The Devil's Plaything Read online

  Homesickness floods me.

  I don’t know where I’m supposed to be. Is it here in Cease Fire with Gabriel and the others who say they are my friends? Will I ever know?

  I feel suffocated by all this worry and concern. Spending an hour looking over pre-natal sites with the good-looking pub owner was awkward. Even more so when he showed me the other spare-room across from mine that would make a good nursery. Yet he seems genuine. I can’t deny he cares, and my instincts aren’t warning of any deception.

  Emotions churn inside me; misery, pain, anger, and despair. Nausea rolls through my stomach. Groaning softly, I know I don’t have anything left to bring up. So far anything I’ve eaten I haven’t been able to keep down. Whoever came up with the bright idea of calling it morning sickness obviously never suffered this bad.

  Slipping from beneath the blanket, my feet touch the smooth wooden floor. Limbs feeble from the nightmare, I move shakily towards the bathroom.

  “She doesn’t remember. We could let her carry on in ignorance and have a normal life away from all this bullshit.” Gabriel’s voice is a low rumble, but I catch it through the gap in the door.

  “She’s a ticking time bomb. Just because her true memories and nature are suppressed doesn’t mean they won’t surface again. Christ, she skinned that half demon alive. Besides, he won’t allow it. It’s taken months of waiting for the time to be right to bring her back. Denying him this is one way to start a full-blown war. Not these skirmishes we’ve been entertaining.” The second voice is familiar. Raziel.

  “I’m worried about her sanity. With the pregnancy hormones she’s already under a lot of strain. You’ve seen how the other two are. I’m worried she’ll eventually snap.”

  “Just keep her calm, relaxed, and make sure she doesn’t leave.”

  They grow faint as they move away.

  Hand around the handle, I silently click the door closed.

  How can I take control of my life when I can’t remember my past? I need to find the truth behind everything before it destroys me.

  Padding into the bathroom, I stare at my burning bright eyes in the mirror. A tremor shudders through me. Clutching the sink for support, I steady myself as my legs go weak. I can’t keep these dark urges at bay. I don’t know how. The music I’ve heard before is there, teasing the edges of my mind. It longs to consume me.

  “Your darkness makes you beautiful. A diamond among stones. Your edges are deadly as well as exquisite.” Deep, gravelly, the sensual voice throbs straight down to my core.

  My eyes lock with a pair of dark and devious ones in the reflection. I freeze.

  Lucifer.

  Leaning nonchalantly against the door jam, his blood-stained tie loose, hands thrust into his trouser pockets, he watches me intently. A slow smile curves his lips. “Have I made a strong enough impression yet?”

  “Stay away.”

  “Do you still think I want to hurt you? We still have a contract. Your soul is mine. You’d be no good to me dead.”

  Slowly, I turn to face him, the back of the sink digging into my spine. “Why would I give you my soul?”

  Like a magician, he produces an ornate dagger from his pocket. Not the small kind. No this is long, thick, and sharp. How he managed to fit it in there threatens to unravel my already fragile sanity. “To save your brother.”

  I have a brother? Family is something I haven’t given a thought to.

  “I...I don’t remember that.”

  “I could help you remember, for a price.” He offers, dark eyelashes lowering to hide the expression in his dazzling gaze.

  Hand creeping up, I instinctively protect my bump. “You already have my soul. I’m not giving you my baby.”

  “How about your heart?” He twists the blade between his fingers, shoulder still resting against the door. “Give that to me and I’ll help you get your memory back.”

  “Maybe it’s better if I don’t remember,” I counter.

  “When a flower doesn’t bloom you fix the environment it grows in. Not the flower. You have bloomed in my hands in the past. You will again.”

  “Why should I believe anything that comes out of your mouth?”

  Pushing off his perch, he stalks towards me, closing the distance. “That, my darling, is up to you.”

  I have nowhere to go trapped in the small room. With growing desperation, I search unsuccessfully for a weapon. “Don’t touch me, you monster.”

  A mischievous smirk inches up the corners of his cruel but sexy mouth. “Why deny what we both know you feel? You can’t escape it. Only I can meet your twisted sexual desires. Give you every depraved craving you have locked away.”

