Page 51 of All's Hell That Ends Well

“No, it’s just…I don’t know who sent this, or whether it might be poisoned.”

He squinted at the plate he was holding, then he choked, and my heart dropped to my feet. Oh no! Was it kicking in already? I should have said something earlier. Why didn’t I say something? I’d totally forgotten. Oh no, oh no, oh no…

Mammon grabbed his throat and wheezed, stumbling to the side. The plate fell from his hand and shattered on the floor. Coughing and convulsing, he collapsed into a heap, and his eyes rolled back in his head.

I uttered a high-pitched squeak and rushed to his side. “Mammon!”

Spit bubbled up from his mouth, and his body shook with violent tremors. Then—he went still.

Too still. He was barely breathing.

“No!” My hands flew over his chest, his face, but I didn’t know what the fuck to do. Eyes clouding with tears, I turned toAzazel and Azmodea, who were just standing there. “Help! What do I do?”

Azmodea regarded her nails. “Tell him to cut the shit.”

Azazel shrugged. “You could slap him several times. It’s the least he deserves.”

“What?” I gaped at them.

Azmodea rolled her eyes. “He’s pretending. There is no poison that can affect our kind. He’s absolutely fine, just pranking you.”

I whipped my gaze back to Mammon, whose convincingly-suffering-an-agonizing-death expression was now slowly being undermined by a smirk that stole onto his face.

“You,” I growled and shoved him hard, “are the worst!”

His body was shaking again, only this time it was from laughter as he heaved himself up to sitting. “And you are the best. So easy to tease. Oh, I really missed you.” He wiped at his eyes, still laughing.

It took both Azazel and Azmodea to hold me back from beating the shit out of him.

CHAPTER 15

Azazel

Remarkably, Zoe refrained from wringing Mammon’s neck—again—and the rest of the visit went smoothly. I probably should have let her give him a good beating, though. Seeing her take charge and use her new power was incredibly sexy.

Azmodea and Mammon stayed for a bit, chatting and reminiscing with Zoe, with her telling them stories of her time in Heaven, and them regaling her with tales of what she’d missed while she’d been gone. They also fondly ribbed me, as they were wont to do, and I took their teasing in stride.

There were many ways to show affection, and this was theirs.

Eventually, Mammon and Azmodea left, but I stayed behind.

As I shut the door behind them, I sent Zoe an apologetic look. “They were visiting me when the cat delivered your message. They insisted on coming along right away.”

She smiled, her innate power lighting her eyes. “No worries. It was good seeing them again.”

“Well,” I said, sauntering over to her, “I had planned on having some exclusive alone time with you before they’d intrude.” Having reached her, I softly laid my hand around her throat, and I felt her response through our bond, a pleasant shiver, the stirrings of arousal. “In fact, it was difficult to sit through their visit just now and not be able to act on any of the things I want to do to you.”

She uttered a soft sound, her hands coming up to stroke my chest, her touch so soft and powerful in its impact on me at the same time. If she had any idea what her hands on me could make me do…

“Tell me some of those things,” she murmured, and for a second, I thought she referred to the thought I’d just had.

But she was asking about my intentions for her. Well, I’d comply all too readily.

My hand slid up to her face, cradling her jaw, my thumb caressing her lush lower lip. “Last time we came together, it was hard and fast. An explosion of need. This time”—I leaned in and lightly kissed her, keeping the touch soft and fleeting, knowing it’d fan the flames of her arousal by making her want more—“I don’t want to rush. I want to lick you so thoroughly you’ll be writhing under my hands and mouth. I’ll take my time. Drive you higher and higher. Bring you close to the edge and keep you there, make you desperate. I want you to beg me for release before I give it to you.”

She trembled in my grasp, her fingers digging into my pecs.

“I’ve had three long weeks to think about how I’ll worship every inch of your body,” I continued, pitching my voice to a sensual purr. “And I have yet to make up for those eight years we spent apart. I had”—sliding my hand around to the back of her neck, I tangled my fingers in her hair and gripped just hard enough to make her feel it, knowing it would stir her lust—“so many fantasies about you while you were gone. I need to feelyou shiver under my touch, need to see you lose yourself in the pleasure I give you.”

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