Azagoth: A Demonica Novella (1001 Dark Nights) (15 page)

“I’m going swimming. Join me if you want to.” She stripped as she walked, shedding clothes in a trail on the sand, and he was panting before her feet hit the water.

Suddenly, he didn’t give a shit what he looked like. He needed that female, and he needed her now.

* * * *

Lilliana had only gone shin-deep in the water when she heard a whoosh and a splash behind her. Turning, she faced Azagoth, still in his beast form.

Damn, he was scary. At least two feet taller and a hundred pounds heavier than his usual form, he was the epitome of what humans would call a demon. From his massive, elongated jaws and serrated talons, to the black horns that jutted from his forehead and curled up over his skull, he was the stuff of nightmares.

No doubt he’d become those fallen angels’ worst nightmare. And to make it all worse, they couldn’t escape him in the afterlife, either. She almost felt sorry for them.

Almost. One of them could have been the bastard who’d killed her mother. So if Azagoth wanted to spend weeks in the Inner Sanctum with them, she was okay with that.

It occurred to her that she was thinking into the future, but this time, she couldn’t get worked up about it. Not now. Not with this magnificent creature in front of her.

Azagoth’s deep chest was heaving as he stared at her with intense, red eyes, and she probably should have been terrified, but after the initial shock of seeing him like this wore off, she’d been fascinated. He was beautiful in the way a cobra was, sleek and graceful, primitive and deadly.

He was also very, very turned on.

She tried not to stare. She really did. But Azagoth The Sleek and Deadly was sporting a baseball bat between his legs. Morbid curiosity made her want to touch it, to see if she could close both hands around the thickness.

“I can feel the change starting to happen,” he rumbled. “So if there’s anything you want to...explore...now’s the time.”

Oh, what the hell. This wasn’t a stranger. It was Azagoth, even if he didn’t look like he usually did, and if she was even
considering
staying with him, she had to accept all of him.

Stepping closer, she took his length into her hands. He hissed in pleasure as she gently stroked the ebony head and feathered her fingers down the rigid shaft. Sweet mother of sin, he was huge, so thick around that the tips of her thumbs and fingers barely met as she grasped him in both hands. When she reached the base of the smooth column, she dipped one hand lower, to his scrotum, and yup, there were the baseballs to match the bat.

“You’re, um, well endowed,” she whispered, her tongue so dry she could barely speak. Probably because all of her moisture had gone south, and even as her mouth dried up, her sex became soaked.

Was she really turned on by this? Her aching breasts and throbbing pelvis said yes.

Azagoth’s big body trembled, and as she watched, his form crumpled in on itself until he was back in his usual form, panting, his eyes wild.

He stumbled back, averting her gaze, and alarm rang through her.

“Azagoth?” She moved toward him, but he turned away, leaving her to stare at his bare back. “What’s wrong?”

“No one...no one has ever touched me like that.”

“I can’t believe no one has touched your penis.”

He inhaled raggedly. “No, I mean, no one has touched
me
like that. Not in my demon form. Weren’t you afraid I’d hurt you?”

“Why would I be? You were
you
in there. You weren’t some mindless beast.” She laid her hand on his shoulder. “Am I wrong? When you’re in that form, can’t you control yourself?”

His muscles flexed under her palm. “I’m in complete control unless I’m killing. But even then, my focus is limited to the one I’m fighting.”

“See? That’s why I wasn’t afraid to touch you.”

“But this is what thousands of years of corruption has done to me. I’m hideous.”

“Not to me,” she said softly.

He moved in a blur. One second he was staring at the sand, and the next, he was pressed against her, his arms wrapped around her back and shoulders, his hands digging into her hair. His lips came down on hers in a fierce, hot meeting of mouths.

“Lilli,” he whispered, “thank you.”

She had no idea what he was thanking her for, and it didn’t matter. At this moment, she needed everything he could give her. It was as if she couldn’t bear another second without him inside her.

Throwing her arms around his shoulders, she lifted herself up so her thighs wrapped around his waist and his sex rubbed against her core. He groaned into her mouth, the very male sound of need reverberating all the way to her breasts.