  Inches away, he halts before me. His heat permeates through the thin layer of my cotton night dress. My body reacts to his nearness. Breasts growing heavy, a need to feel his cock buried deep inside me has wetness trickling down my inner thighs. Lust coils in my abdomen, sending a sweet jab of ache downwards.

  Eyelids fluttering shut, my other senses take over. The heady masculine scent of his cologne seduces me. Again, I sense a leashed ferocity lurking beneath the veneer of modern sophistication.

  Lips take my mouth in a blistering kiss. One touch and I lose all sense of up or down. They devour. Stake a claim. The sound of tearing reaches my ears. Cool air washes over my skin, making me shiver as the material is sliced apart. Gasping, I pull away.

  Grasping the sides, Lucifer flips the tattered sides of my night dress clear, baring me for his viewing indulgence. “I’ve always preferred you naked.”

  “No, don’t.” Palms resting against his chest, I push him away. It’s a feeble bid for freedom. I can already feel myself succumbing to the carnal hunger he’s evoked. Yielding, softening to whatever power he wields over me.

  “When will you learn that fighting against me is like trying to stop the moon from rising in the sky at night?”

  Confident hands curve around my hips. Cold marble meets my arse as I’m lifted then seated beside the sink. Nuzzling my neck, he parts my thighs and stands between them. A long finger works its way between my damp folds.

  My ability to think dissolves. Groaning, I tilt my neck, the back of my head resting against the wall.

  Easing the digit deep, he finger fucks me. Slowly at first, before picking up relentless speed. His rhythm is soon joined by two more that slip easily into my soaking channel, as a thumb settles over my clit.

  Hips bucking into his hand, I grab his shoulders, driving my fingernails into the softness of his suit jacket. Face still buried in the hollow of my neck, his teeth bite down viciously, bruising the skin. That small jab of pain is all I need. On a long-tortured moan, I stiffen as I come.

  “You’ve made a mess of my fingers, Flower. Be a good girl and clean it off with your pretty mouth.” Carefully pulling them free of my pussy, he holds them out, leaning back to watch with a commanding, domineering air.

  It’s erotic, arousing. And I find myself not wanting to disobey. Licking the slickness from them, I taste myself in the process.

  He smiles, pleased at my compliance. Kneeling, he spreads me open wider. Dark head bent reverently, he looks like a worshipper paying homage in prayer. He inhales my scent as if savouring an expensive bouquet of wine.

  “I’m going to taste you until your voice is raw from screaming my name. Ride my face. Take your pleasure.”

  Working his tongue along my slit, he licks up, then circles around my clit.

  “Oh yes.” The words escape me on a broken whisper. Undulating my hips against his face, my fingers tangle in his hair. He makes a sound in his throat. A noise beyond something an animal would make or even a man. His Tongue delves inside me.

  Watching him feast, his wicked gaze pinned on mine, I can’t hide the lustful heat that roars up. I know it’s clear in my expression. Mirrored in his own. Nothing matters. Only the insatiable hunger he ignites within me. My clit throbs in time with my heartbeat as he continues to tease. Pressure and pleasure build, tightening as
it grows.

  “Lucifer.” I can’t stop the scream as I come apart, convulsing as he sucks on my sensitive nub, throwing me off the edge into another orgasm.

  Boneless, floating on a cloud of bliss, I try to catch my breath from his onslaught, but he persists. Lapping, sucking, toying, he brings me to release repeatedly. Losing the ability to articulate words, a string of non-verbal sounds is the only thing I can make in response.

  Finally, Lucifer relents. Raising to his feet, he stands. Pussy juices coat his chin. “Sitting on my cock is where you belong, Mavi. Next time I come for you, you’ll be Mistress of all you survey when I fuck you.” He licks the wetness from his lips before wiping his mouth with his palm. Sucking each finger clean, he does it with a look of sheer enjoyment. “Remember who you really are. Know the truth. Don’t fight against it.”

  Eyelids dropping, I slump, dimly aware of a hand gently brushing the curve of my cheek, as another prevents me from slipping down onto the floor.

