Diablo, p.8
Diablo, page 8
Why was she panting? She’d felt so hungry it was like he was catnip and she was a cat eager to rake her claws along him to alleviate the ache. With a whimper, she tightened her thighs. “-Please.”
His eyes brightened, and his lips stretched into a hungry grin. And before she could second guess her plea, he pressed his lips against hers. At first, the pressure was soft, playful. Then, with a wicked skill, he increased the pressure, a slow deepening wreaking havoc as she pressed herself against him.
Her skin itched, and her heart pounded in her chest. More. A dark voice inside her demanded, and she gave in, opening her mouth igniting a fire in Erebus and herself
Soon, their breathing turned rough, and her hands were no longer being held but grabbing at anything she could reach, her hands pulling at his shirt as he hands yanked at her thighs, lifting her, so her bottom knocked the pan and bowl of flour aside.
Their lips did not part once, the hunger shared between them quelling sense and ego. Alexis felt like she was being lifted from within and burned, her heart being swallowed by a comfortable cocoon of darkness that didn’t create fear but desire, the iron strength of the man pulling her in, quieting all fear and doubt within her.
His fingers kneaded her back, and she ground against him. And he pulled back only to moan against her lips, his lashes lifted and she barely registered that his eyes were no longer dark-brown but brightened and almost appeared bronze.
For almost a minute her brain almost didn’t notice.
But Alexis being a mother, couldn’t let herself be drawn back into the delicious, and tempting lust pool below.
Moving forward, she slapped her hands on his cheeks her eyes widening as she stared into his eyes, before drawing back and exclaiming. “WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU?!”
Erebus abruptly jerked from the pleasurable wrestling of tongues, groaned outwardly.
“Oh, no, no, no-,” Alexis said, holding his head so that he couldn’t pull away. Her eyes narrowing on him, “What’s with your eyes?”
Instead of saying anything, Erebus quirked a brow.
To her credit, Alexis didn’t scream when a rush of dark light swallowed her, and she found herself falling into her bed with Diablo resting atop her. No, she didn’t scream or pass out. Instead, she swallowed and licked her lips and asked a very real question. “You’re not going to fill me with alien eggs, are you?”
He blinked at her before he opened his mouth and laughed.
Chapter Ten
The entity who’d swooped her to her bed was laughing, and Alexis was surprised by it, but it seemed he was just as much so. As he suddenly stopped, his expression turning blank as his eyes turned thoughtful. He turned those now dark-eyes back to her and softly smiled.
“I do not believe any among my kind can infest a woman with eggs,” his voice was deep, and Alexis swore she could feel the thick brogue against her skin.
“Okay, that’s enough!” Sitting up abruptly, Alexis scooted across the bed, falling over the side. “Yep, I-I’m good.” She stood brushing a hand down her shirt, not bothering to tie back her dreads. She pointed at Erebus, “See, I don’t do this.” She shook her head, “Nope, this is some fantasy shit us,” she motioned to herself, “Black woman, we don’t do this.”
She adamantly repeated the word now, crossing her arms. “I don’t know what you’re looking for, but I’m not interested, alien, vampire…doesn’t matter, I’m not interested. Goodbye.” She pointed to the door, “it’s time for you to go, Mister Erebus,” at that she frowned, glaring with suspicion, “Is your name even “Erebus”?”
He hadn’t shifted. Instead, he’d moved to rest against the pillows staring at her now with mild amusement. He shook his head at her question, “Yes, but most call me Diablo. I was given the name after the loss of my Amouri.”
“Amouri?” Alexis found herself curious, despite being ready to toss the dangerous male out of the window. She stiffened her back, shaking her head. “It’s doesn’t matter, I don’t need to know. I only need you to leave.”
“I can’t.”
“what?! Why?”
“Because you’re my Amouri.”
“Am-!” she bit her tongue, placing her hands on her hips she glared at him. “Look, I’m sure you think that, but it’s not possible. I’m not open right now for relationships, definitely not one that involves a-a-?” She stared at him lost, frowning. “What are you?”
