Date With Death (Welcome To Hell) (10 page)
Read Date With Death (Welcome To Hell) Online
Authors: Eve Langlais
When the tremors in their bodies subsided, he let her slide down his body. He turned her until she stood under the hot spray of the shower. She leaned back into him and he hugged her to his chest.
“Thanks for coming to save me,” she said softly.
“Always. I’m sorry your dad turned out to be such a disappointment.”
Marigold turned in his arms and looked up at him. “Bah, I expected that. What I didn’t expect was an Aztec god gathering an army and declaring war for me.”
Mictain grinned. “Turns out you didn’t need my help, but at least my men got some exercise.”
Marigold returned his smile. “Hey, does this mean I’m a demi-god then?”
“In my eyes, you are definitely a goddess.” She blushed and dropped her gaze. Mictain held back a chuckle. Brazen she might be, but she melted at compliments, something he’d have to remember. “Stand still now while I wash you. I need a clean canvas for the dirty things I intend to do to you later.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” she teased
Mictain grabbed the bar of soap and cleaned her, kneeling to wash even the soles of her feet. She giggled and he looked up at her.
“That tickles,” she said with a shrug and a smile.
She looked so adorable. The words burst from him before he could stop them. “I love you.”
*
Marigold froze for a second, not out of fear or an urge to run, but because he’d stunned her, in a good way. She also realized in that instant something very important, quick and impossible as it seemed. “I love you too.”
He stood, his face brimming with happiness
, and his arms curled around her possessively. “Mine,” he claimed, hugging her tight.
“Yours,” she agreed. “And you are mine as well
, forever.”
“Forever indeed,” he agreed.
“Wow, that’s a long time to commit to considering your life span,” said Satan’s mocking tone from outside the shower.
“Lucifer!” bellowed Mictain while maneuvering Marigold behind him.
Marigold laughed and wrapped her arms around Mictain’s body from behind. As he argued with the Lord of Hades about boundaries and ground rules, Marigold reflected on her good fortune.
Who’d have thought a date with death would end up with me falling in love with a god, and not just any god, but the hottest and nicest god ever. This is one case where death can take me whenever he like
s—
naked, of course.
“Um, Mick honey, could you come here please?” Marigold blocked Satan’s way into their home, having foiled his impromptu indoor visits by placing a powerful spell on Mick’s loft, their home in Hell.
The Lord of Hades tried a puppy dog look that made her bite her lip so she wouldn’t giggle. “Ah, come on, Marigold. Just let me in. I got to talk to Mick.”
“Let him in, Mari.” Mick arrived and pulled her away from the door into the comfort of his body. She never tired of him touching her. Several weeks into their new life together and she was happier than she ever remembered being.
“What do you want, Lucifer?” she asked, having a sneaky suspicion already.
“Listen, Zeus is really sorry about everything that’s happened. He really wants to make it up to you.”
“I’m sure he does,” she said. “But until he’s ready to apologize to Mick, I have no interest in talking to him.”
“That’s just it. He’s given in to your demands,” Satan announced triumphantly.
Marigold’s brow furrowed. “I don’t get it. What suddenly made him change his mind?”
Satan grinned devilishly. “Why, the baby, of course. He couldn’t very well hate the father of his grandchild now, could he?”
Marigold gaped at Satan and Mick’s hold around her tightened as he whispered in her ear. “Well that would certainly explain your bigger boobs.”
Marigold turned to give him a quick glare before turning back to Lucifer. “What makes you all think I’m pregnant? Don’t you think I would have noticed?”
“The Moirae came over for tea yesterday and were quite giddy over the fact they are about to become aunts. I have to say, I’m a little hurt no one asked me to be an uncle. It’s a good thing I’m not easily offended.”
Marigold laughed at the not so subtle hint. “Fine, you can be an uncle, but please leave the corrupting to us.”
Lucifer rubbed his hands with glee. “Great. So can I tell Zeus all is forgiven?”
“Tell him he can come for dinner and to bring Hera. But you warn him, one nasty word and he’s out on his ear.”
“No problem. Hera will make him behave. See you at the baby shower.” Satan went to pop out only to grunt in annoyance. “Stupid shielding spell.” He stalked over to the front door and let himself out.
Seconds later, Marigold was whirling in circles held aloft by Mick. “A baby. Our baby,” he crowed.
She grinned at his enthusiasm. Life was about to get more interesting, and to think, she had her freckles to thank for it. “I love you, Mick.”
The spinning stopped, and Mick turned serious. “I love you too, Marigold. Thanks for almost dying.”
