Sweet Revenge (Dueling with the Devil) (23 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

Light filtered through the sheer curtains. Xavier’s breath whispered on the back of her neck. His iron grip never let her go once during the night. Bell awoke several times to find him pensively watching her. Onc
e,
she drifted awake from a lovely dream and heard him speaking to the Maker. His desperation touched he
r,
creating a mixed sense of sadness and hope. He stepped outside his bounds to ensure her safet
y,
seeking help from a power that had
a
long ago.

She pushed on the solid limb tossed across her body. Testing her voic
e,
she whispere
d,
“
Xavier
.
”

He only drew her in closer.

Nudging him gentl
y,
she called to him again
.“
He
y,
you. Time to get up
.
”

His tongue flicked over her earlobe; her stomach clenched in response. Hands shifted from her waist to cup her aching breast. She arched into his palm
s,
as she turned her face to him. Xavier took her mouth in feral hunger. Bell matched his intensity. Her pulse raced with the excitement of his exploration. She broke the kiss in a gasp for air.

The sparkle of gree
n,
the dazzling flash of whit
e,
brought contentment to her soul.

“
Welcome bac
k
,
”
Xavier murmured in a voice thick with longing.

Bell scooted around to face him
.“
Thank you
.
”

“
For what
?
”

“
Not leaving me
.
”

He bowed his hea
d,
his forehead rested on hers
.“
I would never leave you
.
”

The conviction in his words brought her strength.

The phone rang. He grumbled a few sentences before hanging up. She pushed up on the be
d,
hugging her knees to her chest. His expression said their reunion was over. Xavier shared her disappointmen
t,
but there were more important issues to resolve.

t t t

All eyes turned to her as they walked in the room. Her father greeted her with an embrace. Marie’s kind smile welcomed her. Even Angel and Jacque looked happy for her recovery. The sympathy surrounding her gave Bell an uneasy sense of belonging. She never wanted to depend on other
s,
to embrace this sign of weakness. These people had seen her at her lowest. She wasn’t sure what to expect from them.

“
Nice to see you up and abou
t
,
”
Angel handed her a steamy
m
ug
o
f
c
o
ff
ee
.

The aroma never
s
m
e
l
led so good in the past
.“
Thanks
.”
Bell grinned. The potent smell of chicory softened her disposition.

As they all sa
t,
Damon and two other weres entered the room. There was no mistaking
that
these were his brothers. The Broudeaux boys all had a backwoods sex appeal to them. The powers amassed in the tiny sitting room could bring down a small army. It said much about Ziz’s strength if it took so many to capture one demon.

The men talked of strategies and weapons over breakfast. Xavier explained the terrain with what he knew of Ziz’s portals. Leviathan and Behemoth revealed the powers they knew Ziz to possess. Of the Crowned Prince
s,
Ziz was the strongest due to his age and being a true royal of their destroyed dimension. This is why Lucifer accommodated Ziz’s request to bring his female when all others were destroyed.

Lucifer gained dominion over the Underworld by conquering the dimension
s,
holding the balance between good and evil in the universe. The Maker lost his stronghold as Lucifer collected the most powerful specie
s,
bringing them into his fold. The whole freewill thing had to be a sore subject with the Big Guy. Lucifer ruled with fea
r,
intimidatio
n,
and trickery. He cared nothing for one’s personal choices.

With plans made and weapons gathere
d,
Bell shivered as the two men left in her life prepared to go off to war. She fought the urge to retreat back inside the cocoon of darknes
s,
blanking out her feeling
s,
erasing her fears. She had sent many men off to their potential deaths in the pas
t,
not blinking once. Toda
y,
she perched on the stair
s,
gnawing what was left of her nails to keep the tears at bay. She already lost Laurent. Her fathe
r,
newly back in her lif
e,
was now walking into harm’s way. And knowing Xavier may not be coming back terrified her.

Her father’s long strides closed the distance between them swiftly. He planted a kiss on the top of Bell’s head. She was a child again. The day he left their home when she was a young demo
n,
he had said goodbye in the same manner. She chewed the cuticle on her index finger. Her breathing became labored while her heart pumped in overdrive. When her dad forced her to meet his gaz
e,
a tear escaped the corner of her eye.