“Kehmet,” He answered, disappearing from the bed within a wisp of black smoke
“Kehmet?” She said as her eyes widened at his sudden disappearance.
“Yes.”
“Agh!”
Alexis jumped, just as his arms came around her pulling her close to his body. She wanted to shout, but instead, her body readily melted into his hold. He leaned down, so his lips were right next to her ear as he spoke. “We are a very, very old people. Some would say, we are the remnants of the gods.”
“Gods—?” Alexis didn’t squeak. That high pitch sound was merely her coughing.
“Yes,” he nearly hissed into her ear, “and it takes a very long time for one of our kind to find a woman such as you, so filled with life, energy, manna.” He softly crooned, his warm breath caressing her skin. Alexis lashes fluttered, as she let herself lean against his larger and harder body. “In exchange for the ability to feed, we offer protection, loyalty, and…passion.”
Sucking in a quick breath, Alexis pulled from him. It was hard, and her mind screamed at her, but she needed space. Immediately. It spoke volumes when he let her go, she quickly moved, so the bed stood between them.
Panting, she stared at him placing her hand against her chest. Her heart pounded in her ears, as she stared at him. His eyes were bronze once again, the look in them sending a clear message. The tension climbed, even as she lowered her eyes to break the connection the tension only grew.
“Do not hide from me.” His lowly spoken command had her jerking her head up.
“I’m not hiding,” she argued through gritted teeth. “I wouldn’t. I just need some space.”
She blinked, and he was before her, she sucked in a quick breath as he wrapped one arm around her. “Amouri I can give you anything but that.” He said, while it stank to high heaven of stalker-ism, his brogue made it gruff and sexy.
“Mom?”
Erebus hadn’t thought Alexis had much strength, but the punch that hit him in the abdomen was enough to cause him to stagger back with a minor gasp.
“Yes, baby.” Ignoring the man in pain, Alexis walked over to the door.
Easton was rubbing his eyes and frowned as he dropped his hand from the doorknob. “I had a bad dream,” he dropped his hand spotting the choke-laughing Erebus kneeling near the bed, he frowned. “What’s wrong with Erebus?”
“Nothing!” Alexis said sharply, tossing a glare at the now smirking god. “Let’s go make some tea, that’ll soothe those nightmares.”
Placing two hands on her son’s shoulders, she steered him from the bedroom and laughing deity. The tea was more for her than anyone else. She didn’t know what she was going to do with the god infestation, but she needed to get rid of him, quick.
He was a threat to not only her sanity but also her body. A body which was all too eager to welcome him into her bed. And she wasn’t about that life, at least not for a man who wasn’t offering a one-night thing.
~L.B.~
“Are you sure he’s here?” Grant asked, his eyes sweeping over the small town below. He crouched above Alton, on a tree branch. He sneered. “Why would a demon like him, spend his time in such a boring place?”
Alton, accustomed to Grant’s poor attitude, remained ambivalent. “It’s under the radar, I’m sure you’ve noticed he’s barely been using his ability. The only reason we’ve been able to pinpoint this town is because he used it for the first time in two days, the energy pulses were picked up in the general vicinity of this area.”
Grant snorted, jumping up and disappearing, before appearing next to Alton. He glanced over to the male who’d remained silent leaning against the tree, “Do you think he can sense us?”
Ahmose shook his head his eyes narrowing on the town below. “He’ll feel something, but he won’t know who it comes from, especially if Alton is right in his belief the enemy is also on the move. They’ll most likely draw his attention before he senses us coming.”
“I hope that’s true,” Alton said, as he turned around and headed back to the jeep parked off the highway. “I don’t want to have to deal with casualties.”
Grant grinned, his eyes lighting with excitement at the idea of battle with another ancient. “Casualties are a part of the fun,” he crooned in excitement. “Imagine the power, the thrill of battle echoing around you cousin.” He looked over his shoulder, watching Alton leave. “Don’t you wish for the old day of battle.”
