55 Remember That

Bel

The elevator door dinged with disgusting cheerfulness as it settled on the gate floor, and Bel half shoved the doors open in his hurry to get by.

Getting coffee.

Of course she’d been getting coffee. Of course she’d beheaded a fucking chittahi. Of course she’d given God a piece of her lovely, wicked, wise mind.

She didn’t even give herself a break afterwards.

No, Lucifer had informed him that she’d brainstormed and coordinated the temporary modification of the gate process in order to better support the wounded and their families.

And then held her vigil over him that very same day.

He marched out of the tunnel with singular focus. A young demon pressed themself to the wall as he approached, watching him storm by with wide eyes.

There. Standing behind her desk, talking to Crocell and Krun without a care in the world. As if she didn’t have naughty lingerie on under her plain skirt and shirt, as if she hadn’t edged him for days as an incentive to behave and get healthy, as if she hadn’t beheaded a monster from another Universe and failed to fucking mention it .

Crocell and Krun saw him coming. Crocell’s eyebrows nearly hit his hairline at the same moment that Krun’s expression dropped into a knowing smirk. Lily, noticing the direction of their stares, started to turn towards him a moment too late.

He bent and wrapped his arms around her legs, bracing his shoulder near her ass and lifting her straight up. She flailed for balance, sitting back on his shoulder and grabbing one of his horns to steady herself. He turned without a word and headed toward the stairs to the Universal Hallway.

She laughed. “Bel, what—”

“I can’t throw you over my shoulder, otherwise your skirt will flip up and show everyone your pretty ass, so this is how it’s going to be.”

“I can walk!”

“Your legs are too short,” he growled, taking the stairs two at a time.

She grabbed both of his horns as they lunged upwards. “Never heard that one before.” She chuckled, wiggling a bit. “Obviously, you’re off bed rest, but maybe you should put me down and take it easy, big guy.”

Bel’s grip tightened on her silky legs. “There’s nothing easy about the way I’m about to take you , so consider this a warmup.”

He strode out of the arch, ignoring the stares aimed their way. The Hall seemed to be decently busy, if a bit somber. He set Lily down, careful that his shoulder didn’t flip her skirt up as he stood. She spun to face him, and he scooped her into a much more secure hold and launched them into the air so fast that, even if he’d somehow missed securing part of her skirt, no one would have been able to see anything anyway.

Lily gasped, throwing her arms tightly around his neck for just a moment before she got over her shock. He leveled out, pouring all his effort into speed, dimly noting the muscles that still ached. The people and arches below them blurred.

Good.

The first shake of her body snapped him out of his single-minded focus on getting her to Paradise, and he slowed.

Shit. Was he being too rough? Was he scaring her?

Lily’s laughter bubbled over, and she threw her head back, auburn hair flying in the wind, laughing so freely and joyously that he felt like he could fly without wings. She curled into him, kissing along his cheek to nip at his earlobe.

He flew faster.

She pressed her cheek against his, watching where they were going, fingers playing with the collar of his shirt. There. Finally. The Paradise arch loomed. Bel dipped, not bothering to check his speed, even though his wings were beginning to properly ache. Limitations are for later.

Lily went a little stiff. “We’re landing, right?”

Bel adjusted the angle, making minute calculations that were second nature after a lifetime of flight.

“Oookay,” Lily said, her voice a little higher than normal, her fingers going still on his collar.

At the last moment, he folded his wings, and they skimmed just a few feet below the highest part of the arch, the pristine white stone whipping by in a blink. He flared his wings and angled gently downwards, adjusting to the left when he spied a familiar round door. The landing was as gentle as he could make it, but it still jarred his body and jostled Lily ever so slightly in his arms.

He set her down and immediately grabbed her hand, towing her through the door and across the lawn. A cool, lovely, sunny day greeted them, the grass damp underneath their shoes. Beautiful—and irrelevant. Outside was not where the bed was. Or the mirror. He had plans for both.

Bel shouldered the door open, kicking it shut behind them and made it all of two steps across the entryway before the house shimmied and groaned in delight. He patted a wall, making a beeline for their bedroom.

“Good to see you too, buddy. We’re a little busy right now, so maybe go chat with other houses for a bit.”

He ushered Lily ahead of him and heard Carlton’s faint rumble of what he hoped was assent before he slammed the door and pushed Lily up against it, taking her mouth with feverish intensity.

She tasted like sweetness and coffee and life and her . He wanted to sink into it, weave it into his veins, never be apart from it again. He ignored the bitter tang of fear at the reminder that Lily might not always be with him and kissed her more deeply, slicking his tongue along hers, cradling her face, growling when she nipped at his lower lip and ground her hips against his.

