SWNOVELS Prince Of Lust: Chapter 11
The rest of the week came and went without any more visions of charges for Dabria or contact from Lucifer. Since the next weekend was the grand opening of the VIP floor, it wasn’t difficult to avoid Dabria sulking around. She became bored easily, and after the first day of hanging around upstairs, she’d decided to wander around The Deacon during the last bits of preparation.
Ezequiel’s fondness for her was growing daily, but their budding infatuation meant she was following him around and staying out of my way.
It was midweek when she asked what she could do to help, admitting that she wanted to keep herself busy until her next charge came through. Posing as the new manager in training was enough to keep her running around leading up to Friday.
There had been so much chaos that I’d had to stick her behind the bar the entire night refilling waters, napkins, straws, and doing countless other menial tasks.
Ezequiel was too busy entertaining our more wealthy and powerful guests to spend time with her, and by the end of the night, she was throwing a tantrum on our way back upstairs.
“Why didn’t you tell me that being around human men was so disgusting?” she complained as the elevator climbed much too slowly.
I shrugged. “How was I supposed to know you didn’t have a liking for men?”
“They’re gross, and several pinched my backside. One of them offered me money to put his penis in my mouth. That’s disgusting. Do you know what those are for?”
Ezequiel chuckled next to me, watching her face make animated expressions.
“You never know, you may like sucking dick,” I said, shooting a cocky grin at Ezequiel.
She scoffed. “Not likely.”
“Too bad.” I wiggled my brows.
Ezequiel gave me a whack on the chest. “Don’t be an ass. She may not know how to strike you with a calculated comeback, but I do,” he warned, and I put my arms up in surrender.
The doors opened, and Dabria was the first to step out. She sped down the hall. She hated the uniform the employees had to wear and stripped out of the black button-up and skirt as soon as she could every night. It wasn’t the worst sight to see after a long day of planning and meetings with investors.
By the time I reached the end of the hall, she was already through the shirt buttons and working on the black silk skirt. Ezequiel came up behind her to watch the show for himself, his eyes alight when she got down to a lace thong and bra.
As soon as I got the door open, he scooped her up in his arms, eliciting a screech of laughter from her, and went down the hall to the bedroom.
I headed into the kitchen to fix a snack before heading to bed alone.
They’d shared the guest room since I’d walked in on them. Ezequiel said they hadn’t had sex since then, but she was uneasy being alone all night. There was nothing on this plane that I was more certain about than the trust Ezequiel and I shared, but there was a gnawing feeling in my gut when they closed the door each night.
Dabria had fallen into her human role with ease. Aside from being uncomfortable in certain clothing, she had picked up social skills and didn’t have any issues talking with patrons. Her naivete often was mistaken for flirting, which resulted in large tips and many admirers. I had half a mind to lock her away in the office and give her paperwork to file just to stop seeing human men drooling over her.
“Sitri?” Dabria’s sleepy voice came from behind me.
I put down the knife I was using on a cucumber and turned around to see her standing in one of my old T-shirts. My brow raised with several questions, but the most prominent was why the sight of her in my clothing was sending a signal to my cock.
“Ezequiel told me to come out for a bottle of cherry juice. He said it would help me sleep.”
“You’re having trouble sleeping?”
I refused myself the satisfaction of telling her the many ways I or Ezequiel could help her fall asleep. Instead, I pulled out the small glass bottle of juice from the fridge and handed it to her.
“The pressure is starting to build again. I can feel another vision of my next charge coming through. It just isn’t time yet.”
“Let me know when it does,” I said and bit into a slice of cucumber.
“Even if you’re sleeping?”
Another peculiar question was followed by a confusing sensation.
“Yes. I have to go with you, so wake me up if it’s time. My door is always open to you.” A slight leap of hope that she would welcome the invitation bloomed in my chest.
“Ezequiel said you often have guests in your room.” She wedged herself in the corner of the counter and waited for my answer.
I took another bite of cucumber then offered her a slice, and watched as her face lit up at the new flavor she experienced when she crunched into it.
“Not lately.”
“Because of me?”
A pin could have been heard in every room.
She was partly to blame for my lack of overnight visitors, but I wasn’t blaming her or the task we had been handed. Having to be ready to take her to her next charge was easier to arrange if my head wasn’t between a human’s thighs.
“Our situation has put a momentary pause on my usual activities, but you are my highest priority.”
“I am?” She smiled up at me, and if she was getting any warm and fuzzy feelings for me, I wasn’t sure whether to squash them or not.
An unhappy Reaper who held my eternal freedom was more of a worry to me than my current inability to properly fuck anyone.
“I better get to bed. Enjoy your cherry juice.” I turned to leave.
“Wait.” She grabbed my wrist to stop me.
Her eyes dropped to where her fingers had wrapped around me.
“Yes?” I said, stepping in close to her.
“I-I don’t know if I’m asking or . . .” She wavered back and forth on her thoughts. “But . . . could you not have sex with anyone while I’m staying with you?”
Unexpectedly, I laughed.
Loudly.
“Do you know who I am?” I asked. The amusement slowly filtered from my words but left a grin on my face.
“You’re a prince of Hell—”
“I am the Prince of Lust. I am the warden of the West. The most potent and powerful demon on this side of the planet because, above greed or wrath or even envy, I am the root of all sin. The mere suggestion of me can bring down empires if used viciously.”
She didn’t step away as my torso inched closer. Her bravery would have been her downfall under normal circumstances.
“Sitri, I don’t know much about human emotions,” she said, her words coming out much quicker now, “but I saw the new bartender kiss you on the cheek, and the thought of anyone touching you again makes me feel anger. You might find that silly, but being around you would be easier if you promised not to touch another human until I’m done with my training and we part ways.”
