Good Intentions (The Road to Hell Series, Book 1) (25 page)

River

Mac took a step toward us, his mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. His gaze shot between the two of us before settling on Kobal’s arm around my waist. Kobal’s hold tightened on me; a growl reverberated through his chest. The tension in him ratcheted up to a whole new level. A chill raced down my spine, but I didn’t try to slip free of his arms; there was no taking back what they had all witnessed, and I wasn’t ready to lose contact with his body yet.

The rest of the demons, finished with dispatching the remaining skeletons and any humans who might rise again, walked toward us. They barely acknowledged the humans as they strode by on their way to stand behind Kobal. The flames still crackling in the town found no ground to spread across the scorched earth and dilapidated buildings; they began to sputter out around us.

“What were those things?” Mac inquired, finally seeming to find his voice again.

“I’ll meet with you in an hour to speak,” Kobal said to him.

Kobal turned away before Mac could reply. With a jerk of his head toward the demons, he strode purposely away from the survivors. “They didn’t know you could do that, did they?” I whispered.

“No,” he answered in a clipped tone.

I glanced over my shoulder at the people still gawking at the carnage surrounding them. Many of their gazes still slid between Kobal and me as he carried me across the ground.

“You should put me down,” I said. His jaw clenched and a muscle twitched in his cheek when he looked at me. The amber had faded from his eyes to leave them the liquid pools of obsidian I’d once found a little unsettling; now they caused a strange flutter in my heart. “I have to walk out of here on my own. They didn’t trust me before; they’ll distrust you more now. They have to think I’m stronger than this.”

Reluctantly, he released me from against his chest and moved me to stand beside him. I’d assumed he would release me completely, but he kept his arm locked around my waist as we started walking again.

“What were those things?” I inquired.

“Revenirs,” he replied.

“Some of the lowest forms of life in Hell,” Bale said.

“That means there’s more spilling out of Hell than we realized,” Morax said.

“I know,” Kobal grated from between his teeth. “The first seal has been broken.”

“Which is?” I inquired.

“The dead will walk the earth, or revenirs will anyway,” Corson sneered.

I swallowed heavily at those words.

“What of the hounds, Kobal?” Verin asked.

“I don’t know,” he tersely replied. “If some had fallen, I would know; something else has happened to them.”

“How do you know that?” I inquired.

“If Lucifer has broken a seal, that means not only has he figured out how to, but something has happened to the hounds defending it,” he replied. “I will find out what and get them free of whatever it is.”

I recalled his words about his kind of demon rising with the first hounds from the fires of Hell. His bond to the creatures must run deep if he would somehow know if one or more had fallen. “How many seals are there?” I inquired.

“A couple hundred, and each one holds back an abomination no one wanted to see loose in Hell, never mind Earth.”

I tried not to concentrate too hard on all the possibilities. “Why would Lucifer set them free then?”

“Those things he sets free will be loyal to him. They will help him fight his war and they will search out what he is seeking. You.”

I stumbled but Kobal’s arm around me kept me briskly walking forward. “How would he know about me?” I demanded.

“The same way we did.” His words were brusque; he didn’t look at me, but his thumb slid over my skin again in a motion I found comforting despite everything that had happened. “Someone had a vision.”

“Why would he want me?”

“No one knows what you may be capable of, River. Just as you could be a big asset to our side, you could also be one to his.”

“Or, if he feels you’re a threat to him, to kill you,” Morax said.

Kobal’s lips skimmed back. The sound he emitted caused Morax to take a hasty step to the side.

“Great,” I murmured. “I may have become number one on Lucifer’s hit list.”

“Not going to happen,” Kobal vowed.

The hair all over my body stood up as I recalled what the dead man had said to me. “I felt something watching me,” I told him. “Through the eye sockets of the man who was killed. He… he spoke to me.”

Amber flooded his eyes when they met mine. The corded muscles of his arm swelled against my back. “What did he say?”

“It’s you. I see you.” I shivered at the memory. “And it felt as if something were trying to draw me in.”

“Lucifer,” he snarled.

“Or one of his flunkies,” Shax said.

“Did you connect with him?” Kobal asked.

“No,” I said tremulously.

“Good.”

“He can connect with me through one of those
things
?” I was unable to keep the higher pitch from my voice when I asked the question.

“You have connected with me at times,” Kobal replied. “He’s more skillful at using his ability and a lot older than you.”

Bale’s eyebrows shot up and Corson nearly tripped over his own feet when Kobal revealed I’d connected with him. Morax and Verin exchanged pointed looks before she smiled in an ‘I told you so’ way. Shax looked as if someone had punched him in the stomach as his gaze shot back and forth between us. I could feel the questions burning in all of them, but they remained quiet, probably waiting until I wasn’t around before interrogating Kobal further.

“They’ll know where she is,” Verin said.

