That’s what the Library of Souls was for, after all. Each book on these shelves was more than a story. Each volume was the afterlife of a soul I’d deemed too worthy to send down to the deeper layers of Hell. There, they lived peacefully in a world perfectly crafted for them, blissfully unaware of their death.
“Should we do it now?” Rayven held out her hands, a glowing ball of light nestled in each of her palms. I took them and placed them on a side table.
“There will be plenty of time for that later. First, I want to know why there’s a human Yule tree in my library. Of all the things to bring back?—”
Rayven’s demeanor shifted in a beat. She leaped from my lap, excitedly bounding over to the tree, and heaved it upright, leaning it against a bookshelf. “Isn’t it beautiful? I thought it would be nice to place it in the throne room. I know you’re not really into mortal holidays…”
Not “into” mortal holidays was an understatement. There was no point celebrating them in the land of the dead. Especially the winter solstice. The majority of humans didn’t even call it that anymore; it had become warped over the years, morphing into something I didn’t recognize.
It didn’t matter. I didn’t care. I’d transform my castle into a goddamn circus if that’s what it took to make my human mate happy.
I gathered her into my arms, turning her away from the spruce tree that would inevitably wither within the hour. I didn’t have the heart to tell her yet that it would be dead soon.
With my hands on either side of her head, I angled her face so our eyes locked. “It’s a Christmas you want? Decorations, a tree, presents, carols? Is that what will make my queen happy?”
She nodded, her midnight lashes fluttering at my suggestion, confirming that a Christmas in the Hells was exactly what was on her heart.
I planted a kiss to her brow, her nose, one eyelid and then the other, before stamping a kiss to her perfect lips. “Then that’s exactly what you’ll get.”
Chapter Three
Rayven
It feltincredible to be back home, especially nestled in the arms of death incarnate.
It was funny how, not so long ago, I’d gone to the ends of this realm to escape him. Now that I had free rein to go as far away as possible, I couldn’t wait to come back.
Of course, Hell wasn’t without its horrors, but neither was the living realm. My task tonight had proved as much.
Limbo, the first of the nine layers of Hell, felt more like home than the human world ever had. Belial did his part to ensure that, like giving me a Christmas, even though he didn’t care for the holiday.
I pulled back in Belial’s arms to take in the handsome face of his “lesser” form. That’s what he called it, anyway, simply because it was his more human appearance—minus his pallor, and the antlers sprouting from his head. They were decorated with silver chains and charms that clinked together gently with the slightest movement.
I was fond of the demon lord’s monster form, the one most of his subjects knew and feared. The terrifying Lord of Bones, with an animal-like skull head, giant antlers, and ribbed cock.
But I loved this version of him too. It was how he looked when he’d been a mortal thousands of years ago. He didn’t remember much of his old life, other than that he was a soldier of the Roman empire. That story lined up with his Romanesque features and scars striping his face, especially the deep one running diagonally over his nose. That one had been the sword wound to end his life.
Typically, he wore a simple black mask in this form to conceal his face, but he didn’t need to.
He had no idea how damn sexy I found him, scars and all.
“Thank you…” I said in a whisper.
He tilted his head, charms jingling. His unkempt black hair fell in pieces perfectly around his eyes, making my heart flutter. “What for?”
“For everything. For allowing me to go in your stead tonight to rip out that asshole’s soul. Agreeing to give me a Christmas. For kidnapping me?—”
His lips bent with a dark smile. “I took you for a woman of peculiar preferences the moment I laid eyes on you.”
“You did not.”
“Oh, I sure as fuck did. When I ripped out your male companion's spine, you were horrified, of course. But beneath the stench of fear…” He gripped my jaw with his gloved fingers, bringing his face so close to mine I could taste his sweet breath. “Arousal.”
I shook my head in denial, even though my heated blush and shit-eating grin gave me away.
As if that wasn’t enough confirmation, he forced me to take several steps back until my spine hit the nearest bookshelf. He raised his right hand and tugged the glove off with his teeth, flinging it onto the shelf closest to my head. Then, he slid his hand over my jaw, down my throat, between my breasts.
He took his time feeling me out, until his fingers slipped under the waist of my pants and into my panties.