“Change is inevitable, as is peace,” Ahmose spoke aloud, not looking at Grant.
Grant scoffed as he whipped around, his aura leaking causing the wind to move and lift the end of his favorite leather coat. “If that’s what you think gold-one, then you’ve been under the unpleasant peace for too long.”
Following Grant, Ahmose sent the town below another long look, before completely turning his back on it. If Grant thought that a battle with Diablo would be fun, and exciting than the man had never stared into the eyes of death.
Ahmose only prayed that the man had soothed some of his madness with the blood of his victims. Otherwise, they had a long battle ahead of them.
~L.B.~
“Sir?”
Rodrick stared at the land that stretched out before him, he’d didn’t know why but as the dreams had persisted, he found himself buying tickets to Thurso, Scotland. Nothing was there for him, yet something had called him to travel there.
He looked over the rolling hills, the cold wind off the ocean whipped against his cheeks. His eyes narrowed over the ocean, the waves were low. Yet, he looked across the ocean as if yearning for something.
“Yes?” He turned his eyes away from the view, to his secretary. She stood, slightly shivering her hands pressed together, though they were gloved he could see she was feeling the wind. “Ms. Combs are you not accustomed to the cold of the north?”
She chuckled, shaking her head she brushed a curl from her face. “I am more accustomed to weather that is a tad bit sunnier than this,” she turned to follow the line of where his gaze had been a few seconds ago. “May I ask why we’ve come so far north?”
“I do not know,” Rodrick said looking back over the dark-blue waters, he didn’t see Ms. Combs look of surprise. After all, it was rare, very rare when Mr. Rodrick didn’t know something. She quickly blanked her expression when he faced her once again. “I just cannot shake this feeling that I must be here.” He shook his head, and once again they walked along the sand of the beach.
~L.B.~
Done with giving her son something to drink and tucking him back into bed. Alexis had contemplated not facing mister deity till the morning, and yet; her mother hadn’t raised a coward. Sure, she was running from her ex, but he was an altogether different type of threat than Erebus.
She frowned at that. While it was weird, she knew with a scary certainty that Erebus would never hurt her, or her son. Which was silly, as she didn’t know the man at all. Sighing, she finished putting the dishes in the wrack.
She needed to speak with him, if for nothing than to know what he wanted from her. Rolling her neck, she headed back to her bedroom. She’d expected him to eventually join them below, but he’d remained upstairs. She mildly wondered if he sought to give her the space she had wanted, no, needed so badly.
Alexis knew one thing for sure, and that was Erebus’s presence made it hard for her think. She wasn’t blind, he was the kind of man created to cause mental blockage. She guessed good-looking, just came with being a god. Chuckling, she opened the door to her bedroom.
Meeting the probing bronze eyes, she clicked her tongue as she entered closing the door behind her.
“So, Mister God. After some thought, I’ve concluded that I can’t kick you out."
~L.B.~
Erebus would have laughed, but he could feel her seriousness.
He’d given her the time to think over his announcement. He had contemplated erasing her memory, but as soon as he had the thought, he banished the thought.
“You can’t?”
“No,” she said with all seriousness, “I figure it’s hard to kick a guy out when he disappears and reappears at will.” Her brown eyes were deep with thought, as she bit her lips chewing on it. She moved away from the door, “So, I decided instead I’ll hire you.”
He pushed up at this, a brow raising in inquiry, “Hire me?”
“Yes,” she said lifting her chin, her eyes shining with challenge. “I-Me and my son, need protection and since you seem different. I thought a god would be the best type of protection I could find.”
Observing her, Erebus’s eyes slowly trailed down her form from the eyes that brimmed with courage, to the hands that twisted back and forth anxiously, he moved his eyes back up to hers. “You’re asking me, to protect you and your son, but you offer,” he parted his hands, a wicked look coming to his eyes, “nothing in trade? That doesn’t seem the right way to do things, Alexis.”
She swallowed her chest rising before she slowly breathed out. “What is it you want from me?”
