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“What the hell is happening?”
“She’s becoming…human,” Olivia whispered. Her words, so much softer than his, still managed to rival his in shock and horror.
Not knowing what else to do, Aeron popped to his feet and rushed around the corner. When he reached one of the living rooms, he grabbed a blanket slung over the couch. His mind churned with so many questions, he couldn’t quite process what was happening. Legion. Human. Why? How?
At her side once more, he draped the blanket over her bare skin. She’d stopped growing, at least. Stopped spasming and screaming, too. Tears streaked her cheeks and her bottom lip trembled.
She gazed up at him with dark, liquid eyes, no hint of demon red. “Aeron,” she said on a sigh. “I’m…so…happy to…see…you. ”
No longer did she sound like a child, all hint of her lisp gone. Though her words were hesitant, as if she didn’t quite know how to use her tongue, she sounded like an adult, voice rich and husky.
Flabbergasted, he crouched beside her and smoothed the hair from her brow. “Tell me how this happened,” he said as gently as he was able. He didn’t want to spook her.
She reached up with a shaky arm and traced her fingertips over his lips, his jaw. “So beautiful, my Aeron is. ”
For the first time since he’d met Legion, he wanted to pull away from her embrace. He loved her, he truly did, but the adoration on her new face—adoration he’d seen a hundred times before, had once craved—was now…wrong. Because, without the glow of red in her eyes, he saw the sensual yearning banked there.
Dear gods.
She was a feast for the eyes, prettier than Olivia even. Skin like honey, eyes like cinnamon and lips as red as berries. Her nose was small and pert and her eyebrows perfectly arched. There wasn’t a flaw to her. But…
His blood didn’t heat, his fingers didn’t tingle where he’d touched her and the thought of removing the blanket to peek at her curves was truly repugnant to him. He would rather gouge out his eyes. And while Wrath liked this girl as he had liked the old Legion, the demon was quiet, not staking a claim.
“There’s only one way this could’ve happened,” Olivia said with so much dread Aeron’s stomach clenched. “She made a deal with Lucifer. ”
A deal with the devil? For what? She already possessed everything her heart could desire. “Is that true?” And if so, what did it mean for her? For him? What could Lucifer have demanded in return?
Wrath leapt into motion, prowling back and forth inside his head. There were no images flashing, at least, but the demon was suddenly restless, as if he didn’t like what was going on.
Legion glared up at Olivia. “Of course it isn’t…true. I would never do…such a despicable thing. ”
“You lie,” Olivia replied. “I can hear the untruth in your voice. ”
He couldn’t, but he could hear the truth in Olivia’s. Still. He didn’t know who to believe. Legion, whom he loved. Or Olivia, whom he hungered for but couldn’t have.
Gingerly, Legion sat up, and the blanket fell to her waist. Aeron hastily looked away, but not before he’d caught a glimpse of her pearled nipples.
He wanted to scrub his corneas with sandpaper.
Would this day never end?
OLIVIA WATCHED as Legion held out one arm, looked it over, then held out the other and examined it, as well. She cupped her breasts, pinched her nipples and gasped in awe.
“I’m gorgeous,” she said excitedly. Her words were emerging more fluidly now, smoother every time she spoke. She must be getting used to her new tongue. Her gaze lifted, smugness banked there as she met Olivia’s eyes. “I’m a thousand times prettier than you are. ”Maybe she was. Not that Olivia cared. Much. What did Aeron think about this? He was careful not to face Legion, careful not to touch her.
Kiss the back of his neck…lick it…and let Legion see you do it.
Olivia stopped breathing. There it was again. The voice. The temptation. Ever since Aeron had dragged her back to this fortress, it had been tormenting her, urging her to do all manner of things—all designed to lure Aeron into bed with her. Caress his penis, strip and dance for him, even flirt with his friend to drive him insane with jealousy.
None of which would have bothered her. Except the desires hadn’t sprung from her. Yes, she wanted to caress his penis, and yes, she wanted to strip for him. As evidenced by the fact that she’d last approached him naked. And yes, she even liked the thought of his jealousy. But when the voice produced the desires, patches of darkness were left on her soul. She could feel them.
How was that happening? What was happening?
Aeron cleared his throat, tugging her from her thoughts. “Let’s get you some clothes, Legion. ”
“I like being naked,” she said with a pout.
