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Bound Violette Dubrinsky Copyright © 2010 by Violette Dubrinsky All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or shared in any form, including but not limited to: printing, photocopying, faxing, recording, electronic transmission, or by any information storage or retrieval system without prior written permission from the authors or holders of the copyright. This book is a work of fiction. References may be made to locations and historical events; however, names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the author‟s imagination and/or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), businesses, events or locales is either used fictitiously or coincidental. All trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, and registered service marks are the property of their respective owners and are used herein for identification purposes only. Published by Beautiful Trouble Publishing, LLC PO Box 61 Colfax, NC 27235 www.beautifultroublepublishing.com Cover Art: Les Byerley http://www.les3photo8.com/ Editor: Sonya Mott Young, Proofreader: Novellette Whyte http://authorgurunovellette.blogspot.com/ Formatter: Savannah J. Frierson, http://sjfbooks.com/editing/ E-book Conversion: Jim & Zetta, http://www.jimandzetta.com/ ISBN:(e-book) 978-1-61788-028-5; (print): 978-1-61788-064-3
A very huge thank you to Faz, Steph, and Crysta my awesome beta readers. Without you, I doubt that I would have finished the initial write-up of this story in the short time that I did, and had as much fun doing it. Steph, in addition to being an awesome beta, thanks for being an amazing friend/shrink/book-end. Thank you to the ladies who also previewed my introduction and gave me valuable feedback on it. And of course, thank you to my loyal readers, whose emails and messages always bring a smile to my face and inspire me to put out more works. This is dedicated to all of you.
Note about eBooks eBooks are NOT transferable. Re-selling, sharing or giving away eBooks is a copyright infringement. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the author or Beautiful Trouble Publishing.
Caveat This work of erotica contains adult language and sexually explicit scenes, which are smoking hot. This book is intended only for adults, as it is defined by the laws of the country in which the purchase is made. Keep this book out of the hands of under-aged readers.
Author’s Note: The gods depicted in these tales are interpretations of the author and as such, do not necessarily follow the portrayals in traditional Greek mythology.
Glossary APHRODITE: Goddess of Love and Beauty. ATROPOS, CLOTHO, LASHESIS: The three Moirae (or Fates) who control the destiny of mortals and immortals alike from the time of their birth until death. DARK GOD: Child of Nyx—Goddess of Night, and Erebos—God of Darkness. DOMAIN: The (most times palatial) residence of a god. DRUID: Child of a human and a god. HADES: God of the Underworld. HANDMAIDEN: Immortal servant to a goddess. HEPHAESTUS (PRON. HEF-ES-TUS): God of Fire and Metalwork. HERA: Goddess of Love and Marriage; Queen of the Olympian gods. HYPNOS: God of Sleep and Dreams. INCUBUS: Male descendants of Lilith, who depend on sexual energy for survival. MOROS: God of Doom and Destruction. OIZYS: Goddess of Pain and Misery. THANATOS: God of Death. SUCCUBAE: Male and female descendants of Lilith, who depend on sexual energy for survival. SUCCUBUS: Female descendants of Lilith, who depend on sexual energy for survival. ZEUS: Leader of the Olympian gods.
Prologue “You okay?” The question pulled her, if only slightly, from the hazy fog that had occupied her mind for the last few minutes. He was speaking. Nico, the dark-haired jock seated close to her. He repeated the question, before giving her leg a little shake. Biting her lip to contain her moan at the feel of his hand through her jeans, Katrina nodded, and closed her eyes. When she opened them, it was to find that Nico had pulled back, his lips still directly before her. Her gaze fixed on them. Pretty lips. Heart shaped. They‟d been on hers only moments before, and she‟d felt alive. Heady. Drugged. Desired. Powerful. “Kiss me.” Was that her voice? Raspy and low? Sexy? She would have chuckled had she the ability. At the moment, her mind was on one thing, and he happened to be seated directly before her.
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Violette Dubrinsky Nico blinked and dropped his gaze to her lips,
already parted and waiting for his. “Um, you sure about this, Kat?” he asked hesitantly, although his dark eyes flamed with need. In the years that she‟d known Nicolas Franklin, she‟d never seen his eyes look like that. Even when he was watching her intensely because he thought she wasn‟t paying attention. “Your dad‟s not coming home „til late, right?” His eyes darted nervously to the door that he‟d locked only minutes ago when Katrina had brought him here. What was he talking about? Katrina wondered. Her dad—something? Katrina had no clue. She didn‟t care. She wanted him to kiss her again, to keep touching her like he‟d been doing. They had done this before. Nico wasn‟t her boyfriend per se. He was the one guy friend that she had. Although most of the guys at her high school had made moves to become her „friend‟ after she‟d turned sixteen, had her braces removed, and grown breasts, Nico had been there before. One day, she‟d awoken to find Nico staring at her differently. Not in a bad way,
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but there was something more in his eyes. And he‟d brush against her too—frequently—when they played one-on-one basketball in her backyard before her parents got home, he‟d press up against her. Once or twice, she was sure he‟d even grabbed her ass. Of course, he‟d said he was going for the ball, but she couldn‟t ignore that what he was doing, intentional or not, was having an effect on her. Nico had been her first kiss too. It had happened almost two weeks ago, during one of those „accidental‟ brush-ups, with his five eleven frame pressed against her still growing five seven frame as he tried to keep the ball out of her reach. Instead of reaching for the ball, she‟d reached for him, pulling his head down and pressing his lips to hers. She hadn‟t known what to do from there, but he‟d been eager to show her. And he‟d been teaching her things ever since. After a make-out session in her garage, with the groping and necking a bit more heavy than usual, she‟d grabbed his hand and led him to her room.
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Violette Dubrinsky She was ready. Some of her friends had done „it‟
before and had told her that it would hurt at first and then feel good. If sex felt anything like Nico‟s kisses, she wasn‟t worried. “Kat? You listenin‟ to me? Is your Dad?” Although she was usually the talker, their roles had been reversed. Nico was talking too much, so she did something she‟d only recently learned would shut him up. Scooting closer to him, she pushed her body against his and kissed his neck, using her tongue to make slow little circles next to his pulse. He groaned as his pulse began a wild dance, sending a wicked thrill through her body. There was so much control here. Moving upwards, she kissed his jaw, before moving across to his lips. They parted for hers and she pushed against his body until he fell back on the bed, pulling her with him. The kiss she gave him was sweet, with her tongue dipping into his mouth as he‟d taught her, and his hands pushing up her sweatshirt to get to her bra. He‟d never touched her naked flesh before and she was excited about that. As he squeezed her breast through her bra, she moaned and bit his lip. He
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recoiled, and Katrina feared he would stop because she‟d had a wild, impulsive urge. Instead, he pushed her back and rolled onto her, pinning her to the bed. “Where‟d you learn that?” he asked, not waiting for an answer as his mouth found hers again. With a happy sigh, she surrendered to the feelings coursing through her body and the rush of blood flowing to her intimate areas. Nico peeled himself away from her only long enough to remove their clothing. When he was standing before her naked body—looking at the firm, high breasts with dusky nipples that gave way to a smooth torso and flat belly, the wide flare of hips that tapered off into long legs, the thin strip of black hair on her otherwise smooth pussy—he blinked and shook his head in wonder. “Damn, Kat, when did you get so fucking hot?” She might have rolled her eyes and said something smart if she weren‟t so urgent to get him back to the bed. When he was above her again, he licked at her stiff nipples which made her feel so good Nico had to clamp his hand over her mouth because
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she was making so much noise. Next, he inserted a finger down there, and it hurt. Not because his finger was the first thing to penetrate her, but because something unfurled inside—something hungry, needy. “I need you,” she whispered frantically, pulling at his shoulders as he tried to kiss his way down her body. “Nico now!” “Fuck, Kat, you sure you‟ve never done this before?” He eyed her suspiciously. She shook her head, and opened her legs wide. She was on fire! Feeling the blunt head of his organ at her opening, she moaned and clutched his back. “So wet,” Nico murmured, burying his face in her neck. “Shit. Condom. Jeans?” He briefly left her only to return seconds later, assuming the same position.
His hands moved
between their bodies and then she felt pressure, burning
pressure
as
his
condom-encased
cock
stretched her open. The pressure turned to pain, and her nails dug into his back as tears built in her eyes. She was about to tell him to stop, that he was hurting her bad, when the pain from having him inside was
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replaced by another Need like she‟d never known, urgent and swift, engulfed her. “You want me to stop, Kat?” Nico asked his voice low and strained, his breath brushing her ear. She clutched him tighter. “No,” she managed to gasp out, feeling her body pulse around Nico‟s. He began to move, slow thrusts that fueled the flame inside of her. Lifting his head from her neck, he braced both hands on either side of her head and continued thrusting, harder, faster. Sweat broke out across his forehead as she lifted up for his thrusts, pushing herself to...something. He moved even faster, his hips bucking wildly. The headboard banged against the wall, and Katrina threw her head back. Something was happening...and she let it. It felt good. Warm. Forceful. Filling. She heard a gasp in the background but ignored it. As long as Nico continued to move in that way, she would ignore the world. And then he stopped. Katrina opened her eyes, and found him gasping above her, his
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face a mask of pain, the veins at his temple and neck standing out as he attempted and failed to speak. “Nico,” she managed softly, briefly realizing that the red haze had once more fallen over her. She pushed onto her elbows to peer closer at him. “Nico, are you—?” That was what she managed to get out before something tackled her. There was no other way to explain
it.
Her
mind
cleared
of
concern
for
everything—anyone—as her body moved, pushing Nico onto his back as she straddled him. She was no longer in control. “K-Kat,” Nico choked out as her hands pressed to his chest, and she began to rock against him. “Hhelp me!” Katrina wanted to stop. What was happening to him? Why couldn‟t she stop? Her thoughts left as pleasure engulfed her. She felt hot. Her skin tingled with gooseflesh. Something was happening. Back and forth, up and down, she repeated the motions unconsciously. At some point, her hand went to her breasts, plucking at the sensitive peaks. She
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continued, her body squeezing his, pulling at him, draining him. When she came to, she was lying on her back in a dark room. Katrina stretched and smiled, the dull throb between her legs reminding her that she‟d lost her virginity to Nico. She should probably feel shy or awkward, like her friends had said, but she didn‟t. In fact, this was the best she‟d felt...ever. “Nico?” she murmured, rolling onto her side to thank him for showing her this. She briefly wondered if he would make her his girlfriend. Nico was attractive and he was part of the basketball and football teams, so he was considered a good catch. Plus, he was one of her oldest friends. If he asked her, she decided she would say yes. Figuring that he was asleep, she slowly ran her hands through his hair, and promptly froze. Why was his scalp cold? Pushing herself up, she looked down at him, blinked twice, and screamed.
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Violette Dubrinsky This wasn‟t Nico! This couldn‟t be Nico! Nico
was a healthy, athletic seventeen-year-old, not this emaciated body next to her. Leaping naked from the bed, she ran to her phone, but paused as she caught sight of her body in the mirror. The dried blood marking the inside of her thighs wasn‟t what gave her pause, nor was it the fact that her naturally golden skin seemed to glow as if kissed by a thousand suns. Considering it was winter, that was strange. No, those things were forgotten as she stared into the mirror. There was something behind her. She spun immediately, but found nothing. Terrified, she returned her gaze to the mirror, seeing it once more. Using the mirror as her guide, she reached behind her and touched something that could NOT be real. Soft and thin, about a foot long, with soft cartilage holding them together and anchoring them to her back! It was a— Oh God! Wings. She had wings! Nico had changed into a skeleton and she had wings! Shaking her head, she slapped herself. Once, twice.
I’m dreaming, she thought, blinking at her
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reflection. This wasn‟t real. Sixteen-year-old teenage girls did not sprout wings after having sex for the first time. “Katrina, we‟re home! Come down for dinner, honey.” Her mother. She looked back in the mirror. The black wings were still there. She looked back to the bed. The skeleton—was that really Nico?—was still there. She pinched herself. When nothing happened, she looked back to the body on her bed. Images of her holding Nico down as she rode against his hips flashed into her mind. Images of his face, contorted in pain, filled her brain. Her stomach soured instantly and she lifted a hand to her mouth. She‟d killed her friend! She‟d killed Nico! And now she had freakish, black wings. She was a murderer and a freak. “Katrina!” The voice was now outside her bedroom door. She heard the lock turn and then jiggle as the door failed to open. “Kat, you know there are no locked doors in this house. You open this door right
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now.” The knob jiggled once more, and her father mentioned something about the master key. She was a freakish murderer with parents who were going to walk into her bedroom at any moment. Parents who would forever see her as the monster she was. Those were her last thoughts before the room began to spin and black descended, enshrouding her in its gentle embrace.
Chapter One In the centuries that he‟d been alive, Hypnos had never been this angry. No, angry was too simple, too easy a word for the boiling emotions that pulsed beneath the layer of pale skin that clung to weakened bones. What fueled blood to his slowing heart, kept breath flowing through his now emaciated body, was rage—rage in its purest form. He savored it like a fine wine, held onto it when his body failed, going through the motions for death but denying itself the final freedom. He wanted vengeance, and before he died, he was going to get it. Somewhere in the distance, a door opened. He‟d known it would. This had become a ritual. Perhaps weekly, daily, hourly...? He‟d lost track of time and space long ago. The only thing of which he was certain was his rage and the reason for it. “You haven‟t moved, I see.” The voice was one he‟d marked well. It was raspy and sweet; seduction in its purest form. The face was an imprint on his mind. His clouded vision did little to
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prevent him from seeing her. Loosely curled black hair hung down just below her shoulder blades. Her eyes were so brown they appeared obsidian. Pale brown, almost luminescent skin contrasted well with the fullness of her features. She was what humans referred to as biracial, an exotic product of the mixing of races. He would have found it humorous that humans thought of themselves as combinations of races, and not one, had his situation been different. From the moment that he‟d glimpsed her in that red and black leather bustier with accompanying three-inch long skirt and fuck-me pumps, he‟d wanted her. She‟d wanted him too, though at the time, he‟d summed it up to his good looks and easy charm. He was known as the nicest of the dark gods, and most women, immortal and mortal alike, found him irresistible. He could be dark and brooding, or easygoing and fun. Whatever his lover‟s needs, he satisfied and enjoyed. So of course he hadn‟t known she‟d been plotting to use him as her food source! A low chuckle interrupted his thoughts and a finger traced the length of his arm. Parched lips peeled away from teeth as his skin crawled.
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Oh, he was going to take sadistic pleasure in torturing her. “Your race is amazing. That you‟re still alive when your body wants to succumb.” His body lurched forward against the golden chains that anchored him to the bed. “Uh-uh-uh. Leaving so soon?” There was a smile in her voice. She was mocking him. The bitch! He heard the swish of material and the bed dipped. Light fingers traced his hollow stomach, ran across the bones of his ribcage, and he felt her weight settle onto him. They‟d done this countless times. She would take her release from him, and simultaneously rob him of life. The mere fact that she could lay with him was attributed to the chains that kept him tethered to the bed, shackles forged by Hephaestus that made him, one of the powerful dark gods who roamed Tartarus, as powerless as a human baby. Chains supposedly destroyed after the Titan/Olympian war when Zeus had used what he needed to secure the Titans in
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Tartarus. Yet, here he was, bound by something that shouldn‟t exist. Hypnos felt a stifling heat settle over his body and closed his eyes. The pain was unavoidable. It was the
equivalent
of
a
simultaneous
suffocation,
strangulation and burning. He‟d learned to give in to it, to let it happen so that it would eventually pass. Succubae were parasitic in that way, latching on and taking their fill. She eventually collapsed onto him, her breathing ragged and harsh. He felt the smile that crossed her lips before she whispered, “Wasn‟t that fun?” No, but I’ll have fun peeling your skin from your flesh, sewing it back, and ripping it off again daily, bitch! Despite his lack of clear vision, he knew that she would now look sun-kissed and even more beautiful as her body had received its sustenance. When he didn‟t respond, she chuckled and kissed his parched lips. “We should do this again,” she murmured, in that mocking-bitch-succubus tone he was sick of. “I know just how pleased you are every time you see me.”
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Hypnos reaffirmed his plan to torture her. He was a dark god, and although he wasn‟t as initially as terrifying as his siblings, particularly Thanatos, who was the incarnation of Death, and Moros, embodiment of Doom, the elements under his control were vast. Because he was the god of sleep and dreams, he could torment anyone who was able to enter a dream, which meant...everyone, even if that person was awake. She could not hold him forever. And then she was sliding off. Soft footsteps receded and he heard the creaking of what sounded like a door. Moments later there was an audible snap and then a steady silence. Marissa. That was her name. Marissa, the succubus he‟d met at a Halloween party. The one he‟d intended to have a few fun nights with, before moving on to a goddess, or a handmaiden. At that time, succubae had been his fetish. One of his first lovers had been a succubus and as such, he‟d always carried a soft-spot for the sexual deviants. He was cured. Succubae were the male and female descendants of Lilith, a demi-goddess who‟d been cast from Mount
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Violette Dubrinsky
Olympus after Hera learned of Lilith‟s affair with Zeus. True to her nature, Hera, not only banished Lilith but cursed her and all of her descendants to feed off sexual energy until their dying breaths. It was rumored that in her anger and jealousy, Hera had even made Lilith hideous, giving her wings, horns, and scaly skin. She‟d given her the name succubus. Somehow—there were rumors that Zeus was involved—Lilith had managed to revoke the „hideous‟ part of Hera‟s curse that applied to her descendants, because every succubus he‟d ever encountered was beautiful. Marissa. He‟d memorized the name enough times to know that it would never be forgotten. She would never be forgotten. And as soon as he was free, she would die. *** He didn‟t know how much time had passed since his last encounter with Marissa but the next time he became aware of voices, he was certain that none belonged to his captor.
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“Maybe we shouldn‟t be doing this? What if she comes back and finds out we let him go? What if she tells him?” She was female and young. The voice sounded whiny and unsure. “I didn‟t ask you to come with me. Go back if you‟re scared.” This voice belonged to another female. Although it trembled slightly, it was still commanding. Fear was something he‟d never felt in his centuries of living, and despite the fact that he was bound with Hephaestus‟s chains and powerless, at the mercy of whoever, he still could not muster the emotion. If this was to be his end, then that was it. His parents and siblings—especially Thanatos, his twin and bringer of Death—would avenge him. Soft light hit his face and his retinas exploded in pain. Immediately, he closed his eyes. Marissa kept the room dark, and although he wanted to wrap his hands around the bitch‟s neck more than he wanted his next breath, he was grateful for it. “Oh, sweet gods!”
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Violette Dubrinsky Simultaneously, the younger one let out a high-
pitched squeak that ripped at his eardrums, followed by, “Ohmigod! Ohmigod!” At this rate, he was going to be permanently deaf and blind if these two didn‟t get on with whatever it was they were doing. “Quiet, Rae! You trying to get us caught?” “That—that’s supposed to be a god?” Rae whispered in a voice that could only be described as loud. Hypnos might have snorted had he the strength. He could only image how he looked to a teenage girl, which he suspected she was. His once healthy body was now emaciated. Weak. „Skeletal‟ would probably be the better adjective. “I thought they were supposed to be cute.” “Go home, Rae!” “Sorry—sorry,” she lowered her voice, and he flinched as fingers touched a protruding rib. “I‟ll be quiet.” “Ssh!” She paused after directing that command to the girl. “Can you hear me?” she asked cautiously, a tremor in her voice.
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She was speaking to him. Unsure of her agenda, Hypnos neither answered nor moved. He badly wished he could see, or even read, her emotions. “We didn‟t have anything to do with—this...and if—if you swear that you and your kind won‟t harm those of us who had nothing to do with it, I‟ll undo your chains.” “What was that?” He heard it then, a cacophony of laughter coming from somewhere else. It sounded like a larger group. “We have to hurry, Rae.” “No, someone‟s coming. It‟s probably her. Leave him, Amara! She‟ll have us killed if she finds him.” He heard the jingling of keys and then a loud click before his hands were being lowered to his side. Immediately, the boulder sized weight on his body fell away, and he drew in a deep, shuddering breath. The chains had been removed. In a fraction of a second, his life had been changed, and he was too damn weak to do anything about it.
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Violette Dubrinsky “Ohmigod! He‟s naked!” This bright observation
was from Rae, again. “Hurry, we have to get him out of here,” Amara said, pulling him up, and cracking a few ribs in the process. He bit his lip in pain, but kept his cry in as she pulled him to his feet and draped the sheet around his body. Rae moved to his other side, and they began to lead him to the door. At his usual height and weight of six feet five inches and two hundred thirty pounds, leaning on two tiny females, despite their succubae nature, would have been impossible. But with the significant drop in his weight, these two were making it look doable. “Please don‟t spite us all for the actions of one,” Amara murmured, her voice trembling even more as she did so. She had good reason to fear him. He was a god who‟d been chained for however long to feed a succubus. Hypnos wanted his revenge. Still, he would not kill mindlessly for the actions of one raging bitch of a succubus. No, he fully intended on torturing and killing Marissa, and whoever it was who‟d aided her in getting those chains!
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As they moved, the cloudy haze over his eyes fell away. He could make out wooden walls. Once, he‟d seen wooden walls like these before—in hunting lodges and cottages that humans kept. The stuffed head of a deer hung against a wall. A bearskin rug sat before the fireplace—and then they were approaching a door. The chill bit through his skin as soon as they stepped through, but despite it all, he inhaled deeply. Fresh air. It had been snowing, and a thick coating of white sprawled before him. There were trees in the distance, a thick cluster of them covered with snow. “What now, Amara?” Rae whispered frantically, finally mastering the art of the task. It had only taken her a good fifteen minutes. “I know you‟re tired,” Hypnos blinked and looked down at her after realizing that he was being addressed, “but can you call someone to get you? I don‟t know how it works.” Amara broke off and looked back to the door from which they‟d exited. “She‟s gonna notice you‟re gone soon, and she‟ll search for you.”
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Violette Dubrinsky Hypnos nodded once. His ears perked as the
voices grew closer. Amara must have heard them too because she suddenly tugged him forward. “The trees. That should buy us some time.” He tried to concentrate, to summon even a small amount of his power. It was all he had to do to get Thanatos to pick up on their connection. Hypnos had to have been gone for weeks or months, and after having all connection completely severed from his twin,
as
Marissa
had
done
when
she
used
Hephaestus‟s chains on him, Thanatos would feel it if Hypnos could summon his powers. It would be the equivalence of switching a light bulb on. As it was, his body was still very human-like, even without the bindings of the chain. Hypnos tried and failed, breathing harshly as he erupted into cold sweat and chills. He needed to eat. It wasn‟t just that Marissa had sucked most of his life from him, killing him countless times over. His body also needed nourishment—ambrosia, food of the gods, and lots of it!
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A loud, angry scream broke through the night, and Amara gasped as Rae looked back to the house frantically. “Hurry, Rae! The trees!” They began moving once more, and as his bare feet sunk into the cold snow and froze, he kept another tortured groan to himself. As the two women hurried to get him to the trees, which seemed so far, he reached inside and tried to summon his powers again. It seemed almost pointless, but he continued, praying that Thanatos would feel something and find him. He hated Marissa, and would revel at the chance to meet her again, but not in this weakened state. In this state, she‟d shackle him back to that bed without much of a fight. As they reached the trees, he felt them. Without preamble, Hypnos collapsed forward onto the cold snow, sinking face first into it. “Ohmigod!
He‟s
dead!”
Rae
muttered
hysterically. He really hoped she grew out of that by adulthood. “They‟re going to kill us—wipe out our race
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just like they say almost happened in the past all because of Davey‟s stupid girlfriend.” “He can‟t be dead—gods aren‟t supposed to die,” Amara muttered, joining her sister before she realized that two men dressed in black and looking like...death and painful death, were walking towards them. When she saw them, she grabbed for Rae, and took two steps back. Thanatos was the first to reach him, hoisting him up much like one lifts a baby. If he wasn‟t so tired and completely weakened, Hypnos would have demanded to be put down. His twin did not speak, and Hypnos could sense nothing from him. He heard a scream and opened his eyes to find Amara clutching Rae to her as Moros, the eldest of his siblings and aptly named god of doom, advanced on them. “No,” he managed to croak out, certain that the word alone would result in blisters in his throat. Moros was fast and lethal, a silent and efficient killer when need be, and if he waited seconds more, the two women would be dead. “Friends. No.” Thanatos spoke to Moros rapidly, telling him what Hypnos had said.
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Looking up at his brother, Hypnos drew a breath, and channeled the remainder of his strength. “Marissa—is—mine.” Those were his last words before he succumbed to sleep. With his brothers there, he knew he was safe. They would take him back to his domain on Tartarus, and once there, he would heal. He would give himself time to fully recover, and then he would return. He would find her. He would torture her until she ran mad—or perhaps just before she ran mad—and only then would he kill her. With happy dreams like those to keep him company, Hypnos patiently waited for his body to recover.
