Page 16 of Dark Souls

He swallowed, his throat moving with the motion as his claws dug into the jeans on his thighs so tightly I realised he was piercing them. My eyes widened as blood seeped through the material. Instinctively, I raced over to him, falling to my knees between his legs and grabbed his wrists, pulling his claws out of his legs.

“The things I have witnessed…” He stopped talking, his eyes lingering on my hands holding his wrists.

“...Haunt you,” I answered for him.

“Break me.”

We held each other’s gaze, and the tension between us sparked like a live wire. This was dangerous. Way too dangerous. Because I was starting to understand that the books had it wrong. The demon before me was far more complex and capable of emotions than they gave his kind credit for. I could see the pain, the heartbreak and the rage. He had lost. Lost more than I knew I would ever be able to comprehend. He wasn’t just a killing machine. There was far more to him than that.

“You should stop looking at me like that, Snow. Or I might have to cross a few more boundaries.”

“I don’t believe everything that’s written in those books.”

He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. I waited, releasing his wrists and placing my hands delicately on his thighs instead to check his wounds. The thick muscle under the fabric was rock hard, but I focused on the blood staining his jeans. Rue’s hunger came forth, demanding I taste him. She clearly had a problem with boundaries, too.

“That’s good, Snow. I knew you wouldn’t. You need to have an open mind if you’re going to help me.”

“Help you?” I frowned.

“Is that not what you’re going to do?” He narrowed his eyes in question and guilt tugged at my gut. I looked away, removing my hands from his thighs and sitting back on my heeled boots. Until that moment, I’d been planning to lure him out and capture him. Gain enough evidence of his crimes and hand him over to the SIA so I could prove myself and become an agent. But… could I really do that now? The deeper I fell into his web, the more tangled I became. Like Rue said, nothing was black and white. And this demon was the definition of grey. He suddenly leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees so our faces were only inches away. Up close, I could see every intrinsic detail that made up his profile. The slight shimmer of silver on the vines, the weaving of mystical tattoos that danced along his skin, the reflection of myself in his glassy eyes. “Or if you still want to capture me, to hand me over… I’ll go willingly. But not yet.”

My eyebrows pulled down into the bridge of my nose. “But they might kill you.”

“Can’t blame them. I am a menace to society.”

I let out a half-laugh, half-whimper of protest, which curved the corners of his lips up once again. I sighed, rubbing my temples with my fingers and standing on my feet again. “This is very confusing, Heathen. You are making my life very...”

“Exciting?”

“Complicated.” I started pacing the small space between the sofa he was lounging on and the coffee table.

“This isn’t your usual style.”

I glared at him. What was he talking about now? He gestured to the flat before placing his arms around the back of the orange sofa, giving me a full view of his incredible six-pack and wide chest.

“Your room at the palace is elegant, dark and modern. At the castle, it’s gothic and charming. But here… it’s like someone murdered a unicorn and painted the walls in its blood.”

Despite myself, I burst out laughing, a genuine smile brightening my face. Heathen’s eyes filled with intensity as he stared at me.

“This is my friend’s mum’s flat.”

He nodded. “Makes sense. The witch, Calli, yeah? And your friend is Neve? The one currently in another realm?”

I was about to ask him how the hell he knew all that but, of course, he did. He’s been stalking me. God, I’d hate to think what else he’s learned about me without my knowledge. Does he know that I always blast punk rock or heavy metal and dance around in my underwear before bed to release the pent-up aggression in my body? Or that I always feed my Grandma Maddy’s boiled eggs to the birds because I stopped liking dippy soldiers when I was six, and I didn’t have the heart to tell her. Or that I have a rather large monster dildo called Apex in my bedside drawer. Oh Jesus, please don’t know about that.

“I know a lot.” He smirked in answer to my rising panic.

“Do you know how creepy that is?” I reprimanded and he shrugged, clearly not giving a damn. I huffed, flicking my long white hair over my shoulder and fixing him with a stern look. “What exactly did you mean when you said if I’m going to help you? Help you how exactly? Because I hope you don’t expect me to keep you hidden while you keep murdering people. I won’t be your alibi or your ticket out of facing my family’s wrath or the SIA’s. I won’t ever go against my family for you.”

“I would never ask you to,” he answered without a hint of a lie. “All I need you to do is keep doing what you’re doing. Find out more. Uncover the truth.”

“What truth?”

“The truth about me.”

“Why don’t you just tell me and we can both save ourselves a lot of time?”

He chuckled. “If only it were that easy. But I can’t.”

“Let me read your mind, then. I know you’re blocking me. You won’t even have to tell me a thing.”

