Good Intentions (The Road to Hell Series, Book 1) (27 page)

I shook his hand briskly before releasing it. Excitement pulsed through me as thoughts of River filled my head while I walked with him toward the exit. “You’re welcome.”

I held the flap back for him and stepped into the night behind him. The crackle of the fire on the hill drew my attention to the flames leaping high into the air.

“How did it go?” Corson demanded from where he stood next to Bale beside the tent.

“There will be some damage control to be done, but he understands.”

“He’s a leader, of course he does,” Bale replied.

“Where is she?” I inquired, unwilling to wait any longer.

“She went to bed about an hour ago,” Bale answered.

I bit back a curse, gave a brief bow of my head to them, and ducked into the tent. I impatiently closed and buttoned the flap before stalking over to the thin material blocking me from her. I stood there, listening for any sounds of movement on the other side. It remained quiet, but I knew she was awake; I could smell the increasingly sweet scent of her arousal.

My shaft lengthened against my thigh as I waited to see if she would finally allow me to ease her body.

River

I sat cross-legged on the bed, my fingers fidgeting with the edge of the white T-shirt I’d donned to sleep in. It was all I wore, yet it felt too cumbersome against my hypersensitive skin. The soothing sounds of Mac and Kobal’s voices drifted away and I realized they’d left the tent. My heartbeat picked up and excitement slithered over my skin when I heard the flap on the front of the tent lifting and falling into place again.

I didn’t hear Kobal’s footfalls, but he was out there; I could feel him. I stared at the flap dividing the two rooms, knowing he wouldn’t come to me. This was my decision to make; I would have to get up and go to him. Could I do that? Could I open myself up to him in such a way?

He could destroy my heart, shred it within his hands, but I wanted those hands running over me. If I opened that flap, I would be leaving myself open to heartbreak and misery, but I’d finally get the chance to ease this unending torment that had taken up residence in my body since meeting him.

Turning, I set my feet on the floor; my hands gripped the edge of the bed.

I should be strong enough to turn my back to the flap and shut him out. I should be strong enough to keep my distance from him and my heart protected. This man wasn’t human. He could wield fire with his hands, and I knew there was more I didn’t know about him, but I found myself not caring about any of it. Didn’t care he was the rightful king of Hell or that the man who’d had a hand in creating me, thousands of years ago, was his mortal enemy.

None of it mattered; I had believed him earlier when he said he desired me because of
me
and not because he was looking to stick it to Lucifer in some way. Kobal was many things, manipulative and spiteful were not among them. He didn’t play games. If he was going after someone, he went after them directly.

Climbing unsteadily to my feet, I stood in the center of the room and stared at the flap dividing us. Such a small thing, yet it felt larger than the wall dividing what remained of my old world from the unknown horrors beyond. Horrors we might not survive. Could I really take the chance of dying without knowing what it felt like to be possessed by him?

The answer to that was a resounding
no.
I took one step, then another toward the flap. I couldn’t stop my trembling fingers from stretching out and taking hold of one of the buttons. It felt like I watched someone else’s hand pulling those buttons from their holes and I was helpless to stop it. I thought my heart might burst out of my chest as I released the last button and the flap fell back.

He stood beyond, his hands resting against the tent wall over the top of the flap. His chiseled, bare chest remained exposed to me. The pants he wore hung enticingly low on his tapered waist and did nothing to cover the obvious bulge straining against the front of them.

Saliva rushed into my mouth; any doubts about what I’d done vanished. His hands fell away from the tent, and his eyes burned with amber fire. He moved so fast into the room I barely saw him before his arm wrapped around my waist, and my feet left the ground.

My hands fell onto his amazingly broad shoulders. His skin was soft beneath my palms, but the carved muscles were hard as stone. It was a contradicting sensation I couldn’t get enough of as I ran my hands over him.

His hand slid into my hair, cupping the back of my head and tugging it back to take possession of my mouth in a blistering kiss that set my body on fire. I squirmed against him in an attempt to get closer. My legs encircled his waist, and I whimpered again when I felt his erection rubbing against my aching center. I ground against him, seeking some release from this undeniable need.

He laid me down on the bed, pressing me back as he climbed between my thighs. He clutched the bottom of my shirt, tugging it upward. “Have to see,” he grated out when the material slid up to expose my stomach.