Chapter Two Wichita, New York “You sure you don‟t want me to stay and close up, Red?” The question came from Carlos Rivera, and was directed at the auburn-haired beauty skillfully mixing a drink for a customer that she would definitely be seeing to a cab. As it was, the man was being held up by the bar as his glazed eyes watched her. “No. I got it Carlos,” she replied, a little smile curving her lips at his new nickname for her. She‟d dyed her hair red a few weeks ago because hell, she‟d been bored. After staring at her dark locks for years, she‟d decided on a change. Blond was too out there. Blue: not her style. Red however, auburn-tinged and as natural looking as possible, suited her well. “Go home to your wife.” She‟d yelled it all. When you worked in a bar that played mostly rock, grunge, hip-hop and house, you learned to have conversations around pulsing music.
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He grinned and leaned over the bar, allowing curly, black hair to fall forward into warm, hazel eyes. At thirty, Carlos was four years older than her, although some of the things he did made her question both his sanity and maturity. But, he was the closest thing she currently had to family, and she admitted, though never to him, that she thought of him as her big brother. “Only an hour left anyway, and Joe‟s gonna be outside. Any trouble, you let him know.” “Trouble with…?” Katrina looked around at the barely there patrons. It was a Tuesday night, and like Mondays and Wednesdays, it was one of their slower ones. Thursdays through Saturdays were when they amped up staff and security. Fights broke out every hour from the amount of testosterone and alcohol swirling in the place. The locals might not be the richest around this area, but they knew how to drink and party with the worst of them.
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Violette Dubrinsky Eyeing the slumped over guy at the end of the
bar, Carlos asked, “You want me to take him out when I leave?” Chuckling, Katrina shook her head. He was one of her regulars. Every Tuesday, he came to the bar, took a seat, and got roaring drunk. Every Tuesday she ended up calling a cab to take him home. No other day. The guy didn‟t even fit with the persona of the club, with his knee length jacket and clean, but rumpled, work clothes. Still, he seemed to like her, and he tipped well. “Okay. See you tomorrow?” “Where else would I be?” Katrina replied, wiping a strand of hair from her face with the back of her hand. “I dunno. You‟re such a hot commodity these days, I figure someone might just steal you from me.” It was true that a few of the other bars, including the strip club at the far end of the winding road, had made her proposals to work for them. Some were the same as Carlos‟s, others higher, and some out of this world. The offer for the strip club had been so ridiculously high that she‟d laughed in the owner‟s
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face before realizing he was serious. Katrina didn‟t stay at Screamers for the money or the benefits. She stayed because when she‟d come to Wichita, Carlos had been the first person to give her a chance at a decent job. Her hastily drawn up resume had listed no experience, no references, and when he‟d asked why, she‟d told him that she was starting over. After being imprisoned for almost six years, and starting his own business, Carlos understood that well. “Haven‟t left you yet, have I?” “No, though sometimes I don‟t know why.” “Go home, Carlos! If you stay here any longer, you‟re going to end up closing for me, and I know that‟s what you‟re trying to do so go already.” “Okay, okay! I‟m going.” He threw up his hands and stepped back. “Remember, Joe‟s outside. You call him if anything, and I mean anything, seems suspicious.” He nodded to the drunk, sorrowful guy in the corner. “Gee, thanks Dad.”
46
Violette Dubrinsky Carlos smirked and turned away, his tall bulk
heading for the door. She chuckled after him. He was, after all, the big brother she‟d never had. *** When two o‟clock arrived, and her guy was still staring at the shot of whisky that she‟d poured him a while ago, Katrina decided to call it a night. The other patrons had left when Joe announced ten minutes ago that the bar was closed. Even Joe was antsy to leave, and was only waiting for her to get into her car so that Carlos didn‟t chew his head off tomorrow evening. Picking up the shot glass, Kat poured the contents down the drain, and rinsed the glass out. “Hey, I was gon‟ drink that,” he said in a drunken slur that could very well be its own language. His green eyes, which she expected were quite beautiful
when
not
red-rimmed
and
squinty,
attempted to focus on her face but kept shifting down her body. Surprisingly, she felt no sexual energy from him. Katrina had the distinct feeling that he was sizing
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her up in a very clinical way. Whatever it was, she did not feel threatened. “Yup. Sure you were, big guy.” Moving over to the phone at the other end of the bar, she called a cab, gave the address that he was going to—it was probably a shame that she knew it by heart—and moved back over to him. Shoving his hand into his blondish-red hair to push it away from his face, he spoke. “You‟re really pretty.” It was a continuous slur, and Katrina couldn‟t help but shake her head. “You‟re going to kill yourself,” she stated matterof-factly, knowing that he would have no recollection of this conversation in the morning yet wanting to put that out there. Unlike most drunks, this one never spoke of his reasons for treating alcohol as therapy. Every Tuesday she wondered if his drinking was over a woman, or a man, or maybe his job? “Pretty,” he murmured, before collapsing onto the bar once more. This time, there were snores. With a sad shake of her head, Katrina moved around the bar, cleaning up for her next shift
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Violette Dubrinsky
tomorrow. On most days, Sierra and Helena, Carlos‟s sisters and her close friends, helped with the bartending and waitressing. Because both girls were currently attending college, they were given leeway to miss shifts. Giselle, Carlos‟s pregnant wife, had worked the bar with them up until her sixth month of pregnancy when she‟d been put on bed rest by none other than her husband. Although Katrina agreed that Carlos was extremely overprotective, she‟d also taken one look at Giselle‟s belly and realized why. For lack of a better word, Giselle was huge! She‟d just finished her tasks when Joe pushed his huge body back into the bar. “Cab‟s here.” In other words, “get moving.” Tossing him a grin, she moved over to the snoring man and touched his shoulder, “Hey big guy, your ride‟s here.” He
grunted
before
muttering
something
unintelligible. “You need help with him?” Joe called. Katrina knew she didn‟t. Although the guy before her easily topped six feet, and weighed more than two hundred pounds, she‟d hauled him out of
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this bar countless times before. She‟d always been strong, even for a succubus. Still, she didn‟t want to explain to Joe why she could do something that a female her size and weight shouldn‟t logically be able to do. “Yeah, thanks.” As Joe slung the guy up, and moved with him limping, and weakly protesting to the door, Katrina reached into her pocket to make sure she had all of the keys. It was Carlos‟s place, and he trusted her to closeup at night. Moving from the bar, and into a closed back room that was strictly for staff, she continued on until she came to her locker. She made quick work of opening it and hoisting her side bag and jacket out, before closing both the locker and the door, and following Joe and the guy from the bar. As she worked on pulling down the security gate for the bar, an uncomfortable tingling made its way into her mind, followed by a cold chill that usually signified unease. Her ears perked. Nose flared. She spun around, legs spread to balance her body if there was a need.
50
Violette Dubrinsky “Didn‟t mean to scare you,” Joe said, taking a
step back. “Guy‟s on his way home. You goin‟ home, right?” Pushing away the strange sensation that had just tackled her, she smirked up at the large man. “And if I wasn‟t? You gonna tell Carlos?” A rare smile cracked his face, and he shook his head. “Whatever. I don‟t care. Carlos just told me to see you home so I‟m following—” “No, Joe, you‟re not.” And that was where the protectiveness on the part of Carlos turned into craziness. She loved him, in a strictly familial way, but the man was so damn overprotective at times that she wanted to shoot him in the knee. Katrina had understood, when at eighteen, he‟d refused to allow her to go home alone. She‟d even understood when it continued to twentyone. Her lips didn‟t utter a protest when at twentythree, he began having someone escort her home. Fine. But seriously, what did he think she was—an imported China plate? “I got orders from the boss.”
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“You follow me home, Joe, and I‟m gonna call your friends down at the sheriff‟s office and report someone following me.” Joe‟s smile immediately turned into a frown and Katrina felt a smidgen of guilt for threatening him with that. Like Carlos, Joe had been incarcerated before. Unlike her boss though, Joe still held major grudges against law enforcement. That coupled with the fact that he was a six foot tall, heavy-set, scarred, black dude with a continuous snarl on his face, and a prime target for the cops in lily white Wichita, New York
made
their
relationship
understandably
strained. “Whatever. You just tell Carlos what you told me when he asks why.” She grinned and approached him, leaning up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Thanks, Joe. See you tomorrow.” As usual, he tried to remain angry but she saw the reluctant softening of his features, until he finally said, “Later, baby.”
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Violette Dubrinsky Joe called everything with breasts baby, but at
least, when he said it to her, it didn‟t sound like a catcall. She chuckled and made her way to her car. *** Home was only fifteen minutes from Screamers. It wasn‟t much, a one bedroom cottage near the lake that consisted of a living room, a tiny kitchen, and a small bathroom, but it was hers. Wichita was a small, working-class neighborhood located left of Monticello and east of Liberty, New York. With a population of just over ten thousand, it was nothing like New York City, but it had been everything she needed years ago. At sixteen, she‟d run away. After the incident with Nico, a day that was forever burned into her brain, she couldn‟t stomach being around people who knew her. They‟d dismissed it as an accident at first, and had ultimately concluded that Nico had had some sort of disease or virus that had led to his death. They‟d monitored her for weeks, with doctors running every conceivable test to see if she‟d caught it. When
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nothing turned up, her parents had reassured her that everything was fine, that she was fine. But she wasn‟t. It had never been a secret that she was adopted. Her parents had explained it to her from the moment she was old enough to understand what being adopted meant. Why she didn‟t resemble them, why it didn‟t matter because they couldn‟t love her more if she was biologically theirs. A rescued baby, her parents didn‟t know who her biological parents were. She‟d been abandoned at a church with nothing but a blanket and a pamper days after delivery. With her parents around to love her, she‟d never had the urge to find her „other‟ family, until the incident with Nico. After that, she‟d known she was truly different. At the time, she‟d thought that maybe her biological parents would be able to explain what she was if she found them. Maybe they would know why she had retractable wings that itched to be released whenever she was aroused, and which she‟d thankfully learned to control or why she had a swirly black, horizontal “S”
54
Violette Dubrinsky
mark at the dip of her back, a brand she‟d discovered the day after Nico. When she‟d left Maryland, she‟d run with no specific location in mind. She‟d stolen five hundred dollars from her parents, which she‟d returned to them via FedEx years ago, had ended up in Boston, and finally in New York City. It was there that she‟d found some of her answers. At a shelter, she‟d met a woman who knew things about her that she hadn‟t even known at the time. The woman had told her about a community of people who were like her—succubae—and had invited her to meet them. Katrina had been desperate at the time, always hungry, and achy, and unable to control anything, and she‟d gone with her. Nearly a year after Nico‟s death, she‟d had her second sexual experience, this time with an incubus male. She wouldn‟t say it was pleasant, and it had certainly not been for him, but she‟d been starved, and young. At the time, she hadn‟t learned to control her impulses. In the end, he‟d lived, and she‟d been replenished. After that, she‟d stayed with them for just over a year, enough
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time for her to learn everything she needed to survive on her own. From the first weeks among them, she‟d known that she could never be a permanent part of their community. They were cold-blooded killers, liars and thieves, and found nothing wrong with it. Katrina had snuck away much like she‟d left her parents, by waiting until they were asleep, and catching the next bus out. She‟d been wandering for weeks, hitchhiking from one place to the next, when Carlos found her. He‟d picked her up on the side of the road, brought her to Wichita, and given her a job working in the kitchen of his new bar. She‟d intended on staying in Wichita only long enough to make enough money to go somewhere else, but she‟d found another family in Carlos and his brood. They didn‟t judge her—mainly because they didn‟t know what she was—and she was content. With a surprised sigh, she realized that she was still in her car. Grabbing her bag, she headed for the front door and froze.
56
Violette Dubrinsky She was being watched. Instinct had whispered
it only minutes ago, when she‟d dismissed it as Joe, but it now screamed danger at her. Slowly, she turned, searching out whoever had followed her. She couldn‟t place a scent, which was strange. A few times, although she would never admit it to Carlos, guys had followed her home. Some had even tried, but never succeeded, to take advantage of her. Living with the succubae community had taught her well, and one of those lessons had been survival by any means. She‟d felt little guilt feeding from and killing those who would have harmed or killed her. “Who are you?” she said clearly, searching the darkness for any signs of movement. It wasn‟t particularly windy for a night in November, but it was not silent either. Fallen leaves rustled on the ground, but still she remained where she was. If she turned, she was positive whatever it was would attack from behind. She inched a step backward, and when nothing appeared, she took another. Her hands touched the doorknob and she slid her key home, turning it even as she faced the night.
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What the hell was following her? Had the succubae found her? Had they been searching for her all along? She didn‟t think so. They all had a sweet, almost sugary, smell that was not present. The door opened and she was backing through it when a strong hand slipped around her waist. “Miss me?” the voice asked in an almost pleasant tone. Instinctively, she fought him, bringing her head back and crashing it into his nose. A surge of satisfaction rushed her as a grunt sounded near her ear. It was short-lived when his grip only tightened on her. Not to be put off, she brought her heel down hard on his foot, wishing she‟d put on the pointy heels she‟d forgone because they were impractical work shoes for a bartender. He didn‟t move, just held still as she fought. At some point, she realized it was futile, that her self-defense tactics were doing nothing for her at the moment. When all else failed—it had never come to this before—she had one more weapon in her arsenal. Succubae were loud, blessed—or cursed— depending on how one chose to see it, with a screech
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Violette Dubrinsky
that could be heard miles away. She parted her lips to introduce the idiot holding her to a migraine he would never forget. He moved then, placing a large hand over her lips, effectively cutting off her cry for help. She felt lips graze her neck, and then his low voice touched her ear, “Not yet, Marissa. You‟ll scream for me soon enough.” Marissa? Katrina wondered. Who the hell was Marissa? She shook her head frantically, trying to dislodge his grip. Her lips had parted to tell him that she was Katrina Black, that his psycho ass had the wrong girl. The world tilted. One second she was staring into her front yard, thinking of ways to persuade the lunatic behind her that he was harassing the wrong girl, and the next, she was staring into a dimly lit room containing a lone bed, and chains—lots of chains. She blinked and shook her head but the room remained. In addition to the chains were other torture devices that she had no intention of knowing. He released her and she wobbled, falling to her knees as vertigo kicked in. She looked down, hoping to
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stabilize her swinging head, before lifting her gaze to her attacker. Blond hair. Blue eyes. Evil smile. “Who are you?” she managed to get out as she tried and failed to focus. Her mouth felt dry, her head light. At any moment, she was going to hurl. “Don‟t worry. You and I are going to be reacquainted very soon.” His words were soft, almost caressing, but she heard the threat there. Thankfully, her brain had gone into overload. She could no longer see him, or anything else for that matter. The floor rushed up to meet her as she became blissfully unaware of everything.
Chapter Three It had taken two years, but he‟d found her. Finally. It had taken a month for his body to fully recover from what Marissa had put him through, and during that time, she‟d fled. Even the succubae community she‟d belonged to had relocated, leaving the Catskills for Philadelphia. He‟d found them there, terrified out of their minds as they should have been, and with no information on Marissa. Still, he‟d bided his time, using all he remembered of her scent and essence to personally track her down. After placing the fear of the gods into every succubae community in America and parts of Europe, he was certain that none would take her in, so she was either alone or hiding out with whomever had given her those chains. That meant she was trying to pass as a human or possibly no longer in the human realm. He‟d thought of the possibility of a god helping her but he had no leads. At the moment, there was no god stupid enough to let it be known that he would willingly cross Zeus.
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Hypnos would have never thought to search Wichita, New York, a small and dingy town in upstate New York that was only famous for its hotdog franks, had he not been searching for someone else. Still, when he‟d come across her at the bar, dressed in a black tee with the letters “Staff” scribbled over it, her thick auburn curls piled atop her head in a messy bun, he‟d known her. The change in hair color was probably meant to throw him off, to make her seem different, but he saw through it instantly. Down to the tiny mole above her lip, this was Marissa. “Katrina” her name tag had read. It was an alias. He would bet that if he stripped her down, he would find the S tattoo above her ass, directly in the center of the dip. It was the unique mark of a succubus, but they all had them in different places. He‟d seen the bared lower backs of enough of them to know that. Hypnos looked around the room, admiring the whips, gags, and chains that he‟d placed inside. He‟d made it especially for this day, collecting the items with cool resolve, but seeing her bound to the bed sent a cold tingle of pleasure through his body. She‟d
62
Violette Dubrinsky
shackled him with the chains of Hephaestus, chains that had been recovered immediately and destroyed in the fires of Tartarus. He now held her with chains forged in the fires of Tartarus. They were not strong enough to hold a god, but they would hold everything else. More importantly, they would hold her. A low moan came from the bed and he looked down. Her face was drawn, lips pulled tight as if she was trying to wake from a bad dream. She twisted her head to one side and whimpered, straining against her bonds. The chains rubbed her wrists raw. He smiled. Hypnos wouldn‟t be the god of dreams if he didn‟t check to see what it was that his captive dreamt about. *** They were coming for her. The men that she‟d murdered. Ahead of them all was Nico. She would have fought them had Nico not been there, moving to her with betrayal in his eyes.
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“I‟m sorry,” she whispered to him, stepping back as she recoiled at the sight of his skeletal limbs, and sunken eyes. “I‟m so sorry, Nico.” He slung curses at her and lunged, tackling her to the ground. His skeletal body dug into hers, his nails raking the flesh of her arms as she fought him. The others leered in the background, encouraging him to hurt her. Hands slid around her throat and Nico began to squeeze. *** She awoke screaming. Her heart thumped furiously against her ribcage as she tried to pull her hands to her throat. It was then that she realized she was chained, chained to a bed. Where? What? And then it all rushed back to her: the guy in her house, the vertigo, passing out, and the dream. It had been a dream—a nightmare. She‟d had them at least twice a month since Nico‟s death. In
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Violette Dubrinsky
the beginning they‟d been bad, coming every night, but with time, they‟d eased. That one had been so vivid, almost real. “Did you enjoy your dream?” Katrina‟s eyes flitted from the chains holding her hands to the voice. Her captor was leaning against the wall directly before her. The room was still dimly lit, but with her heightened senses, she could see him clearly. As she‟d noticed before, he had blond hair, a kind of golden blond that was pushed back from his face. His eyes were blue, hypnotic blue, almost glowing in his head. He wore a pale blue, button down shirt that was tucked into khaki bottoms.
The first
and second buttons were undone exposing smooth golden hued skin. Katrina blinked, before shaking her head. This guy couldn‟t be her captor. Not only did he look like he was a college TA, or maybe a—as cliché as it sounded— print model, he was smiling like he was her oldest friend. “Who are you?” she asked, wondering if this was a joke. Maybe Carlos had set this up. Even as she
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thought it, she dismissed it. Carlos wouldn‟t go this far. He didn‟t answer, only continued to smile. Frustrated, Katrina tugged at the chains, knowing they would not budge. “Answer me, you sick shit!” When he only remained mute, she threw every curse word that she knew at him, kicking with her legs as she attempted, in vain, to get away from the psycho, his bed, and his damn chains. “I bet you‟re enjoying this!” “I am,” he cut in smoothly. “Tying innocent girls to your bed, and doing whatever you want with them.” He began clapping, an obviously mocking gesture, and the smile seemed to grow in wattage even as a perfect brow lifted. “Fuck you, you sick bastard!” He remained against the wall, looking at her. “You know who I am, Marissa, just as I know you.” “I am NOT Marissa! My name is Katrina Black, and you—you sick son-of-a-bitch—have no idea what will happen if you touch me!”
66
Violette Dubrinsky “Don‟t I?” he replied calmly, and she watched in
both horror and anticipation as he lifted a hand to his shirt and began to undo the rest of the buttons. Horror because the guy before her was a sadistic rapist; anticipation because she was going to kill him. *** Marissa was putting up a very convincing fight, even her memories seemed to be of „Katrina‟, but Hypnos would be stupid to believe her. He was not. Although succubae were mainly known for their sexual appetites, there were a few who were able to access witchery. As he undressed, he watched her recoil in fear and anticipation. He understood both. Marissa was a succubus, a scheming one, so it was only natural that she react this way to him. She‟d trapped him once, and he knew as well as she did, that her life was in his hands. She was buying time, pretending to be this Katrina, pretending that she did not know him. It was futile.
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When his shirt slid from his body, she gasped, and he lifted a brow at her. Wasn‟t she supposed to be terrified Katrina from gods knew where, and not attracted to him? He smirked down at her. She was a beautiful liar. Next, he went to work on his pants. He could have simply wished them away, but that would have had only one effect on the pretentious beauty before him—genuine shock. As they too fell to the floor, she began to sputter, her eyes rounding out as she looked at his very naked physique. Hypnos was perfect, he knew that. He was, after all, a god. It was one of the reasons that Marissa had come to him. Vainglorious as she was, he‟d known when she came to him that she‟d been as much attracted to him physically as she had the thought of taking a god to her bed. He hadn‟t thought her stupid enough to try to keep him there by whatever means necessary, but she obviously was. “Bringing back fond memories?” he asked easily, quirking a brow as she stared at his flaccid organ.
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Violette Dubrinsky “F-fond memories?” she sputtered out, lifting
her eyes to his. She blinked and began another session of tugging on the chains that held her. “It‟s pointless to do that, Marissa. Like the ones you used on me, these were forged in fires beyond your comprehension. The only way out is with a key.” “My name is Katrina!” she hissed out. “Fine,”
he
replied
softly.
She
stilled
momentarily. “Katrina.” He let the word roll over his tongue as he took his first step to her. “Where‟s the key?” she asked softly, halting him in his steps. Her tone had changed. Was she attempting to use her succubus wiles on him? A slow smile curved his lips. “The key is in the box next to the door.” Instead of flinging curses at him, as he‟d come to expect from “Katrina,” she lowered her lids and smiled, licking her lips as she did so. Her entire body relaxed onto the bed, making her seem like a willing participant in a bondage scenario. “Why so far? Afraid I‟ll escape and hurt you?” He closed the distance between them instantly, disappearing from the wall before appearing directly
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next to her. The smile faded as her eyes widened. Fear. This he liked. Moving his fingers across her cheek, before lightly cupping it, he said, “Enough with the pointless chatter. Let‟s get to torturing you, shall we?” He looked down at her clothing, and wished them away. *** One moment her clothes were there, and the next...gone.
Even
her
underwear
was
gone.
Disappeared. Where? She didn‟t know. Katrina looked back to the smug face of the bastard standing next to her and bit back her scream. What she hadn‟t wanted to accept became glaringly clear to her in that moment. He wasn‟t human and he wasn‟t succubae. That was why she couldn‟t scent him at her house. But those were the only things she knew, so what was he? And why did he think she was Marissa? And why was she naked?
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Violette Dubrinsky “What are you going to do?” Her voice shook but
she couldn‟t help it. She was chained to a psycho‟s bed—naked—in said psycho‟s home—and he was also naked. And the psycho wasn‟t even human. Helpless was what she was. “Torture you until you beg me to stop,” he replied, trailing his fingers down her cheek to the pulse that raced frantically at her neck. “What are you?” The bed dipped and then he was partially covering her. His face came in close and she tried to retreat. “I‟m growing tired of this game, Marissa. It will go better for you if you give up the charade.” “If I admit I‟m Marissa, you‟ll tell me what you are?” she asked, watching as those blue eyes swirled in his head. Okay. That was freaky. Possibly freakier than finding out that you had wings, and need sexual energy to survive. Or maybe they were both on the same scale. “Admit who you are, and you may live to see tomorrow,” he answered easily. His fingers still rested against her pulse, and he replaced them with his lips.
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Fear, anger, and a small amount of desire coursed through her at his touch. She was after all a succubus, one who hadn‟t fed in almost two weeks, which was a long time. “Hungry?” he murmured. She didn‟t answer because she didn‟t have to. “I‟ve never pegged you for someone who had self control.” She flinched away as his lips lowered, pressing against that pulse. “You‟re in my head.” What the hell was this guy? “Tell me what you are.” “Tell me what I want to hear,” he countered. Biting her cheek and praying this did not get her killed, she said slowly, “Marissa.” He paused and lifted his head from her neck. “What was that?” As she stared up at him, with a smile forming across his lips, and blue eyes patiently waiting for a confession, Katrina grudgingly admitted that he was beautiful, beautiful and twisted. “I‟m Marissa.”
