Page 47 of Queen of the Wicked (Afterlife #1)

Alessia

P ure, undiluted fury pumped through Alessia’s bloodstream.

It threatened to take over every vein, pore, and artery as her heels clicked angrily against the marble floors, heading nowhere.

She was walking simply to attempt to calm herself down.

If she hadn’t left when she did, Catalina would be dead on the floor, joining the rest of the souls in the Unknown.

The thought was ridiculous when Alessia had no reason to react so quickly to a simple arm touch.

Erebos had shrugged her off; it wasn’t his fault, but even if he had wanted Catalina to touch him, it wasn’t like Alessia had any claim to him.

They weren’t dating. They weren’t married.

They shared one kiss. That didn’t entitle her to kill women he’d previously slept with before.

Smoke flared behind her as a warning to anyone who passed to seek shelter immediately to avoid the anger pulsating at her fingertips, begging to unleash it on the first person who dared get in her path.

Thankfully, the halls were empty with everyone at the ball, leaving Alessia alone with her raging combination of hormones and powers.

Stop running from me, Little Mortal.

Erebos hadn’t asked permission to enter her mind, and the knowledge irked her past the point of no return.

Bite me, she sneered back.

Would that make you feel better? If so, I’d gladly oblige.

Approaching the end of the hall, she found herself at the door of Erebos’s study, despising that this was the room she had unintentionally sought out for comfort. Still, she didn’t have it in her to continue walking when this would be the best chance to find a semblance of control.

Striding into the room, she inhaled the scent of parchment and ink, her chest heaving as emotions continued to course through her. I’ll pass. I’m sure Catalina would take you up on that offer, though.

For the thousandth time, I do not want Catalina! he shouted into her mind. It is you that I want, Alessia. You have been the bane of my existence since that night in the forest. Every thought, every breath, and every word I have spoken since that night has been for you . No one but you.

Catching herself against the wooden desk from his confession, she stared at the open door, hearing dress shoes echo against the marble floors. That tether between them was loosening, so she knew the lord was seconds from finding her.

That dress you are wearing is torture, he continued.

I could hardly finish the ceremony in fear that another would be the first to tell you that you are the most breathtaking, alluring woman ever to walk the realms. I had planned on doing just that until Catalina intercepted me.

Our conversation meant nothing. It was meaningless.

Erebos appeared at the end of the corridor like a haunting fairytale. His onyx eyes locked on hers, a combination of lust and anger as he stalked towards her with no intentions of letting up. Alessia squirmed against the desk, unable to determine whether or not she should be turned on or petrified.

But as he stuck two fingers beneath the fabric around his neck to loosen the collar of his shirt, she concluded that she was very aroused, and the wetness between her thighs followed seconds after.

He was halfway to the study now, her mouth drying out when he reached down to unbutton his trousers, then his zipper. His pants barely clung to his waist as he tugged his shirt out, ripping it open until the buttons popped off in response and clinked against the marble as an afterthought.

Erebos may lack powers in the physical sense, but his body exuded them as he prowled towards her with nothing but calculated mannerisms. Alessia felt like they were in a cat-and-mouse game and was seconds away from becoming the prey.

The worst part was that she didn’t mind it.

He was very much the Lord of Hell when he entered the room, raw and unfiltered as his eyes roved over her in a frenzy. His hair was disheveled, almost like his hands had been running through it.

He was crazed and starved for her.

Blood hummed beneath the surface of her skin, rushing south when he shut the door and growled, “I’ll only ask this question once, Alessia.

Do you want me to leave? If so, I’ll turn around and walk right out that door.

But know that if you don’t, if you want me to stay, nothing in this entire realm will prevent me from taking you on top of that desk. ”

Alessia gulped when he stepped closer, a feral, hardly leashed demon seconds from pouncing, but no part of her wanted to run away from him in this state. Her body seemed drawn to it, beckoning her forward. “I don’t want you to go,” she whispered shakily.

The heat in the room rose to an inferno when he dipped his mouth to her ear, his stubble scraping against the flesh. “Hands on the desk then, Little Mortal .”

Makers help her.

She complied without complaint, spinning around and unable to withhold a moan when his body was flush against hers.