  Chapter Seven

  Memories flash, crowding behind my closed eyelids. A dam breaks inside my head.

  It’s all crystal clear.

  I remember.

  I’m Mavi StClair. Assassin extraordinaire. The Devil’s executioner.

  Jerking a hand to my throat, I feel for scars. Smooth skin greets my fingertips.

  Opening my eyes, I stare up at the shadowy ceiling. How the fuck am I still alive? Uncaring, sharp metal cleaved through my flesh on the battle field. I died. Someone had killed me, but I don’t remember who it’s all a blur. I recall my soul hovering over my broken body, but the seconds before my end are hazy. There had been a place of silence and blackness. A voice crooning my name. A prison he’d held me in. Somewhere my soul would never find peace.

  Mattress cradling my body, my hand creeps down over the blankets to rest on my rounded stomach. The little one kicks in reply, sensing my distress.

  I still have a blank spot for the last eight months. Questions persist without answers. Who’s the father of my baby? Where the fuck have I been all this time? I still need time to come to terms with the drastic changes in my body. Still a shock to go from normal to a giant belly. How could I have missed it all?

  “Mavi?”

  The quiet call drags me from my tumbling thoughts.

  Tensing, ready for a fight, I hone in on the figure lurking in the corner. The Devil is nowhere in sight. He’s come and gone again, as always, like a thief in the night.

  White blonde locks catch a slither of moonlight peeking through the curtains.

  “Nathan?”

  “They’re hunting me like an animal. They want to destroy me.” My brother whispers, shuffling closer to the bed.

  Red eyes. Demonic, glowing. No longer the blue which has always matched my own. He’d been there when I had fallen. Angry, unstoppable.

  My heart leaps with unease behind my ribcage. “You were on the battlefield when I defeated Lucifer’s last general. I saw you.”

  “I was there to save you from all the lies and deceit. To set you free. Take you home but I was to late.”

  “Who’s hunting you?” I ask agitation elevating.

  “Gabriel and the Devil.”

  Slowly, shifting onto my side, I keep the blanket covering my naked breasts. “Gabriel would never do that...” Even as I say it, I know it’s dubious.

  “He’s the one who put me in the coma, Mavi.” He spits with venom.

  “What?”

  Mattress dipping, he takes a seat, an inky form on the end of the bed. “When we were children. That day in the basement. My demonic powers surfaced after I was raped. You blacked out or something. Just stood there staring while I ripped the janitor apart with my penknife. It was so overwhelming. This music in my head. I couldn’t…couldn’t stop myself.”

  Nathan can hear the music too? The delicious opus of destruction? It was supposed to be us against the world. Family. Nate, my big brother, and I was going to be his hero. Now he’s a killer. A monster like me who I’m not certain can control himself.

  “What does Gabriel have to do with this?” I ask, dreading his answer.

  Hands laying in his lap, Nathan stares bleakly down at them. “He visited me a few days after it happened. The day I slipped into a coma. He made it happen. Did something to me. He’s the one who kept us apart. Stopped us from being together.”

  Shock. It detonates so effectively the static returns, blotting out everything in my mind. I should be used to being betrayed by now. Should be numb to it. Yet, still, it’s like a bullet to the heart.

  Window shaking, a roar of an explosion shatters the quiet. Beyond the thin barrier of the curtain a bright flash illuminates the interior of my darkened room.

  Startled by the unexpected sounds, I sit up. Knifing up my calf, a cramp jars through the stiff muscles. Swearing loudly, I flex it to alleviate the pain.

  “What the fuck was that?” I ask my brother only to discover he’s vanished like a ghost.

  Another explosion rocks the building from outside. This time it’s accompanied with shouts and gunfire.

  Wiggling off the bed, I dress as quickly as I can. Whatever is going down, being trapped in a bedroom is not my idea of fun. Several swift kicks from within my belly tells me my daughter has the same idea.

  Careful to check the corridor, I find it empty. Descending the stairs with a comforting hand on my stomach, I go straight for Gabriel’s office. Scanning the messy sides, I find what I’m after.

