Page 26 of My Demon Hunter (Hell Bent #2)

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brA N D N EW

M ist awoke to the absence of pain. For the first time in a while, there was nothing wrong with his body. No broken bones or bleeding lacerations. Not even the brand on his neck was burning.

After all the suffering, the sensation—or lack thereof—felt like bliss. So much so that, even though he was awake, he kept his eyes closed and just breathed for a while.

He felt... peace. Deep peace. Contentment.

A lily-flower scent tantalized his nose, adding to the joy of the moment. Lily. His Lily. She was here right now, she was—

In his arms. More awareness of his body returned, and he felt her warm skin against him, her soft hair tickling his chest. He lifted a hand, arm heavy from sleep, and petted those silky tresses, and she hummed softly and snuggled closer. His heart nearly burst in his chest.

As he stroked her, the memories returned.

It had taken all his control to allow Shaheen to drag him toward the Pit amid Lily’s screams. He feared she thought he’d given up again, when that was the furthest thing from true. He’d simply been waiting for his perfect moment. When it had come, he’d taken it.

When the camel had tossed him, he’d hooked his claws on the edge and used his tail to slingshot the beast straight into the mouths of the waiting goraths. Two crunches and the demon camel was gone.

He’d tried to do the same to Paimon, had almost succeeded, but she’d grabbed Lily on her way down. He’d been left clinging to the edge of the Pit, watching his beautiful female, glowing like starlight, fall into the abyss. With wings he wasn’t sure would hold him, he’d dived off the ledge after her.

And then he’d seen Paimon get snagged by a gorath tongue and caught in the death trap of teeth.

That moment... He couldn’t say how long he’d dreamed of her meeting such a fate.

And yet, watching her get eaten hadn’t meant a thing in the face of his fear for Lily.

In that way, the brevity of Paimon’s somewhat underwhelming defeat was oddly fitting. She meant nothing. She wasn’t worth the hatred he felt for her or the burning need he’d felt to destroy her. She wasn’t worth anything at all.

Mist’s manacles had abruptly disappeared—presumably at the moment of her consumption—and he’d misted past the gorath, snatched up Lily, and carried her out of there as quickly as he could with his ravaged wings. He’d forgotten about Paimon instantly, like she’d never held any power over him to begin with.

After they arrived back on Earth, they’d been greeted by the other demons and Eva, who fussed over them accordingly. Mist had approached Belial, who pinned him with a hard stare, and they’d regarded each other in a weighted silence.

Maybe if they were less proud and more human, Mist might have apologized. He regretted putting Belial in the position he had and rejecting his offer of help. But he knew Belial would hate an apology, and he wasn’t sure he was comfortable giving one anyway.

So he went with his usual choice of words for when he struggled to express himself: Thank you.

Belial had grunted and glared and muttered something about not wasting his time before storming off to the kitchen, but Mist had felt something lighten in the air between them and knew he was forgiven. He was surprised how much that meant to him.

After that, he’d staggered into the shower—the full-size one his wings could fit in—and that was the last thing he remembered, so he must have fallen asleep immediately afterward.

Through it all, Lily had never left his side.

She stirred in his arms at that moment, rolling off his chest onto her side and opening her eyes. She smiled when she saw him watching her. “Hi.”

He traced the curve of her jaw with his foreclaw, watching her as closely as he could to ensure he didn’t miss a single detail. Her body had lost its ethereal luster, her skin once again as normal as any human’s, but that didn’t make her any less bewitching. To him, she was perfect.

Except her soft expression vanished in a blink, and she suddenly sat upright with a gasp. Even stranger, she yanked the bedsheet up to her neck, hiding her body from him.

Stiffening, he glanced around, looking for the source of her alarm, but he saw nothing unusual. They were in his bedroom in Belial’s apartment, and everything was just as he had left it.

“Mist...”

He frowned, trying to understand her anguished expression. Maneuvering his wings from beneath him, he pushed into a sitting position, taking a moment to appreciate the lack of pain in his body once again.

“What’s wrong?”

“I have to tell you something. Something I—” She broke off, swallowing hard.

“What is it?” He was certain whatever it was could not be worse than he was imagining.

“It’s about the brands.”

