning toward him, her own mouth seeking his, he was in no rush. For the first time ever, the Demon of Lust wanted to give more than he wanted to take.
“Gabriella, mine,” he moaned, kissing her chin, her cheek, the corner of her mouth.
“Oh god,” she whimpered as he gave her another, then another inch.
“So good, my love. You feel perfect,” he confessed, sliding all the way to the hilt.
Ash stilled, allowing her a moment to adjust to his size and girth. The pleasure of being seated deep inside his mate was second to none. Joy radiated through him, wonder and sheer happiness never felt before. His black eyes locked onto hers, then he began to move.
Ash knew then, nothing was ever going to be the same. His thick cock sheathed in her tight channel like a perfectly fitted glove. The deep, steady pace he set had sweat beading on his brow, and his focus intent on every nuance of response from her.
Gabriella was sublime in her submission. She opened and accepted every thrust and flex, cradling him in her heat with an open willingness that stole his breath. Ash had never felt such intense passion, such pure unadulterated bliss, and all because of her, his sweet Gabriella.
Mine.
Mate.
No one knew better than he the many facets of lovemaking, but Ash would swear before any and all that his sweet, sultry mate taught him things he’d never known were even possible.
Every sigh, each breathy moan dragged from her sweet lips was a reward for his efforts, and he doubled, tripled them, wanting more of her headlong response.
“Please,” she begged, and he obliged, giving her everything he could, all he had.
How could he not?
All he wanted to do was give her pleasure, to show her how much he loved her with his body. He worked her hard and fast, readying for the moment when she first shattered around him. Fuck, he could hardly breathe with wanting her.
Her walls tightened, gripping his shaft like a velvet vise.
Gabriella’s nails raked down his back, the sweet bite of pain making this, his claiming her, all the more erotic.
Ash was lost in sensation, even as he felt his fangs descend and his wings and tail ripple in and out of this plane of existence.
“Need you to come, my love. Need it now so that I may claim you,” he growled, his voice so deep and guttural he barely recognized it himself.
His Demon urged him on. The dark beast within him urging him to take her harder, faster, deeper.
To claim her with his mating mark and complete the bond they had begun simply by meeting.
For the first time since his chat with Lucifer, Ash entertained the idea that he was destined for a mate.
More than entertained, he knew it without a doubt.
Gabriella Keen was his.
His one and true fated mate.
“Yes, yes,” Gabriella replied, as if she read his mind. Maybe she was. Beads of sweat dotted her brow as she clung to his shoulders and wrapped her legs tightly around his waist.
With a passionate snarl, Ash took her waist as he rose to his knees, lifting her with him.
He pressed her back into the cushioned headboard, flexing, circling, plunging into her with quick, hard, deft movements.
Holding onto his own ecstasy was almost impossible, but he managed, up until he felt the first wave of orgasm ripple through her sumptuous body.
“Mine. You’re mine, sweet Gabriella, always,” he growled, and struck, biting her on the neck and sealing her fate as his one and only.
Possessive much?
Fuck yes.
Pleasure howled through his veins as Ash growled and swallowed down her sweet blood. He took three pulls on her neck, sealing the matebond firmly between them. He would have no doubts, no halfway claims. No way. Gabriella was his. Even if he had to fight all of Heaven and Hell for her, he would.
Licking the puncture marks closed, Ash grunted, hips still pumping as she climaxed again, his name spilling from her open lips. His own orgasm tore through him, increasing in strength and endurance with the sudden burst of pain that erupted from his left shoulder.
Holy fuck.
She has staked her claim!
Pleasure erupted like the tide, washing over and through him like nothing he’d ever felt. The sight of her head bowed, and her mouth around his flesh as she gifted him with her bite was something Ash had never dreamed would happen.
She claimed him back!
The gorgeous she-Wolf had bitten him. Gifting him with her mating mark.
Him.
The Demon of Lust.
A Prince of Hell.
Pride and bliss raced through his veins until he felt as if his heart would explode.
Ash was alone no more. His whole life he’d believed himself cursed and doomed, but this creature, this beautiful, miraculous woman, had proved him wrong. Gabriella Keen was so much more than Wolf and woman.
She was his savior.
His reason.
His everything.
She was his mate.
Asmodeus’ mate.
And he was never letting go.
She was his now, and he was hers. Their matebond pulsed around them, wrapping them in a cocoon of power and heat that seared the very flesh on his bones.
For the first time, he was not alone. For the first time, he belonged to someone.
He belonged to her.
Gabriella Keen.
His mate.
Mine.
Always.