Page 11

Chapter Eleven

Thanatos

I wanted to be buried inside her so I could forget what just occurred in the alley and what it meant for her future. Demons were expected. The Horsemen another inconvenience but expected. Angels, however, I didn’t calculate into the equation. A few I could handle, but not teamed up with demons—and certainly not if they were after her.

I’d underestimated their determination to save humanity. I’d expected the angels to stay out of it, not join hands with demons in a display of outright rebellion. To risk losing their wings to kill a human. If I hadn’t intervened, they would’ve sunk their heavenly blades into Asha’s chest so they could personally ensure her soul was reincarnated instead of used for the apocalypse. One less Counter Soul. One less chance of the world ending.

Persistent bastards.

Worse, I still sensed Zelus nearby. He hadn’t left since I’d spoken with him earlier. He was still skulking around the area, and it’d only be a matter of time before we crossed paths. I was supposed to stay away until I could get the bastard to go elsewhere, but I’d detected the intense presence of demons shortly before Asha decided to head into the office.

The fact that several angels were also following her didn’t bode well for my plan to stay away. I’d need to be her shadow again. I couldn’t give her room to breathe. I needed her desperate to keep me by her side. Which, thankfully, turned out to be the easiest task of them all. The little human was especially vulnerable to my caress. As if I’d been the first and only man who’d ever drowned her in pleasure.

I didn’t mind the thought.

Her visible relief when I showed up in front of her put a feeling into my chest unlike the rest. She’d been waiting for me. She didn’t want me to leave. She was happy I’d stayed. It showed in her expression the second our eyes met, and everything in the world bled away. I’d send however many demons it took back to Hell for my little raven. I’d face an army of angels to have one more day. One more night.

Then I’d take her soul for the apocalypse.

My throat and chest seized with a burn only the fires of Hell could match. I stared at my hand, the one that took lives for millennia. Since the beginning of time. Since humanity breathed its first breath. And it didn’t make sense at first to see it shaking.

Death feared nothing.

I slid it into my damp hair, determined to calm the quaking, but it only calmed when I ran my hand over Asha’s thigh. Touching her eased the tension in my chest. Lessened the burn in my throat. What could it mean? Why was she the only thing that seemed to ease the sensations running rampant in this human shell I was forced to wear?

I’ll take her soul tomorrow. It’s the only way to put an end to everything. The only way I’ll go back to who I was before.

The warmth of her soft flesh under my hand dragged my thoughts back to the sweet darling sitting on the desk, waiting for me to do whatever I wished. On the desk of that bastard boss who I’d systematically tormented since the day he fucking dared to touch her. But her adorable giggles when she discovered I was behind the attack soothed my intensifying rage when I thought what might’ve been if I hadn’t intervened again .

I’d fuck her on this desk and replace the memory. Now, every time she came into this room, she’d think about me and not that weak, undeserving human. She can’t think when she’s dead. She’d remember she was mine . Until she’s gone. No mortal could ever touch her again. Because she’ll no longer exist. The second they tried, I’d tear them to pieces and send their festering souls to the deepest level of Hell. Maybe I’ll reap her soul next week instead.

Fuck.

I wanted to possess her future, not just her present. One month. Less now. The clock was ticking. Less than a month to do what I never questioned. Only two weeks to do my part to end the world. But every moment spent with her made me question to what end? Who would I be when she was gone…when the human world ceased to be?

Asha’s moan jerked me out of my silent reverie.

The smell of her lust was mouth-watering. I’d worry about the apocalypse another day. I hadn’t indulged like this since I came to be this…monster. If the other Horsemen were given freedom to do whatever they wished, why not Death? Why should I be the only one who did everything by the book? Why shouldn’t I be permitted to bend the rules this once?

