Lucifer's Daughter (5 page)

My eyes fluttered shut and I tilted my face up. The warmth of his breath tickled me. His lips hovered so tantalizing close. Then a whisper of a caress. Such a soft touch, yet it packed a mighty punch to my libido, making me gasp. His lips brushed across mine again and he pulled me closer to his body, branding me with his heat. My arms slipped around his waist, and I shuddered at the feel of his hard body. His lips pressed harder against mine, the wet edge of his tongue teasing me. I parted my lips slightly...

“Auric!”

Someone shouted his name, and I wanted to scream at them to go away. I think Auric might have felt the same way, for I heard him sigh. I opened my eyes and saw him looking down at me ruefully.

“Tell him to go away,” I whispered.

“He wouldn"t have come to find me unless it was important,” said Auric.

“Fine then,” I said, miffed. I didn"t bother with a goodbye, I just left; an exit marred when I fumbled my key in the lock. Auric"s strong hand folded around mine, steadying it. I opened the door, still refusing to look at him, but he put his arm across the doorway and blocked me from entering.

“I"ll see you tomorrow,” he whispered, before giving me a hard kiss on the lips.

I wanted to say “No, you won"t,” but he strutted off quickly to meet his friend, who was waiting just up the street for him.

I rubbed my tingling lips. Jerk. I still couldn"t believe he"d ditched me for his buddy. Talk about a low blow to my feminine ego. But he"d kissed me!

I trudged up the stairs to my apartment, more confused than ever. Tonight, unlike our other meetings, had been nice. No uncomfortable questions, no violence. Just more confusion on just what my feelings were for him. Like, dislike, lust... Lots of lust.

The skin on my hand still tingled from him holding it, an old-fashioned, courtly gesture that still surprised me. He didn"t seem like a man who held hands. Or a man who"d joke. And I"d been wrong about his kisses, too. They didn"t just feel good, they felt great. If I"d thought I was aroused the night before, tonight my body burned with it.

I locked the door to my apartment and stripped, to lie naked on my sheets. The friction of the material on my sensitive skin made me writhe. In a sense, it had probably been a good thing I hadn"t invited him up. My hormones were completely out of control around him. I might have done something foolish–and pleasurable--I thought, as I twisted one of my nipples hard while my other hand slid down over my belly to delve between my thighs.

Would he think of me when he went home? As his hand slid down his own body, to grip a rock hard cock and stroke it?

My breath came faster, and my finger moved quickly. Would his balls grow tight as he rubbed his shaft? I moaned, a stab of desire making me slick. I fantasized some more, wondering if, as Auric masturbated, would he be thinking of me riding him, my tits jigging over his face? Licking him, my tongue laving its way down his chest. Sucking him, his cock filling my mouth. With a scream, I came, my juices wetting the sheet beneath me, the intensity of my orgasm surprising me.

I didn"t like this power Auric had over my body, even absent, but I seemed helpless to stop it; for, even as I thought his name, I felt the pleasure coiling again. Rub as I may, though, I couldn"t seem to make it go away. I wanted to cry with frustration.

I feared there would be only one solution to my sexual dilemma. But, dammit, I"d put up a fight before I compromised the vow I"d made to myself.

Chapter Four

“I forbid you to see him,” came my father"s booming voice.

“See who?” I asked, through a mouthful of foam as I stuck my head out of the bathroom where I was brushing my teeth.

“You know who I"m talking about. The man you were with last night. You are to stay away from him.”

“Are you talking about Auric?” My father just growled in response. “Since when do you care who I see? And besides, wasn"t it you just the other day who was bugging me to get laid?”

“I still wish you to defile yourself, but you will do so with anyone but him or his companions.”

“Wait, I get it,” I said laughing. “This is your version of reverse psychology. Tell me not to jump him, and I will immediately.”

“Don"t get lippy with me. This is no joking matter. You will stay away from him, or else.” Dad punctuated this with a little hellfire in his eyes, a move that spooked most mortals, but hey, I wasn"t your everyday mortal.

“Or else what?” I asked sassily. I really had a problem with people telling me „no."

“Or I will take you back to Hell with me, and ground you „til you"re one hundred.”

My mouth dropped open. “You wouldn"t dare!”

