Page 90 of Hell Bound

But she was also a bit…repressed. Her light brown hair was always swept up in that braid that wrapped around the crown of her head, and the dresses she wore showed only the barest hints of skin.

Tavila, on the other hand, flaunted her sexuality to maximum advantage at all times. I truly believed she’d have walked around naked if she had the option.

As she swept into my room like she owned the damn place, she wore a dress that showed nearly as much skin as mine had the first night I arrived: scraps of fabric held together by fragile ties that would come apart with a stiff breeze.

Unlike Gilémé and Sveva, she didn’t bother to curtsy or even so much as speak. She crossed the room and began to gather everything that needed to be washed. Towels and worn dresses flew from the bathroom.

Every day she tested me, seeing just how far she could push me.

Push all you want, Tavie, dear. I’ve got more important things on my mind.

Something shattered from the bathroom and a piece of glass slid across the marble floor.

Okay, maybe she was getting a little closer to pushing the right buttons than I’d been willing to admit.

Suddenly, taking a walk was the best idea I’d had in a long time.

I’d come to know the palace a bit better during my imprisonment in the Infernal Court, but there were still many halls I’d yet to explore. Thankfully, Asmodeus had plenty of maniacal schemes and dictator activities to keep him busy.

It was abundantly clear that everyone here despised him, with the exception of his closest lieutenants and a handful of courtiers.

I was still suspicious of those last ones. Perhaps they were only paying him lip service while he retained power.

I strolled down a new corridor, following the sounds and the scent of outside. Acclimating to the palace itself was hard enough, but the outside world was even stranger. Even at the brightest point of the day, there was a deep redness that was so unfamiliar.

Strange as it was, there was a certain kind of beauty to it.

Seeing the beauty in Hell. Never could have predicted that one.

As I walked further, new noises joined the outdoor ambience. Grunts and thuds, coupled with the odd clang interspersed between.

Someone was fighting.

For reasons I wasn’t about to examine too closely, the knowledge sent my heart racing and my nipples… well,nippling.

Was my body really going haywire from the mere idea of sweaty men battling one another in the courtyard?

Bloodlust is still lust, Lil.

I couldn’t very well fall much further, now could I? So I continued until I reached the open air of a courtyard I had yet to explore. And there was definitely a reason this was tucked away.

Shirtless men brawled in the space, the dirt being kicked up from all the different scuffles. One particular pairing drew my attention.

Lucifer and Jovran grappled fiercely, neither looking as though this was merely practice to them. Each had a moment of dominance, pinning the other to the ground, but it didn’t last.

Seconds later, the other was flipped onto his back and pummeled mercilessly.

When Lucifer had Jovran on his back, the muscles in his own back rippled and contracted as he delivered blow after blow.

The red sunlight glinted off his sweat slicked skin, and my palms itched to run over that impressive body.

My heart lurched at the scars there.

Did they still pain him? Were there phantom sensations of his wings unfurling even though they were gone?

The loud ring of metal followed by a distinctly human curse stole my attention.

“Ain’t that ‘bout a bitch!” Deasley was shaking out his hand as if he’d just been electrocuted, starting down at the offending sword on the ground. “I swear, the fucking thing keeps jumping outta my hand!”

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