Giving up on the time it took to remove my shirt the right way, he tore it open. I gasped at the rending sound filling the air before the shirt fell away to leave me exposed to him once more. His nostrils flared as he drank in the sight of me with the enthusiasm of a man in the desert consuming water. The warm July air brushed over my skin as he slid his hands over my stomach before cupping one of my breasts.

“
Mine
,” he growled.

My heart leapt at the word and my body arched into his touch. I could feel the barely leashed ardor thrumming through him; feel the razor line he walked as he fought to keep himself restrained from taking me now. His rapidly fading control was only making me want him even
more
.

He lowered his head and took my nipple into his mouth. My fingers entwined in his hair, holding him closer against me as his hot tongue ran leisurely over my sensitive flesh. I relished watching his dark head bent to my chest and his mouth latched onto my breast as he tasted me in greedy pulls. His calloused palm slid over my stomach before dipping between my thighs. I cried out and my hips bucked against him as he rubbed his palm over me before slipping a finger deep inside.

It all felt too good, too overwhelming, too
much
. His finger moved within me as his teeth nipped at my breast. The scrape of his fangs against my flesh startled me. I’d yet to feel them in real life, and they were better than I’d ever dreamed. They didn’t dim my need; they escalated it. I had to know what they would feel like sinking into my flesh.

Stretching me further, he slid another finger into me as he turned his mouth to my other breast. “Please!” I panted when the tension within me built higher. I tried to pull back at the same time my body ground more demandingly against his greedy fingers and palm.

He moved his mouth away from my breasts, leveling himself over me. His solid, heavy body pushed me into the mattress. My hands gripped his biceps, clutching at him as his fingers continued their possession of my body.

Sparks shot from my fingertips; they licked over his skin, but I paid them no attention, and he didn’t seem to notice either as those beautiful amber eyes burned into mine. His eyes turned golden when he was in battle or enraged, and I now knew they also burned with amber when he was consumed by desire.

Lowering his head, his ragged breaths warmed my ear and neck when his lips rested against my ear. “Please what?” he demanded.

I didn’t know what; this was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. All I knew was one thing. “I need you.”

He sat back from me, allowing air to flow over my heated skin once more. I squirmed beneath him as he pulled the remains of my shirt from me before grabbing for the button on his pants. He grunted in frustration before rending the material open. I barely saw him yank the pants off before he was settling himself between my thighs again.

He’d worn no underwear, something I didn’t find at all surprising. What was surprising was the size of his shaft. I’d seen it in my dreams, but it was far larger in real life as it swelled further beneath my gaze. Fear caused my heart to lurch. He’d tear me in two. His fingers slid over my cheeks, brushing aside my hair. I tore my eyes away from his massive length resting against my thigh to focus on his eyes once more.

“I don’t think you’ll fit in me,” I croaked.

“It will hurt in the beginning,” he replied in a strained voice. “But I will make sure you are ready for me, and I will let you find your way. I’m meant to be inside of
you
.”

A thrill shot down my spine at his words. Reaching between us, his fingers stroked over my aching center again; his thumb slid over my clit. The thighs I’d clamped against his sides at the sight of his heavy erection, eased open to grant him better access.

He dipped two fingers into me again, his shoulders heaving with his ragged breaths. I lifted my hips to him as the heady anticipation of something more to come assailed me once more and his fingers stretched me further. A coiling tension built within me as he thrust and caressed, pushing me closer and closer to edge of release.

His fingers slid away from me once more, but I couldn’t be disappointed. Not when I knew I was about to find out what it was like to have
him
inside of me. Wrapping his hand around his shaft, he directed it forward until it pushed against my entrance. I could feel myself stretching to accommodate the head he partially slipped within me.

“Raise your hips,” he grated through his teeth.

Lifting my hips, I gasped when the motion of him only partially within me sent a firestorm of delicious sensations through me. His hands bunched in the sheet, but he didn’t move, didn’t plunge into me as I experimentally rose and fell on the head of him once more.

More sparks erupted from my fingers and sizzled over his skin. His claws extended, digging into the bed as he tore the sheets from it and his head fell into my shoulder. The restraint he exhibited caused his muscles to quake beneath my touch. I longed to ease his strain, and instinctively I knew how to do it. Lifting my hips again, I pushed against him, taking him deeper within me. I nearly screamed in joy when he slipped in further, stretching and filling me in a way I’d never dreamed possible.

