Sweet Hell (12 page)

Dionysus was filled with an anger that astounded him. “You gave up your dream to help them, and they won't even make you a partner?"

"What can I say? It's always been the Marino Brothers Bakery.” She shrugged, obviously unwilling to bad-mouth her lousy brothers. “To be honest, it doesn't really matter to me. My heart's not in the bakery anyway. I love that my family's energy is in the place, but it's not my true calling. I just hate being treated like a second-class citizen by my own brothers."

What shits. He made a mental note to have a serious talk with Mike and Angelo when he was done in Hades. He'd make them see reason. Then he'd snap his fingers, create a dozen wineries for Josie, and make her the CEO of every last one.

She was stretching on the bed, clearly restless and still so tired. But he suspected she was either unable or unwilling to sleep after her admission. He watched her roll around in the covers for a few minutes, trying to get comfortable in the strange bed.

She needed to sleep, but her mortal brain was too much in overdrive with everything she'd seen and done.

Suddenly, a wonderful idea occurred to him. A way to alleviate her stress and to help her relax.

It might even ease the hard-on that was yet tormenting him.

But would she go along with it?

"Josie,” he whispered. “You need to rest."

She turned to him, dark circles under her pretty eyes, looking desperate for sleep. Or desperate for some other release? He wasn't sure.

"I can't,” she moaned. “I can't stop picturing them."

His cock throbbed. “You mean the people in the rest of the house?"

She nodded.

He gritted his teeth and took a chance. “You want to feel good like that, too?"

Once more, she nodded, looking thoroughly ashamed of herself for doing so.

"I can make you feel like that, Josie. If you let me."

She looked so tempted, but obviously needed an excuse to give in. She'd spent her life giving to others and needed to be able to justify taking her own pleasure.

"Then you'll be able to sleep,” he said, giving her the excuse she so needed. “I promise."

Dionysus waited. And when he saw that third little nod, his heart leapt. As the most tantalizing excitement inflated his chest, he lowered his head to kiss her.

Josie reasoned with herself as thrill upon thrill coursed through every vein in her body. He was going to kiss her! In fact, she had the distinct impression Dionysus was going to do a whole lot more than that.

Was she okay with it? Right now, hell, yes! She was tired of being responsible.

Sure, he was sometimes egotistical and demanding, but she couldn't deny she wanted him any longer. She was sure that was the reason she couldn't sleep next to him. She could never put her body next to his and think of sleep. It was impossible. Her body wanted more.

Her body wanted to be taken. Ravished. Consumed by him.

And from the roguish glint in his eye, that was indeed his plan!

He touched his lips to hers, and once again her pores were filled with the intoxicating scent of a September grape harvest. That gorgeous fragrance from her childhood, the sweet memory which had ultimately lured her to vintner's college. And, clinging as it did to Dionysus's skin and hair, the scent called to her unlike any other.

On him, it made her dream. Made her hope. Gave her wild and crazy fantasies in which he was the star and she was happy to bask in his glory.

She opened her lips to him and his tasty tongue slid inside, feeding her at the same time that it made her crave more of him. And as he kissed her, she closed her eyes and reveled in the slow, drunken sensation that was creeping through her bones. His tongue flicked at hers, and she tasted pinot noir. He nibbled at her bottom lip and the flavor of chardonnay exploded through her. He plunged his tongue deep into her mouth, exploring and claiming her at once, and she swore she was swimming in a delicious river of cabernet sauvignon.

He was giving her a winery in his kiss!

He ended the delectable embrace on a breath and pulled away from her for a moment. She opened her eyes with difficulty, feeling so drugged, and looked to him with worry.

He wasn't done, was he?

As if reading her mind, Dionysus grinned. “I'm nowhere near being done with you."

He slowly began to undress her. And, as inebriated as she felt, she also felt completely alive and eager to see what he'd do next. With leisure, but with fierce need darkening his eyes, he rolled her already unfastened blouse down over her shoulders and arms. Licking his lips, making them look like plump, juicy fruits, he unclasped her bra and discarded it.

Only then did he look as if he were losing a bit of control. Josie saw how his hand shook as he reached a finger to her right breast. Saw how his lips trembled as he rolled her tight nipple. Witnessed the hard set to his jaw as he palmed her breast.