He glanced down at his wrists. The skin was healed over, and while the cuffs were gone, the brands were not. But he hadn’t expected them to be.

“Paimon can’t summon me now,” he explained. “There’s no need to be concerned.”

“No, that’s not it. I—” Again, she swallowed and tugged the bedsheet higher. “I swear it was an accident. I had no idea it would happen. I didn’t even consider it a possibility or else I would never have—”

“I don’t understand, Lily. What happened?”

“Oh, Mist. I’m so sorry.” With eyes full of tears, she lowered the sheet. It took him a second to see anything except her full breasts with those big, pink areolae.

But there was no missing the sizable mark in the center of her chest.

The circle was centered between her breasts and made of intricate patterns. To the untrained eye, it would appear to be a complex geometric tattoo. But it was not that. Not at all.

He stared in disbelief, his eyes snapping between hers and the design again and again.

“I don’t understand.” His voice seemed to come from far away.

“It was an accident, I swear. I would never have intervened if I’d known this could happen. It’s the last thing I ever want. I—”

“Lily, please explain,” he said slowly. “From the beginning.”

She covered herself with the sheet again and nodded. “When Paimon got eaten, there was this moment I felt something burn on my chest and this connection. But it seemed safe to me, or familiar, or... I’m not sure. But there was so much happening, so I just welcomed it and forgot about it. And my chest was hidden by my shirt, so I didn’t notice.

“But after you fell asleep, I went to shower, and I saw myself in the mirror and, well, I screamed. And when I came out everyone was worried, and I was wearing a towel so they saw the top of it, and Belial knew immediately what it was.

“I guess while we were gone, coincidentally, Eva’s dad called. He said that while he still hadn’t heard back from his friend with information on removing the brands, he’d suddenly remembered reading somewhere that they were transferable.”

“Transferable.” Mist’s heart pounded. “How?”

She bit her lip, taking a moment to compose herself. “They were designed so that if the person who controls the bonds is defeated, their... well, the one bound to them will belong to the one who defeated them But the old master couldn’t actually be dead, because that would cause the death of the bound one as well.”

His rushing blood was creating a hum in his ears that made it hard to hear. From far away, he heard himself speak. “Like Paimon being eaten by a gorath. Defeated, but not destroyed.”

Because to truly kill a demon, all remaining pieces of the body had to be incinerated with hellfire. And though she would not be able to regenerate inside the belly of a gorath, Paimon was not truly dead.

Lily nodded mutely. “And in order to defeat the old master and take the branded servant for themselves, the new master had to be the one to do it, and they had to be powerful enough to harness the brands’ magic on their own. No one else could do it for them. And I guess that even though Paimon was technically killed by a gorath, because I was the one fighting her when we fell into the Pit, well...”

She trailed off. Their gazes met.

“ You’re my new mistress,” Mist said softly.

Lily gulped and then finally lost the fight against her tears. A sob spilled out of her, and she clutched the sheet like a lifeline. “I’m so sorry! I never wanted this! I swear to you, it’s the last thing I want. If I could take it back, I would. I would do anything, give anything.”

Mist just stared at her.

“Please say something.” She wiped her eyes. “I understand if you can’t forgive me, but please just tell me what you’re thinking.”

“You’re saying I no longer belong to Paimon.” He spoke slowly. He had to be one hundred percent certain of the truth before he accepted it. There could be mistakes or misunderstandings.

She nodded.

“I no longer belong to Paimon because... I belong to you.”

Again, she nodded.

“So... I’m free.”

A crease formed between her brows. “Well, no, because the brand is still there.”

“But Paimon doesn’t control it anymore. You do.”

“Yes.”

“So I am free. Because of you.”

“But...” She searched his gaze. “It’s not true freedom. The brands are still there. And it forces you to put trust in me when I know you’ve never been able to trust anyone before. And of course I would never do anything to hurt you, but it’s not fair that you should have to be forced to believe me. It’s not fair that you should be branded at all. It’s not fair that—”

“But I do trust you.”

She pressed her lips together. “Mist...”

“I mean it.”

And he did. For the first time, he understood what trust was and what it felt like. Because he trusted someone. He trusted Lily.