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Violette Dubrinsky “Hypnos, though I doubt you‟ve forgotten me,”
he replied as if they were having a pleasant conversation in a coffee shop somewhere. His head lowered to her pulse once more, and Katrina blinked to keep the foggy haze away. She could feel her succubus nature awakening. “What are you, Hypnos?” she murmured, despising the breathy sound of her own voice. “I‟m the god you pissed off,” he replied. And then his lips were moving across her skin, his tongue against her cheek. God? she thought, fighting off the red haze that was surely coming. Gods actually existed? When she‟d lived with the succubae community, she‟d heard stories of how the succubae were Hera‟s creation. She hadn‟t believed them. Just found them interesting. And now, a god was standing by her bed, intent on her torture. One question plagued her: Was it possible for a succubus to kill one? “No,” he replied, lips a fraction of an inch from hers. Katrina swallowed, gazing into the intense blue of his eyes from the close distance. “No?”
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His voice was cold as he replied, “No, you cannot kill me. You tried two years ago and failed. It would be a shame if this ended too quickly because you decided to try again.” And then his lips pressed against hers.
Chapter Four It irritated him that he was still attracted to her, that after everything he‟d suffered at her hands, his body—fickle thing that it was—could still want her. It went without question that Marissa was beautiful. She was as he remembered, tall but incredibly curvaceous. At five nine, she wore most of her weight in her full, high breasts, curvy hips, and round buttocks. She‟d dyed her hair, taking it from midnight black tresses to deep auburn locks that only made her more irresistible. But this, this was not about attraction or sex. He had no intention of having sex with her. It was about punishment and torture, and his body seemed to be inflicting some of his very own medicine on himself. When his lips settled on hers, she released a breathy moan that he captured. He could feel her body changing, becoming warmer beneath his skin as it demanded nourishment. He pulled away, watching as her lids lifted slowly. Her eyes glowed amber for a few moments
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before shifting back to their dark color. They flew to his lips, before moving back to his eyes. She wanted him to kiss her again. He could feel the pull to do so, and had he been a human male, he would have been unable to resist. A succubus‟s kiss was like a drug. Sadly, for her, it was not his drug of choice—anymore. Rolling away, he wished his clothes on, and moved from the bed. The chains rattled as she tried to move. Her voice was a nervous hitch as she asked, “What are you doing?” “How do you feel?” he returned, knowing that at the moment, she felt sensitive, anxious, unsated, and still very much hungry. She groaned her displeasure. “Look, whatever I‟ve done to you, I‟m sorry. Okay? See, sorry. I did something to you, you kidnapped me, tied me up. We‟re even now. No hard feelings. Just let me go.” “It‟s never that easy,” he replied, moving to the large trunk with all of his „weapons‟. Pulling out a feather and a short candle, he grinned and turned around.
76
Violette Dubrinsky “What‟s that for?” she demanded, eyeing both
him and the objects warily. “Come now, Marissa. I always thought you were smarter than that.” With that, he moved back to the bed. *** “Don‟t!” Katrina yelped and then moaned as hot wax rolled down her stomach before cooling against her skin. She‟d been biting her lip the first fifteen minutes of this, but she could no longer take it in silence. “You‟re torturing me!” “Yes,” he replied, sounding gruff. The feather moved down to tickle the inside of her thighs and she clenched them together. At least there were no shackles on her feet. “Open,” he commanded. She shook her head, feeling her body cramp viciously in hunger. This was the equivalent of having a full course meal laid out before you and being told
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that you could not eat it. He was a sadistic bastard who enjoyed the pain of others. “Open your legs, Marissa,” he repeated, his voice low and calm. Closing her eyes, she shook her head once more, only to find his hand wrapped about her neck, as he lifted her face closer to his. “No!” she screamed at him, feeling angry tears well in her eyes. He was using her succubus nature to torture her, pleasuring her and then denying her the sexual energy she needed to feed. “You‟re sick! I hope you rot in hell!” “This is your idea of hell,” he muttered nonchalantly. “You‟re a bastard! Sick bastard!” she spat, twisting her neck back and forth. Hypnos was forced to release her or snap it. He released her, probably because death from a broken neck would be too easy and simple a way for her to go. Katrina yanked at the chains, and screamed, “Let me go! Let me go!”
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that came to her mind, before she finally lay back exhausted. “Satisfied?” “NO!” “Good.” “I hate you.” “The feeling‟s mutual, Marissa.” “Don‟t call me Marissa!” “Katrina?” he mocked, lifting the candle over her belly once more. Dried wax already littered the area. “Bastard!” She eyed the candle as he turned it just enough that the hot wax streamed from the top and ran a stream down to her navel. Her head fell back onto the pillow as she tensed, feeling the delicious burn that cooled and easily set her blood on fire. A little moan escaped her. Hypnos chuckled, and then laughed. She wanted to kill him. Never in her life had she wanted to kill someone more. ***
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Katrina whimpered as soft, yet firm, fingers ran the length of her torso. She‟d awoken to his touch, still in pain from being aroused and left unsatisfied. “Who gave you those chains?” She didn‟t answer. The pain was too much. After the incident with Nico, she‟d feared intimacy with another person, and had ended up going almost a month without it. During that time, her body had gone through noticeable changes. Her skin had become lackluster, as close to pale as she could ever become. Dark circles appeared under eyes. Even her hair, usually bouncy and curled, had gone limp, plastering to her head in a sickly way. Her parents and friends had noticed, but she‟d held out, wanting to prove that she wasn‟t a freak. In the end, the succubus had taken over. She‟d dreamt that she‟d snuck out of her house and into a club, had escorted a faceless guy to the bathroom, and had taken what she needed from him. She‟d left him alive— barely. Once she‟d awoken from the haze to find herself fully dressed and seated atop a barely
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conscious man, she‟d made sure to feed at least once every two weeks. He leaned close to her, so close that she could feel his warm breath caressing her sensitive skin. Hypnos repeated his question. Katrina had no idea what he was talking about. She moaned, and twisted her head to one side as she tried to control her breathing. “Marissa...” She heard him chuckle and then his fingers touched her chin, pulling her face to his. “Feed.” His lips pressed to hers. It was all she needed. This had been her way of feeding for years. She latched onto his lips, pulling what she needed from him into her body. The succubus purred happily, and she felt her wings itch to burst from her back. This was what she needed. Hypnos suddenly pulled away, and she groaned. No. What was he doing? It was unusual for someone to have the capacity to pull away from a feeding succubus, but if Hypnos hadn‟t lied, he was a god. “Who gave you the chains, Marissa?” She‟d fed enough that she was coherent. No longer was her body writhing in pain, but she was not
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fulfilled. What Hypnos had given her was a taste, a mouthful of water after a long dehydration. “I don‟t know what you‟re talking about. I‟ve never met you, I swear. I don‟t know a Marissa. Please.” Katrina closed her eyes and swallowed. “Please.” “What I just gave you should last a few hours, Marissa. If you tell me who gave you those shackles, I may consider feeding you again.” Opening her eyes, she watched as he watched her. There was no sympathy on his face, no regret. He looked determined, and cold. She shook her head, and closed her eyes. A few hours he‟d said. He was right. “You said you‟re—a god.” “Yes?” “Can‟t you tell if I‟m lying?” He moved slightly, pushing to a standing position and looking down at her. A mocking smile curved his lips. “You‟re a succubus, Marissa. I wouldn‟t believe anything that came from those pretty lips of yours.”
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Violette Dubrinsky “What about memories? Can you—read—those?” “All of your memories are of Katrina, Marissa.” Eyes narrowing, she nodded. “Exactly. I‟m not
Marissa.” He laughed, and shook his head. “You‟ve always been strong, even for a succubus. It should be child‟s play to switch your memories for another‟s.” “I am not Marissa!” “Yet everything about you says that you are.” “What—what are you going to do to me?” Her lids fell. She couldn‟t look at him, didn‟t want to see him. How could she prove to someone unwilling to listen that she wasn‟t the woman he thought her? He didn‟t answer for a long moment, and she relaxed a bit, thinking that he‟d left. “I‟m going to do exactly what you did to me, Marissa. I am going to watch you suffer, and when that‟s finished, I will watch you suffer more.” She shuddered, but refused to open her eyes. A harsh laugh left her lips, a laugh brought on by the insanity of the situation. She was trapped by an angry god who thought she was someone else. “You find this funny?”
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“You‟re torturing the wrong person.” She paused to let that sink in. He probably wouldn‟t believe her anyway, but she needed to say it. “You said you‟re a god, but you‟re lying—I know you are.” “Why?” “I can‟t believe someone as powerful as a god would make such a stupid mistake.” Katrina didn‟t hear anything for minutes, and opened her eyes. He was gone. She turned her head, searching him out. He‟d left the room. Good. Closing her eyes, she prayed for sleep. In sleep, she wouldn‟t have to deal with the hunger. *** “What do you wish of me, brother?” Hypnos blinked and turned in the direction of the haunting voice. As it was, he was currently perched on a blood red sofa in his sisters‟ domain. It wasn‟t that striking an occurrence but for the fact that the manor-like residence belonged to Clotho, Lashesis and Atropos, whom everyone referred to as the Fates.
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Powerful gods and demi-gods alike feared them. Despite the homey feel of the living room in which he sat, he was willing to bet that his visit was probably one of the few they‟d had in months, if not years. “You told me months ago that it was my destiny to find Marissa.” As he spoke, he watched Atropos work, using a large pair of shears to snip at threads as if they were nothing but stitches gone wrong. With every snip that marked the death of a human, immortal or god, Atropos made a little sound in the back of her throat. “It is,” she said, not bothering to spare him a glance. Of the three, Atropos was the most level headed. She was also the oldest, and the one who rattled off the prophecies. “Has my destiny been fulfilled?” He watched as she held out a dark hand, and a thread, shiny and glowing, appeared. A little smile touched her lips. Without asking, Hypnos knew the thread represented a new life. “Have you found your succubus?” Atropos asked instead. Hypnos frowned. This was why he disliked having conversations with the Fates, particularly with
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all-seeing, all-knowing Atropos. She usually answered questions with questions. “You are the Seer, sister.” An easy chuckle came from Atropos, and she waved a hand. The loom on which she‟d worked immediately disappeared and she turned her full attention to him. Atropos was beautiful, in a dark, at times, deceptive way. Her complexion was just a few shades away from midnight, her hair and eyebrows completely white. In her features, despite her coloring, he saw their mother; in some of her attitudes, their father. “I am one of the Fates, Hypnos. I know everything because I see it. I told you that it was your destiny to find Marissa, did I not? And you have found your succubus.” He felt a sigh of relief leave his body. His reasons for being here were directly because of Marissa. Although he‟d known instinctively that she was lying, pretending to be someone she was not, he‟d had doubts. She was so good at lying and deceiving that he‟d almost bought it.
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Violette Dubrinsky “Thank you, Atty,” Hypnos said, using the
nickname that she pretended to hate but secretly loved. He stood to leave and found her standing directly before him. Her eyes, which were usually a dark grey that appeared black, had bled to white, a matching color for her hair. Hypnos felt his stomach drop in anticipation of the prophecy. “Your destiny remains intertwined with the succubus, Hypnos. Fight it, and you both will suffer.” Her eyes shifted back to black and she blinked, taking a step away from him. “What did I say?” she demanded immediately. Whenever she prophesized, Atropos didn‟t remember it. It was why her sisters were usually near her, to recite back what she‟d said. “That my destiny is intertwined with a succubus and that I shouldn‟t fight it.” “Hmph.” With a nod, she turned away. “Have you found the answers to your questions, brother?” “Yes. Thank you.” As he left her domain, Hypnos wondered what that meant. Was Marissa destined to be his consort?
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He scoffed at the thought. Before he made that mistake, he would kill her. Artopos‟s prophecy came back to him. Fight it, and you both will suffer. Gods, what did that mean? He would have asked, but asking Atropos one question usually led to prophecies that most people would rather not hear. The fact that she‟d confirmed that Marissa was in his domain was enough for now. He would ask her the meaning of that prophecy at a later date.
Chapter Five She awoke starving. Her body was beginning to feed off of itself, and just as that sounded, it was painful. A hoarse cry left her lips as her eyes flew open. Scanning the room, she found no indication that he was there. “Hypnos,” she cried, her voice low and hoarse. The sustenance that he‟d given her had worn off. Now, her body demanded more. And he could give it to her. The amount of pain that she was feeling did not leave her above begging. “Hypnos!” Something moved to her left and she turned in that direction. A woman, tall and thin, with red hair that was a shade lighter than her own, moved over to her. “Help me. Please.” The woman didn‟t speak for long moments, before she opened her lips and muttered three words, “So much pain.” “Please!” Her voice caught on a sob as her wings began to dig viciously into her back. She‟d come to the
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realization years ago that her wings were a direct reaction to her hunger. Whenever she was hungry or when she fed, they made some sort of appearance. A hand reached out to touch her face, and the woman gasped, and quickly withdrew her hand. She was reaching out for her once more when Hypnos‟s voice, loud and commanding said, “What are you doing in my domain, Oizys?” Oizys took a step away from her, as they both turned their attention to the angered god. “Pain, Hypnos. She‟s in such pain.” “I know that, Oizys, but why are you here?” Oizys drew up to her full height and stared at the god. “Her pain drew me—” “Return to your domain, Oizys. This has nothing to do with you.” “She will die, Hypnos.” “It is no concern of yours, Oizys, what I choose to do with the succubus who held me for months.” Oizys drew a deep breath, and returned her attention to her. Grey eyes hardened. Katrina shook
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her head, seeing that her only ally was about to desert her. “No—please—it wasn‟t me,” she murmured, biting her lip as the pain grew to unbearable proportions. Tears welled in her eyes, and she tugged at the chains that held her until her wrists began to bleed. The woman cast a final glance at her before vanishing into the air. “You are an amazing actress, Marissa,” Hypnos said from across the room. He‟d changed into another outfit. A white polo shirt and dark bottoms. When she didn‟t answer, he approached the bed and eyed her dispassionately. “Who gave you the chains?” “No one! I...I stole them.” Katrina didn‟t know what she was saying, but hell, she was saying whatever it was that would get her the next feeding. “From whom?” “A man.” She writhed on the bed, thinking of some man she could use in her description. She pictured her drunk. “He‟s tall and blond.” She swallowed, feeling as though someone had dumped
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sand down her throat. “He has a limp. I stole them from him. Now, feed me!” *** From the moment she‟d said that she‟d stolen them, Hypnos had not believed her. But as she proceeded to tell him from whom, his views changed. Tall, blond, and with a slight limp, was what she‟d said. That sounded like the person he‟d been trailing when he came across her. “And how did you steal the chains?” “He was drunk,” she half moaned, half cried. “He was drunk and I took them.” That sounded plausible. When he‟d gone to Wichita after following the god‟s essence, he‟d been surprised to find him being practically hauled out of a bar by a bouncer. “Good girl,” he murmured, taking in her naked body, flushed with need. “Please,” she begged, tugging at the chains. His eyes caught the blood that encased her wrist and he
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felt a pang of guilt, a pang that he pushed far away. When she was sucking his life from him had she felt any regret? He doubted it. If not for Amara and Rae, he would have died at her hands. Removing his clothes, he lay flush against her body, resisting the urge to moan at her smooth softness. Her eyes had shifted to that amber color again, and were focused on his lips. “Kiss me,” she commanded, and even as a god, he felt the overwhelming pull capture those full lips with his. “Feed me. Kiss me,” Hypnos mocked, brushing his lips across hers. She groaned when he pulled away, and glared up at him. He smiled. “You are my captive, succubus. Not the other way around.” His lips swept down and found her neck. “Do you understand?” She nodded and groaned. “Now, ask nicely.” “Please...please...” “Much, much better.” He captured her lips in the next second, trying to ignore the way her little whimpers and moans were affecting his body. By the gods, Marissa was hot. She
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could tempt a dead man. Her body gyrated slightly under his, coaxing him to want her, need her. She didn‟t have to try because staring at her naked body had already done that. Once that was achieved, he felt the pull. Her lips continued to work against his, but she was feeding, drinking off of his sexual energy. Of their own accord, his hands moved down to her legs, dragging up the sides with the tips of his fingers. She moaned and kissed him harder, pushing her legs apart under him so that his hips were now cradled between them. His cock pressed against her heat, and he groaned. He needed to stop this. Now. Pulling his lips from hers was the equivalent of cutting off his limb. Painful. With a shocked gasp, he lifted his head and looked down at her. “I need you,” she whispered in a voice that could tempt even the biggest of saints. She rocked against his erection, allowing him to feel the hot slipperiness waiting for him. “I need you, Hypnos.” And then she pushed up, and caught his lips. With a pained groan, Hypnos kissed her back.
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Violette Dubrinsky He was a god, dammit, and she was his captive!
Yet in that moment he felt like their roles were reversed. She was in control and he was once more chained. Hypnos hated that feeling, but loved how eagerly her body responded to his. Her legs locked around his waist, and she gyrated upwards, giving him the only invitation he needed. “Marissa,” he groaned, both in anger and lust. She broke the kiss instantly, turning her head to the side as she struggled to bring her breathing under control. Her legs released him as well. Confused, Hypnos glared at her. Her eyes were closed. “Thank you for feeding me. Now get off.” *** He couldn‟t believe it. One moment the succubus was hot for him, practically begging him to take her, and the next, she was thanking him coolly like he‟d returned her pocketbook and telling him she no longer needed his services? That coupled with the fact that he had an erection that could split wood did not put him in the best of moods.
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Pushing his body away from her, he dressed immediately. Not because she‟d commanded him to, but because that had been his original plan. He‟d never intended to have sex with her, although he had no doubt that in a few seconds, had she not clammed up out of the blue, he would have been buried inside her. As he dressed, she kept her head turned away from him. Growing irritated with the perfection of her body, he wished her clothes back on. A little gasp left her lips but that was his only indication that she was aware of what happened. With a mental curse, Hypnos left the room. He needed time away from her, to think. He‟d intended to torture and murder her, and while the torture part seemed to be going well, he couldn‟t quite see himself killing her. Not yet anyway. Remembering who she‟d described taking the shackles from, he left his domain on Tartarus. Hypnos needed to speak with him anyway. ***
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Violette Dubrinsky “How long are you going to hide here?” The question was directed at the large man who
was either tossed, or who had thrown himself unceremoniously onto a bed that was too small. His feet, still encased in brown boots, were practically touching the floor despite the fact that most of his body was spread across the bed. Hypnos perched against the wall and waited for him to get his bearings. “What—who—Hypnos?” Hephaestus was a fearsome god. He‟d been one of Zeus‟s warriors, instrumental in the defeat of the Titans, yet here he was, nursing what had to be the mother of all hangovers. How he‟d managed to even get drunk, Hypnos did not know. Human liquor was like water for the gods. He could down bottles of whisky, gin, rum, and vodka, and feel as if he‟d taken nothing. The only way that Hephaestus could get this drunk was if he was using something from Mount Olympus or perhaps something from overindulgent Dionysus. “Yes. How do you know Marissa?”
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Bound: The Dark God Saga “Cronus‟s
balls,
Hypnos!
Keep
it
down!”
Hephaestus whispered, clutching at his head. Looking around the small place, Hypnos commented, “You would trade your domain on Mount Olympus for a smelly shack on earth?” Hephaestus, as Zeus‟s most trusted warrior and husband of Aphrodite, had one of the larger domains on Mount Olympus. This shack was perhaps the size of one of his bathrooms, maybe smaller. “I take offense to that. It is not smelly.” Hephaestus scratched at his beard, and opened one blood-shot eye to look around. “It could use a woman‟s touch—but it is not smelly.” “You smell,” Hypnos said easily. It was not a lie. The god smelled like a wastebasket of liquor. “Why are you here, Hypnos?” Hephaestus demanded, glaring at him. “I wanted to ask a few questions about Marissa.” When there was no recognition in the god‟s eyes of that name, Hypnos added, “She also goes by the name of Katrina.”
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Violette Dubrinsky Hephaestus‟s eyes narrowed immediately, and
he winced and pushed himself to his feet. Hypnos watched as fresh clothing appeared on his body, along with a freshened scent, for which he was glad. “Why are you curious about her?” Deciding that it was best not to tell Hephaestus that she was currently shackled to his bed by the very chains that Hephaestus had forged for him, Hypnos said, “She‟s a succubus.” The other god nodded once. “Yes. And?” For a moment, Hypnos wondered if Hephaestus and Marissa had been lovers. Irrational jealously tore at his heart and he pushed it away. Every god on Mount
Olympus
and
in
Tartarus
knew
that
Hephaestus would not take a lover. He was too much in love with his bitch of a wife. “Did you lose any of your chains while you were on earth?” He shook his head once, and grimaced after. “Are you certain you would remember?” “Don‟t
presume
because
you‟ve
seen
me
intoxicated Hypnos, that I am a foolish drunk. I have
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my reasons for doing what I do, but I would never bring those chains here.” Hypnos nodded. So either Hephaestus was a complete drunk who didn‟t remember things, or Marissa was lying. Despite what he‟d witnessed today, he was inclined to believe the latter. “You haven‟t answered my question, Hypnos.” Lifting his brows, Hypnos waited. “Why are you curious about my bartender?” “She‟s beautiful.” True enough but he was still lying. He didn‟t have to say it to know that if he mentioned
anything
about
having
Hephaestus‟s
„bartender‟ tied to his bed, the god would try to hurt him. He relaxed a smidgen and grunted. Moving around the small shack and favoring his right leg, the god said gruffly, “Yes. But she‟s not your type. She‟s just a small town girl with a good heart, so leave her alone.” Small town girl? Good heart? Hypnos scoffed. How the hell had she fooled Hephaestus? As he watched the god of fire rampage
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around looking for something, he decided that it wasn‟t that hard, especially as the god only saw her when he was drunk. *** He had to have been gone for at least an hour. Katrina eyed the door, and then the bedroom, wondering where she was. Maybe an apartment? A god keeping her in an apartment? She shook her head. What did she know of gods? Nothing really. Before she‟d dropped out of high school, she‟d taken a class on the history of Greek gods. She could not remember seeing anything about Hypnos. And even if she remembered his name, she had no idea what his powers were. So she knew nothing of her captor except that he was a tall, handsome, twisted, bastard who kept her chained to his bed. Katrina felt a cramp, and winced. She‟d fed her succubus, but now her stomach was protesting. In that moment, she realized that the last time she‟d eaten had to have been many, many hours ago. Katrina decided that now was as good a time as any to scream.
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Opening her lips, she let loose a piercing cry, praying that someone other than Hypnos would hear it. *** Simone Aeron, beloved wife and companion to Death—she
always
chuckled
at that endearing
thought—bolted upright as the scream pierced through her erotic dreams of her lover. Breathing harshly, she looked around, searching out Thanatos and knowing that he was not there. He was gone again, taking souls to the afterlife. A little shudder ran through her body as she slipped from the bed and clothed her nakedness in a knee-length black silk robe. Silence. Her mind was racing with thoughts of whom the scream could belong to, or if in fact she‟d actually heard a scream—since her pregnancy her ears had been picking up on things previously unheard—when it started again. Clutching her noticeably rounded belly, she took a step to the door and halted.
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Violette Dubrinsky Thanatos would be upset if she followed it. He
would tell her that she should have waited for him, that she could have been killed or harmed because that was
what
her
husband
enjoyed
doing,
being
protective—chastising her for even walking too far in his domain. On most days, Thanatos seemed to forget that she was a handmaiden with Death as her husband and Hera, queen of gods, as her protector. Even after two years that last thought did not endear her. She enjoyed Hera‟s company about as much as she enjoyed bad journalism. The scream had died down only to come again, and this time, it ended on a sob. “Help me! Please!” Maybe she could have ignored the scream. It was strange to hear one in this part of Tartarus, so it wasn‟t the best idea necessarily to trace it. But she could not ignore such a pitiful plea. The woman was near, meaning that she was in one of the domains close to Thanatos. Since only his family lived close to them, one of them had her. How strange. Tying the belt of the robe as tight around her
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middle as possible, Simone went in search of the owner of the voice. *** Katrina had given up. Her throat hurt, and her lungs were on fire. That was all she got for hoping that someone would come to her rescue. Closing her eyes, she frowned. He was going to kill her. She would fight him every step of the way, but that was what he intended. It saddened her that she wouldn‟t get to see her parents one last time before she died. She wanted to apologize for running away, to tell them that it wasn‟t their fault. She heard a door open and turned immediately to it. Hypnos never used doors. Standing in the entrance, and looking very uncomfortable was a brown-skinned woman wearing a silky, black robe. Her hair, thick, long and black, ran down her chest and back.