Deliberately, Erebus took his time rising from the bed and walked over to her. He’d removed his shirt, his muscles undulating beneath his smooth skin. As he approached her, Alexis dropped her eyes.
“Your eyes, Alexis… do not hide them from me.” He commanded.
~L.B.~
She forced herself to meet his dark stare. She was crazy, no; she was fucking crazy. She knew damn well what the man wanted, and here she was offering it in exchange for her, and her son’s safety.
She knew she was doing it for her own selfish wants, but this was the only way for her to feel guilt free for desiring a man. The guilt towards her past self who’d trembled in fear of every male who’d walked past. The forgotten, broken her, who couldn’t be perfect enough.
When her hand had stretched out into the dark, searching for someone, anyone to take it. And reckless, and insane it may be, but it was the first time in a long time she didn’t fear at the sight of man.
Despite how big Erebus was, his eyes didn’t make her tremble in fear. His size didn’t intimidate her, no. She didn’t have to feign her confidence and courage in his shadow. Instead, when he demanded that she look at him, she found herself wanting to never look away.
“I can offer myself,” she said breathlessly, as he lifted his hand to touch her but kept it a tempting distance. “I don’t know you, or what you are, but I know you are not intending to harm my son or me. And in this world, the one I-,” she trailed off, her eyes becoming overcast as she thought of her ex-husband. “The one I fear the most and hate the most is definitely not you.” Her lashes fluttered as she took a step forward, closing the space between them. Lifting her chin, she boldly she faced him. “I may be using my safety, and the safety of my son to take what it is I want, but if you can protect us then, I’ll give up my body.” She smirked, a wicked glint coming to her eyes, “It’s not exactly that much of a sacrifice.”
He cupped her cheek, leaning in, inhaling her scent, the screams; having dulled to a quiet hum long ago, now he heard another screaming. All him, demanding he take her here and now with no gentleness, yet he knew better so instead he only stared down at the face that had changed his life and derailed his mad dash towards the saint of death.
In his eyes, she was divinity, a goddess for him to worship. Only, he wouldn’t tell her this. Instead, he would live up to his ruthless reputation.
Breaking the invisible barrier between them, his lips took hers. The taste, the sensation was mind-numbing. As he pulled more and more of her manna, he deepened the kiss breaking through her physical and mental barriers, running wild along her skin as his power freed itself and streamed out. Shadows licked the air, swirling around them wrapping the couple within the deep black of their hold.
She released a moan, as he drew her close, her eyes shutting. The lashes tickled his cheeks, as his body pulsed along with hers. Their energy was moving and breathing within the cocoon of darkness.
Alexis couldn’t remember when a kiss felt more than two lips pressed together. Her body felt like it had been submerged in fire and ice, even as she wanted to pull away she pressed closer. The stars exploded behind her eyes, and she wandered through the galaxy that was Erebus, if this were a golden-path headed straight for hell, she wouldn’t regret it burning.
He released a growl and jerked her up against him, his lips trailing from hers to her neck. His body shook, as he breathed hard against it. She opened her eyes, just as the darkness evaporated the light nearly blinding her, she quickly slammed them shut with a hiss of pain.
Both stood shaking, as she tried to catch her breath. Alexis finally felt her lips part. “Well, I guess that was amazing.”
He didn’t say anything, and only held her for a moment after he drew away from her. His eyes were burning bronze. Alexis sucked in a quick breath at the sight of the desperate, hungry need in them.
“I will protect you and the boy,” he nearly growled, his voice barely human, “but I will decide when and how I will be paid back.” With that he spun away swallowed by shadow, leaving her alone and shaking with need.
Alexis pressed a hand to her belly, she was shaken, stirred and fit to be tied. More than just shook, she made her way to the bathroom.
Chapter Eleven
Erebus never thought he would reject Alexis offer. In fact, he’d been sure he’d take her offer and never look back, but while she had offered herself there remained shadows of the other male in her eyes. He wanted to be the only thing she thought of when the time came for him to claim her.
