Page 47 of Touched By Sin
ChapterThirteen
DAEMON
Cigarette smoke fills the room, and the patio door is slightly ajar to let in the smell of fresh rain outside. We’re in the living room downstairs. Dark, gray walls and large leather sofas spread out messily. On the back wall behind me is a bookshelf lined with human skulls. The coffee table in front of me is only there to rest your feet on—no other reason.
The human girl between my spread legs blinks up at me. Unlike the humans tied to the poles, she’s not scared, although she should be. If all goes according to plan, she’ll awaken the monster I know slumbers inside of my little angel.
“What’s your name?” I ask her to put her at ease more than anything. I don’t give a shit what her name is as long as she serves a purpose here tonight. I need Angel to feed after I almost drained her and if she doesn’t feed willingly, I’ll force her hand.
“Natalia.”
Ronan smirks at me through the cloud of smoke and takes another deep pull on the joint pinched between his fingers. This human girl is one of the academy’s pets. She’s here because she hopes to gain immortality, and her foolish heart believes one of the fallen angels will grant it to her one day. We’re not fucking vampires.
“Just drain a human and feed the blood to the little angel in a glass, like mulled wine,” Alaric suggests, taking the joint from Ronan.
I twirl the girl’s dark hair around my finger, shaking my head. “I want to topple her queen. She thinks she’s so fucking pure. Iknowshe’s not. I don’t care what it takes.” I cup the girl’s jaw, bringing her brown eyes to mine. “I will break her if it’s the last thing I do.”
Alaric squints at me through the cloud of smoke, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “You’re both as fucking stubborn as each other.”
I tsk. “She’ll dance to my tune by the end of the night.”
“She’s weak,” Ronan comments, sinking down further on the couch, his legs spread obnoxiously wide.
“No thanks to you, Daemon,” laughs Alaric.
Smirking, I stare down at the girl’s face. “What can I say? I like to break pretty things.” I jostle the girl’s chin. “Or, in this case, I like to watch pretty things destroy weakness.”
It’s the first time I’ve had anything to do with a human pet. The other angels play with them, but I have no interest in humans besides draining them dry. But for what I have planned tonight, this girl will do just fine. Jealousy is a dragon everyone here has had years to learn how to ride. My sweet angel has not. She’s far off becoming a dragon slayer, and I count on it to get my way tonight.
“There’s only one problem with your plan.” Ronan chuckles amusedly.
“Yeah, what’s that?”
He gestures to the girl. “Last time you tried to fuck a human girl, you failed. How do you plan on making Angel jealous when you can’t even touch the human sexually?”
“Who says I have to touch her?”
Ronan and Alaric exchange an amused look. They think I’m full of shit. That this won’t work.
“You saw her incisors elongate. The monster inside her is slowly awakening from its slumber. I intend to poke it with a stick.”
“Poke it with a stick.” Ronan shakes his head, but he’s laughing, too. “What’s taking her so long anyway?”
I trail my fingers over the girl’s mouth. Her lips are soft and plump, but the blue tinge at their corners tells the true story. Like all humans in our world, subjected to regular feedings, she’s anemic and not the ideal food for our angel. But short of snatching a human from the human world, she’s the next best thing. If she’s crying and screaming, this won’t work. No, I need her to be a willing participant. And right now—on her knees between my legs—she has stars in her eyes. She knows who I am and will do anything to please me.
“Let’s see if we can tempt our angel’s monster to come out and play.”
AURELIA.
I wake up alone in my bed with a pounding headache, and when I try to sit up, the room spins. I’m still weak after Daemon almost drained me last night in his bid to dominate me and force me to feed on that poor girl.
As I recall the humans shackled to the wooden poles, I shiver. At first, I couldn’t make sense of why they call this Hell. Now I’m slowly starting to understand. Desire and hunger are rampant here. Lust and longing. Jealousy and bitterness.
It’s raining outside, and the soft patter on the window draws my attention. I slowly climb out of bed and walk over. I’m in a clean dress. This one is a shimmering black and falls halfway down my thighs. I’ve never worn anything this short or revealing before. I’ve also never seen rain.
I stand there, watching the raindrops on the window slide down the glass in a race toward the bottom. Curiosity has me reaching out to open it. Before I can unlatch the hook and slide it open, I hear voices downstairs. The beat of base, and deep muffled laughter.
I pad barefoot down the stairs, careful not to step where it creaks, and pause outside the door to the living room. Ronan chuckles. Alaric is in there too, but I can’t make out what he’s saying.