He shook his head, a tortured expression on his face. “Tell me, could you read my mind the very first night you met me as Harry Gould?”

I shook my head. “I wasn’t blocking you then. I blocked you the night I followed you to the bar, but that was the only time. And I am not blocking you now. The very reason I can’t tell you anything about me is the same reason you can’t read my mind. I’m not—”

His face scrunched up with such intense pain and frustration that I stepped forward, concerned, until he relaxed again. His eyes met mine, willing me to understand, but understand what? I had no idea. “I can’t,” he gritted through his fangs.

“You can’t physically tell me?” I questioned.

“No.”

“You’re under a spell?” My mind was working fast, trying to think of all the logical explanations why he couldn’t speak about himself or let me read his mind.

“Not quite.”

I stared at him, allowing the new determination to figure the mystery of this demon out to replace the need to capture him and hand him over to the SIA. Until I had all the facts, that wouldn’t happen.

“Fine.”

His lips spread so wide, the entire sharp set of fangs made their debut and ignited a flame of arousal through my veins. God, why did I find demons so attractive?

’ Not demons, plural. Just singular. This demon,’ Rue corrected.

“But only if I can trust you,” I said bluntly, folding my arms over my chest.

“That depends. What are you trusting me with?”

I huffed, trying not to let his ability to answer every question with a question get under my skin. “That you won’t hurt Ronnie. That you will leave him alone. Completely.”

“You seem to be very concerned about your ‘friend’.” He punched air quotes with his claws, which looked so ridiculous I wanted to laugh but kept my face set in my stern glare. “Trust goes two ways, Snow. Are you going to tell me what arrangement you had with this ‘friend’?”

He was testing me and I was testing him. Everything was always a game with this man. I dropped my arms from my chest and placed them on my hips with sass. “Ronnie is human but knows about supernaturals, so we made a deal that would meet both of our needs.”

His gaze darkened and I knew that meant trouble. “Needs?”

“Don’t go all possessive psycho killer on me now,” I demanded, pointing my finger at his chest. When he sat perfectly still with a deadly glare, I knew he would wait there all freaking day until I told him. Shit. Here goes everything. Putting my entire trust in a serial killer demon. When did I lose my sanity?

“Ronnie lets me drink from him because I can’t stand blood bags and it’s not always so simple to just use the green list. And in return, it gets him off. Sometimes we have sex because we both know that vampires are horny fuckers and Rue’s appetite is never just for blood, but if we do, I don’t feed. There. Happy now?”

He didn’t move a muscle or make a sound. The silence was deafening and, in that moment I realised that was when he was his most deadly and terrifying self. When he was quiet.

“Look, I know you think you have some kind of claim over me and knowing this has probably brought out that murderous streak in you but you wanted to know. You did this to yourself, you sadist. And if you ever hurt anyone I cared about, I would do so much worse to you than any of that twisted shit in that book, and yes, before you get all pissy about it, I care about Ronnie. In a platonic way. Because he is a friend. And he’s my uncle’s mate’s best friend and I will not be responsible for the death of another of her friends… so I’d really appreciate it if you, you know, didn’t freak out right now and start planning which of his organs to eat… and…why are you being so quiet? Will you just say something so I can shut the fuck up?”

“Rue?” His voice was so deep and gravelly it went straight to my core, exciting Cruella.

’Yes, sir! ’ Just hearing her name on his lips was enough to have her bending over and panting.

“My demon. Not a demon like you… but my vampire side. I call her Cruella but she prefers Rue,” I explained, unsure why he was still so deathly still. It was so unnerving.

“And did he?”

“Did he what?”

“Satisfy your and Rue’s needs?”

I eyed him suspiciously, knowing he was too fucking calm for this kind of conversation. He was most definitely up to something.

“Most of the time,” I answered honestly.

His tongue darted out across his lips as he flexed his arm muscles, his claws gripping the cushions tighter and it shouldn’t have been so fucking sexy. He clicked his neck to one side with his eyes closed as I stood there, waiting for some kind of reaction. The anticipation was killing me. When he opened his eyes, they burned with such intense desire that I knew I was doomed. And then I felt it. The prickling tug on my mind. A slow spread of pleasurable sensations skated down my spine all the way to my toes, that caused a soft moan to escape my lips. I narrowed my eyes at him, refusing to get lost to the pleasure like last time.

“Get out of my head,” I hissed.

His nostrils flared and he shifted on the sofa, spreading his legs wider until my eyes dropped to his crotch and the enormous growing bulge beneath his jeans.

“I’m going to make you come, Snow. I’m going to make you come so fucking hard that you forget that asshole’s name because he’ll never compare. Until you forget every man who has ever tried to satisfy you because, after I’m done with you, you’ll know the true meaning of the word.” He slowly stood up, walking towards me with precise, purposeful strides. A predator homing in on its prey.

