Page 48 of The River of Fire

I chuckle at her theatrics – Naamah is certainly my favorite among my brother’s brood. Before I make my retort, the flushing boy interrupts us. “Did you learn anything about Simone? And where’s Lana, is she alright?”

All mirth gone, I pin the brash young male with my stare. “Teach your pet to respect his betters, child,” I snarl through gritted teeth, addressing Naamah, but not moving my eyes from the now-pale mortal. “My Nephalem is attached to him. My mercy, however, only extends so far. It would be a shame if he were to be returned to dust the next time he interrupts an archdemon’s conversation.”

Naamah glares at the boy and hisses. He stumbles half a step back but corrects his posture and does not cower.

“Apologies, Uncle.” The succubus dips her chin at me solemnly. My rage is always close to the surface. She knows many creatures have met their untimely end for talking to me at the wrong moment.

For being brave enough to hold his ground and not piss himself like the majority faced with my ire do, I reward him with an answer to his brazen questions. “Not yet, and yes, naturally.”

That he even considered Lana may be unwell implies he thinks there is a chance she could be hurt while under my protection. I clench my jaw until I feel a muscle in my cheek ticking. The boy’s eyes widen in fear again. I leave his punishment to my niece and nod a curt farewell to her beforematerializing to my wing, reminding myself to keep my lamb content and sweet – I should not kill the boy.

Lana is reading in the sitting room when I enter – a tome on the Heavenly War. At least anything in my home is mostly accurate. At the snap of my fingers a tray of food appears before her on the low table. She’s peeking at me behind the large book’s covers, no doubt sensing my mood. My lamb is perceptive and already highly attuned to me. Now smirking, I sit next to her on the settee, ordering her to eat. Rolling her eyes at the command she no doubt found too imperious – I will enjoy punishing her for that later – she lowers the book and gives the cold cuts her attention. I should make sure she eats more cooked food.

“I will show you to the kitchens tomorrow. Or you may relay your wishes through any servant. You must eat even when I am not around to feed you.” She snorts, chewing slowly. The pleasure I derive from watching her eat the food I provided makes me worry that I will next start thumping a bat against the ground before dragging her to my lair by her hair.

“Don’t worry, when I need food, everyone will know.” She smiles, her eyes twinkling. “I get hangry,” she clarifies. “What did you decide to do about Asmodeus and Simone, if that’s who he has?”

“Sariel and Armaros should be at Abaddon now, gathering more information from your Fallen mentors.” I have no need to hide my intentions from her.

She purses her lips, considering her next words carefully. “I’m guessing I can’t go talk to them about it, too?”

Does she think that I could not reach her in Purgatory? That I would not let her visit for fear of her leaving my grasp? I suppress my laughter. “You are staying here because I want you in my bed tonight.”

I can see her pulse speeding up at my words, her lovely neck flushing, the redness traveling up to her cheeks. She ignores my statement and I cross my legs, then lean back, indulging myself by watching her eat. I should have insisted she eats the food from my fingers. Her luscious lips close around a piece of cheeseand she reaches for another olive.

“Would you choose to stay here, if given the choice?” My question surprises her, the olive slipping through her fingers. Not taking my attention from her, I use the ether to stop its fall and float it back to the tray. She is too busy gaping at me to notice. I would have floated the olive into her mouth were I not worried she would choke on it in her current state of astonishment.

She blinks a couple of times, her beautiful eyes still locked on mine. “What would I do here?” Her question is soft, tentative.

“You may continue with the purpose you have been brought Below for if you wish. I will allow you to keep your Cambion boy to do so with if that is what you desire.”

She bristles, her spine straightening. Such a joy to see her provoked. “First of all, Kevin is not a pet to be kept. Second of all, neither am I!”

I feel that sharing my opinion on this would be detrimental, so I merely maintain a neutral smile. After a while she turns back to her food, her eyes not quite focused as she contemplates her answer. Finally, she gives me her reply, while still not looking at me. “I don’t know,” she whispers, then busies herself with her meal again.

When she throws a glance my way to gauge my reaction, she does a double take. Clearly, she expected me to be mad. But how could I be? She did not say no, as her mortal heart must be telling her she should have. I may be ‘catching feels’, as my son described so eloquently, but I have not taken leave of my sanity. I will coax, I will convince, and I will be the devil on her shoulder, as ironic as that may be. I can be patient – as long as she remains here, by my side and secure.

After she is done eating, she excuses herself to the bathroom. It was a strenuous day for her and I am rather well fed from our bout earlier. Still, she finds me waiting for her by the bed, unclothed. I strip her of the sleeping clothes she had just put on in the bathing room, then throw her onto the bed to have my own dinner, despite her reservations and objections.

Chapter 35 – Kevin

The succubus closes the door to her chambers with a loud click. I tug at the collar around my neck with a finger and groan in frustration. While I’m always up (literally) to try all sorts of kinky shit, being paraded like this in an archdemon’s fortress, in front of the evil bastard himself… it’s really fucking demeaning.

I turn towards Naamah and her lavender eyes flare at the sight of me collared, as if she briefly forgot she was literally holding my leash. She visibly catches herself and glares at me instead.

“That is the last time you will speak in Uncle’s presence without being invited to do so.”

I bristle at the chastising tone of her voice. It’s not that I can’t stand women in charge. Heck, my best friend is female and my team leader. But I never expected to be in a submissiveposition in a sexual relationship. This demoness would have me performing tricks on command if it was up to her.

“It’s not like he was gonna tell me anything if I didn’t ask!” Am I whining? Seriously, who have I become? I take a deep calming breath. “If there’s a chance our missing team member is still alive, I wanna know. And of course I’m worried about Lana!” I can feel myself winding up again like a toy soldier. “He could have hurt her and I’d never even know!”

Naamah blows air out of her nose, only it actually comes out in puffs of smoke. “You would know, my pet, as you would be out on your sweet little ass. If you carry on like this, said ass will be encased in a funeral shroud. And that would be such a waste.” Her voice started out as angry, but in the end it turned into a seductive purr.

I’m practically vibrating with a mix of frustration and humiliation as I bring my face to hers. “Don’t call me that,” I growl.

Instead of getting mad right back, her lips stretch into a devilish smile. Her tail wraps around my thigh, the tip pressing against my crotch and making my dick twitch. A puff of air, too close to a grunt, escapes from my lips and she squeezes tighter until I’m lightheaded from all the blood rushing down south.

“A punishment is in order, I think,” she whispers against my lips. “A spanking will do nicely.”

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