Chapter 42
ASMODEUS
Simone stands in front of the mirror in our dressing room, smoothing her hands down a dress of deep crimson silk that clings to every post-pregnancy curve I've spent months acquainting myself with.
The neckline plunges low enough to make my mouth water, and the slit up her thigh shows off the long, elegant line of her leg.
“Stop staring,” she says without looking at me.
“Never.”
She rolls her eyes in the mirror, but the corner of her mouth tilts up. I cross the room to settle my hands on her hips, watching our reflection. I'm already dressed in black, my hair freshly slicked back. We look good together.
“Are you sure he'll be alright?” she asks, her gray eyes finding mine in the reflection.
“Leander will be under the protection of two angels and spoiled by your Nephilim friend,” I murmur in her ear.
Simone bites her lip. “What if he wakes up and wants me?”
“Then Jessica will sing him lullabies, Ithuriel will glow or something, and Sariel will teach him a curse word.” I press my lips to the curve of her shoulder. “And we will be a thought away.”
She laughs, her breath warm against my skin.
Here I am, pretending I'm not uneasy. It took weeks of negotiating with myself before I agreed to leave Leander with anyone for an entire evening.
But Simone needs this. We need this. Three months of nothing but feedings and nappies and the occasional stolen tryst in rooms not built for lovemaking, and my consort looks like she needs to be reminded what she is to me.
“One night,” I murmur. “And then I deliver you back to our son.”
She turns in my arms, sliding her palms up my chest. “Where are we going? You haven't told me yet.”
I tilt my head, watching her face. “My larger Lethe estate.”
Her brows knit. “The one where—”
“Yes.”
She blinks. “Az. Is there an—”
“Yes.”
Her cheeks go red, and I have to suppress a grin. After more than three years with an archdemon who feeds on lust, she still blushes at the thought of an orgy.
“I'm not going to participate in—”
“Neither am I.” I cup her chin, tipping her face up. “I have no interest in anyone but you, little fairy. I never will again.”
“Then why—”
“Because you've never seen a proper one.” I kiss her forehead. “And because I want to show you off. Spoil you for an evening that has nothing to do with diapers.”
Her shoulders lower a fraction. “Alright.”
“If at any moment you want to leave, we leave,” I reassure her.
“Alright,” she repeats, softer this time.
The estate is alive when we arrive, the air thick with the scent of sex and the sound of music.
Simone's hand tightens around mine as we step through the carved doors into the great hall. I keep her tucked against my side, partially shielding her without quite hiding her. Mine. Always.
Demons part for us as we move deeper into the villa. Some bow. Some drop to their knees. A few too lost in their pleasure don't notice us at all, their eyes glazed, mouths slack as they ride and are ridden.
Simone's gaze flickers everywhere, eyes huge.
A pair of succubi twine together on a low divan, leathery wings half-extended, their tongues forked and tangling as one rides the other's thigh.
Across the way, an incubus has three demonesses arranged around him on velvet cushions, his hands and mouth working two while a third sucks him off with single-minded devotion.
Near a fountain of dark wine, a faun lounges on his back, hooves crossed, hairy goat-legs splayed indecently.
A horned demoness rides him with abandon, her hands braced on his furred thighs, her head thrown back.
The faun strokes her with a thumb between her legs, his other fingers playing with the ass of an incubus straddling his face.
“Mon Dieu,” Simone breathes, her head turning like she doesn't know where to look first. Her pulse is racing under my fingers where they rest on her hip, and the vanilla in her scent has deepened, threading through the orchid in a way that has my cock aching already.
“You're aroused,” I murmur in her ear.
“It's a lot,” she whispers back, cheeks pink.
“Do you want to leave?”
She shakes her head, then turns her face up to mine, eyes glazed with something between fascination and embarrassment. “I want to watch a little. Is that wrong?”
“No, little fairy.” I press my lips to her temple. “It's exactly what's meant to happen here.”
