Page 19 of King’s Obsession (Obsessions #5)
Asmodeus
It was all too much, how was he supposed to cope with this on top of everything else that had happened? How?
Yes, in principle, there had been thoughts of children but him pregnant… to the demon gods, whoever thought that was a good idea?
When did you get so whiny?
I’m not! His demon side was most definitely not whining.
You are. Look how cute Peni’s baby was all pink and fluffy.
Seriously! Did you miss the part where he threatened his mate with a knife, and us?
He blocked his human side when the laughter grew so loud it made his temples throb. “What a dick!”
“Who’s a dick?” Dougal peered up at him from the chair he’d sat down on after his return from the forest for his daily rounds.
He had offered Asmodeus to go with him, but he had remained a little queasy even after the toast and honey. “My human half.”
He reached out and patted his hand as Asmodeus passed on his next round of stomping. “I suspect he’s just delighted at the prospect of being a daddy.”
“Do you need to keep reminding me?” Asmodeus snapped, then stopped, took a breath and sat down in the chair next to Dougal, giving him an apologetic smile. “Sorry. My human side is laughing and calling me whiny. I’ve never been whiny in my entire life.”
Dougal coughed, and his lips quivered. Asmodeus' eyes narrowed on his blissful one. “I’m not whiny.”
“Of course not, my love.” Dougal reached over the table and pushed a glass of what smelled like peach juice towards him. “Have some juice.”
As he reached for the glass, his senses tingled and he groaned at the interruption from his secretary, Baal. There was an insistence to the tingling that meant it had to be related to business.
“What is it?” Dougal asked all concerned.
“I need to go to the demon realm. It appears I have business to deal with.” He rose and with a flick of his fingers, his attire became formal, regal clothing.
Dougal rose with him and slipped on his large coat that had so many pockets Asmodeus lost count and couldn’t fathom why anyone would need so many. “Will we be long?”
Asmodeus’s heart swelled inside his chest until it stopped him from being able to take a decent breath. His eyes ached, and he sniffed. “You’re coming with me?” he asked tearily.
Dougal gave him a look of alarm. “Of course. I’m not letting you go there without me.
” He came around the table and slipped his arms around Asmodeus’s waist, kissing him softly.
“But we will need to figure out how long you need to be there, because my forest needs me, and I can’t be away from it for extended periods of time, okay. ”
He nodded, sniffed again, and blamed his emotional upheaval on the baby. You better not turn me into a sissy.
Dougal’s lips definitely trembled as he looked away, just not before Asmodeus saw the amusement. He sighed. “You heard that, didn’t you?”
“My love, you’ll never be a sissy to me.”
Another kiss and Asmodeus wasn’t sure why that made him more emotional. The nudge from Baal saved him from answering. Translocating to his office, Baal was there with his pad looking harried.
“Thank goodness, Your Highness, I wasn’t sure I could hold them off any longer.”
“Hold who off?” he asked, then got distracted, watching Dougal look about frowning. “What’s wrong Dougal?”
Baal’s breath hissed through his teeth, but he kept quiet, knowing better while Asmodeus watched his blissful one roam the large chamber.
“It’s… it’s a little… sterile.” Dougal wrinkled his nose and frowned.
Matching Dougal’s frown, he asked, “Sterile? What do you mean?” Asmodeus looked about seeing the gleaming marble floors and walls. The stately furniture that, yes, could appear a little ornate, but sterile… no, he couldn’t see that.
Baal cleared his throat and raised the pad he held, as if trying to attract Asmodeus’s attention. He paid no attention because Dougal walked to a wall.
“Where’s the light?” he asked, rather than replying.
Asmodeus looked up at the stunning chandelier above them. “Why there, of course.” Was his blissful one feeling alright?
“Your Highness, I’m sorry to interrupt—”
“Then don’t,” he snapped, all teeth losing his patience when he felt a wave of nausea roll through him.
Dougal was at his side in a heartbeat. “Why don’t you sit down and…” he looked at his secretary.
“Baal,” he supplied.
“Will get you a glass of water.”
Poor Baal looked confused and terrified all at once.
But with Dougal’s gentle encouragement, he hurried out of the room.
Beyond the door, Asmodeus caught the full seating area.
Not one chair was empty. “What on earth could they all want?” he scowled, using his annoyance to distract himself from how unsettled he was feeling. Was pregnancy supposed to be like this?
“They’ll be here, I’m sure, to see if the rumors from the ball are true,” Dougal supplied, while he dragged a chair from the other side of the room to park it next to Asmodeus. “When you’ve got your water, we should probably crack on, so we aren’t stuck here all day.”
All day was exactly how long they were stuck in the demon realm while Asmodeus consoled those who had lost someone during the ‘smackdown’.