The angles didn’t quite line up, and that was just fucking unacceptable. Gripping her thighs, he hoisted her up and pressed his cock against her core, separated only by his pants and the flimsy lace of her bodysuit. She gasped into his mouth. He released one of her thighs and held her throat firmly but without any real pressure, her dazed eyes snapping open to meet his.

“You beheaded a fucking chittahi and didn’t tell me about it ,” he growled, barely an inch between their noses. He could see every striation of her hazel eyes, the minute widening of them at his words, could practically listen to that mind of hers going to work.

“Heard about that did you?” she asked breathlessly, a smile flickering over her reddened lips, even as her eyes searched his, calculating, assessing. Her breathing steadied a bit as she pulled herself together, her slender hand smoothing up his back from where she’d dug under the collar of his shirt to cradle the back of his neck. “Are you mad?” she asked softly, thumb stroking over his skin. “Is that what this is about?”

“Mad?” Bel rumbled, pinning her back against the wall and holding her up with his body. He shifted his grip to her lower jaw, and the flicker of vulnerability in her eyes made his heart ache. “You stood in the archway of Heaven—which I know how you feel about—saw a gegony, beheaded a chittahi with the sword I gave you, then turned around and gave God—who I also know how you feel about—a piece of your mind. And then you haven’t stopped doing incredible and thoughtful and loving things since, and you think I’m mad ? Princess, I’m so fucking proud of you I could burst.”

Her soft inhale was a thing of beauty. The tension in her body seeped away, her fingers digging into the back of his neck, holding him closer.

He tilted his head, not bothering to hide his intensity. “Always have been, always will be.” He kissed her, hard. “So fucking proud of you,” he murmured into her mouth. Bel broke away to kiss down her neck, scraping his fangs as he went and making her arch against him. “Admittedly, I’m not thrilled that you didn’t tell me any of this.”

“You were supposed to be healing,” Lily breathed, grazing her nails over his biceps. “I didn’t want you to freak out. I was going to tell you once you were cleared.”

He felt her swallow hard, throat flexing under his lips, and raised his head to study her again. “I’ll accept that. I’m cleared. Anything else I need to know?”

“My safe word is Kennedy .”

There she was.

Bel’s grin felt wicked, and so did he, heat sparking through his blood, every filthy, depraved thing he’d ever wanted to do with this woman springing to the forefront of his brain.

“Bratty princess,” he growled, circling her neck again and brushing his lips teasingly over hers. Her eyes lit up with the challenge. “ So fucking proud of you. I want you to tell me the whole story in exquisite detail later. You know how proud I am of you, right?”

“Yes.” She tried to capture his lips, but he stayed just out of reach, pulling back to make solid eye contact with her as he gave a slow roll of his hips.

“You know how much I love you?”

“Yes,” she breathed.

“Good.” He turned to drop her on the bed, following her down before she could even bounce. He caught her laughter with his mouth, losing himself in the play of lips and teeth and tongues until he broke away for air. “Remember that, princess. Because I’m about to fuck you like I don’t.”

Lily

Bel yanked her skirt down, tugged her shoes off, and had her shirt halfway up her torso with a speed that made her breath catch. She sat up to free the bunched fabric, and he sent it flying across the room. His hands were warm and rough as they landed on her thighs, smoothing upwards until he gripped her hips, and then she was being lifted, flipped over, and shoved across the bed.

She got up onto her hands and knees, glancing over her shoulder in time to see him kick free of his pants and prowl across the bed, eyes gleaming. He came over her like a beast, pressing her upper body down to the mattress with most of his weight, his cock sliding over her inner thigh, leaving a trail of dampness in its wake. One arm braced on the mattress to keep from crushing her. His face buried in the juncture of her neck as his free hand slipped around her hip and down her belly, his fingers dipping under the lace to find her slick and wanting as he teased her with the barest of touches.

Yes, yes, yes. Missed you so much.

“I remember your little list of fantasies, princess. I’ve been thinking about them for months. So, here’s what I’m going to do,” he growled into her ear, holding her still as two of his fingers slid deep, easing some of her emptiness but not nearly enough. “You want primal? I’ll give you primal. I’m going to mark you up just like you wanted, and I’m going to play with this pretty little ass, maybe even use my tail to do it.”

She clenched on his fingers, scrabbling in the blankets to push back against him, seeking more—always more with him. Immediately.

His cock was right there . She nearly hissed in frustration.

Bel chuckled darkly and bore down on her with more weight. “I’m not done, greedy girl.”

Not done? She was about to come from his words alone. How the fuck was he not done?