She could feel every ridge and outline of his muscles in this position.

She hadn’t been able to study his tattoo-crafted chest in detail yet, but she vowed to do so in the near future, if only to use it as an excuse to stare at him longer.

“You were wet when I fingered you in front of Kael,” he whispered, placing a kiss on her neck. Alessia’s knees almost buckled in response. “Tell me, Alessia, what did you enjoy more? The degradation or the praise?”

“ Erebos.”

A rumble echoed in his chest. “I fucking love when you moan my name. Now answer the question.”

“Both,” she gasped. Erebos made light work of the ties on the back of her dress, allowing the fabric to pool at her feet. It left her in nothing but a corset, only the sound of the lord’s ragged breathing to fill the silence as he took her in.

“You’re exquisite, Alessia. Every inch of you.” He put his lips on her neck again, moving his kisses down to her shoulder and back up. It left a scorching sensation behind, her entire body up in flames with every caress of his lips. “Do you want my fingers inside of you again?”

“ Yes,” she begged. “ Please, yes.”

He expertly freed her of the corset, allowing her lungs to finally drag air in properly since arriving in his study.

Clothing shuffled behind her before finally, he was pressed against her again with no clothing barriers in their way.

They were skin on skin, and something inside her chest bounced around in excitement, that feminine voice peeking an eye open.

Take it, it urged. Take it all.

Erebos put a hand between her legs, laughing at the slickness he found. “I don’t even need to get you warmed up, do I?” He slipped a finger in with hardly any effort, his forehead landing on her shoulder. “Christ. You take it so well. So, so well.”

Alessia couldn’t form a coherent thought in her mind.

She only wanted more. Needed more. It may have been her first time, given she was holed up in a farmhouse for the majority of her life, but she wasn’t naive to pleasing herself, nor was she unaware of what transpired between sexual partners.

She understood what she was getting herself into, and she wanted it now.

Running a hand down her stomach, her fingertips brushed her clit while Erebos pumped his fingers. At the breathy moan that left her lips, he placed his hand over hers and said, “Show me how you like it. Show me how to get you there.”

Alessia threw her head back against his shoulder, her eyes screwed shut when she quickened the pace on herself. Erebos never faltered, his thick length prodding her backside as he watched not her pleasure herself, but her. Just her.

He could watch her face at this angle, seeming enamored with the sight before him. Alessia’s mouth was ajar, eyes lidded with ecstasy as she careened over the edge of no return. It sent shockwaves of pleasure through her body, seeming never-ending with the way Erebos rubbed her through it.

“That’s it,” he coaxed. “Give it all to me.”

Wave after wave, she rocked against his hand until she was a trembling, sated mess. The roaring fireplace beside them slicked her forehead with sweat, symbolizing the chemistry burning between them.

“Are you ready to take all of me?” he asked in a downright sinful voice.

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head when he slid his cock against the aftermath of her orgasm.

Everywhere he touched felt hypersensitive, like his fingertips left lightning bolts in their wake.

“I’ve thought a lot about how our first time would be, Alessia, but I don’t have the patience for slow and gentle right now. Unless you desire it, then?—”

“No.” She shook her head immediately, grinding against the tip of his cock.

Every muscle and fiber of her being screamed to have him inside her .

“I…I can’t wait any longer. Please, Erebos.

I’m—Shit!” She cried out when he pushed inside, and the lord cursed under his br eath when her pussy clamped around the sheer size of him.

But at the feel of Erebos inside her, the realms seemed to right themselves in a single moment, leaving her to question whether the balance was truly thrown off when something this perfect could exist. It was as if their hearts and minds were intertwined, following the same wavelength when he began to thrust, and her body opened up for him like it had been waiting for this moment to occur since the dawn of time.

“You’re Heaven,” he groaned. “You are the light of my existence, Alessia. Every piece of you is perfection.” Tilting her chin, Erebos held eye contact with her until he was buried deep inside, his eyes softening at whatever sensation he felt.

Tears sprang to Alessia’s eyes unexpectedly at the pure emotion flowing between them, and it was suddenly an out of body experience when he opened the mind link, allowing her to feel all of his pleasure and vice versa.