Date with Destiny-Demon Style Ch. 08

His jaw went slack from momentary shock. His eyes narrowed and his mouth tensed, his mind reeling from the decision he'd been given. She could sense the turmoil. He'd be betraying his mother, but he'd gain the chance to see her naked. Decisions, decisions.

He gave a deep sigh, obviously conceding his defeat. He paused a moment before locking eyes with her once again. "Say I can touch you and we have a deal."

There's always a catch.

Damn. She should have known better. No man who was offered the chance to see a woman naked would pass up the possibility of getting more. She sighed, not happy about the circumstances but knowing it was the only way to get him on their side. As fun and easy as they were, men would always try to find a way of getting more. Sneaky little bastards.

A thought tripped up her new sullen attitude. If giving him what he asked for meant his participation, then maybe giving him more would solidify it. What better way to win this argument than to one up his offer?

Taking a deep breath, she inched closer, fully cupping his face in her hands. She gave him her best innocent vixen smile. "You said you wanted to know what my pussy tasted like, right?"

His head snapped up, his eyes wild with hopefulness and intrigue.

Bull's-eye.

"I'll tell you what. You get us to your mother, and you release the surviving princes and guards, you can find out for yourself."

She had to giggle softly at the choking sounds of Darian and Lyzander behind her. Ladrian remained quiet, but she knew he must have felt the same way. The thought of this madman tasting her must have stopped their hearts. She felt a huge wave of guilt pass through her, but she brushed it off for the moment. Making this deal may be the only way she could ensure they came out of this shitstorm alive.

"Can I have you now?"

"No." She shook her head. "I made a promise that Ladrian would be next. When he's had his chance, then you can have your turn."

He sighed and dropped his head. She could see the hope in his eyes fading fast, and she rushed to recapture the spark.

No! No! Seal the deal, idiot! Don't let him get away!

"But," she made her voice syrupy again, "I can let you have a little taste if you want."

His head snapped up again. She wished he'd stop doing that. Every time he did, she worried his neck would break. Oh, well. At least now she had him back on track.

She held out one finger. "Just a little. Ladrian deserves his turn and I don't want you ruining it for him."

He cocked his head to the side, his eye narrowing in suspicion. "You said I could taste your pussy if I agreed to help you. What's the appetizer supposed to be?"

Smiling her oh-so-innocent smile, she reached down and traced the edge of her bra with her finger, lightly brushing her sensitive flesh. His eyes followed her finger, almost entranced by the motion. If he were a dog, she was sure he'd be drooling.

"Now." His voice was a low rasp, filed with longing.

She paused for a moment, looking up at the twins. She had a good idea how the others felt, but Riordan and Tristan had remained quiet about the situation. Both brothers stared at her and gave a slight nod, ready and willing to follow her lead. They recognized what she knew: Her bartering with her body was the only thing that was going to help them in this mess.

She returned her gaze to Malnos. "Alright, fine. But only if you promise not to attack us." She hardened her stare, making sure he saw she meant business.

He swallowed. "I swear on the deepest shadows that inhabit this place, I will not harm any of you."

She nodded, then looked up at the twins. They nodded back to her and released his arms, stepping back to give them room.

Malnos stayed still for a moment, making sure that none of his rivals would jump him. Slowly, he reached out an exploratory hand. She could see the hope in his eyes, the wonder and elation running through those emerald orbs.

She held up one hand. "Wait."

He pulled back an inch, confusion marring his face.

"There's one thing I have to do before I let you have your appetizer."

He nodded. "Anything."

She smiled at him, happy that he would allow her this one simple task. Balling her hand into the hardest fist she could create, she cocked her arm back and threw that hardest punch she could. Knuckle hit bone as her hand connected with his cheek. Malnos fell sideways, crying out in pain and cupping his cheek.

She stood, shaking her hand to clear the pain. "There. That wasn't so bad."

Behind her, she heard the soft sound of three demon princes laughing at their gullible rival. Looking over to the twins, she noticed that both Riordan and Tristan were struggling to hide their smiles.

She smiled to herself. They had every right to laugh at his mistake. Though she did feel a twinge of guilt for smacking him -- an emotion that never seemed to go away -- she nevertheless felt he had more than deserved it. After the stunt he pulled, he was lucky she remained in human form to deliver that strike.

