Page 18 of Taken to the Deadlands (Stolen Demon Brides #1)

Chapter 18

Mia

I fucked up.

The one time I tried to tell the truth, it blew up right in my face.

That should teach me to try to be a good person.

Aris had been ignoring me since that night. She didn’t even try to come back to her room. I don’t know where she’s been sleeping, but it hadn’t been with me.

Finally, after four days of being ignored, I decided I needed to take matters into my own hands.

“Hey, you.”

The demon who had been bending over to put something in the rusty oven jumped and let out a shrill scream that caused me to flinch.

Thera turned to me with wide eyes and a slightly agape mouth.

I had seen her around once or twice since I had gotten here but never had a chance to talk to her. Though based on Aris’s reaction the first time we met, I was pretty sure he’d planned for us not to meet. And now I could see why.

Black veins appeared on her forehead, and her eyes began to glow.

The frenzy.

Or at least that’s what the demons called it. I should have been worried that she was fighting her instincts to eat me, but after living with Aris for the time I had, I couldn’t help but feel for them. They didn’t want to hurt me. That much was clear.

“Where’s Aris?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

She took a step back, her eyes darting around the room.

“You shouldn’t be this close to me. It’s dangerous.”

I rolled my eyes. “The quicker you answer the question, the quicker I’ll leave.”

She opened her mouth to speak but then snapped it shut and shook her head wildly. Her clawed hand gripped onto the counter behind her, and for the first time in days, fear seized my heart.

I took a step back.

Shit.

I had severely underestimated just how much my presence would affect her.

“Where are you going?” she asked, though her voice didn’t sound much like hers anymore. There was a growl to it. Her eyes narrowed at my movements. I took another step back, but she was following me like I was her prey.

Damn it.

“I think I hear Aris,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “I’ll just go to her now.”

My heart was beating wildly in my chest, and my throat was closing in on itself. Even if I wanted to scream, I doubt I would have enough time to.

The demon gave me a sharp nod and closed her eyes, the internal fight against herself and her frenzy obvious on her face.

“I can smell your fear, human,” she muttered, her eyes still closed. She inhaled deeply.

I took two more steps back. By the time the heel of my foot hit the ground for a third time, her eyes popped open.

Run.

I turned and ran back into the hallway I had come from. I launched myself too hard and ended up slammed into the wall but used it as leverage to push me forward.

Her roar shook the walls around me.

“Run, human! And when I catch you, I’ll enjoy tearing your flesh?—”

The sound of my heart pulsing in my chest combined with the thuds of my feet against the carpeted floors drowned out her words.

I had spent time exploring this place with Aris, so it was easy to follow the path that led to her room, no matter how many twists and turns the house had.

Until I got to the stairs.

I could hear her running after me. The sound of her flat shoes slapping against the carpet told me that she had crossed the space in half the time it had taken me.

“Aris!” I screamed.

My hand clawed at the banister, trying to use anything in my grasp to pull me up the stairs faster. I used the other to push against the steps, almost like I was crawling up the stairs.

“ Found you. ”

The footsteps stopped when she entered the room with the grand staircase. I shot a panicked look back to see the crazed demon looking at me with a sinister smirk.

The image reminded me too much of what Aris had looked like in the images the wraith had sent me. It caused me to freeze because if that was what they saw in their last moments…

Is this to be mine ?

She was too close now. I couldn’t outrun her.

So instead, I stopped and turned to face her. All the energy to run whooshed out of me, and a crazed giggle fell from my lips.

The wraiths. They tried to warn me, I realized in that moment. They had been warning me to run. Warning me that if I stayed here, this would be my ending.

The demon was in front of me in a flash. Her teeth bared, her eyes wide, her clawed hands on either side of me, trapping me between her arms.

What I didn’t expect were the tears that filled her eyes. Without thinking, I lifted my hand to cup her cheek.

“I know it’s hard,” I whispered.

Her snarling paused, and for a second, it looked like she might back off.

Until a hand gripped her shoulders and flung her back, and arms wrapped around me and forced me upright.

Aris’s growl was so loud her chest vibrated with it. I looked up to see her staring down to where she had thrown the other demon.

“I will kill you,” she vowed.

Thera’s whimper caused my gaze to shoot to her. She lay crumpled on the hard floor below us, her leg twisted painfully. Aris shifted against me, as if she really was going to go and finish the job.

I put a hand on her chest.

“Please. Don’t hurt her,” I pleaded.

She didn’t even spare me a glance.

“I will do what I must.”

Ice cold fear froze the blood in my veins. I pushed her away and gripped the railing behind me.

Her eyes finally darted toward me. She too had the darkened marks on her face.

“Don’t run from me,” she ordered.

But it was too late. I knew what I needed to do to get her away from Thera.

