Undaunted (2 page)

Locan stood behind Jett, clasping his lean hips, his pale fingers stark and strong against Jett’s dark skin as he thrust in and then pulled slowly out, his hips swaying languidly in a deceptively powerful rhythm. Addie opened her thoughts, delving first into Jett’s mind for the sensation of penetration as Locan entered him, and now riding with Locan as he rode Jett.

She loved the impressions they shared, the tight, hot clasp of Jett’s powerful inner muscles gripping Locan’s cock, the way the moist tissues hugged him close and rippled over his full length as he drove deep inside his lover. Opening her mind even more, she picked up Jett again, felt Locan’s powerful thrusts, the slow, relentless penetration deep inside, stretching him to the point of pain, holding at the apex of each thrust and then slowly, carefully withdrawing.

Jett was hard again, Locan was close to coming, and she wanted to be part of the action. Addie rolled over, fully aware of Jett’s tight hold on her ankle as she twisted to bring herself close. Leaning over, she kissed Jett full on the mouth, fully aware he would taste the lingering essence of himself on her lips. His tongue swept over hers and he groaned. She slipped her hand beneath his smooth, hard belly and wrapped her fingers around the heavy weight of his cock. It was such a cliché, but she couldn’t help but think of iron covered in soft velvet as she squeezed him hard, stroking in time with the
slap, slap, slap
of Locan’s groin hitting Jett’s butt.

The scents of hot sex and hotter male teased her nostrils. She loved everything about her guys—the feel of their strong hands on her body, their intoxicating scent, the way they filled her and loved her. The way they loved each other. She watched Locan’s steady thrust and withdrawal, caught up in a rhythm as intoxicating as good spirits. Then his body jerked and he pressed forward, hard. Once, twice, and then a third time before he tilted his head back, tendons in his neck straining as he cried out a long, low guttural roar and climaxed deep inside Jett.

Jett went over at exactly the same time. Addie felt his thick cock pulse within her fist and she cupped the smooth, dark crown as thick jets of ejaculate spilled into her palm. Jett pressed his hands against the mattress and pushed back against Locan, forcing him deeper, holding the position, and then collapsing with a deep groan.

Addie rolled to her back, still grasping Jett’s warm cock, almost preternaturally aware of the soft pulsations between her legs, the languorous aftermath of orgasm. She hadn’t even had to touch herself—watching them make love, sharing Jett’s and Locan’s orgasms through their mental link had been more than enough to take her over the top.

Damn, that was a first.

Blinking slowly, she started at a bright flash of red in her peripheral vision. Frowning, she tilted her head back and glanced upside down at the headboard.

And bit her lips to keep from laughing.
Ukopach, you damn little beast.
He looked like a demon, but a mere miniature of one of the fearsome creatures, brilliantly colored as if he had been rendered as a CGI character in a video game—which, of course, perfectly defined what he was.

Barely a foot tall, covered in red scales with horns on his head and a long, spiked tail that curled around his clawed toes, he stared at Addie out of cat’s eyes—silvery eyes with a vertical slash of black pupil. Smiling broadly, showing off a mouthful of tiny fangs, he stretched out his bat wings and adjusted his seat on the top of the bedpost. Then he waved a tiny clawed hand at Addie.

Chuckling softly, Addie winked at Ukopach as she slid her hand out from under Jett’s warm belly. “I hope you guys don’t mind that you had an audience.”

“Humph?” Jett rubbed his face against the blankets and turned one bleary eye on Addie. “Audience?”

Locan nodded against his back, but he didn’t raise his head. “Ukopach,” he said. “Little fart showed up a couple of minutes ago.”

Jett turned his head and stared at Addie. “Where? Should we kill the little bastard?”

She laughed harder. “Nah,” she said. “We might need him.” The little video demon had been surprisingly helpful on the first case where they’d met him. Video game demons had been commandeered to take over humans and essentially turn them into fast food for a hungry creature from the real demon realm. Since then, Ukopach had helped with a few minor cases, providing information only another demon might know.