‘Oh, it’s happening! After that speech, Ronnie who? We are going to fuck the demon! And all men will be ruined for us! I can’t wait!’

‘Shut the fuck up, Rue. I am not fucking him!’

‘You so are.’

Lifting my chin to maintain eye contact, I peered up into his alluring eyes with my own silent challenge.

“But like I said, you set the boundaries. So, what’s it going to be? Shall I give you the best orgasm of your life with my mind or with my tongue?”

I tracked the seductive action of his tongue subtly tracing his lower lip and my insides turned to lava. Damn, my vagina would never forgive me if I denied it that kind of pleasure, right?

‘Forget our vagina. I will never forgive you! Vibrators and dildos are great but nothing can beat a talented tongue.’

Damn, she had a point. I was really going to do this. I was close to succumbing to my dark fantasies and blurring the boundaries entirely between me and my stalker. I was going to fucking hell.

‘At least it’s warm there. And full of demons. Win, win.’

‘This could all be a distraction, Rue. He could be seducing us just so we drop our guard and then he’ll kill us for figuring out who he really is.’

‘Are you forgetting that he was the one who revealed himself to us first? And stop trying to come up with excuses. We both already know he doesn’t want to kill us so take what he’s offering! Pleasure!’

“You’re leaving me hanging here, Snow,” Heathen said with slight amusement mixed in his deep tone. “You have no idea how badly I want a taste of you.”

I licked my lips, arousal building at the thought but also unwilling to let my guard down completely. If this was going to happen, it would be on my terms and I’d be in control. Turning abruptly, I strutted towards the second bedroom, my bedroom, and stopped in the doorway to glance back at him.

“I’m not fucking you, Heathen. But thanks to your little sex dream manipulations, I am wound up so tight I feel like I’m going to explode. Which technically is a problem you caused. So, you better fucking fix it and blow my damn mind because you have a lot to live up to.”

A slow, feverish grin appeared on his face. With rapid speed, he zoomed towards me, his claws landing on my hips. He spun us around, pinning me between his gigantic frame and the bedroom wall. I tutted, smirking at the slight frown on his face when I shook my head. Slamming my hands on his chest, I sent him flying across the room with all my strength until he landed on the bed. In a split second, I was on top of him, straddling his waist as he blinked up at me, slightly dazed.

“Going to be like that, is it Snow? Are you going to have your wicked way with me?” His dark eyes tracing over my body as his claws made their way up my thighs. “Be my guest. Come sit that pretty pussy on my face and ride me until you scream.”

My heart was thundering, and desire was making my head swim, but on the outside I remained cool and collected, chewing at my bottom lip, when he ripped my tights at the crotch effortlessly. I moved up his body, my own trembling with need and anticipation as my thighs straddled his head. His claws snaked around the top of my thighs, forcing me to sit lower on his face as I stared down at the only visible part of him from under my mini skirt. His black eyes and his monstrous horns.

The moment I felt his forked tongue take its first lick of my pussy, my eyes rolled and all the tension in my body evaporated. Woah, that was one powerful muscle right there! A dark rumbling of approval vibrated from his chest beneath me and I gasped when that tongue took a few more rapid licks, as though he couldn’t get enough. The pleasure was instant. Normally it would take me a while to build up to an earth-shattering orgasm but holy shit, I could feel one already brewing.

When his tongue found its way into my centre, I couldn’t contain the gasp and loud moan that echoed around the room as I fell forwards and grabbed his horns to steady myself. He groaned, his hooded eyes fluttering and I remembered how he said they were sensitive to touch. As the long length of his tongue fucked me, causing all my walls to squeeze around it, I ran my hands along the curve of his horns to the tip and back, making his body tremble with pleasure beneath me.

My hips started rocking over his face, riding him harder as my breathing became laboured and I could feel the pressure building. The places his tongue reached and the way it moved inside me were unlike anything I’d ever experienced.

As if sensing I was so close, he removed his tongue and lapped at me in one long stroke, flicking my throbbing clit at the end as a fucking tease. I shuddered and gripped his horns firmly, forcing his mouth away from my core long enough to get his attention.

“Don’t fucking edge me, Demon. It won’t end well for you.” I panted, glaring down at him beneath hooded eyes.

He chuckled. The fucking asshole chuckled. “Just savouring every bit of you, Snow. This is my new favourite place to be so I’m not letting it end too soon.”

