Page 11 of Lust

My heart hurts as he turns away and strides toward the door before opening it and stepping through.

When he finally shuts the door behind him, I race to the bathroom and retch over the toilet. I finally found the answer to the question I’ve been asking myself for weeks, but instead of satisfaction, I feel full of dread and a deep well of sadness. With horror, I remember what Noémi told us in orientation. Tomorrow is our first trial and, whatever it is, I have to do it with Dade.

SEDUCTION

FELIX

“Ido wish you would stop moaning about Rowena. It’s becoming wearing.” Anthura blows on her talons that she’s just painted cherry red, the same color as her outfit. She’s literally sat there for an hour complaining about Noémi and now she’s pissy that I’m complaining?

Anger rolls through me, threatening to spill out. “You said you’d figure something out, but the first trial is tomorrow and so far all you’ve done is paint your nails and bitch about Noémi.” I clench my fists. “Get me, the fuck out of this!”

She nonchalantly picks the pot of nail polish up from the side table and begins painting her toenails. “I don’t know what you want me to do. Hades is in charge and I’m just an unwitting pawn in these games now, like all you miscreants.”

Blazing anger is already fizzing through my veins and Anthura doesn’t seem to understand or give a shit how fucking important I am. I stand over her and when I speak, my voice is rough and low. “I don’t care what you do, Anthura. Go suck his cock and make him change his mind.”

She snorts. “Darling, if only it was that easy. You mortal men are easy to manipulate with such things, but Hades isn’t a mere man. He’s a demon. A demon that has other demons lining up to suck his cock. Why don’t you go suck his cock if you think you can make him change his mind?”

I bite back a retort. This is getting us nowhere. The first rule of business is to keep a clear head while your opponent loses theirs and so far, I’m not doing a good job of it. The only person I’ve seen make Anthura lose her cool is Noémi, and I can’t get near her. Every time I try to leave Anthura’s sight, she asks me where I’m going. It never used to bother her, but since Noémi arrived on the scene, she’s been watching me like a hawk.

I stand up and head over to the back door.

Immediately, Anthura stops what she’s doing and snaps her head up. Suspicion coats her features. “Where are you going?”

I point vaguely toward her feet. “Your nail polish is dripping all over your floor.”

As soon as she looks down, I slip outside and slam the door behind me. She’s becoming a liability. I should have ditched her when I could, but until I can seduce Noémi, I can’t rid myself of Anthura. It’s as irritating as it is unavoidable. The second rule of business is to know your opponent, and the third is always have a back up. So until Noémi is mine, I’m stuck with Anthura, whether I like it or not.

I don’t think Anthura will follow me. By the time the paint on her nails dries, I’ll be halfway down the tower. I step on the call button for the platform, and rather than waiting for it to make its way up the hundred flights of stairs, I begin to jog down, jumping the last five or six steps on each balcony until I meet the platform on the sixty-seventh floor. I hop on and press the down button. It’s only when I reach the bottom that I realize I don’t know where Noémi lives. I think back to the argument she had with Anthura on the first morning here. If she lived in the penthouse opposite Anthura’s, she would have left out of the front door and walked round the balcony to get to it, but she didn’t.

I step out into the atrium and find her chatting to the two weirdoes with matching shirts on the sofas.

I squint to read them and when I can, I wish I’d decided to poke my eyes out instead. Hers says I like blowing bubbles. His says, I’m Bubbles. If they worked for me on Earth, I’d have the pair of them fired. Screw that, they need to be locked up in a secure cell. It’s times like this I remember I truly am in Hell. Then I look at Noémi and I forget the weirdoes even exist.

It’s like watching a ray of light. Her face is animated as she talks and she actually seems interested in whatever bullshit they have to say.

I watch her for a full minute before striding over to her. When she sees me, her face lights up.

“Ah Felix. Come join us. I was just telling Maggie and Colin ‘ow much I’m looking forward to ze start of ze games. I can ‘ardly wait until tomorrow. I zinc you weel love eet.”

She’s a fucking goddess. Everything about her oozes sexuality from the way her lips move as she speaks to the way she’s sitting on the sofa with her legs up to the side underneath her. She’s so fucking glorious and even my intense anger towards Anthura is abating in her presence.

I stand tall as I gaze down at her. “I was hoping to have a word with you.”

She claps her hands together. “’ow exciting. Please come.” She pats the sofa beside her and moves her legs, allowing me to squeeze in next to her. When I’m sitting, she stretches her legs over mine, leaving me nowhere to put my hands but on her bare skin. She’s practically begging for it. Tonight it will be me stretching her legs - wide on my bed. Her skin is soft, and she doesn’t complain as I inconspicuously run my fingers lightly over her legs upward towards her thigh.

“What ees eet you’d like to talk to me about, Felix?”

I’m irritated that the two weirdoes haven’t taken the hint and left, but the pair of them are on the edge of their seat, both of them leaning toward Noémi and I.

I direct my attention to them. “Will you both back up a bit?” I snap. “This isn’t an orgy.” I mean to sound forceful and irritated, but they both burst into laughter.

“We’re in the right place, for one!” The woman whose name I’ve already forgotten giggles. “Don’t mind us.”

Fuck. I’ve never been irritated and horny at the same time, but it seems there’s a first for everything. I won’t let these two spoil this for me. Normally, I wouldn’t have to put in much effort at seducing a woman. When I was alive, they fell at my feet thanks to my charm, power and wealth, but I can already tell that Noémi won’t fall for any bullshit.

The feel of her skin under my fingertips has me distracted, but I’ve never been turned down by a woman yet and I don’t plan on starting now. I fix my eyes on her, pushing the boundaries by letting my fingers glide under the hem of her dress. We’re in Lust, I remind myself. There are no boundaries here, no propriety. I can do what the fuck I want. As I coil my fingers round to her inner thigh, I delight in the hunger in her eyes and the way they flutter closed briefly. Her breathing deepens and I’m already hard, imagining what else I can do to her and what noises she makes when she comes

I lean in, getting a good look at her gorgeous tits in her low cut top as I do. “Noémi, let’s leave these losers behind and go up to my room.”

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