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

of you. I want to hear your voice even when you say such cruel words. Tell me you hate me when I know it’s the opposite. My little witch, you’ve ensnared me with all that you are.”

I’m ruined. Utterly ruined. Lucifer, I love you. Every inch of you. You’re cruel and brutal, but you’re everything I need because you care for me too.

“But there’s more, Candace… It was Mall who told me to be gentle with you. She told me you were fragile inside and that if I wanted you to come willingly, I should show you I could be gentle.”

Mall. The succubus had seen right through her. How did Mall know that? How did she see that they needed each other? Lucifer had etched himself on her heart.

“Why did you listen to her?”

“I never wanted to force you. I wanted you to be mine because you wanted it that way.”

Tears fell harder. His hands gripped hers, a groan escaping his mouth as he pressed deeper. Sparks ran up her spine, warning her she was on the edge. Once, twice more he thrust into her and the dam broke. She cried out, shuddering and trembling beneath him.

“That’s right. Scream my name, my little witch.”

She didn’t hold back, crying out as wave after wave of pure bliss consumed her whole.

“Fuck, Lucifer.”

He grunted, pulsating inside her. She could feel every inch of him and it only drove her higher. Even though her behind still smarted from his brutal spanking, she floated in the clouds.

How is it that he does this to me? How can he take command of my body, know what I want before I do?

He didn’t disengage from her immediately. His breathing was heavy, his body almost crushing hers.

“I want to mark you. So you know you’re mine. So everyone knows I have claimed you as my own.”

Chapter Eighteen

Candace blinked, turning her face to look up at him. His dark eyes glittered with emotions she didn’t understand.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Mmm, I’m going to give you the mark of the Devil.”

She froze underneath him. What the actual fuck? Did he really think he could just do that without her objecting to it?

“No. I already know I’m yours. You can’t do that.”

“I wasn’t asking for your permission.”

Anger flooded her immediately. He pulled off her, running his hands over her behind. She flinched away from his fingers. A tingling sensation ran down her skin, the sting of his spanking faded. He’d healed her just like he had done when he’d brutally pounded her mouth, leaving her jaw aching.

“I will hurt you again then I’ll care for you, my little witch.”

“What the fuck, Lucifer? You can’t just tell me you’re going to give me the mark of the Devil then start on about how you want to hurt me. And what the fuck is with you calling me your little witch? Where did that come from?”

His breath fluttered over her thighs. She hadn’t realised he’d knelt down behind her.

“Mmm, where should I brand you? You’re mine and a witch, are you not?”

Not knowing how to respond to either of those questions, she kept her mouth shut.

Is that how he’s thought of me all along? As his? His witch?

His fingers trailed down her calves. He gripped her ankle, pulling her foot from the floor and placing it in his lap. His fingers brushed over the sensitive arch. She shuddered.

“I think I’m going to place it here.” His fingertips traced a line around her right ankle, just above the bone. “It’ll be fitting. Don’t worry, it will only hurt for a moment.”

She didn’t get a chance to open her mouth when the pain shot up her leg. She whimpered, tears falling again. It burnt. Every touch of his finger against her skin until he was done.

He’d branded her.

Marked her as his.

She was broken.

He’d ruined everything.

How could she hide this? Her mother would never see it, but Theodus would. The man who would be her husband would see she was owned by someone else. Someone brutal. Someone who showed her no mercy. But someone she loved with a fierceness which consumed her whole.

“Fuck you,” she whispered.

He ran his fingers over the mark she couldn’t see.

“It’s beautiful, just like you, Candace, little witch. You’re mine.”

He placed her foot back down on the floor, his touch caressing rather than possessive.

“I’m going to take care of you now.”

The hold he had over her released. Her limbs trembled. She wasn’t sure she could stand on her own after what he’d done to her. She was angry at him for branding her, but the fight inside her died. All she wanted was for him to hold her and never let go. The fucked up part of her loved him for everything he’d done and everything he’d promised to do.

He picked her up off the table, cradling her to his chest.

“Where is your bathroom?” he asked, his voice soft.

“The first door next to the kitchen. The second door is my bedroom.”

He carried her into the bathroom, setting her down on the edge of the bath. Her skin was damp with sweat and her arousal had run down her legs. He reached into her shower and flipped it on. Taking her hands, he helped her stand up and brought her under the water. He ran his hands over her hair which untangled her braids.

“Lucifer…” she whispered.

“Shh, we can talk when you’re clean.”

It didn’t seem right to object to that. She let him wash her, soaping her body with her coconut shower gel. His fingers were gentle. The man before her was Lucifer and not the Devil. He was the damaged