Dare me, p.17
Dare Me, page 17
“Do not be.” I turned to find Beelzebub smiling. “You’re delectable, and because you have thoroughly pleased me, Sara, you may call me Beelzebub.”
My eyes widened at the concession. I had no desire to use that name, least of all if Raif did not have permission to do so.
“But, sir, that cannot be right. If my master should address you with respect, then so should I.”
Raif chuckled. “I told you she was special.”
“So, I see,” Beelzebub smirked, closing the distance between us. “But you, little one shall do as you’re told. I’m sure you don’t wish to be taken over my knee so quickly after the spanking Raif bestowed.”
My gaze darted to Raif. How does he know? How can he know about that?
“Oh, I know, child,” Beelzebub reassured me. “The dark gift ensures I know everything that matters.”
The blush on my cheeks deepened, and I scowled at my own annoying complexion. If only I could conceal something—anything—but between their demonic ability to read minds and my body’s humiliating need to betray my responses, that hope seemed doomed to failure.
“Please.” I sounded pitiful, but I didn’t care. My ass felt three times its usual size, and I hadn’t even started to wrap my head around the emotional brunt of Raif’s palm. There was no way I’d manage a second dose at the hands of one of the most notorious demons of all time. “Please, no more punishment. I’ll call you whatever you want, sir.”
Beelzebub nodded, his dark eyes sparkling with a nefarious glint.
“So be it, child,” he declared, striding out to the center of the room. “You shall call me Beelzebub, and if you come and sit by me and tell me your heart’s desire, you may escape my palm yet.”
Chapter Thirty
Raif
She trembled beside me, her scrambled thoughts rushing through her head like water along a riverbed. Releasing my grasp, I watched her reactions closely, offering her a small smile when her eyes fluttered in my direction.
Beelzebub had arrived earlier than I’d imagined, but then, there was no holding one of the seven princes of hell to account on their timing. He did what he wanted with virtual impunity—as we all did—and I didn’t blame him.
The question of sharing Sara, however, was another matter.
I still hadn’t come to terms with the idea, though if I knew my master at all, I suspected his mind would not easily be swayed. That said, I trusted he had enough respect for me not to claim her without my consent, and if nothing else, he must respect the ritual. Sara had tethered her soul to me, and no spirit—inhuman or otherwise—could break that bond.
“You were asked to sit with Beelzebub,” I whispered into her neck, sending an involuntary shiver along her spine. “Why are you still here?”
Sara blinked at me. “Sorry, Master.” Her voice was raspy, her gaze filled with panic as her mind screamed at me.
I don’t want to sit with him. Come with me, please!
“My Master has already said he will not hurt you.” I brushed my knuckles beneath her chin. “You have to trust in his word.”
But he’s Beelzebub!
I sniggered at her response.
Yes, he is, and he does not like to be kept waiting…
She glanced in his direction, her pulse increasing as her gaze landed on him. Beelzebub had made himself very much at home, manifesting a lounge chair, which he sat in, listening in on our conversation.
“Come to me, little one. I promise not to bite.”
His brow rose at the quip, and I smiled in spite of myself. Sara was mine to protect, but I couldn’t resist my nature, and I did love to see the way he made her squirm.
Her feet were moving, though anxiety still radiated from her in waves. She padded over to the chair, pausing in front of him. There was no question in her mind about where the sudden furniture had come from. Apparently, one day with me had been enough to banish those queries. Sara had witnessed enough to know the power of our dark magic. Or, at least she thought she had…
“Head up.” He leaned forward. “Let me look at you.”
She inhaled, and as I glided around to the place Beelzebub was sitting, I could see the determination on her face, a resolve she wouldn’t give in to the overpowering terror my master induced, wouldn’t show her fear. Beneath the layers of concern, I discerned two other emotions of interest—yearning for my approval, she wanted to make me proud. That thought stirred me in ways I hadn’t expected.
The other?
The other was a sense I had often gotten from my little fawn. The other was born of lust.
“I had the same sense, brother.” Beelzebub’s dark gaze flitted to me, and he nodded. “She is most pleasing.”
Sara sucked her lip between her white teeth, shifting her weight one foot to the other as her gaze flitted between us.
“I am glad you agree, Master. I am most taken.”
Her gaze darted back to me, lingering as she swallowed.
What does that mean, Master?
My lips twitched at her thought. “You should ask your queries aloud, little fawn,” I encouraged. “My Master can hear your thoughts, anyway.”
“Raif is right,” he told her, chuckling. “But I like to observe the interaction between you both.” He turned to me. “It’s good to see the commitment you have made to the mortal. Surprising, perhaps, but pleasing. You are the most content I have known you for centuries.”
My brow rose at his verdict, but I offered nothing further.
“As to your question, Sara, let me explain.” Beelzebub settled back in the chair. “As with all things in nature, there is a hierarchy to hell. Our lord, Satan, is supreme, and I and five other princes rule at his command. Raif, in turn, governs beneath me.”
Her eyes widened, but for the first time, her thoughts were silent—an odd calm, falling over the little fawn.