We drift along the edge of the great hall, and I keep one arm around her waist, my fingers spread possessively across her hip. I glare at every demon who looks at her for too long.
Mine.
Simone's gaze catches on something across the chamber, lingering, and I follow the line of her sight.
She's looking at a St. Andrew's cross, the obsidian wood polished and gleaming in the candlelight. It's empty at the moment. Waiting.
Her tongue darts out to wet her lower lip.
I lean down. “Are you looking at what I think you're looking at, little fairy?”
Her cheeks burn. “I'm not—”
“Don't lie to me.” My voice drops. “I know when you're aroused.”
She exhales loudly. “I was just curious.”
I tip her face up with one finger under her chin. “Would you like me to put you on it?”
“Az—”
“Tell me yes or no.”
Her throat bobs as she swallows, wide eyes flickering back to the cross, then to me.
“Yes,” she breathes.
My lips curl into a grin. “Then let's do this properly.”
I let my human appearance fall away, revealing the monster underneath. My horns curl out from my temples, my wings unfurl behind me, and dark scales cover my skin. Around us, the demons go silent.
Simone draws in a sharp breath, but she's not afraid. Her pupils are wide, lust coming off her in a delicious wave. I feed on it, savoring her response like the finest wine.
“Look at you,” I murmur, tracing one clawed finger along her jaw, so very careful not to cut her. “Wet for me already.”
She doesn't deny it—there's no point. I lift her into my arms in one smooth motion and stride across the hall. By the time we reach the obsidian wood, every demon in the chamber is watching.
I set Simone on her feet in front of the cross, turning her so her back is to it. Her chest rises and falls rapidly, her nipples already hard beneath the silk.
“They're looking,” she whispers.
“Let them.” My claws make quick work of her clothes, slicing the dress until it pools at her feet. Her pussy is covered by a scrap of silk and lace, and I get rid of that as well.
Simone stands naked before the entire room. For a moment, she seems embarrassed, teeth worrying her bottom lip. Then she lifts her chin, staring the demons down like a queen.
Fuck, she's incredible.
“Eyes on me, little fairy,” I murmur, lifting her arms to the cuffs above her head. The leather closes around her wrists with soft clicks. I do the same with her ankles, spreading her wide, opening her to me. To everyone.
Then I drop to my knees.
She gasps as I press my mouth to the inside of her thigh, careful of my fangs as I drag my lips over the soft skin there. Her arousal is already running down from the juncture of her thighs, and I lap at it with my tongue, savoring her taste.
“Dieu, Az—”
I find her clit, circling it slowly with the tip of my tongue, mindful not to nick her. She sobs out a cry, her legs jerking against the cuffs that hold her open, and I slide two clawed fingers up to her entrance, retracting the sharp tips before I push them inside her.
Her cunt clenches around me immediately, and I groan against her clit.
“You're so wet, little fairy. So fucking ready for my cock.”
“Please—”
Ignoring her protests, I feast.
I work her with my mouth and my fingers, watching her come apart against the cross, her wrists pulling on the cuffs. Her first orgasm hits her hard, a broken cry tearing out of her, her hips bucking against my face. I drink her down, not slowing, already building her toward the next release.
Around us, my court watches in transfixed silence, though a few have begun to touch themselves.
Simone’s second orgasm is messier. She squirts into my mouth, soaking my chin, my chest, her thighs. I groan, pushing my fingers deeper, and find that spot that makes her see stars.
“Az, Az—”
The third climax comes barely a minute behind the second. By now, her thighs are slick down to her knees, and she's sobbing my name.
When I finally lift my head, her eyes are glassy, her lips parted, her chest heaving. My face is wet with her, and I make a show of dragging the back of my hand across my mouth.
“We're just getting started, little fairy,” I rasp.
I unhook her ankles, then her wrists, catching her as she sags forward. She's trembling, boneless.
I carry her to the spanking bench and lay her over it with her hips pressed against the padding, her ass in the air, her arms folded under her cheek. Her legs spread naturally, knees on the rests.