“I would. And that"s final.”

I"d never seen my dad so adamant about something. Sure, he gave me rules and expected me to break them, but he"d never threatened to ground me before for defying him. Usually, he applauded my outright defiance. Poor Dad, it"s not like he could even punish me properly. I might not have known who my mother was, but she"d left one whopping geas--also known as a spell or curse, depending on its function--on me which protected me from a shit load of stuff, including Dad"s disciplinary hand. Of course, he managed to punish me in other ways. Hiding my books when I"d get to the good part. Making my period start when I was wearing white slacks to school. But physical harm? Never, not that Dad had ever tried. With me, he had tended to be all bark, no bite. So this heavy-handed tactic seemed out of character.

Something about Auric had his horns in a knot, and I had to say, I found myself intrigued. So of course I lied–which would have made Dad happy had he known–and told him what he wanted to hear, while secretly plotting to find out more about Auric, and of course, meet with him again.

“Fine, I"ll stay away. But in Auric"s and his friend"s defense, they were only trying to help me from the hellhound that came to visit me, and the shifter that attacked me in the park.”

“My hounds would never hurt one of my own,” said my affronted father.

“I know that and you know that, but they didn"t. They thought they were being heroes.” Kind of cute, when you thought of it. Mortals trying to save Lucifer"s daughter.

“And what"s this about a shifter? No one told me about a shifter attacking you.”

“Guess your spies are getting lazy, Dad. Don"t worry, I had it mostly under control.”

My father growled, the steam that curled from his ears betraying his ire. I didn"t need to be a psychic to guess that some underlings would be punished for slacking off. Apparently, I wasn"t the only one who"d gotten complacent here on earth.

“I need to go,” said my father abruptly. “I meant what I said, Muriel. Stay away from those men,
him
especially.” With that last warning, my satanic father, with a wag of his finger, went back to Hades to make some heads roll.

I flopped onto my couch and sighed. Now Dad had done it. Auric, already sexy and dangerous, had just become even hotter because my dad hated him. Oh, my, Auric certainly had my interest now. Only one problem. I had no idea if I"d ever see him again. It"s not like we"d exchanged phone numbers the night before. However, he had said he"d see me today; but I had to wonder if he spoke the truth, seeing how he"d had such an easy time leaving me mid-kiss. I still found that ego-crushing.

I guess I"d just have to hope he"d show up again, which gave me problem number two. As soon as Auric showed up, Daddy"s spies would run right back to the pit and tell him. Damn. I"d be flaunting my disobedience if I flirted openly, which usually meant a pat on the back; but his threat of grounding me in Hell gave me pause.

How to work around this dilemma? Perhaps I could give Auric the cold shoulder. Play hard to get. Make Auric think I was still pissed about last night–which I was. Then my dad"s spies could report my obedient behavior, and I"d force Auric to do something drastic. Something romantic, or maybe even chivalrous.

I shivered deliciously. Oh, to feel his big hands on my body again. This time, with uninterrupted sexual intent. I wouldn"t mind getting the full version of the kiss, too, that had been so rudely cut short. I had a feeling the chemistry between us would be explosive.

With that thought in mind, I dressed for the night"s work. Cropped midriff top in crimson; black yoga pants which hung low on my hips, not to mention molded my ass and thighs obscenely. To top it off, calf high black suede boots with fringe on the back. Looking in the mirror, I decided against the bra and shrugged it off. I looked approvingly in the mirror as the nubs of my nipples hardened against the fabric and protruded enticingly.

Being a virgin didn"t mean I didn"t know how to dress like a tart; after all, when almost all the succubi in the world were related to me, I tended to learn a thing or two about fashion. I also intended to make sure I had Auric"s undivided attention tonight; no more ditching me for his bros. I freely admitted to being selfish–I wanted it to be all about me.

I brushed my long chestnut hair „til it crackled and floated about me--I"d been blessed with a great head of hair. A light coat of makeup–a touch of eye liner, a stroke of mascara, and a wet-looking lip gloss completed the look.

Grabbing my leather jacket this time, I headed for work, and hopefully an encounter with my new wet fantasy.