Groaning, Malnos hauled himself to his feet. "You bitch!"

Before he could make any move toward her, both twins had recaptured him and dragged him to the ground. Anger boiled in her blood. He'd attacked her and basically groped her in the hallway before Ladrian took him out. And now he was upset with her for throwing one shot? Chivalry at its best.

She crouched down again, grapping his face in her hands and forcing his focus on her.

"Listen, you cocky asshole. The fact that you and your fucked up family have tried to supplant Lucifer and almost killed the other princes is worthy of execution. Not to mention you practically assaulted me back there." She narrowed her eyes to slits and hardened her voice.

Malnos stopped struggling, his eyes wide and slightly fearful.

"All three of you should be executed for what you've already done, and your mother should have been killed off years ago." She paused for dramatics, giving him a chance to run the situation through his head. "But, I'm willing to make you another offer."

His eyes softened, boring into her own for an answer.

She kept her sharp tone, but relaxed her features. "I'm taking the sex part out. There's no amount of penance you could do to gain that favor. But if you take us up to your mother and convince her that we're on her side, I can talk to Lucifer about have you and your brother's executions revoked. You'll probably be exiled, but you'll still be alive."

He dropped his head for a moment, hopelessness and sorrow flickering in his eyes. "You're going to kill her, aren't you?"

"We have to. Look at the damage she's done."

He nodded, defeated but accepting that exile was better than death.

She cupped his face in her hands, her human empathy making another unwelcome visit. "Hey, I'm sorry. But I can't let everything that's happened slide."

He gave a soft smile and shook his head. "It's fine. Believe me, I understand better than anyone." He lifted his head and widened his smile." Though I was hoping you were going to keep you word of my appetizer."

She smiled in spite of herself. "No. I can be a sneaky bitch sometimes."

"Like your mother."

She giggled softly. "So I've heard." Standing, she motioned for the twins to let him stand.

Nodding, Riordan and Tristan got up slowly, making sure they took Malnos with them. Cautiously, they let go of his arms, though they stayed close in case he tried anything else.

Turning, she motioned for Ladrian to toss her shirt. The man must have played for the major leagues, because he fired her balled-up shirt at her so fast it should have been trailing fire. She caught her shirt and slipped it on. As she did so, she began to imagine how Ladrian would be in bed. He had a strong right arm -- perfect for foreplay. And he had a good knowledge of restraints. From her last encounter with him in this dungeon, he also knew how to improvise...

She blushed and shook her head. Now was not the time to fantasize about super hot demon princes. They had to find Emiline, convince her they were on her side, and finally kick her ass out of Hell. She had to focus, no matter how hard it was.

"All right...first things first." She talked to herself as much as the others, trying to sort out the plan in her head. "We need to find Emiline. Riordan. Tristan. Can one of you get Ziron up, please." She motioned to the unconscious brother.

The twins nodded. Riordan left Malnos to his brother and move to haul the still-sleeping prince onto his shoulders. Ladrian hurried over and began unlocking the chains.

"Okay. Now...we have to get to Emiline and convince her that we're on her side. If we do that, she might give us a chance to live. Which means we get a chance to plan."

"And how do you propose we find her?" Lyzander looked at her curiously.

"Easy. Follow the sound of maniacal laughter." Darian shrugged, smiling sarcastically.

He's got a point...

"Okay, so we find her. Then what?" Lyzander shot a glance at Darian, waiting for his rival to answer.

"We make her believe we're on her side." She piped up, hoping to stop any thoughts of battle running through his head.

"How? It's not like she's gong to give giant hugs to all of us."

"No, but..." She looked over at Malnos, "If we get one of her sons to testify for us, that should give us some credibility."

Malnos met her gaze, his emerald eyes boring into hers. He gave a slight nod, solidifying his acceptance of her offer and conveying his understanding of her silent request.

She smiled, a genuinely warm smile that started a fire in his eyes.

"Done." Ladrian stepped back as the last of Ziron's restraints came loose.

"Good." She turned to face Ladrian and the twins.

Tristan hauled Malnos to his feet, his hands locking onto his rival's arms while his brother adjusted his grip on Ziron. The older twin spun around and smiled at her.

