Chapter Five

I read the parchment again and heave a sigh at the prospect of trying to attempt this nonsense. "Are there any additional rules or clarifications?" I ask.

He shrugs. "Not that I'm aware of. Except you have to do these things on your own. No asking for help."

I roll my eyes. Who would I ask, anyway?

"Staying here wouldn't be so bad, Penny," he says. "You could rule the Underworld with me. It's a fascinating place. Far more interesting than the mortal realm." The look on his face is…vulnerable?

His offer actually sounds kind of intriguing, except for the fact that I'm not being given a choice. If I want to be co-ruler of hell, I should at least choose to do it, right? Not just fall into it like Alice falling in a hole.

Straightening my shoulders, I take a deep breath. Okay, I need to think. These tasks may be difficult, but I should at least try. What's there to lose? Besides, if they were impossible, why would this option even exist? There must be some way to do this. So maybe I just need to think creatively.

I sip my Sprite and gnaw on the end of the straw. How does one undo a sin? Once a sin has occurred, how could it be undone? But it doesn't say what kind of sin or that it has to be one I committed. So perhaps I can work with any sin?

"Hey, Ty, what are some sins? Surely you know them, right, O Lord of the Underworld?" I flutter my lashes at him and he laughs.

"Sure. Lust, sloth, murder, greed, envy, pride…should I keep going?"

I shake my head as an idea forms. "No, I'm good." I reach into my tiny gold purse and pull out my phone. Miracle of miracles, I still have a signal. Wherever we are, apparently it's in range of a satellite somewhere.

I open a few apps and tap the screen. Within minutes, I've accomplished what I set out to do. It was surprisingly easy, and if this doesn't count as cheating, maybe I actually have a chance at success.

"There," I say. "One down, I think."

He tilts his head, curiosity on his beautiful face. Those green-and-amber eyes are mesmerizing. "What did you do?"

"I just donated fifty percent of the money in my bank account to charities. Animal welfare organizations, specifically."

He stares at me, and it's clear that he doesn't quite understand. "Okay?"

I shrug and sip more Sprite. "Look, I don't know how to undo a sin. I don't think that's even possible, unless you can control time or something. What I can do, however, is counteract a sin. Greed one of the sins you mentioned, yeah? Avarice? Well, by donating a significant portion of my own wealth to those in need—more than I can really afford, actually—I'm helping offset some of the greed in the world, right?"

He grins, his harsh lips crooking up at the corners. If his eyes are enchanting, his mouth is fascinating. His lips are just on the right side of fullness, without crossing over into pillowy or feminine. When he doesn't smile, they're a hard slash across his face, but they transform when he's amused.

"I think that probably counts. As a human, I don't know what more you could do."

"Exactly," I say, grinning back at him. I lean in close, tracing those interesting lips with my finger. "Can I kiss you?" I ask. "I know it seems out of the blue, but…"

He arches a brow, but nods.

I shake my head. "Nope, I need verbal consent."

He chuckles. "Yes, you can kiss me."

I press my lips to his and let my eyes close, enjoying the whiskey-and-smoke taste of him. When he deepens the kiss, I go with it, letting my attraction for him override my good sense for a minute or two. When we finally pull apart, we're both panting.

"That's two," I say. "The first time I kissed you, I made a mistake in not asking. Stealing a kiss, as you put it. I have done my best to rectify that. To redo my mistake, so to speak. Surely that's what it has to mean, I think. Redo an action, but in the correct way. Not make the same mistake again. What would be the point of that?"

He nods. "Seems logical enough to me. It's only taken you fifteen minutes to get through the first two items on the list. Not bad, Penny."

"Thank you," I smile and mime dusting off my shoulder. "But the third one is puzzling, if only because I don't really know what it means. How do I outdo a demon if I don't even know what demons do?"

He shrugs again, his powerful muscles flexing under his shirt. "I can't give you information."

I drum my fingers against the table, thinking. "You can't help me, but can you participate? If I told you what to do, you could do it?"

He sits and leans back, assessing me. "Probably, within reason. Why, what are you thinking?"

"Those burlesque dancers we saw earlier—they were demons, right?"

