^Crystal^
My head pounded like a legion of demons was doing an Irish step dance on my skull. When I finally pried my eyes open, the sunlight streaming in through the window burned like I was staring straight into the flames of Hades itself.
Nope.
Not today, Satan.
I groaned and pulled the blankets up over my head. I didnt care if every angel in heaven was blowing the trumpets to signal Judgment Day. Whatever I drank last night, I was way too hungover to get out of this bed without a couple of aspirin and some careful consideration of my eternal soul first.
It helped that the pillows beneath me were seductively soft. The sheets and the blanket were even softer. They smelled like a wealthy princes cologne. Blood orange. Blond leather. White amber. Cinnamon bark. The mattress caressed my every curve like Id fallen asleep on a dense, fluffy cloud.
And my body
What the I whimpered as I shifted against the sheets. Suddenly, my back was on fire. My shoulder blades felt like someone had just taken a cat o nine tails to it, searing claw marks deep into my skin.
The scratches stung even more when I reached back and brushed my fingertips against them. As I ran my hands over the rest of my body to check for additional damages, I discovered that I was completely nakednot to mention slick between my thighs like Id just awoken from a wet dream.
Good God.
What in the name of Hell did I get myself into last night?
I threw the blankets back and forced my eyelids open again to search for clues. When my eyes adjusted to the light, I found myself in the fanciest bedroom Id ever slept in.
The room was beautiful. A vase of white roses in full bloom sat on the vanity. A box of what I guessed were expensive chocolates rested next to them, still tied up with a huge crimson bow. The rich black velvet drapes and sheer chiffon curtains on either side of those godforsaken floor-to-ceiling windows looked like theyd been stolen from a royal palace.
The rest of the room had the same tasteful, elegant design as a luxury hotelthe kind Id always been way too broke to ever dream of, let alone afford.
I wracked my brain for how Id gotten here and came up completely blank. I only knew one thing for sure.
This was not my room.
Think, Crystal. I clenched my eyes shut again and drummed my fingertips against my temples just to keep myself from panicking.
Waking up in a strange room with no memory of the night before?
This wasnt like me. At all.
Normally, I played the good girl through and through. Ate my vegetables. Did my homework. In by eleven on weeknights, maybe midnight if I was letting loose a little for the weekend.
I liked reading old books, eating delivery food straight from the container, and comfy nights spent wearing sweatpants and watching period dramas on Netflix.
I liked keeping my head down and my little French-tipped toes in line.
I did not get blackout drunk and wake up with a hangover that would make God Himself weep.
I certainly didnt wind up in unfamiliar beds with no memory of how I got there.
I gritted my teeth as a thought occurred to me.
Did I even drink last night?
The answer to that question hit me like a nice, thick copy of Les Misérables straight to the forehead.
Oh, fuck.
One drink, I told Ava, Bea and Joan last night. Not two. Not lucky number seven. No bottle service, no going all Coyote Ugly on top of the barone drink.
One.
I hadnt even wanted a bachelorette party in the first place, no matter how insistently my bridesmaids had begged for one.
But then Adam had made the decision for me.
We were eloping to Vegas, hed told me. There was no point in missing out on the full experience. If his friends from the accounting firm were taking him out for a night on the town, it was only fair that the girls and I should do the same.
The slow, aching wheels of my mind were turning now. I recalled being dragged out to some hot new bar on The Strip. I remembered ordering a single dirty martini, extra olives, while the girls called for a bottle of champagne.
Vaguely, I remembered trying to read a little for my thesis to take my mind off of how nervous I was for the wedding the next morningthen, nothing.
Except
Oh, fuck!
My eyes shot open. This time, they met the sight of the sunshine out the window with a newfound panic.
It was morning.
My wedding was today.
Suddenly, I couldnt get out of bed fast enough. My fingers scrambled as I snatched layer after layer of pillows off the bed, desperately searching for my phone.
I needed to call the girlsprobably Ava, since she was the most likely to know what was going onthen, I needed to call Adam.
Probably to make an apology. Or ten.
Judging by how bright it was outside, I was almost certainly already late for our big day.
No matter how deep I got into the pillows, my phone was nowhere to be found. I gave up on them and grabbed hold of the blanket instead. I wretched the whole thing from the bed with a ferocious snarl then, I let the blanket slip from my fingers right onto the soft rug beneath my feet.
Oh my God, I whispered.
My breath entered my lungs with a shudder. I raised a hand to my mouth as my jaw dropped. A Goliath-sized fist wrapped around my ribs and squeezed until they ached. My heart pounded frantically. My knees buckled.
As for the approximately three brain cells I had left, they all leapt up and started hauling ass to Flight of the Bumblebee around the inside of my skull until they all bumped into each other, knocking themselves out cold.
Suffice to say, my phone wasnt there in that bed.
But something else was.
