The Cellar Ch. 06

"That's not true! I don't like the dirty, loud, whiney ones that run amuck in Wal-Mart, steal things from my cart and wipe their snot on the shelves."

"I see, well thank you for clarifying," Lucien chuckled. "Do you really shop at Wal-Mart?"

"Oh shut up! Now why didn't you tell me?"

"Joelle, I chose not to tell you because I want good things for your life. Your life," he repeated, "not some absurd facsimile of it. Besides, I would be breaking the rules by fathering a child with anyone other than Annette."

"Well I think I should be able to make my own decisions about the kind of life I'd like to have, facsimile or otherwise. And when did you start caring about the rules?"

"Since the consequences became more severe. So now that you know, what is it that you would like to do?"

"I don't know yet, it would have been nice to have some more time to think about it."

"There are nine days left, you may use five of those to parse the information and make your decision. But know that if we challenge Barbas, there will be a penalty to pay and I have no idea what that will entail."

"I understand -- and thank you, I expected more of a fight from you."

"At this juncture, there appears we have very little left to lose."

"Exactly... and just so I know, what would the baby be?"

"As any other, a part of me and a part of you."

"But you're..."

"Precisely. And that is yet another reason I chose not to tell you."

***

Joelle thought about it for four days. She drove Lucien insane with a litany of questions, all of which seemed very reasonable, though he seemed to find most of them amusing. Still, there were some unsettling issues to consider, like carrying a child for only four months, most women had nine in which to prepare and enjoy their pregnancies; she would be afforded less than half that. She would also become barren, though she did quite enjoy the idea of never having to worry about her period again. But at the end of the day, there were really only two things to consider: a life with him and a life without him.

A life with him would be forever and while she wasn't exactly forfeiting her soul, she would be losing a piece of herself. The gift of a cambion spared her from hell but would also prevent her from entering heaven. Her human life would be relinquished and she would become one of "The Lost", a small collection of immortals who straddled the line between heaven and hell, but belonged to neither. And should her body ever die or the end of days be reached, she would be stuck in purgatory for perpetuity, separated from Lucien. But a human life without him meant losing a piece as well, a piece she didn't know if she could bear to lose.

Tomorrow was the day of reckoning, the sixth day of their ten day allotment, and there was yet another question to ask. So she rolled from the bed and went to find him in the living room, where he and Delilah were steeped in heated debate about good and evil. Joelle pattered down the hall and perched herself at the head of the landing, overlooking the living room, and listened to their chatter.

"Moving beyond the fundamental complexities of right and wrong..."

"Are you going to make the nature versus nurture argument again?" Delilah whined.

"No, I am simply trying to suggest that man is inherently good and evil, in equal proportions, and it is free will which defines one's path."

"Well, since your basic design was molded from the human spirit, wouldn't that imply that you too are intrinsically good and evil, in equal proportions?"

"Unlikely. Though it is a possibility I have considered. I simply find it too difficult to understand Lucifer's motivation in taking such a risk."

"Because he likes to play," said Delilah offhandedly.

It was at precisely that moment she knew her answer. The question she had come to ask was now irrelevant and she could hardly remember what it was. Ultimately, it no longer mattered. If Lucien had revealed anything about his true nature, it was that he possessed forgiveness and a propensity for compassion; those were certainly not characteristics embraced by the devil. There was good in him, even if he didn't believe it to be true.

"Do it," insisted Joelle, hollering from the landing, "knock me up!"

"Are you certain?" Lucien jumped from the sofa, his voice clearly shaken.

"Yes, now do it. I want you to do it right now," she insisted.

"You'll have to release me from our accord."

"I release you!"

"It will be agonizing."

"Lucien, shut up, I release you and all that, now just do it."

Joelle couldn't help but notice the tense mixture of excitement and reluctance which peppered Lucien's face. And then he was gone, reappearing at the bottom of the stairs a moment later.

He slowly climbed the steps and stopped when they were mere inches apart. "Joelle, this means forever. Do you understand that?"

"Yes, you already explained that. I get that it's not a Hallmark card kind of forever, but a real one. I love you, and I want this, and if you love me too, you should just shut up and do it already."

"I will honor your wishes."

