Shem gave me a dangerous smirk. “I must say, I was really hoping you would fail that little test, Lil. Though it does seem to be a shame that you’ll need to crawl down the aisle on your wedding day.”
“Really sets the tone for the marriage, though,” Art mused, and Shem winked at him, planting a kiss on his cheek.
“Sure does,” he purred.
“My wedding day!?” I screeched, looking down at the white fucking dress that Ramel had put me in that morning.
“Oh yes. You and Ramel will be bound together today, and you will spend the rest of eternity happily… or, I guess,unhappilymarried if you continue to resist. How much longer are you going to fight this, Lilith? Look around you. You’re in fucking Hell. You just trusted ademonto help you escape.”
I whirled on Art, suddenly so fucking angry I wanted to tear his throat out. Shem jerked on the leash, yanking me away from him.
“Don’t take your idiocy out on Art, Lilith. You did this to yourself. This could have been a nice fucking day, but you had to go and break the most important rule.Don’t run.”
“She touched me too,” Art said, holding out his hand to Shem. Shem closed his eyes andsmelledit.
Ew. Fuckinggross.
Shem opened his eyes and gave me a sinister smile, tutting his tongue.
“That’s two rules broken, Lilith. You have been averybad fucking girl.”
“Bring her to me,” Ramel’s dark voice floated through the church just as the eerie notes of an organ began to play. Instead of the bridal chorus, it was Ave Maria, and my blood boiled with the unfairness of it all.
“On your hands and knees, Lil. I’m not fucking playing. Do what I say, or youwillregret it.”
Shem’s normally cavalier expression had switched to something darker and angrier. I had a feeling he was actually angry with me for trying to run. This wasn’t like all the other times they had tried to ‘punish me.’ This was different. I could see a flicker of betrayal and hurt in his eyes, which just didn’t make any sense to me.
What right didhehave to feel betrayed? They had just set me up to fail.
I was so angry I could have killed someone, but the look in his eyes was scaring me. I was already in enough shit. I didn’t need to make it worse. I let him see how much I hated him as I got down on my hands and knees like he had instructed, and he sneered at me.
“Ooh, yeah sweetheart, give it to me. Your hatredsustains me.” He curled the end of the leash a few times in his fist, shortening it. Yanking roughly, he pointed to the ground by his feet.
“Heel.”
I stared up at him, and his eyes flashed as he watched the reality of the situation roll through me. He was going to make me crawl down the aisle like a fucking dog.
“Heel, Lilith, or you can do this naked.”
My mouth dropped open, and he smiled. “You should know by now that it can always get worse.”
I crawled up next to his feet until the tight pull slackened, and he began to walk forward. Slowly, we made our way down the aisle. I could feel the silent eyes of all the demons gathered in the pews as we moved. Ramel was watching us, his face stone cold and his eyes filled with fury.
I had really fucked up.
We made it to the end of the aisle, and Shem patted the top of the altar, tugging on my leash.
“Up,” he ordered, and I glared at him before crawling up.
“Kneel,” he commanded, and I did. The way Ramel was looking at me was stirring the familiar twinge of fear in my gut, which my body was starting toassociate with pleasure. I was nearly panting with anticipation by the time he turned to face me, looking every inch the deadly demon that he was. In this form, the tattoos that peeked out from his shroud seemed to be alive. They twisted and churned on his chest, and his hands looked as if they had been dipped in black ink. But those hazel eyes, that chiseled perfect face, it always remained the same. He was always Ramel.
His eyes slid over me, and I felt my core tighten under his intense gaze. Much like Shem, he was angry, but I could sense a small undercurrent of something else. Something that felt a lot likehurt.
I told myself I didn’t care. He had hurt me too many times. Look at what he was doing to me now! Why should I care if his evil-ass demon feelings were hurt?
“You have disappointed me, Lilith,” he said, his voice low and even. He stepped closer to the altar and brushed my hair back behind my shoulder, his fingers grazing the collar around my neck. “Despite what you may think, I’m sorry it came to this,” he said, thumbing the thick leather softly. I scowled at him.
“So take it off. Let me go!” I shouted in his face. I expected him to lash out, but he just watched me, tapping his fingers on the collar gently.