It makes sense now. The outrageous costumes weren't costumes at all. They were just normal demon appearances. But I have a feeling there are plenty of less seductive demons out there, and not all of them dance. I'm not going to like…out-murder one or something. Presuming demons are evil. I'm way out of my depth.

He nods. "They were. You want me to dance with you?"

I laugh and shake my head. "No. They were far too talented. I couldn't outdo Dialevia on the pole. But…" I trail off, uncertain if I'm really going to propose this.

"But?" He arches a dark eyebrow at me, curiosity written all over his face.

"Have you ever slept with any of them?"

His eyes widen, as if I've surprised him. "You sure you want to know?"

I nod.

"Sweet Penny, I'm the Lord of the Underworld. I'm as old as time and not a particularly good person. Of course I've fucked my demons. More times and in more ways than you can imagine."

I think he's trying to warn me off, but instead I get a shiver at the thought. How many positions must he know? How many ways could he get me off, if given the chance? How many ways could I return the favor? I bite my cheek to hide my grin. "Like I said, I can't outdo them on the pole. But maybe I could outdo at least one in the bedroom."

Fire shoots through his eyes and he chuckles darkly. "It would be brave of you to try."

I shrug, hoping I seem casual. "Nothing I haven't done before."

"Oh, but it is." His eyes are alight with wicked mischief and his grin is huge. "I've only ever fucked demons in my true form. If you want to outdo them, that's what you'd be facing."

"And what exactly is your true form?"

"You couldn't handle it."

"Try me."

"No, it would terrify you, little human."

I narrow my eyes at him. "If I fail this challenge, I spend eternity with you. I'm sure I'd see your true form eventually. At least if you show me now, there's a chance you get laid."

He throws his head back and laughs. "Very well. Remember, you asked for this." He smirks at me as his skin begins to change and then, before my eyes, becomes…something else entirely.

He's huge, at least eight feet tall, covered in scales and tails and horns.

Gone is his all-black outfit. He stands in front of me, gloriously nude—and blue!—rippling with muscles and serpent scales. Three snake tails swish behind him, his head is crowned with a pair of huge, sweeping horns, and not one, but two enormous cocks jut out, proudly at attention.

Only his eyes remain the same, watching me carefully, gauging my reaction.

"Holy fuck," I finally say.

He barks out another laugh. "Not what you were expecting?" His voice has changed too, a raspy booming thunder of sound that sort of echoes in on itself.

I shake my head. "I guess not. I think I imagined something more like your mask. You know, the devil?"

He nods. "I have been called that, of course, and I have taken that form many, many times. But this is my original appearance. And I am not the devil, exactly, not in the sense you mean. I am the Lord of the Underworld. It is…different."

I suppose I could have a debate with him right now about theology or mythology or his -ology of choice. He could school me on his millennia of history and who and what he actually is. But honestly? I don't really care. Because at the moment, I'm captivated by the horns on his head. He sees me staring.

"They frighten you? I did warn you."

Ha, anything but. I chew my lip. "No. It's just…" I trail off and blush.

"Tell me," he demands.

"I was just imagining holding on to them while I ride your face," I say, avoiding eye contact. It's true. His new form is monstrous, but somehow, no less appealing to me. I still want to fuck him every which way I can.

He growls, actually growls , deep in his chest and swoops me up. In two steps he has me at the bar, where he sets me down. Even with him on his knees, this might not be high enough. He shoves my dress up above my hips and rips off my lace panties. In an instant, he's on his knees, his face buried between my thighs.

He takes a long, deep inhale. "Penny, you smell delicious. I can't wait to taste you."

The image of him licking his fingers earlier pops into my mind. "Didn't you already?"

"Not nearly enough."

His face is as big as the rest of him, and he shoves it against my flesh, dragging his tongue along my crease and sending fireworks shooting through me. He swirls the tip of it around my clit, rimming and stroking and making me wild.

"Hold on," he mutters, and then he adds his fingers to the mix. In this form, they're easily long enough to reach the hot spot inside me, and he rubs it as he licks me. I gasp and buck, and then I follow his instructions: I grab onto his horns and hang on for dear life as he eats me like dessert.

"Keep your legs spread," he growls, and then he presses the flat of one hand low on my belly. He keeps the pressure there firm, but continues to work both my clit and G-spot simultaneously. I mewl as the pleasure builds hot and fast.