“
Fuck
,” he groaned against my ear, but he remained still, allowing me to take him into my body at my own pace. Allowing me to discover his body inch by deliciously slow inch.

I grabbed hold of his taut ass and lifted my hips to him, drawing him deeper into me. He continued to hold back, his body becoming sweat slicked as his muscles bulged.

“Kobal,” I breathed, needing more of him, but unable to take him any further. “I can’t… get enough.”

His eyes burned a brighter gold when he lifted his head to look at me. “Hold onto me.”

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I turned my face into him and inhaled his fiery scent. He released the shredded sheets. I watched in amazement as his claws retracted before he seized my hips and plunged the rest of the way into me. I cried out, and my nails dug into his neck as my teeth sank into his shoulder. His body rocked against mine when he felt my teeth; his fingers dug into the flesh of my hips.

There was pain as he stretched and filled me, but having him inside of me also felt so right that tears burned my eyes, and I couldn’t move away from him. I had come home; I’d found where I would always belong, in his arms, with
him
. I’d never experienced anything like the overwhelming emotions stealing through me.

The sparks shooting from my fingers slid down to my wrist and spread out across his bronzed skin. The golden-white fire of those sparks spread over his slick, thickly muscled back and lit his tattoos in a way that made them seem to come to life and move over his flesh.

His breath was heavy against my shoulder, and his body quaked as he pushed forward against me again. “I have to,” he groaned in my ear as he withdrew from me before plunging in again. “I can’t hold back, not anymore, River.”

“Don’t,” I moaned even as my body tried to recoil from the feeling of physical discomfort within it. I grabbed his ass again, kneading his flesh as I drew him deeper into me. “I want all of you, more.”

His hands clasped my face when he withdrew and thrust into me again.

Kobal

Easy, easy,
I kept telling myself as the urge to possess her, to drive relentlessly into her warm, willing body swelled within me. The tight, wet muscles of her sheath clenching me were nearly my undoing as her hips began to rise and fall beneath me once more. She looked radiant and angelic as the sparks firing from her hands bathed her face in a golden glow.

So amazing. I’d never felt anything like her, never experienced such control and yet an utter lack of it. She could be my undoing and I’d welcome every second of it.

Her eyes were dazed with passion when they fluttered open to meet mine; her fingers dug into my ass as her hips rocked against me. My fangs extended when I slid my hands over her face and bent my head to kiss her. I had no restraint over them right now, which was something that had never happened to me before, at least not during sex. I always kept them carefully leashed when I was with another, but there was no keeping anything leashed with River. Her tongue swirled over them in an erotic way that nearly caused me to come right then.

Don’t hurt her.

Bite her! Claim her!

The opposing needs to keep from hurting her and to sink my fangs into her and mark her as mine battled within me. I tried to ease back, but she wouldn’t let me slow down and savor her. My restraint unraveling further, I drove more vigorously into her body. A body made for sin, a body made for
me
.

Her head fell back, and excited pants escaped her as her back arched. My eyes latched onto her perfect breasts and pert, dusky nipples. Bending my head, I took one of them into my mouth, swirling my tongue around the bud and sucking upon it—an action that drove her wild as she writhed beneath me.

One of her hands slid up my back, and her fingers threaded through my hair. She cried out when my fangs scraped over her flesh, drawing blood that I tenderly licked away. The taste of her blood and the sensation of breaking her skin caused my body to shudder. A possessive growl tore from me as that primitive instinct stirred again and the last of my control started to shred.

Mine!

Releasing her breasts, I scraped my fangs over her skin toward her neck.

“More!” she begged.

That plea was my complete downfall. Grasping her hips, I drove into her with a frenzy bordering on insanity. I found myself doing the one thing I’d never been tempted to do in my lengthy existence. My fangs sank into her shoulder, and I clamped down. I expected her to scream or beat at me when they pierced her flesh. Instead, she became more unrestrained as she met each one of my thrusts.

I kept her pinned beneath me. Her fingers entangled in my hair, holding me close against her as I forever marked her as mine to any demon who saw her.

I released my hold on her shoulder before sinking my fangs into her neck. Out of control, all I tasted and felt was her blood on my tongue and her muscles gripping my cock. I moved to her other shoulder, biting down and pinning her again.