He knew she would never betray him. She would never use the brands to hurt or control him. There was no proof, no binding promise or irrefutable evidence, but he knew it nonetheless. He knew it because everything about Lily assured him of this.

She was the kindest, most empathetic and loving person he’d ever encountered. She’d taught him the meaning of those qualities in the first place, because before her, they’d only been vague, theoretical notions.

He understood them because she had demonstrated them. Because she had given him her love.

“Mist...” Her palm covered her mouth, and she blinked rapidly. “I swear I’ll never give you reason to doubt me. And I’ll never stop looking for how to get rid of the brands, not even for one day. I promise I’ll—”

He reached out, pulling her hand away and drawing her into him. “I don’t care.”

“No, I have to do this. I can’t just—”

“I want to belong to you.”

“Mist.” A few tears spilled over.

“I want to be bonded to you. That way, if you’re ever in danger, you can use the brand to summon me.”

“But the cuffs. And the heart brand. And—”

“I don’t care.”

“How can you say that?”

“You freed me from Paimon. Lily, I—”

To his surprise, his throat tightened, and he found it impossible to utter another word. He swallowed, trying to relax the constricted muscles. Simultaneously, he felt an intense sensation in his chest. Urgent yet comforting. Frightening yet addictive.

His face scrunched up. He didn’t understand what was wrong with him.

“You saved me,” he finally managed.

Something in one eye blurred his vision, and he felt wetness, so he released Lily’s wrist to swipe it away. Holding his hand up, he stared in disbelief at the single drop of water perched on his fingertip at the base of his claw.

It was a tear.

“Lily...” He looked at her and then back at the tear.

She took his hand and tilted it so she could see. She stared at it for a second, and then she surprised him by throwing herself into his arms with enough force that he nearly tipped backward. Only his wing talons braced at his sides kept him upright.

“I love you, I love you,” she said over and over, her voice muffled against his chest. His skin immediately became wet with her tears, which were much less rare than his own. Yet each one was no less precious.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. He wanted to say the words back because he’d seen in the human movies he watched with Eva that it was important.

One partner took the risk to say the words and then waited expectantly for the other to reciprocate. If it was the beginning of the movie, they would not, and drama would follow. If it was the end, they would, and the credits would roll shortly after.

But he wasn’t sure he understood what it meant, even now after everything he’d learned about humans and experienced with Lily. He might have said them anyway just to appease her, but his newfound understanding of trust made him want to be honest with her in all things.

So he chose to explain himself with words he did understand, and he hoped they would be enough.

“When I left to go after Paimon, I had convinced myself it was the only way. But I was wrong. After so long of having nothing, suddenly, I had everything, and I could not believe in it. Maybe I didn’t feel I deserved it. I felt certain everything would be taken from me, and so, to prevent my despair, I decided to end it myself rather than fight.”

Lily lifted her head and met his gaze with sorrowful eyes.

“I thought you would be happier without me, though I hated it. I wanted you to hunt me to the ends of the earth, as I would do to you if you tried to escape me, but I never believed you actually would.”

Her expression turned fierce. “Of course I would. I would never be happier without you, and I wouldn’t let you escape me either.”

How had he found such a strong and loyal female? How was he worthy of such a gift?

He didn’t care how. He was done questioning his good fortune.

“You are everything good in my world, Lily. You are my freedom. There is nothing I value more, and I no longer have the desire to hunt because I know I have already found the most precious treasure in existence.”

“Mist...”

“Maybe those aren’t the words you want to hear, but I wish to be honest, and I don’t know that I understand how to love. I don’t know that I’m capable.”

She lifted her palms and framed his face. “You are capable, and you just proved it by what you said. It was the most meaningful thing anyone’s ever said to me, and it doesn’t matter that you didn’t use the word ‘love.’”

“But Eva said human women want love.”

“And this human woman”—she placed a hand on her heart, over the brand—“has found it, and she’s never been happier.”

“But—”

“No buts. Kiss me?”

He was sure she meant to state it like a demand, but it came out as a question, and her cheeks flushed. It didn’t matter. He was more than happy to oblige, and he leaned in and pressed their lips together.

But he jerked back suddenly as something occurred to him. “Are you hurt?” He would never forget the sight of her falling into the Pit.