Biting her lower lip, the little human kept herself upright on shaky arms. Her legs opened wider to my fingers already sliding into her wet folds, flicking and fingering the slippery heat I couldn’t wait to sink my cock into. Her sleek wetness made it nearly impossible for me to keep it slow, but I wanted her begging. I wanted her on the edge, pleading for release. And only then would I bury my face between her legs and lap up her sweet juices like they were the only thing that could quench this devastating thirst of mine—a thirst that started the second I laid eyes on her.

I ripped through the silky button-down top she wore. It wasn’t my favorite, mostly because it hid her curves.

I hated how often she dressed like she wasn’t the most beautiful thing walking around this godforsaken place; the way she grew visibly anxious anytime she showed any part of her body, afraid of what lesser beings might think. How could the most gorgeous and courageous human I’d ever set my eyes on not already know what a fucking gift she was to anyone paying attention? That her curves and shape were what made her dessert on two legs?

“Hey—”

I pushed my thumb between her lips, smothering the complaint about to leave her pretty mouth. “You’re beautiful, Ash. Why you insist on hiding it I’ll never understand.”

She sunk her teeth into my flesh, punishing me, and it took several deep breaths not to lose my head and bite her in return. Or bend her over her bastard boss’s desk and fuck her like the sassy little thing she was before sampling the treat waiting between her legs.

“If you can still worry about your clothes, I’m not doing enough. Forgive me. I’ve neglected my promise to fuck you like I did last night.”

I added another finger between her legs, slamming my hand into her, reaching those sensitive places that made my little raven go absolutely feral. Her wet heat clenched down on me, fighting the pleasure. In a moment of desperation, her mouth opened, ready to scream profanities, but I pushed my thumb deeper into it and all she could do was moan in subdued distress.

I tore the offending bra away. Bending down, I got a firm grip on her breast and sucked it into my mouth. Her stomach retracted, and she gasped sharply, barely keeping herself upright. My tongue traced her nipple’s shape, and her body tensed under the assault. It was easy to tell that she wanted to grab onto me, but she’d lose her balance, so I beckoned my shadows to assist with the endeavor. They supported her back as I guided her hand around my neck.

“You’re good. Are you using your power to get me the way you’d like me?” she asked between gasps as I teased her with both my fingers and tongue. She tasted sweet everywhere, and I wanted to suck any place that made her look close to the edge. Like she’d come undone any second.

“What gave it away?” I couldn’t help meeting her sass with my own, flicking my gaze up to hers in challenge.

She brought out parts of me I hadn’t seen with anyone else, not even the other Horsemen. Me, the one with the power? Unlikely. It was effortless how much power she held over me. Enough to upend every plan I made. Enough to destroy any semblance of control I tried to get over the situation and dissolve any bit of resolve I gathered to do what I must.

Here, Asha had all the power.

Everything about her was fucking breathtaking. I’d never get over how pretty she waited. Water dripped from her hair and down her neck. I couldn’t help myself. I licked it away and sucked on the steady thrum of her pulse. Her pussy constricted around my fingers, and I pushed them deeper. I rubbed my thumb in circles over her clit and tormented the spots inside of her that made the little human’s breath catch.

My fangs itched to sink into her flesh, but I wouldn’t bite her no matter how much I yearned to drink the liquid lifeforce thrumming under the surface. I denied myself for the second day in a row. Instead, I’d satisfy the bloodlust by nibbling and sucking on several sensitive places along the beautiful column of her neck. I’d leave glaring reminders that she was mine in all the places that would make it impossible for her to hide. The next bastard who dared to let his eyes wander over her body would know right away she wasn’t for anyone else to claim. The hickeys I gave my little raven were as glaring as the marks I burned onto the foreheads of evil souls destined for Hell.

I leaned away, admiring the dark red marks. Her thighs were shaking. She was close. If I rubbed her clit a few more times, she’d come. So, I slowed my movements, teasing places that didn’t satisfy the way she needed them to. I denied my little raven the world-unraveling release she desperately desired. Her expression gave away her frustration. It made my smile grow as her hips tried to swivel and chase.