Arching, she used her entire body to stroke him, her sex grinding against his, her breasts rubbing over the smooth skin of his chest, her belly creating hot friction against his abs. Dear, sweet Lord, she was going to come right here, right now.

He took her down to the wet sand, where tiny waves lapped at her skin as he positioned himself over her. This was different than it had been in the library, when he’d been wracked with emotion he couldn’t control. Now he was using his cool self-restraint to devastating effect, kissing and nibbling down her neck as he rocked slowly between her legs, his shaft sliding between her folds in languid thrusts.

She clung to him, digging her nails into his shoulders as he dragged his mouth lower to kiss her breasts and lave the stiff peaks with his tongue. Closing his mouth over one, he sucked, drawing upward with such delicious pressure that she groaned and arched, seeking more and at the same time, thinking it was way too much.

“I love how you respond to me,” he murmured against her skin. “I love the sounds you make. The way you smell.” He pushed her breasts together and licked up the deep valley between them. “The way you taste.”

A gentle wave pushed between their bodies, lapping at the hot place where their bodies met, and she groaned again.

“If we had time, I’d lick you everywhere,” he said, giving each breast a kiss. “But I can do that later.”

She couldn’t wait, but he was right. They had only minutes now, and she was anxious to feel him deep inside her, to know what his weight would feel like as he pumped against her.

“Please,” she whispered. “I’m so ready.” A sudden thought popped into her lust-soaked brain, and she gripped him fiercely. “Protection?”

He dragged his tongue up between her breasts. “I can turn my fertility on and off.” He gave her a cocky smile. “It’s one of the advantages of being me.”

“Very handy,” she admitted before giving his hair a playful tug. “Now, show me some more advantages.”

“You got it.” Reaching between their bodies, he guided his cockhead to her entrance. “This will hurt, sweetheart,” he said. “But only for a second.” He planted a gentle kiss on her lips. “If I could bear it for you, I would.”

Tears stung her eyes. How could a male with such a fierce reputation be so caring? Azagoth was constantly surprising her, and she wondered how many more he had in store for her.

“I’m pretty tough,” she croaked.

“That,” he said softly, “is very clear.”

He brought his thumb to his mouth and dragged his tongue across the tip before returning his hand between their bodies again. She felt a light, buzzing stroke over her clit, and she sighed with pleasure.

His thumb circled the pulsing nub as he pushed his penis against her opening. Sensation burst through her pelvis, making her dizzy with need. The pain came then, sharp and searing as he slammed his hips forward, breaking her barrier and filling her so full she thought she’d die.

But almost instantly the pain was gone, replaced by pleasure so wondrous she gasped.

Azagoth froze, his arms trembling. “I’m sorry,” he rasped. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, yes,” she said. “This is incredible.”

“It only gets better.” Dipping his head, he kissed her throat.

Then he began to move, and she nearly screamed at the ecstasy. Oh, dear Lord, this was exquisite. Every time he nearly pulled out, she tensed up, afraid of losing that amazing feeling of fullness. Every time he thrust deep again, she clenched, as if doing so would keep him there.

“You’re so...fucking...tight,” he ground out. “And you keep...ah, yes, squeeze me harder...fuck, yeah.”

“Azagoth,” she breathed. “More. I need more.”

She felt him smile against her neck. “So do I, baby. So do I.”

He picked up his speed, pumping harder and faster, until she was sliding forward with each thrust. All around them, the tiny waves lapped at their bodies, licking between her legs in her most sensitive spots, until it felt as though Azagoth’s cock and tongue were both working her in sync with his thumb.

Groaning, she rolled her hips to take him even deeper, to get him moving faster...anything to ignite the climax building at her core.

It came in a detonation of ecstasy so intense she saw lights behind her eyes as her consciousness practically exploded from her body. She might as well have been shooting through time and space.

Azagoth lifted his head to stare into her eyes as he held himself above her, his body flexing and surging, the sunlight glinting off the fine sheen of sweat and seawater coating his skin.

“Mine,” he growled, the tendons in his neck straining with each word. “You. Are. Mine.”