  My gun. Relief is strong. I’ve never flinched when it comes to putting a bullet between someone’s eyes. Even my first paid kill I didn’t hesitate. Uncle Dane praised me as a natural.

  Ammo belt hanging over my shoulder, I head for the main door. Smoke billows from several of the buildings in the grey light of dawn. Fire belches upwards, its flames licking over what’s left.

  I find myself amidst chaos. People screaming. Howling over battle cries. Glass and debris are dispersed along the road.

  For a place whose first rule is no killing there sure are a lot of dead bodies.

  With a shriek, a scaly faced demon leaps in my direction, fangs bared. Without a thought I put a bullet between his eyes. Spying some familiar forms pinned down by enemy forces, I move in their direction to help. Squeezing my trigger, I pick off the fuckers who have them trapped. I may be the size of a house, but I can still kick arse.

  With a grateful look the group scurry to the safety of the buildings to my right.

  “Mavi, get your arse back in the pub.” Gabriel hollers from where he’s slaying attackers across the way. “Standing in the middle of the street will get you shot.”

  Flashing him the middle finger, I tap the barrel of my gun to my pursed lips. “No fucking way I’ll miss all the fun.”

  I’ve finally woken up to who I am. The darkness inside me is hungry and I won’t deny it.

  A neon pink shirt catches my eye just before Leo ducks out from behind a stationary car. “Holy shit, our Puddin’ is back! Hormonal and armed.” Blonde hair sticking up messily, he gives me a cheeky grin.

  I’m more than back. Giving him a smirk, I reload from the ammo belt on my shoulder. “Buckle up baby, I’m just getting started. Leo back me up.”

  “You got it, sugar.” He can’t hide the glee in his voice.

  It makes me warm all over knowing he’s having fun like I am. It’s warped. Fucked up, but I don’t care what anyone else thinks.

  Blasting a hole through another ugly scaled bastard who tries to get too close, I start picking them off one by one.

  This breed of demon normally doesn’t work in a pack. They’re solitary hunters who pick off the weak and spook easily when outnumbered, teeth and claws their only weapon. Nothing long range like fire breathing or spitting acid. Even with the basics, though, they are shredding through our line of defence with an ease that shouldn’t be possible. Something has them whipped into a frenzy.

  “Who are these cocky arseholes, anyway?” I ask Leo who’s a step behind.


  “Markaz’s forces.”

  The name is familiar. Then it hits me. A rogue general of Lucifer’s. “I thought he was dead?”

  “Turns out that was a lie. The moment you defeated Trukun and her army the sneaky fucker started hitting the Devil’s fortress. He’s also been randomly sending troops our way. We’ve been under siege on and off for months.”

  What else have I missed while I’ve been MIA?

  Hands moving in a flurry of movement, Leo tosses demons left and right with his telekinesis.

  Scanning the street, my eyes pin down the source of the enemy’s blind fury.

  A hag.

  Her evil cackle sends the hairs on the back of my neck rising as insidious waves of magic coil from her hunched form. Long bony fingers playing across the concrete, she’s in the process of writing runes in red. Blood. I recognize the way it smears. Blood magic, and whatever she’s channelling, it’s strong.

  “I don’t think that bitch is finger painting.” I inform Leo, gesturing at her with the muzzle of my gun.

  Casting his gaze in the direction, he sucks annoyingly on his teeth. “Then stop dicking around with these bastards.”

  Rolling my eyes at him, we pick our way towards her. I can smell the stench yards away. The sick festering scent of decay. Lips splitting in a sneer, she bares yellowish teeth. Even from this distance I can tell she’s going to be a problem.

  With a flick of his wrist, Leo attempts to send her flying. It’s a mistake. With a scream, her spell back lashes, throwing him to the ground.

  Taking aim, I consider for one millisecond if it’s the best idea. Only one way to find out. The bullet ricochets. A cry sounds behind me and I know it’s found itself a home.

  “Way to go. You just shot an angel in the butt.” Leo informs me, scrambling to his feet.

  “Gabriel?”

  Laughing, he shakes his head. “Not so lucky.”

  Oh well. I don’t give a shit whose arse it’s ended up in as long as it wasn’t mine.