“So, you see, what concerns Raif, concerns me.” Beelzebub paused. “What engages him, engages me. Do you understand?”
Her gaze scanned over the hulk of human form he’d chosen, and once again, I sensed her sexual yearning. A spike of envy rose in me, but I fought to push it down—not that I objected to jealousy, it had proved a useful ally in the past, and it was certainly a friend of my master since he was the demon who took a particular interest in envy—but it wouldn’t help me now, not if he was set on tasting the treat I’d taken for myself.
Shifting my weight, I began a circuit of the two of them, and as I completed the journey, I took the opportunity to gauge Beelzebub’s choice of appearance. I hadn’t paid attention at first, just grateful that he’d chosen to manifest in human form at all, but as I looked, I could see just how good a selection he’d made. Dark and tall, like myself, his body was stacked with muscles, the perfect combination for a mortal like Sara—a particularly aesthetically pleasing package.
“I understand.” She was composed as she answered, despite the whirling emotions inside her, responses I knew Beelzebub could decipher for himself. “Thank you for explaining.”
He glanced up at me. “She is already a credit to you, Raif. Only one spanking and already she has ceded so wonderfully.”
I lifted my head with pride. “Yes,” I concurred. “I think she will make me very happy.”
“And you, Raif—will you make her happy?” There was a wry expression on Beelzebub’s face, daring me to defy his logic. The logic, that I, a demon, could actually make any mortal happy.
“I fully intend to, Master. I just recently pleasured the little fawn, and I intended to fuck her when you arrived.”
Sara gasped at my brutal honesty, her cheeks blooming with heat. I so adored the way she blushed, her body conveying her true feelings, even when her mind sought to offer deception or restraint.
“So, that explains the delightful scent of pussy!” Beelzebub clapped his hands together with excitement. “And there was me thinking it was just because I have sex on the brain.”
I laughed at his evaluation. Like most of us, he probably did. We tended to be lust-driven beasts at the best of times, though it was Master Asmodeus who took special significance in the sin.
“Not this time, Master,” I reassured him.
“Did you enjoy your pleasure, Sara?”
She pulled in a shaky breath. “Y-yes, Beelzebub. It was incredible.”
“I am most pleased to hear it.” He tipped his head back against the chair, kissing the tips of his fingers the way chefs sometimes do after they’ve enjoyed a gastronomical indulgence. “I know how much Raif loves to fuck, but in fairness to him, he also relishes delivering pleasure—and pain.”
Her blush deepened as her gaze lowered.
“Have you come to join us?”
Sara’s voice was so tiny that at first, I was sure I’d misheard her.
“What was that?” Beelzebub tilted his head, his growing smile suggesting he’d heard her original inquiry.
“Speak up, little fawn,” I urged.
Though, even as the words left my lips, I couldn’t believe what I was saying—or indeed, what she had just asked.
Where was the trembling innocence of the woman? How could it be, when confronted with two powerful inhuman beings, her instincts suggested, not cowardice but seduction?
“I was only wondering if Beelzebub had come to join us, Master?” She looked me directly in the eyes that time, and I heard his response in my head.
She’s quite the temptress, brother. Less the fawn and more the wildcat.
I smirked at his appraisal.
“We shall have to ask Beelzebub,” I answered her. “Was that your intention, Master?”
Our gazes drilled into him, and enjoying the attention, his hands rose to settle behind his head.
“It was, brother, yet I say this with only two certainties—Sara is now bound to you, which means, despite your rank, I can only claim her with your approval.”
I nodded. “And the second?”
Beelzebub smiled. “Having met the woman, the second is even more important, Raif. I will only claim her if she is willing.”
Sara’s focus was back on me in a second. Master?
She knew Beelzebub could hear our thoughts, yet still, she persisted in the wordless communication.
Master, is this possible? Can I have you both?
My brow rose at her eagerness. I hadn’t expected it, yet it seemed the lust I’d provoked in her had surged into something even I hadn’t counted on—something with an energy of its own. I’d roused a side of Sara none of us had ever known before.
“You want us both, little fawn?”
All this time, I’d been worrying about protecting her from the claws of Beelzebub, and here she was, craving him—or at least craving the physical form she saw sitting before us.
“I...” She hesitated but smiled before she went on. “I have never had two lovers at the same time.”
Beelzebub laughed, a deep noise that resonated around the room.
“I have heard us described many ways, Raif, but not once in my neverending existence, have I heard us described as lovers.”
Sara exchanged a panicky gaze with me. “Am I wrong?” she panted. “You don’t want to fuck me?”
“Oh, we want to fuck you.” He beamed at her. “I’d chain, punish, and screw you all day long if you were mine, but alas, my progeny claimed you first.” Beelzebub sighed theatrically, glancing up to me with a wink. “Now, I am left at both of your command. Should he want to share you, and if you are willing, then I would happily devour you.”
Her breath quickened at his words, her attention shifting back to me.
“Master?”
“Sara?”
Naturally, I knew precisely what her query was but couldn’t help toy with her.
“Is it allowed?”
“Ethically, you mean?” I moved toward her with two strides. “Or physically?”