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Violette Dubrinsky Katrina blinked, and shook her head. When she
opened her eyes and the woman was still standing there, she said softly, “Are you real?” “Who are you?” the woman asked, looking around the room in shock before her startled brown eyes came once more to rest on Katrina. She took a step forward and narrowed her eyes. “You have to get me out of here before he comes back,” Katrina rushed out, eyeing the door. “He?” The woman was obviously still in shock because her eyes kept wondering around the torture chamber as if unable to comprehend it. “Hypnos! The bastard who‟s keeping me here.” “Hypnos? Keeping you here?” The woman didn‟t sound like she believed her. “The key is in the box next to you. Please—” “What did you do to him?” Typical, Katrina thought with a snarl. She was tied up to the psycho‟s bed and the second person to her rescue was asking what she had done to him? “I didn‟t do anything to him!” she yelled, feeling a twinge of guilt as the woman flinched away from her.
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“Look, please, just unbind these chains. I promise I won‟t hurt you. Please.” The woman was about to answer when Hypnos suddenly appeared. Katrina‟s eyes widened at the sight of him. She watched as he looked from her to the recoiling woman, before he walked over to the woman, took her arm, and they both disappeared. Katrina released an aggravated screech. She‟d been so close to being freed. The woman had been compassionate.
Now,
Hypnos
had
taken
her
somewhere. Katrina hoped she hadn‟t gotten whoever it was in trouble. Her stomach roared again, and she groaned. She‟d forgotten to ask for the one thing she really needed above all else. Food!
Chapter Six Hypnos admitted that Marissa was turning out to be even more of a pain than he‟d anticipated. He should have gagged her—that disturbing screech of hers could wake the dead—but he‟d wanted out of that room quickly and had forgotten. It was for that reason that he currently had Simone, his brother‟s wife and one of his staunch advocates, glaring at him like he was an unruly five year old mortal child. “She‟s human!” Simone accused, jabbing her index finger in his direction and pacing in the opulent room that usually served to entertain his guests—those of the knocking variety. Because Simone was his brother‟s wife, she flashed herself into his domain at will without setting off any alarms that intruders, who got past the place‟s staunch defenses, would face. “No. She‟s succubae.” Simone recoiled and blinked. “As in creature that sucks the life out of men in the throes of passion?” “Yes.”
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Undaunted, Simone‟s eyes narrowed as she continued to glare. “Why do you have a succubus chained to your bed?” “We‟re playing at bondage,” he answered slowly. Simone lifted a brow as her nostrils flared. “You don‟t believe me.” She shook her head and glared. “No. She‟s not in your bed willing l….” “Go home, Simone,” Hypnos interrupted. “I don‟t want to lie to you any more than I have to.” “If you can‟t give me a good reason to leave her there, then I‟m not leaving without her.” And this was the reason he wanted to strangle the succubus. Simone knew that he would never physically force her to leave. He loved his twin and his life too much to do that. As such, he had a dilemma. He could tell her the truth, which no one but Thanatos, Moros, the Fates and Oizys knew, or he could invent another lie that she would not believe. Simone might be a handmaiden but her ability to sniff out lies sometimes made him believe she was more.
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Violette Dubrinsky “I have my reasons, Simone. You‟ll have to trust
me.” “No, Hypnos,” Simone said, shaking her head. She took a step away before lifting her arms to indicate him. “This—this—isn‟t you. Tying an unwilling woman to your bed?” She stopped and a look of absolute horror crossed her face as she glared at him. “Oh my God. Did you rape her?” “No. It‟s not about that,” he bit out harshly. Explaining himself to his brother‟s female was not what he currently needed. “Please.
Just return to
your domain.” “Then what is this about? You have a naked woman chained to your bed, Hypnos! I‟ve been around here long enough to know that that‟s not how things are done. Who is she? Why is she chained to your bed?” Where the hell was his brother? Hypnos wondered irately. He needed to come and get his woman. “Her name is Marissa,” he bit out through clenched teeth.
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“And that tells me nothing of why she‟s chained to your bed.” “Go back to Thanatos, Simone. You are my brother‟s wife, but this is still my domain.” “You‟re
kicking
me
out?”
she
sounded
incredulous. “I‟m asking you to leave.” He paused and looked at her furious expression. “Would you like me to take you back?” “No!” she snapped. “I walked here fine and I‟ll get back just the same.” Spinning around, she headed for the door. “I‟ll be back, Hypnos, and when I come back, I‟m bringing your brother so that he can see that you have obviously lost your mind.” When she stormed out, Hypnos shook his head and returned to Marissa. She flinched at the sight of him and he smiled sinisterly. Grabbing a ball gag from his trunk of „toys‟, he made his way over to her. “Get that away from me,” Katrina hissed angrily.
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Violette Dubrinsky He ignored her. “I hope you enjoyed your last
hour of yelling.” His fingers moved to her lips and pried them apart. “Open wide, Marissa.” She did. That should have warned him. As soon as he placed the ball gag close to her lips, she bit his finger. “Gods!” he hissed, pulling the angry red digit back. Teeth marks were imbedded in his index finger. A wicked little smile crossed her lips. She was lucky he didn‟t hit women because he was sorely tempted to at the moment. Grabbing her cheeks with one hand, he forced her mouth open and placed the red ball gag inside. Lifting her head, he secured the clasp and grinned down at her. *** The smug son-of-a-bitch. He was enjoying this. She hated him, and he was enjoying it. Katrina looked away from his face, and shook her head.
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Her stomach growled and her eyes flew to him. Hypnos had obviously heard it because he was staring directly at her belly with a blond brow raised. “Someone‟s hungry again?” She watched him disappear before her eyes, only to reappear seconds later with a plate filled with something. Something that smelled wonderful, almost like custard. “I‟m going to have to remove the gag to feed this to you,” he mused aloud. He did not look pleased at the thought. “But I‟m not sure I want to. Maybe I‟ll eat this myself?” Evil bastard. “If you swear not to utter a word, maybe I‟ll do it.” She nodded. Katrina was so hungry that she would‟ve nodded to anything that helped her chances of being fed. He placed the plate on the bed and went to work on the gag. As soon as it was removed, he watched her with narrowed eyes, as if daring her to utter a sound. She wasn‟t that stupid. Lifting the plate, he used a
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spoon to cut a portion of the golden dessert before giving it to her. Katrina purred as it touched her lips. She‟d never had anything like this before. Chewing slowly, she savored the taste before swallowing. Immediately, she felt like she‟d taken a shot of espresso. Energy rushed back to her in waves. Her stomach was appeased. Her body felt rejuvenated. “That‟s enough for you,” she heard Hypnos say. When she opened her eyes, the plate was gone. “What was that?” “Something you‟ll never eat again,” he answered. “Because I‟ll never see you again after this?” she asked, hope evident in her voice. He smirked down at her. “No, because the nectar of the gods isn‟t something that a succubus eats on a regular basis.” She stared at him for a long moment, before finally saying, “Whoever this Marissa woman was, she obviously did something really terrible to you, but don‟t you think you‟re being a tad psychotic tying up women who look like her?” “Do you really think that‟s going to work on me?”
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His eyes narrowed and grew chilled. Blue diamonds. They reminded her of a blue diamond she‟d once glimpsed in the window of a jewelry shop in the city. Cold but beautiful. Katrina shivered slightly. “I‟m not playing any games, Hypnos. I am not Marissa. I promise you—” “Keep your promises to yourself. I don‟t want them.” He stood and moved over to the chest with all of those
instruments.
She
saw
him
pause
and
contemplate and then he reached into it. When he turned to her, he was holding a blindfold, a whip, and handcuffs. She eyed him cautiously, knowing that he intended to use them on her. As he made his way back to her, he spoke, “Intermission is over, Marissa. It‟s time we got back to torturing that beautiful body of yours.” *** Hypnos was certain that somewhere along the way, he‟d ended up torturing himself. The first thing
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he‟d done was blindfold her. She hadn‟t been happy about that, and had thrown so many curses at him that he‟d gagged her as well. After that, he‟d used his fingers and the whip to caress her breasts, her inner thighs, and any available skin on her body that seemed to beg for his touch. Her moans through the gag made his cock harder. When he began to use the whip on her, her angry shrieks told him she hated him. But as the soft, but stinging, lashes continued falling across her legs, her pubes, her breasts and her arms, those shrieks turned to moans. The blindfold and gag began to irritate him and he removed them, watching her face and listening to her cries of pain-mingled-pleasure as he tortured her. Her eyes had gone amber, and every time he touched her, be it with his fingers or the whip, she sucked her bottom lip into her mouth. Those eyes begged him to take her, and he wasn‟t immune to them. He moved away, grabbing the key from the box and undoing the shackles. Before she could react to her freedom, he flipped her over, brought her hands together and handcuffed them to the headboard.
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“Hypnos,” she began. His hand came down against her ass, and she cried out and moaned. He squeezed and caressed the hurt, which only made her press closer to his heat. What the hell had he hoped to achieve by doing this again? Torture. Right. Pulling away from her body, he reached for the bendable whip. She looked over her shoulder at him, her curls cascading down her back. Hypnos wouldn‟t have thought it possible, but his cock grew even larger. His pants were stifling him, but he kept them on. He didn‟t want to do anything he would regret, like take her. Using the whip, he dragged it over her beautiful butt cheeks, watching as they clenched in anticipation of it. Marissa had an ass that he could easily get lost in. Strange that he hadn‟t remembered that before now. When she relaxed, he brought the whip down. She flinched forward but kept in her cry. He was over her in a heartbeat, using her hair to pull her head back. “I want to hear you scream, Marissa,” he said, his voice raspy and low. She turned her head to the
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side and he kissed the side of her lips. “Scream for me.” Removing his hand from her hair, he caressed her swaying breasts before pushing himself to his feet once more. The whip danced over her ass again, leaving fine, red marks and she cried out, moaning his name. He stopped when he could take no more. Hypnos was facing a dilemma. If he didn‟t leave right now, he was going to fuck her. She was too tempting, and he wanted her too much. He‟d just turned away from her when her voice, low and seductive, stopped him, “Where are you going?” “Rest.” The word came out strained. “You‟ll need your energy for what I intend later.” “Now,” she countered in an urgent voice. Her lids were lowered, the long lashes fanning her cheek. “Give it to me now.” ***
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Hypnos wasn‟t sure any man, human or immortal, could have resisted that plea. His clothes vanished—he must have wished them away; his body draped hers—he must have moved it there. She moaned under him, spreading her knees apart. His fingers found her center and she mewled, pressing back against them. Slowly, he pressed two fingers forward, cursing when tightness gripped those digits. He knew for a fact that Marissa wasn‟t a virgin, so the only alternative was that she‟d somehow refrained, in the last weeks or months, from sex. Her hips worked against his fingers, frantically seeking pleasure, until he removed them. The look she cast him was meant to chastise. Ignoring her, he ran his hands over her soft cheeks, squeezing before spreading them apart. Perfect. Pink and glistening for him, she was ready. Taking a hold of his cock, he pressed it to her heat. “Oh God yes!”
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Violette Dubrinsky He chuckled at her choice of words. Instead of
plunging forward as he was dying to do, he ran the head across her slit, moving it down to her engorged button before bringing it back to her center. “Hypnos!” “Quiet,
succubus,”
he
murmured,
leaning
forward and down to kiss her neck. She moaned but listened to him. Hypnos had never been a huge fan of bondage play, but with Marissa, the eroticism level was completely blowing his mind. He slowly came into her, pausing to clutch palms full of her ass cheeks as the tightness of her body encased him. Halfway buried, he paused to breathe before continuing. Once he was pressed up against the back of her legs, they both released a deep breath. His hand slid under her body and found her clit, strumming it as she gripped the bars of the headboard and moaned. He began to thrust, shallow thrusts that ripped groans from his throat and hot, needy whimpers from hers. “Mmm, Hypnos,” she moaned as his thrusts grew longer and faster. Fuck. Although the view of her
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ass jiggling as he tunneled deep was amazing, he wanted to see her face. He pulled from her body, and Marissa cried out at the loss. He felt her pain. Without much thought, he gripped the handcuffs between his hands and tugged, hearing the screech of iron against iron as they yanked from the bed. Flipping her onto her back—he wanted to see and feel those breasts—he covered her body. Her arms, now freed from their shackles, went around his neck as she pulled him down to her. His knees pushed her thighs wide and then he was inside her again. They both moaned as Hypnos took her wildly. Her legs went around his hips immediately, locking him to her. He felt the pull as she fed, and didn‟t care. The only thing on his mind was just how incredibly hot the woman beneath him was. All those years ago, when she‟d lured him to her, he‟d found her attractive. Before she‟d chained him, the sex had been good. But good sex was like good food in Hypnos‟s world, just above average.
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Violette Dubrinsky What he was experiencing now had to be the
best sex he‟d had in his centuries of life. And he‟d had lots. Her muscles clamped down on him and she tugged her lips free, struggling to breathe as her orgasm washed over them. It was during this time, during this connection, that most succubae took their fill. It was also during this time that they killed their victims. Hypnos felt the heat, the slight burn that came as she fed, and buried his face in her neck, waiting for her to sate herself. When she was finished, he pressed on, pushing into her tight body until he came. *** Katrina couldn‟t move. She didn‟t want to move. Her last sexual encounter had been with the incubus male from the succubae community in which she‟d stayed. That had been years ago. She‟d never slept with another man for fear of killing him. But with Hypnos, it was different. There was no need to rein in that part of herself. She‟d watched him through hazy,
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half lidded eyes as her orgasm washed over her, had watched as he only buried his face in her neck and waited for her to finish, before coming inside of her. Now, he was draped over her body, his softening organ still inside of her. His breathing was heavy and even, making her believe that he was asleep. Lifting her hands to his hair, she gently ran her fingers through the silky mass. It was too bad he was a psychotic, bastard of a god who‟d kidnapped the wrong girl, because he definitely was handsome, and able to withstand her succubus nature. Plus, he‟d made her toes curl with what he‟d just done to her. Gently, she rolled to her side, taking his heavy mass with her. His cock slipped from her and she moaned quietly at the feeling. He was sleeping. His hair was no longer pushed away from his face but falling into it. Pushing herself up for the first time in hours, she stretched her arms above her head and rubbed at her achy wrists. They were red and bruised, but the cuts had long faded. As a succubus, immortal as they were, she healed very quickly.
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Violette Dubrinsky Without wasting another moment, she leapt
from the bed and headed for the door. What they‟d shared had been beautiful, but Katrina did not fool herself into thinking that Hypnos had been making love to her. He‟d been fucking Marissa. She half expected him to grab her as soon as she stood but he didn‟t. When no hand snatched her as she reached the door, she looked back to find that he was in the same position. An unconscious smile tugged at her lips, one that she wiped instantly. So what he looked like a boy as he slept? That boy had kidnapped, and tortured her! When she stepped from the room, she found herself in a dark hallway, lit by candles. The slight draft alerted her to the fact that she was naked. Refusing to go back into the room for a sheet, she eyed the windows, and after finding a nice curtain, pulled it down and tied it around her body. With that covering her, she made her way through his house. She‟d just made it into a stunningly beautiful living room, and was tasting freedom on her lips, when a voice, quiet but powerful, spoke from behind her, “What are you doing?”
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She spun quickly, sending the curtain to the ground and overturning a vase that was perched against the wall. As it crashed to the floor, Katrina looked into the eyes of a man who scared the hell out of her, a tall man with stormy, grey eyes, black hair, and a large scowl on his face. The fact that he wore black all over didn‟t endear him much either. He
repeated
his
question.
Katrina
was
contemplating running when she felt a presence at her back. A familiar arm slid around her breasts, and a large, warm hand cupped her intimately. He was shielding her forgotten nakedness from the man before her. “She‟s mine, Thanatos, and she‟s not going anywhere.”
Chapter Seven “Marissa?” Thanatos questioned as soon as Hypnos returned. He‟d returned his sneaky succubus to the bed after shackling her to it this time, and because he couldn‟t resist, he‟d planted a quick, punishing kiss against those pouty lips. Too bad she‟d responded and had almost made him forget that his twin was waiting for him. “Yes.” “You‟re going to kill her?” his brother continued, watching him with intense grey eyes. “Eventually,” he replied, disliking the feeling that the thought brought. “You‟ve upset my wife.” Thanatos eyed him dispassionately as he spoke and Hypnos struggled to maintain his cool. He knew that if he pointed out the obvious, that Simone had been in his domain where she shouldn‟t have been, Thanatos would grow upset, and they would probably try to hurt each other. While his brother could be extremely irrational when it came
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to Simone, Hypnos loved him, and owed him his life. He would always avoid injuring him if it came to that. “Apologize to her for me. It was not my intent.” Thanatos shrugged, his anger deflating instantly. “She doesn‟t understand because I haven‟t shared with her all that you suffered.” “And you won‟t.” Thanatos looked offended that Hypnos had even said that but spoke, “And I won‟t.” “Good.” He turned and was heading back to Marissa when Thanatos‟s voice stopped him. “Brother?” Hypnos looked over his shoulder. “If you‟re going to torture her, you should at least put to use the gag you stole from my domain.” Lifting a brow, Hypnos replied, “I thought you no longer had need for things like that.” “You thought wrong.” With
that,
Thanatos
disappeared,
Hypnos to shake his head after his brother. ***
leaving
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Violette Dubrinsky “Where were you going, Marissa?” Katrina dreaded his return and now that it was
upon her, she could only watch as he made his way over, unabashed in his glorious nakedness. Walking around naked as he was, she decided that the man could easily be a sculpture. Everything about him was cut. His abs were hard and defined; his pecs, beautiful. He had strong legs with runner‟s thighs and beautiful calves. His cock was long and thick, despite its flaccidity. Katrina felt her mouth grow dry as she saw it begin to harden. Lifting her gaze quickly, she realized that he was watching her. “I wanted some water,” she rushed out. It was a lie. Even she could hear the lie in her own voice. “Water?” he repeated, continuing his slow walk over to her side. “And where did you intend to find it?” “I assumed you had a kitchen,” she muttered in a surly fashion. “I do, but you don‟t know where it is.”
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“I would have eventually found it,” she snapped, blowing strands of hair from near her lips. When Hypnos had picked her up and brought her screaming back to the bed, her hair had come undone. Now there was hair in her eye, across her forehead and lips. “You‟re beautiful when you lie,” he murmured, pushing her hair from her face and leaning down to capture her lips. She shuddered and parted her lips for his insistent tongue. Katrina moaned, unconsciously returning his kiss. Hypnos might be a psychopathic asshole, but when it came to matters of seduction, he was a god. Quite literally. Pulling away suddenly, he undid the chains and she gasped at the freedom. He moved onto the bed and pulled her onto him. Her legs parted of their own volition. Moisture pooled between her thighs upon seeing his erection. From the moment she‟d witnessed it growing to now, it had to have grown over two inches. The head was large, smooth and red, pulsing with need. When he kissed her, she kissed him back fervently, moving her hips against the tip that aimed
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straight for her pussy. His hands clasped around her waist and she moaned as he moved her back and forth so that his plush head kissed her clit with every movement. She stopped the movements, grabbing his hand and lowering her body onto his erection. His head went back in pleasure and she kissed the large tendons in his neck and licked at his lightly salted skin. Moaning at his addictive taste, she slid further down, biting her lip and clutching her breasts in her hands, as he went deep. When she was fully seated, she opened her eyes to find his eyes glued to her breasts over-spilling from her fingers. She shifted slowly and he groaned. A soft moan left his lips, but she caught it, “Marissa.” Her hands moved to his face immediately, and she forced him to focus. “My name is Katrina.” She clenched her muscles, and held still. He groaned, but dutifully repeated, “Katrina.” With that she kissed him and began moving. ***
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Hypnos watched as she bounced against him. Mari—Katrina, as she wanted to be called, was driving him wild. She moaned his name with every downward thrust of her body. Her fingers were either pinching her stiff nipples when he was too busy staring at her lips or kissing them, or on his shoulders, using them for leverage. He watched in fascination and abject lust as glossy, black wings burst from her back and began to grow as they spread out around her. He felt his balls tighten at the exact moment she clenched around him. Powerless to resist, he shouted her name and came. When he opened his eyes, it was to find her staring up at him with something warm in her eyes. Before he could ask what it was, she leaned forward and found his lips, giving him a kiss that was so sweet he forgot all the others he‟d had before it. ***
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Violette Dubrinsky He‟d called her name. It shouldn‟t please her as
much as it did, but she couldn‟t stop smiling. As he‟d been on the verge of emptying inside her, he‟d shouted, “Katrina!” Not “Marissa” but her name. Burying her head against his chest, she allowed her breathing to return to normal. Did this mean that he believed her? Or that he‟d indulged her because she was controlling his pleasure? She lifted slightly, biting her lip as he slid from her with a wet pop. “Hypnos?” she murmured softly. A grunt was the response she received. She smiled, pleased that she‟d worn him out so bad that he couldn‟t even muster up a „yes.‟ “I‟m not Marissa.” She spoke softly, listening to the rapid beat of his heart under his hard chest. “I don‟t know why you think that I am, but my name is Katrina Black, I‟m twenty-six years old, and I‟m originally from Maryland. I ran away when I was sixteen, and found a succubae community in New York. I stayed there for about a year before I went to Wichita. I‟ve lived in Wichita for over seven years now.”
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He didn‟t interrupt her once, so she didn‟t know if he believed her or not. Pushing away from his chest, she looked down to find him staring up at her quizzically. She blinked and would have looked away had his hand not slipped into her hair and held her steady. His eyes traced her face, every crease, and mark, before he pulled her close and drew in a deep breath. Releasing her abruptly, he moved her aside and stood. Katrina pushed herself to her knees, her wings moving forward to hide her nakedness from him. “You don‟t believe me?” He didn‟t need to say it. She felt it in the way he pulled away from her. “You look like Marissa. You smell like her. You even act the same. How can you expect me to believe that you aren‟t her?” “I can‟t smell like her. Every succubus has a distinct smell,” she replied softly. It was one of the first
things
she‟d
noticed
with
the
succubae
community. Despite the generally sweet smell that marked them, every succubus had a smell unique to only him.
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Violette Dubrinsky He was suddenly above her, pressing her back
into the bed. Her wings immediately retracted in fear of being crushed. “What
are
you
trying
to
accomplish
by
pretending to be someone else, Marissa?” he snarled. Katrina had never seen him this angry before and fear clouded her heart. “Are you hoping that I‟ll release you, that I‟ll stop torturing you? Is that it? Are you hoping that I won‟t kill you?” Katrina swallowed, but she didn‟t look away from the rage in those swirling blue eyes. A smile suddenly broke out across his lips. It was the evil smile, the one she hated. “I‟m the god of dreams, did you know that?” he asked softly, sinisterly. “I‟ve been in your dreams before.” He paused as she drew back. “Do you remember, Nico, Marissa?” She gasped. What did he know of her Nico? “You haven‟t seen the last of him. Before you die, he will haunt every dream you have, even during your waking hours.” She felt tears well in her eyes. Could he do that? She did not want to find out. Whatever pleasantness she‟d felt for Hypnos
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vanished, and she began to struggle. Her hands hit at his face until he restrained her, and she sobbed loudly. “Don‟t! Hypnos! I‟ll hate you! I swear I‟ll hate you!” “Sssh,” he murmured softly. “Look at me, Marissa.” She shook her head and refused. “Look at me, Marissa.” His voice had become so compulsive that she found herself doing as he asked. His eyes swirled, round and round, until her lids grew heavy. “Sleep, Marissa.” “No,” she protested softly as her body seemed to sink into the mattress. “Please no.” “Sleep.” *** She awoke with a gasp and a cry, searching the bedroom frantically. Where was she? She was home in Wichita, and she‟d had a bad dream. It had all been a bad dream. She stood and moved to the small
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bathroom, washing her face and mouth, before flicking the light switch on. Her eyes widened in horror. The basin was filled with blood. Katrina looked into the mirror. Her lips were bloody. She opened the tap but instead of water, blood poured. “No,” she murmured softly, moving back to her bed. “It‟s a dream.” She pulled the covers over her head. “It‟s a dream.” She repeated it over and over, squeezing her eyes shut and praying for sleep. When she awoke next, she was in Hypnos‟s room, but he was no longer there. The chains that had bound her were thrown across the room. She stood and froze. Was this another dream? Making her way to the door, she pulled it open and screamed. Nico stood there with a leer on his emaciated face. She ran back into the room but he was too quick. He lifted her from the ground and tossed her onto the bed, the bed in which only minutes ago she‟d lain with Hypnos. Before she could move, he was above her, tearing at the white dress that she wore.
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“You killed me,” Nico grunted, pulling her arms above her head as she fought him. “Now I kill you.” “Nico—no! Please. I loved you! I‟m so sorry—I didn‟t mean to!” She was crying hysterically now. She felt the bones of Nico‟s knees forcefully pry her thighs apart and screamed. This couldn‟t be happening. It was a dream—a nightmare. A sick nightmare. “Hypnos!” she screamed, remembering through her terror that this was his handiwork. “Please don‟t!” Nico‟s emaciated body felt too real as he fell onto her and she screamed. “No! Stop!” *** Even before she begged him to, he‟d decided to stop. He couldn‟t watch this, and he couldn‟t look at himself in the mirror after watching something like this. Just because Marissa had taken something that he had been unwilling to give, did not mean that he could stomach doing the same to her. Even if it was only in a dream.
