Damned and Desirable (Eternally Yours Book 2) (27 page)

so uncomfortable, I wanted to crawl out of my own skin. “Did you see other Nephilim?” he asked.

I shook my head. “But I was in a cage the whole time.”

Callum stepped forward. “I remember them. One was small for a giant, and the other was a female nearly twice his size.”

Og frowned. “Yes, those our kin.”

“I shared a cell with them,” Callum added. “We were Scorpius’s prisoners over a hundred years ago. That was when I last saw them.”

The Nephilim began to grumble, more of them beating their clubs on the ground.

Og silenced them with a wave of his hand. “Does Scorpius hold them somewhere?”

Callum’s face fell. “I doubt it.”

“What do you think happened to them?” I asked, though I feared I already knew Callum’s answer.

“Most likely, Scorpius cast them to the fourth dimension,” he said.

I cringed at that, covering my ears as the giants’ uproar was deafening.

Og didn’t turn around as he held up his hand again, silencing the crowd.

I looked up at Og before scanning the crowd. Hulking giants gaped at him with slack jaws, as if they were hanging on the outcome of his decision.

“Well, now what?” Callum asked, which was rather brave of him, considering I already feared the answer wouldn’t be to our liking.

Og didn’t acknowledge Callum as he looked down at me with a glint of determination in his eyes.

My knees weakened at that look.

Pulling back his beefy chest, Og banged his club on the ground. “Now we make war.” Then the giant pointed his club at me. “You will lead us.”

My legs gave way before skeletal hands caught me. My world spun and then darkened.

“Aedan?” Relief swept over me as I looked into my boyfriend’s familiar, bright blue eyes. “You’re you!”

His eyes dulled, their edges framed by lines I hadn’t remembered seeing until now. Gah, he looked like he’d aged ten years. “How are you feeling?” he asked, holding my hand.

Nervous laughter erupted from my throat. I tried to lift my head, but this fogginess settled in my brain, forcing me to sink into the soft pillows beneath me.

“Oh, like I’ve been to Hell and back,” I grumbled.

What had happened? Why was Aedan no longer a Grim? Had he freed me and taken me back to Purgatory? Despite the dizziness, I forced myself to sit up and survey my surroundings, disappointed to see we weren’t in my familiar bedroom. Aedan and I were laying side by side on a bed so soft, it felt like a cloud, and it was big, too, the largest bed I’d ever been in, with huge posts and velvety pink drapes. The walls had fancy crown molding with gold inlay, and little laughing cherubs were painted on the ceiling. Somewhere in the distance, I heard the soothing sound of water splashing, and as I inhaled deeply, my senses were accosted by the most divine smell, like tangy lemons and jasmine, or maybe it was spiced vanilla. It was hard to tell, but mmm, it made me so hungry.

That’s when I realized Aedan had to have taken me to Heaven. It was the only logical explanation, because Hell certainly couldn’t have been this nice.

“What is this place?” I asked as I lay my head down and closed my eyes, taking another deep breath and smiling as the fruity aroma soothed my senses.

He settled both hands over mine, squeezing hard. “We’re in a guest chamber in the Nephilim pyramid.”

My eyes shot open, and I bolted upright, shaking loose from his grip. “The Nephilim?” I gasped. “You mean we’re still in Hell?”

He grimaced. “Unfortunately.”

I pointed a shaky finger at his face. “But you’re not an ugly skeleton.”

He shot me a stern look. “I know. Once we stepped into the pyramid, we changed back to our mortal forms. The Nephilim said it’s holy magic.” He frowned. “Not sure how they did it.”

I kicked the covers off as images from my confrontation with King Og came racing back. “We can’t be here. They want me to start a war!”

Aedan knelt beside me, pressing on my shoulders. “Calm down, Ash. It will do you no good to get worked up again. I am to have a private meeting with the Nephilim king shortly. I will explain there’s been a mistake.”

He scooted off the bed and literally fell to the floor. I let out a low whistle as I peered over the side. It had to have been an eight-foot drop.

“A big mistake,” I called down to him, my voice rising an octave. “I don’t know anything about war.”

My eyes bulged as I got a good look at what my boyfriend was wearing: an ivory toga with a braided silver belt, his golden arms looking far more muscular than should be legal. It was a vast improvement over loincloths, the chosen attire of the locals. All I had to do was hike up that skirt to get a good look at, and maybe even a taste of, his forbidden fruits. My girl-gasm sonar screamed, “Hail Caesar!”

I looked down at what I was wearing, surprised to see I was also clad in a toga of deep gold. Had we been transported to Roman times, or was Demon Gap running a toga special?

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll take care of it,” he said in a condescending tone as if he was soothing a pouting child.

Lust momentarily forgotten, I jerked back as if I’d been scalded by hot lava.

Like hell, he will. I’m not letting some giant decide my fate while I lie around in bed.

I threw my legs over the sides, wishing I still had my wings as I prepared to jump.

Aedan looked up at me with a scowl. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going with you to this meeting,” I said, scanning the area for a ladder or set of stairs, or at the very least, something soft for me to land on.

“Ash, you should rest.” But even as he said the words, he was holding up his hands to me.

“To Hell with rest. I’ll have plenty of time to rest when I’m back in Purgatory.”

I squealed as I slid into his arms. He caught me with little effort, squeezing me to his chest as I clung to him. That’s when I realized he’d journeyed all the way to Hell to save me, and I still hadn’t given him a ‘thank you’ kiss.