Delilah waited until Joelle had moved down the hall toward the bedroom, before scolding him again. "I see you're still being a prick," she hissed, jabbing Lucien in the ribs as she pushed past him. "Tell that poor girl you love her."

"One thing at a time," he snapped, "now go help her."

Joelle looked on, her eyes wide as saucers, as Delilah laced the tethers of the restraints through the headboard before uncapping the syringe.

"Well God will certainly be amused," Delilah sang.

"God? Why on earth would this 'amuse' him?"

"Because each side has a stake in the outcome. Cambion are a true mix of good and evil, so he and Lucifer watch them closely, they're like tiny, little experiments... sometimes they even wager."

"Experiment! You have got to be kidding me! Thanks for filling me in on all this Lucien, my baby's an experiment! Well that's just fucking super."

"Thank you Delilah, for your very encouraging and sensitive words," Lucien snapped. "Joelle, if you have had a change of heart, I will understand."

"Oh just shut up already, both of you. Go ahead, stick me... a fucking experiment," she grumbled. "You're all bat shit crazy."

Delilah swabbed Joelle's arm and slipped the needle in, giving her the highest possible dose of Dilaudid. Within minutes, the room blurred; colors and patterns melded in a sea of swirls and their voices faded into a twisted mass of muted sounds, leaving nothing but a hazy hum. Tremendous calm washed over her body, relaxing her muscles and cooling the flames of anxiety which had consumed her mind. And as she drifted away, she knew that the decision she had made was the right one.

"Remove her clothes and bind her arms," Lucien commanded, "I do not want to risk touching her until she is secure."

When the task was complete, he moved toward Joelle with intense hesitation, reluctant still to touch her. Lucien knew that regardless of the Dilaudid, the pain would be outrageous, and just as he was about to disrobe, a flurry of questions plagued his meager conscience. He wondered if things weren't exactly the way they were supposed to be. Perhaps they were simply not meant to fit together, like a square peg and a round hole. The signs had all been there, at every turn there was yet another obstacle, forcing them apart. What if what was about to happen was the final nail in their coffin as opposed to their liberation?

"Stop looking for reasons to back out!" Delilah snapped, as if reading his very thoughts.

Lucien undressed and kicked his clothes across the floor in disgust. He pulled his cock into his hand and held it within inches of her sumptuous body. This time he knew in advance the absolute agony he would cause her and stood frozen in place, staring at it with disdain and cursing it for being hard.

As his skin connected with Joelle's she squealed and he recoiled. Taking a moment to re-center himself, he approached again and took a deep breath, holding it inside his lungs. Quickly he grabbed her legs and moved between them, and when he felt her squirm, he released her again.

"Now you're just being silly," grumbled Delilah, "she wants this, stop being such a baby about it already."

Closing his eyes, he pushed forward until he felt the head of his dick slide between the folds of her wet sheath. Her pussy became a vice around him, tighter even than their first time together and, with a curl of his lip, he nudged harder. Joelle's firm muscles sucked him in, her pulsing walls seeming to pull him deeper, until the head of his dick was buried inside. As he pushed farther, the pressure intensifying and he felt her flesh stretching around him; struggling to accommodate his thick shaft and reacting to the pain. A deep rumble pooled in his throat, low at first but growing louder with every inch Joelle consumed, until finally he had breached her fully and a thunderous roar burst from his chest.

Unable to watch her twisted face, he forced her legs against the bed, creating an open plain, and watched his cock disappear between the slick, squeezing lips of her cunt. It was a stunning visual, to him Joelle was perfection and watching himself become a part of her was intensely stimulating. Suddenly his rhythm became frenzied, as with each outstroke he was more eager to see himself inside. Pulling her to the very edge of the bed, he pushed hard against her thighs, opening her wider, until every ounce of his shaft had disappear within her.

Lucien rammed his lust filled cock into the deepest recesses of her warm cunt as it clasped tightly around him. Joelle began to quiver as his intensity grew and when her abdomen shuddered in unexpected orgasm, he bared his teeth and slammed inside her with untamed ferocity. With vicious force he grabbed her ankles and thrust her knees toward her shoulders, pressing his body against her thighs to trap her in place. He leaned between her legs and grasped her ripe breasts, kneading the warm, supple flesh between his fingers. His pelvis slammed hard against her ass, their skin connecting in audible slaps, as he took her rigid nipple between her teeth and bit down against the sensitive flesh.