Her eyes widened, her puzzlement clear. “No, I mean, would you allow it—will you?”
I chuckled as she clarified. “It would be churlish of me to refuse. Beelzebub is my master, after all, and it seems you are keen to offer yourself to him.”
There was a flicker of injury in her eyes.
“I didn’t…” She hesitated, averting her gaze from my eyes. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Stop tormenting the girl,” grumbled Beelzebub from behind us. “We both know you fucking love the carnality of, how is it the French put it—the ménage a trois?”
I glanced back at his amused expression. “I do, but I’ve never once before wanted any of those mortals to bind with me.”
“True.”
“Really?” Sara gasped, her hand rising to her mouth. “I had no idea it was so special, Master.”
“Yes, it’s special.” I smiled at her. “But that should not stop us from indulging in our lustful endeavors. We are devils, are we not?”
She giggled. “Well, you two are, Master.”
My arms slid around her middle, and I pulled her hard against me.
“Right. We are. Can you even conceive what a session with us both would be like?”
Her eyes fluttered closed, and in her mind, I saw flashes of the things she envisioned—hot, unbridled passion she wanted to live out.
“We have the whole damn day, Sara.” Beelzebub was on his feet again, coming to stand behind her. “We have the fantasies in your head and the very depth and breadth of our collective passion.” His hands rested on her shoulders, slowly massaging her muscles until her eyes opened, and she sighed.
“Just imagine it.” Beelzebub’s words floated past her ear. “Just fucking imagine it.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Sara
I could imagine it, alright.
Having spent the night with Raif and experiencing my first spanking at his hands, I had a sense of what sex with two mighty demons would involve, but my yearning was based on more than just that. It was based on all the years of unsatisfied need. All the years I’d craved a man to take me, to control me, to raise me into sexual ecstasy, but never had one. Even when I’d fallen in love with James, a part of me had never been satiated. James had been many things, but he wasn’t that man—the one I’d fantasized about late at night—and in the end, we hadn’t been enough for each other.
I hadn’t known it at the time, but him walking out on me had been the best thing that could have happened. I didn’t see it then, but standing sandwiched between the two powerful bodies of Raif and Beelzebub, it was as clear as day. If James hadn’t left me, I’d never have fallen so low, and without those depths, Raif would never have found me.
“You covered her body when I arrived, but let us now reveal that which we shall consume.”
Beelzebub’s timbre vibrated from my nape, and I shivered at the sound of it. His voice was like sin itself, thick, dark, and loaded with carnal intent.
Raif’s eyebrow rose in response, though whether it was to my reaction or his master’s request, I couldn’t be certain.
“Yes.” His lips curled with the answer. “Yes, reveal her. She has a most desirable body hidden beneath that cotton, one which she was about to bathe, I believe?” His gaze bored into me, those blue eyes burning into my flesh and compelling me to speak.
“I was, Master.”
In the frenzy of Beelzebub’s appearance, I’d quite forgotten the bath I’d drawn, but there was still a full tub of hot water waiting for me to sink into.
“Interesting.”
It sounded like Beelzebub was smiling as his hands drifted from my shoulders, down the length of my arms, and held them firm at my side.
“Then that is where we should begin. Let us clean and ready your mortal for what’s to come.”
I panted, not only at his words but at the way he said them as if I wasn’t there, as if I wasn’t standing between them, listening to every single word.
“I can bathe quickly.” I tried to twist my body and catch the look in Beelzebub’s gaze, but his hands held me in place with ludicrous ease. “If you would like?”
“Sara.”
It was Raif’s voice that drew my attention back to my master’s handsome face, and the strangest thing, even though I had an idea what kind of a monster he could be, there was no denying, he was handsome. Perhaps not as muscular and sculpted as the body Beelzebub hid beneath his clothes, but still, Raif was the physical manifestation of everything I’d lusted after for years, and every time he glanced my way, I had to catch my breath.
A part of me couldn’t believe I’d been lucky enough to have him, and whatever transpired, I knew I could never regret it. Yesterday, I’d had nothing but fear and trepidation, my weakness dictating everything in my life—I couldn’t lift a brush to paint anymore, I was too afraid to open the door—but today was different.
Today, there was nothing I feared, even though the rational aspect of my mind knew it was the creatures towering either side of me who represented true terror. Let the phone ring, let the knock come at the door—it no longer mattered. I was emboldened by the union with Raif, empowered by his darkness.
What did it matter if I was gambling with my soul?
What did I have to lose?
It was either a life with no meaning whatsoever or this new existence as the mortal plaything of beasts I’d been taught to fear but so far, had offered me nothing more nefarious than every dark whim I’d ever desired.
I blew out a breath, staring into Raif’s eyes. “Yes, Master.”
“Do not think to tell my master what to do, little fawn. He is older than us both.”
“Thank you, brother.” Beelzebub chuckled, his warm breath tickling the side of my neck. “I do appreciate the offer, Sara,” he purred as his hands slid down past Raif’s to my hips, “but I am thinking of another plan.”
I sucked my lower lip between my teeth. “Okay.”
“Take us to this bath,” Beelzebub commanded. “And there you will strip for us.”