“No, not if there was no connection between them,” Kobal replied.

“But if they sent the revenirs—”

“The revenirs could be anywhere in the world; it only takes one to infect others. Lucifer most likely split them up and one of them got lucky enough to stumble across that town. They can rise up from any dead who remain above the earth, but Lucifer will have no way of knowing the exact location of this rising,” Kobal interrupted Verin.

“What exactly
are
they?” I croaked out.

“They’re a perversion of some of the souls who were never allowed to leave Hell because of their actions on Earth. They drain the life from their victims and turn them to their side. They can also infect the dead, which is most likely part of the reason you humans burn or bury your dead. Someone at some point in time must have glimpsed a revenir through the veil. They get no life from the dead, but their kiss can turn the bones into one of them. My first ancestor locked them behind the first seal over two hundred thousand years ago to protect against every demon in Hell becoming like them. It has been the duty of the hounds and the gate keepers to make sure the seals stay in place ever since.”

“So they’re kind of like zombies?” I asked.

“They’re leeches,” Corson said.

“They’re worse than that, and we can’t allow them to spread past the wall,” Kobal said.

Corson ran a hand through his dark hair. “We should leave soon.”

“We’re staying with the plan,” Kobal replied brusquely. “We’re not ready to leave yet, and after what the humans witnessed from me today, I’m not sure what to expect from them. I’m probably going to have to work on regaining their trust.”

“You saved their lives; they’ll get over it,” Bale snorted and looked toward me questioningly.

I shrugged and held my hands up before me. “I only shoot small fireballs, and they don’t like me; he just torched a hundred of those things. Why didn’t you tell them what you could do before today?” I asked Kobal.

“They know what they need to know. We have to ensure we keep ourselves protected. We may be far stronger than humans, but they still outnumber us,” Kobal replied.

I refrained from asking what else they could all do; I knew they wouldn’t tell me. I was a full-blown one-of-a-kind oddity no one trusted. I had a feeling I’d get the same treatment from the angels, if I ever encountered one of them in my newly formed, messed up life.

“That’s not going to help you with gaining their trust,” I said.

His eyes were still amber in color when they landed on me. “
You’re
still walking with us.”

A bitter laugh escaped me. “I’m more of an oddity than any of you. I’m not exactly welcome anywhere.”

His fingers dug into my waist before rubbing over my flesh in a way that made all of my exhaustion fade away. More heat than the flames he’d shot from his hands spread through me. I couldn’t stop myself from resting my hand against his chiseled abs. The carved muscles bunched and flexed beneath my palm as he moved. His skin was completely smooth; his body hairless other than his eyebrows and head. From my dreams, I knew he was hairless below too.

A blush colored my cheeks at the memory of those dreams and the feel of him against my body now.
Totally not the time, River!

Yet, I could not stop the volatile response of my body to his. Seeming to sense my growing desire, his hand flattened against my side before slipping up to stroke over my ribcage. I nearly jumped out of my skin and ducked my head before I could see if anyone else had noticed my reaction to him.

Relief filled me when the tents came into view. A shower and bed sounded like a little bit of heaven to me right now.

Kobal

I stood in the bedroom of the house where River showered, listening to the water beating down from the shower in the adjoining bathroom. Beating down on
her
. Earlier, I’d left Bale outside of her room while I’d showered in the small bathroom downstairs. Stepping into the shower stall had instantly reminded me of why I hated the human bathrooms. I’d nearly broken the showerhead off when I’d banged my head against it. I’d barely been able to turn sideways within the tiled walls.

Despite my dislike of the small space, I couldn’t be far from River right now, and I’d needed to wash the filth of battle from me. I did have to admit the warm water had felt good beating down on the healing wounds the revenirs had inflicted. Wounds that were already completely closed.

Now, I’d sent Bale from this house while I remained in the room, listening as River stood naked beneath the spray of warm water. I lifted the ruined shirt she’d tossed onto the bed before going into the bathroom. My hands fisted at the sight of the jagged tears shredding the back of it. I’d come so close to losing her today.

There was a good possibility I would lose her in the future. I planned to drag her into the middle of a war, possibly into Hell itself after all, and Lucifer knew she existed. He didn’t know where she was or who she was with; we’d be facing the full might of his army right now, if he knew her location.

My entire existence had been about regaining the throne I’d never even sat upon, but I would lay down my life and let the next varcolac rise before I let something happen to her.

As the water turned off, I listened to her moving about for a few seconds before the door opened. Steam and the smell of lemon soap wafted out the door behind her, enshrouding her in a misty haze. She froze when she spotted me in the room. Her black hair hung in tumbled, wet strands around her pretty face and over her shoulders.

Taking a deep breath, her hand clasped the towel wrapped around her closer to her body. My gaze was drawn to the black and blue bruises marring her delicate throat. The perfect imprint of fingers on her flesh stood starkly out against the white towel and caused an involuntary snarl to tear from me.