Impatient little thing.

I brought the fingers now dripping with her taste to my mouth and licked them clean. I took my time with each one so she would lose herself and beg me to fuck her. Because then, and only then, would I give it to her.

“You’re a fucking tease,” she huffed petulantly.

I laughed without meaning to. Her shameless honesty was something I admired about her. I’d seen it with everyone she interacted with. She never held back. I couldn’t decide if it was reckless or courageous to taunt someone with the power to end her life. But no matter who it was, she didn’t bite her tongue. She said whatever she wanted. She wasn’t afraid of Death, and maybe that was why I couldn’t get enough of her. I couldn’t wait for what she might say to me next; what she might demand in that confident tone of hers.

Asha grabbed me around the back of my neck and yanked me down into a demanding kiss. Her tongue traced the shape of my lips before slipping between them.

No one ever caught me off guard, but she’d done it so often that I didn’t recognize the person I was around her. The effect this little human had over me I’d conveniently blamed on the power of a Counter Soul, but as she mewled and kissed me like her life depended on it, I wasn’t so sure anymore.

“Please, Than. Do something already.”

Fuck .

The last string of my patience snapped. I got her naked and sprawled out over the desk the way I wanted her. She reached for me, but the side of my lip pulled up. Shadows wrapped around her wrists before slithering across her stomach and neck, binding her to the surface. I went to my knees and dragged her body down the smooth wood. After hitching her legs over my shoulders, I buried my face between her open thighs.

I’d been yearning to make her scream and squirm ever since the little human tossed a saucy command at me and stormed off down the hall of her apartment. I saw what my tongue did to her. I’d make good on my promise to fuck her like I had the night before.

Her entire body tensed, preparing for what I was about to do to her. And I didn’t make her wait long. My tongue pressed and sunk deep inside without warning. She sucked in a desperate breath before I teased her favorite spots. She fought the shadows binding her. She pled with me for release. I sucked, bit, and devoured her the way I did the night before, but this time with an urgency I didn’t quite understand. Like I was rushing against time to have her every way I could.

In truth, I was.

Just like the night before, she was fucking delicious in every single way. I nearly missed the telling signs that she was about to come because I was so absorbed by how good she felt wrapped around the length of my tongue. Seconds later, my mouth was washed with her taste. I swallowed every precious drop before standing and slowly opening the button and fly of the black jeans I wore.

Something about the way she watched me retrieve my fully hard dick—the same one that plowed and destroyed her the night before—put me on edge. Pumped the blood in my veins harder. Made my cock throb. Set my nerves on fire. It was fucking tantalizing. Her gaze ate up every movement like it was a goddamn feast. It made it worth the extra effort I put into using my own two hands to do the job. Maybe I’d remove my clothes without my shadows more often.

Zelus claimed it was half the fun, and until now, I hadn’t seen the point. But I liked the way my little raven waited. I liked how much her thirst to have me fucking her shined through her pretty green gaze when I took my time undressing.

I stroked my cock, watching her closely. She wasn’t breathing. Her cheeks were flushed with an elusive red I couldn’t wait to kiss and lick. The thick shaft in my hand pulsed and throbbed, satisfied with how good she looked bound in my shadows. I’d burn it into my memory so that I never forgot the little human and how good she was as my prey.

Even when she’s gone.

Yanking her up, I slammed our mouths together. Before she could lose herself to it, I bent her over the desk like I’d wanted to since I’d saved her from the bastard who touched what was mine. My shadows retreated begrudgingly, but I barely noticed their presence after I slid my cock back where it belonged.

Inside my little raven.

I told myself it was the last time. I promised I’d take her soul tomorrow. Her ass cheeks reverberated with every smack of my hips, and she moaned her appreciation after I’d pinned her face to the desk. As I relished the little moans and whimpers that slipped out of her pretty mouth, I couldn’t say with confidence that I’d surrender her to anyone.

She was mine.