“Beautiful,” I growl, smoothing both palms over the curve of her ass.
I free my thick cock from my pants without taking my eyes off her, then drag the head through her drenched folds once, twice, watching her shudder.
“Please, Az!”
I drive into her in one long stroke, making both of us groan.
“Fuck,” I breathe. “Little fairy, you take me so well.”
I set a punishing pace from the start, my hips snapping into hers, the bench creaking beneath us.
My claws dig into the padding on either side of her.
Around us, the watching court has begun to move again, seeking out partners of their own, but I barely register them.
There's only her. Only the wet, perfect grip of her pussy around my dick, only the desperate sounds spilling out of her.
“Mine,” I growl. “Say it.”
“Yours.”
“Whose?”
“Yours, Az. I'm yours!”
I drive deeper, tilting her hips up, my tail curling under them to press against her clit. Her fourth orgasm crashes through her with no warning, her cunt squeezing me so tight my vision goes white.
I let the pleasure take me.
The roar that tears out of me shakes the chamber. I empty into her in long, shuddering pulses, my body folding over hers, my wings snapping wide and then wrapping forward, shielding us from view as the last spurts leave me.
When I can think again, she's trembling beneath me, her hand reaching back to find mine, lacing our fingers together.
“That was…” she breathes.
“I know.”
As I bask in the glow of Simone's pleasure, the sounds of the surrounding debauchery start grating on my nerves.
My consort must agree. She turns her head to look at me. “Take me away.”
I straighten, gathering her up against my chest. With a thought, we're covered in our clothes, my human glamour sliding back into place.
I gather the ether and move us, leaving my court to their festivities.
The gardens of this estate stretch far and wide. Night-blooming flowers top slender stems, and Simone bends to inspect them with a small sound of delight.
“What are these?”
“Sirenias. They only open in Hell. They have a sister flower in Heaven that opens there.”
She straightens, walking beside me with her hand tucked through my arm. We stroll, in no hurry, Simone admiring the plants.
“What's that one?”
“Black hellebore. Don't touch it.”
She laughs, pulling her hand back. “Noted.”
We walk in silence for a while until Simone pauses under an archway covered in climbing flowers, lifting her face to a bloom that's just unfurling above her.
“It's beautiful,” she says softly. “All of it.”
I turn her to face me, my hands settling on her waist. “You're beautiful.”
She tips her head up. Her eyes shine in the facsimile of moonlight that Lethe's heavenly attributes manifest in this area.
“Thank you,” she says. “For tonight. For… all of it.”
My throat suddenly closes up. “Little fairy—”
“No, let me.” Her hands curl into the lapels of my jacket. “I know I never said that I forgive you. For taking me. For the cave. For the wards.”
I go still, dreading what she might say. If she decides to leave now, it will be the end of me.
“I want you to know I have,” Simone continues. “A long time ago, I think. I forgive you, Az.” Her fingers trace my jaw. “I'm yours. By choice. Forever.”
For one long moment, I can't speak. Then I press my forehead to hers.
“I don't deserve you,” I murmur, my voice weak with relief.
“Probably not,” she agrees, smiling. “But you have me anyway.”
I laugh, the sound shaky. “I always was greedy.”
“Selfish, even.”
“Possessive. Demanding. Entirely without scruples.”
“And mine.”
I tip her face up and kiss her, slow and reverent. The way I will kiss her every day from now until the world ends. When I pull back, she rests her cheek against my chest, and we stand there for a long while, surrounded by night-blooming flowers and the soft sound of distant water.
“I love you,” I murmur into her hair.
“Je t'aime, Az.”
We hold each other in silence for some time, savoring the bond between us. But there's another bond calling me. One I never expected. One that means everything to me now.
“I miss Leander,” I say, unashamed of the fact that our baby has me wrapped around his tiny finger.
Simone giggles breathlessly. “I was just thinking that. Why don't you take us home?”
I gather her into my arms, my wings unfurling and spreading wide behind me.
“Gladly, little fairy. Let’s go home.”