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Violette Dubrinsky He pulled the dream easily, making “Nico”
disappear as she fell back into a fitful sleep. Tears still streamed down her lovely face, but she calmed. God‟s bones, he could not torture her! He was with her in every dream, and he knew that whoever Nico had been, she‟d been close to him. She‟d said that she loved him. Maybe Nico had been the only person the bitch had loved before she became evil. While her memories might be of an invented person by the name of Katrina, he had no doubt that Marissa knew Nico. A person could not invent a nightmare. Seated at the edge of the bed, he caught his head in his hands. When had his life become so complicated? He was Hypnos, the easy-going, funloving, god of dreams. He heard a whimper and turned to face her. She was still asleep but she was pulling closer to his heat. He stood immediately, moving away from the bed. “Hypnos?” she whimpered, and then she was crying again. Moving forward, he wiped the tears from her cheeks, before drawing back as if burned. God‟s blood! Marissa was going to be the death of him after all!
Chapter Eight When Katrina didn‟t show up for work on Wednesday, Carlos called her. When she didn‟t answer her phone, he sent Sierra to her house. The door had been open, and while there had been no sign of a struggle, Katrina was not in the cottage. Her bag pack, an old raggedy thing that she refused to part with, had been found only feet from the door with all of her personal belongings in it. He‟d alerted the sheriff immediately and had organized his own local search for her. It was now Tuesday night, exactly seven days since her disappearance, and there was still no trace of her. Joe had apologized countless times for not following her home as he‟d been directed, but Carlos didn‟t want to see the man for at least another month. He‟d given the instructions specifically because of something like this. Most people didn‟t understand the pull that Katrina had over men, but he did. He knew what she was—a succubus pretending to be a human. He‟d known from the moment that
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he‟d stopped to pick up an eighteen year old girl whose body, despite being covered from head to toe in thick winter apparel, had tempted him with sweet promises. It had taken him days to realize that she wasn‟t aware of what she did to men, that it was unintentional. From then, he‟d begun escorting her home. Over the years, she‟d become as close to him as his sisters. It was why he was so worried, and angry. “You want a shot, big bro?” Sierra asked, lifting up a bottle of Irish whisky from her station behind the bar. He shook his head. Sierra and Helena were working tonight, not because he needed them but because they knew their brother was in a mood. Usually calm and relaxed by nature, Carlos was primed for...something. Lifting his head, he eyed the clock above. It was soon to be midnight. The bar usually closed at two on Tuesdays, but he was thinking of closing up earlier. There were only a handful of people there anyway, and most of them wouldn‟t object to him telling them to get the hell out, although he hoped one macho guy would.
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“Bar‟s clo—” He halted mid word when the door opened and Katrina‟s customer walked in, his limp a bit more pronounced. He took a seat at the bar, seemingly unaware that every eye watched him, and looked at Sierra, and then Helena. Blinking rapidly, he eyed them again before clearing his throat and asking in a slur, “Where‟s Katrina?” Maybe it was the way he said her name, or maybe Carlos was just pissed off, but whatever it was had Carlos leaping across the bar for the man, who had no clue what hit him. Screams and shouts erupted immediately, as some people fled and others tried to pry Carlos off of the man. “Tell me where she is!” he screamed as he attacked. He hit him twice in the face, once in the nose, feeling pleasure as he heard a distinct crack, and the other on the chin. Carlos was a big guy, but the man beneath him, despite being a drunk with a limp, grabbed him by the collar and tossed him back like he weighed nothing. As Carlos righted himself and prepared to pounce once more, the guy, who‟d been
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completely wasted only a few moments ago, pushed to his feet quickly and demanded, “Where is she?!” Caught off guard by his anger, Carlos halted and snarled, “We don‟t know. What did you do with her?” “I don‟t have her. I didn‟t know she was gone.” “Someone took her last Tuesday,” Carlos spat, getting up in the guy‟s face once more. It was then that he realized that the guy was really tall. At six three, Carlos didn‟t look up to most people, but he had to look up to this guy, which put him somewhere in the six five and above range. “Last people to see her were you and Joe. I know Joe wouldn‟t do anything to Katrina, but I don‟t know about you, do I?” “Easy, Tiger,” the man snarled, and Carlos froze. Everyone within hearing distance who knew what that implied froze. He lowered his voice. “Do you have any leads? One of yours?” Carlos shook his head as he recovered. “Never. None would dare.” He was the head of a small, but strong were-tiger pride in Wichita. None of his pride would blatantly defy him by going after Katrina. And if they had, he would have smelled them, found them, killed them and Katrina would be back where she
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belonged. There had been no lingering scent at Katrina‟s place. “Human?” “No. Katrina could handle a human.” He said it proudly because he was. Once or twice, he‟d seen her beat the shit out of human guys who thought they could push her around because she was a female bartender. When she was done, either he or Joe took over and kicked their asses out. The man nodded and brushed at his day‟s growth of beard. “Not your kind and not human?” Carlos shook his head. The guy turned and limped for the door. A path cleared before him, the few people who remained in his way moving. Carlos followed him outside. “Who are you?” The man shrugged his shoulders. “That‟s irrelevant. I think I know where she is, and I‟m going to get her.” ***
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Violette Dubrinsky After the night that he‟d attempted to torture
Marissa and failed, Hypnos kept her locked in the torture
chamber
and barely
acknowledged
her
existence. He no longer kept her chained to the bed, but he did keep the door locked. He fed her ambrosia once a day, because that was all that was needed to sustain her body, and had placed a self-filling tub in the room so that she could bathe at her leisure. Hypnos justified that by telling himself that he did not wish to smell her stench. As for his reasons for not going to her, he justified those by saying that he was waiting for her to grow hungry once more. She‟d fed from him twice in the past week, and was obviously strong at the moment. Any tortures he planned for her succubus would be pointless. When a week passed and he was still avoiding her, Hypnos decided enough was enough. He had Marissa at his mercy, and he was giving himself excuses as to why he had to wait to torture her. Entering the bedroom, he found Marissa on her belly staring down at a book. A book? As soon as she felt his presence, she tried to hide it, but he was already marching over to her.
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She clutched it to her breast but he snatched it away. “Who gave this to you?” Eyeing the leather cover, bindings and ancient Greek letters, he decided that it was one of his siblings. Thanatos and Moros wouldn‟t enter this chamber. That much he knew. Nemesis, goddess of justice, hadn‟t stepped foot into his domain in years. He couldn‟t see her doing so for a succubus now. Keres, in all her violent glory, had never picked up a book she didn‟t have to. The Fates never intervened in the affairs of god or man. So that left Oizys, goddess of pain and misery, who at times had a soft spot for the pain of others. “Oizys?” he asked, watching her face for a reaction. When none came, he continued, remembering the other visitor that he‟d received. “Simone?” “Why does it matter who gave me a book to pass time?” she questioned instead, glaring at him. “Was this how you intended to torture me? Lock me away without human contact or any means of entertaining myself? Hoping I‟ll run mad?”
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Violette Dubrinsky Marissa stood and moved to him, reaching for
the book. “Give it to me!” He immediately remembered her seductively whispering those words to him not a week before, remembered the taste of her skin, her lips. Gods! As she jumped for the book, with him holding it out of her reach, Hypnos decided that this was silly. He wished the ancient text away and watched her shoulders fall in defeat. She moved back to the bed, curling onto her side away from him. “Do whatever you want with me, Hypnos. I won‟t say anything.” Angry at himself for feeling like the biggest asshole, he leaned across the bed and reached for her, unsure of whether he intended comfort or something else. She rolled over immediately, catching him with a stinging slap to his cheek before she pulled him down, and rolled onto him, pummeling him with quick jabs that landed to his face and chest. The vicious little demon! “You
bastard!
Son-of-a-bitch!
hypnotizing asshole! How dare you?”
You
stupid,
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He restrained her, though not quick enough according to his sore jaw and nose, and rolled onto her to keep her from using her knees to her advantage. Just because he was a god didn‟t mean he felt no pain. “What are you going to do to me, huh?” she demanded, breathing heavily as her eyes—amber now—defied him. “What are you gonna do, oh-god-ofgods? You gonna make me fall asleep and have my dead friend rape me? You gonna show me my parents or friends in their caskets? Huh? What are you gonna do, Hypnos?” Her chest rose and fell in anger and fear, but still she fought him, struggling as he held fast to her hands. She wasn‟t strong enough to fight him but she could injure herself. “Stop!” he roared, and she listened. With a vicious curse, he released her and moved away. Marissa immediately sat up, drawing her knees forward and watching him with suspicion. She shouldn‟t look beautiful now, wearing an old off-white dress that hung off one shoulder, her hair wild about her head and a little snarl on her face, but she did. If
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he admitted it to himself, she was the sexiest thing he‟d ever seen. “Why are you keeping me here?” she screamed. Sexiest thing once she kept her mouth shut. “Marissa—!” “I told you already that I am not Marissa! It‟s not my fault that you‟re too stupid to see what‟s right in front of your eyes!” He turned to look at her, his eyes narrowing instantly. Her lips pressed together as her eyes widened. She scooted up the bed but he‟d already lunged forward, capturing her ankle and pulling her down. “Stop it!” she screamed, kicking and flailing like a wounded animal. Hypnos easily covered her, holding her hands above her head and trying hard to ignore the rise and fall of her chest. “What did you say?” “I said...” She broke off upon seeing the scowl on his face. “I said oh-god-of-all-gods that you‟re a stupid freakin‟ idiot.” He kissed her. She protested briefly, speaking into his mouth before opening fully for the deep press
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of his tongue. He‟d stayed away for a week. As her tongue rolled against his, Hypnos was still wondering how he‟d survived it. When he lifted his head, she was scowling, though her desire for him burned in those amber eyes. “You‟re still an idiot.” He ripped the gown from her body. “Hey! I don‟t have anything else—” “I‟ll get you more,” he said roughly, slightly ashamed that he‟d only given her an old gown for her to wear when he could have easily wished the finest of clothes into existence. The gown came apart easily, and he tossed it from her, wanting to see her body without obstruction. Her nipples, sitting atop dusky areolas, had already peaked for him. He lowered his head to those first, sucking first one, and then the other into his mouth. She moaned happily under him, arching her back to give him better access and running her fingers through his hair. As her fingers caressed his scalp, he wanted to growl, but to do so would mean releasing the nipple he held captive. He wasn‟t ready to do that
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quite yet. His teeth scraped against the buds and she released a guttural moan, calling his name as her fingers tightened on his hair. Kissing down the valley of her breasts, he groaned at her taste. He was at her belly button, swirling
his
tongue
around
the
circular
dip,
anticipating how good she‟d taste in his mouth, when a cold voice interrupted with, “I never thought you‟d be this stupid!” *** Katrina screamed at the intrusive voice as Hypnos rolled away from her. She tugged the sheets across her nakedness, watching as he disappeared briefly only to appear behind the intruder. The man quickly spun to face him as she scooted further against the bed head. “Katrina, are you okay?” It took her a while to realize that the man was speaking to her, but when she did, she focused on the back of his red-gold head, the only thing that she could make out, and squeaked, “Yes.”
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“She‟s fine. Now leave.” “I wasn‟t addressing you, Hypnos!” the man snapped angrily. “Are you dressed, Katrina?” As he continued to speak, Katrina realized that she‟d heard the voice before—somewhere. “I‟m decent.” He shifted slightly, his eyes still focused on Hypnos as he said to her, “Come to me.” “You,” she gasped out, recognizing her Tuesday night drunk. He didn‟t look drunk now. The man before her looked sharp, alert, and very angry, though not with her. And thank God for that. “Hephaestus,” Hypnos snarled. “She‟s mine. She owes me a blood debt!” Katrina had no idea what they were talking about but she‟d inched off of the bed and was now pressed to the wall. At any time, these two looked like they were going to throw down, and break any and everything in their path. She intended to stay clear of said path. “Katrina owes no one a blood debt!”
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that as far as sides were concerned, Tuesday drunk, aka Hephaestus, was on hers. “Marissa does! Since Katrina and Marissa are one and the same, I‟m taking the debt from whichever one she chooses to be.” “What is he talking about, Katrina?” Hephaestus asked of her. “I don‟t know. I‟m not Marissa.” “She‟s lying.” Hypnos looked directly at her and narrowed his eyes. “Is he your lover?” She rolled her eyes before she could help herself. “Not that it‟s any of your business, but no.” “Come
here,
Katrina.”
That
was
from
Hephaestus. “I don‟t want to fight you, Hephaestus. I consider you a friend, but if you try to take her from me, I will kill you.” That might have been romantic had he not wanted to keep her for the sake of torture. “Come, Katrina.” Hephaestus spoke once more. She took a step forward, watching as Hypnos began to glow. A fine mist of pale blue surrounded him
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and she watched both in fascination and horror as he held his hands together and a blue ball, swirling just like his eyes and as big as a small bowling ball, appeared. Not to be outdone, Hephaestus snarled and lifted his hand. Katrina watched completely in awe as a chain of fire, pure fire, clinked as it rolled from his hand. As she watched the two of them, fire and ice, she couldn‟t help but think of a video game featuring dangerous and unheard of weapons. She could even hear the rock-and-metal theme song in her head. “Get down, Marissa.” That instruction was from Hypnos. She didn‟t need to be told twice. She scrambled under the bed just as a scene from Mortal Kombat Annihilation™ erupted in the room. *** Thanatos sat up as a ringing touched his ears. He listened but heard nothing untoward. Simone murmured something from next to him, and he leaned
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down and kissed her forehead, pulling the covers tighter around her body. He was antsy. Death was itching to be loose. But there was nothing wrong with him or his wife. Everything in his domain was in order. He could feel it. The only other thing that could make him feel this way was his twin. At times, he unconsciously tapped into Hypnos‟s emotions, and vice-versa. Closing his eyes, he did something he hadn‟t in years; he looked through his brother‟s eyes. *** Hypnos dodged another snap of the chain, throwing blue fire at Hephaestus. Despite the limp, the god was fast, spinning out of reach. “I don‟t want to kill you, Hypnos, but I will.” “For your bartender?” Hypnos mocked. He‟d come to the conclusion that Hephaestus and Marissa were lovers. Why else was the god in his domain, fighting him for her? He found it surprising that Hephaestus, who pined for his raging bitch of a wife
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daily, could have taken a lover. Still, after experiencing Marissa‟s body, he understood. It didn‟t make him any less jealous, but he understood. “For the innocent girl you‟ve enslaved for a week!” “Innocent?” He paused to chuckle and then moved quickly to avoid the quick snap of the chain. “I doubt your wife would find her as innocent as you.” At the mention of Aphrodite, Hephaestus paused, giving Hypnos the opening he needed. He launched his fire at the god, who saw it coming too late. It hit him in the shoulder, sending him crashing against the door. The only reason Hephaestus had gotten into his domain was because the god could easily enter any home that used a key. He was a blacksmith after all. Hephaestus grunted, but pushed himself to his feet, shaking out the shoulder that had been burned. His eyes had darkened and anger was written all over his face.
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Violette Dubrinsky “When I kill you, the Olympians will turn against
us, and there will be war. I don‟t want war, Hephaestus. Do you?” “No, but I‟m still going to kill you.” The chain snapped out quickly, catching Hypnos around his leg. He winced as it seared his flesh, and then grunted as Hephaestus dragged him to the floor. Marissa released a cry from under the bed but he had little time to think on it. He was already forming another ball of blue-fire to throw when Thanatos‟s sharp voice called out, “Stop.” *** Katrina closed her eyes when Hypnos fell to the floor. She should be gloating, waiting for the other god to kill him, but she couldn‟t watch. Fear beat against her and it was taking everything to keep her scream silent. And then she heard a commanding voice say, “Stop.” When no screams split the air, she opened her eyes.
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Hypnos was still alive, standing now. She moved cautiously from under the bed, and peeked up at the three men standing next to each other. The two combatants were now joined by the terrifying, darkhaired man Thanatos. “If you kill him, Zeus will kill you. If Zeus kills you, Nyx and Erebos will attack Mount Olympus and there will be war.” Thanatos spoke to Hypnos. He turned to Hephaestus and said, “If you kill him, I will kill you. When I kill you, Zeus will kill me. Nyx and Erebos will attack Mount Olympus, leading to war.” He looked between the two of them. “Either way, there will be a war. Is that what you want?” Katrina tried to scurry back under the bed but Thanatos had already spotted her. He turned to Hephaestus, “My brother is settling a debt with this succubus. What claims do you have to her?” “She‟s been under my protection for years,” Hephaestus replied, glaring at Hypnos. “Had I known that she was gone before now, I would have come sooner.”
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Hephaestus. The glare Hypnos gave her made her think twice about that. She remained where she was. “How many years?” Thanatos asked. “What does it matter?” “It matters. How many years has she had your protection?” “Three, maybe four,” Hephaestus answered. He looked directly at her. “She‟s been my bartender for that long, and she‟d worked there years before I started going.” He offered her a comforting smile that she couldn‟t return. “He‟s lying!” Hypnos snapped. “He‟s lying to protect her. She‟s his lover. Hephaestus, pining husband to Aphrodite, has taken a lover.” Thanatos stepped between them as they made another go at each other. Katrina found herself staring at them in both fear and awe. They were all of equal, or seemingly equal, height, and although there was something about Thanatos that scared her, she decided that these three were, without a doubt, the most gorgeous men she‟d even seen.
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“Two years ago, a succubus committed a grave wrong against my brother.” Thanatos spoke to Hephaestus but Katrina snapped out of her state to listen as well. She was curious about the actual Marissa. “Her name was Marissa, and she has the same appearance and scent of the succubus you know as Katrina.” As his eyes settled on her, Katrina felt her hackles rise once more. There was something about him that really terrified her, some instinct that told her that this man would kill her without batting an eyelash. “It‟s not her,” Hephaestus said immediately, pulling her gaze back to him. “Unless the wrong was committed in Wichita, it‟s not Katrina.” “The Catskills, that‟s where she was. Wichita is only a few miles away.” Hephaestus turned to look at her, and she shook her head. He looked back to them. “I don‟t know what else could account for the similarities, except perhaps a sibling, but it wasn‟t Katrina.”
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Violette Dubrinsky “A sibling?” Hypnos scoffed. “Is that the best you
can come up with? Even siblings have different scents.” Hephaestus
looked
between
Hypnos
and
Thanatos and arched a brow. A triumphant smile touched his lips as he looked at Hypnos and snarled, “And what about twins? Have you searched out your twin lately? You may look like exact opposites but your scent is the same but for a very slight difference.” Hypnos looked at her, but her mind was reeling with that possibility. Could that be right? Did she have a twin out there? A sister? Hope leapt in her breast. A sister who‟d hurt Hypnos? Hope died most abruptly. “She doesn‟t have siblings,” he said, but his voice was no longer sure. “Is that a fact?” Hephaestus inquired. “And you learned of this while you were torturing her?” He turned to her, and she could see the kindness in his eyes. “Katrina was adopted as a baby. She could be a twin, or some other multiple.” Katrina‟s eyes widened. How did he know that? Had she told him that when he was drunk and how the hell had he remembered?
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“Now, I‟m taking Katrina from here. You kidnapped the wrong girl, tortured her and raped her.” “Not that,” Hypnos said between clenched teeth. When she turned to him, he found her staring at him with an unreadable emotion in those eyes. “Never that.” “It doesn‟t matter. I‟m taking her from here.” “She could still be Marissa,” Thanatos said. “Simply because she may be a twin doesn‟t mean she isn‟t the twin that we‟re looking for.” “Go.” His voice was so soft that she didn‟t hear him at first. But he repeated it, looking directly at her. “Go.” “Come, Katrina,” Hephaestus spoke firmly. She immediately walked to him. He hooked a hand around her bare shoulder, which made Hypnos‟s nostrils flare. The last thing she saw before she was back in her cottage Was Hypnos‟s seething face.
Chapter Nine “Where is she?” Amara shrieked, clutching the used dishrag to her chest. As her eyes found him, the rag fell from her limp fingers. He hadn‟t seen her for two years but she hadn‟t aged. She was still beautiful, compelling and alluring in the way of the succubae, even while seeming more domesticated. Hypnos was certain she‟d never expected to see him again, or at least, she‟d hoped. “I-I...” “Marissa. Two years ago, you told me that she ran away. You were nervous and terrified, so I excused your rapid heart rate, quick breaths, and racing thoughts. Did you lie to me, Amara?” Violet colored eyes looked left then right, and Hypnos could almost see her thought pattern. She wanted to run, but she was terrified of what he would do if he caught her. If she‟d told him the truth, there would be no need to fear him now, would there? “Amara!”
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She swallowed loudly, and opened her lips at the same moment that a toddler stepped into the kitchen, a little girl with flouncy, black curls, a flowery dress, and a pacifier in her mouth. Hypnos eyed the child and knew from the resemblance that she belonged to the woman before him. “Please.” It was a tortured whimper. Despite the anger coursing through his veins, he managed to say, “I won‟t harm anyone. I only want the truth.” Amara took a cautious step forward until she reached the child, before picking her up and shielding her protectively in the cocoon of her arms. She moved back until her body was pressed against the counters. “Marissa never left...as I told you,” she said softly, her breathing a bit labored. He could hear the rapid thud of her heart, but slipped into her mind this time for good measure. “Where is she?” Her throat worked as she swallowed. “Dead.” Hypnos felt as if his breath had been knocked from his body. She was telling the truth, and this time,
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he was certain. Katrina was as she‟d said: Katrina Black from Wichita, New York. He‟d spent the past week torturing an innocent woman who looked like Marissa and bore her scent. “How?” The baby fussed in Amara‟s arms, struggling to be put down, but she held tight to it. “My brother killed her. They argued—and he snapped her neck.” “You saw it?” She nodded and closed her eyes as if to blot out a disturbing memory. Hypnos slipped into her mind before she could, and saw the gruesome scene play out. A man he‟d couldn‟t remember seeing—David— was arguing with Marissa. They were arguing over the chains and him. Marissa mentioned something of a god, but before she could finish, David caught her around the throat. Screams rang out from the succubae gathered as he snapped her neck without an ounce of remorse. Who was the god Marissa had mentioned? “When I found you two years ago, was she alive?” Amara shook her head once.
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“Why did you lie?” “David made us. He was our leader then and would have thrown us out or worse if we didn‟t do as he said.” Hypnos nodded once. So for two years, he‟d searched for a ghost, plotted revenge on a woman who‟d already faced her fate. “Where is he?” He wouldn‟t mind taking out some of his aggression on this brother of hers, and he still wanted to know how she‟d gotten those chains. With Marissa dead, it was possible that David would know. Amara shook her head. “I don‟t know. I swear I don‟t. It‟s been a year since Blayne challenged him for the right to lead and won. After that, David left.” Hypnos could tell that she was telling the truth. “Blayne?” Out of curiosity, he asked the question. “My husband.” “Did Marissa ever mention how she acquired the chains?”
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Violette Dubrinsky Amara shook her head. The baby fussed, and she
began to rock her, whispering for the child to be quiet. In the typical rebellious nature of young ones, she began a soft cry, which gradually grew louder. He watched Amara grow more agitated. Hypnos nodded once. “You‟ve been helpful. Thank you.” “I‟m so sor—” Before she could finish that sentence, he disappeared. *** It had been three weeks since Hephaestus had returned her home, and during that time, her entire world had been renovated. She wouldn‟t say it had collapsed exactly, but when you find out that the guy you‟ve known for over seven years is actually a creature known as a were-tiger, and that everyone knows your true identity, life changes. In addition, Hephaestus had decided to move in for the first weeks after Carlos failed to get her to stay in his house.
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They were worried about nothing though. Hypnos would not be coming back for her. She knew it in her heart. The look he‟d given when he‟d said, “Go” had said it all. She‟d seen regret, anger at himself, and shame. Most of all, she‟d seen the promise that he wouldn‟t bother her again. Katrina had spent the first week getting over the shock that her friends could shift at will into very large cats. She‟d made Carlos do it just to make sure that he wasn‟t messing with her, and had screamed as a three hundred pound Bengal tiger made an appearance. Katrina had gotten used to it, and no longer freaked out when the large head of a tiger pressed against her back windows in the early mornings. She‟d also called her adoptive parents for the first time since she‟d run away. Her time with Hypnos had demonstrated how precious life was, and although she didn‟t regret leaving, for she‟d learned more about herself, she regretted not informing them of her whereabouts. The conversation had lasted for long hours, with her speaking to both of her parents, and promising to visit them soon.