“Too bad. ” Still keeping his gaze averted, he held out a hand. “Latch on and I’ll pull you up. ”
“No. ” Watching Olivia, she drew herself up, threw her arms around Aeron’s neck and pressed herself into the hard line of his body. “I want you to carry me. ”
He grimaced, but scooped her up. “All right. Olivia, come with us. Please. ” He didn’t wait for her reply, but trudged up the steps.
No way she would have left him alone with the demon-turned-human, but she was gratified that he’d requested her company. Until, halfway to his room, she heard, Pat his ass…and actually found her fingers inches from his bottom before she even realized she’d reached out. She scowled and forced her arm to fall to her side, but it was too late. Another patch of darkness had already bloomed.
What would happen if that darkness consumed her?
Stop, she shouted inside her head. Whoever, whatever you are, please stop.
Legion rested her head on Aeron’s shoulder, gaze returning to Olivia, and stroked the contours of his back. “So strong,” she purred.
Olivia’s eyes narrowed as rage infused every atom of her being. He’s mine to stroke. Mine to praise.
Do something. You deserve Aeron, not Legion. So prove it to him. Get in front of him, drop to your knees, open his pants and suck his cock into your mouth.
She tripped over her own feet, rage quickly draining and leaving only despair. What would happen if the darkness consumed her? she had wondered. With this newest urging, the answer had slid into place. She would no longer be able to distinguish her own desires and emotions from those of the voice. What the voice had said, she wanted to do. Desperately.
Resist. She couldn’t let that happen.
“I want to talk with you…privately,” Legion continued, and that slight pause at the end had had nothing to do with her tongue and everything to do with sensual suggestion. “Send the ugly angel away. ”
“Stop that,” he barked. Then more calmly, “You have to stop. ”
Finally the smugness drained from her and she turned a now-watery gaze to Aeron. “Don’t you love me anymore?”
“Of course I do, but that doesn’t mean… We can’t…Damn this!” He snaked the corner, stalked down the hall and practically kicked his door from its hinges. He set Legion on her feet and backed out of the chamber. “Take anything of mine you want, just get dressed. ” He didn’t wait for her reply, but shut the door with a firm snap and whirled on Olivia. “Tell me about her deal with Lucifer. ”
Drop to your knees…
“No!” One step, two, she backed away from him.
“Olivia,” Aeron said, scowling. “Stop. ”
Kiss him, then…somewhere, anywhere…
Her attention fell to his lips, and she licked her own. A kiss, so innocent. So necessary. Must…resist…
“Stop that,” he barked again.
She gulped. “Stop what?” Beyond the door, she could hear Legion stomping around, tossing things to the floor and muttering about “stupid angels. ”
“One, denying my command and two, trying to seduce me. ”
“Why would I try to seduce you? It’s not like you’re any good at the actual bedding. ” The moment the words escaped her, she plastered her hand over her mouth. Truly. How was this happening? she wondered again. That hadn’t been her taunt, but the voice’s.
Aeron bristled. “Not good? I gave you an orgasm the first time we…just the first time, damn it!”
Her eyes widened as realization struck. Another danger the voice presented: she liked the results. Aeron barely had a leash on his anger, and the thought of him out of control, determined to prove just how good he was at pleasing her, thrilled her.
Resist? Perhaps that wasn’t such a good idea.
Really? Well, if that’s the case, Aeron will fall for the voice, not you. Is that what you want? Finally. Rational thought. Thought that cracked through some of the darkness, allowing light to seep inside.
“What are you going to do about your little demon friend in there?” she asked him, returning to the only subject that mattered at the moment.
Aeron scrubbed a hand down his suddenly tired expression. He’d been doing that a lot lately. “I don’t know what to do about her. ”
“To make a bargain of this magnitude, she would’ve had to promise something huge. ”
“Like what?”
Olivia shrugged. “Only she knows the answer to that. Well, and Lucifer, but I guarantee he won’t tell us. ”
“How do you know she bargained with Lucifer rather than Hades? And does the bargainer matter?”
“Yes, the bargainer matters, but Hades is currently locked away and incapable of making such deals, so you don’t have to worry about him. ” When the Titans escaped their immortal prison and overthrew the Greeks all those months ago, Hades had been included in their number. Lucifer, though, the Titans had left alone. Someone needed to be in charge of the underworld, she supposed. Even someone as vile as the devil, the creator of evil. Better him than the insane Hades, though.
Rub your body against his…