Page 100 of The Fallen
Laughing, Desmond increased his force, little by little, until he wrenched at the man’s sinews. Lucien released a guttural plea and writhed like a helpless fly caught in a spider’s web.
“You’re going to break them,” he gasped out.
“My, I fear I’m not feeling that generous. You should consider yourself most fortunate if I do not rip them from your person.”
A deep throaty laugh escaped the demon. He yanked his sinews harder, breaking the skin, and a sickening squelch filled the air. Lucretia screamed.
“Stop,” Belladonna said. “Leave them to me.”
“Of course, mistress. I wouldn’t want to deprive you of your moment.” Desmond bound them in the center of the pentacle, ignoring their pleas and writhing. “You may do the honors now.”
Belladonna’s anger scorched her from the inside and erupted outward, manifesting in a flame hovering above her fingertip. She bent down and touched her finger to the pentacle drawing. The flames followed the lines once again, imprisoning Lucien and Lucretia.
“Burn,” she said coldly, then turned her back and exited the chamber. Desmond smiled and followed on her heels.
"I hoperevenge was sweet as you expected." Desmond’s voice, a whisper in the night, echoed through the night.
They watched the manor burn from a distance. She had done it at last. She had gotten her revenge. It tasted bittersweet on her tongue.
Belladonna stood amidst the carnage, a macabre tableau of burning walls and extinguished life. The cult members, those vile creatures who had tormented her for so long, were no more. Their reign of terror had been brought to an end.
"It’s over.” Tears ran down her cheek, but a strange sense of peace washed over her. The weight of years of torment had been lifted.
The demon stood beside her, his eyes gleaming with an otherworldly intensity. "Was it worth it?"
Belladonna turned to face the creature, the full extent of her actions sinking in. Had she truly damned herself to eternal servitude for this fleeting moment of vengeance? She considered the wreckage before her, the remnants of a cult that had brought so much misery into her life. Yes, she decided. It was damn worth it.
The air between Desmond and her thickened with something immaterial. The moment of reckoning approached, and her heart pounded like a caged bird.
"I am ready," she declared, closing my eyes.
The beast leaned in and cupped her face, its breath hot against her cheek. This was not the manner in which she had envisioned her demise. Desmond ran his finger across her lips and parted them. Perhaps this was how the demon would collect his repayment. Through a soul-sucking kiss.
“Take it,” she whispered.
CHAPTER 5
DESMOND
My nails grew, talon-like, the color of the darkest storm clouds. My presence consumed every shadow from the night as I reverted to true form. But the transformation felt different now. A cross between my human guise and my ancient primordial form. Two halves of a whole.
"Open your eyes and look at me." My garbled growl retained a trace of humanness. "I want to watch you when I take it."
My mistress obeyed, her mouth parting. It shook slightly.
I could no longer wait. I sank into her, and she gasped a breath. I pressed my lips to hers and bestowed a kiss that would leave an infernal watermark on her soul. She sank into the kiss, and I sucked harder. The husk of mine began to fill. Belladonna's eyes rolled back. Her fingers grasped by hair. Her essence, once hidden deep within her, had now exploded over my lips. Overflowing, flooding into me. Ah,so close.
Her eyes fluttered, and pleasure blurred into pain. She gripped the back of my head, clutching for something to anchor her from the discomfort. Tears rimmed her eyes and a clawfinger slowly wiped them away. I might've said gentle, but gentle to a demon was still painful to a human.
It mattered not. In moments I would have it, all of her. Her essence saturated itself in my mouth as her eyes drifted low. Her hold on me slackened. The secrets of her soul spilled into my mouth. All the years of our contract culminated in this moment. Close, damnably close. She would be eternally mine now?—
I wrenched myself away and drew in a sharp mouthful of nothingness.
"What—" Belladonna panted. "Why didn’t you...?"
Why indeed? My tongue stroked my fang.
“I merely thought we might renegotiate our agreement…and form a new one."