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Violette Dubrinsky The second week she‟d found herself thinking
about Hypnos. He was such an arrogant, self-centered, stubborn, bastard of a ma—god. That he‟d had the audacity to think that because he said “go” with his swirly, blue eyes, handsome face and sexy body, she‟d just forgive all and let bygones be bygones. Katrina wanted to see him again, just one more time. She wanted to walk right up to him, slap that stupidly, perfect smile off his face, and tell him that he was a coward. He‟d obviously accepted that he was wrong if he hadn‟t tried to take her in three weeks. So why couldn‟t he come to her and say, “Katrina, I‟m sorry. Can you please forgive me for being such a stubborn, foolish bastard/asshole/prick?” Maybe not exactly like that, but she‟d take an “I‟m sorry.” By the third week, she didn‟t want to see him ever again. She didn‟t even want to hear his name. A customer had asked her for Hypnotiq and she‟d almost ripped his head off. Sierra had taken over from there, and she‟d taken a few moments to cool her temper. She came home to the sound of arguing. Because Hephaestus had decided to „temporarily‟—the god
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seemed to have no intention of leaving—move his bulk into her tiny home, some other things had been added. Carlos, Hephaestus and their team of testosterone had built another room next to the living room, a room that her new roommate had dubbed his bedroom. Every day, she swore she saw something else being moved into that place. First it had been a larger than life mattress for him to sleep on along with sheets and comforter because he was cold. Next came his radio, his laptop, etc., etc. Still, she hadn‟t complained. Hephaestus was easy-going and didn‟t speak unless he had something important to say. She liked that about him. Already, she‟d decided that she had room for another big brother. “You can‟t live here, in this...this shack!” a woman screeched in anger. “You‟re a god, not some peasant mortal! And you‟re my husband.” “Some time you choose to remember that. Be honest with yourself, Aphrodite. You‟re only here because of what the others will think.” Katrina knew that she should take a walk, maybe take a cold—very damn cold—swim in the lake. She
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knew it, but she couldn‟t. So this was the infamous Aphrodite? After the whole Hypnos scenario, she‟d jumped on her computer, and looked up these beings that were supposedly „mythical.‟ She‟d learned that Hypnos was the god of sleep and dreams, and rumored to be the most pleasant of the dark gods. That had made her laugh. Pleasant? Whoever wrote that had obviously not met him before! And that Hephaestus was the god of fire, also known as the „blacksmith‟ god, which would explain the fire chain he used as a weapon. She hadn‟t read much on him because she‟d been trying to find more information
about
Hypnos,
but
she
vaguely
remembered Hypnos mentioning something about Hephaestus‟s wife during their fight. Katrina couldn‟t resist one peek. Moving over to the window, she looked through and saw a creature too beautiful to be called a mere woman. The flaxenhaired female with electric blue eyes, incredibly feminine patrician features and a graceful, lithe figure accentuated by a Romanesque white robe with gold bindings at her waist, could be nothing short of a goddess. Next to Hep she seemed small although
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Katrina knew that the woman was tall, probably taller than her. As she stared at Aphrodite, Katrina had but one thought: why on earth was he living in a „shack‟ with her? “Hephaestus, this is embarrassing! You‟re a god living like a mortal. How could you do this to me?” she released a pitiful cry, sniffing prettily. He turned away from her and shook his head. “For once, this isn‟t about you, wife. Go home.” “Hep—” she broke off suddenly and looked directly at her. Before Katrina could take that much needed walk, Aphrodite was standing next to her, yanking her arm and pulling her into the house. She was wrong. Katrina topped the goddess by an inch or two. “This is who you‟re choosing over me?” she scoffed, and Katrina had the feeling that she should be offended. Extracting his wife‟s fingers from her arm, Hephaestus pushed her gently towards the door and said in clipped tones, “Please give us a few minutes.”
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Violette Dubrinsky Katrina nodded and began a slow walk along the
lake. It was Monday, her night off. She could go down to the bar, but she was certain they‟d chase her away. As she walked, putting her hands into her jacket pockets to keep them from going numb, she couldn‟t help but think about him. She wondered if he‟d located Marissa, her possible twin. Would he torture Marissa the same way he‟d tortured her? Although Katrina wished to meet her biological family, she remembered some of the accusations that Hypnos had hurled at her when he thought she was Marissa. From them she‟d gathered that Marissa had bound him with chains, and had used him, probably as a food source for her succubus. She didn‟t approve of that, and if that was the kind of biological family she had, Katrina had no intention of meeting them. Deciding that thirty minutes was enough for Hep to get his whiny wife out of her place, she stopped and turned around. Katrina had taken only a few steps before she realized that someone was following her. She‟d had this sixth sense weeks ago, right before she was snatched by Hypnos. Deciding to play it safe, she
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reached into her pocket for the switchblade she now carried compliments of Carlos. “Who is it?” She paused, waiting for a response. When none came, she added, “I‟m not playing around. I will cut first and ask questions later.” When seconds trickled by and no one spoke or appeared, Katrina gripped the blade even tighter. Hypnos stepped from the shadows slowly, both arms lifting as a little smile curved his lips. He was dressed impeccably, as usual. A dark, wool jacket and dark pants. Katrina froze at seeing him, before she lifted the blade higher and said, “I‟m not Marissa.” “I know, Katrina,” he answered slowly. She didn‟t lower the blade. Why should she? Here he was after three weeks, and during that time, she‟d thought of every possible way to kill him. Cutting him to pieces seemed a waste because he was beautifully formed; strangulation wasn‟t a great idea because he could easily overpower her; castration she‟d
decided
was
another
his...junk...was so perfect.
bad
idea
because
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Violette Dubrinsky “What do you want?” she demanded. “To talk,” he responded easily. His eyes looked
about and found a bench for two near the lake. “Sit with me?” “No thanks. I‟ll stand.” “I‟m sorry.” He paused to let it sink in. “I‟m sorry, Katrina, for everything that happened when I thought you were Marissa.” “How are you suddenly sure that I‟m not her?” He looked away and Katrina felt as if someone was squeezing her heart. “You killed her?” “No.” Hypnos shook his head. “Marissa was killed shortly after she—what she did to me. She fought with an incubus who snapped her neck.” Katrina flinched. She hadn‟t known Marissa, her biological twin, but that sounded painful. “I didn‟t like her but I am sorry for your loss.” “That‟s why you‟re here? To tell me she‟s dead?” “And to apologize—for everything. He took a step forward, and then another when she didn‟t retreat. While she told herself to do something, she remained still as his hand touched hers before gently prying the switchblade from her fingers. Her eyes were
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focused on his, drinking him in from all the weeks that she hadn‟t seen him. “I missed you, Katrina.” *** It was the truth. After his visit with Amara, and with the knowledge that he‟d tortured an innocent woman fresh in his mind, he‟d returned to Tartarus to think. He should have known that they were different, but he‟d refused to see it. Marissa had always been a liar, and a manipulator, but he doubted that she could continuously adopt the memories of someone else no matter how strong she was—Perhaps for a day or two, she could hold onto the memories of another, but no longer. His attraction to Katrina had also been infinitely different from Marissa. Marissa had been a distraction, something to get the edge off; Katrina had been a necessity. He‟d ignored the glaring signs of the differences and Katrina had suffered. “I didn‟t miss you, Hypnos!” she spat, her dark eyes narrowing. “I didn‟t miss being chained to your
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bed, being locked in that room or being harassed in my dreams.” He flinched but nodded, knowing it was deserved. “I‟m sorry for all of that. None of this was your fault. The blame is mine. I let my vengeance get the best of me and didn‟t realize until it was too late that I‟d captured the wrong person.” When she didn‟t respond, he lifted his hand to her face slowly, expecting her to flinch away. She did not. His hand caressed her cold cheek, warming it. “Why did you come here?” she asked softly. Hypnos let his hand fall, and turned to face the lake before returning his gaze to her. “Your week with me should„ve never happened.” He watched as those eyes, soulful eyes, searched his face. “I can make it a dream. Everything. I can make it so that after you left the bar, you remember only waking up seven days later. I will leave no memory of myself, of Marissa, or of anyone that you met while you were in my domain.” “You can do that?” she finally asked. Despite her constant searching on the internet, there hadn‟t been much about Hypnos. Just that he was the god of sleep
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and dreams and a listing of gods rumored to be his family. She didn‟t really know anything of his powers. “Yes.” He felt a pang of regret at the fact that she wanted this done. Hypnos had come with the intention of apologizing, explaining his feelings, and then giving her this option if those feelings weren‟t returned. He figured the feelings weren‟t returned when she responded that she hadn‟t missed him, and he could not blame her. “Have you done it before?” “Yes.” “With me?” “No.” She moved closer to him and glared up. “Good. Don‟t mess with my head, Hypnos. I don‟t want to forget anything. I want to remember what an idiot you were to me.” When he looked away, she brought his gaze back to hers. “And why, despite everything you did, I still—feel something for you.” Hypnos wasn‟t sure he‟d heard her correctly. She certainly sounded pissed enough that she could have said something that he‟d misheard.
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Violette Dubrinsky He blinked and focused. Had she said that she
had feelings for him? “It‟s your turn to speak.” Her words were cut off by his lips. Hypnos was positive that Katrina was the woman for him. His twin had said that within the first hours, he‟d known that Simone Randall was his. Hypnos wouldn‟t claim that he‟d known that quickly, but somewhere along the way he‟d figured it out. The fact that he‟d confused Katrina and Marissa had made it difficult for him to accept. Now, he accepted it fully. He wanted the woman before him more than anything else. As her body molded to his, his hands ran down her back, coming to rest on her soft, round ass through her jeans. From the moment he‟d glimpsed her, walking slowly along the lake, as the moonlight washed over her, he‟d had an erection. Now it pressed insistently against her. She moaned against his lips and rubbed her body along his. Before he could think of it, his hand slid into her jacket and under her shirt, finding her breasts through the cotton bra and squeezing them.
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Katrina pulled back suddenly, breathing harshly as she licked at her kiss swollen lips. Her palms held him firmly at a slight distance as she spoke, “You‟re not getting off that easy.” He nodded. Honestly, when he‟d decided to come to her, Hypnos had been prepared for the worst. The fact that she admitted to having feelings for him, and responded to his kisses, gave him hope that after whatever she needed him to do to show how wrong he‟d been, they could make it work. “I said I had feelings for you,” she continued, keeping her eyes locked on his. “I do. I can‟t see you without wanting you. But that doesn‟t mean I trust you.” She swallowed, and he watched her eyes shift away from him nervously. Her eyes locked on some point over his shoulder and without thinking on it, he entered her mind. She was remembering what he‟d done with her dream, with Nico. His hand moved to her waist, applying soft pressure until she blinked and refocused on him.
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Violette Dubrinsky “That will never happen again.” He made sure to
let her see his face clearly so she would not doubt his words. “Don‟t fear me, Katrina.” She looked unsure and he took a step back, disconnecting the contact of their bodies. “Can you learn to trust me?” He watched her, saw her searching his eyes for something that would help with her answer. She swallowed. “I don‟t know.” Hypnos nodded once, feeling a tight constriction in his heart. He would have never thought he would be one to experience heartache. “Are you willing to try?” Katrina blinked and captured her bottom lip between her teeth. She took a step closer to him, chasing away the chill of the weather with her body. “Yes,” she murmured, staring up at him. “I don‟t even really know you.” Slowly, and giving her time to move away, he locked his arms about her waist. “My name is Hypnos. I am a dark god. I wield the elements of dreams and sleep. I have several siblings. You‟ve met two, Thanatos, my twin, and Oizys, my sister.”
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She nodded, soaking up his words as she waited for him to continue. “What did she do to you?” Without even asking who „she‟ was, he knew. He didn‟t want to answer her for different reasons. Pride. Humiliation. But he sensed that it was necessary to get her to trust him by sharing something that less than a handful of people knew. “Katrina, she was your sister. “It doesn‟t matter. Tell me.” “She seduced me and held me with one of the chains forged by Hephaestus. They render all gods powerless.” He looked at the moon as he spoke. “She used me to feed.” He felt her hands slide around his waist. “For how long?” “Two months.” Katrina didn‟t speak for long seconds and Hypnos was so reviled by the images running through his own head that he didn‟t think to search her thoughts. “She was a monster.”
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Violette Dubrinsky He blinked and looked down at her. Her eyes
were moist as they held his. “I‟m sorry.” “You have nothing to be sorry for,” he heard himself say. Hypnos was still in shock from her words against her sister. He truly hadn‟t expected it. Gently disengaging her arms from around his waist, he took a step back and gave her a smile he didn‟t feel. “I‟ll take you home.”
Chapter Ten The walk back to her cabin was done in silence. Katrina thought of what he‟d told her. She‟d been correct in assuming that her evil twin had used him as a food source. It had been no wonder that he‟d been so violent with her, even going to that point with Nico. An involuntary shudder rippled through her. One thing stood out though. Hypnos had held back. Even when he‟d thought her Marissa, instead of paying her back for what she‟d done to him, he‟d stopped. Feeling uncharacteristically shy, she stole a glance at him. He was a tall and beautiful figure cast in moonlight and shadow walking next to her. When she‟d told him that she didn‟t trust him, she hadn‟t lied. But it was because she‟d met him at his worst. Angry and hell bent on revenge. Did she want to know the other Hypnos? The one she‟d glimpsed when they‟d made love? The quick witted, easy going god who resided under the rage that had driven him to chain her, torture her? The one she‟d viewed just now?
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Violette Dubrinsky Her heart told her the answer before she
formulated one on her lips. “I know you‟re a god and all, but I‟m a succubus that didn‟t know anything of what I was until I turned sixteen. I thought I was human.” She cleared her throat. “When humans want to get to know each other better, they date.” She turned to him, and noticed that his face had formulated a small smile. Katrina felt her heart flutter as her body grew heated. Pull it together! Christ! Sometimes it was a pain being a succubus. “Is that what humans do?” he queried softly, though she firmly believed he was teasing her. “Yes. I‟m a regular girl so I don‟t require too much, just a casually dressed, decent looking guy with good hygiene, a dinner somewhere, good food, respect and good conversation.” “That‟s all?” “You think my standards are too low?” A little chuckle left his lips, and she shook her head and grinned.
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Her cottage came into view and Katrina briefly thought of telling him that she needed him to walk her to the bar. Would that constitute as desperate, especially given the fact that she‟d stopped him from ravishing her only moments ago with the truthful excuse that she didn‟t trust him? She thought so. They came to her cottage, stopping a few feet from her door. She turned to face him. “Thanks.” Her response immediately broke off upon seeing the murderous expression on his face as he glared at her door. “Hypnos?” “Hephaestus is here?” Right. She‟d totally forgotten about that. And that the last time these two saw each other, she‟d played duck and cover. “Uhh.” He fixed those eyes on her. “He‟s staying here?” “Temporarily.” His eyes flamed. Holy hell, she‟d never thought she would see hypnotic blue eyes flame! And, wow, it was quite an amazing sight. “Are you two—together?”
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Violette Dubrinsky “No. No! It‟s not like that.” As she was speaking, Hephaestus made an
appearance, flashing behind Hypnos, who spun around in time to meet him. “Why are you here?” Hephaestus demanded in an ominous voice he‟d never used with her. “I could ask you the same thing,” Hypnos replied nastily. “Okay. Guys.” When no one acknowledged her, she gingerly placed herself between them, with her back pressed flush against Hypnos as she faced Hephaestus, and repeated, “Guys!” Knowing that they had no choice but to focus on her, she addressed Hephaestus. “I‟m fine. Hypnos and I were—talking.” When Hephaestus turned his head to glare back at Hypnos, she spoke once more. “Really. He‟s not trying to hurt me. We were just talking.” When his shoulders relaxed slightly, she pushed forward. “Can you give us a moment?” Because she saw the set of his lips, the hostility in his eyes, she knew before he shook his head that he was about to. “When you asked me earlier, I gave you a moment.”
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“That wasn‟t the same thing.” “I‟ll explain it to you later. I need to speak with Hypnos, Hep. Please.” He didn‟t look happy about the situation but Hephaestus moved around them, stating as he passed, “I‟ll be inside if you need me.” She expected to see anger when she turned to face Hypnos. In fact, she had a speech in her head to counter his anger. But he wasn‟t angry. Tense, yes, but she didn‟t sense that he was angry—anymore. “He‟s only trying to protect me,” she heard herself say. Hypnos nodded once. “I know.” And then he stepped away, making her aware of the chill once more. “That‟s the only reason he‟s still alive.” Rubbing her arms at both the chill and those words, she looked back to the cottage. The fact that the lights were on made it possible for her to see the huge shadow perched behind the blinds of one of her windows.
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Violette Dubrinsky Turning her attention back to Hypnos, she
spoke, “Okay. Well, thanks for walking me home. Good night.” Katrina couldn‟t remember if she‟d ever felt this awkward around a guy. Most guys were immediately enamored with her due to her succubus nature but Hypnos was a god. She‟d taken a few steps forward when his voice stopped her, “Tomorrow?” Confused, she turned to look at him. There was a faint smile on his lips. “You were the one who brought up a date. So tomorrow, whatever time you choose, I‟d like to take you on one.” Before she could think on it, she smirked and replied, “You don‟t waste time, do you?” As he continued to watch her with that little smile, she chuckled and said, “Okay. Seven. Meet me here. Er, do you know where Moe‟s Diner is?” She changed their meeting location because she didn‟t know and wasn‟t willing to find out if Hephaestus would have objections to it. “I‟ll meet you here,” he replied, that smile never wavering.
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“I don‟t think that‟s a good idea.” “He‟ll get used to it.” He said it with supreme confidence, which made her lift a brow. Before she could counter with something smart, he stepped into her, and placed a gentle but lingering kiss against her lips. “Good night. Go inside.” Katrina blinked and turned, heading for the door. As her hand closed over the doorknob, she knew that there was something she‟d meant to tell him. She just couldn‟t remember. That kiss had been soft, barely a touch of his lips to hers, but it made her crave more. As she looked over her shoulder at him, she was certain that her eyes were smoldering. Her body was hot to the point of combustion and if not for the fact that Hephaestus was probably prowling around her cottage, waiting for answers, she would have dragged Hypnos into her house and had her wicked way with him. God knew she had enough ideas to have several wicked ways with him. With a tortured groan, she pushed the door open and stepped through.
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Violette Dubrinsky *** “Didn‟t she say „casually dressed‟?” The voice belonged to the pregnant female
perched on one of the sofas in his bedroom. A sleek laptop rested in her lap and Hypnos briefly wondered how it was she saw above her belly. During the weeks that he‟d spent away from Katrina, he‟d apologized to her for the way he‟d come across and had also asked her advice on the situation. Simone had always been level-headed and honest, and because he saw how much she loved his twin, he‟d come to love her as a sister. She also held a soft spot for him. Probably something to do with him reminding her of her husband. She‟d been the one who suggested giving Katrina the option of forgetting it all. “This is casual,” he replied, eyeing the dark slacks, light grey elbow length cardigan, white undershirt and low-key sider shoes. Simone chuckled and stood, placing the laptop onto the sofa and moving behind him. With a
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humorous shake of her head, she said, “This is casual for you, you metro god.” Hypnos quirked a brow. It wasn‟t the first time she‟d referred to him as that, and he‟d never taken offense to it. All that meant was that he enjoyed looking good. “She‟s a small town girl, remember? I‟m sure by casual she meant jeans, maybe a t-shirt, and a leather jacket.” “Jeans?” “Oh, don‟t say it like it‟s the plague. There are nice jeans out there.” The bright smile on her face told him just how much she was enjoying this. In the two years that she‟d known him, Hypnos was certain she‟d never seen him in jeans. He couldn‟t remember the last time he‟d worn them. Eyes narrowing on her, he asked, “Does my brother know you‟re here?” With Simone‟s pregnancy, Thanatos made it his business to know where she was every second of the day. While his brother wasn‟t irrationally jealous,
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Hypnos would prefer not to be held up from his date by Thanatos‟s angry arrival. “Doesn‟t he always?” She clucked her tongue. “Are you subliminally trying to tell me to leave, after you asked me to come here to help you pick something to wear to impress your lady?” She laughed, clutching her belly through her warm, beige sweater. “Always knew I liked her, even if I didn‟t trust her. That‟s why I gave her that book to pass her time.” “It was you.” “Who else would it be?” Simone chided with a slight roll of her eyes. She stepped around him and said. “Lean down.” When he only lifted a brow, she tipped onto her toes and attempted to reach for his hair. “What are you doing?” “Fixing your hair.” “There‟s nothing wrong with my hair.” “It‟s too perfect. Now lean down.” He bent slightly and felt Simone‟s fingers randomly working in his hair. When she stepped away, his hair looked completely tousled. Locks hung
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forward into his eyes, some ran back, others were just—there. “I‟m not.” “Much better,” she interrupted, a large, satisfied grin on her face. “Now, let‟s see you in some faded blue jeans, a dark cotton tee, preferably faded as well, and a leather jacket.” Groaning he did as she asked, picturing them in his head and wishing them on his body. Before he opened his eyes, Simone‟s squeal-giggle of delight told him that it was bad. Opening his eyes, he stared at the getup, frowned and shook his head. He hoped when she saw him, Katrina Black realized just how much he wanted her. *** After having a conversation with Hephaestus that seriously reminded her of something she might have experienced with her father had she remained at home, Katrina persuaded him to leave. She‟d left a few things out, but had told him that she felt certain
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Hypnos wouldn‟t try to kidnap her again and that she‟d like the evening to herself. In addition to that, she‟d brought up his wife, a topic that seemed to irk him like no other, and had suggested he take the time to discuss things with her. While she doubted he would do that, Hephaestus had left. And now she was waiting for Hypnos. Six fifty four. She‟d told him seven so he had six minutes to get his butt to her door. Her boots, which hadn‟t seen any action in years, clicked as she made her way to the full length mirror. She‟d let her hair down, blowing it out and parting it to the side so that the thick mass hung past her shoulders and down the sable leather jacket. Encasing her upper body was a long-sleeved cotton shirt with a deep v that accentuated the fullness of her breasts. On her legs were fitted, dark blue jeans, and on her feet, knee length, black boots with tall, inch thick heels. She‟d used mascara on her lashes and a bit of gloss on her lips. Katrina nodded. Yep. This was her dressed up.
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Turning to the clock on her wall, she noticed that it was sixty fifty nine. A thought that hadn‟t occurred to her suddenly did. As she ground her teeth and watched the clock count down the seconds to seven, she had but one thought. If he stood her up, she was going to kill him. At directly seven, there was a knock on her door. Grabbing her purse and keys, she walked over, opened it and promptly froze. Her throat grew dry as her body enflamed. Gone was the clean-cut god. In his place was a more rugged, extremely manly god wearing a sexy smile, and he was eyeing her like she was the most delicious thing he‟d ever tasted. A finger touched her chin and as her teeth snapped together, Katrina realized her mouth had fallen open. “I‟m glad you approve,” he said softly. Katrina‟s eyes were glued to his lips so she saw them come closer to her face, felt the caress at the side of her lips. She turned her head slightly, needing to feel his lips fully on hers.
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Violette Dubrinsky He pulled back slightly and his eyes scanned her
face and briefly ran down her body as he breathed, “Beautiful.” Before she could think, Katrina had her hands on the soft collar of his leather jacket, and she was pulling his head down again. This kiss was hotter, wetter, wilder. Her tongue stroked his lips, and when he opened them, she slipped it inside, daring, demanding that he kiss her back. In two seconds, his body was pushing her back. She heard the door slam shut—he must have kicked it closed—and then her back was pressed against something solid, the wall. His fingers slipped into her hair, holding her in place. It wasn‟t necessary because she was going nowhere. Hands releasing his jacket, they slipped around his neck to play with the wild unkemptness that was his hair. She really liked it this way, rumpled and sexy, and. Katrina gasped as Hypnos rolled against her, parting her legs wider for him. When she turned away for a quick breath, his kisses moved across her cheek, to her ear. His free
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hand moved down her body to cup her ass and press her further against his straining erection. Katrina released her first moan, moving her hands across his broad shoulders, down his solidly muscled chest, and under the shirt that he wore. Her hands then moved up, tracing the steely, smooth hardness and imaging it pressed against her naked, arching body. “Dinner?” “W-what?” Dinner? What was he talking about? His hand left her hair and moved down to her jeans. Quick fingers had the zipper on her jeans undone in seconds, and then he stopped, lifted his head and said, “What about the diner?” Right. The diner. They were supposed to be going on a date. Something she‟d wanted. Now with him pressed against her, his hand inching where she wanted it to go, and her need for him burning at a serious high, the choice wasn‟t hard. “I‟m hungry for you,” she murmured, pinching his nipples and smiling when those eyes grew even more liquid. Dropping her hands, she attacked his
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jeans, pushed down his boxers and freed him. Her hands slipped around his hard cock and squeezed. They both moaned. Katrina watched his face as she began to pump him, loving the feel of control as his eyes closed briefly in pleasure. His hand suddenly closed over hers and held her still. “If you continue doing that, I‟ll come.” She removed his hand and continued her slow, torturous pumping. “Then come.” The thought made her clit throb. Pushing him back slightly, she fell to her knees, licked her lips and sucked him into her mouth. *** As he watched Katrina work those succulent lips over his cock, Hypnos was sure he‟d never seen anything sexier. Hell, everything she did was sexy so maybe he had—he just couldn‟t remember it at the moment. Taking as much of his length as she could, she groaned, bringing him close to coming as the vibrations of her throat tickled his sensitive head.