“Anytime for you,” she teased. “Just think of what an awesome story it’s going to make to tell our child.”
With those words, she was spinning again, but giddy with love and happiness, she laughed.
Who’d have guessed when Death came calling, I’d not only get naked and invite him into bed, but also let him stake a place in my heart.
*
Whistling, Lucifer popped back into his palace. Gaia peeked up from the wilted plant on his desk. “What’s got you so giddy?”
“I am not giddy, woman. Merely pleased at another perfectly executed plan.”
“Perfect? You caused a war.”
“Bah. They needed some excitement in their lives. Look at the end result. Another happy couple. A baby on the way
, and Zeus in my debt for reconciling him with his daughter.”
“Only you would see yourself as the hero in all this.”
“Ugh. You’re right. Think it’s too late to claim the spot of villain?”
“It’s never too late for you to get evil.”
“I say we celebrate with some hot and sweaty sinning.” He leered and waggled his brows suggestively.
She hiked her frothy green skirt and ran with a taunting laugh.
He chased.
And when he caught her, the resulting tsunami raised the isle of Atlantis. But that
’s a story for another day.
The End
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For a sneak peek at some currently published works, keep reading.
Published by Amira Press:
Alien Mate
,
Alien Mate 2
,
Alien Mate 3
(MFM)
Pack Series:
Defying Pack Law
,
Betraying The Pack
,
Seeking Pack Redemption
Published by Liquid Silver Books:
Princess of Hell series:
Lucifer’s Daughter
,
Snowballs In Hell
,
Hell’s Revenge
Published by Eve Langlais
Furry United Coalition:
Bunny And The Bear
,
Swan And The Bear
,
Croc And The Fox
Freakn’ Shifters:
Delicate Freakn’ Flower
,
Jealous And Freakn’
,
Already Freakn’ Mated
,
Human and Freakn’
, Jungle Freakn’ Bride
Alien Abduction:
Accidental Abduction
,
Intentional Abduction
,
Dual Abduction
,
Mercenary Abduction
Cyborgs: More Than Machines:
C791
,
F814
,
B785
Welcome To Hell:
A Demon And His Witch
,
A Demon And His Psycho
,
Date with Death, A Demoness and her Scot(Aug 2013)
Accidental Abduction – A Sci-Fi Alien Romance
Chapter One
Maybe drowning won’t be so bad.
Megan’s numb arms and legs agreed. Yet, despite the fact her whole body wanted her to stop moving—screamed it actually—she kept fluttering, moving her hands and feet just enough to keep her face above the waves. Every now and then she got a mouthful of salty water that made her choke and did nothing to cure her thirst. At least she didn’t have to contend with the burning sun. Chances were she’d succumb to fatigue before the dawn arrived with its warming rays. Her sarcastic side—which was begging for a slap—piped in that she should also show thanks that she’d stopped shivering a while ago, her body acclimatizing itself to the Pacific waters she floated in.
Megan never intended to go for a swim when she set out for an evening cruise. She had her boyfriend—
stupid, freaking jerk
—to thank for her situation. And to think, she’d thought Cameron was “the one.” He’d certainly said and done the right things in his wooing of her and she’d enjoyed his company well enough, most of the time anyway, a rarity for her where men were concerned. She should have smelt something fishy when he’d immediately pushed for them to make everything joint soon after they moved in together—the whole cohabiting thing again, his idea. His claimed, “Don’t you trust me?” should have rung warning bells.
There was nothing as foolish as a woman in love, though, or in her case, like. She’d fallen into the trap he laid, and not just the trap of a con man, but a death trap.
I wonder if my grave stone will say “Here lies Megan, screwed by a man, yet again.”
In her defense, no woman ever expected the man she loved—or liked—to betray them—even if in her case, her track record with men should have provided a clue. She’d blithely agreed to go on a nocturnal jaunt with him, the moonlight cruise a celebration of sorts, the anniversary of their six month dating mark. A record for her. It would now also mark the date of her death. At least the bastard toasted her with champagne before hip checking her off the boat with an exaggerated “Oops.” Then, he’d had the nerve to laugh when she’d asked him for help as she treaded water, incredulity not making her see the obvious at first.
It didn’t take her long to clue in, and then she unleashed a litany of curses that would have made most seamen blush. Of course, the way she screamed in glaring detail the way she’d maim him when she got her hands on him might have factored in Cameron’s decision to go through with his deadly plan—or precipitated it? She should have probably left off the gruesome details about how she’d emasculate him. But still, what other reaction did he expect given his action?