"Shall we go? I think we've got these two handled."

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Wait!" Ladrian picked up one set of shackles and clamped them around Malnos' wrists. He looked at her with hard eyes. "I don't trust this one, no matter how many deals you make with him."

Neither do I.

She nodded in silent agreement. "Okay, now we can go."

Without warning, Ladrian rushed up the stairs and opened the door to the dungeon, peeking out into the hallway. He called out that the coast was clear, pushing the door open wider and holding it so the rest of them could exit. Lucifer climbed the stairs first, followed by the twins carrying and leading the brothers. Lyzander and Darian followed her, making themselves a shield for any future attacks.

Once everyone was out of the dungeon, she turned and stared down at the tile floor, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Okay. Here's what we do. Tristan and Riordan, you have Malnos and Ziron take you to Emiline. Tell her that we've figured out she's up to and that Lucifer is free. That should scare the shit out of her." She began to pace. "Show her that we've taken out Ziron."

"Got it." Both twins nodded their heads and started to make their way down the hall.

"Wait!" Both princes turned to look at her. "Take Lyzander with you. Just in case Emiline decides to lose it."

She looked at Lyzander who nodded and ran after them. After watching them leave, she turned her attention to Lucifer. "Can you and Darian try to find any of your missing guards or the other princes? If this goes down like I think it will, we're going to need all the help and firepower we can get."

Lucifer nodded. "It is not often that I take orders or requests from half-bloods, but logic must prevail here." He made a show of bowing to her, his golden eyes sparkling in a way that made her blood chill

She sighed. "Just go."

Lucifer stood and smiled at her, then turned and began to walk away. Darian came up beside her and kissed her cheek.

"Don't worry. I'll keep him out of trouble."

She made a face. "Keeping him out of trouble is like making the pope denounce his religion."

Darian laughed. "We'll be fine." He ran after Lucifer.

She turned back to Ladrian who stood patiently waiting for orders. Something about his appearance caught her eyes. He was watching her with sorrowful eyes, as if he knew some secret he couldn't bear to tell her. She shook it off. He was probably just freaked out by what had happened to him the last time he'd met with the brothers.

She turned and began to walk towards her bedroom, motioning him to follow. "Come on. You and I are going to stock up on weapons and follow the twins and Lyzander. They're probably going to need us. Seeing her sons bruised is going to put Emiline in a shitty mood."

Ladrian reached out and gripped her wrist, pulling her gently back. "We need to talk."

Oh no. that was never a good thing to hear. 'We need to talk' was the universal kiss of death to any relationship. She'd learned that from watching her friend's love lives fall apart in high school.

She turned to face him straight on. "About what?" Something in her gut turned, sounding the alarm for another wave of shit.

Ladrian shifted uncomfortably, taking a deep breath before looking her in the eye. "Lucifer."

Oh, boy.

"Okayyy..." she motioned for him to continue. "Please don't keep me hanging here. I hate when people dance around the subject."

He nodded. "You saw the look in his eyes just now?"

"Yeah." This couldn't be good.

"He's been looking at you the whole time you've been here. With that same expression."

"Oh, God." Great, so now he was a pervert and a stalker.

"Look, Kara. This is -- "

She reached out and pressed her fingers to his lips. "Please don't. If it's something I need to know, then I need to know."

He sighed, reaching up to hold her hand. "As far as Lucifer is concerned, this whole thing is a ruse."

She cocked her head, a question make on her face.

"The ceremonies, the sex, us." He motioned to himself. "This whole, thing is basically one giant game for him!"

"I'm sorry, I'm still confused. What's a game?"

He heaved a heavy sigh. He wasn't annoyed that she didn't understand, he just didn't want to tell her. "This whole selection process. It's not real."

"What do you mean it's not real?" She stuck her hands on her hips. "I've spent the night with you, Darian, Lyzander. What about this isn't real?"

"Everything. He's just putting on a front for everyone." He dropped his head.

"A front for what?" She dropped her hands, now concerned.

"Marriage." He looked at her with sorrowful eyes. "He's planning to marry you."

She struggled to scrape her jaw from the floor. "What?!"

He nodded solemnly. "He never planned to let you marry one of us. He's been eyeing you this whole time, intending for you to be his bride."