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Hands slipping into her hair, he moved her head back and forth across his cock. He‟d come to her with the best of intentions. Had been prepared to take her on this date, enjoy being around her, give her a good night kiss, and leave if she wanted that. But from the moment he‟d opened the door and seen her looking at him like she was a starving animal and he was her only piece of food, good intentions had fled. And then that kiss... He groaned as she released him and licked at the underside of his cock. “Enough.” His voice was rough and low. He easily hauled her up and pressed her against the wall. Her legs locked around his waist. Wishing their clothing gone, he slid a hand between them and a finger into her pussy. She was wet, as he knew she‟d be. Removing his finger, he replaced it with his cock, watching the need on her face turn to pleasure as he buried himself in her. “Hypnos!” she groaned out, biting her bottom lip.
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Violette Dubrinsky “Yes,” he murmured, grabbing her hips and
roughly pounding into her. “You feel so good, Katrina. Gods—I missed you.” Her hands tightened around his neck, and she leaned forward, kissing him briefly before turning her face away. He continued to pound into her, trying to think of anything other than how good she felt wrapped around his cock. He had to thank Simone for choosing his outfit. Had to thank Atropos for—for— He grunted as her muscles squeezed him. Three weeks was a long time to go without her but he wanted her to take her release first. She shuddered and whimpered, clutching him tighter. Moments later, she screamed and rippled around him. With a shout, he held her steady as he poured himself into her.
Chapter Eleven After an appetizing dose of Hypnos, and a steamy shower afterward, Katrina couldn‟t help but want more. Three weeks had passed without her having him, and now as he lay next to her, in her bed, her body was demanding that she take him. Her succubus was aware, but she hadn‟t begun to feed yet. She was enjoying this for her, not for survival. “So, I‟m guessing we‟re not going to that diner anymore?” A little smile played around his lips. She liked these smiles, when he looked boyish and wicked, and not evil. His smile fell, and she knew that he‟d read her thoughts. “I‟m sorry, Katrina—” She cut him off with a kiss, nipping his lips as she pulled away. “Show me.” His lips caught hers this time and she moaned. She could feel him, hot, heavy and hard, pressing into her thigh. Only minutes ago, he‟d gone soft inside her. And now he was ready again. She loved that.
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Violette Dubrinsky Instead of coming into her, as she wanted, he
moved down her body, pressing light kisses to her sensitive skin. “Hypnos,”
she
moaned,
confused
as
he
continued on. When he came to her pussy, she pushed onto her elbows to watch him. Her eyes bulged knowing what he was about do. She‟d never done— His head moved forward and his tongue swiped the length of her slit. “Oh God!” she moaned, closing her eyes as sensations she was certain she‟d never felt ran through her body. “Oh my God!” “Hypnos,” he corrected, his hot breath fanning her. Confused, Katrina opened her eyes and blinked rapidly. What was he talking about? That had felt so amazing. “What?” “My name‟s Hypnos.” He grinned wickedly before his head moved forward again. This time his tongue found her little nub, circling it before his lips settled in to suck. Katrina‟s head fell back against her pillows.
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Two fingers slid into her body and she screamed his name. Her hands came up to caress her breasts. They were aching. At the same time, his hands hooked her thighs, securing her as he continued to sweetly torture her with tongue and fingers. “Oh my—Hypnos! Ahh!” Her hands left her breasts. She needed to grip something, something that wasn‟t sensitive or a part of her body. There was a slight carving in her bed head and she slipped her hands through, holding on as he proceeded to wring orgasm, after blissful orgasm, from her body. *** Katrina didn‟t realize that she‟d passed out until she was coming to. Hypnos lay over her, his face a serious mask as he watched her. “You‟ve fed?” Katrina could only stare at his mouth in awe. The man—god—had a magical—wickedly magical— tongue. “What?”
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Violette Dubrinsky He didn‟t look happy as he repeated his
question. “Fed?” “You‟re not hungry.” He spoke between clenched teeth and Katrina was so confused that at first she didn‟t know what to say. And then it came to her. Hypnos was jealous. She‟d never thought to see him jealous, especially over her, but he was. He thought she‟d been intimate with someone else because her succubus wasn‟t demanding to be fed. It had been three weeks, and she usually fed once every two. “Would you be upset if I had?” she asked, running her fingers across his strong jaw and into his silky, blond hair. “Who?” “You didn‟t answer my question.” She licked her lips, watching as his eyes followed the movement. With a sigh, he rolled off of her. Shifting to her side, she watched as he linked his hands under his head and stared up at the ceiling. Propping onto an elbow, she stared down at him, already anticipated jumping onto him. Succulent. Delicious. Words that
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described him. Inviting. The word that described his current position. “Yes, but I have no right to be.” His jaw clenched, and she wanted to lick the twitching muscle there. “Who was it? Carlos? Hephaestus?” Katrina couldn‟t help her chuckle. “After leaving me alone for three weeks, this makes you jealous?” “I know.” She rolled onto him, using her hands to push herself into a sitting position. Hypnos stared up at her. “I have no feelings for Carlos and Hep that go beyond friendly affection. Plus, Carlos has a mate, and Hep still loves his bitch-wife.” A little smile touched his lips at her name for Aphrodite but it vanished as he asked, “A stranger?” Laughing down at him, Katrina rolled her hips, moaning as her slick pussy rubbed against his hard abs. She wondered if he worked out or if as a god, he was just born perfect? One day, she was going to ask him. “You underestimate yourself, Hypnos.” She spoke on a sigh as she moved backward, stopping
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when his erection pressed between her ass cheeks. “I haven‟t felt the need to feed since the last time we were together.” It was true. She‟d dreaded the hunger, and had been surprised when two weeks had passed and she‟d felt normal. No aches. No cold sweats. No vicious cramping. The thought of being with someone else had repulsed the succubus, and that in itself was strange because the succubus was never repulsed by intimacy. His hand reached up and cupped her ass, which only made her moan. She scooted further back, until she was perched directly against the length of his hard erection, before rubbing back and forth. “Like that?” she murmured, knowing from how his eyes swirled that he did. Leaning down, she caught his lips, moaning and gyrating against him as their tongues dueled. When she pulled away, it was to lift up for him. As she slid down his length, his hands cupped her breasts. Her thighs trembled as he pushed onto his elbows to lick and suck at her nipples.
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She pressed him back down and began to move her hips, leaning close so that he could kiss and suck her sensitive breasts in time to her movements. Katrina
felt
her
succubus
awaken
and
whimpered. His hands moved to her buttocks, pushing her up and down. She couldn‟t last much longer. Her body was too hot; her need too great. She began a violent tremble, collapsing onto him as she began to feed. Through the haze that descended, she felt her wings unfurl, slipping from the openings in her back, felt Hypnos‟s hands tighten on her ass as he continued to move her body against his thick cock. When he came, his liquid heat marking her once more, she cried out and fell onto him, wrapping her wings around them both. Cocooned in warmth as she was, it didn‟t take long before she‟d fallen into a light slumber. ***
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Violette Dubrinsky She must have awoken at least twice more
during the night to find Hypnos doing wicked things to her body. Not that she minded in the least, but with all the exertion of the previous night and early morning, she found it hard to get up, much less move. Yawning, she groaned, more in pain from the soreness between her thighs and the achiness of her legs from being bent into crazy positions, and reached for him. Her hands came away empty and she opened her eyes. He was gone. Pushing herself up, she looked at the time. Eleven o‟clock. He‟d left. So much for dating, she thought with a snort. Pushing herself from the bed, she used the restroom, took a shower, and threw on some jeans and a sweatshirt. Frickin‟ Hypnos! Looking at the disarrayed bed, she began dragging the sheets from it. Not even a note! She knew he was a god and all but still. Frickin‟ inconsiderate…It was then that she noticed it. Coffee. Food. Lifting her head, she sniffed again and followed the scent. She arrived in her kitchen to find breakfast laid out for her. He stood with his back to her as he worked on something on her stove, giving her a nice view of
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his ass in those jeans. God, she really loved those jeans. There were low cut so they hung low on his waist, revealing that he‟d gone commando this morning. He was shirtless too. Before she could think of it, she moved over to him and placed her hands into the back pockets of his jeans, cupping his ass. “Hungry?” “Starving.” A chuckle left him and she found herself smiling. She really enjoyed his company. Felt natural to have him in her kitchen making her food. “I figured you would be after last night.” A little blush touched her cheeks but she couldn‟t help but press her body against him. He looked way too delicious to resist. “You really...worked me out...last night.” With that, she stepped away, reaching for a slice of toasted bread from the table. Before she could get it, he‟d whipped her around, pressing her tight against him. “You enjoyed it.”
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Violette Dubrinsky Before she could respond, his lips were on hers,
and she was returning the kiss with enthusiasm. “Didn‟t you?” She nodded instantly. Hell yes. She wasn‟t complaining, soreness or not. Hypnos pulled away and grinned. “Sit down and let me feed you.” On wobbly legs, she took a seat at her small table. He brought her a plate filled with eggs and bacon before filling a mug with coffee and placing that in front of her. “I didn‟t know you could cook.” “There are lots of things you don‟t know about me,” he replied easily. “And many things I‟d like to know about you.” Lifting the toast to her lips, she took a bite before forking up some of the egg. As she chewed, her eyes widened. “It‟s good.” “You thought I‟d cook for you if I was a bad cook?” She chuckled, and drank some of the coffee. “Tell me about yourself, Hypnos.”
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He leaned back and watched her, his eyes focused on her lips as she chewed, swallowed, smiled. “Ask me anything you want to know.” “Where‟d you learn to cook like this?” She was truly curious. She remembered his empty refrigerator, and the fact that he ate ambrosia to survive. Maybe he had a taste for earthly foods? “For almost a century, I lived on earth with Thanatos. I grow bored quickly, so I learned things to pass the time. Cooking was one of them.” “A century? How old are you?” “I‟m very old—many centuries.” “Many centuries? Is that like two hundred? Six hundred?” “We don‟t measure our age the way humans do, Katrina. We don‟t fear death the way others do, so we may forget a half a century or more because it goes so quickly.” “So you don‟t really know how old you are?” “I was around before calendars existed.” “Christ!” He looked like he was her age. Hypnos smirked. “He wasn‟t around then.”
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Violette Dubrinsky A nervous chuckle left her lips, and then she
sobered. “I‟m twenty-six and you‟re older than Christ.” An almost hysterical laugh left her at those words. “I think you‟re too old for me.” “You‟re perfect for me.” Lifting her eyes to him, she saw that he was serious. His eyes, still bright, had darkened and stilled. Warmth—this time warmth that had little to do with sex and everything to do with her emotions, settled over her. “Did you learn charm when you were on earth too?” she teased. “No. I was born with that,” he deadpanned. She chuckled, and then laughed when a teasing glint entered his eyes. “I‟m sure you were.” “If you don‟t believe me, you can ask my mother. She‟d be too happy to tell you that of her sons, I was the only one who inherited her innate charm. The rest take after my father.” “Your Mom‟s the goddess of night and your father‟s the god of darkness?”
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A pleased smile touched his lips and she realized that she‟d given away the fact that she‟d been researching him. “Yes. I take after Erebos in looks but my mother in personality.” “This is a good thing?” A brow lifted and he leaned across the table, an easy smile forming on his lips. “Very good. When you meet my brothers, you‟ll understand.” Katrina remembered the ominous Thanatos and giggled. “I already met one of them, remember?” He looked confused but then he remembered, because he clasped her hand and said with a little smile, “My twin. He‟s the nicer one.” When she chuckled and looked at him, he said, “Now tell me about you.” “I told you. I ran away from home at sixteen. Now I‟m twenty six and live here. That‟s me in a nutshell. What else do you want to know?” “Anything. Everything. Tell me what you like. What you dislike. I want to know everything about you, Katrina.”
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Violette Dubrinsky *** Hypnos knew that he would have to tread
carefully with Katrina. He‟d wronged her, but she was still giving him a chance to prove that he needed her, loved her. The emotions he had concerning Katrina Black could be nothing short of that. So when a week passed of „dating‟—at least their form of dating—loving her every night in some new location, he decided to invite her back to his domain. They were against a tree, his cock buried inside her quivering body as the darkness kept them away from prying eyes. Hephaestus had been in the cottage so she‟d come to him. They were supposed to be taking a moonlight stroll, another dating thing, but they‟d ended up fondling each other to the point that they‟d sought the protection of the trees to have their way with one another. “You‟re turning me into a freak,” she murmured against his neck. Knowing that in a few seconds, she was going to start feeling the bite of the cold, Hypnos pulled away and quickly redid her jacket and shirt,
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before pulling up her pants. He enjoyed dressing and undressing her. He wished his clothes fixed, before kissing her and saying, “You were already a freak, Katrina.” “Hmm,” she murmured, licking his lip. Her voice lowered and she whispered, “I love the feel of your cum inside me.” Even as his cock hardened again, he managed to pull away and tease. “You‟re only proving my point.” “Hypnos,” she whined softly, pouting as he stepped towards the light. “Come
Katrina.
We‟re
talking
a
walk,
remember?” He chuckled at her frustrated groan, knowing exactly how she felt. Still, he wanted to punish her a bit for choosing this walk instead of coming to his domain as he‟d suggested. “I don‟t want to walk,” she hissed, eyes flashing amber briefly. “I want to fuck you.” Even as his lower body agreed wholeheartedly, he shrugged his shoulders. “You were the one who wanted to walk. I opted for going to my domain—”
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thought she‟d slap him but she only hauled his head down and crushed her lips to his. A whimper escaped her as a hand slid down his body to cup him. Gods! “Let‟s go back to your place,” she murmured against his lips, swiping his bottom lip with a wet and eager tongue. He chuckled. “Now you want to go to my place?” She watched him steadily. “I don‟t want to go back to that room.” He shook his head, feeling the weight of the guilt return. She was talking about the torture chamber he‟d created for Marissa. The very place where he‟d held her. “I destroyed it.” She nodded, but looked unsure. “Okay. Your place.” “I will never hurt you again, Katrina,” he promised. “Close your eyes.” He was about to whisk them to his domain when a low, warning growl touched his ears. Hypnos turned in the direction of the sound and watched as four large
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tigers—Bengals he quickly assessed—stepped into the clearing. “Hypnos?” Katrina asked softly, her eyes still closed. “Did you hear that?” “Keep your eyes closed, Katrina,” he murmured, eyeing the tiger walking ahead of them. Of course she disobeyed him. As Katrina spun in his arms to face the creatures, Hypnos moved quickly, shoving her behind him. He didn‟t know who these were creatures were or why they were here. What he knew was that their presence was threatening his female, and he wasn‟t about to take kindly to it. These cats had just picked the wrong people to treat as prey. “No, wait! Wait!” Katrina managed to get out from behind him and throw herself between him and the tigers. Was his woman insane? He was grabbing for her again when she spoke. “Carlos. I‟m fine. See?” She held up her hands and turned for inspection. “We were just...” She paused as a rosy blush descended on her face, “…talking.”
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Violette Dubrinsky Carlos? He wasn‟t left speculating for long before the
tiger ahead of the rest released a nasty snarl and shifted to his human form. *** “Hep said you went for a walk over an hour ago.” She‟d been out here for an hour already? Katrina shrugged but felt her face grow even hotter. Already, she was mortified from being found in Hypnos‟s arms. She could only hope that they‟d only just arrived and hadn‟t seen where his hand had been before because that would be really embarrassing. Katrina had practically stripped Hypnos and made him take her against a tree. “I‟m fine, Carlos.” Carlos looked behind her and growled, revealing canines that were still elongated. She didn‟t have to turn around to know that Hypnos was glaring at him with the promise of death in his eyes. God, there was way too much testosterone here—something that seemed to happen a lot lately. How she went from
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being a low-key girl to being surrounded by these alphas, she had no clue. “We were just working through some stuff. Private stuff.” She really hoped that Carlos took a hint because the tension between these two was so great, she was certain there would be a fight in minutes. “You can work through private stuff in your cottage.” “She‟s not your pride, tiger!” This came from Hypnos who had taken a few steps forward and was now plastered to her back. “Pride or not, Katrina is one of us. We would all die for her.” While that thought was endearing, she wasn‟t going to stand by and watch it come to that. “If you don‟t leave now, that‟s all you‟ll be doing.” “Okay—wait! Both of you. Calm down.” She turned to face Carlos. “I‟m going to leave so that I can talk to him in private, okay? I‟ll be back tomorrow.” When she said this, she looked at Hypnos, who
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nodded once. Returning her eyes to Carlos, she said, “And then we can talk.” “I don‟t want you leaving with him, Katrina. Don‟t you remember what he did?” Hypnos took a step forward again but she clutched his arm, and moved into place before him. Her back pressed against the heat of his big body, and for a moment, she forgot that she was trying to convince an angry tiger to let her go with a pissed off god. “Yes. I remember. Please, Carlos. I‟ll talk to you tomorrow.” He took a step back, and looked over her shoulder, at Hypnos. Lips curling on a snarl, Carlos said, “Tomorrow morning you bring her back or I‟m gonna have Hep take me to where you live so I can give you the beating you deserve.” Hypnos didn‟t answer, and Katrina thanked God for the little miracles. She watched as Carlos shifted back to his tiger form and turned, moving slowly back into the darkness. The others followed after him. Strong arms slipped around her middle. “Now, where were we?”
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Katrina‟s lids lowered as his lips touched her neck. “You were about to whisk me to your place so that I could have my naughty way with you.” The easy chuckle at her ear relaxed her further. “Ready?” Her hands came up to rest against his. “I‟m ready,” she murmured.
Chapter Twelve When she opened her eyes, they were in a bedroom that was easily the size of her entire cottage. It had to be his. Everything about it was him. It was neat, clean, and manly, without being overly dark. There were various shades of blue all over the room. The walls were dark blue. Even the large bed at the center had blue sheets. “Someone‟s a fan of blue,” she murmured softly, turning in his arms. A little smile played around his lips. Over the week, she‟d realized that she liked these smiles, when he looked boyish and wicked. No hint of evil in that. His smile fell, and she knew that he‟d read her thoughts. “Katrina, I—” She cut him off with a kiss. “I know.” Pulling away slightly, she murmured against his lips, “Love me.” Katrina blinked and found that her clothes had disappeared. Before she could comment on the
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efficiency of that particular power, she was on his bed, and he was above her. His lips caught hers, and she moaned. She could feel him, hot, heavy and hard, pressing into her thigh. Hypnos moved down, lifting her legs into an M shape, and spreading them apart. Before she could move, his lips and tongue were teasing her pussy, sucking and flicking her bud before stroking into her eager opening. Her hands fisted his sheets as her body strained under the pleasure. He lifted away from her, and grabbed her ankles, bringing them to his shoulders. As he moved forward again, bringing her feet near her head, her eyes widened. Thank God for morning stretching. She felt his cock brush her entrance and then he was inside her, going deep in a smooth thrust. His pelvis rock against hers and she moaned as her exposed clit rubbed against him. “Like that?” he murmured. “You know I do.” She squeezed him, and smiled when he groaned and began to move faster.
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Violette Dubrinsky “Oh, Hypnos! Yes! Yes! Yes!” Her chants
matched his thrusts. He suddenly stopped and pulled out, flipping onto his back and pulling her onto him. “Ride me.” Her hips were already moving, rolling against him before sliding up and down his length. He reached up and attacked her nipples, pulling the sensitive digits into his mouth. In seconds, she was coming, her nails digging into his flesh as she screamed her pleasure. *** Sleeping atop him, with her glossy black wings surrounding them both, Katrina Black was the most beautiful creature he‟d ever seen. Her hair was plastered to her forehead and neck, her face wore a fine sheen from their previous exertions, and long black lashes fanned her cheek. When Atropos had told him that his destiny was tied to Marissa, she hadn‟t meant Marissa the succubus. She‟d meant that he‟d find his destiny,
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Katrina, by searching for Marissa. As usual, she‟d been right. Katrina shifted lightly above him and his cock stirred, still buried in the warmth of her body. Her hips shifted again, causing him to harden further, and his eyes narrowed as he stared at her. Was she awake? Her lids suddenly lifted and she stared up at him briefly before disconnecting her body from his. Biting back a groan, Hypnos watched as her wings grew smaller before sliding into her back. She moved to her hands and knees and moaned his name. He was in her seconds later, watching her buttocks jiggle with every thrust of his hips. “Hypnos,” Katrina moaned softly. “I love this. I love—” She broke off to a whimper as his finger found her rosette. His thumb lightly traced it as his cock tunneled into her body. “You love...what?” She moaned and looked over her shoulder. Her eyes blazed amber as a seductive smile touched her lips. “Your cock.”
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Violette Dubrinsky A tortured chuckle left his. With his free hand,
he slapped her ass. She whimpered and moaned. “Only my cock, succubus?” “Yes,” she whined. “Liar.” His finger slipped past her tight ring, and she groaned. “You love me,” she said haltingly, tossing her hair to one side and grinning at him over one shoulder. “You love me and I love your cock.” He laughed. Hypnos couldn‟t help it. She was right about him loving her. Katrina was a temptress, a temptress with a biting tongue, but she was his. And she was lying about loving only the lower part of his anatomy. “Really?” She nodded and almost fell to the bed as his finger pushed deeper into her. He thrust a few more times before pulling from her slick heat. “No! Hypnos!” She tried to turn around but he held her steady by covering her body with his. “What do you love, succubus?”
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“Your c—” She broke off when a hand squeezed her breast and tweaked her nipple. “Hypnos you‟re torturing me!” “What do you love?” He nudged her slit with his slick organ. “You! Please! I love you!” “Good girl,” he praised, moments before he buried himself inside her once more. *** “So what now?” Katrina asked, naked, sated and curled against the god who‟d certainly made her naughty dreams come true. She blushed as she remembered all of the things he‟d done to her body in the last hours. His eyes opened a fraction as his hand continued its wonderful caress of her scalp. “You stay with me,” he said easily. “As your kept woman?” She smirked at that. “Nope. Don‟t think so. What‟s the other choice?”
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Violette Dubrinsky He chuckled, and pulled her head back to his
chest. “Aren‟t you tired?” “No. I‟m a succubus, remember? I feed off of this.” She lifted up once more and stared down at him. “You were telling me about Plan B.” “There‟s no Plan B. You‟re staying with me as my consort.” “Consort?” Katrina‟s brows drew together. “Is that a nice way of saying whore?” She‟d barely gotten the last word out before he huffed and pinned her under him. Katrina couldn‟t help the feminine purr that escaped as his body pressed hers into the mattress. In this position, he caressed all the right places. “You‟ll stay here as my consort, Katrina. A consort is the equivalence of a human fiancé.” His eyes dared her to defy him and Katrina couldn‟t help but say, “Aren‟t you supposed to ask me if I want to be your consort first? I mean, most people don‟t tell—” “I‟m not most people, Katrina. I‟m the god who loves you.” She didn‟t protest when his lips gently claimed hers. When he rolled off of her, she placed her head
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onto his chest and waited a few seconds before saying, “Better the god that loves me than the god I pissed off, right, Hypnos?” Katrina moaned in excitement when his hand smacked against her ass cheek and held it. Her body gyrated against his side and she was sure that he could smell her arousal. When he rolled onto her once more, she was smiling. “You‟re not going to let me get any rest, are you, succubus?” She shook her head and locked her legs around his waist. “You‟re a god, Hypnos. Sleep is for mortals. Now love me.” Her hands slid down his hard back and over those steely buns of his. He groaned and she eagerly reached between their bodies, taking him in her grip. She‟d been touching him for only seconds before he was hard and ready. Pushing her legs wide, she guided him to her entrance. When she looked up it was to find him staring down at her with a gentle expression on his
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face. Locking her arms around his neck, she watched him. “I love you, Katrina Black. Stay with me.” Before she could answer, his hips rocked forward, pushing him deep into her body. She lifted up and clutched him to her. “Stay with me,” he murmured, swinging his hips back and forth as she tried to speak coherently. “Hypnos.” Her voice sounded breathless because she was. He was being so gentle, so loving with her. “I...” She broke off and bit her lip as he gently sucked at her breasts. His teeth grazed her nipple as his cock filled her once more. She bit her lip to keep from crying out. “I want to be with you.” “Good,” he murmured against her breast, before returning his attention to her nipple. *** Hypnos awoke to find her gone. Her sweet, strawberry tinged scent was on the air but faded. He looked around the room and bolted upright. The door
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to his bedroom was slightly ajar so he dressed himself and followed her scent. He found her standing in his kitchen, gloriously naked with an incredulous look on her face as she stared into his empty refrigerator. Like many of the appliances in his domain, he‟d only brought it only because he liked how it looked. It was one of those multi-door refrigerators, with two on top, one large compartment in the middle and three small shelves on the bottom. He liked women, clothes and appliances, and when he‟d seen the refrigerator, he‟d had to have it. “Who has an empty refrigerator?” she mused aloud, oblivious to the fact that he stood behind her. “A god who doesn‟t eat human food.” She jumped a good foot and clutched at her breasts. His eyes followed her hand, and he grinned. Her breasts were definitely a favorite of his. After glaring at him, she eyed the refrigerator and said, “If I‟m going to stay here, we‟re going to have to do something about this. I‟m going to need meats, vegetables, breads, and let‟s not forget wines.”