Her breath caught at the sound, and she took a startled step back, but didn’t get far before I descended on her. Seizing her arms, I dragged her against me. I’d spent far too much time dreaming about being inside of her, denying myself, and staying away from her. However, she’d almost died today, almost been torn away from me. I wouldn’t be denied anymore.

My hand entangled in her wet hair, pulling her head back as my mouth claimed hers in a possessive kiss that caused her to squeak. Her fingers dug into the flesh of my chest. I hadn’t bothered with putting a shirt on again after showering; I’d barely bothered with pants in my haste to get back to watching over her.

Wrapping my hand around her, I grabbed hold of her ass through the towel and pushed her more firmly against the erection straining against my pants. She moaned low in her throat, a sexy sound that only drove me crazier with my need to possess her. Lifting her up by her ass, I held her against me until her legs circled my waist and clung to me.

“Let me inside you, River,” I murmured as I ran my tongue across her luscious lips. I may not have kissed many women in my life, but I couldn’t get enough of it with her. She tasted of fresh rain mingled with a sweetness that I would never forget.

She quaked when I lifted her and rubbed her against the throbbing length of my hard-on once more. Lowering my other hand, I slid it beneath the edge of the towel and up across her silken thighs. Her bare flesh beneath my hand was the most exquisite thing I had ever experienced, and I wanted
all
of it.

Her breath came in pants; her heart beat rapidly in my ears, but it was the strong aroma of her arousal that held me most enthralled. Musky with need, sweet like her lemon soap and extremely potent. I’d never experienced anything like it in all of the many demons and humans I’d been with. I wanted to bury myself in it, in
her;
to lick her from head to toe, taking the taste of her into me as that scent enveloped me.

She became still against me; her body trembling with anticipation as my fingers dipped between her thighs. I’d planned to tease her, to hear her beg for more as she did in my dreams, but real life was far better and more consuming than any fantasy. I had to feel her,
now
.

Slowly, I slid my hand forward, my palm brushing against her center. I groaned when I found her already slick with want for me. My fingers stroked over her, causing her to buck in my arms as she whimpered. My head spun, the world was spiraling out of control. I’d planned to savor my first time with her, yet I was on the verge of tearing my pants off, shoving her against the wall, and fucking her until she screamed my name and collapsed from exhaustion.

Somehow managing to maintain my restraint, I leisurely slid my finger into her heat. A shudder wracked me at how deliciously tight she was. Her muscles clenched around me, drawing me deeper into her. She released a harsh breath against my neck and pressed closer to me.

“It will be better than any dream,” I promised.

I slid my finger in and out of her in a rhythm her hips surged forward to meet. Her mouth pressed against my neck and her teeth scraped over my skin. The crackle of her sparks sounded in my ears as her hands slid over my shoulders.

Spinning, I turned her toward the bed in the room and walked the three steps to it. I refused to let her go, refused to let her have a chance to change her mind as I placed her on the bed. Leaning over her, I took hold of the towel and pulled it open to reveal her breathtaking body. She tried to grab the towel and cover herself up again, but I wouldn’t relinquish it to her. Not when I was finally getting to take her all in.

She was stunning with her flushed skin and luscious curves. Training had turned her muscles and body into something more honed than when she had arrived, but her hips were still rounded and her gorgeous breasts were full. Trimmed, black curls shaded her sex from my view but my mouth still watered at the sight of them. I even found her tan lines entrancing as my gaze raked over her.

She went to pull the towel over herself again, but I held it away from her. “Let me look.” Her midnight lashes fell to shadow her striking eyes. “You’re beautiful.”

I saw the awe and uncertainty shimmering in her eyes when they came back to mine. As I watched, her dusky nipples puckered beneath my gaze. Nudging her thighs apart, I kept my right thigh between hers when I knelt on the bed over her. I slid my hand over one of her breasts, letting it fill my palm as I cupped it and ran my thumb over her nipple. When I bent to take it into my mouth, sparks shot from her fingertips and her back arched off the bed.

She tasted better than any dream ever could have, I realized as I swirled my tongue around her nipple. Drawing it gently between my teeth, I nipped at it before lavishing it again. Her hands entangled in my hair, pulling me closer as her hips rose to rub against my thigh. Her head thrashed to the side as she eagerly rode my leg.

“That’s it, River,” I murmured. I leaned my thigh into her as she spiraled farther out of control beneath me. “Let go.”

My entire body screamed for release, but I was fascinated with her wild abandonment. She had always kept a part of herself guarded, but now she was completely uninhibited beneath me. Releasing her nipple, I left a trail of kisses over her skin, tasting the shower water on her flesh before taking her other breast into my mouth.