All along, he’d been fascinated by sex. Of course, since he was merely a minor demon, created as a character for a children’s video game, sex wasn’t part of his CGI demon DNA. No, he was as asexual as could be, except he was definitely fascinated by the particulars. Addie sometimes wondered if all his exposure to the three demon hunters might affect his sexuality, or lack thereof, but so far they’d only had to deal with questions and the occasional surprise audience.

At least this time he hadn’t brought any of his buddies along. Addie flashed him an encouraging grin. “Hey, Ukopach. What’re you doing here?”

His shoulders rose and then drooped as he sighed and sadly shook his head. “Something’s going on in the place where the gamekeepers live. It’s scary.”

The gamekeepers, the video game demons’ name for the computer geeks who’d developed
The Trials of Moloch
and thus created Ukopach and his buddies, were essentially gods to the tiny demons from the video game world. They were also human, denizens of Earth’s dimension. The one Addie and the boys were supposed to protect.

Addie glanced at Locan, who raised up from Jett’s back long enough to shrug and shake his head. Jett rose up on his arms and glanced at Ukopach. “If there were a problem with demonkind in Earth’s realm, we’d get the call.” He glanced at Addie. “You hear anything?”

Addie looked at the corner where Azrael slept soundly. The hellhound was sensitive to their orders, but he wasn’t even awake. Of course, he hadn’t noticed the demon in the bedroom, either, so whatever was bothering Ukopach couldn’t be all that serious. She crawled off the bed and glanced at her sword on the bedside table, then at the sticky semen stains on her inner thighs.

“Ukopach? Can your problem wait just a few minutes? I need a shower.” She glanced at the guys. “So do you. Both of you.” Shaking her head, she laughed as she headed toward the tiny shower in the private bath off her room. No time this morning for the big bathing pool they all preferred. Not with demons on the loose.

“C’mon, boys. If you’re careful, we’ll all fit. I want to know what the hell is going on, but not until I’m sure we won’t stick to each other.”

Chapter 2

As the three of them left the bedroom, Azrael raised his head and studied Ukopach. The little demon shuddered—he hadn’t quite gotten over his fear of Az, something the hellhound figured he might as well use to his advantage.
So,
he said, speaking directly into the demon’s mind,
what’s going on in your realm? Who’s after the gamekeepers?

“Big, scary guy.” Ukopach jumped off the headboard, spread his batwings and glided to a spot near Az. Ukopach never got this close—he must really be upset. “He showed up, looking for someone, but he won’t say who. He’s got all the gamekeepers locked in their studio and he said he’s going to start eating them, one by one, if they don’t help him.”

So how’d you guys get involved? He’s not threatening you, is he?

Ukopach shook his head. “No, but if the gamekeepers die, what will happen to us? This guy is really scary-looking. He’s big and he’s got lots of sharp teeth and spikes all over his body and horns on his head.” He paused, took a quick breath and added, “And he’s got blue skin and silver eyes and he carries a whip. A whip with razors all over it.” He shuddered again. “I don’t like the way he looks at us and then at the whip.”

Az sat up. It was hard to breathe, hard to focus on the little demon.
Naburus.
Ukopach had just described a marquis of hell—a particular marquis. In fact, the whip was a dead giveaway, and Az had felt its bite on more than one occasion.

It was time. He couldn’t go back, but he couldn’t ask the guys and Addie to fight his battles for him. He knew he could ask for their help, except this was one he had to fight on his own. He’d sworn never to return to hell, never to drag another unwilling soul into the pit. But if Naburus was in the human realm, it had to be for one reason, and one reason only—he’d come to retrieve his hellhound. He was here to take Azrael back to hell.

* * *

They’d spent more time in the shower than planned, but Addie should have known what would happen. Get the three of them naked together and it didn’t matter how recently they’d been screwing like bunnies, they were always ready to do it again. The dynamic she had with her guys was perfect. It couldn’t be any better, and moments like this reminded her just how lucky they were that they’d found one another.

She didn’t even try to keep the grin off her face as she slipped into her gray pants, stretching the supple demon hide up over her thighs and butt. The leather clung to her, stretchy enough to give her total movement but thick enough to provide protection from sharp claws. Her shirt and vest came next, and she was buckling her short sword on her hip when she realized her nose was twitching.

