Lucifer's Cage (After Dark Book 6) by Sarah Bailey (short story to read .txt) 📗

whispered. “And I will punish you when you disobey me. I won’t be gentle then. You’ll feel the full force of my brutality. Are we clear?”

“Yes. Very.”

Her hand brushed over his side, falling in between them. Her fingers ran over his stomach and lower until she’d wrapped her hand around him. He stiffened, pulling away from her slightly.

“What are you doing?”

“Let me touch you,” she replied, staring up at him with such tenderness it made his heart hammer in his chest.

What is this? Why does she make me feel this way?

He didn’t stop her when she released his cock from the confines of his clothes. Her small hand stroked up and down the length of him at a slow pace. Even that simple touch sent his body into overdrive. Nerve endings tingling with anticipation.

“Candace,” he hissed.

“Shh, let me take care of you.”

She pressed her mouth to his, kissing him softly. His fingers curled into her t-shirt, gripping it as she moved faster. After making her come earlier, he was so close to exploding. All the pent-up lust he felt slammed into him with a force which made him shiver. This woman had no idea what she did to him.

“I want to give into you, but there are things you don’t know about me. Things I can never change.”

Then tell me.

“I can’t. If I let you have me, I can’t walk away from you. You were right. You’ll ruin me.”

You’re already mine. Don’t you see that?

She was silent, pulling away from him. Her eyes were sad. She didn’t stop touching him and it wasn’t long before he shuddered against her, grunting. Even the release didn’t put a dampener on his need to have her, but it gave him a moment’s relief. She readjusted his clothing before curling her arm back around him and pressing her face to his chest.

“I am yours,” she whispered. “And that’s what scares me the most.”

Chapter Nine

Candace stared at the pentagram within the circle she’d drawn, inspecting each line closely. She’d lost count of the amount of times she’d attempted to get this right. Mall had given her a large empty room to work in. Various herbs, plants and candles were scattered about the place. It wasn’t easy to reverse engineer a spell when you had no idea what you were doing. She wished she’d paid more attention in her father’s lessons.

“This should be right,” she muttered to herself.

Getting up, she picked up the necessary candles, placing one at each end of the pentagram. Next, she dumped the relevant items into the bowl near her feet. This was an experiment. She’d adjusted the amounts yet again. She understood the basics, but there was so much about spellcraft which eluded her.

She’d ended up with several more books to try to work out the right way to go about this. It’d taken a full week of research before she felt ready to put the spell to the test.

The door opened behind her.

“Dare I ask how it’s going?” Mall said.

“Probably wise not to,” Candace replied.

Mall arrived next to her, staring down at the pentagram. She hadn’t asked too many questions about what Candace was doing, only providing her with the necessary ingredients. Candace didn’t much care where Mall had got this stuff from.

“Looks complicated.”

“It is, and it isn’t. The basic construction never varies, but there are changes depending on the function. This was the one thing I was always good at. It’s the rest I struggle with. The books help to an extent, but as you know, this isn’t as simple as following a recipe.”

“How long have you been at this?”

Candace looked down at her watch. It was the only way she was still able to keep track of how long she’d been here.

“Um, five hours or so.”

“My Lord would not be pleased you’re neglecting yourself.”

Candace scowled. A reminder of Lucifer wasn’t what she needed right now. The memory of the night they’d shared together made her shiver. It was the first time they’d had a serious conversation with each other that hadn’t ended up in an argument.

She’d fallen asleep tucked up in his arms and he’d still been there when she woke up. A slow languid kiss had followed whilst his fingers roamed under her t-shirt, down her back. She could still feel the phantom touch even though it had been two weeks. He’d left and given her breakfast in bed. He’d not even attempted to get her to give into him. And the way he’d smiled made her heart thump uncomfortably in her chest. She didn’t want feelings for Lucifer, but there they were anyway. Haunting her.

“I’ll go hassle him for a meal after this.”

Mall grinned at her. Candace had found a sort of kinship with the succubus. Mall wasn’t afraid to talk back to Lucifer nor did she take any shit from anyone. It seemed the Devil didn’t mind the succubus giving him a hard time because she was good at her job.

“It is strange the way he behaves when you’re around.”

Candace frowned. She wasn’t aware he behaved any differently towards her, except perhaps he was a little more unforgiving towards his subjects. She hadn’t seen any other demons since she’d accidentally wound up in the throne room. It was something she could only be glad of. Meeting Beleth hadn’t been a pleasant experience.

“What do you mean?”

“I have never seen him have consideration for anyone other than himself, but he always makes sure you are taken care of. Between you and me, you’re good for him.”

Candace was silent, unable to form a suitable response.

She thinks I’m good for him? How can I be? I drive him crazy.

Mall was right about one thing.