But it wasn't enough, he needed her kiss. Lucien reached for her mouth and sucked and nibbled her lips, reveling in the sweetness they possessed. His hands reached the soft skin of her neck and pulled her body against his, losing himself in the culmination of sensations. Joelle's walls pulsed around him, massaging his cock as he lanced her core with fevered intensity. Even with the building storm in his groin, he could not release her mouth and, for a moment, it almost felt as if she had returned his kiss.

"Fuck!" Lucien thundered, finally forced to release her mellifluous mouth as he felt the pulsing of his dick increase, knowing he was seconds from orgasm. Gently he let her fall to the bed as he pulled from her completely.

"Fuck!" he spat, leaving an impression of his fist in the footboard of the bed. Though he was ready to cum, the beast in him wasn't. Without its participation, the entire process offered nothing more than pain. Frustrated, he pulled the robe from the chaise and paced the room, attempting to clear his mind.

Delilah watched as Lucien stomped around the room before throwing his robe in disgust and dropping to his knees, moving his mouth to Joelle. His tongue flitted around the folds of her labia as he slowly spread her swollen lips, revealing the trembling entrance to her chamber. With a quiet groan he encapsulated her clit with his mouth while slipping his fingers inside and upturning his palm to find her g-spot.

Joelle's body twitched and writhed from the fierce struggle of pleasure and pain. Her skin, the very center of her body, must have felt as though it were on fire. But Lucien was a remarkable lover and Delilah knew that part of her shaking was from his exceptional skill. Joelle struggled, her wrists growing redder with every jerk against the unyielding leather restraints, and when a violent spasm shook her entire body, her skin began to purple.

Again Lucien pulled from her completely, waiting until her body quieted before moving between her legs and pushing apart her thighs. Sparing no time for gentle play, he thrust himself inside and impaled her on his beautiful, thick cock. No longer able to remain a mere spectator, Delilah moved her lips to Joelle's swaying breast and delicately teased her perked nipple into her mouth.

Captivated by the sight of Delilah enjoying the taste of Joelle's skin, Lucien felt his rhythm increase as he battered inside the tight, enveloping warmth. Delilah moved her fingers to Joelle's clit, lightly pinching and rolling it between them. Very tenderly she began to message her pronounced flesh and unleashed another wave of ferine lust from his loins.

"Taste her," he encouraged.

Lucien lifted Joelle's ass from the bed, tilting her hips to allow Delilah full advantage of her engorged clit as he continued to slam his shaft inside her inflamed pussy. He felt his breathing quicken and his chest begin to shake, as he watched Delilah flick her pink tongue across Joelle's stunning flesh. Feverishly she worked her mouth across Joelle's cunt, licking and sucking her protruding clit as he fucked her. Wrapping her tongue around his cock, Delilah captured their collective juices and held it in her mouth.

"Give it to me," he demanded.

He immersed his tongue in the sweet nectar that pooled in Delilah's mouth, feeling his pelvis slamming against Joelle's thighs with fevered intensity. Delilah returned to Joelle, tempting and prodding and coaxing from her what Lucien so desperately wanted, returning her mouth to his only after the quivering of orgasm had dissipated.

When Joelle's body signified the evanescence of Dilaudid, Delilah scrambled across the bed and grabbed the syringe from the nightstand, pulling the cap off with her teeth and sliding it into Joelle's arm.

The timing was perfect, he was finally ready. More than anything he wished that what he was about to do wouldn't cause her more pain, but it would. The only saving grace was that she was heavily sedated, but even still, it was bound to be excruciating.

"It's time, put that in her mouth," he demanded, nodding to the nightstand.

Delilah nodded and grabbed the ball gag, forcing it between Joelle's clenched teeth. "I've got her," she confirmed, planting her knees against Joelle's restrained arms and pinning her legs against her chest.

And then he merely let himself go, unleashing the creature he fought so diligently to keep inside. Even through the gag, Joelle's screams were so piercing it nearly subdued the beast, but he blocked the sounds and the thought of her twisted face, intent on finishing what they had started. He felt her skin yield to his fattened cock and the undeniable sensation of tearing flesh. But he was no longer in control and his only hope was that Delilah could quickly mend her wounds.