His words triggered another orgasm, and she screamed as it took her even harder than the first one. Throwing back his head, he joined her with a feral shout that was surely heard in the Heavens. He drove into her with such power and erotic savagery that she left a deep groove in the sand as he propelled them forward, but she didn’t care. Her climax kept her spiraling out of control, mindless with pleasure.

Finally, he jerked, his body spasming as the last of his hot jets spilled inside her.

Now she knew the reason she’d held on to her virginity. It might not have been a conscious thing, and maybe it was even fate. But whatever had kept her virginity intact, she now understood why.

She was meant for Azagoth.

Chapter Fifteen

Azagoth hated that they had to return to his realm. Especially just seconds after the best sex he’d ever had. He’d barely withdrawn from Lilli’s wet heat when the pull of the
chronoglass
dragged them back into the cold darkness of Sheoul-gra.

But this time, the well of emotional turmoil didn’t writhe out of control like before. This time, he was able to grasp each one and wrestle it into submission as he wrapped Lilliana in a blanket and carried her to his shower, where he spent half an hour washing her.

And another half an hour making love to her on one of the benches.

He loved listening to her come. Loved tasting her as she orgasmed in his mouth over and over. And when he’d entered her again, it had been like the whole world was right.

For the first time since creating his realm, it now truly felt like home.

Even better, the necklace he’d given her hadn’t been needed. Oh, it was still beautiful on her delicate, creamy skin, but its true purpose hadn’t played a role at all.

When he’d decided he wanted a mate, he’d been concerned that he and the female would need an emotional connection, something he couldn’t give her, nor she him. So he’d had the jewelry special made to operate within Sheoul-gra to transmit thoughts and emotions from his mate to him. He’d hoped he could feel her. Understand her.

All of that was happening naturally, and damn if that wasn’t a miracle.

“I have a surprise for you, Soul Boy.” Lilliana said as she slipped her feet into flip-flops. She’d chosen a pair of shin-length white pants and a bright orange T-shirt, all of which would have been perfect for the beach earlier. He wondered if she was still basking in the tropical glow.

Because he sure as hell was.

“I like surprises,” he said. “Good ones.”

Smiling, she took his hand and led him out of the bedroom. “It’s a good one.”

He let her lead him outside the palace and onto the stone steps. “Where are we going—” He broke off with a breathless gasp.

The landscape had transformed. It still looked like a nuclear blast had devastated the area, but signs of rebirth and recovery were everywhere. Green grass was punching up through the blackened soil, and colorful buds were sprouting from tree branches that were no longer gnarled and as dark as licorice. The pulsing vines climbing the buildings had withered and died, replaced by grape vines that were spreading even as he stood there.

He stood, speechless, as a breeze, something he’d not experienced here in centuries, brought a light floral scent with it. He couldn’t remember the last time the air out here had smelled of anything but decay.

“How,” he croaked. “How did you do this?”

“I didn’t. I think it’s connected to your emotions. As you start feeling them, your realm is reflecting that.”

Of course. The place had died as he’d grown more and more corrupted by evil, until there was nothing left. His domain had been as dead as he was, but now that he could feel life pulsing inside him once again, the world around him was feeling it too.

But Lilliana was wrong on one point. “You did do this, Lilli,” he said, as he framed her face in his palms. “Without you, this wouldn’t be happening. This
is
your doing.”

Lowering his mouth to hers, he kissed her softly, drinking in the sweetness that was Lilli’s soft, welcoming lips.

“Thank you,” he murmured. “You’ve brought more to my world in a few days than anyone has given me in a lifetime.”

She went taut, and he was about to ask what was wrong when the sound of a clearing throat interrupted his thoughts.

“My lord.”

“Dammit, Zhubaal—”

“It’s Hades,” Zhubaal said from where he stood on the temple’s bottom step. “He has another situation.”

Fuck. Ever since Azagoth had authorized the reincarnation of Lucifer’s soul—at Satan’s insistence—things in the Inner Sanctum had been chaos. Now every fallen angel wanted to be reincarnated, born as an
emim
—the non-winged but still powerful offspring of two fallen angels. The demon souls in the Inner Sanctum were antsy, sensing Lucifer’s coming birth, something that could affect all of the realms...demon, human, and Heavenly...in game-changing ways.