All I’d thought of for weeks was being inside of her, feeling her straining against me and her legs around my hips as I relentlessly drove into her, but I found myself relishing every inch of her silken body. I didn’t savor or linger with others before her; it was not my way. I made sure my partner found satisfaction, but learning their body had never been part of the process.

I couldn’t get enough of learning her.

“Kobal!” she gasped, tugging at my hair. Her body went rigid against mine as I slid my hand over her flat stomach and toward the enticing juncture between her thighs once more. Her mouth turned into my ear. “Kobal, someone is in the house.”

I jerked away from her as I leapt to my feet and spun to face the door. I had no idea who would have dared to interrupt us, but right then I could have killed them. River jerked the towel around her and sat up as Bale appeared at the top of the stairs. When Bale looked to River, I stepped protectively in front of her to block her from view.

“What is it?” I barked.

She rested her hand on her hip. “Mac is waiting for you at the tent. If you are to repair our relations with the humans, I’d suggest you don’t keep him waiting.”

I ground my teeth together, resentment and disappointment crashing through me. “I’ll be right there.”

She nodded before retreating down the stairs. I took a deep breath to regain my control before turning to River. She sat on the bed, her hand clasping the towel against her chest. Color crept high into her cheeks as she kept her gaze focused on the floor.

“You have to go now,” she murmured.

“I’m not leaving you here.” She still wouldn’t look at me as she rose to her feet and grabbed the fresh set of clothes she’d gathered from my tent before coming here. I moved to block her when she hurried toward the bathroom with them. “Let me watch you.”

She clutched the towel tighter against her body. “Kobal, I don’t do this kind of stuff; I’m not sure how to. I’ve never…” her voice trailed off, and her face turned redder than the fire she could wield.

My fangs pricked as a new possibility dawned on me. But it couldn’t be; she was far too desirable and alluring to have remained untouched for this long. However, perhaps it
was
possible no other had taken her before; she’d spent most of her life raising her brothers from what she’d told me.

“Never what?” I inquired.

“Never done anything like this with anyone. It’s all
so
much and so overwhelming. No one has ever made me feel the way you do, or touched me the way you do. I don’t know what to make of it, and I can’t escape you, not even when I’m sleeping.”

The desperation of her words and the tone of her voice tugged at my heart in a way it had never been tugged at before. I could feel the confusion and anguish swirling out of her. “Have you never been with a man?” I asked.

Her nostrils flared as her vulnerability slid away to be replaced with exasperation. “I have no way to protect myself from you, and you keep coming at me!”

“I don’t want you to protect yourself from me. I want
all
of you.”

“Then what will be left of me when you’re done?” she cried in frustration.

“Have you ever been with a man?” I asked again instead of answering her question.

“That’s none of your business!”

“No, then.” If she had figured out how to wield her life force power, I had no doubt I’d have been blown through a wall as she glowered at me.

“And if I’d been with dozens or thousands upon thousands of others like I’m sure you have, would it make a difference? Would you still want me?”

“Yes,” I answered honestly. “It would not matter to me, because I will be your last.” I thought her eyes might pop from her head. “It is not the same amongst demons; we don’t judge in the way humans do. You could have been with more men than I’ve been with women, and it would not matter, not to me. And I have not been with thousands upon thousands.”

My words to her had been true, demons didn’t judge sex in the same way. The only time it meant anything more than satisfying an itch was when it was with one’s Chosen. If she wasn’t my Chosen, it would be different between us simply because I
liked
her more than any other woman I’d ever been with.

I respected her determination and steadfast way of approaching things. I admired the way she kept forging forward even after losing everything she’d ever known, having her new heritage and powers thrown at her, and a whole new life and possible death sentence tossed into her lap.

My words had been true, but I was still inordinately pleased by the realization she’d never known another man. I’d never been with a virgin; I preferred a more experienced partner, but with her, she would be only
mine
.

Her chin tilted up. “So not thousands upon thousands,” she muttered. “Woo-hoo for you.”

“You will judge me then?”

She nibbled on her bottom lip in such an enticing way that fresh blood flooded my groin. “No,” she finally said. “I won’t. How do I know you’re not trying to get in my pants because the man who stole your throne from your ancestor is
my
ancestor? Maybe you’re looking to punish him or spite him in some way by trying to have sex with the person you consider his daughter?”

My lips skimmed back at her words as uncontrollable anger surged through me. Swiftly moving toward her, I slammed my hands into the wall beside her head before she had a chance to move. She jumped when the plaster gave way beneath my fists.

“Don’t
ever
say something like that again!” I snarled.

Her gaze remained on mine; I saw no fear there as her eyes narrowed minutely. I caged her in when she tried to duck my arm, pinning her against the wall with my body and hands. She pulled back and pressed herself against the wall again. Unlike so many others who would have cowered before me, her chin rose and her lips compressed.