Hell Bound (Seventh Level Book 2) (3 page)

Pushing forward, he slid slowly inside of her and she bit down on her bottom lip. He filled her to the point of almost being painful, but still she wanted even more. Clawing at his shirt, she tugged it over his head until she could run her hands over his skin without anything to stop her.

Even when he was fully seated inside her, he didn’t move. She wanted to bury her fingernails in his skin and beg him to take her hard, but the look on his face kept her in thrall. “Can I keep you?” he whispered hoarsely and her throat swelled against his question as she fought against the urge to cry. He was going to decimate her when he left and she didn’t believe for one second she could hold onto him.

Chapter Two

Nashville, Tennessee

Wade caught the toe of his boot on a crack in the sidewalk and almost fell on his face. “Damn it!”

The band’s drummer snickered but sobered immediately when Wade leveled a cold stare at him. They had been band mates long enough that Tex knew he was a cranky bastard when he had consumed too much alcohol, and since the night’s pay had been doled out in free drinks, the entire band had drunk way too much.

There was a good possibility Doug, the band’s lead guitarist, was high as well as drunk, because he had disappeared into the bathroom for about twenty minutes before Vic, their fiddle player, finally had to go into the men’s room to drag him out in order to finish their last set. They probably should have left him in there, because the last forty-five minutes, Doug stayed at least three chords behind the rest of the band.

All four of them had been in a downhill spiral for over three months. They had been certain when they made the trip to Nashville they would have a recording contract five minutes after arriving. Here it was months later, and they were still working for whiskey and beer. Wade didn’t know what was in the rest of the guy’s wallets, but he was down to thirteen dollars and forty-seven cents. His last meal had been a sausage and biscuit off the dollar menu at a well-known fast food restaurant. All he needed to make the day complete was another night of sleeping in Tex’s SUV with the other three guys.

“Hey, handsome.”

Wade was so wrapped up in his own misery, he missed the sultry blonde’s come-on. But she didn’t go unnoticed by Tex. When the lanky drummer stopped abruptly, Wade plowed headlong into his back. “Damn it, Tex. What the fuck?”

The blonde leaned a shoulder against the backdoor of Big Rosie’s Bar & Grill and waited until she had Wade’s full attention before speaking again, “I thought I was going to have wait all night here for you.” She dipped a finger into the low-cut neckline of her blouse and left it there as if making certain all four men noticed she wasn’t wearing a bra.

Wade switched his guitar to his other hand and gave the woman a long lingering onceover. She could have been a hooker the way she was clad, but then it was hard to tell the difference between how women dressed to go clubbing from streetwalkers these days. She didn’t seem to mind his assessment and made a point of leaning forward so he had an unrestricted view of her ample cleavage. Her mini-skirt left nothing to the imagination either. One wrong move and he, along with the other band members, would have known whether she shaved her womanly goods or not.

Even with warning bells clamoring for him to stay as far away from the tempting siren as possible, Wade was too drunk to care. His life sucked. Nothing had gone the way he had planned. The woman he loved was in Texas. His music career was a total bust. He and the rest of his band were on the verge of starving to death. What did any of it matter anymore? He would just about kill for a good meal and a long soak in a hot tub of water.

As sexy as the blonde was, she did nothing for Wade, but if she was offering a clean bed and a hot shower he might be willing to pretend interest for a couple of hours. He tried standing straight and accentuated his natural southern drawl. “A man should never keep a woman like you waiting.” He crossed the alley to be closer to her. “And what is your name, Sugar?”

She ran a finger down his chest and hooked it into one of his belt loops. When she tugged on it, he had no choice but to step closer. “Pamela.” She leaned over and whispered. “But by the morning you will be calling me yours.”

Her words sobered Wade slightly. They might have been what other men wanted to hear, but her cold eyes said something else entirely. He was still interested in a place to sleep so he played along. “Why’s that, sugar?”