* * * *

I couldn"t have timed it better if I"d planned to. I"d just bent over to pick up a napkin that fluttered to the floor when he walked in. How did I know? Call it instinct–call it hormones. I didn"t care; all I knew was my ass, which had been described as perfectly heart shaped by more than one drunken supernatural, was sticking up in the air when he arrived. I could see his black boots approach between my legs and stop a few feet behind me. Not one to waste an advantage, I gave my butt a little shake before I straightened up, my hair swinging in an arc to settle in organized disarray–not an easy look to achieve. I whirled to see him looking as gorgeous as I remembered, but instead of saying „hi," I just gave him a cool smile and went around him to take up my spot behind the bar.

The jerk, of course, acted just as aloof and followed his buddies to a table in the back. He then signaled for Trixie, tonight"s waitress, to serve them.

Two could play at this game. I ignored him hard, refusing to look over at his table, but meanwhile making sure I posed at my best. Leaning low over the bar to wipe it down. Flinging my hair whenever I bent down to grab something. Hell, I even climbed my three-step stool and shook my ass while scrubbing the mirror behind the bar, which hadn"t been cleaned since my last temper tantrum.

But the cad stayed at his table; and the few times I glanced over, while I noticed his companions seemed to be watching me with interest, Auric didn"t seem to be noticing me at all.

Fuming–and astonished–I handed the bar over to Perry, my Friday night muscle, and flounced off to my office in the back to work on the accounts–AKA pout.

When the knock sounded, I assumed it was Trixie with another boyfriend problem. I shouted out a “come in,” while still chewing the stub of my pencil. Math and I did not get along, as proven by the numbers in front of me that refused to add up.

The sharp scent of cologne and leather permeated my space and invaded my senses. Startled, I looked up to see Auric smiling enigmatically at me. My beating heart sped up.

“Nice office,” he said.

“What do you want?” I said, more sharply than intended; I was still miffed he"d ignored me earlier, never mind that I"d started it.

“When can you leave?” he asked, ignoring my question.

“Anytime, since there"s a full staff tonight. Why?” I answered without thinking. His very masculine presence in the confines of my office seemed to be doing weird things to my mental state and libido. Kind of like a sexual stimulant that had the hormones in my body hopping up and down screaming, “Take me.”

“Good. We"re going to dinner now.” He said this as if there was no doubt as to my answer.

“We are?” I thought about questioning his caveman tactics, but to be honest, talk about a turn-on.

Me man, you woman. Feminists be damned–actually, they already had been. They now burned their bras in Hell, to my father"s eternal headache. Needless to say, curiosity made me decide to see where Auric was going with this.

Only one problem: we couldn"t leave via the front, or my dad"s spies would spot us and rat us out. I wasn"t quite ready for Auric to meet my dad yet.

“Come on, we"ll go out the side door,” I said. I shrugged on my jacket and led him to the exit that opened onto the alley. I stuck my head out the door and looked both ways to ensure we didn"t have anybody lurking outside, just waiting to tattle on me.

“Ashamed of me?” Auric asked, arching a brow at my antics.

“Trust me. It"s better this way.” Way better, especially if he was attached to his body parts.

Shrugging, he followed me out into the alley. Seeing no one around, I breathed an inaudible sigh of relief. I didn"t speak „til we"d made it to the street behind the club and started walking away.

“Going to explain what that was all about?” he finally asked, as his hand casually reached for mine again. His simple touch made the temperature in my body go up a notch–make that several.

I quickly squelched my tingle of pleasure at this act. He probably did that with all the girls he walked with. A thought which made me see red.

“I"ll take the fifth on that.” To my surprise, he didn"t push the matter. We walked along the street not speaking, something which drove me nuts, so I broke the silence first. “Can I ask what prompted the dinner invite?”

“Why were you ignoring me?” he shot back. “Is this about last night?”

I thought about blaming it all on his actions, but I figured him for a guy who preferred the truth.

“I was told to stay away from you.”

Auric stopped walking. I stopped, too, and turned to face him. Looking at him straight on, once again without volition, the tingling heat his mere presence caused spread through my body. What was it about him that affected me so? And
dammit
, I thought, looking up into his face, why did he have to be so bloody attractive? His scar should have detracted from his beauty, but instead it enhanced it. Gave him a bolder, more sensual, dangerous look that excited my hormones to no end.