"What? Oh, fuck no!" Her blood boiled. Anger began to seep into her vines, making her walls of control crack. "Goddamnfuckingmotherfucker!"

He made a face that showed he seconded her opinion.

She tore away from him and paced around the hall, yelling out a litany of curses. Well this was just fabulous. She'd been fooled into thinking she could have her choice of prince. How could she have been so stupid?! She should have known better that to believe Lucifer! Damn him!

She sank to the floor, kneeling on the cold tile. She began to cry, holding her face in her hands. After all the shit she'd been through -- losing her mother, being lied to by the woman who had taken her place, being chased down by her sons -- she didn't need this. She cried for everything she had lost and everything she could never gain.

Ladrian knelt down beside her and placed his hands on her shoulders. He rubbed her arms, trying to calm her raging emotions. His warm fingers felt wonderful, and her tears slowed a bit.

"Hey, its' okay. Once you get passed the conceited, self-absorbed, evil part, he's not really a bad guy."

She wiped her face. "How would you know?"

"Well, for one thing, he's not stupid. He planned this whole thing out, so he's not an idiot."

"That just means he'll do it again." Her breathing was still off, but returning to normal.

"I don't think so. He's actually pretty loyal. Unless you move against him, he won't move against you."

She turned her head to look at him. "What makes you say that?"

He shrugged. "It's a rule he has. He may try to make your life miserable, but will never really harm you unless you give him a reason to." He rubbed her shoulders and back. "He's had his eye on you since you were little."

She pulled back, a look of pure horror on her face.

"No! No, I don't mean like that." He put his hands up defensively. "I mean that he's been planning to marry you for years. He just had to wait until you were allowed to marry."

"So, no matter who I pick, he's just going to marry me, anyway?" Tears threatened her eyes again.

He nodded.

She dropped her head, devastated. Fresh tears fell onto the floor. Damn it. this was worse that she had hoped it would be. First her mother, then her life, now she had lost her free will. She would marry Lucifer ever if she didn't want to. And she really didn't want to.

But those poor men. Those wonderful, loving princes she had come to care for so much...They had been tricked as brutally as she had. Would they recover from this?

She looked up at him. "What about you? Did he say what would happen to you?"

He moved around to face her, giving a soft smile. "Well, that's the not-so-bad part. It's been agreed with all of us that even if Lucifer marries you, the rest of us get to be consorts."

Her despair lightened a bit. "Consort? Like, I'll get to sleep with you anyway?"

He nodded. "Lucifer figured you wouldn't be the happiest person in the world when you found out, so he told the rest of us that we could be your temporary lovers if you got lonely."

"Oh." A small bubble of relief filled her. Well, this wasn't too bad. She'd still be married to Lucifer, but at least she could have her men with her. "How do you know Lucifer won't go back on his word to you?"

"We all made an agreement on the river Styx. That's an unbreakable oath, so he couldn't turn on us if he wanted to." His smile was all joy and warmth.

She swallowed. "But?"

He made a face. "Well, he can deny us access to you if he thinks we're a threat to you or you complain about on of us. So, unless you complain about Darian biting you, he's still allowed to see you."

"Do I have to sleep with all of the princes?"

"Well, I hope you would." He offered a joking smile. "But not really. You don't have to sleep with the ones you don't like. So, Helion, Parthos, the fuckhead brothers and Memnon are all safe from your bed."

She smiled slightly. "But I can still have you and the others?"

"Yep." He grinned.

"Good." She reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck. She inched closer to him and leaned her cheek on his shoulder. "I don't want to lose you."

She felt his arms wrap around her back. "You won't, I promise."

Kara smiled into his skin. Her tears had dried and she began to feel better, though she still wasn't happy about marrying Lucifer. But maybe, while they still had time, they could get in the opportunity he deserved.

She pulled away slightly and smiled up at him. "You know, you and I still have something to take care of."

He smiled back. "Yes."

"Well?" She gave him a confused look.

He laughed softly. "I actually had a plan for that, but you sent away the help I was going to need."

"You need backup to sleep with me?" She narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"Not really, but I had planned something special. But Darian and Lyzander are with the others, so it will have to wait."