She made a show of sliding her fingers in his pocket toward his dick. “Because when I’m finished fucking you, you’ll have trouble remembering my real name.”

Even as drunk as his was, Wade was still sober enough to recognize a sure deal when it was being offered. He leaned his guitar against the alley wall and pulled her hand out of his pocket so he could think without the distraction of her teasing fingers. Even though he was more than a little tipsy something about the whole come-on seemed suspicious, and he didn’t care for pushy women.

He might have spent more time considering what felt so off if Pamela hadn’t used her free hand to slip into the waistband of his jeans. It surprised him so much he backed away and reached for his guitar. Thoughts of Morgan filled him with guilt. Even though he had left her in Texas, she had never left his thoughts or heart. He guessed even though he had officially hit rock bottom he was still a one woman man.

He didn’t get far before Pamela was all over him again. He had his guitar up against his chest by now so she wrapped her arms his neck and ground herself against the guitar. She whispered into his ear, “I have the bed and hot tub of water you’re longing so much for. I can order some room service and make certain all of your wishes are fulfilled.”

Wade used his free hand to try to untangle Pamela from around his neck but she was like a boa constrictor and only got closer the harder he tried to get rid of her. He finally stopped struggling. “What do you want from me, lady? I’m down to my last few dollars and my heart belongs to someone else. Maybe one of the other boys can fuck you, but I’m not that guy anymore.”

It wasn’t until Tex cleared his throat that Wade even remembered, he and Pamela had an audience.

Her eyes went from sexy to calculating. “I know someone who can help get your career off the ground if you’re interested, but you can’t meet him in the shape you’re in.” She ran her fingers through his hair and then looked at her fingers. “A nice long hot bath and a change of clothes are in order before you meet the big man.” She licked the side of his face. “I would be happy to join you in the tub. The only regret you would have in the morning would be that my mouth wasn’t still wrapped around your dick.”

Her smile should have added to the temptation but it only served to make Wade take another step backward. He could only imagine how many dicks her mouth had already been around and it made him sick to his stomach. Aggressive women were a major turnoff as far as he was concerned. A night in the SUV with the other guys sounded better all the time. He was getting ready to tell her to get lost when the other three guys walked over, surrounding him and Pamela.

Vic nudged him. “She said she could get us a meeting with a record producer. Stop being a pussy and see if she really can or not.” He waved at the other guys. “Look at us, man. We got nothing to lose here. I’m going to blow my brains out if I have to do this much longer. I haven’t had a good meal in days. This ain’t living, man. We’re slowly dying. If you don’t go fuck this pretty lady, I will. If it will get me out of this living hell, I’ll fuck everyone in this alley.”

Wade looked around at his band and saw nothing but desperation on all of their faces. So this was what selling your soul looked like? It was a blonde in a fuck-me-now mini-skirt. Seeing no other way out of the mess they were all in, he let Pamela lead him out of the alleyway and toward her hotel.

Once inside the room, Pamela leaned on the closed door and grinned. “Step into the shower with me and I’ll show you what I can do with my tongue.”

When Wade didn’t move, Pamela knelt and unsnapped his jeans. He knew he was crazy to pass up the invitation but when she slipped her hand into his jeans, he pulled it back out. “I’m sorry but I can’t do this. I’ve lost sight of a lot of things while trying to make my dream come true, but there is still one thing I’m not willing to lose. I’ll take you up on the bath and food though.”

Pamela stood and went over to sit on the bed. Even though she should have given up by now she hiked her skirt up. Wade now knew for certain she did indeed shave her girly bits.

She noticed him looking and grinned. “Your choice, cowboy. I can’t take you to heaven but when we’re finished you’ll no longer care.”

Feeling like a fool, Wade tried to focus on anything besides Pamela’s cunt. It wasn’t as if he was interested, but he had never had a woman so willing to accommodate him with sex before. Sure, he had his share of women throw themselves at him, but to put all of the goods out in the open like she had set the dinner table and was waiting for him to eat it, was a little distracting.