"Keep that up and I'm gonna come," I pant.

He glances up at me and breaks off his attentions for just a second. "Oh, Penny. You aren't just going to come. You're going to erupt. You're going to squirt for me."

I blink at him. "I've never done that before. I don't even know how."

He raises a wicked brow. "Lie back and let me take care of it. All you have to do is enjoy."

Yes, sir. Message received.

I lie back on the bar and focus on keeping my thighs wide. He goes back to his ministrations, crooking a finger deep inside me and sucking on my clit. All the while, he keeps that steady pressure on my low belly, as if he's stimulating my G-spot from both sides.

A tsunami begins to form inside me, something wild and strange and uncontrollable. Sensations I've never experienced are rolling through me, small waves of concentric pleasure that I can tell are leading up to something huge.

My hips jerk against him as he hits a particularly sweet spot, and a strangled noise erupts from my throat.

"Ty," I gasp. "Something is happening. I don't know if I can…"

He pulls back and blows hot air against my fevered skin. "Relax, Penny. Let it take you under."

He drops his lips back into place, sucks hard, and I shatter. Pleasure, hot and sharp, pierces through me. My clit throbs, my hips go wild, my thighs tremble, and still the orgasm hammers through me, as if it's intent on drowning me. I feel a hot spurt of release shoot out of me, creamy and dripping, and it's not until Ty takes pity on me and stops touching me that the force of my climax begins to relent.

"Holy. Fucking. Shit," I pant.

He looks up at me, head still between my legs, and shoots me a feral grin. His chin glistens with my juices, which I apparently shot all over his face. Damn. Every other orgasm I've ever had was merely a warmup for what he just did to me.

Once I catch my breath, I prop myself up on one elbow and eye his two cocks, which are hard as iron and glistening at the tips.

"Why two?" I ask, pointing at them. "Is there a difference?"

"They function the same, if that's what you mean. But having two allows me to switch back and forth. To come twice as many times. To keep you coming twice as many times. When one is spent, I just switch to the other. And my rebound time is far faster than that of any human," he brags.

"Well, I'm more than eager to test them out, but I have to warn you: there's no way I can come again. You've used me up."

He laughs, a sinful sound I feel all the way in my bones. "Oh, Penny. Believe me when I tell you you'll come for me again when I fuck you. At least twice."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Challenge accepted." I yank off my dress and bra, ready to really do the damn thing.

Like the rest of him, his cocks are bigger in this form. Luckily for me, I'm literally dripping wet, so accommodating all that girth isn't as big a challenge as it might be. Still, as he enters me slowly, I feel the burn of being stretched.

"Are you okay?" he asks.

I nod. "I'm good. More than good. You feel amazing." I still have my doubts about any more orgasms, but I can still enjoy the sensation of fullness and the fun of being fucked by a man—monster?—who has mastered it like a sport.

Because of his height, he's standing at kind of an awkward angle with his legs shot wide, but I can't get up any higher than the bar. He doesn't seem to mind, instead focused on the slow rhythm of sliding his upper cock in and out of me, while the lower one glides between my ass cheeks.

"Mmmm," I sigh at the sweet pleasure of it. I was right—I won't come from this, but it still feels lovely. He picks up his pace and force a little, banging me into the bar and making my boobs bounce.

"Your tits look so pretty jiggling for me," he growls.

I laugh and let my head fall back, enjoying the feel of him inside me. But suddenly, he stops. I pick my head up. "Something wrong?"

"Yes," me mutters. He pulls out and walks behind the bar, rifling around. Eventually he comes back with several towels, which he rolls into a sort of makeshift bolster.

"Lift your hips," he orders. I do, and he slides the towels under me, angling me upward. Without missing a beat, he shoves back inside of me, making us both hiss. "Much better," he says.

I gasp in agreement. I hadn't thought much about the angle, but this new position is way better. Every time he drives deep, his pubic bone grinds into my clit and his crown rubs my spot deep inside. He strokes against me again and again, palming one breast in his hand and pinching at the nipple.

"You're so wet and warm for me, little human," he says.

"You're so big and hard for me."