In all of time, I didn’t know if there had ever been a jealous or possessive Reaper, yet one stood in front of me, wearing my T-shirt and asking me to keep my dick in my pants. I was astonished and fought the onslaught of urges vying for center stage. The most severe was growing in my pants and pressing into her stomach through my jeans.
“Am I supposed to accept that you will be sleeping next to Ezequiel every night while I’m obeying your request to refrain from burying my cock in someone else?”
Her eyes darted between mine, and her mouth hung open. The worn-in shirt fit her well and showed every rapid breath she took at my own admission of possessiveness.
She had no words, but her eyes held a plea that I couldn’t answer.
“I will do my best,” I finally said.
She swallowed hard and nodded.
“Goodnight, Dabria.”
And with that, I left her in the kitchen to relieve myself of the tension she had aroused in me.
The next day, Dabria gave me the cold shoulder. The conversation we’d had in the kitchen had sat with me all night. Ezequiel told me that she hadn’t slept at all, just paced her room until she finally fell asleep from exhaustion for an hour before she had to get ready for the day. I had gone downstairs to the club’s office hours before either of them. Her presence in the penthouse enveloped me, and my ears had perked at every small noise. I’d kept hoping I would catch sight of her wearing another article of my clothing.
When the club opened for the Saturday night crowd, there was all manner of demons, movie stars, supermodels, and seedy politicians. I’d made my rounds and closed several deals on the VIP floor during the first hours. Dabria, though still not speaking to me, had been within sight and had ensured I was watching each time she gave an overly friendly touch or smile to certain employees she spoke with. Whether she’d wanted to prove a point or to evoke jealousy, I refused to acknowledge the acts as anything more than bratty cries for attention.
Ezequiel joined me during one of my walks around the dance floor when a group came in and I felt a sense of gravitation toward one member. We danced and shared a tray of drinks until Ezequiel pulled me to the side. He’d been warring with his own complicated feelings for Dabria, and one of the human women in our group of new friends had been a very willing participant.
I hadn’t asked Ezequiel if Dabria had given him the same request to not touch another. Their relationship was not only more intimate, but the way they understood each other was easier than anything I’d seen Ezequiel share with any other angel, demon, or even Watcher. Part of me wondered if Ezequiel running his hands over the human woman on the dance floor was a test to see if he could feel attraction for another being who wasn’t Dabria.
It hadn’t come to light that the young woman who’d caught my eye had been claimed by Stolas until we’d met him upstairs. The marking of the damned was present in her soul, but if it had been a lesser demon or one of a lower status, I could have easily put forth my authority. It was frowned upon, and after my most recent run-in with a human who had been claimed by another, I wasn’t eager to bend the rules.
Evie was her name, and she was beautiful, but something in the way her hands clutched at my chest while we danced felt almost as if she could sense the ember of my power deep within me and was determined to draw it out. Perhaps she would have if it hadn’t been for the icy stare Stolas had given me.
She and the group she had come with stormed down the stairs so quickly, I paused to listen for a fire alarm. When I caught up to her on the way out, I gave her my card before heading back up to the booth to talk to Stolas, Orobas, and Ezequiel, but Dabria stopped me at the bottom of the stairs.
“She looked like she couldn’t get out of here fast enough,” Dabria said, her heated scowl directed at me.
“My charm is a bit rusty. What can I say?” I shrugged and mocked my own hindrance.
“I’m done for the night. I’m going up to your apartment and going to bed.” She turned without looking at me and headed toward the elevator in the far corner of the club.
I looked to the top of the stairs to see Ezequiel watching the exchange with a playful, you-better-fix-that look on his face.
I rolled my eyes and let out a long, tired breath before going after her.
The door to the two-man elevator had almost closed when I reached it. I jutted my hand out to stop it then stepped inside.
Dabria’s eyes bulged in shock.
“What are you doing?” she squeaked, then flattened against the opposite wall.
She wasn’t going to get away with throwing a fit without repercussions. Brats threw fits when they needed attention. Unfortunately for her, Ezequiel’s attention would have been much softer than what I was about to inflict.
“You tell me, Dabria. What is it you wanted me to do about that exchange we just had?” I took a short step and raised my hands above her head to cage her between my body and the wall.
“I didn’t want anything from you, Sitri. I’m just another responsibility. My shift is over, so I’m going upstairs so you can cut loose and fuck whoever you want, wherever you want.” Her bottom lip pouted when she finished telling me off, and I had the urge to take it between my teeth.
“Are you giving me permission to take anyone I want, bend them over, and fuck them until they’re screaming? Because I made you a promise last night, remember?”
She shifted on her feet. Her thighs weren’t visible under the long skirt she wore, but I imagined there was an ache between them she was trying to hide.
“I promised you that I wouldn’t touch another until you allowed it,” I said low. The tension in my chest grew with every word.
“I—”
“Tell me what you wanted from me downstairs, Dabria. Did you want me to take you in my arms and kiss you breathless while everyone in the club watched?”
My cock twitched in my pants, an answer to a question I wasn’t asking myself.
“I wanted . . .” She breathed then took in what I was suggesting.
“You wanted me to march you upstairs and get on my knees to beg you to forgive me for making you jealous,” I stated.
Whether she knew it or not, that was what she wanted. For the first time in too long, I could feel the wave of lust coming from her.
“Jealousy, little Reaper, is not what I master. To think that your request meant anything to me was your own mistake. But the heat between your legs, that is what I command.”
The elevator hummed as it climbed higher and higher, but the sound of Dabria’s breathing had my heart racing. She was sweet, small, and because she wasn’t human, she was durable.
“Sitri,” she whispered.
“Yes, Dabria?” I leaned down and brushed my nose over hers. Our lips brushed.
“The door.”
“But I haven’t gotten on my knees yet.”