“I told you I’m not interested.”

She huffed and stood. “Fine. The bathroom is over there. Go help yourself to it. I’ll order you some food from room service.”

Wade didn’t wait to be told a second time. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been able to do more than wash off in a gas station sink so he nodded and headed to it before Pamela changed her mind. It was true the small things in life were taken for granted until you no longer had them. The hot soapy water was better than sex. Wade stayed in the tub until the water cooled. He might have stayed longer but he could smell food and he was starving.

Slipping his dirty clothes on, he headed back into the bedroom. Pamela was sitting completely naked on the bed. Giving her no more than a passing glance, Wade walked over to the cart with the trays of food. He had to give Pamela credit for thinking of everything. There were sandwiches, fruits, a slice of pecan and coconut pie, and a plate filled with roast beef covered in gray, mashed potatoes and three dinner rolls. Sitting next to the food was a choice of milk, beer and soda.

“Are you going to join me?” He took his eyes off the food to look over at Pamela. He immediately wished he hadn’t because she was too busy pleasuring herself to hear his question.

He pushed the food cart over to the bed and sat. “I’m going to take your silence as a no.” It wasn’t easy to enjoy the food with Pamela right behind him moaning as if she was being serviced by five men, but he ate the food anyway. He had no idea when he would have the chance to eat again, so he ate as much as he could. After a few minutes, he had to finally admit all the noise made it impossible to enjoy any of it. He threw the fork down onto the tray and turned to see how on earth the woman could be having so much damn fun with only ten fingers at her disposal.

When Wade turned, Pamela pulled her fingers out and crawled across the bed toward him. “Feel more like talking now?”

Wade tried to nod but for some reason he was suddenly feeling dizzy. He opened his mouth to answer but nothing came out. When he fell backwards onto the bed, Pamela giggled. She kissed him and he tried pushing her off but his arms refused to move. The last thing he remembered was her unzipping his jeans.

* * * * *

“Why don’t we just kill him? I hate the dirty little bastard.”

Even at four years old, Wade knew better than to open his eyes. It was just another long night to survive. Besides, he already knew the horrors awaiting him on the other side of the rocking bed. Ever since the death of his mother, Wade had no one who was capable of protecting him from his father or the black, seven-horned man. Even if he had been brave enough to tell another adult of the terror he faced each and every night, they would have never believed him.

The sly, raspy voice sent a wave of chills down Wade’s spine when the seven-horned man finally did answer Wade’s father. “You’re much too impatient. I have plans for your son. Death is too easy. It would only release his young soul into the light. What good is he to us then?” You lose your bed partner and I lose my soul.”

When his father groaned Wade finally dared to open one eye, but quickly shut it again when he saw why his father was groaning.

After several long moments and the bed shaking so hard Wade thought it would surely break apart, his father asked, “What do you plan on doing with him then?”

Wade held his breath and waited. His heart was pounding so hard he thought he would surely die. Not that death scared him. Surely it was better than this. There was nothing in his life he considered good any longer. All he really had were the hours before the pain and the hours after, knowing there was nothing to stop his father’s vile torment.

“Your son has something I want, but I have all the time in the world to wait for it.”

When bed stopped rocking, Wade waited and prayed to die, but of course death refused to release him from what was waiting for him in the darkness.

* * * * *

Wade jerked awake leaving the nightmare behind and a roar of longing for Morgan shot through him. His head pounded and the light blasting through the open curtains caused his stomach to heave. He blinked several times before finally crawling out of bed and pulling the drapes together so the room was no longer bathed in the bright light. The darkness didn’t help the pain in his head very much, but at least he could see without black spots clouding his vision. With the excess light taken care of, he stumbled back to the bed and sat on its edge trying to remember where he was. More importantly, he wondered why he was naked.