Chapter 54

Cole

District V, Budapest, Hungary

C ole woke to screaming. His entire nervous system flooded with adrenaline, and he lurched up, eyes searching for whatever was wrong. But all he could see was his Angel, high-pitched yelps spilling from her sleep-parted lips at whatever nightmare was haunting her. He unwound the sheets from around her with one hand, slipping the other beneath her head as he rested his body over top of hers to stop her from thrashing. Running his nose along her silky cheek, he murmured, “Angel, it’s okay, but I need you to wake up.”

Her screaming slowly tapered off. “Cole?” she asked, voice raspy from her screams.

“Yeah, sweetheart, it’s me, you’re safe.” He could see her pulse pounding in her throat, feel her heart fluttering under his chest. “You had a nightmare. But your pulse is going way too fast, little witch, I need you to breathe for me.” Her breaths were still emerging as gasps, consistent with her intaking far too little air. “Hey, hey, breathe with me.” He modeled a breath for her, her wide grey eyes staring at him. “C’mon, Angel, breathe with me.”

Evie nodded, finally inhaling along with him. “That’s right. That’s my good little witch.” She was settling down, her breaths coming far more evenly, and his body was now realizing that he was cradled right where he wanted to be. “Good girl.”

She nodded, eyes still round but no longer filled with fear.

“Another memory?” he asked. Fuck, he needed to not be a creepy piece of shit.

“Not a different one,” she responded. Her arms were still tight around him, but her fingers were slowly scraping along his spinal cord. “Same one. Aidoneus dying, although I did see his murderer’s face more closely this time.” She scraped her nails along his back, digging in slightly, and his hips rocked against her. “Aidoneus looks so much like you. When he’s dying in her arms, all I can see is you dying in mine.”

“Angel, it’s not me. I’m still very much here and alive.” Cole pulled one of her hands off his back, placed it on his cheek. “See? Still soft and warm and living.”

“Not all that soft,” his siren of a future wife cooed, wrapping her lithe legs around his waist and rocking herself against him.

Soft morning light poured in through the windows surrounding them. An almost full wall of windows to the left of the bed. A skylight almost the length of the ceiling over their heads. In the warm glow of the almost-risen sun, Evie practically sparkled.

“Fucking hell,” he grumbled down at her. With one large hand, he palmed her ass, forcing her against his rapidly-hardening dick. “You’re insatiable.”

“You got a problem with that?” she snarked back, eyes shimmering with mischief, sealing her fate.

“Bratty little witch, you think you would have learned.” His voice was lower than he’d ever heard it, almost feral in its intensity. With a sudden move, he lifted off Evie, which was a monumental feat on its own, given the sad whimper she let loose when he pulled away. “On your hands and knees facing the headboard.”

Evie followed his order quickly, her auburn hair sweeping down over her right shoulder as she glanced back over her left at him. The wrought iron rods of the antique bed sat right in front of her face.

“Now wrap those perfect hands around the headboard.”

After she followed his final order, Cole leaned back, admiring the scene in front of him. Her body was laid out in front of him, a buffet stretched out for him alone, her ass raised at the perfect angle for his intended punishment. “Jesus wept, Angel, you’re so perfect.” Stroking a hand over her ass, he gave her a soft swat. Her resulting gasp nearly had him throwing his plans out the window and sinking into her immediately. He could see just how wet she was from where he was kneeling behind her, knew that he could drive into her in a single thrust that would cause his world to tilt even further off its axis. But he wanted to see her ass jiggle under his palms, bring her pain tempered with pleasure that would have her shattering around him when he finally deigned to let her come on his cock.

The grin that spread over his face was probably more than a little deranged. “Little witch, you know what happens when you’re a brat, don’t you?”

Her responding smirk spiked his own body temperature. “No, sir.”

Her and that smart mouth and brilliant brain of hers. “No, you don’t know what happens when you’re a brat? Or no, you’re not a brat?”

“The second one, sir. I would never be a brat.” Her tone was too light, the underlying giggle a little too innocent, for it to be believable.

“Of course not.” Cole nodded as if he agreed. Right before he swatted her ass a bit harder, roughly enough that a red handprint appeared on her porcelain flesh as she moaned. Leaning down over her back, he summoned his magic, warding her hands to the bed.

Even that small bit of magic had the skin on her back exploding into goosebumps. Her hips rolled back, desperately looking for him, while her breath emerged in small pants. Her own magic responded so sweetly to his, scraping along his skin erotically. Cole chuckled, traced his fingers down her spine, relishing the sight of her before him. “I think you’re lying to me, though, vilaine fille ,” he said quietly, dropping back to his knees behind her. His hands fell away from her. “I think you know how much of a brat you’ve been, and you’re desperate for me to punish you for it.”