No
Someone.
I hadnt been in bed alone.
He was gorgeous. It was impossible to ignore. The man in my bed was actually so handsome that, for a second, it almost hurt to look at him straight on.
He had dark, shining black hair that waved and curled like ink dropped in water. His skin glowed like it was bathed in eternal moonlight. He had the jawline of a 1980s action hero, complete with ruggedly dark, alluring stubble. And the way his body was shapedas he shifted in his sleep, the marble of an ancient Greek sculpture might as well have turned to flesh there, right before my eyes.
Exceptwell, there was just one significant difference between how the Greeks had shaped their statues and how this particular man was built.
See, the Greeks had been of the opinion that a good, noble man possessed a dainty, flaccidmanhood.
In other words, they preferred tiny cocks.
Big dicks, on the other handaccording to the Greeks, only a barbaric, lustful, depraved savage would be so shameless as to possess a long, thick cock standing stiffly at attention.
By Greek standards, whoever this man was, he was as lustful and depraved as they came.
Entranced, I watched every hard, chiseled muscle on his body ripple beneath almost luminescent skin as he rolled over onto his side to face me.
As I stared, his eyes cracked open, pale and blue and glittering almost sinisterly.
"You can call me God if you like, love. Bit sacrilegious of course, though I've never had a problem with that."
His accent was British, but not posh. His voice was dark, low and smooth, like liquor being poured straight from the bottle onto bare skin.
Then, he smiled at me. His full lips curled into a wolfish smirk, flashing the fang of a sharp incisor and straight, impossibly white teeth.
My knees went even weaker.
It was the kind of smile that would have melted my panties right off methat was, if Id been wearing any.
His gaze stalked up and down my body as his grin widened. I was suddenly way too aware of my own nakedness. Instinctively, I blushed and snatched the blanket up off the floor to cover my body.
Mm. Beautiful. His tongue, slick and deep pink, slipped across his lips. But its a little early for playing coy, love, dont you think?
He shifted to the edge of the bed with an athletic gracefulness and curled his fingers around the blankets edge. As he did it, his knuckles grazed my calf. His touch made me shiver involuntarily but it wasn't cold.
It burned.
"Hard-to-get is a good look for you, but " His eyes glinted as his gaze met mine. With a single, sharp tug, the blanket slipped from my fingers and back to the floor again. "Naked is a better one."
For a moment, I was frozen naked before him again. In fear? Confusion? In lust? All three?
I didnt know.
In the next instant, his hands curled possessively around my hips, pulling me right back into bed.
He took my wrists in his hands as we rolled togethermy body struggling. His, conquering. His hips pressed firmly against mine, pinning me to the mattress. His cock, still hard, slipped against my belly as he deftly worked one of his knees between my own, parting my thighs.
"My Crystal," he breathed, lowering his lips to mine. Mine.
He moved so slowly; I could have tried to fight him. But his grip on my wrists was too strong. The weight of his body on top of mine was too heavy to push off. And as I breathed in his scent, dark and spiced and without even the slightest hint of morning breath
I was frozen all over again.
This time, I knew exactly why.
Every warning signal in my brain was going off, telling me to struggle. To knee him in that big, gorgeous cock of his and run far. Run fast.
Meanwhile, every bone in my body was ignoring my brain entirely.
I wanted him and he was making it very clear that he intended to have me.
His mouth slipped against mine gently, like butterfly kisses from his lips, and my lipsthey wanted it. They ached for him. They yearned for more and got it. When the kiss deepened from a graze to a crush, my eyes closed, and my mouth answered his.
My body wasnt listening to me. I wasnt sure it could listen. That kiss lit up my every cell, left my hips bucking greedily up toward him and my cunt flooding with warmth and light and
And need.
"Good girl. Thats better." Now He pulled away just as slowly and released my wrists so he could smooth my hair and the bridal veil I still wore pinned in it away from my cheeks. Im starving.
His hands ran down my body as he shifted between my thighs.
I had a good idea of exactly what he intended on eatingbut finally, something snapped into place in my head.
"No," I blurted out. I gripped his shoulders hard and pushed him away. "Stop!"
"Mm. Good point, love." His shoulders rose beneath my fingers as he breathed in and composed himself. "Breakfast first, fuck later. You must be famished, too." He rolled off me then and reached for the black rotary phone on the nightstand. "I'll call room service. What do you fancy? They do everything."
My stomach rumbled like the idea of eating breakfast in bed with this strange, gorgeous, horny naked man was the best idea it had ever heard. My cunt ached like it could think of one thing that might be better.
But this man was not my fiancé.
Looking like that, I wasnt even sure how he was real.
Who why I scrambled for the sheets and clutched them over my breasts again. Why did you just kiss me? Why are you naked?