Her fingers raked the skin of my back, drawing blood. Her head turned into my shoulder as her lips skimmed back so I could feel her small teeth against my flesh before they bit down on me until my skin broke.

Such a little demon, marking her territory.

I was more than happy to be marked by her as the scream she released was muffled by my flesh. I felt a growing, heavy sensation in my sac as semen flooded forth. I’d suspected she might be my Chosen, but with the claiming mark and the pressure-filled feeling of semen rising up my shaft, I knew it was true.

I’d never experienced this sensation before; it was overwhelming in its newness as I held back from spilling within her. I desperately needed release from this pressure, but I would make sure she found hers first.

Lifting her hips, I slid my thumb between our bodies to rub her clit as I drove her up and down on me. Her cry of ecstasy was muffled against my flesh as her nails dug into my back and she bit deeper. The muscles of her sheath constricted so forcefully around me from her orgasm that they wrenched my semen from me.

Throwing my head back, I bellowed in possession as I came into her in a stream that seemed to go endlessly on as my body was wracked by the new sensations of this deeper, more potent release. I didn’t care if the whole town heard me; they would all know she was mine. Her climaxing muscles continued to grasp me within her delectable body, milking more semen from my body until she collapsed beneath me.

Gathering her within my arms, I pulled her against my chest and withdrew from her as I rolled to the side with her. She sprawled limply across my chest, her fingers trailing over my shoulder toward her bite mark. I felt her smile against my flesh. Holding her close against me, I inhaled the scent of me all over her mingled with our sex and blood on the air.

“I’m sorry I hurt you,” I said gruffly as I tried to regain control of my racing heart.

“It was worth it,” she murmured, her fingers trailing lazily over my chest.

My dick jumped again and started to lengthen when her hand slipped down my stomach toward it. I’d taken her with a savagery I’d never shown with anyone before, not even a demon. I’d found more satisfaction in her body than with anyone else’s, and already I wanted
more
. It was too soon for her. I’d hurt her, and marked her repeatedly; I couldn’t hurt her anymore by taking her again now.

I brushed her hair aside, contentment filling me when I saw the bites marking her golden skin and declaring to everyone who she belonged to. Who she would
always
belong to. The newest queen of Hell was Lucifer’s offspring. The irony was not lost on me, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was she was mine.

Glancing down, I spotted the blood marring her inner thigh. I’d done that, I’d claimed her and taken from her what no other man had. Something protective stirred within me as I gently eased her back and rose to my feet. I felt her eyes on me as I walked across the room, grabbed the pitcher of water and retrieved a towel from the armoire. I wet the towel before returning to her and gently cleaning the blood from her.

Her hands curled into the bed, her cheeks turned crimson in color as she watched me. I’d never experienced the impulse to be tender with another, to care for them, but with her it was as instinctive as breathing. Tossing the towel aside, I bent to kiss her before crawling into bed with her once more and pulling her into my arms.

I rested my palm gently against my marks; she smiled as her fingers slid over my chest. “You’re mine, River.” She lifted her head and propped her chin on my chest. Her eyes were smoky when they met mine. “These marks, they’re my brand. You will never spend another day of your life without them on you. No one else will
ever
know the curve of your hip, the heaviness of your breasts, or the wonder of being inside of you.”

I cupped her mound at my last words, pleased to feel her wetness against my hand. Her lips parted as she watched me.

Too soon
.

“You belong to
me
,” I grated.

Her fingers slid over my cheek, trailing down to my lips and touching against one of my fangs. A strange sadness filled her eyes before she lifted her gaze to mine once more. I would do anything to ease that sadness, but I had no idea what had caused it. Was the idea of being my Chosen so bad for her?

“And how many others have you marked as yours?” she inquired with a hitch in her voice.

“None.”

Her fingers froze. “None?”

“No. You are my only, River. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve had sex over my many years.”

I kicked myself when she winced and tried to pull away from me. I’d have to be more careful of the way I worded things, I realized, as I pulled her closer against me, refusing to let her withdraw. I wasn’t used to having to deal with a human, but she was more sensitive about these things than I, and I didn’t want to upset her. Her jaw jutted out, but before she could begin to fight me, I continued on.

“My life never felt lonely before, but I realize now it was without you in it. You’re the only woman who has ever mattered to me, the only one who has ever completely satisfied me. I feel stronger with you in my arms. I
am
stronger with you.”

