Page 23 of Queen of the Wicked (Afterlife #1)

Alessia shrugged, toying with the corner of the luxurious comforter. “I guess it makes sense now. I didn’t realize our transfer of powers had a scent. Kael figuring that out doesn’t seem like a good thing.”

Erebos hummed, deep in thought. “No, it is not. ”

Having him this close to her fed a light source into her exhausted body.

She unconsciously shifted her hand until their fingers touched, stroking her thumb against his.

It wasn’t unnatural or forced. It was like coming home after a long day, and something clicked deep within her gut as her entire body vibrated with pleasure.

“Good grief, Alessia.” Erebos pulled his hand away. “You are making this very difficult.”

“Making what difficult?”

“Nothing,” he muttered. “Get some sleep.”

“Wait!” She clutched his arm more forcefully than intended, causing him to lurch forward on the mattress. His face was inches away now, and like a gravitational pull, his hand found its way back to hers again.

With a confidence she didn’t have, Alessia grabbed the hem of his t-shirt and silently asked for permission to lift it.

Erebos looked seconds away from having his restraint snap entirely, but he allowed her to reveal his toned chest, shivering when her fingertips trailed over the cross tattoo in the center.

“What are you doing?” he asked shakily.

“I need to confirm something.” Leaning closer, her heart faltered at what lay beneath the inked barbed wire around the cross. The same scars from her nightmare peppered his flesh. Some large, some small, but they were there, and she didn’t think that was a coincidence.

“Did you get your answer?”

Flicking her eyes to his, she nodded sadly before fixing his shirt back into place and slumping against the pillows. That nightmare was a memory of his past, and god, it was sickening. The questions it provoked were endless, but right now, she wasn’t sure if she could handle the answers.

The only thing she was certain of was that being here with him felt right.

“What was your childhood like?” she found herself asking.

“My childhood?”

“Yeah, I mean… What was your life like before this? How did you…” She trailed off, unsure how to broach the question that had lingered in the back of her mind since she met him. He couldn’t have been selected to be the Lord of Hell without committing at least some heinous crime, right?

She expected him to dodge the question, but his face softened a fraction, turning him into that boyish version of himself.

She wondered just how many people had seen this version of the lord.

“My childhood has always been spotty. Now and then, I’ll get a glimpse of something I presume might have been a memory, but it’s vague.

” At the concern on her face, he added, “It’s normal.

At least, that’s what I’m told. As the years go by, the earlier memories fade to create room for new ones. ”

“That sounds awful,” Alessia whispered. Judging by the sorrow pooling in his eyes, he seemed to feel the same. Perhaps it bothered him more than he cared to admit.

“What was your childhood like?” he volleyed back.

She smiled softly as memories of dancing in the kitchen and racing through cornfields trickled into her mind.

“It was the perfect childhood. I never left the farmhouse, so my time was mainly spent in the cornfields creating my own mazes, enduring lessons with my mom, or training with my mother. It may not have been the standard one most have, but it was filled with love and happiness. That’s all that matters, right? ”

“I suppose,” he hummed. “Is that why you chose to bury your mom beneath the willow tree? Because it was in front of the corn fields?”

It wasn’t an intricate detail to remember, but it still had Alessia’s stomach flutter in response. “Yeah. She’d spend hours with me out there. Picnics, playing tag, hide and seek…” Tears welled in her eyes as the images played on a constant loop. “The corn fields felt like home.”

He smiled, a real, genuine one that took up the entirety of his face. “That sounds nice. I’m happy you have fond memories of it.” A beat, and then, “What kind of training did you have?”

“Self-defense. I was told it would become useful to have the years of practice under my belt when the time came and I received my powers. Although I’m failing miserably as Izara’s student, so I don’t know if it helped.”

She hadn’t realized it, but Erebos had lain down beside her, their thighs stuck to each other like glue, and with the moon’s red hue dancing across his face, he was pure temptation wrapped up in a pretty bow.