“No, I’m perfectly fine. No injuries at all.” She reached for him.

“But how—”

“Kiss now, talk later? I promise I’m fine.”

He could not ignore that request. Lifting her, he laid her on her back and kissed her hungrily, his tail winding up her thigh. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tangled her tongue furiously with his. So furiously, he had to pull back to ensure she didn’t cut it on his teeth.

She wore nothing but a pair of underwear, and though he didn’t think she had sewed them, he wasn’t going to risk it. Pushing into his wing talons, he sat back and slid the fabric down her legs like it was made of glass. He set the underwear carefully aside and then shot her a glare when she dissolved in a fit of giggles.

He would teach her to giggle at him. Gripping her calves, he pressed her legs up and open and then bent forward and slid his tongue along her sex. Ambrosia. The taste of her... He had not exaggerated when he called her the most precious treasure in existence.

She writhed under him as he speared her with his tongue, extending it as far as it would go inside of her and rubbing the tip against the bundle of nerves at the front of her vaginal wall. Her head tipped back, and her spine arched off the mattress as she cried out, so he did it again. And again.

Her inner muscles contracted and more of that tantalizing flavor spilled onto his tongue as she hovered on the brink of climax, but she didn’t quite go over. He let her ride the edge until her next cry was one of anguish, and then he wrapped his tail around her hip and slid it down past her navel. He lightly slapped the tip against her clitoris while he continued to work her with his mouth. Once, twice—

She cried out, loudly enough to be heard throughout the apartment, but neither of them cared about that. Her inner walls rippled with contractions so intense, they squeezed his tongue, and her thighs shook hard enough to jiggle her bountiful flesh.

It was the most decadent thing he had ever witnessed, and he was nearly ready to climax himself just from watching it.

But he held off. He wasn’t finished with her yet.

He lifted her again and maneuvered them so she was sitting in his lap, his legs bent to create a cradle for her hips, her knees spread on either side of him. Her eyes were drugged from her release, and she looked like a goddess as she smiled lazily at him, leaning in for a kiss.

Tilting his hips, his shaft slid along her slickness, stimulating her sensitive clit and making her shudder against him. He repeated the motion, stopping to push just the tip inside her before sliding back up. She draped her arms over his shoulders and stroked his wings where they connected to his back.

“Take me inside,” he rumbled, shuddering from the sensation. Being touched with gentleness and care was still new to him, and it sometimes felt overwhelming, but in a good way.

She lifted her hips to line his erection up with her entrance. Gazes locked, he forced his body to be still as she slowly sank down onto him. One inch, and she stopped with a gasp. She pushed a little deeper between sliding back up, coating his shaft in her arousal.

“Take more,” he growled, unable to stem his impatience. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he couldn’t help himself.

She sank down on him again, sliding a little lower this time before lifting back up. She gripped his shoulders now, her fingers digging into his flesh like little claws.

“Again.”

She obeyed, and this time, as she lifted up again, she didn’t move all the way off him, and began riding the top half of his cock with slow, careful movements. Her nostrils were flared, her eyes slightly wide, her grip on his shoulders vise-like.

But her moans were full of desire. And the more she rode him, the lower her eyelids sank, and the more the tension bled from her body.

“More, Lily.” He had to have more.

His hands tightened around her hips as she finally sank the rest of the way down, filling herself with him completely. She froze, gasping, her muscles rigid again.

“Is it too much?” Reason penetrated the haze of lust and reminded him not to hurt her.

“It’s just... intense.”

“Feels good?”

“So good.”

His eyes narrowed in challenge, and when he saw acceptance in her gaze, he tightened his grip on her hips and lifted her slightly off him before lowering her back down.

Her eyes fell shut. “Oh god.”

“More?”

“Yes.”

He gave her more, lifting her a little higher and sinking a little deeper each time he dropped her back down. His muscles strained from the effort of holding back, the urge to give in to release building with each thrust.

“More, Mist. Give me more. I can take it.”

He changed tactics, holding her still while he thrust into her from below. She cried out and dropped her head back, and he finally lost control.

He powered into her with deep thrusts, the friction a powerful drug he had no choice but be consumed by. Hovering on the brink of release, the pressure unbearable, the pleasure incomparable, he felt something come apart inside of him.

