Page 16 of Hell Sent

“That is not how it works,” he said.

“Then how does it work?”

“The energy I feed on comes from others. From you. My body is not relevant. Only yours matters.”

She blinked at him.

“Do you know how to pleasure yourself?” he asked.

“Of course I do.”

“Then do it.”

She thought for a moment. The scent of her fear began to fade. “Do you need to watch me?”

With other demons, he usually touched during feeding, but he supposed it wasn’t strictly necessary. If this was what she needed, it would be a small sacrifice to make. “No. But I must be nearby.”

She seemed to relax a great deal. She was relieved that he wouldn’t touch her or look at her.

She went to the other side of a large stone nearby. Having her out of his line of sight made him nervous, but he suppressed the urge to chase after her. He put his back to the stone, and he waited.

There was a long pause during which nothing happened. Azreth sat very still, tense.

And then, he felt something. Though she was out of sight, he knew the moment she began. There was a prick of heat in the air, thin and frail, but it was there.

Slowly, the heat grew. Her pleasure drifted to him in soft, pink breezes, heady and untainted by fear.

It was unexpectedly lovely.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have been surprised, because every other aspect of humans had been delicious, too. He simply hadn’t expected to be so affected by it. He closed his eyes, letting it soak into him.

Without really meaning to, he imagined what she might look like at that moment—her flushed face turned toward the sky, eyes closed, breasts tight, inner thighs coated in wetness.

When she reached her peak, there was a burst of ecstasy that had his eyes rolling back. The pleasure that surrounded him satisfied his hunger, but it also made his cock twitch. He was half hard beneath his sarong, to his dismay. He didn’t usually become aroused without the help of magic, and he preferred it that way. He disliked the idea of a part of his body acting without his consent. Swallowing tightly, he stood.

Sex was a means to an end. It was a necessary part of life that was usually unpleasant, if tolerable. He did notlikesex.

But he liked imagining the mortal like this—lush, beautiful, eager.

He heard a hurried rustling, then she came around the stone to meet him, breathing a little faster than usual. Her face was flushed, just like he’d imagined. She looked up at him questioningly.

She’d fed him. She’d done it willingly, and he hadn’t had to harm her. It had been so simple, so painless.For the first time since he’d left the hells, he felt a flicker of hope.

Raiya was still looking up at him, waiting for him to say something.

“Good,” he said stiffly.

She lowered her head, but her eyes lingered on him, darting over his chest, his arms, his waist. Her blush deepened.

Eight

Azreth did not want to ask the mortal for advice on where to go, so he just went in the opposite direction of the castle. He needed to keep moving. Fear always set in worst when you stopped moving. As long as you were running faster than everyone else, no one could hurt you.

Raiya had not eaten since they’d left the castle. She’d brought nothing with her in her little bag, and Azreth had nothing of his own to offer her.

“How often do you eat?” he asked her.

She jerked a little, startled by his voice, and she fingered the end of her braided hair. “Three times a day, usually.”

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