Chapter 23
Isabelle
The woman returns soon after with a dark bottle of wine and a tray of assorted foods.
The latter is largely ignored as two glasses of wine are poured.
The liquid is a deep red color, almost crimson, with swirling black flecks that sparkle when the light hits it.
It’s like no other wine I’ve ever seen before, more tantalizing in nature, as if its job is to seduce you to drink.
“Leave us,” Oziel speaks, pulling my attention from the strange wine. I look up just in time to see the demon’s face crumple in disappointment.
“My lord, I’m happy to assist—”
“I’m sure you are,” Oziel says, though not unkindly. His tone lacks interest, and he pays her little mind, dismissing her with his body language. “But we don’t require your assistance.”
The woman sticks out her bottom lip before turning on her heels and walking out of the room with a haughty stride. The door closes behind her with a resounding thud, leaving me and Oziel alone. My body is keenly aware of him.
His hot gaze travels over me, not hiding his blatant perusal. “Why?” he asks after a moment.
“Why what?” I deflect, knowing what he’s asking but needing more time to come to terms with my own answer.
“Knowing exactly what the lust wine will do, why would you still choose to drink it with me?” Oziel’s voice is devoid of emotion, giving me no hint of the thoughts lurking behind the demon king’s dark gaze.
His finger traces the rim of his glass in slow, deliberate circles, a silent rhythm that feels almost hypnotic.
I train my eyes on the motion, looking anywhere but at my husband.
“Because there’s a lot of scary shit going on,” I finally admit, not feeling compelled to hide my emotions any longer.
At least not at this moment. I don’t have the energy to.
We both would do well with a little vulnerability.
“Being the person who holds the fate of your entire kingdom in the palm of their hands is a burden I didn’t fully comprehend until it looked me in the eyes.
To say I’m stressed would be an understatement. ”
Oziel remains silent, his gaze heavy on me—watching, assessing, waiting for my next move. The weight of his scrutiny is nearly enough to make me falter and abandon this conversation entirely or pretend it never happened. But that isn’t what I truly want. Consequences be damned.
This will change nothing.
It will change everything.
I ignore the voice, pushing on before my confidence leaves me.
“For just a moment, I want to forget. I want to feel something that isn’t impending doom.
That one of your demons didn’t just try to kill me, and the survival of your kingdom isn’t on my shoulders.
” My gaze lifts, finally meeting his eyes.
“I want you to make me forget. For just one day.”
I don’t wait for him to respond. I lift the glass to my lips and take a sip of the wine. The sugary sweetness erupts on my tongue. I’m normally not one for sweet wines, but this seems to be an exception. I take another long sip, and the wine heats my throat as it goes down.
The effects hit me instantly, similar to the wine we had at our wedding.
My body—already attuned to Oziel’s presence—ignites with a searing heat, a fire that spreads through my veins with devastating intensity.
It’s as if an invisible flame has been set ablaze inside me, and Oziel is the only thing that can quench it.
My breath catches as I finally lift my gaze to meet his.
His eyes are hooded, dark with something raw, something dangerously close to need.
“You want me to be your distraction, Kitten?” he growls. I swear I hear disappointment in his tone, but disappointment for what?
“If you don’t want to fuck me, then—”
“I didn’t say that,” he interrupts, hands tightening around his glass. I’m amazed he hasn’t broken it into shards.
There is no use in holding back now. My lips are loosened, desperate to say anything for him to ease this ache. “You’re my distraction, Oziel. That’s all you'll ever be.”
Oziel growls, lip curled back in anger at my harsh words.
The last words are gas doused on a flame.
We move as one, meeting in the middle, where we crash in a haze of lust and anger.
Oziel’s hand wraps through my hair before cradling the back of my head.
His lips are on mine, kissing me as if I’m the very elixir to life and he’s a dying man.
It’s not the kiss of a lover, gentle and full of promises.
No, this kiss is rough. Dirty. Almost angry.
It’s exactly what I need.
Oziel yanks my head back, pulling my hair. I cry out as the kiss breaks, panting heavily. “I will not be gentle with you.”
“If I wanted gentle, I would fuck Garvan like you thought I did.”
Oziel’s eyes darken, flashing black as fury consumes him.