His world narrowed down to nothing but her. His Lily. His beautiful Lily whom he would do anything for and whom he... loved.

Yes, that is it. This was love, and it was the greatest feeling in the world. In all the worlds. In all creation.

His climax speared through him like a javelin, and he couldn’t have held it back if he tried. Waves of rapture blacked out his vision, save for colorful spots that burst in the dark like fireworks. Lust and deep satisfaction filled him, but it commingled with happiness, a sense of belonging, and love .

Lily collapsed against him, her body soft and pliant in his arms. So trusting. So precious. So...

“Mine,” he said, resting his chin on top of her head and wrapping her up in his arms, wings, and even his tail.

He squeezed her as tightly as he could without hurting her, and she made a pleasured hum and hugged him back, her arms snaking around his lower back. He felt his release trickling out of her body where they were joined, and it made him want to growl ferociously at the thought of her full of him, marked inside her body with his scent.

“Love you,” he whispered.

She tried to pull back, probably to stare at him in surprise, but he tightened his arms around her, refusing to let go. He didn’t want distance between them, and he wasn’t sure he wanted her looking into his eyes just yet. His admission made him feel vulnerable, and the sensation was somewhat unnerving.

She seemed to understand this, because she relaxed against him again and squeezed him right back. “I love you too. So much. I couldn’t stop if I tried.”

“Don’t try,” he growled, and she snorted.

“I won’t. I don’t want to. I couldn’t, as I said.”

“Good.”

She laughed again and then purred like a kitten as she snuggled closer. “You know I meant what I said, right? I promise I won’t stop searching until I find a way to get rid of the brands.”

“I don’t care.”

“It’s still a symbol of the past. You must want to be rid of it.”

He considered this, remembering his former aversion to his human form, not only because of its inferiority but because the brands were more visible.

“I think it would have bothered me at one time,” he admitted. “But I feel differently now.”

“How so?”

“I like that you are marked with something that ties you to me.” The thought did indeed fill him with satisfaction.

“Well, we could go get matching tattoos then! We don’t need horrible, cursed brands.”

He smiled briefly. “If you one day discover a way to remove them, we’ll get matching tattoos. Until then, I like knowing you are marked by me. Maybe it will make it easier not to bite you.”

She chuckled. “Okay, well, I guess if you can accept it, then I can too. But I’m not going to stop looking.”

He shrugged. He really didn’t care if she forgot about it tomorrow. He liked the idea of her being able to summon him if she was ever in trouble.

They held each other in comfortable silence for a time, and then it struck him anew that he was free. Paimon was rotting inside a gorath, and when it finally eliminated her, another would eat her soon after. His days of dragging screaming creatures back to Hell to be punished were done.

The Hunter was retired. Mishetsumephtai had gone rogue. To hell with the rules. He would obey no one but himself from this day forward. No one could hunt as he could, so he would make sure he was never found.

He frowned suddenly as a familiar memory surfaced.

He perched atop a wind-beaten tree and peered through a window into the house below. A demon entered the kitchen and wrapped his arms around a small human female. A radiant smile adorned the woman’s face, her hands busy chopping vegetables while the demon rested his chin atop her head and smiled with contentment.

He had once resented Eligos and Asmodeus for the love they’d found because he wanted it for himself, though he’d refused to admit it in so many words.

Now, he had it, and he couldn’t help but feel regret at the thought of Eligos spending untold years hiding behind wards, believing the Hunter was searching high and low for him. Mist had asked Belial to communicate with the former Duke of Hell on his behalf, but now that he was free—truly free—he could do it himself. He wanted to do it himself.

“Would you like to take a trip with me?” he asked Lily.

She lifted her head, and he finally loosened his grip enough that she could meet his gaze. “Where?”

“We would go to the Gaspé region.”

“Oh, I’ve always wanted to go there! Percé Rock is supposed to be beautiful. But why do you want to travel all of a sudden?”

“I need to visit someone who lives there and tell him that the Hunter is retired.”

“Okay, Mist -erious.” She poked him in the chest with a grin. “You can explain what that’s about on the way.”

“You will come with me?”

She smiled. “Of course I will. You know I’ll follow you anywhere. Even to the pits of Hell.”