What was that wonderful smell? She glanced at Jett in his tight black leather and Locan in identical pants of almost slivery white. Both men were frowning, sniffing the air as if trying to identify the mouthwatering scent coming from the kitchen area.

“Smells like ham. Really good ham,” she said.

Jett nodded. “I smell onions, too . . .”

“And garlic,” Locan added. “C’mon.”

Just to be on the safe side, Addie slipped her long sword into the sheath across her shoulders and drew her short sword. She clasped it in her right hand, automatically testing the balance. The grip was perfect, and she was always surprised by how much damage she could wreak with the smaller weapon.

Jett glanced at her and drew his sword. Locan nodded. He’d chosen a dagger, each of them automatically taking different weapons to deal with specific threats—a good idea to diversify when they had no idea what was out there. The three of them quietly left the bedroom and tiptoed down the tunnel.

* * *

The sharp bite of a sword point pressed against his lower spine took Az’s attention off the toast he was carefully buttering. His hands went up—his left still clutching the piece of toast—and he stood very still.

“I don’t believe it.”

He swallowed in relief as Addie lowered her sword. Slowly, he turned the burner beneath the frying ham to a lower setting, set the toast on a plate and then just as slowly turned around with his hands at his sides. He kept his mouth shut.

“Azrael? It is you, isn’t it?”

“He’s the dog?” Locan snorted.

“I don’t fucking believe it.” Jett walked across the room and stared directly at Az. Az wondered if maybe he should bark or wiggle his butt, except Jett was grinning and shaking his head. “On the other hand, I do. You’re right, Addie. It’s got to be Az.”

“And he can cook.” Locan slipped around to Az’s other side and stared through the steam rising from a fluffy pile of scrambled eggs with mushrooms, garlic, and green onions that filled a big bowl. “Damn, that smells good. Need any help getting this to the table?”

“Uh, yeah.” Az glanced over his shoulder. Addie stood there, arms crossed defensively across her chest, staring at him. He wasn’t quite sure how to read her—which, from the look on her face, was probably what Addie was thinking about him right now. “Addie? It really is me.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” She sucked in a deep breath and he almost took a step back. “Why have you been playing the dumb beast for the past two weeks? Was it some kind of game?”

He shook his head as he turned to gather up plates and silverware. “I wasn’t even sure I could regain my human form. I’ve been a hellhound for a long time. This morning is the first time I’ve tried it in over two thousand years.”

She didn’t even flinch when he threw out the time frame. “Why today? What changed?”

She was definitely pissed, but he wasn’t quite certain why. “Why don’t we eat before it gets cold.” He glanced at the refrigerator, where the tiny demon had taken up residence. “Ukopach? You gonna join us?”

Ukopach jumped and landed on the floor beside the table. Addie grabbed a tall stool and tugged it close, and the demon clambered up the spindly legs to the flat seat. Azrael finished setting the table and then brought coffee over for everyone. The guys had already filled their plates, but they waited until he sat at the table.

Addie still looked at him with a confused and reproachful expression on her face. Az passed the bowl of scrambled eggs to her. She took a serving, added ham and toast and then stared at the food. Locan glanced at Jett, who shrugged and then looked at Azrael.

The three guys began eating at the same time. Ukopach sat and watched them, but he didn’t show any interest in the food. He’d told them once before that video game demons only needed the energy of the game for sustenance, which was why he rarely strayed far from cyberspace.

All of that was so new to Az—as were refrigerators and modern appliances and the quantity of wonderful food Addie and the boys had. While still a hellhound he’d asked how they managed to have such modern amenities in a cave located in a dimension separate from Earth, with its shopping malls and grocery stores. Addie had merely shrugged and said that if they wanted something, it appeared. Everything except fast food—things like tacos and hamburgers and pizza they had to go out and actually buy, but the money was always available and they’d learned not to question things.

Az wondered if that was why no one was asking him what was going on. No, they were quietly eating, but at least they seemed to be enjoying the food. Even Addie was taking a few bites.

Jett scraped up the last of his eggs with a piece of toast and then sat back with a satisfied smile on his face. “Azrael, my boy, that was delicious. But how the hell, pardon the expression, did a hellhound learn to cook?”