I bounded the rest of the way up the stairs and ran in the opposite direction of her room. My lungs were burning, begging me to stop, but I forced my legs to continue.

I hadn’t explored much of the other side of the house, but it didn’t take long for Aris to find me.

The only warning I had was her crashing into the wall somewhere behind me.

It caused my heart to lodge in my throat and for a thrill to shoot up my spine. I knew it was dangerous to provoke her… but that didn’t stop the excitement from filling me.

She had better self-control than the other demons, so maybe when she caught me?—

A hard body hit my back, causing us both to tumble to the ground.

I let out a pained groan as her body weight pushed me into the ground. The carpet rubbed against my cheek and the exposed skin of my legs.

Her breath was hot against the back of my neck as the tip of her nose ran along the edge of my throat.

“I could have killed you,” she growled, then hooked her hands under me and forced me to turn around to face her.

“Maybe you should,” I countered.

Her eyes fell to my disheveled robe. Somewhere between my running for my life and our tussle, the tie had come loose and left most of my chest open to her. When her eyes trailed even further, we both realized how far up it had ridden, baring my pussy to her, the light panties she had stored for me doing nothing to conceal my need for her.

She let out another growl, and my cunt clenched and wetness pooled between my legs.

“I’m sorry I lied to you,” I forced out. It was the last thing I wanted to talk about in that moment, but there was a small chance I would be able to get her attention like this again.

“Do you know how much money I spent on you?” she asked, her eyes trailing up my body to land on my erect nipple. With a delicate clawed hand, she pushed the robe fully out of the way.

“I said I’m sorry?—”

“Will sorry bring back the money?” she continued, her voice hard. “Will sorry finish the job I brought you here to do?”

Her words caused my chest to ache.

“But I thought you wanted me to stay,” I whispered. “I wanted to talk to you about it because maybe that’s something I want too?—”

Her mouth crashing against mine cut me off. Her tongue invaded my mouth, giving me no time to think. All I could do was respond, so I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her as close as she would allow.

Her hands gripped the robe, forcing it fully open while she trailed hot, open-mouthed kisses down my throat. I arched into her and grabbed her horns, pushing up so she would take a nipple into her mouth.

I moaned when she did and let my legs fall open for her, and she instantly took advantage of it, placing a hand between them, rubbing my damp underwear.

Her tongue circled one nipple before moving to the other one. She let her teeth graze against the sensitive flesh, and it pulled an embarrassingly loud whine from me.

A ripping sound filled the hallway, and cold air hit my aching pussy, but I couldn’t find myself to care. Not when her fingers massaged my cunt, nor when she dipped two fingers inside me.

“Please, please ,” I begged, but if I was being truthful, I had no idea what I was begging for.

I unabashedly ground against her hand and used her horns to direct her to where I wanted her. She pumped her fingers in and out of me with little concern for hurting me. Something so different from what I was used to from her.

And I love it.

I loved the way her heel hit my clit with each powerful thrust. Loved the way she twisted and circled her fingers inside me.

And best of all, I loved when her teeth grazed every single part of my skin. It would only take one wrong move for her sharp teeth to nick me, but neither of us seemed to care in that moment. I was chasing my orgasm, and she was nothing but a very willing tool to help me get there.

I pushed her head down and hooked a leg over her shoulder. She followed my command, and in seconds her lips were circling my clit while her fingers still worked me.

“Harder,” I commanded, tugging on her horns.

My breath was knocked out of me as her hand slammed into me. Delicious heat swirled in my belly.

“Yes, Aris . Just like that.”

She gave my clit a hard suck, causing my back to bow.

“So good,” I moaned. My orgasm was teasing me now. So close to rippling through my body yet so far.

Then she curled her fingers inside me and I cried out as the first wave hit me.

“Fuck yes, good. Good girl. Keep going.“

My praise must have stirred something in her because, in a split second, it felt like all ties that had been holding her back snapped.

She fucked me harder and with no restraint. She lunged up, her mouth colliding with mine. Her tongue forced itself between my lips, the taste of my own wetness following.

I was stuck, writhing beneath her and unable to do a thing but take the fucking she was giving me.

When she pulled away, I met her hooded gaze.

“Don’t make me leave,” I whispered.

And then, just like that, the moment was gone.

Her eyes cleared, and her hand stopped. Her hair fell from her shoulder and tickled my cheek. I reached out, attempting to run my hand through it, but her hand shot forward to stop it.

Evidence of what had just happened between us was obvious on her fingers.

“Right,” she muttered. “You need to leave soon. I’m sorry, I?—”

The words got caught in her throat. Slowly, and oh so painfully, she stood.

She looked down at me with an expression I couldn’t read.

“Clean yourself up and go back to my room,” she ordered. “If you try to leave, I won’t be there to save you.”

And then she left me. Exposed, lying there on the ground like a used rag.