“Go on,” she murmured. He shifted his forearm that had been braced on the mattress, bringing his hand over to capture her jaw and lift her head, forcing her gaze forward. Into the mirror.

Oh.

“I’m going to make you come apart for me, princess,” Bel growled, holding her gaze in the mirror, “and you’re going to watch while I do it.”

The pleasured tension that had built in her core with every lazy pump of his fingers and every word out of his filthy mouth jolted right to the edge of a climax at the sight of them in the mirror.

His wings were flared slightly, the gleaming talon at the apex glinting along with his horns in the cool golden light. He was every inch the battered demon prince—beautiful, all muscles and scars and barely leashed power, and she adored it. Her own reflection showed flushed cheeks, kiss-swollen lips, and eyes gleaming with excitement.

His claws pressed ever so slightly into her jaw, angling her head to allow him better access as he licked and nipped his way up her neck to rake his teeth over the shell of her ear. She shivered.

“Is there any part of that you have a problem with?”

His thumb flicked over her clit, once, twice, drawing the entirety of her focus to the brink of ecstasy she was so close to plunging over…

His fingers stilled, and she did hiss this time, trying to find any friction, any contact at all to push her over.

“Answer me.” Bel’s voice was guttural.

“I want all of it,” Lily gasped, twisting the blanket in her fists. “Now.”

“So bossy.” Bel’s fingers slipped free of her body, and she almost sobbed at the loss. She’d been so close…

His hand moved from her jaw to between her shoulder blades, pushing her upper body back down into the mattress, even as his other hand hauled her hips up. His hand began to slide down her spine, calluses catching on the flimsy fabric of her bodysuit, pulling it taut against her front before it sagged…

No, not his calluses.

His claws.

The lace and mesh gave way with a faint susurration, the very tips of his claws trailing down her skin with a light sting. He pushed and tugged the fabric away from her body until it tangled around her legs, keeping her from spreading her knees too far apart. Every time she moved to help him, he pressed her down with a firm hand and a deep rumble. He shifted away completely, the sound of her bedside drawer sliding open.

Lily lifted her head to peer into the mirror, confusion melting into a heady throb centered between her thighs.

The bottle of lube was tiny in his hand, and he set it on the blanket with intent precision, like he was staging the scene just so. His eyes caught hers in the mirror, and he slid his hands over her hips with a smirk. She was completely open to him, completely at his mercy.

Habitual insecurity flickered through her mind at the exposure, only to be quickly chased away by the absolute confidence she had in Bel. In herself. In them.

So she stretched her arms forward and arched her back, offering herself to him, preening at his attention, raising an eyebrow as she smiled daringly at him in the mirror. His tail lashed against the pillows.

One hand left her hip, only to come down on her ass with a resounding smack that jolted her forward and stole her ability to breathe properly. Before the pain even registered, his hand massaged her cheek, turning the sting into buzzing warmth.

“That’s for not telling me about the chittahi,” he said darkly, then repeated the process with the other side.

Lily moaned, pleasure tingling up her spine, inching her back towards the edge of the orgasm that had eluded her.

“That’s for taking care of everyone except yourself afterwards.” A series of spankings and massages followed, until her entire backside was burning with pleasure-pain, and she could see the redness of her skin in the mirror. Still, she lifted her ass for more, needing just one more to go over that edge, but Bel simply bent to nip at one reddened cheek, kissing his way up her lower back, tongue dancing along the lines of her tattoo.

“Bel, please,” she almost sobbed, the crescendo slipping away again.

He smiled against her skin and moved away.

Then he reached for the bottle.

She watched him drizzle a line of lube over her ass, but the coolness of it still jolted her as it dripped between her cheeks. His finger, claw fully retracted, caught a dribble and followed it up to circle lightly around her puckered entrance.

Circling and pressing, circling and pressing until he pressed just a bit harder—

She exhaled in a wordless burst of sensation.

It was unfamiliar but definitely not unpleasant, a new type of fullness she certainly wasn’t opposed to. She squeezed her eyes shut, letting her head drop, all of her focus on that wonderful new sensation.

Bel tsked disapprovingly, pumping his finger once, then adding more lube and pumping again, working her open. “Eyes open, princess. I know how much you like to watch.”

She forced her eyes open, panting and dragging her eyes to the mirror where Bel loomed behind her. She couldn’t see exactly what he was doing, but she could see the way his forearm flexed with each movement, movement that she felt down to her toes. His finger eventually eased away, though she moved back, chasing it, begging with a wordless moan for more , pausing only when she saw his long, prehensile tail curling around his thigh.

Yes. Yes, yes, yes…

“How well did you pay attention when you read those books of mine, big guy?” she asked breathlessly, pushing up onto her forearms to get a better view.