Evie shook her head swiftly, her mouth opening to respond, but she rocked forward as his hand landed hard on her ass. A small sound of pleasure rolled out of her open mouth instead of words.

“That’s right, Angel.” He slapped the other side of her ass. She tugged against the headboard, but his wards held her fast. “Now don’t get any ideas about escaping. The only way out of this is to safeword. Do you remember your safeword?” He dealt her a glancing slap, a tease more than anything else.

Her head bobbled forward in a nod.

“No, Angel, I need you to respond verbally, sweet girl.” Cole seized a handful of her hair in his palm and tugged her head gently back. “Do you remember your safeword?”

“Yes, sir,” came her throaty response.

“Say it for me now.”

“Marshmallow. My safeword is marshmallow, sir.”

He made an approving sound in the back of his throat. “And if you say that word for any reason, I stop immediately. It’s the only word that will make me stop since ‘no’ is a natural response to pain, even pleasurable pain. So, if you want to stop for any reason, you just say your safeword. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Such a good little witch when you know you’re about to get punished.” Cole smoothed a hand over her ass. “Now if only you behaved regularly, you wouldn’t have to deal with the sore ass I’m about to give you.”

Evie let out a high-pitched whine of frustration and rocked against the wards anchoring her hands to the headboard.

“Oh, sweetheart, flaunting that pretty little ass isn’t going to make me stop. In fact, it just makes me want to spank it red even more.” Fuck, she was so tempting, served up for him like this, ready to accept every depraved fantasy he had. “You’re going to get twenty strikes, ten per side. Each time I spank you, you’re going to count. Do you understand?” She nodded again, and he pinched her ass. “No, baby, you’re going to speak for me now. Use that smart mouth of yours to tell me you understand.”

Evie’s mouth opened. “I understand, sir.”

He growled, letting loose a slap at her right ass cheek. Evie yelped as his hand connected before gasping out, “One.” “You're being such a good girl for me, Angel. Don't forget to keep up your counts, though, or we'll have to start over again.”

He alternated between sides of her ass, location of the hit on her cheeks, and the intensity of the slaps. His Angel kept up her count the entire time, even though her speech disintegrated into loud moans, gasping sobs, and open tears that were barely distinguishable as words by twenty. By the end, her skin was flaming red, and she was begging for him. “Have you learned your lesson, brat?” he asked, one hand gently stroking his length.

“Yes, sir. Gods, yes, I’ve learned my lesson, sir.” She was rocking back and forth, the rhythmic flow of her body the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life. “Please.”

“Please what?” The side of his lips tugged up in a slight smile.

“Please make me come, sir. I need you inside me so badly.” Her voice cracked. “ Please .”

“Well, since you asked so sweetly.” Cole dipped his free hand between her thighs, groaning at how wet she had gotten during her punishment. “Gods, Angel, you’re soaked.” And, suddenly, his original plans vanished because he knew with absolute certainty that, if he didn’t get inside of her right now, he would lose his fucking mind.

Lining himself up with her entrance, he thrust himself into her, setting a punishing pace from the start.

“Fuck, Cole.” Evie’s voice was climbing in volume. “Oh my god, yes, right there! Please, Cole, I’m so close.”

Her throaty voice calling his name, begging for him, was going to be his absolute undoing. He could already feel himself unraveling, his balls drawing tight as she bore down on him. “Angel, fuck, baby, I need you to come for me.” He dropped his fingers between her thighs once more, her clit raised under his fingers. At the smallest brush of his fingers over the bundle of nerves, Evie cried out, arching her back. The wards flared bright blue, clear evidence of the magic flowing through her finding its way out, even if it was only to dismantle his own magic holding her captive.

Magic roiled through the room, almost physical in its overwhelming presence. He could feel it running up his spine, stroking around him, little tangible touches and reminders that Evie and he were made for each other. A low, growling sound filled the room, and he realized it was emerging from his own chest as he thrust into his little witch, hard enough that the headboard was slapping against the wall and her body shook under the intensity. The world was awash in the neon blue of his magic, dragged to the fore by her own.

Cole ran his fingers over her taut clit one last time. “Come for me, sweetheart,” he ordered.

At his command, Evie came apart around his cock. Her screams filled the apartment, her inner walls clamping around him as she broke for him. Ultimately, it was her orgasm that dragged him under.