And as he lowered his head to it, she heard him murmur her name again and again.

"Josie. Josie. My beautiful Josie."

Beautiful? Her mind reeled.

But then his mouth claimed her nipple, and all thought ceased. Her breast felt on fire, lit from within by the most fantastical flame of desire as he suckled her. He scraped his teeth along her nipple, and she felt an electric shock seize her body. And then he soothed the area, licking, licking. Gently sucking, then licking again. His tongue on the underside of her breast. Dancing between them. Familiarizing himself with every hollow and curve. Nibbling her collarbones. Nuzzling her neck and then returning to the nipples that were already crying out for more of his painstaking attention.

She was speechless, as much as she wanted to sing her praises of his incredible technique. She couldn't move, could barely breathe as his mouth asserted its claim to her breast. All she could do was bury her eager fingers in his dark curls and try not to expire of happiness as his head roamed south.

Wait! He was roaming south?

Alarmed, Josie held up her tired head and saw him kissing his way down her belly. Watched him unzip the fly on her jeans and start to wiggle her out of them. Oh, God, the sight was so sexy! But this was a big step, wasn't it?

He raised his head to smile at her and saw her concern. “I just want to make you feel good, Josie."

She found she was nodding, all worries about the proceedings dissipating. She wanted him to make her feel good, too. Although, all the man had to do was kiss her and she was already more titillated than any time she'd ever had sex in her life.

He wiggled the jeans over her hips, stopping to admire the lacy blue thong she had on. She was so glad she'd taken the time to put on a nice set of underwear. The man was a freaking god, after all! He'd probably seen his share of expensive lingerie and on prettier models.

In one fell swoop, Dionysus ripped her jeans off and pulled the thong off with them. She lay there, completely bare, while he was still completely dressed. Open and vulnerable to his hungry gaze.

And had never felt more sexy in her life.

He seemed frozen to his spot at the edge of the bed, just staring at her body. He seemed to have lost the ability to move.

So she moved for him. Her eyes riveted to him, she spread her legs.

Dionysus sucked in a quick breath. Then he looked her in the eye and smiled a smile that could only be described as feral.

Before she could do another thing, he lowered himself between her legs and began to lick her anxious pussy.

Josie thrashed on the bed, her back arching, her hips rising to meet his plundering mouth. She screamed in rapture.

Dionysus chuckled as he sucked, clearly enjoying what he was doing to her. He ate her as if he were ravenous, moaning and sighing as he did so. The sounds of his enjoyment made Josie's heart palpitate, just as much as his tongue and lips did. He explored every tiny crevice, burying his tongue in each sweet seam. Gliding into her. Nibbling her swollen lips. Torturing her panicked clit with each sensual flutter.

She'd never felt such joy.

And as she started to come, as the glorious wave of pressure began to build, she swore she heard angels singing, “Hallelujah!"

And then she realized there were likely no angels in Hades. Which meant
she
was the one singing, making Dionysus chuckle again.

The pounding began somewhere at the back of her brain. As if sensing the tightness in her body, he swirled his tongue around her clit. The fever spread quickly through her, lighting up her chest, her face. Making her arms and legs stiffen. She groaned loudly, and on hearing it, he sucked her clit even harder.

Just before she went insane with the pleasure, he slid two fingers inside her pussy and scissored them back and forth.

Once again, Josie felt submerged in water. No—wine. Delicious wine. Flowing through her core, drenching her. Making her body seize, quiver. Exploding with voluptuous goodness.

He licked her softly until the last wrenching spasm ceased. And then he licked her some more, not stopping until he'd bestowed hundreds of kisses on her contented skin. He seemed unable to leave his spot. Transfixed, as much as she was. And long after he'd stopped kissing her, he traced her nether lips with a soft, awed finger.

Finally, he looked up and smiled such a remarkable smile of gratitude, she felt her heart burst all over again.

Without a word, breathing in deeply as if to steady himself, Dionysus got up and retrieved her clothing. With a gentle hand, he helped her dress.

No
, she wanted to say. She wanted to be naked with him. Always.