“
No need for sadness or worr
y,
baby girl
.
”

“
I know
.
”

“
Then why the tears
?
”

“
Because I don’t know how to stop them
.”
Bell chuckled weakly
.“
I’ve turned into a blubbering fool
.
”

“
My swee
t,
little one. Having emotions isn’t a weakness. They help us understand the line between right and wrong. They soften the edges of logic to help us do what’s right for other
s,
not just focus on our selfish needs. Don’t bottle them away. Embrace them
.
”

A sad smile played upon her lips. She needed to hear those words many years ago. Her life might have been differen
t,
not as lonely
.“
Please be careful. I don’t want to lose you again. And I want to see the look on Mother’s face when she sees you
.”
She genuinely brightened at the picture of her mother’s anger.

“
That’s my Bell. I’ll see you soon
.
”

She gripped the banister to stop from reaching out for him
.“
By
e,
Daddy
.
”

Xavier waited behind her. The big bulk of his body squeezed behind her on the stairs. Muscular thigh
s,
clad in deni
m,
sandwiched Bell. His arms circled around her shoulders and guided her back into him. Bell tipped her head back to look at him. A tingle spread through her body when Xavier kissed her throat. She rose from the step and slipped into his lap.

“
How you holding up
?”
he asked.

“
I’m okay
.”
She skimmed her thumb across his lip.

“
You’re strong. You’ll be fine
.
”

“
Only if you come back. And take care of my father
.
”

“
We’ll both be fine. You rest. Take care of yourself
.”
His hands stroked the small of her back. His mouth covered hers. The taste of whiskey lingered on his tongue as it darted in and out teasingly.

Everything will be fin
e
,
she chanted in her head. But just in cas
e,
she wanted to give him some motivation to want to survive. She jumped off his la
p,
yanking him to his fee
t,
and headed for the basement. Etienne owned one of the rare houses in New Orleans with a basement. One fortified enough to imprison some seedy supes.

“
Hey. Where are y’all going
?”
Jacque calle
d,
as he walked through the front door.

“
Be back in a few minute
s
,
”
Bell shouted as they disappeared down the basement stairs.

Etienne went old school in the basement. The gas lighting casted an eeri
e,
yet romantic glow. Down the narrow hal
l,
a heavy metal door hid the room used to extract information and punish the unworthy. Bell drug Xavier down to the torture room to brandish her version of agonizing pleasure. He silently followed with no questions.

Bell nudged the door with her shoulder. The metal hinges creaked open. The aroma of damp stone and stale blood clung to the air. She second guessed herself for a momen
t,
but was reassured when she caught a glimpse of excitement in Xavier’s eyes. Quie
t,
he watched her with anticipation.

She scanned the darkened room. A stone slab anchored the center of the roo
m,
reminiscent of a pagan sacrificial altar.
Across
the
roo
m
,
shackles dangled from the titanium hook embedded in what looked to be a granite wall. So many toy
s,
so little time.

Bell slithered over to Xavier. Inch by inc
h,
she backed him to the altar. His back met the jagged edge of the tabl
e,
causing him to halt
.“
On the tabl
e
,
”
she ordere
d,
her voice raspy with want.

He stood in defiance. Her body clenched into a knot of need. She cut her eyes toward hi
m,
spying his belt. After unbuttoning his shir
t,
she let it fall to the floor. She traced the shallow valley between his pecs. A smile crept to her lips when he jumped at her touch. Bell played with the trail of hair lightly dusting the path from his nave
l,
disappearing under the waist of his low hung jeans. She unbuckled his bel
t,
whipped it from the loop
s,
and snapped it in the air.

She paced in front of Xavier
.“
Now…let’s try this again. Get on the table
.”
She unleashed the leather strap. It hit within inches of Xavier’s ar
m,
catching the stone slab.

His smir
k,
tinged with mischie
f,
challenged her. He hopped up on the table as he was told. Bell climbed up behind him. She drew his arms
b
ac
k
w
a
r
d and gathered the weathered leather bindings attached to the stone to confine the strong arms that rocked her back to sanity. A small gasp escaped his lips when Bell yanked the straps tight.

She jumped to the ground and came back to the front of the table. She unbuttoned his jeans. The sound of his zipper echoed in the silence of the basement. All the whil
e,
the heat of his stare burned through her. Those emerald pools seethed with hunger. And she loved it.

He lifted his hips to allow her to slide his pants down his thick thighs. The muscles twitched each time her hand grazed his skin. His glorious nude body sat displayed before her in a buffet of male perfection.

Bell looped the belt around his nec
k,
pulling him down to her. She darted her tongue along his slightly parted lip
s,
but stepped away before he could fully initiate the kiss. With her best schoolteacher voic
e,
she croone
d,
“
What shall we do with yo
u,
Mr. Toussant? You’ve been a ver
y,
very bad boy
.
”