His ebony unruly curls goaded her to run her fingers through them, and his large body sprawled across her sheets had her picturing just how beautiful he’d look without clothing to conceal it.

“To be fair, she hasn’t tested you in hand to hand combat.

That’s more Eryx’s territory than hers.”

“Mm. And what is your territory? ”

Erebos dipped his chin to look at her. “What do you mean?”

“Are you not trained in hand to hand combat?”

A sly, devious grin formed on his lips. “I am trained in everything , Alessia. Combat is only scratching the surface of where my talents lie.”

“Then maybe you should go against me in hand to hand combat. I’d love to see who would win.” She didn’t think the lord could surprise her anymore than he already had, but Alessia was floored when he tipped his head back and laughed .

It was a full, belly-gut laugh that had her grinning from ear to ear. The sound was so foreign that she made it her mission to store it in her memory in case she never had the privilege of hearing it again.

“I have been alive longer than you could imagine. There is no question as to who would win.”

“Oh?” She sat up on the bed with newfound determination. “There’s a reason I run every morning, you know. I’ve maintained a strict routine since I was old enough to start training. I’m stronger than you think.”

“I never said you weren’t strong, Alessia, but you aren’t stronger than me. ”

Her brows flicked up, knowing full and well she rode on a thin line with a man feared by everyone in the realm. She couldn’t help herself, though. Couldn’t stop teasing him by saying, “Prove it, then.”

In one swift motion, faster than she could blink, Erebos had her pinned to the mattress. He held her wrists above her head with only one of his hands, a knee wedged between her legs to keep her immobile.

“I…meant in the training ring,” she whispered between labored breaths.

Alessia scanned his ravenous eyes roving across her face before dipping to her lips.

That damn scent surrounded them shortly after, and it only heightened when Erebos glanced between their bodies, to her nipples beneath the silk nightgown and his knee that was close to brushing against her center.

“You may carry my powers,” he muttered, dipping his head until his lips settled against the column of her neck.

Alessia couldn’t help herself when she bucked her hips, only to be met with air.

He had moved his knee, as if he knew where her thoughts had led.

She supposed he had, given the whole projection thing, and it had her experiencing a level of torture she didn’t realize existed.

Erebos smiled against her skin, nipping gently at her earlobe before adding, “But I still retain the ability to destroy you in all the ways that matter.”

He rose from the bed, leaving her a hormonal mess on the comforter.

Then again, Alessia didn’t know why she anticipated anything different.

Erebos had pleasured her solely to benefit himself, and wasn’t that the reason she partook in that public display on his throne?

It was to protect herself, and to do that, she had to protect him too.

But if that were the case, she wouldn’t have blurted, “Will Catalina be upset? Because of what we were forced to do earlier?”

“What?” Erebos seemed shocked by her question, then took another step away from her. “No. Catalina is not… I was told to tell you those things about her to incite a reaction from you. ”

“So you two haven’t…”

He arched a brow. “Would it matter if we had?”

Alessia really hoped she’d never run into that petite female again. She couldn’t bear to think about the irreparable damage she’d do if she did. Judging from the raging fire inside of her at this newfound information, she didn’t want to risk it.

And she had no reason to feel jealous.

None.

The lord was a means to an end for her, just as she was to him.

“No,” she said, thankful his ability to detect lies had stopped working. “You are free to sleep with whoever you’d like. Who am I to tell you not to love?—”

“I do not love her,” he snapped. His response was definite, leaving no room for debate.

More importantly?

Not a flicker of red was detected.

“And what you said about the aura…” She ventured cautiously. “Can it really mess with my head and sway the truth depending on my desires?”

Erebos held her captive with his stare, as if determining whether to reveal this information to her.

That was fair, since she had tricks of her own up her sleeve.

Depending on his answer, she would use this to her advantage.

She’d corner him until she got the answers to the secrets of Hell he harbored once and for all.

“It cannot lie,” he replied, swallowing thickly. “It will always tell you the truth.”