Chapter Three

I stared at him, wondering what the hell he was talking about.

"Pleasure?" I asked.

He nodded, and I found my eyes trailing up and down his muscular body. At the swell of his biceps, the thickness of his shoulders, and the horns on either side of his head that were starting to look like handlebars. A vision flashed before me, and I imagined holding onto them tightly while I wrapped my legs around his neck.

A smile flickered across his face as if he could read my thoughts. I noticed he had a forked tongue.

"I'm a pleasure demon," he said. "And I like what you have in mind."

I stepped back, my heart randomly giving off a weak beat in my chest.

"It's how you get the blood pumping," he said mischievously. "Everyone knows that."

I trailed my eyes down to his hooves and saw how huge they were. He was an incredible beast, one that was strangely handsome in a nightmarish way.

"And what happens if I don't?" I asked, calling his bluff.

The demon shrugged his big shoulders and leaned back against nothing but the darkness.

"Then I'll send you on your way upstairs," he smirked. "But just think of the revenge you could have… I can tell you've got a wicked streak, that boyfriend of yours wouldn't stand a chance."

I found myself smiling.

I didn't know what Jax had done once he'd driven the knife into my heart, but I could only assume he'd have made a run for it. It could be fun to catch him up and make him pay… if this was indeed as possible as the Underworld demon was telling me.

"Upstairs as in…?"

"The true afterlife," he said. "You don't belong on the floor below, trust me."

He motioned his head to the ground, and I followed the direction, the stone under our feet began to glow with fire, and the sound of terrible screams rang out around us.

"That place is saved for sinners like your buddy Jax," he said with an eye roll. "When he gets down here, he'll pay for his crimes. But after you've had some fun with him first, of course."

He winked, and it made me smile, casting my gaze shyly to the ground.

I pondered on it for a moment, the madness of it all merging but seemingly making perfect sense. The demon tapped his hoof against the rocks as if he were growing impatient, a sigh escaping the bud of his lips.

"Only a split second?" I asked him. "That's all I've been gone?"

The demon looked at his wrist as if he was checking a watch, but there was nothing there.

"Longer now," he said. "Jax will likely be making his getaway."

He smiled, and my heart tried to beat, giving a straining sensation in my chest. The demon rose back to his full height, and my eyes trailed down the fur of his thick thighs, the muscles there rock hard and impressive.

Jax hadn't been much in that department. He was always more flab than muscles, which I'd always liked, but it was a nice surprise to see someone so chiseled and full of power. Such a difference from what I was used to.

"Are there more like you?" I asked, biting my lip.

"Many," he said. "But I'm yours."

It felt as if he was staring right inside me, drinking in my feelings and thoughts.

"So what, you've just been hanging around down here on the off-chance I was murdered?"

He grinned and shook his head.

"No, babe," he took a step closer, and it made something in my body stand to attention.

A want was growing.

A need.

"I've been here for an eternity and will remain here long after you've left. But your mark will remain on me and mine on you."

He reached out and stroked a sharp claw along my forearm, making me shudder.

"Your kind is so simple. You never appreciate how much is lying undiscovered on the other side of the veil."

His eyes glistened with a warm, welcoming presence that made me calm.

"Have you ever helped anyone else?" I asked.

The demon slowly shook his head.

"I'm yours," he said. "Always waiting here, on the cusp of the afterlife… ready to help you if the need should arise."

"And what about when I die for real?" I asked. "That will happen at some point. Will I see you then?"

He smirked, and his claw nicked the skin on my arm.

"I suppose that would depend on how well we connect right now…" his grin made my core pulse, and his hand wrapped around my forearm, pulling me closer to his chest.

He towered over me, his size so big and foreboding it made me nervous.

"This is all so… so… mad," I said.

"I guess that all rests on how you look at it," he mused. "For me, it's the moment I've been waiting for since the second I began to exist. I've known nothing else apart from my purpose. I've grown here in the dark, laying dormant, dreaming of you. And now you're here, I need to take what's mine."

I swallowed.

He had a very poetic way with words, and they were working their way into my soul. He pulled me against him, against the tautness of his muscles, and it made my knees go weak. He exhaled deeply through his nose, his nostrils flaring, and the warmth hit my face. I craned my head back to peer into his eyes, and the sharpness of the horns on either side of his head glinted with darkness.

"You're more than I ever could have hoped for," he growled. "A little woman to play with. To touch, to make wet, to taste…" his forked tongue flickered out from between his lips with a hiss, and it made my heart beat again.

Thump .

"I hear it," he said wickedly. "The beat of your heart as it strains to come back. To keep you living."

The sensation of the knife in my ribs made me gasp, and I buckled, almost folding over. The demon caught me, taking hold of my stomach and rolling me onto my back to lie in his arms before rising to his full height.

"I liked what you imagined," he said. "I couldn't have thought of a better way to start myself."

I blinked, my eyes traveling to his horns and the image of me using them to put my legs over, like stirrups, as I hooked my calves around his neck.

"You're running out of time," he stroked his hand through my hair. "The pain you felt is your injury becoming real."

I crunched my eyes closed, still completely overwhelmed by my predicament.

Could I really be on the verge of death?

Was I drifting between the planes of the land of the living and the Underworld?

And not only that, but with a demon who had been guarding me and was now here, holding me gently and ready to take me back to a life that had been so cruelly cut short…

His warm, large hands traced patterns on the small of my back and encouraged me to relax into his touch, every part of my weary frame turning molten, the hot blood beginning to course stronger through my veins.

"Your lovely, lithe body," he growled, his teeth shining sharply. "I've thought of how it would feel for so long."

His lips parted further, and he breathed out, craning over me and staring sternly into my eyes.

"Those lips," he whispered. "So perfect and soft…"

He grazed his lips against mine, and it made me shudder, my core tightening with excitement as he lingered for a moment before kissing me. As his mouth merged with my own and he delved inside with his tongue, I felt a warmth flood through me. I felt his power and his essence, the darkness of the Underworld mixed with the light of life. This demon wasn't just a creature of the shadows; he was a magical god. A force that could give and take or revive the impossible.

His red skin seemed to grow hotter with each fevered flick of his tongue, and I moaned as he breathed into me, filling my lungs with air and bringing back another part of my soul. My heart thumped again, a jolt in my chest that made me spasm with relief.

"Yes," he murmured against my lips. "You're responding so well."

He smiled and moved one of his arms out from under me, using his hand to grip on tightly at the hip before doing the same so he had hold of my waist in his two huge palms. His fingers encircled my middle, and he grinned mischievously, lifting me an inch before lowering me back down effortlessly.

"I can put you anywhere," he said. "But as I said before… I liked what you had in mind. I'm hungry for your taste."

I shuddered nervously, unsure of how to respond.

"You don't need to do anything, sweet girl," he said. "Just let me take care of you."