Before I could tell him to shut up and make me come, his talented tongue gave my clit all of its attention. Within seconds of his repetitive swirling, flicking and sucking, my thighs were shaking, hips gyrating as if they had a mind of their own and I was a moaning mess above him. Grabbing his horns once more, I used them to ride his face harder, matching the movement of his tongue as I threw my head back and screamed out the most delicious orgasm I’d ever had. My whole body tingled with the aftershocks but he didn’t let up. Instead, he moved from my clit back to my centre, penetrating me with his tongue once more. His claws dug into my ass, lifting me up and down, so I was practically fucking his face while he focused on hitting that sweet spot inside me that had my walls clenching around him every time. The second orgasm hit harder. Crashing through me like an avalanche and had me screaming his name without shame.

As the lust-filled haze dispersed, I fell sideways onto the bed next to him, my chest rising and falling rapidly as I tried to regulate my breathing. My whole body and my mind were in a state of bliss and I waited for the regret to take over, but it never came.

He rolled onto his side, balancing his head in one claw with a shit-eating grin on his face. His tongue licked around his mouth, devouring every trace of my pleasure.

“You taste exquisite.”

“You have a remarkable tongue.”

He smirked, already knowing that fact clearly. “Better than…”

I frowned, not following, still trying to gather myself after that strange, yet deeply fulfilling experience. “Huh?”

He winked. “See. Long forgotten.” Realising he was talking about Ronnie, I punched him in the chest half-heartedly but it barely had an impact. He glanced over at the clock on the wall and groaned. “As much as I want to stay here and do that again, multiple times, I have to go.”

I sat up, leaning back on my hands as I watched him climb off the bed and dig his claw into his back pocket. His raging erection was still very much… raging and I winced, knowing that must be extremely uncomfortable.

He noticed me staring and glanced down at it. “You’re not ready for that yet, Snow. Trust me. But one day, you’ll be begging for it.”

“Very presumptuous of you.”

“I’m a confident demon.”

He threw something on the bed from out of his pocket and I reached for it quickly. It was a black matte metal card with a folded note. The card had no writing on it, just an embellished symbol. I opened the note to find a date, time and London address.

“What’s this?”

“If you’re serious about helping me, that’s the address of the next Underground event. You’ll find all the answers there. And that card will get you in. But it will be up to you to figure out the rest.”

My eyes widened, excitement sparking at the prospect. “This is a membership card for The Underground? So you do work for them. They know what you are?”

His face turned serious as he leaned over, placing his fists on the mattress and staring into my eyes. “This isn’t a game anymore, Snow. You need to know how dangerous this is. How risky this will be for you to get involved in? I need to know you can handle it because I won’t always be there to protect you.”

“I don’t need protection. I can handle myself.”

The curve of his lips lifted. “I know you can. But you need to be careful. The Underground is not for the faint of heart. You’ll see shit, hear shit, that you won’t like. But reacting will be your biggest giveaway. And like I said, even though it kills me, I won’t always be there to protect you if shit hits the fan. So promise me, you’ll be careful.”

“Fine. I’ll be careful.”

“You can’t go as you. Wear a black wig and get yellow contacts. That membership belongs to someone else and you’ll only be able to use it once. Once you’re in, the rest will be up to you.”

“Okay. Got it. Black wig. Yellow eyes. Undercover.”

He stared at me blankly for a few seconds and then frowned. “This was a mistake. I’ve changed my mind. Give it back.”

“No fucking way!” I shouted, shoving the card down my bra. He laughed.

“You think putting it down there will stop me? That’s an incentive.”

“Heath, I’ve got this! Trust me. I’ll keep my head down. Read a few people’s minds discreetly, ask some questions without rousing suspicion and get out of there without causing a scene. It will be fine.”

He chewed at his bottom lip, clearly nervous and it was almost endearing. He huffed, glancing at the clock again. “If you run into trouble and I’m not around, demand to see The Dealer and tell him who you really are.”

“The Dealer. Got it. And who is he?”

“A man you need on your side if you have any chance of figuring this out. He’s someone who has influence and…” He sighed, looking more and more stressed. “You need to gain his trust.”

“Okay.” I nodded, showing I understood but it didn’t seem to ease his concern.

“It won’t be easy. He’s complicated. And cold. And ruthless. And an asshole.”

“A complicated, cold, ruthless asshole. My specialty,” I joked, but Heathen didn’t even crack a smile. “For fuck’s sake, Heath. Stop underestimating me. You wanted my help. You’ve got it. It’s too late to back out now.”

He took one last look at the clock and gave in, approaching the door. He paused, turning back to face me. “Just so you know, I haven’t been manipulating your dreams. But nice to know you’ve been having sex dreams about me, Snow.”

And with that, he was gone and I was left wanting the ground to swallow me whole.

Well, fuck. Mutual obsession it is.