Damned and Desirable (Eternally Yours Book 2) (29 page)

At some point during the dinner, I was fairly certain someone farted. The stench was so inhumanly bad, it was enough to clear out the table in front of us. The giants were laughing and pointing at their rather rosy-cheeked friend, who apologized to Og and the rest of us before hobbling away with his hand shielding his wide ass.

Callum leaned into me, fanning his face. “The only thing more deadly than a silent fart is a silent fart from a one-ton giant.”

I slapped my hand over my nose, laughing so hard my eyes watered, although the noxious fumes probably had something to do with my tears.

When dinner was over, Og stood, clanking his goblet with a knife. I had finished three goblets of wine by this point, so my head was swimming as I smiled up at him.

“A toast to fawen angel,” he bellowed as he raised his drink to the ceiling. “Who will help us defeat demon army.”

A giant came by and refilled my wine, and I happily toasted my demise alongside them. Callum raised his cup, too, sloshing the contents all over his plate. I had lost count of how many times he’d asked for his cup to be refilled but judging by the way he slurred and rocked in his high chair, he should have stopped at least seven drinks ago.

I barely noticed Aedan was the one person who refused to join in the toast. He sat as still as a statue with his hands fisted on the table. I suspected his concern over my immortal soul probably had something to do with his mood, but at the moment, I was too drunk to care. Besides, the more wine I drank, the more I actually believed I was the Nephilims’ chosen one. It was official. I’d gone certifiably crazy.

Katherine O’Connor

Dragging my injured leg behind me, I slowly made my way to the pit where Master kept his lesser blood slaves, over twenty thousand damned souls. The Pit was a giant chasm deep inside a cavern the size of Galveston Island. It was dark, musty, and miserable. It was also in the very center of Hell. And at the bottom of this pit was a narrow, fleshy tunnel where souls from lower dimensions were fortunate, or unfortunate enough, to claw their way back up to the top.

Master did not give his slaves in the pit any food or water, and though souls did not need nourishment to survive in Hell, the constant hollow ache in their guts was enough to drive them to cannibalism. They ate each other quite often, discarding the remains of their victims into the hole, casting them down another level to regenerate anew. Only those poor souls usually found themselves some other Gate Keeper’s blood slave, and the vicious cycle repeated itself again.

The fate of a demon was a dire one, though as Master’s favorite, mine had been far less so, until the day Shadow had returned from Purgatory with my husband’s bitch whore.

The mighty tigers circling the deep chasm snarled as I stepped up to the rim. No doubt they’d barely recognized the creature I’d become. I feared I’d never recover from the injuries I’d sustained. I was my master’s ‘fair one’ no longer. My blood boiled and my skin crackled when I thought about the many forms of revenge I could enact on him, though I knew it would result in my undoing.

I already knew the torture he was capable of inflicting. My neck ached as if it had been broken. Blood and puss oozed through the stump hanging from the base of my skull, the pain a grim reminder that my baby was no more. After Master and a few surviving demons had crawled from the tunnel with their faces covered in burns and blisters, he’d taken out his anger on me, making me suffer for that bitch’s crimes. Master had sliced off my loyal serpent and tossed her to the others. He’d pressed his boot into my skull as I watched, helpless as my baby writhed in pain while they chewed the scales off her flesh. He’d beaten me many times during my sentence in Hell, but never before had he gone this far.

I would have cried for my baby if I’d had any tears left to spill, but my compassion had dried up along with my heart many years ago, leaving me soulless and devoid of emotion, though I was capable of enjoying a few sensations: pleasure and revenge. Nothing would bring me more pleasure than enacting revenge on Aedan’s bitch. When we captured her again, I would find a way to make her pay. Even if Master cast me down another four dimensions, it would be worth it.

Standing at the edge of the rim, I peered down at the souls crying out for mercy, their arms extended as they clawed at the walls and each other to get to me.

“Please release us,” they begged. “Have mercy,” they cried.

I turned, nodding to the demons who waited in the shadows, watching with a smile as they lowered two dozen rope ladders into the Pit. I lifted my uninjured arm, beckoning them forward. “Come, slaves. Your master needs you.”

Aedan

Ash wrapped her arm around my neck, alternating between nibbling on my ear and giggling like a school-girl as I carried her to bed. I hadn’t seen her this happy in a long while. Why, I had no idea. Og was still determined to endanger her soul by making her lead their army in a war against the demons. That should have been enough reason to dampen her mood.

I wondered if her change in attitude had anything to do with Callum. They had been chummy the entire evening. He’d even had the nerve to feed her with his bare hands. My brother’s betrayal was like a knife through my chest, and Ash’s familiarity with Callum was her twisting that knife, digging deeper until she’d chipped away the rest of my heart.

Did they have any idea what their flirtations did to me, or didn’t they care? Between the two of them, they’d drunk an entire jug of wine, but neither was concerned as they downed goblet after goblet, laughing at each other’s jokes as if they were old friends.

