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

23

"How about you stay out of the water and keep your hands off of me for one minute." I moved forward and away from him, bending my knees in the gently rippling bath -- but his long fingers curled into my shoulder and dug in, holding me still. He didn't even have to try. His sheer strength kept me where he wanted like steel restraints, completely unmoving.

My lips twitched. This was a Prince of Demons, a Lord of Hell. I was naked in a steaming hot springs bath with one behind me, skin to skin. And now his thumb traced languorous circles behind my shoulder, his palm pressing to me and molding tight right where the curve of my neck began.

Asmodeus.

Lust.

One of the most powerful demons in existence literally had me in his grasp.

How the hell had things come to this?

"You're under contract," I reminded him. I kept my eyes trained forward, staring at the wall. "And I consider you using your magic on me as doing harm, since it's controlling me against my will for your gratification. I know my rights under our agreement."

"Yes, our agreement. We are both under contract, Sable..." A rustle of clothes, a long sigh... and then two long legs slipped into the water on either side of me. The gray-blue of his robe floated on top of the water over them, so at least he hadn't stripped, but that didn't really matter, did it? He could probably recreate it with a flick of his wrist or something. For demons, the garments they wore were like feathers and antlers, natural adaptations rather than any real wardrobe choice. Were his clothes even real?

I scooted forward and tensed, preparing to stand, when he slid down behind me, but his hands went under the water and caught me around the waist before I could escape. And there was nothing I could do when he dragged me backward against him, my back pressed flush to his chest and my ass...

"Don't," I barked. "Don't even think about it."

The mark on my wrist flashed underwater, and a golden light sparked from the symbol before suffusing it completely.

Behind me, Lust flinched. At first, I thought he was thrusting against me, but the small sound that escaped him sounded more like a surprised grunt than a groan.

Wait a second.

What was that about?

"Oh, Sable..." His hands tightened around my waist, fingers stroking with hot, barely bridled possessiveness. "I hate to disappoint, but Discipline doesn't work on me the way it would against lesser demons. I'm actually looking forward to experimenting with it later. But when did you learn to do that, love?"

Discipline? Lesser demons? More than ever, I regretted my lacking magic education, but if Lust had never shown up to torment me in the first place, I would never have needed it at all.

Still, I could gather from context clues and my intuition. Whatever I just did had affected him, and even though he resisted, I still had the edge. I was the one who had initiated the contract, and despite being magic-dead, I still had the blood of Solaria in my veins. I could fight this.

Maybe, if I was smart enough, I could even win.

"Doesn't matter where I learned to do it. Contract rights. We're not having sex, and I'm going to clean myself up. You can leave."

"Mm... I have rights under our contract too, my love. I don't have to leave you. Ever."

"Then you can sit there and we'll talk shop, I guess. No skin off my nose." I reached to the side and picked up another clean washcloth folded neatly on the edge to soap it. "So first off, I don't know these people know who you really are. I don't think they do, otherwise they never would have let you in regardless of my Solaria name. They know you're powerful, but that's probably it."

His thumb traced up and down my sides under the water. I closed my eyes and focused on scrubbing my arms. Anything to distract me. If he thought I was going to bend to his seduction like a pipe cleaner, he had another thing coming.

"Yes, I expect they don't know exactly what I am." He chuckled, his warm breath tickling my ear. "Even the Grand Master of the temple herself. But it's to be expected. Humans know me by too many forms to remember them all. But I'm also... not as I should be, yet. My Shards are still scattered, and my power is limited, especially after bringing us here. They sense only a part of me for now... But that'll change when I find my Shard."

"And what's this Shard thing you keep talking about? Where is it?"

"Somewhere near this Temple, or maybe even locked up inside it. The Shards are all part of me, love. I have the ability to travel through planes of reflection because of them. But there was a nasty incident between my brothers and me some time ago, and I was split up and scattered through the realms. Just brotherly spats. But now that I have you, I can turn my attention back to regaining what I've lost. And once I've done that, we'll take the throne." His hands slid up, fingers tracing their way closer to the underside of my breasts. "You'll be my queen, and we'll create a new Age. My Sable..."

"I told you to knock it off. We're not doing this here. Or at all, actually." I glanced toward the entrance, pulse quickening. The doors were closed and the sound of the water burbling everywhere definitely masked our voices from the threat of eavesdroppers, but there was no way we would go unnoticed if Lust decided to turn me over and fuck me into oblivion. The sound of our bodies slapping together, our wild movements disturbing the water, my moans as he pleasured me and forced my body to give in to his merciless fucking--

God damn it!

"Stop that!" I barked. "I know what you're doing, and it's not going to work. Use your powers on me again and see what happens." I caught and shoved his hands down just before his fingertips could brush my tightened nipples, but before I could fight my way from between his legs and stand up, he snatched me back and yanked me tight against his chest. And the rest of him. Which was all very, very hard. Great.

"I'll tell you a secret," he whispered, and his voice sent a shiver down my neck as he trailed his lips under my ear. "I'm weakened after teleporting us here. It's also why they weren't as cautious as they should have been about me, letting me inside their sanctuary... Imagine that. But if we're to find my missing Shard, I need more strength. And I need you... to give it to me."

"Give it to you?"

"I'm the Prince of Lust, my love. Consider what that means for my nature... The ways that my power could be replenished. Not to mention it would be pleasurable for both of us, such a convenient benefit--"

His fingers moved up toward my breasts again, but I was fast enough to stop them well before they could even come close this time. "Not a chance. You just said it yourself. You're weakened, so they don't realize what you actually are. Assuming you're telling the truth and that, I don't know, having sex is somehow going to top you up, that's just going to put everyone else on their guard when they feel you getting stronger. Not going to happen."

He laughed again. Was this all a joke? Seriously? We were bound by contract. If what he said about his so-called Shards was true, then I was magic-bound to help him find them, but he was also obligated to protect me. Exposing us and my lies-by-omission to the entire temple was the opposite of that.

"Forget it," I snapped. "I'm done washing so I'm going to dry off and talk to that lady now. Don't make any trouble and -- let me go, Lust."

"Mm... Like you keep saying, we have contractual rights. And my rights include your assistance when it's sorely needed. To tell you the truth, if I weaken any further, I might dissipate completely and end up trapped in reflections and dreams again, until I regain enough strength to find my way back to you a second time. Who knows how long that will take? And that jeopardizes our agreement, doesn't it? We have to stay close. The contract binds by proximity."

He kissed my bare shoulder, making me jerk slightly. God, everywhere he touched me was so hot, all over, deep.

"Only a temporary measure," he whispered. "I'll only take a little from you, and no more. You won't deny me that, will you? For both our sakes."

One of his hands fell away from mine, no longer resisting my protesting shove.

And dropped right between my thighs, and pressed.

"I'll only take what's owed me," he murmured. "Now give it to me, Sable."