His smirk was wicked. “Guess we’ll find out.”

Bel flicked the cap of the lube closed and set it aside, fist slicking over the very tip of his tail and making it glisten before guiding it down.

It was blunter and slightly thicker than his finger. She dropped her chest to the twisted blankets, one hand reaching back to claw at his thigh but unable to gain purchase at that angle. It pressed in, hot and thick, stretching without straining, and her body sang .

Her climax barreled into her like a freight train, lights scattering across her vision as she gave a wordless cry.

It had been so fucking long, and he was being so delicious and filthy, and his tail tip was in her ass, and it felt so good she never wanted it to end and yet wanted more, all at once.

She writhed, pushing back, clawing at him, gasping his name. He hissed, scraping his claws down her side, not drawing blood but leaving a sting in their wake, as well as leftover smears of slickness from the lube.

Lily panted through the aftershocks, trying to reorganize her understanding of pleasure and desire around the fullness still in her ass when she felt something hotter and thicker and gloriously familiar being guided between her thighs, his ridged cock thrusting slowly and coating itself in her dripping heat.

“Did I pay enough attention for you?” Bel kissed between her shoulder blades and bit just hard enough to be on the right side of pain.

Lily pushed herself into the bite, rolling her back against his chest, another orgasm already building.

“Good enough,” Lily gasped, trying to focus her vision, which was hazy but clearing by the second. “There’s always room for improvement, and I’d hate for you to get cocky—”

He filled her in one jarring thrust, the shock and dual fullness of her lower half sending her into another crashing, mind-rending climax. His forehead pressed into her upper back, his ragged breaths hot against her hypersensitive skin as he fought for control, to hold himself still and allow her to adjust as she shuddered underneath him.

“Kennedy?” he asked hoarsely.

“Get fucked,” Lily mumbled.

She panted, open-mouthed, caving to the urge to close her eyes and bask in the zips of lighting that seemed to comprise her body. Whatever he had, she could take.

His growl rumbled through his chest, and he withdrew slowly before slamming back home, balls tapping against her oversensitive clit. “I said, eyes open .”

Her eyes were open— were her eyes open?

She was pretty sure they were, but everything was dancing lights and other irrelevant shit, like walls and blankets—the mirror, she needed to see the mirror. She lolled her head to the side, resting her sweaty cheek against her upper arm, searching in the vague direction the mirror might be.

There. Oh gods, there they were.

And they were glorious.

Bel’s eyes held hers in the reflection as he moved over her like a tide, the slap of their bodies joining together and their combined gasps and moans a music of their own making.

Suddenly, he reared back, seizing her around the throat and pulling her up with him, banding his other arm around her to press every inch of her back to his chest as he pounded up into her.

“Look at us, princess. Look at you ,” he half snarled into her ear, his motions shallower at that angle, but his thick, ribbed cock riding over a spot inside her that had her chanting his name like a prayer. He didn’t need to tell her to look.

She couldn’t look away .

His hand that splayed over her belly moved down over her sopping curls. His fingers spread in a V around where they were joined, his rough palm pressing against her swollen clit at the same moment his tail shifted a little deeper into her ass.

Lily tried to climb out of her skin, clutching at his forearm, at his muscular ass as it flexed, driving him deeper.

Too much, it was too much. She’d shatter into pieces, she’d become something else, something new. Her body couldn’t handle this much pleasure, she didn’t know what would happen—

Bel pressed his temple into her hair, every line of his face utterly feral as he flicked her clit with his thumb.

Lily exploded. Nothing existed before them, maybe nothing would exist after them, who fucking cared. Every nerve ending crackled with energy, sparking and humming and pulsing, the heady image of them in the mirror twined together like colliding galaxies was replaced by snowy whiteness. Nothing else mattered but their pleasure—the heat of Bel’s skin against hers, and his shout as he followed her over the edge.

Lily came back to the world in a haze, cheek pressed into the mattress, Bel draped over her like a panting blanket, his face resting alongside hers. He still pulsed deep inside her, but the pressure of his tail was gone. He, like she, was absolutely dripping sweat, his eyebrows furrowed over his tightly shut eyes.

Lily sucked in a full breath. Her body still buzzed, actually felt a little shaky in the best way, but the cataclysmic sexual frenzy had passed.

Bel’s eyes opened and he blinked several times, like he also had to reorient himself in his body. Worry sharpened his expression. “You okay?”

She smiled softly, chest full and aching all at once. “Never better. You?”

Bel brushed some of her hair back, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips and settling his cheek more comfortably on the mattress with a smile.

“Now I’m really home.”