What? The man paused mid-dial and looked at me like Id just started reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Backwards. All right. Ill bite. He smirked again. I kissed you because youre mine and I wanted to. As for why Im naked
His gaze prowled over my body through the sheets all over again. The way he looked at meit wasnt just like he appreciated how I looked. It was like I was something he owned.
Same reason you are, he purred. We can get dressed later. I intend to spend as much of today exactly like this, exactly in this bed His hand moved from phones dial and slid beneath the sheetsthen between my thighs. Exactly with you.
His fingers slipped against the lips of my cunt. It was still so soaked I could hardly believe it.
But this time, when my brain called, my body answered. Immediately.
I drew my hand back and smacked him across his stubbled cheek so hard, for a second, I think both of us saw stars.
"Don't. I drew my hand back again like a threat. I don't want your fucking hands on my cunt. I don't even know who you are."
The man rubbed his cheek slowly then, to my amazement, he smirked again.
"Why, I'm the Devil himself, darling. His hand moved between my legs again, almost playfully. If anything, the slap had only encouraged him. And if you want to roleplay a little resistance you only needed to ask, love. I, for one, fully intend to consummate our unholy union again"
This time, when my palm connected with his cheek, he blinked and withdrew his hand.
"What is wrong with you?" I spat at him, scrambling backward.
"Many have asked that question throughout the ages," he said slowly as he placed the phone back on the hook. "For once, now I'm wondering the exact same thing about you."
"Yeah, well, I'm not the one going around trying to fingerbang strangers! I kicked at his hand as he tried to rest it on my ankle over the sheets. Get off me. I mean it."
"You don't remember last night?" He furrowed his brow and tilted his head to the side. If anything, he looked even more gorgeous from that angle.
Fuck.
"No," I answered breathlessly. "No, I dont."
"Strange I recall it all so perfectly. The champagne, the sacred vows, the sex"
"Sex?" I yelped in horror.
I was mortified. Although, that would explain why I'd woken up so wet
"Yes, darling." His blue eyes got that wicked light in them again. "So, so much sex."
No. No, no, no. I nearly fell off the bed as I tried to put as much space between his body and mine as I could. From the very edge of the mattress, I leveled my index finger at him sternly. It was the only weapon I had. You need to tell me whats going on here. Dont make me ask again.
Maybe the ring on your finger will jog your memory, he suggested.
I looked down at the hand I was pointing at him with. When I turned it over, a black diamond glittered up at me. It was huge, set ornately in silver, with two rubies on either side of it like drops of spilled blood.
What I glared down at it.
Not only was this man not my fiancéthat was not my engagement ring.
I can show you the marriage license too, if you like, he said with a shrug as he rose from the bed. I thought last night was rather memorable. If anything, Im hurt that youve already forgotten.
Thatthat cant be true. My brain cells were scrambling againto pitiful results. Youre lying. Thats a lie.
They do say Im the father of thosebut this hardly seems like the time. He glowered as he moved across the room. I blushed as I tried not to stare at the sculpted muscles of his ass while he did it. If this is some kind of game, Crystal
Its not. I backed up against the wall and shook my head. You need to tell me where I am and who you are. Now. Before I call the cops.
The police? Funny. He chuckled to himself as he picked a pair of black slacks up off the floor. This isnt how I imagined our honeymoon starting, butwell, ask and ye shall receive.
He sighed as he stepped into his slacks.
Where are you? he repeated my question back to me as he zipped up his pants. He gestured to the room around us. This is our honeymoon suiteand my building, for that matter. Youre in the Infernofinest entertainment establishment on the Vegas Strip. Or, below it, I suppose.
Suddenly, I wanted to hit him all over again. He wouldve deserved it, too. Stop talking in riddles.
You first. He sighed again as he tightened his belt and buckled it. I squeezed my thighs together as my pussy throbbed. Somehow, even watching this man put his clothes back on was doing it for me. Why am I naked? That much seems a bit obvious. Who am I? He moved to a bar cart in the corner. It was laden with glimmering crystal decanters all filled to the brim with liquors, dark and light. Lucifer, Satan, Star of the Morning They call me Deal-maker, World-breaker, King of Hell I could go on. For our intents and purposesIm Lucian Dawnstar. Thats the name on our wedding certificate, anywaybecause most important, Crystal, I am your husband. Legally and spiritually. Whether you remember it or not.
You cant be my husband.
No? He glanced at me as he selected a decanter full of clear liquid and lifted it up to the light. We said our vows last night before God Himself. A little uncomfortable for mebut I suppose the Almighty would have been keeping an eye on things regardless.
What are you talking about?
Were married, Crystal. Like it or not, youre mine.
He turned his back to me as he reached for a glass. As I eyed the muscles of his back, I saw that he had nail marks down his shoulder blades too. Just like the ones Id found on mine. Beneath the scratch marks, there were two twisted scars on either side of his spine.
