Sinners' Kingdom #1: The Book of Lust (Complete)

19

Years ago, as a little girl, I would have laughed in his face right there.

After all, what did I have to be afraid of? Some demon who still believed in the fairy tales and fables told to little Solaria children at bedtime? Please. So much for being a fearsome Prince. What a joke...

But I was a decade too late to laugh about that anymore.

Because not only did recent events force me to suspend my disbelief a whole lot more than usual, I no longer believed that the story of Lilith was a fairy tale.

After I lost my mother, when my grandmother and I were packing our things in a panic and tearing up the attic chests, I'd found it. A faded symbol carved into the back cover of our family's grimoire, one I'd never seen before. Maybe it had been because I'd never needed to lift the heavy tome from its stand, but there was no denying its presence then. Inscribed in Enochian, the First Language, the lost tongue of the first angels and demons — was the name of Lilith.

Our family grimoire. The sacred treasure of the Solaria family, the one that surpassed all the other countless heirlooms and artifacts shelved in our home. And all along, it had carried the name of the original woman, the primordial demoness — the First Rebel of all creation.

Knowing that, there was no way I could laugh at Asmodeus' declaration now. Or Lust, fine, whatever he wanted me to call him.

"You don't look surprised," he said, and he had the gall to sound almost gleeful. "Does that mean you accept the truth?"

"Let's just say I have an open mind right now... I won't believe everything you say on principle, but keep going. Tell me more about Adam and Eve first."

"Surely you know the story, my love."

"First man, should-have-been-first woman, both corrupted and banished from the Garden after losing their immortality, so on and so on. I know the origin story. I want the connection to our situation, right here."

"Hm... I think your knowledge of true history is lacking too, but we'll have all the time in the world later for me to tutor you in your education." He leaned in again and darted the tip of his tongue under my ear, making me jump. God damn it! What the hell was his problem. Couldn't he focus for one damn minute! "Let's see. Adam and Eve. Your father was their descendant, though your mother must not have known. You were an illegitimate child born out of lawful matrimony, so she took steps to protect you and kept you secret. She was right to do so. Your father disappeared not long after your mother conceived, I believe. He was being hounded by all the demons of the realms of hell for years, and then — vanished. Just like that."

"My mother never talked about him."

"A wise decision. If any demons had caught a whiff of the truth and realized you were his daughter, they would have come for your blood in a frenzy."

"Oh, so like you?"

He laughed, the sound of it throaty and low, full of rampant desire. The power of his aura pulsed again, sending forced desire rippling through me like a warm ocean wave. I gritted my teeth against the sensation, but there was no hiding the effect he had on me. He was a Prince, after all. His name was Lust. He let out a long, slow exhale as he brought his hand over my thigh and dragged it upward, friction hot against the fabric of my borrowed jeans.

Oh, for fuck's sake — the rough denim rubbed against me intimately with the movement. I was commando and he clearly knew it.

"Not like me," he murmured. "Those demons are low-class. Practically imps compared to me. They have no taste, no intelligence. They would never have recognized you as anything but someone to pay off your father's soul debts. But me... Oh, Sable. You were meant for me. It's not only your blood I crave, or your soul. It's all of it. All of you." With no warning, he pressed his hand up between my thighs, forcing it between them so he could press against my core. The jeans were no protection. I could feel every ounce of his inhuman strength as he groped me hard, a low hissing sound expelling between his teeth in a delighted seethe. "And I will have it, Sable. Very soon."

I ripped his hand away before reaching over to smack it down on his own leg. Then I returned to steering as if nothing had happened, completely nonchalant.

We'll fucking see about that, won't we.

***

We were an hour into the drive after stopping by the closest ATM when yet again, Asmodeus turned my world upside-down.

"So this was a pleasurable outing," he purred as I fought the car's frozen tires over yet another unplowed snowbank. "But I think it's time we moved on ahead. I can sense hostile witches coming after us. While I enjoy a good scuffle with children once in a while, my vitality is running out. I'll have to locate another shard of me before I fade back out of this realm, and then I can entertain the witches a little more."

"I caught about half of what you said. You're going to have to say that again after I get us out of this" — I wrestled with the gas pedal and groaned when the tires spun under us, refusing to free themselves from the packed snow. "Never mind. We're going to have to get out and push."

His hand wrapped around my wrist just as I pushed the gear into park. "Mm... Unnecessary. Let's leave now."

"What?"

"Your possessions, do you want to take them with us?" With his other hand, he picked up the knapsack I had stashed between us as a buffer (didn't work at all). "The currency you put inside is useless where we're ultimately headed, and the clothes... Well. I always prefer you with as little clothes on as possible."

There he fucking went again. Seriously, just because he was what he was didn't mean he had to have sex on the brain all the time. "Look, Asmodeus—"

I broke off when I spotted something moving in the rearview mirror. What was that?

There, again!

"The witches," he said, with a careless chuckle. "As I said, they've caught up to us."

"Oh, shit, shit, shit!" I wrestled against his grip, trying to reach the gear shift, but he refused to release me. "Asmodeus! Are you crazy! That's at least — that's at least ten of them! And more! We have to get away!"

"For now, yes. But Sable, my love... Call me by name again. I miss the sound of it on your little tongue."

"What! What are you talking about!"

Shameless and thoughtless, he yanked my hand over and slipped it between the open edges of his robe. Under my palm, a steady thud too strong to be a mere heartbeat throbbed against my palm.

"Call me by my name again," he purred. "It'll be good luck for our travels. And then I'll take us away from here."

Oh, God. It was too late to get the car moving now. I looked to my left, and past my window, there were even more witch hunters creeping upon us. They had their hands and talismans raised, already beginning to cast their spells—

"Asmodeus!" I practically screeched. "There! Whatever you're about to do, just do it!"

"Mmm... My other name, love. Let me hear you..."

Fucking fuck shit for fuck's sake!"

"Lust!" I screamed as two of the hunters summoned the beginning of fireballs. "Please!"

"Your wish is my command."

He punched his fist through his window and smeared the remaining snow off of the passenger side mirror in one blurred motion. It was so fast I didn't know what he'd done — until he yanked me out of my seat toward himself.

And one hurricane-like gale force later, we were gone.