But she didn't argue. She was too tired. Already, even before he fastened the snap on her bra, her eyes were closing. Needing precious sleep.

He laid her down, covered both of them with the duvet, and pulled her to his body.

As he spooned her, as she drifted off, Josie felt his erection thump against her back and heard him swear quietly. Poor guy! She hadn't done a thing to help him, and he was still sighing contentedly.

Despite her good intentions, she fell into a deep sleep. One laced with lovely dreams of an impossibly gorgeous, nude Dionysus taking her, thrusting into her on the altar of a Grecian temple. Debauched. Erotic. Carnal.

Whispering ancient words of love she was certain she'd remember to her dying day.

When Josie woke up, feeling more refreshed than she'd ever felt in her life, Dionysus was already awake. Lying next to her. Grinning. As if he knew he'd just rocked her world. Which he had. But which was totally beside the point.

"You haven't been watching me sleep, have you?"

"And if I have?"

"Well,” she replied, still tingling but wanting to rub the smirk off his face. “That's just creepy."

He ignored her and kept grinning, the big, immortal clown. And she was doing her best not to resemble a grinning idiot herself. But it was hard not to feel really satisfied. He'd been right. He'd made her feel so good. So precious and ... loved because he'd selflessly given her what she'd needed, taking nothing for himself. Although she suspected from his randy smile the pleasure hadn't been all one-sided.

And that was a nice feeling. Just as nice as knowing he'd watched her sleep. After all, she'd been fibbing about the whole creepy part.

"I hate to say it,” he said, launching his big frame out of bed. “But we really ought to be going. You don't want to stay in The Sinners for too long. Bad things happen to the souls who get stuck here.” He turned away to see if they'd left any of her clothing on the floor.

"Oh, I don't know about that,” she said, stretching like a happy cat. “I kind of like it here. Maybe we could stay a while longer."

Dionysus looked ready to chastise her again on succumbing to the lure of hell when she felt it. A creeping, slithering sensation near her left ankle. She kicked her foot, thinking it was just a strange itch. But within a nanosecond, it was back, and was matched by what felt like something smooth crawling up her right leg.

Dionysus was lecturing her about “things in Hades never being what they seem” and didn't notice her growing discomfort at first. And she was stuck to her spot, as the insinuating, invasive
things
crept up her legs.

Heaven help her, it felt just like...

"Josie,” he said, turning to her and holding out a hand. “Are you coming?"

"I c-can't,” she squeaked.

His face fell. He whipped the duvet off her body and his eyes bulged.

Her body was covered in snakes. Serpents of every color and size were working their way around her calves, along her thighs, slithering toward her torso. Red ones, black ones, ones whose strange markings captivated her as much as they repulsed her. Josie watched in horror as the beautiful bed, the bed on which Dionysus had given her so much pleasure, transformed into a thrashing pit of vipers. The lavender sheets, the ones that had been so perfumed by the Greek god's fragrance, seemed to disappear. And the frame of the bed was now just a plain box that housed hundreds of creepy crawlies, all of them wanting a piece of her.

Even as Dionysus reached in and started tossing snakes over his shoulder, he looked at her. Took in what must be the utter wildness of her eyes. And spoke in the calmest voice he could muster. “Josie. Just nod if you can. Do you have a phobia about snakes?"

She couldn't nod. A brown serpent was working its way toward her neck. She just blinked a few times at him through her tears.

"Okay,” he soothed, yanking a five-foot-long creature from her thigh. “I'm gonna get you out of here. I swear."

And as he continued pulling at the black, writhing mass that used to be the bed, Dionysus uttered some words in another language. Greek, she figured. As she listened, trying not to scream at the cottonmouth inching its way toward her cheek, the door to the room burst open. A huge wind whipped through the room, gaining force with each of the god's uttered words. Dionysus seemed in a trance, his body rocking back and forth, creating the wind with one of his mystical talents. And the whole time, he continued wrenching snakes off her body.

How many were there?

Little by little, the wind gained power and began to lift the vipers from the bed. Josie watched as each serpent was hauled from her, as if huge invisible hands were picking them up and throwing them out of the room. What had once felt like hundreds of snakes now felt more like ten. Dionysus continued to pluck, and the wind carried away what he could not.