It appeared that was how everyone was referring to what had happened during the ball.
Many of the old bloodlines families had wanted restitution in the form of the damn warming stones that Dougal had handed out.
Word had gotten around in the demoness’s circles, and now they were all wanting some, even if their husbands hadn’t gotten killed.
Dougal appeared to find the whole situation amusing until the never-ending number of demons hadn’t dwindled by hour six.
“You need something to eat, and I need to get back to the forest,” Dougal muttered as the last demon exited the room and Baal returned.
“There are still more than a dozen demons waiting to see you,” Baal said, seemingly having heard Dougal. “I can get a meal for you.”
“No, he’s finished for the day,” Dougal insisted, getting up and stretching himself, looking at Asmodeus. “You’re looking tired. You need to rest.”
Baal’s jaw all but hit the floor as he looked between the two of them. His eyes were wide with shock. “Finished?” he squeaked.
“Yes, finished,” Dougal answered before Asmodeus could utter a word. “You can go tell all the others he’ll see them another day.”
Baal lifted his notepad. “Tomorrow is just as busy, but I can try to fit them in.”
Asmodeus’s lips twitched at the outrage coming from Dougal at what he felt was an injustice, at them both being trapped in this windowless room with stuffy demons who should take care of their own business.
That all came across loud and clear, so he waited to see how Dougal dealt with Baal.
Truth be told, Asmodeus was weary, and he could eat some of Dougal’s homemade stew, maybe take a nap curled up next to Dougal.
The idea was very appealing indeed. And if Asmodeus was honest, this bossy side of his blissful one was hot as hell.
Dougal’s hands went to his hips, and he towered over Baal, rising to his full height.
“No, you aren’t listening. There will be no fitting in anymore.
In fact, we’ll be fitting in a lot less.
The king is a very important person in this realm, I am not discounting that.
But as the king, his time is precious, and your demons need to learn that for themselves.
You can go back to whatever diary system you have got going and pencil in two hours’ worth of appointments every morning, Monday through Friday, ten till twelve, for all future visits. ”
Baal looked like Dougal had suggested he pay a visit to hell for a vacation.
His lips were moving, but nothing came out, his red skin paling as Asmodeus rose and took one of Dougal’s hands.
“It seems, that’s all sorted.” He gave Baal a curt nod.
“We’ll see you at ten.” Then, before the other demon could reply, they were back in the forest and Asmodeus was kissing Dougal for all he was worth.
“Who knew I liked bossy trolls?” he murmured in between kisses, his hands dragging off Dougal’s coat that weighed an absolute ton and thudded to the floor hard enough that it made the ground beneath their boots shudder.
“I’m the only bossy troll you’re getting.” Dougal’s hands worked just as fast as Asmodeus’s, who groaned at the rough feel of his hands on his skin.
“You’re all I’ve ever wanted,” he moaned, his cock clasped between meaty fingers that stroked and pumped his rock-hard shaft.
“Same. Now what was that about food and a nap?” Dougal was panting.
“After… after… argh, more,” Asmodeus cried out as fingers stroked down the crease of his ass. “Need more.”
Dougal kissed his way down the side of his throat, nibbling at the junction of his neck, licking at the salty flesh. “And more you shall have, my love.”
Asmodeus wasn’t sure how they made it to the bed, or when Dougal had stretched him. All he cared about was the feeling of fullness, of connection to his blissful one as Dougal drove the head of his cock into his body. His ass clenching, he groaned and mewled in delight. “More… gods… more.”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” Dougal gasped, his face sweaty and flushed, his jaw tight with his restraint.
“You won’t,” he moaned, using his strength to push up and get Dougal to bottom out. They cried out together, their pleasure feeding each other until neither could tell where one began and the other ended.
Grunts, cries, and groans were drowned out by slapping bodies. The bed rocked forcefully as Asmodeus came in violent shudders, cum spurting over his chest and hitting his chin.
Heat filled his ass as Dougal’s head thrust back and he roared through his release, then collapsed on Asmodeus, still panting.
His weight pinned Asmodeus to the mattress, giving him a sense of security that he didn’t think he’d ever tire of. His belly chose then to rumble, and Dougal lifted his head off the pillow to look down between them. “Hungry.”
“Our child is,” he said without thought, only to find himself staring at Dougal’s bare ass hightailing it out of the room so fast that if he’d blinked, he’d have missed it.
His laughter rumbled out as he heard Dougal clanging about in the kitchen muttering, “Well, we can’t have that.”
Asmodeus rolled off the bed, grinning. For the first time, he could definitely see the benefits of being pregnant. Now all he needed was not to vomit again.