He chuckles and picks up his pace again, shunting into me hard and fast. Unbelievably, little sparks of pleasure begin to build deep inside of me, the stirrings of an orgasm. I groan at the sensation and he grins at me. Without a word, he slides his free hand between us and rubs my clit with the pad of his thumb. Within seconds, I'm trembling and straining, and then the dam breaks and I come like a rushing river.

"Fuck," I grit out, but he's coming now too, hard and hot inside me. I feel him swell and then spill, and that's when I realize he's not wearing a condom.

Shit.

He must feel me tense, because he opens his eyes and looks at me. "What?"

"No condom," I say.

"Oh, that. It's no problem. I'm not human. I can't get you pregnant and we can transmit diseases to one another. I only used one earlier because you didn't know what I was and it would have been suspicious not to."

"Oh. That's good."

I drop my head back as he slowly pulls out of me. My thighs are aching and I'm covered in sweat, but I suspect he's not done. When he picks me up from the bar and carries me back over to the couches, I'm sure of it.

I glance down, and yep, his second cock is still at attention and ready to go. Ty drops onto the couch and brings me with him, settling me over his lap.

"Ride me, sweet Penny," he demands.

And with a shiver, I do.

I don't know how long we were at it, but it seemed like hours. All I know is that I'm sweaty, sticky, and sore. I need a shower, a full meal, and at least eight hours sleep. And he was right. I came another three times before I begged him to stop. Now I'm collapsed against his chest as we try to catch our breaths, and I'm fantasizing about pizza and tacos.

As we sit there panting, there is an audible pop! in the air and everything goes slightly shimmery, like heat wafting off asphalt.

I sit up and look around. "What was that?" I ask.

Ty shoots me a grin, which is fearsome, given his sharp teeth. "That, sweet Penny, was the sound of the spell breaking. You did it."

"Seriously? I'm free to go?"

He nods and gestures toward the exit. "You can walk through that door whenever you're ready." He lays a palm against my cheek. "I will miss you, Penny. And while I understand why you must go, you should know that I would have been happy to have you by my side for eternity. It's really not so dreadful here. Not like you might think."

My heart thumps at his words, and a little frisson of energy zings down my spine. I know what he means. Spending eternity at his side—and in his bed—isn't the worst thing I could think of. "Well, maybe we'll see each other again one day."

He shakes his head sadly. "I'm afraid not. This is goodbye, Penny."

"Why? Why does it have to mean goodbye? Why can't I see you again?"

"You know if you return to the mortal plane, I can't come to see you. I'm tethered to this dimension."

Yes, obviously, but I would be free. That's the whole point. "I can always come back and visit the club, can't I?"

"Would you want to? Would you chance it?"

"Would I be able to?" I counter.

"Of course. I can add your name to the VIP list and you could return any time you please. But you'd run the risk of getting caught in the spell again. And I have no idea if you could be freed a second time."

I think about this fascinating man and the sparks that fly between us. Could I really resist my greed for him? My lust? Certainly not. If I came back, I'd be sinning in minutes. If I go home, I have to stay there, with my drab apartment and dreary data-entry job. Only two hours ago I thought that giving everything up for him would be ridiculous. But would it really? Or would it be the best choice I've ever made?

I haven't been happy in a long time. I've been searching for some undefinable thing, something that signals I'm on the right track and life begins now! or whatever. But what if that thing isn't up there at all? What if it's down here?

I take him in again, all blue and muscular and terrifying, but oddly gentle all the same. His human form, all sexy jawline and firm lips. His hurt at never being chosen by a human, at having nothing but demons for companions. His fate that was sealed by selfish parents, who cast him into this dimension and then enspelled it.

He may be the Lord of the Underworld, but he's also sexy, kind, dominant, vulnerable, and really, really fucking hot. He's complex and interesting, and despite this whole spell thing, I've had more fun in one night with him than in the last year up in my own dimension, plodding through the days while I wait for…what, exactly? What's up there for me that I haven't found yet? That I haven't even been looking for?

I make my decision.

"So," I say with a slow smile, "what exactly does co-ruler of hell entail?"

Thank you for reading Penny (Not So) Dreadful.

For more of my sweet and cozy monster romances, check out my Monsters of Haven's Hollow series, starting with Darkheart.

( https://viviennehart.com/book/darkheart/ )