Megan heard his derisive laughter for a long time after he steered the yacht away in the dark with only the stars to guide him. Hours later—or so she assumed given the numerous scenarios she’d had time to run through her mind where she survived and got her revenge—she floated at the ends of her endurance and strength, fighting to live even though she knew she had no hope of surviving.
A large wave rolled over her head and she floundered under the water for a moment, almost giving up, too tired to care. Then she saw it.
A light!
Disbelief made her stare under the water at the bright beacon hovering just above her head.
Rescue?
She didn’t question the improbability of it, just strained toward the brilliance using her last ounce of strength. Her head broke the surface of the ocean and she blinked in the bright glare, then blinked again as her body began to rise out of the water.
Did I die? Is this how my journey to heaven begins? Sopping wet and pissed?
Not to mention she’d always expected a much,
much
warmer reception when she finally did kick it. A poster child for pure living she wasn’t.
A flopping fish lifted from the water in front of her and rose rapidly, slapping her in the face with its thrashing tail in passing.
What the hell?
Hell had nothing to do with it, though, she surmised. She peered around in slack jawed disbelief as she and a football field of fish, along with other denizens of the ocean, rose out of the water, caught in some weird anti-gravitational field. And no she wasn’t some kind of science geek for thinking that. She’d recently watched a marathon of
Star Trek
films because of Cameron, a true Trekkie fan. She’d never expected the inane fiction of the screen to ever relate to her life, but what else could explain why she and thousands of sea critters were floating as if weightless, drawn toward an illuminated maw whose edges she could barely make out.
It occurred to her to scream for help, but seriously, she wasn’t an idiot even if she sucked in her choice of boyfriends. Besides, exactly who did she expect to save her from an obvious alien extraction? In her current situation, abduction sure beat drowning any day.
Excitement replaced her exhaustion and resignation of her fate. She was about to meet extra-terrestrial life. Would they be green? Short or tall? Would they appear like a wrinkled E.T. or humanoid like her?
On top of these curious inner musings, doubt suddenly piled on. What if they were violent? Ate humans as a delicacy? Or—
gasp
—sold human females as sex slaves? Megan looked down at her plump frame and her lips twisted ruefully.
I’m more likely to end up someone’s main course than a sex slave.
While she didn’t mind her plentiful curves, they didn’t appeal to everyone; although, she’d had more than one boyfriend claim it wasn’t her body that turned them off, but her mouth. She didn’t believe in keeping her opinions and criticisms to herself.
The slow aerial ascent took forever it seemed to reach the gaping hole in the bottom of the craft and about time, too, because out of the water, she shivered with cold, her damp sundress clinging to her. She hugged her arms around her body, but it didn’t help her chattering teeth.
What are the chances I’ll be greeted with a towel?
Looking around at the wide-eyed fish with their mouths gaping open and shut soundlessly, she didn’t count on it.
The bright light she’d mistaken for Heaven’s doorway didn’t diminish until she and her fellow aquatic abductees went past the lip of the ship. Then she goggled in astonishment because ringing the area on all sides were huge vats filled with liquid, oversized fish tanks if she wasn’t mistaken—and not all of them from Earth. A purplish fluid in one certainly didn’t resemble anything she’d ever seen and displayed the occasional black tentacle. Cool, although she wouldn’t plan on going for a swim with whatever resided inside.
As the beam she found herself caught in angled up over the lip of an open vat, she noted something disturbing. All the other tanks were sealed shut. Her mind quickly came to an unwelcome conclusion. If she allowed herself to get dropped into the approaching aquarium, she’d find herself right back in the same spot; drowning.
“Not again,” she muttered. She twisted herself to look around and noted a network of beams holding narrow walkways running above and around the vats. She needed to get onto one of those. Using her arms and legs, she kicked and pulled, much like she would if she were in water, if water were a thick molasses that fought her every inch of the way. Sweat beaded on her brow as she struggled against the beams inertia, her progress slow, slower than the tractor beams implacable movement.
She brushed against other captives, their wet slimy skin icky against hers, their lidless eyes watching her passage—
and I swear they’re praying I don’t make it
. Revenge for her regular Friday night sushi she’d bet. She almost didn’t make it in time, the plopping sound of tumbling fish hitting water taunting her before her fingers grasped a cold edge of metal. She wrapped her hands tight around the beam and heaved herself over, cursing the fact she owned a gym membership she never used. Muscles straining, she brought her legs up to wrap around the metal support, the sudden loss of the anti-gravitational field’s support making her almost fall as she suddenly held her full weight. Her aching muscles screamed in protest, but she held on for dear life.
