I made my way to the door, glancing out at the dangers that waited beyond the small gateway to our private space. My eyes landed on the demon who had welcomed us to Purgatory where he remained at the base of the stairs, staring up at me with a raised brow. Beelzebub’s reminder that even he did not trust the other male made me swallow, my anxiety rising as I realized just how closely he was watching us.
I forced myself to give a small, unassuming smile before I retreated back into the room I had no intention of leaving without Beelzebub now. Closing the door quietly, I sealed myself into the room I would have thought I couldn’t stand to be in, my heart rate rising with the soft click of the latch. Not with the male slumbering on the bed, his deep, even breathing broken up by the occasional snore.
I stepped around the cabinet of drawers that sat beside the door, leaning my weight into it. The floor groaned as the furniture slid over the surface, scraping the wood beneath it. I didn’t stop until the full weight of the cabinet rested against the inside of the door, creating a barricade. I wasn’t foolish enough to believe it would do much to stop a demon, but perhaps it would buy us enough time to react.
I eyed the chair at the bedside with a sigh, my muscles already tensing with the realization that it would be where I spent the night. If I stayed awake, there was nothing a sleeping demon could do.
Right?
He looked uncomfortable, splayed atop the berry-toned comforter. The throw pillows weren’t as soft as the ones beneath them,the fabric textured and indenting the side of Beelzebub’s face where he lay there. With a disgruntled groan, I grasped the comforter where it was folded over beneath him and carefully tugged it down, fighting to shift it beneath his massive body without hurting his wing.
“How much do you fucking weigh, you giant oaf?” I asked, moving from one side of the bed to the other to shimmy it until it reached the bottom of his ass. I grasped his legs one at a time, yanking the blanket down before dropping his legs to the bed so they fell to the sheets with a thump. He didn’t stir, the depth of his sleep bringing a sweat to my brow. I couldn’t bring myself to tuck him in with his boots still on, so I worked to unknot the laces and drew them off his feet. I heaved a sigh as I stared down at his prone form, something immensely more intimate about him being nearly barefoot. He wasalwaysshirtless; an ego the size of his was unable to be contained by a top that would cover the rippling muscles of his abs and the runes that covered him and made him feel distinctlyother.
I chewed my bottom lip, shaking my head to shove the sight of him out of my mind. I grasped the blanket in my hands, tugging it up to his armpits to tuck all the tempting sight of him away. It was not lost on me that while I had to sing to him to enrapture him in my spell, he was an archdemon. His very creation had been to aid in tempting the souls of humans to sin, in stealing them further and further from the reach of God until they became Hell’s property when they died.
At least, that’s what God would have us believe.
While I knew my soul was condemned to this place upon my death as a witch with a connection to the Source, I couldn’t help but question everything I knew. The Covenant had led us to believe that Lucifer walking the earth would have been the greatest of evils, that He would have created a literal Hell on earth and enslaved the Coven to suit His purposes.
But all I’d witnessed Him do in His time on Earth was worshipHis wife and allow her to step into the power she so clearly possessed as the first of her kind.
If that was evil, I didn’t think I wanted to know what wasgood.
I sighed as I curled up in the armchair next to the bed, fidgeting until I found the most comfortable way to lie. I ended up curling onto my side, facing the headboard of the bed and tucking my legs into my chest.
I didn’t dare take my eyes off him while he slept, wanting to know the moment he woke.
Others of my kind would have probably taken the opportunity to feed from the demon, claiming the last of the strength he possessed in an effort to fortify themself against the coming dangers. I wouldn’t fault them for it, because even I knew it would have been the smart, logical thing to do. If it hadn’t been for my own aversion totakingwhat wasn’t mine, I might have genuinely considered it.
The wall opposite me was covered in the greenery of vines I knew Willow would love, a sign of life in a desert that seemed so barren. She would reach out and grasp those leaves, drawing strength from the fact thatsomethingcould survive in this place.
If that plant could do it, then so could I.
Lust was my power. Lust was my magic.
So why couldn’t I get past my own fucking issues and trauma and take that power for myself the way Willow would have?
I sighed, letting my eyes drift closed and shutting out the symbol that reminded me so vividly of my home. Beelzebub groaned on the bed, stretching in his sleep. Everything in my body went tight as he turned onto his side to face me with an ease that seemed impossible given I knew exactly how much he weighed. If I hadn’t known he was asleep, I might have thought he was seeking me out even in his rest.
He reached out across the bed, his brow furrowing when it met the cool mattress beside him. His hand roamed over the surface as if looking for something.
For me?
I swallowed, flinching back from the bed even though he couldn’t reach me. He grabbed the spare pillow, pulling it to his chest and snuggling it in a way that almost made me wonder what it would be like to be held so gently.
He nuzzled into it, a soft sound coming from his throat. I froze, fearing the implication of the threat that may come in his sleep when he was less in control of his own actions. The sound bared the slightest hint of teeth, a reveal of the curve of his fangs triggering memories better left forgotten. I didn’t know if demons fed in the same way the Vessels did, but the distinct fangs hinted at the possibility.
I’d been forced to endure Reaping after Reaping, countless Vessels taking from me what I wouldn’t have given. Some were more gentle, easing me through it because they could sense my fear. Not all the demons had been abhorrent; some had shown me kindness in my darkest moments. But there had also been those who had reveled in my fear, taken pleasure in my pain and the loss of my will.
But Beelzebub didn’t move to close the gap and bite me. Instead he curled the pillow into his chest, and breathed it in as if his life depended on it. His body relaxed in his sleep, his injured wing coming down to cover himself like a blanket and wrap him in a cocoon.
If I’d had any doubts that I’d done the right thing by choosing the armchair instead of risking the bed alongside Beelzebub, that wing served as my proof. I could only imagine the darkness surrounding him in there, my eyes focusing on the light streaming in through the window to my left.
I settled deeper into the chair, readying myself for a long and sleepless night as the deep, even sound of Beelzebub’s breathing filled the room around me.
12
BEELZEBUB