Cupping his face in my hands, I gently brushed my lips across his. “I didn’t think you’d come for me,” I said with a smile as I breathed into him. He was all warmth and masculine spice, just as I remembered. Maybe he radiated sweat and sulfur, too, but this was Hell after all, and I was sure I didn’t smell like spring daisies after sleeping on a dungeon floor.

“I would travel all thirteen hells for you, Ash. I love you so much.”

I lost myself in his liquid blue gaze. “You do?”

He pulled my hand to his lips, gently kissing the tips of each finger. “Enough to sacrifice my very soul for you.”

My throat tightened with emotion as I searched his face for the truth. “I don’t want your soul. I just want your heart.”

“You’ve got it,” he said solemnly without batting an eye.

Could it be true? He loved me and not the memory of his dead fiancée? My hands trembled as I brushed my fingers through his thick hair. “All to myself?”

“You and only you.” His gaze never wavered, and he enunciated each word as if he meant them. As if he truly loved me.

“Oh, Aedan,” I cried before he kissed me, not urgently and passionately as I’d been expecting, but his lips melting into mine in the most soulful, exquisite sensation imaginable. My body went soft in his strong embrace as his gentle lips coaxed moans and groans from deep within me. My hands fell to his shoulders, grasping his hard muscles as he trailed feather soft, scorching kisses down my neck. His hands roved my backside before gently cupping my ass and pressing me against his erection.

“I should haul you back up to bed and make love to you,” he growled against my mouth before diving in for another kiss.

I pulled back, nipping his lower lip. “Mmm. Yes, please.” Forget the meeting with the king. Pleading for my immortal soul could wait. I had some other begging I’d rather be doing at the moment.

We pulled apart in a flurry of pants and moans, like two caged animals begging for release. I ground my pelvis against his erection while his gaze traveled up to the bed.

“Where’s a damn ladder when you need one?”

I lifted the hem of his toga, slipping my hand underneath the soft fabric, cradling his balls and stroking up the length of his erection while panting like a rabid dog. He groaned as moisture from his glistening head coated my palm.

“Make love to me on the floor, Aedan,” I begged. “I don’t care, just take me!”

A thunderous bang shook the room, and I tumbled into Aedan with a gasp. He held me against him, cursing under his breath as he looked in the direction of the noise. A huge wooden door had been thrown open, and my black Lab, Jack, came racing toward us at an amazingly rapid pace considering he only had three good legs. A heartbeat later, I was being mowed down with wet, sloppy kisses.

“Easy, boy!” I laughed, falling to my knees as his tongue darted into my eyeball. I tried to get a good look at his injured foot, but he danced around too quickly for me to steady him. It must not have been hurting too much.

“Sorry.” A toga-clad Sarge appeared behind him, flashing a sheepish grin. “He heard you yelling and couldn’t wait.” But I could tell by the devilish gleam in his eyes, he wasn’t sorry at all.

Nothing pops a girl’s libido faster than being coated in dog breath. As I was being muzzled by my dog, I stole a glance at Aedan, thankful his erection was no longer showing beneath the toga. His face was about as ripe as a forbidden fruit, though. I knew Sarge was on the bottom of his shit list at the moment.

The room shook as a hulk of a man stomped up to us. He looked a lot like Garf, only wingless and not so grey. His shoulders were pulled back, not stooped, and he seemed to have this permanent smile etched into his face.

I looked up at him. “Garf?”

“Yah.” He vigorously nodded.

I smiled even as Jack continued to lick me and step all over me with clumsy paws. “You clean up good.”

He tilted his chin. “Thank you, angel.”

I refrained from rolling my eyes at the angel reference as I slowly stood, patting Jack on the head. “Calm down, boy.” Then I turned to Aedan with a scowl. “Why is my dog in Hell?”

He shrugged, not even having the decency to look sorry. “He insisted.”

“He’s a dog, Aedan.” Sure, I remember Jack’s hulking demonic form, and I realized having a two-headed fanged beast accompany you through Hell had its advantages, but what if something had happened to my dog down here? I would have never forgiven myself. I would have never forgiven Aedan, either. “Look at his foot. Did a demon bite off his toes?”

Aedan waved a hand at Jack as if his injury was no big deal. “He stepped in lava.”

My eyes bulged. “Lava! My dog stepped in lava!”

“He’ll be fine.” Aedan chuckled. “Besides, he’s not just a dog,” he said as he leaned down and peered into Jack’s eyes. “He’s your guardian angel.”

Strange, because Jack stared right back at Aedan, and I almost thought I saw a flash of recognition in his big brown eyes.

I gaped at both of them as if they’d been smoking demonic crack. “My what?”

Aedan stood, fixing me with a no-bullshit stare. “He’s the spirit of one of your ancestors resurrected as an animal. It’s why he’s been waiting for you in Purgatory.”

Whoa. For the first time in a long while, I was actually tongue-tied.

I looked down at my dog. His tongue lolled to one side and his tail slapped the ground in a constant rhythm. “How do you know he’s got one of my ancestors in him?”

“He knew when you were taken,” Aedan said. “He’s got a sixth sense, typical of guardians.”

I scrunched my nose, peering down at Jack again. Still looking goofy and slapping that tail. “Well, who is he?”

Aedan shrugged. “I don’t know, and I doubt he knows. He just knows he needs to protect you at all costs. He had to come, Ash.”

I scratched my head while squinting at Sarge, but he just threw up his hands and smiled.

“That’s nuts,” I said.

Aedan laughed. “Crazier than anything else you’ve seen since you died?”

He had me there, because I sure as heck had seen some crazy shit. “I guess not.”

“Good.” Aedan pointed in the direction of the door. “Now we’ve got to convince the king of giants you’re not going to lead them in a war against a horde of demons.”