The raining plop of objects hitting water made her turn her head to watch as the fish and other sea population caught in the tractor beam were deposited in the huge tank. As soon as the last one hit the liquid surface, the beam shut off and she blinked her eyes at the sudden loss of light. She could still see, albeit not as clearly, as dim circular lights surrounding the chamber provided only faint illumination. Dim vision didn’t prevent her from hearing the whirring sound of machinery and the soft snick of the aquarium sealing shut followed by a larger thunk which she assumed meant the bottom portal had also closed.
Then it was silent except for a distant hum and her panting breath. Her arms trembled with the strain of holding herself, and it occurred to her that her first order of business should involve getting her feet onto firm ground.
Exhaustion brought her close to the point of hysteria at her inadvertent pun and she giggled. Okay, maybe not firm ground but at least a surface she could stand upright on. Hanging like a monkey, she looked around and saw a walkway not far away if she could only make her way over to it.
“Just like monkey bars,” she reminded herself as she swung her body towards the next strut. Her hands caught the beam and she let her legs go so her body could follow. She hadn’t counted on the fatigue in her arms or how heavy her body would drag. Not to mention, she’d assumed a lack of or lesser gravity in space.
Wrong!
Her hands slipped from the beam and she plummeted, her short scream of fright cut off as she landed in an ungraceful heap on something unforgivingly hard and blacked out.
Chapter Two
Tren, his feet propped on his main console, cursed as an alarm went off.
“What the frukx is going on now?” He mumbled under his breath as he punched in a sequence of keystrokes on the armrest of his seat, forcing the screen in front of him to bring up the video for the transport bay. More than likely, one of his specimens had gotten free of the tractor beam, not a huge worry with this latest batch. The planet Earth wasn’t known for its deadly denizens. On the contrary, their creatures tended toward the docile side, especially the liquid faring variety.
The bay, with its huge vats, appeared in his view screen and he scanned the room, panning the camera in several directions. He didn’t see anything, but then again, some of the critters he’d captured were quite small. Not like the knovakian’s with their forty astrometric long tentacles.
Those he’d had to sedate before capturing them for transport.
With a sigh of annoyance, he stood from his chair and stretched his bulky frame before stomping to the elevator that would take him to the lower level. He stopped just before entering and barked a command. “Proceed to the seventh planet in the quadrant and then drop into hyperspeed. Heading, the Jifnarian galaxy, third planet.”
“Course locked.” The smooth voice of his computer confirmed his orders. He grunted as he swung into the elevator and jabbed the button for the transport bay.
Going to wrestle a fish.
The thought made him sigh. He’d come a long way from his career as a mercenary. His new life as a wrangler and transporter for rare species from undeveloped galaxies might bore the frukx out of him, but it sure beat getting his ass shot off every time he turned around. Of course, nothing could compare to the rush of a mission where he outsmarted security systems, pitted his skills against deadly guards and came out ahead. But the life of a warrior for hire wasn’t a long one hence his career change.
However, no one warned him that retirement would mean he’d end up bored out of his mind. He’d tried the life of leisure for a while, he’d certainly amassed enough credits to do so, but a male could only get drunk so many times and plow so many females before everything turned stagnant. So he bought a ship and started a new career—acquisitions specialist.
At least with his new business, he got to travel, fight the occasional reticent species and kill off pirates. Those still stupid enough to engage him that was. His reputation preceded him and now even the scum of the universe avoided him.
Time to change ships perhaps and fool them into thinking I’m new.
He chuckled at the thought and made a mental note to have his business manager look into it. He could use the sport, and it always paid to keep one’s skills sharp.
The door to the elevator slid open, disrupting his mental plan to fool pirates into playing and he strode into the large transport bay.
“Lights,” he barked.
The dim cavern immediately illuminated and he strode through the tanks heading toward the newest one to see what caused his alarm to still ring shrilly. He didn’t bother masking the sound of his arrival, the heavy thump of his combat boots loud in the cargo bay. It wasn’t like the specimens he’d caught could grow legs and run away.
What a shame.
He wouldn’t have minded some form of entertainment.
Arriving at the recently filled vat, he peered around on the floor but found nothing around the base of the tank. He clambered up a ladder to reach the catwalks. He no sooner set foot on the metal grate than he saw a prone, wet lump.
“What the frukx is that?” It didn’t look like the illustrations he’d seen of Earth’s aquatic species. He wrinkled his nose at the stench, a briny, wet fish odor. Toeing the pale creature, he whipped his pistol out when it grunted.