Lucifer Reborn by Dante King (the reader ebook .TXT) 📗

“We’ll take care of him,” Mareth assured the imp. “Just get these two a visitor’s pass. Cool?”

The imp shrugged. “Sure.” In short order, Christina and I signed our names (no blood needed this time, just ink), and received glossy stickers with the word VISITOR written on them in black block letters. “Have a nice day.”

Chapter 22

Mareth led us to a great glass elevator at the rear of the lobby. No, not one elevator—a whole bank of them, five or six in total. None of them were idle, and I got the impression they almost never were. Groups of giggling demons got on and off constantly, either coming back to rest after classes or heading out for a night on the town. Although there was lots to do from just what I’d seen so far.

“The dorms are practically their own self-contained ecosystem,” Mareth said as we stepped into the elevator, as if she’d been reading my thoughts. We’d had to wait a trip or two, as Oni took up so much space we weren’t able to bring any extra demons up with us. “We have our own gymnasium and swimming pool, an arcade, a bowling alley, and a nightclub. While the food and drink options don’t quite match up to the full array on sale at the cafeteria, there’s still plenty of vending machines for a late-night nosh.”

Before long, I had my face pressed up against the glass. Christina did the same—we couldn’t help it. We were like kids in a candy store: every floor brought some new wonder, some new delight for beautiful young demons and demonesses to enjoy. Demon girls in bikinis swam laps across one floor’s Olympic-sized pool, while a half-dozen hot tubs full of drunk babes studded the other side. The next floor appeared to be dark, before it was raked by neon lights—this was the club Mareth had just mentioned. We could barely see through all the smoke, but it definitely looked like the kind of place Christina and I could tear up an evening. Probably with a few friends, too.

“Floor seven,” Mareth announced, pulling us back from the glass as the button with a big stylized ‘7’ lit up. “Stand back, both of you. You don’t want to look like tourists, now do you?”

The door opened. A group of angels stood staring at us.

I tensed up, dropping into a battle stance, but Mareth’s hands were already going to my shoulders. The angels stepped into the elevator, laughing and joking, their halos stapled onto their horns with crude bits of string and adhesive.

I let out a laugh. These weren’t angels—they were demons playing dress-up.

“Theme party?” Mareth asked as the three of us stepped out of the elevator.

A nerdy-looking demon with thick glasses lifted his halo and nodded, giving her schoolgirl outfit a much longer look than was necessary. “Yeah, it’s Angel Night down in Limbo,” he said. “Bet you’d make a cute one!”

Damn, I thought. He might have looked like a dweeb, but he clearly wasn’t afraid to shoot his shot.

“I’m already spoken for,” Mareth purred, wrapping her tail around my waist. “You guys have fun, though!”

The demons dressed as angels cheered as the doors swung shut, leaving us alone at the entrance to the residential wing of the dorms. As soon as they were gone, Mareth pressed her body against mine, nearly nibbling the black lipstick off the bottom of her pout.

“I am spoken for, right?” she asked, sliding one thigh against the bulge in my pants. “You’re still planning on binding me, Luke? I can’t remember how many more times we need to do it before it’ll happen for me, but trust me—I’m more than willing, however long it takes…”

I kissed her. My tongue slid into her mouth, the taste of cinnamon and brimstone melding on my tastebuds. “Absolutely,” I growled, breaking the kiss. “As soon as we can get a bed under us.”

“Good,” Mareth agreed with a giggle. “Let’s get to work on that, then.”

“Can’t wait,” Christina said, giving the succubus a sly smile. “I’m looking forward to having you on the team, Mareth. And I’m even more looking forward to testing a hypothesis of mine.”

Mareth looked over her shoulder as we made our way down the hall. “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

Christina’s grin turned savage. “Whether only orgasms Luke gives you count,” the beautiful demon purred, “or whether bound demons can do it, too. Because if I can, I’m going to make sure you lose your binding cherry all over my sweet little tongue…”

Mareth’s face flushed even redder than usual as she turned away. “Uh, wow. Yeah, I’m definitely looking forward to joining you two…”

Just around the corner, the hallway widened out into a suite of dorms. Windows looked out on the courtyard, evenly spaced in the walls. While the outside of the dormitory was an imposing obsidian edifice, the interior looked so much like my old college I’d kind of gotten used to it without thinking. Sure, the place was nicer—a lot nicer—but it still felt like home.

Another booth with a desk inside waited just at the entrance. It reminded me of the check-in counter at a hotel—not the super-fancy kind, just your ordinary Hampton Inn. Behind the desk stood a woman so human-looking that I initially assumed she was a human. The only recognizably demonic thing about her was a pair of short, stubby horns sticking from either side of her forehead, like a miniature version of a billy goat’s. She was short—shorter than Christina and Mareth, neither of whom came up to my chin. She’d be about as tiny compared to either woman, what some of the cruder guys back at college would have referred to as a spinner. Meaning you could pick her up in the middle of sex and spin her like a top, and