Page 9 of Emerald Rising
Chapter 5
ASH
Emmy sat there seething like a little spitfire. She was a combination of gorgeous, reckless and innocent with a dash of impulsive that had her doing the craziest things. Like stabbing a blood demon and attacking a sex demon during their most vulnerable moments. I could still taste her on my tongue, still feel her legs wrapped around me as she quivered with her release. Her sexual energy would be feeding me for days and I hadn’t even fucked her. Who was she? She must be powerful if she could give off that much energy. I needed to feed every couple of days. That didn’t mean I needed to have sex every few days; I could survive off the pleasure of others having sex, but it was never as satisfying as feeding off my own sexual partner. All that desire and arousal directed only on me was the most satisfying feeling in the world.
I’d barely had to use any power to get her to surrender to her desire for me. She was already aroused from River’s kiss and whatever exchange went on between Blaze and her over the whiskey. Blaze had never shown any interest in women, or men for that matter, so I had just assumed he was celibate, like most angels, but I could see the way he watched her every move. That was interesting. The little angel had a crush. How sweet. And how tasty. I could have fed off the desire emanating from both River and Blaze as they watched the little spitfire come apart in front of them. But I held myself back. I had only wanted to show her what I could do, not drag us all into an orgy. Although I was beginning to regret that decision.
I’d tasted River’s sexual energy before. We’d been intimate when we both needed feeding. He’d fed off my blood while I’d gorged on his sexual energy. He was all dark and rich, full of complex flavours, but I’d never tasted angel before. My mind whirled with the possibilities and dirty images and now I was hard as a fucking rock.
It wasn’t like I hadn’t fed before the dreamless sleep either. Our bodies had been suspended in time, remaining exactly as they were for twenty-one years. It was so that we wouldn’t wake as starving, ravaging beasts and devour Emmy the moment we saw her. Now, she was all I could think about. Her scent was all over my clothes, her taste in my mouth, her breathless moans burned into my memory and all I wanted was more.
But I couldn’t focus on that right now. Emmy needed answers and River was too pissed to stay calm. I could feel the tension rolling off him in waves and he was always a dick when he got like this. As his second in command, I often found myself stepping up to do the explaining to whoever needed it. Patience was a virtue, one that River had never nurtured.
“Emmy,” I called softly.
She turned her eyes to me, and I could see the fire burning in her gaze. Literally. I bet she didn’t even know she was a demon. Flecks of amber sparkled in her green irises and I suddenly feared how I was going to even start this conversation.
“First, I want to apologise. I shouldn’t have done that to you, and I hope you can forgive me. I will never use my powers on you again. I promise.” She gave me a subtle nod and I took that as a sign to continue. “As you have probably figured out, I am a sex demon and I feed on sexual energy.”
“Like an Incubus?” she asked.
“Yes. Although we are responsible for all forms of creatures that feed on sexual energy that have existed in mythology or folklore. Incubi, Succubi, Lidercs, Pontianak, Chuiaels and so on. They’re all demons and we all descend from Asmodeus, the Demon King of Lust. River, on the other hand, is a blood demon and completely responsible for the myths around vampires. They’re all descended from Beelzebub, the Demon King of Gluttony.”
Emmy turned to look at River and scowled. “So that’s why you licked my hand. If you were hungry, why didn’t you just ask?”
He snorted. “You’d give your blood to a strange demon just because they asked nicely?”
The little spitfire glared at him. “There’s a lot to be said for polite manners.”
River licked his lips, and I felt the sexual tension in the room tighten. Fuck, this was hard going. Ha, pun intended. My knuckles were turning white on the armchair with the amount of restraint I was putting into holding back from devouring the girl. I’d never had this much temptation to resist, and it was killing me.
“I’ll remember that next time I get the urge to devour you,” River said in a sinful whisper. She responded with a soft moan and he smiled wickedly at her. He was wrapping her around his little finger, and she didn’t even know it.
I needed to get this conversation back on track; even Blaze was succumbing to the tension in the room. His vivid silver eyes darkening with hunger and his brow deepening into a scowl as he fought to hold himself back. This bond between the four of us was intense. How were we supposed to hold back when we found Griffon? There’d be no stopping our need to mate and complete the ritual then.
“What about you, Blaze?” Emmy asked timidly. Yeah, I’d approach him with caution, too. He had the worst temper in an angel I’d ever seen. It’s ultimately that which got him kicked out of the Upperworld. He was a brilliant warrior but a borderline psychopath.
“What about me?” he replied gruffly. To be honest, I was surprised he was even speaking. He normally resorted to grunts and groans to communicate.
“Do you have any powers I need to know about? Or do you just stand there brooding in the corner all the time?”
Oh, dear. She really shouldn’t taunt the psycho; he was likely to react.
There was a gust of wind as his wings unfolded and propelled him across the room in a display of dominance. A sharp yelp hit my ears as he startled Emmy with his sudden movements, and I was out of my seat in an instant, ready to try and protect her. Even River had jumped to his feet at Blaze’s display. I knew he couldn’t harm her, but he was a frightening son of a bitch when he wanted to be.
The angel had caged her between the sofa and his massive body, curling his wings and hindering my view of her. I could see one of his hands braced on the back of the sofa and the other curled possessively around her throat. He leaned down until his mouth caressed her ear. I might not have been able to see him, but I heard every menacing word he uttered.
“I’m not one to play gently. Don’t push me. Don’t fight me.Don’tpiss me off. You’ll only make me grip your pretty little throat tighter. Do you understand, baby girl? Nod if you do.” She nodded quickly. “Good girl.”
I could hear the malicious grin in his words and even I shuddered. That guy was crazy. Absolutely off his fucking rocker, but I didn’t mistake the way Emmy’s heart raced or the way her breath came in short pants. Shitting Hell. The crazy fucker was turning her on and my cock was hard as a fucking rock.
He folded his brilliantly white wings away and stepped back. River and I visibly relaxed as Blaze moved away from Emmy and I couldn’t help but notice the poor thing was one step away from a nervous breakdown.
“Do you have to be such a dick?” River asked but Blaze only shrugged.
Who knew the angel’s penchant for violence extended into the bedroom? Well, colour me intrigued. I had a sudden urge to ask Blaze a lot of questions but now definitely wasn’t the time for that. We were well past explaining what was going on and if we didn’t start talking now, this whole fiasco was going to end in a disaster.
“Emmy,” I called softly, pulling her attention back to me. “I know this evening has been a whirlwind and crazy as hell.”