Shadows surge around him, twisting and writhing before they descend upon me.
It feels as though a hundred unseen hands are touching me at once, ghosting over my skin, tugging at the fabric of my robe.
Then his lips crash against mine, demanding and all-consuming.
I’m so lost in the heat of his kiss that I don’t even register the moment my robe slips open and pools at my feet.
I’m naked before him.
It’s not the first time, but it’s different in every way.
I break the kiss to tug on his clothes, refusing to be the only naked one in the room. Oziel takes mercy upon me and calls his shadows back. In an instant, they disperse, and he stands naked before me. He’s glorious. Beautiful. But also frightening. Every bit the demon king he is.
A few scars decorate his body. I don’t know how he got them, but I want to trace them with my tongue.
Every last one. My eyes trail down his body, mapping out every dip and curve.
The way his muscles flex, hardening as they move.
My gaze falls to his core, and his heavy cock stands at attention for me.
A hunger takes over. One that not even a Nephilim could pull me from. “This changes nothing. When my role here is over, I’m leaving. I get my freedom.” I sink to my knees in front of him.
Oziel’s nostrils flare. “Why would it change a thing?” He bunches my hair up, pulling it out of my face. Bitterness laces his tone, or perhaps I’m imagining it. Nothing matters. The only thing I can think about is taking his cock into my mouth.
His cock is long and thick, impossible for me to take all the way down my throat.
That doesn’t stop me from trying though.
My tongue flicks out, licking his shaft from base to tip.
A low, sexy groan leaves the demon’s king parted lips.
It’s the most erotic thing I’ve ever heard.
A deep throaty sound that goes straight to my core.
My tongue travels up to his mushroom tip, lapping at the bead of precum blossoming there. It’s salty on my tongue, and I take great pride in the fact that the demon king is hard for me. Excited for me. It’s a powerful position to be in, and I revel in it.
I slip his cock between my lips, breathing through my nose. I can only take half of his size into my mouth, but my hands are eager to please the parts that can’t fit. I moan around his length, just as I feel another sharp tug on my hair.
Fuck, that feels good. I don’t know if I like the sensation of pain, or if it’s the wine, but I want more. Need more.
“I like that pretty mouth wrapped around my cock. For once not arguing with me.” Oziel’s breathy voice has me looking up; the heat in his eyes sends electricity straight to my clit. Still, his words make me growl.
“Bastard,” I hiss, but with his cock in my mouth, it sounds like a whimper.
Oziel chuckles, but that sound soon turns into a moan when I start to bob my head, falling into a steady rhythm. The fire crackles behind us, the only other sound besides the low moans we make.
Before I can register what’s happening, Oziel pulls away and picks me up off my knees.
Effortlessly, he throws me on the bed as if I weigh nothing at all.
I bounce on my ass once, trying to get my bearings before Oziel slithers over me.
My disappointment from not tasting more of him or finishing him off is short-lived when Oziel trails kisses down my body.
They aren’t sweet. Even his kisses are dominating, demanding subservience.
My body melts under his touch, desperate to give in.
But it’s not in my nature to give in—not even in the bedroom, I like being in charge and being the one who’s calling the shots. I determine my own pleasure, and by extension, my partner’s. I’m tempted to kick Oziel off to finish what I started earlier, but my pussy has other plans. Damn her.
On their own accord, my legs part for him. Oziel teases my hips, kissing down to my inner thigh, but makes no move to kiss me where I really want his lips and tongue to be. I make a sound of impatience, arching closer to him.
“Eager thing, aren’t you, Miss Sinclair?” Oziel ruins the moment with his damn voice. If he could just stay quiet, this would be so much better.
“Shut up and put your tongue to better use,” I snarl, reaching down to grab his horns. Apparently, that’s the wrong fucking thing to do, because Oziel growls, shadows surrounding him.
“Do that again,” he hisses.
Or maybe it’s the exact thing to do.
I’m not exactly sure what he means, but I pump my hands over his horns, like I would do to his cock.
Oziel hisses, though I’m not sure if it’s from pain or pleasure.
Maybe a mixture of both. So, his horns are sensitive.
That’s good to know. I don’t let up on the stroking, even though it feels a little awkward, and I’m not sure I’m doing it right. I don’t like feeling inexperienced.