His punishing tempo faltered, and his back seized as he pumped into her, christening her pussy with his cum. “That’s right, take my cum for me, sweetheart, feel it fill that desperate cunt of yours,” he demanded, black dots sparking along the edges of his vision with each clench of her around his cock. His gaze narrowed to a tunnel where all he could see were Evie’s own lust-drenched, magically-lit eyes peeking back at him through an auburn veil of curls. “You’re so fucking perfect.”

His little praise slut squeaked at his words, a happy shiver running along her body before she slumped to the bed. At some point, her hands had gotten free. He glanced at the headboard, lifting an eyebrow at the wrought iron rungs now melted by her magic. Hayden would probably bitch an annoying amount about the ruined antique, but that was an issue for another day.

Running one hand along Evie’s back, Cole quickly checked her breathing and pulse rate with the other. “You good, Angel?”

She nodded lazily, arms stretched above her head as she lowered herself to the bed. “Um-hm.” Her eyes were closed in bliss, one knee elevated up by her waist.

Cole’s heart gave a slow pulse at the sight of his whole world lying in this bed, his mother’s ring encircling her finger. His gaze tripped lower, catching sight of her ass, reddened with his hand prints. A smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth before he got out of bed to go search the bathroom for arnica cream. Since it was Hayden’s place, he assumed there would be some readily available.

“Where you going?” Her voice trailed after him as he rummaged through the bathroom.

“Looking for some arnica cream so that pretty ass of yours doesn’t bruise too badly.” Ah, there it was. Snatching it out of the medicine cabinet, he turned back to the door, tube in hand. From his vantage point, he could see the whole of the bedroom including his naked witch propped up on her forearms, head swiveled towards him with a stunning smile on her face. He pressed a hand against his chest, hoping to calm his stuttering heart, before walking over to her. “It has anti-inflammatory properties so it’ll help soothe… ” Noticing the charmed expression on her face, he trailed off. “What?”

“Cole, my love, I’m a witch. I know the properties of arnica.” Her eyes were merry. “Since we didn’t have access to drug stores and pain medications in the forest, we made do with what we had.” She let out a soft gasp as he rubbed the lotion over her cheeks. “But the application was a lot less seductive than that.”

With a chuckle, Cole swiped the remainder of the cream from his fingertips onto his upper thighs and quickly kissed Evie’s shoulder. He stood up, catching a glimpse of the happiness on her face. If he could keep her smiling like that for the rest of their immortal lives, he would count that as an eternity well spent. “I’m gonna go grab some water for you and check if they dropped off our bags. Don't move, okay?”

Evie gave him a quick nod before snuggling down under the covers.

Their bags were sitting inside the front door, courtesy of the guard from downstairs per the note identifying the specific times when he had entered and left the flat. Cole tossed the piece of paper on the kitchen counter before seizing the bags and a bottle of water from the refrigerator and walking back into the bedroom.

Evie was still in bed but not where he had left her. Instead, she was seated on the edge, the blankets draped around her shoulders and a look of bewilderment on her face. “Do you hear that?”

Cole started to ask what he was supposed to be hearing, but the instant the apartment fell silent, he heard the roar from outside. “What the fuck?” Dropping their luggage, he strode to the window. Silently, Evie joined him, and they looked in horror through the window at a towering plume of lava in the distance.

“Does Hungary have volcanoes?” Evie asked. “I didn’t think it did.”

Cole shook his head. “I don’t know of any. I know it’s famed for its volcanic-region wines, but those were from the age of the dinosaurs.” That random knowledge thanks to the labels on expensive bottles of wine from random clients.

“Cole.” Evie’s voice was low and urgent. “Did we do that?”

He wanted desperately to reassure her, tell her that it definitely wasn’t them. But, although he wasn’t sure they had caused the lava spraying in a country with no active or dormant volcanoes, it was a good bet they had. “Yeah, I… um, I think we did.”

They stood in silence, staring at the still spewing column of lava, so far in the distance it was hazy and obscured behind clouds and mountains but still there. Down below, screams of panic and the ambient noise of sirens joined the unsettling soundtrack of the volcano's eruption.

Evie glanced up at him. “I’m pretty sure Hungary just told us where we’re supposed to go, huh?” Her lips quivered a little bit, almost as if she was considering laughing but couldn’t bring herself to do so. “Guess we don’t need to call the Moirai for that answer then.”

“Seems like it.” Wrapping his arm around her waist, Cole hugged Evie into him, brushed a kiss over her temple. "I guess the Underworld awaits, my queen.”