And then she’d been too drunk to stand, which was why I’d had to carry her. I’d thought about forcing her to walk the distance to our suite, hoping it would sober her up, but I knew my traitorous brother would offer to carry her instead. After Garf dropped off the others, he’d led us to our room and set Ash on the bed while I scooted a table to the edge of the thick mattress, standing on it to hoist myself up the rest of the way. Jack had followed right behind me, curling up at the foot of the bed. He’d already made his business several times on the way, once on a statue of King Og and twice on a potted plant. Garf assured me it would be okay. I certainly hoped so, because sending Ash’s dog outside was out of the question.

All but one of the wall sconces had been extinguished, leaving our room mostly dark with the exception of a low flame whose light illuminated the bed in a dull glow, just enough so I could make out Ash’s long legs and the swell of her breasts. If it was possible, her descent into Hell had only heightened her beauty. Her cheeks had been flushed all night, and her green eyes dazzled. Hopefully, her glow had come from the wine and not the blush of new love.

After I tucked her beneath the sheets, I laid beside her, staring up at the canopy and wondering what the hell I was going to do to get us out of our current situation, because Og was insane if he thought I was going to let my girlfriend wage a war against a demon army.

Ash rolled over, slapping my chest. “Make love to me,” she slurred.

I didn’t give pause to contemplate her proposal as I pushed her hand off me. “No.”

She was not deterred, crawling up my body until her face was flush with mine. “Why?” She reached down between us, her hand resting on my abdomen before sliding lower.

I shoved her off of me. “You’re drunk, that’s why.”

Truthfully, that wasn’t why. I was too busy worrying over Ash’s eternal fate to think about sex. Besides, her guardian angel was sleeping at the foot of our bed. Sex would have been awkward with Jack nearby. And there was one more reason I didn’t want to make love. I wasn’t entirely sure it was me she wanted. I couldn’t take that chance again. The last time a woman betrayed me for my brother, my heart had been scarred for over a hundred years.

Her lips turned down as she stared at me with glossy eyes. “I’m not that drunk.”

“Ash,” I groaned, “you’re about to lead an army of giants against an army of demons, and if you lose, you will be cast farther into the bowels of Hell.”

Her eyes widened before she pointed at my chest and burst into laughter. “You said ‘bowels.’”

I rolled my eyes before turning my back on her. “Goodnight.”

She huffed and punched the pillow a few times, but she settled down after a few minutes. Just when I thought the coast was clear, she wrapped her arm around my waist, pressing her full breasts into my backside. “This time don’t leave me hanging,” she mumbled.

I turned over, searching her expression, but her eyes were shut. “What?”

She sighed as she snuggled against me. “Pulling out before I finish my orgasm.”

Had she been referring to earlier today? Because we’d only kissed and fondled each other before Jack interrupted us. “I’ve never done that.”

“Yes, you did.” She pouted. “I had to finish by myself, you selfish dragon.”

Fucking bastard!

I threw the covers off and scrambled from the bed, marching out of our room in long strides. My backstabbing brother would pay for betraying me a second time. Burning in eternal damnation would look like child’s play compared to what I planned to do to him.

I found the cheat in the suite he and Sarge had been assigned to. I paused, momentarily forgetting my anger when I saw their comical appearance. Garf and two of his giant friends were sitting at a table that was twice my height. Garf was dealing cards while one of his friends counted chips. Callum and Sarge sat on top of the table, each looking awkward trying to keep oversized cards steady.

Callum mumbled something unintelligible before he threw down his cards and picked up his drink. No surprise there.

I stomped up to the table, banging on the chair leg closest to Callum. “Get down and face me.”

Callum didn’t even bother turning around. “What did I do now?”

My jaw stiffened as I pointed a finger at the stone floor. “Get down here, you worthless drunk.”

Sarge threw down his cards and stood, peering down at me from atop the table. “Grim, ease up.”

Steam was practically shooting out of my ears as I waved my fist at him. “Stay out of this, or by God, I swear you’re next.”

I’d known from the start the real reason Sarge had come with me to Hell. He didn’t just want to save Ash. He wanted to be the hero, her hero. Well, he was going to have to get in line, and then I’d have to whoop his ass, too.

“What sin have I committed now, brother?” Callum said in a disinterested voice, “other than risk my soul to save your woman?”

Ouch. That stung, partially because I knew it to be true. If it hadn’t been for him, I might not have found Ash in one piece. He knew that, and he was going to continue to hold it over my head, but if he thought that was a justification for bedding her, he had another thing coming.

I clenched my fists as tension rolled across my shoulders and down my back. I was tired of playing this game with him. “You know damn well what you did!” I bellowed.

Garf leaned over, looking down at me with a scowl. “Brothers no fight.”

I ignored the giant. This wasn’t his battle. I glared at Callum. “It was bad enough when you bedded my wife, but then you seduced my girlfriend, too?” Rage swelled my chest and threatened to crack my skull. If he didn’t come down, I’d climb up and get him.