Whatever had caused them
It looked like it had hurt.
Can I tempt you, Crystal? When he turned again, he was offering me a glass.
Ium. I licked my lips. My mouth had suddenly gone dry. No. I have a headache.
And obviously, Id overindulged last night.
Massively.
Disastrously.
It wasnt like me, but neither was any of the rest of this.
It was the only explanation.
If what this man was saying was true
Id gotten drunk. Id gotten married.
And Id fucked up my entire life in the process.
Maybe later, then. He shrugged and reached for a different decanter. If your head hurts, you need water anyway. Here.
He poured me a glass and crossed the room to offer it to me.
There was no ice floating in it, but when I wrapped my fingers around the crystal, it was shockingly cold.
I thought last night was really one to remember, you know. His gaze was scrutinizing now. Like he was trying to stare through my eyes straight into my soul. On every level. Shame you dont agree.
I want my phone, I snapped back at him. And my clothes.
Yes. Youre a woman of many demands. His lips twitched like he wanted to smirk again. I was grateful when he didnt.
And I want to leave. I pulled myself up to my full heightnot that it was much. I was around five-seven. This man was easily six-four. I dont want you to try and stop me, either.
Well see about that. He wrapped his fingers around the glass on top of mine and pressed it to my lips. First, drink.
I kept my eyes on his as the liquid hit my lips. I gave it a tentative taste first. There was no burn of vodka, no bitter taste like hed drugged it. Justwater.
Probably the best water Id ever tasted, actually. It was cold and crisp, like hed taken it straight from the melt of an iceberg.
A sip quickly turned to greedy gulps. He took the glass from me when it was empty and refilled it, then pressed it back into my hands.
This time, I didnt need any prompting. I was thirstier than Id ever been.
Good girl. Now, as for your demands Your phone, I distinctly recall watching you chuck it into the fountain at the Bellagio around midnight, he said as he watched me finish off the second glass. Your clothes
He moved across the room again and picked up the white body-con minidress I remembered putting on before going out last night. There was a pink sash still pinned to it that said BRIDE, but the sash and the dress were both torn down the front between the I and the D.
Ruined, unfortunately. My fault, he admitted.
Your fault? I lowered the glass as I stared at my ruined dress.
Just couldnt wait to see it on the floor. He shrugged and tossed it aside. Well get you new clothesand a new phone as well. But as for leaving
I swallowed and pressed my back against the wall again as he approached me. He steps were slow and measured, but I knew when they stopped, his body was going to be as close to mine as he could get.
If you remembered anything about last night, Crystal, you would know why that isnt an option. He loomed over me and plucked at the sheer white wedding veil that still fell over my hair. The warmth of his breath washed against my cheek as his lowered his lips to my ear. But if youd like to get back into bed and behave yourself for me, Im sure I could find some way of making you recall exactly why you dont want to leave.
My heart was pounding again. As he rested his forehead against mine and his hands encircled my waist over the sheet, my legs were jelly. Useless.
But I wasnt falling for this. I wasnt going to let myself.
Not again.
No matter how much my body might have hated me for telling him no.
Get out, I growled through my teeth at him. Id never thought of myself as an intimidating woman, but in this instance, I was pretty sure I needed to become one.
And fast, too.
To my relief, he took a step back. That insatiable smirk had finally left his lips, but the hunger in his eyes still lingered.
I vowed to obey you last night, Crystal. His voice rumbled as he spoke, and my heart skipped at beat like it was trying to match the rhythm of his words. If thats what you think you want
But then that wickedness glinted in his blues again and he descended on me like a man starved. His mouth claimed mine, hard and fast. A quick, ruthless victory.
He ran his thumb across my cheekbone, and my entire body flared to life. His lips burned like wildfire. It made me gasp, and he took advantage of my parted lips, pressing his tongue into my mouth and flicking it against my own tongue.
For all his talk of being the Devil incarnate, this time I was almost inclined to believe him.
God. He even tasted like sin.
Hows your memory now? he whispered against my lips.
I blinked.
I drew in a breath.
Then, I slapped him again.
Mm. Fair enough. When he backed away, he looked resigned about it. Ill go, then. While Im gone, thoughyou should really order up something to eat. Indulgence is just upstairs. They do a croque madame well worth going to Hell for.
Im not eating breakfast. I clutched the sheet a little tighter around me. Im leaving.
No, youre not. He stooped to pick his shirt up off the floor and shrugged it over his shoulders. You may not remember it, but you made a deal with the Devil last night. I vowed to obey you. You vowed to obey me, tooand I say youre staying.
You cant keep me here, I insisted.
Cant I? He paused at the door and glanced over his shoulder at me. The Inferno is my domain, love and you are my wife. There was no playful wickedness in his eyes now just fire, burning dark in the pale blue of his irises. I can do as I like.