“If it’s too much, you know what to say,” he teased.
It was too much, and that was the sweet spot. I licked my lips and sputtered, “Is that all you got?”
You had to have the biggest nads known to man or be out of your goddamn mind to taunt the Lord of Bones, especially while you were buck-ass naked and held down at his complete and utter mercy. The demon rarely had any to speak of.
“If I wasn’t so fond of your luscious skin, I’d flay you down to the bone, you audacious little slut.”
A rebuttal blazed in my throat. I opened my mouth to launch it, but a scream took its place instead, as he brought his hand down on my already sensitive backside.
He’d been holding back before.
I bucked against the stone. It was no longer cold. Everything was on fire. My flesh, my leaking core, my brain, my bones, my everything.
“Release her.” The manner in which he spoke to the skeletons had my blood crystalizing. He never adopted such a cruel mien with me, but it was a reminder that he was capable of it. All this pain, it was just a part of our game.
Once upon a time, he’d really been that harsh to me; I was happy to have won his heart. Times like these though, I loved seeing glimpses of that villainous demon lord that lurked not so deep beneath his mutilated skin.
The hands released me. They’d held me hard enough to leave impressions of their bones in my wrists and ankles. I tried to sit up, but the abused flesh of my asscheeks wouldn’t allow it. I opted to roll off the sarcophagus and onto the ground instead.
“Can’t stand?”
I shook my head, blinking up at the demon through my scattered hair and bits of ash.
“Then crawl.”
“What?”
“You fucking heard me.Crawl to your Lord.”
With a hard swallow, I hoisted myself onto my hands and knees and crawled through the ash toward the demon, leaving tracks behind me. I could feel dozens of eyes on me. We weren’t alone. Who knew what kind of horrible creatures were spying on us, watching their queen be humiliated before their Lord.
I was eating up every depraved second of it.
Once I reached his feet, he crouched down and pet my hair, as if to reward a dog for its obedient behavior. “That’s my good fucking girl. Now kiss my boot.” His mouth curved at the corner. “For old times’ sake.”
I did as he commanded, pressing my lips to the toe of his ashy boot. It smelled of fresh mud and leather. It should have been a turnoff. Instead, it had the opposite reaction. I was more turned on than ever.
“Very good, Rayven. Blood and darkness, you’re so beautiful. Now let’s go home. We have a Christmas Ball to prepare for.”
Chapter Ten
Rayven
Thanks to Belial’sruthless spanking, my ass still stung the next morning. But the pain was quickly overshadowed by excitement when I opened my eyes.
It was the day of the Christmas ball.
Christmas morning!
I looked over to find Belial’s side of the bed empty. While a bit disappointed, I wasn’t entirely surprised; he was often busy with work, and had probably woken up early to oversee the finishing touches for tonight’s festivities.
I hurried out of bed, all but bouncing across the bedroom with excitement, before something blinding white caught my eye.
Hanging from the wardrobe on the far side of the room was a gown—flowy and moon-colored, with puffed sleeves and intricate details stitched into the skirt. It looked like a snow drift had swept through the window in the middle of the night, and I knew immediately that it was meant for me to wear.
My nose scrunched. It was pretty, sure, but not my color. As a self-proclaimed goth girl, I preferred black or red. That said, the demon king liked it when I was draped all in white. He said it brought out my long jet black hair, which he was obsessed with.
Since it was Christmas, I’d indulge him without complaining… much.