Her rising annoyance faded at my words, and her head tilted to the side. “Is this a demon thing?”

“Yes, demons mark those we bind our lives to. My bite is my mark upon you.”

“You want to bind your life to me?” she squeaked.

“I already have.”

“And what if I didn’t want to do that? Shouldn’t we have discussed that step first or something?”

A snarl curved my upper lip; I somehow stayed restrained at the idea of losing her. She may be part demon, but she wasn’t full. She wouldn’t feel the pull of the Chosen bond as strongly as I did. I couldn’t force her stay with me if it would make her unhappy.

“If you don’t want this, it will be your choice,” I told her.

“I still have a choice?”

“Yes,” I grated through my teeth.

Her fingers slid to the set of four fang marks on her shoulder. Looking at her, I was amazed to realize I’d bitten her five times, most of them I barely recalled through the haze of lust and possession filling me while claiming her.

“And what of you?” Her fingers didn’t touch when she wrapped her hand around my growing erection. I hissed in a breath when she ran her hand up the swelling length of it. Her thumb slid over the slit at the top, rubbing the bead of precum forming there over the sensitive skin before sliding down me again. “If I belong to you, will you belong to me?”

“Yes.” My head fell back when I took hold of her hand and guided it up my shaft before sliding it down again, showing her the way I liked to be stroked. She was hesitant at first, but it quickly faded as her touch became more confident.

“So no one else will know what it feels like to have you inside of them again? You’ll never touch another woman again or kiss another?”

“No.” I enveloped her neck with my hand and dragged her down to claim her luscious mouth. “You’re the only woman for me from now on and the only one I’ve ever desired kissing.”

Sparks flickered from the tips of her fingers again. “Really?”

“Yes.” I grabbed her hand, holding it against my stomach to stop her stroking as I resisted rolling her over and sinking my fangs into her shoulder to pin her as I took her again. “It’s too soon for you. Tomorrow.”

She sighed in disappointment, but she dropped her chin to my chest again and rested her hand there. “How can you be so sure I’m your only?”

I traced the marks on her neck, unable to suppress a smug smile of possession as I gazed at them. “This is one way. Demons do not bite another without staking a claim on them. Their instincts are against doing such a thing unless it is with their Chosen. This is another.” I took her hand and brushed her thumb over the fresh bead of semen forming on the head of my cock. She frowned in confusion as she stared at it before looking at me again. “Male demons don’t produce sperm until the first time they are with their Chosen. Then they produce it every time thereafter. There is no denying what you are, not to me anyway.”

I brushed my hand over the bite she’d left on my neck. “And you have also marked me.”

Her gaze fell on where she’d punctured my skin. “It had felt so… I just had to,” she finished.

“The demon in you did. It was instinctual. You also recognize me as yours.”

Her eyes flew to mine. “Yes,” she whispered. “I’m surprised they’re not healing on you already. The revenirs marks on you healed so quickly.”

“The marks of a Chosen take longer to heal. They do eventually fade, but a demon marks their Chosen on a near daily basis. It is believed a combination of our saliva mixing with our Chosen’s flesh keeps the marks open for longer.”

“Why do they take longer to heal?”

“So they can be seen by all,” I replied.

“So there is something demonic in my saliva too?”

I couldn’t help but grin at her. “I’d say when it comes to your Chosen, you are very demonic.” I pulled her forward to kiss her. She looked dazed, but smiled seductively when I released her.

“So if male demons don’t produce sperm, what about female demons? What happens with them when they find their Chosen?” she asked.

“Both sexes can enjoy sex with another before finding their Chosen.”

Her eyes darkened, and her fingers dug into my chest. Perhaps there was far more demon within her than I’d realized as I recognized the possessiveness burning in her eyes.

“Not as much as they do with their Chosen.
No
where near as much.” I’d never experienced anything like what had just transpired between us, and it had altered me in some way I didn’t fully understand. As soon as I thought she was ready, I would be inside her again. “I’d heard sex was more pleasurable with one’s Chosen, but I’d never imagined how
much
more until you.”

“You don’t have to say that,” she murmured.

“I’m saying it because I mean it.” Drawing her mouth close for another kiss, I ran my tongue over her swollen lips before tearing myself away. “I’ve never experienced anything like what just transpired between us.”