When he felt himself reach the precipice of release, the beast delved deeper and drew from his soul the seed that had lingered there for so long. He roared as he pushed himself deeper, filling her with every ounce of what he'd held back for millenniums, of what he'd saved just for her. With a thunderous snarl Lucien slammed his cock between her faltering walls as orgasm claimed him.

Slowly the monster drifted back to its den and he felt himself returning from the cage in which he had been sequestered. But still he kept himself there, locked between her beautiful legs, buried deep inside of her perfect flesh until he felt Delilah's hands, prying him away.

"You need to let her go Luke, she's in pain," Delilah prodded.

Lucien felt the shaking of Joelle's legs against his waist and gently withdrew.

"How about a shower or a bath?" Delilah asked.

"Just give me some time with her," he growled, resting his hands against Joelle's pelvis. He lingered there, unable to pull from her, unable to endure the separation of their skin. "I love you."

He kissed her abdomen before rolling her onto her stomach and running his hands along the sinuous lines of her body. Lucien had already chosen the delicate patch of her skin on which to leave his mark, her lovely shoulder. And every day, for all eternity, he vowed to unveil it.

"Draw a bath," he called to Delilah.

The ring rolled easily around his finger, its insignia coming to a rest against his palm, and he closed his eyes as he pressed firmly against the flesh of her shoulder. The scent of burning flesh filled his nose and mouth, making him momentarily ill. But when he withdrew his hand, her skin glowed a pleasing crimson, forever encapsulating his crest.

Lucien carried her to the tub and held her against his body while the water lapped against her skin. Delilah had filled her with Dilaudid and she was now gone, locked away in a sea of pain and analgesics. But what they had set out to do had now been accomplished and he would rejoice for them both.

***

The changes taking place in Joelle's body stole her consciousness for two days, during which she hadn't moved a muscle. Even if he wanted to, he could not leave her, not anymore. When she needed him, he could no longer resist her pull, he could no longer deny her anything and everything she wanted. He was now bound to her for all eternity and their lives were inseparable and tethered in every respect. Even their heartbeats now shared the same rhythm.

On the third day, he felt her stir beside him and pulled the sheet from her body.

"I can feel you," she croaked.

"Have some water." He held the straw to her mouth and waited for her to finish the glass. "Your skin will burn no longer, I claimed you from Barbas. There is nothing more he can do, you now belong to me."

"Belong to you?"

"We belong to each other," he corrected, "though it is my brand, my mark, which adorns your body."

"Maybe I'll just have to come up with my own," she giggled hoarsely.

"Perhaps you should, I would gladly bear it." He kissed her neck. "How do you feel?"

"Fine I guess, different sort of, but still kind of the same... maybe you should ask me tomorrow. So -- did you do it?"

"Yes. I can already feel it inside you."

"So I'm... wow," she stammered. "For some reason I'm incredibly turned on by that."

"You are most definitely pregnant," he chortled.

"I missed touching you."

Joelle straddled Lucien and peeled the shirt from his chest, revealing the tight, sinuous muscle of his abdomen. Her mouth began to water as she traced her finger over their subtle lines before reaching the waist of his pants. With a forceful tug she popped the button and yanked open the zipper. As she pulled down his slacks, his beautiful cock sprung free from their confines and lay semi-erect against his thigh.

Falling against his body, Joelle found his eyes, now a dull shade of jade from days of not eating. "You're hungry," she noted.

"I have not left your side," he confirmed.

"Then let me feed you."

Her fingertips traced the luscious smile which crept across his face and grew wider with each feathery stroke. She breathed in his scent, powerfully masculine, yet honeyed, and drenched in craving. With every touch her heart quickened and his beat hastened in rejoinder. They were connected, two halves of a whole, woven around and through each other in seamless loops. Infinity, she thought absently, an unbreakable chain with no beginning or end.

Joelle's fingers travelled down his chin and along the contours of his strong jaw, before losing themselves in the soft strands of his ebony hair. As their lips drew nearer, the smile faded from his mouth and his eyes grew brighter. Joelle noticed the lines in his neck tighten as he swallowed in anticipation and she wondered if he were as desperate as she.