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Violette Dubrinsky “Whatever you want.” It was the truth. If she
asked for luxury cars, he‟d get them here for her. Whatever she wanted, she‟d get. Katrina grinned. “I like the sound of that.” “Come back to bed,” he said with a little smile, walking purposely over to her. She dodged him and shook her head. “You promised that you‟d take me back in the morning. I have no idea what time it is here but I‟m sure, on Earth, its morning.” He frowned. “You want to go back?” “Yes.” She paused, sighed and added, “If I don‟t, Hep and Carlos are gonna show up and I don‟t want to see.” “Them die?” he finished for her. She chuckled, walked up to him and placed a quick kiss on his lips. “Something like that.” As she stepped away, she continued, “And I need to do some other things too.” “Other things?” “Are you going to be one of those nagging fiancés?” she teased. When no smile was forthcoming, she sobered. “Other things like get my clothes, rent my
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cottage. Hey, wait a minute, I can go and come as I please once I‟m here, right?” He nodded. “Just checking.” Smiling, she sidled up to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Why so serious?” Hypnos pressed his hand against the dip of her back, right over the “S” tattoo there, and looked her in the eyes. “If this is too fast for you, living here, you don‟t have to...” She cut him off with a kiss. “I want to stay. I actually like you, and you‟re not that bad to look at.” Her lips curved against his. “I don‟t know about all of this blue, but you‟re not against renovating are you?” A startled chuckle sprung from his lips, a chuckle that eventually ended up as a full-blown laugh. She winked and grinned, trailing her fingers across the leaping muscles of his abdomen. Her eyes went amber as those fingers went lower, cupping him in a fist and stroking slowly. “I want to taste you again,” she murmured, pushing onto her toes to lick at his bottom lip. A
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wicked grin touched her lips as she dropped her eyes and fell to her knees. As her breath fanned his straining length, Hypnos wrapped a hand in her hair and held on. A pink tongue swiped out, licking the tip of his cock, and he jumped from the shock of pleasure. Her eyes watched him and she smiled before swirling that tongue along his plush head. “Like that?” she murmured, closing her lips over his tip and sucking gently. He nodded because his vocals were frozen. By far, this had to be one of the hottest things he‟d ever seen. Her wet mouth opened further, pulling him deeper, and his fingers tightened against her hair. She pulled away suddenly, her hand replacing her mouth as she looked up at him and said, her voice husky and low, “I love your taste.” Her eyes held his as she leaned forward and ran her tongue purposefully against his center. Burning with lust for her, he watched her catch a pearly drop of his fluid on her tongue before losing it. Before she could move, he reached down and yanked her up, placing her onto the edge of the counter with
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her legs spilling over. In a second, he was buried inside her pussy, and biting his cheek to keep from coming. Only she could make him feel like an untried youth with his first woman. Katrina gasped, but wrapped her legs around his waist, her feet pushing against his buttocks to take him deeper. Her palms flattened behind her on the counter as she looked up at him. “Fuck me, Hypnos,” she murmured, rocking her hips against his and moaning. “Make me come all over your big cock.” He blinked at those sexy words, but was only too pleased to do as she asked. Katrina Black might end up being the death of him after all, but at least he was going to meet his end as a very, very happy god.
Chapter Thirteen “So what did you two talk about?” Katrina felt the blush creeping along her neck and cheeks and refused to turn to the owner of that voice. Hypnos had brought her to the cottage just before midday, and she‟d been happy to find it empty. She didn‟t have to look at anyone and have them know that she‟d just spent most of the hours with Hypnos either under or above him. No walk of shame, thank God. She‟d been in her cottage only moments before Carlos showed up, watching her intensely but not asking any questions. She‟d tried to ignore him, going about making breakfast since she was starving, when he‟d asked the question. Now, with her bagel in one hand, cream cheese in the other, and a bright red splotch across her cheek and neck, she searched for a quick response. “Things.” Even she admitted that was a bad response. Carlos‟s snort informed her that he thought so too.
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“Things like what?” When she didn‟t answer, Carlos added, “Hep says you‟ve been meeting him for about a week.” So much for Hephaestus keeping his trap closed. She hadn‟t even known the god knew. Katrina had thought she was being secretive. “He wanted to apologize.” “That‟s it? Apologize?” Carlos didn‟t sound like he believed her. “Yes. For kidnapping me.” “And now he‟s going to leave you alone?” She didn‟t answer for long seconds and Carlos moved over to her. He turned her to face him. “He‟ll leave you alone now, right?” Avoiding his eyes, she stepped away and went over to her refrigerator. Pulling out a carton of orange juice, she poured it into a glass. “It‟s complicated.” “So un-complicate it for me.” That earned him a glare. “I know that you‟re only concerned, Carlos, but as I said, it‟s complicated.” “Katrina,” Carlos began in the voice he usually reserved for his sisters when he was disciplining them.
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A few times she‟d been privy to him lecturing them, especially Sierra, on her teenager habit of climbing out of her window and running off with friends. “He kidnapped you, held you hostage for a week, did things to you that you haven‟t even shared.” “Because he thought I was someone else,” she interrupted with a glare. “You‟re
defending
him?”
He
sounded
incredulous, and Katrina sighed and shook her head. “No, I‟m telling you that it‟s complicated.” She lifted the glass to her lips and allowed the cold orange juice to calm her. Carlos only glared at her. “Remember when you met Giselle?” Eyes narrowing at the mention of his mate, Carlos asked through clenched teeth, “What does that have to with anything?” “She wasn‟t exactly happy when she first came here, remember?” Five years ago, she‟d assumed that Carlos and Giselle were following the tradition of an arranged marriage. They‟d both been pissed the first few weeks, but soon both had made a complete u-turn in feelings, professing undying love and unyielding devotion. It had seemed strange at the time but after
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learning that they were were-tigers, and Giselle was Carlos‟s mate, it made more sense. “She‟s my mate. She didn‟t understand—” Carlos broke off and shook his head. “I never kept her against her will; I never hurt her.” He paused and lifted his brow. “He kept you; hurt you.” “Because he thought I was someone else.” She sighed. “Carlos, please. I don‟t want to talk about this right now.” She stepped from the kitchen into her tiny living room and plopped down on the couch he‟d given her. When she‟d first gotten the cottage, through him, he‟d gone about tossing in furnishings for her. Her couch, the kitchen table and chairs. The only thing Katrina remembered buying herself was her bed, and that was only because she‟d insisted. He sat next to her. Neither spoke for long moments. “You know I love you, right?” he finally asked in a sheepish way.
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Violette Dubrinsky A little chuckle escaped her lips as she shook her
head. “No, really? I thought your overprotective big brother act was because you disliked me so much.” “Brat.” They laughed for a few moments before he asked seriously, “Do you want to be with him?” Katrina turned to look at him and nodded once. “Even after everything you‟ve been through?” She hesitated but nodded again. Carlos released a deep breath before saying, “If he hurts you again, you let me know. God or not, I‟ll kill him.” A little smile curved her lips and she scooted closer to him, pressing her head into his arm. “Thanks, Carlos.” There was silence for a few moments before Carlos asked, “So, you working tonight or what? We kinda miss you over there.” A giggle escaped her before she could contain it, and before long, she was doubling over in laughter. ***
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“From your extraordinarily large smile, I take it your meeting with your succubus went well.” Hypnos blinked and looked to his right, where his twin stood with a small smile curving his lips. Eyes narrowing, but still smiling, he replied, “Meetings, and yes, very well.” Thanatos seemed on the verge of saying something else when Moros appeared, much as they had only seconds ago. Their older brother nodded to them both before looking around for the god who‟d summoned them. They‟d been summoned to the opulence that was Hades‟s domain. There was only one problem. Hades was nowhere to be found. Hypnos might have found it strange, but Hades had certain eccentricities he had no intentions of understanding. Making other gods wait could easily be one of them. “Why have we been called here?” Moros demanded immediately, shifting his cold blue-gray gaze to first Thanatos then Hypnos.
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Violette Dubrinsky As Hypnos shrugged, Thanatos responded, “We
are unsure. The summons was sudden and lacked reason.” Moros nodded, before returning his attention Hypnos. It wasn‟t long before a feeling of unease crept up Hypnos‟s spine under his brother‟s intense scrutiny. As the god of doom, Moros easily wielded elements of torture, sadness, strife, and chaos to name a few. Whenever his brother stared at him for too long, Hypnos could almost feel those elements. “Did you find your succubus?” Moros blinked and looked away, as if knowing the unease he was giving off, before returning his gaze to Hypnos. “She‟s dead,” Hypnos replied listlessly. “At your hand?” “No. Her lover.” A look of regret flashed across Moros‟s face. “Are you satisfied?” Perhaps because Hypnos took longer than a second to respond, Moros continued, “If you are not, Thanatos can search out and deliver her soul to me? I will see to it that she begs for a second death.” Hypnos knew well his sibling‟s capabilities. He hadn‟t thought of doing that because of Katrina.
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Although he was certain she did not sympathize with her sister after what Marissa had put him though, Hypnos could not—would not—approve of the eternal torturing of the mirror image of his consort. “No. Though I thank you for your offer, brother, it is unnecessary.” Moros stared at him for a long while before nodding once. He turned to Thanatos but before he could speak, a puff of black smoke marked the arrival of the lord of the underworld. Without apology, Hades strode from it, dark coat swirling behind him as his eyes gleamed in anger, and said, “Epimetheus has escaped.” Along
with
his
brothers,
Hypnos
tensed.
Epimetheus was a Titan, the Titan god of afterthought and excuses to be exact. He wasn‟t so much a threat as the rest of the Titans, but the mere fact that he‟d escaped was enough to give them serious pause. Thanatos voiced the question swirling in the siblings‟ mind, “How?” Hades shook his head, a snarl curving his lips. “I am not sure. Hephaestus‟s chains are unbreakable,
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and none of my men would be so stupid as to defy me and free him.” “When did he escape?” Hypnos asked. Hades cursed this time. “I don‟t know. He was kept in a cell to himself, and was fond of sleeping for long periods of time. The guards never sought to check on him because they assumed he was under his blanket. It was only because his ambrosia was untouched for months that they found out. I have no doubt he‟s currently living among the humans.” He spared them a cold glance. “My brother must not find out about this.” No one asked which brother he referred to. It was a toss-up between two, the god of the rivers and seas who would not care as long as his elements remained undisturbed, and the god of all gods, who would no doubt throw a fit larger than anything they‟d witnessed before. Zeus could be overly dramatic. “I want him found.” Hades addressed Hypnos as he spoke. “I want him tortured.” He turned to Moros. “And I want him brought as close to death as godly possible without him dying.” That was for Thanatos.
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As one, they each nodded, which seemed to relax Hades a bit. “Of all the gods to escape...Epimetheus,” he muttered in disgust. It was common knowledge that Epimetheus had been a major screw-up. “This is a matter of secrecy and I‟ve called you three because I trust you. I want him found before any word gets out that he‟s missing. That is all.” Moros left first. He was never one for conversation or taking orders. Hypnos was surprised he hadn‟t voiced opinion to Hades on the latter. Thanatos and Hypnos left after. It was no great shock to Hypnos that when he arrived in his domain, Thanatos was next to him. “Somehow
Marissa
received
Epimetheus‟s
chains,” Hypnos said immediately. His brother nodded. “Yes, but why would a Titan give those chains to a succubus?” “Perhaps he knew she intended to use them on me?”
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Epimetheus have killing you and disguising it as the work of a succubus?” Hypnos shook his head. He did not know. But he was going to find out. *** If Hephaestus had looked like a stranger at the bar, Hypnos looked completely out of place. While Hephaestus had looked like a middle class bloke lost in their area, Hypnos looked like he stepped off the cover of GQ magazine, took one turn too many, and ended up in their little bar. Hell, he looked like he‟d stopped his expensive car outside because his GPS cranked out and he needed directions. “Holy freakin‟ shit. Who is that?” This came from Sierra, a good friend and confidant on most nights, but who she wanted to punch in the face for that lusty comment. The girl was beautiful too. Jealously tore at her and she turned away, trying to bring herself under control.
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“Katrina?” Sierra asked, looking over to her. She heard the concern in the woman‟s voice. “You okay?” “Fine,” she bit out. Katrina had seen her succubus enraged few times in her life, mostly when men tried to force her to have sex with them. She‟d never had the succubus enraged over the thought of someone else touching a man. Her man! After subduing herself, Katrina turned and froze. He was seated on a bar stool before her, an easy smile curving his lips. Hypnos was by far the most handsome man she‟d ever laid eyes on, so it was understandable, that her vocal cords froze for an instant. “Hi.” Katrina shifted on her feet as her panties grew damp. After last night and into this morning, and the slight soreness between her legs, one little casual comment shouldn‟t make her want him inside her again, but it did. “Hi.” Those swirling eyes of his twinkled as if he understood the predicament she was in.
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Violette Dubrinsky “I stocked my refrigerator.” Her eyes were so
trained on his lips—images of those lips buried between her legs rushing through her mind—that she didn‟t hear him. “Wh-what?” He chuckled and leaned forward. “I stocked my refrigerator. You should come and see it.” That look in his eyes told her instantly that if she went with him, the last thing she‟d be seeing was his fridge. His bed, yes. Perhaps a couch. Maybe a counter. Or a shower. Licking at her suddenly dry lips, she slowly shook her head. She was sorely, sorely tempted, but she was at work. It was a busy night. Friday. She knew she‟d promised to be with Hypnos, but would she have to quit her job as well? Those were things she hadn‟t thought of with his body pressed against hers. “Can‟t,” she murmured, unconsciously leaning over the bar and getting closer to him. She saw his eyes lower to the hint of cleavage at the v of her t-shirt, and felt a tingling in her belly. “Working.” Eyes lifting to her face once more, he said softly, “You don‟t have to work if you don‟t want to.”
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“I want to.” Christ, was that her voice, sounding unsure and breathless. He grinned. “When‟s your break?” She took breaks whenever she was ready, and told him so. “Take a break.” Katrina wasn‟t one for taking orders, but she did enjoy when they were given by him. Turning to Sierra, who was watching the two of them with wide eyes and a curious expression, Katrina felt her cheeks heat. “I‟m taking fifteen minutes.” Without waiting for a response, she exited from behind the bar and walked through the pulsing throng of people to Hypnos. She felt the eyes of several men as she approached him, but found it easy to ignore them with Hypnos in the room. When she was standing before him, he wrapped a hand around her waist and began moving to the exit. Katrina didn‟t know where they were going, but she hoped it was somewhere private. God, she really
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hoped so because if not, some people were going to get a seriously X-rated show. *** As soon as they stepped from the bar, Hypnos flashed them to her cottage. He‟d gone there first in search of her, and had then followed her scent to the bar. He didn‟t sense Hephaestus, which pleased him, as he led her over to the too-small bed. He was about to comment on that when she moved around him, slipped her hands behind his neck, pressed into his body, and kissed him. His thoughts swirling with all of the dirty things he wanted to do to her, he lifted her and kissed her back. Her legs slipped around his waist instantly, and he wished their clothes gone. It would take precious time to undo clothing and time was working against them. From the moment he‟d entered the bar to see her mixing drinks and laughing with people, he‟d wanted to rip those clothes from her body and take her. It had taken much not to grab and disappear with her in a crowded bar.
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Before he‟d gone to the bar, he‟d begun his search for Epimetheus, tracking the god‟s essence, along with the conscious and unconscious thoughts that he could follow as the god of dreams. As expected, he‟d found nothing. If the Titan was smart, he‟d find a way to camouflage everything that would make him traceable. Deciding that tomorrow would be soon enough to continue his search for the elusive Titan, he‟d looked to better things. Katrina. “Hypnos,” she murmured, gyrating against his cock. She was wet already, her moisture slipping along his cock with every movement of her hips. Hands lowering to her buttocks, he braced her against the wall and without breaking their kiss, thrust fast and hard into her. Her legs clutched him tightly as she screamed into his mouth. Releasing her lips, he moved to her neck, sucking against it, giving her a visible mark of his, before he began moving. There was nothing gentle about it. He took her hard against the wall, her loud cries of pleasure urging him faster, and it was over in a few short minutes. She came first, scouring his back with her sharp nails, and
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he held fast, thrusting through her rapid contractions until he released his seed into her body. She clung to him when it was over, her legs trembling around his body. Because his legs didn‟t feel as strong as they should, he lowered himself to the bed, bringing her with him. “I can‟t feel my legs,” she said in awe after her voice had returned. Hypnos smiled. “I‟ll take that as a compliment.” Pushing up, she looked down into his face and grinned. “I made you lose control.” “You always make me lose control.” She kissed him. “Yes, because I love what it makes you do to me.” His hand slapped against her ass and she jumped, jerking against the gradually hardening cock still buried in her. “Bad girl,” he murmured, squeezing an ass cheek. Easily maneuvering their bodies so that she was under him, he moved his hips against her. Her hands slid down his back and clutched at his butt cheeks. His cock grew even harder as she squeezed and released.
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She moaned. “Yes. Your bad girl.” “Good girl.” And with that, he began thrusting again. They had ten more minutes before her break was up, and he intended to put it to good use. *** “They know you‟ve escaped.” Epimetheus yawned and rolled onto his back, glaring up at the owner of the voice. Living as a human, without powers at his disposal, was so weakening that he found the need to sleep constantly, a sleep that was being interrupted by the angry goddess standing above him. “The fact that it took them this long shows just how bad Hades is at his job.” He‟d technically „escaped‟ over two years ago. With her acting as his shield, and her handmaidens and followers, willing and unwilling, covering for him, it had been easy to keep up the pretense that the cushions under the
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covers were him. Once his meal was returned empty every day, the guards were none the wiser. He closed his eyes once more, prepared to fall into a slumber that would rest his body. “You fool!” A hand wrapped around his throat, and lifted him from the bed. He struggled to draw breath briefly, but she tossed him easily. As his back collided with the wall and he sprawled on his ass, she glared down her nose at him. “They should have never known you escaped! You should have done as told. Captured and killed one of the dark gods and laid the blame at the feet of the blacksmith! The only way the Titans will rise to power once more is if the dark gods stand with us.” “That wasn‟t my fault. Marissa didn‟t do as I—” Her hand was around his throat once more, yanking him up and slamming him against the wooden wall. He gasped in pain as she placed her face inches from his. “I‟ve lost years because of your stupidity!” It was a hiss. He knew she referred to the two years in which Hypnos had „searched‟ for Marissa. “When I tell you to do something, you do it. Understood?”
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It took a while, but he eventually nodded. She held both his freedom and life in the palm of her hand. It would not serve him to stand against her. Even if the fault rested with Marissa, who‟d gotten greedy and decided to keep Hypnos as her pet instead of killing him. He‟d picked the bitch because she‟d been stronger than any of the others he‟d encountered. No doubt, she was directly descended from Lilith‟s original brood of man-eaters, perhaps even Lilith herself. When she‟d allowed Hypnos to escape, he‟d been so mad he‟d killed her himself. Everything he‟d done, making himself appear as David, leader of the succubae community, everything he‟d endured, had come to naught because of her. A little smile curved the goddess‟s lips, and she relaxed her hold. He tensed even more. His benefactress was sick in that way, to smile right before she tried to kill him. Leaning forward, she placed ruby painted lips against his. “I forgive you,” she murmured. He felt each word against his lips. “I‟ve decided on a new course of
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action. If we can‟t bring the dark gods to us, then we must go to them.” Epimetheus lifted a brow in confusion. She was so twisted, always formulating plots in her head. She enjoyed chaos. Setting it into motion then watching as it ran its course. He knew it was one of the reasons she‟d freed him. The others, however, escaped him. He wasn‟t the strongest, or smartest, Titan. Even he admitted it. He was a failure, although he liked to think of himself as instructionally challenged. But she was so close-lipped, and dangerous when pushed, that he never broached the subject. Still, he was curious. “Clothe yourself, Epimetheus. A new plan must be set in motion.” *** “When are you coming with me?” Katrina had been close to sleep, Hypnos‟s body wrapped around hers protectively in the bed that was too-small, but comfortable for the two of them, when she heard the question. Her eyes peeled open and she tensed.
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“You don‟t want to?” He tensed as well, and she turned to face him. She‟d closed the bar almost an hour ago, and they‟d returned to finish where they had left off from her break. An hour later, she was exhausted and falling asleep. “It‟s not that,” she began, easily finding the blue of his eyes despite the pitch-blackness of the room. “What am I going to do there? I know I‟ll be with you but what else?” His eyes narrowed, but he replied, “You can do whatever you wish. Come and go as you please.” “How?” she asked softly, curiously. “I don‟t have your powers to disappear and appear at will. How? I‟ll need to depend on you to come and go and I—” Two fingers against her lips silenced her. “Do you want to be my consort, Katrina? Don‟t think of anything else.” She nodded slowly, and he placed a kiss against her shoulders. Immediately, her body became warm. Katrina ignored it. They were having a serious
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conversation here! She would not jump his bones in the middle of it. “I love you, Katrina,” he said softly. Even more warmth flooded her body and she was certain her succubus purred. “I want you with me always, but I understand that you have a life here as well.” He suddenly pulled away and she squinted as a bright blue orb the size of a tennis ball suddenly appeared in his hand. As she watched, the orb grew smaller, and smaller until it became a glowing blue ring. His hand found hers and he looked to her first, silently asking permission. A little smile touched her lips. This was the proposal she‟d jokingly asked for. She nodded quickly. The ring slid onto her finger, glowed brightly for long seconds, and then disappeared. She was about to ask him where it went when a searing pain began in the exact place where the ring had been and flowed through her body. Katrina whimpered, and heard him say softly, “It will pass. I promise.” He was right. Almost as soon as the pain began, it stopped. She held up her hand to see if it was still there. It was. And although the ring wasn‟t there,
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around her finger were pretty ink blue letters in the shape of a ring. “Okay?” Hypnos asked, pulling her against him once more. Nodding slowly, she asked, “What does it say?” “Hypnos.” She blinked and mock glared at him. “What does it do?” “I gave you a piece of me,” he explained with a little smile. “You can flash yourself to my domain and back to earth whenever you want, without help.” “And that‟s why I have your name tattooed across my ring finger?” “No. That is because you‟re mine.” Before she could think of it, Katrina rolled onto him and grabbed his left hand. She was about to demand that he put her name on his finger as well, when she saw it, a mark that hadn‟t been there before. “Is that my name?” “Yes.” More warmth encircled her body. “Lucky.” “I know.”
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sighed. “Tired?” he asked, moving his fingers along the mark on her back. “Yes,” she replied. “Now exhaust me.” In the blink of an eye, she was lying on her belly and he was pressed up against her back, his cock nestled between her butt cheeks. His tongue flicked her earlobe. “My pleasure.” She lifted her hips slightly and he thrust into her, pushing her back into the mattress. As he continued, she sighed happily and gave herself over to the pleasure. Katrina was positive that after this, she would pass out. A smile curved her lips. And tomorrow, they would do it again, and again. Her succubus practically screamed in excitement. She loved him. Regardless of how they‟d met, she loved him. Her body seized at that moment, and flew apart. When her mind returned, limp, sated and halfway to unconsciousness, he asked softly, “Exhausted yet?” “Mmm,” was all she could manage.
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He slipped from her and she moaned at the loss before sighing contentedly as he pulled her into his side. Her eyes were already closed but she felt him kiss the tip of her nose. “I love you.” “Me...too.”
**
VB**
Violette Dubrinsky I‟m a recent college grad who‟s been writing ever since I was introduced to paranormal romance and decided that I wanted to create stories that were beautiful. I‟ve written stories for a few free websites and have recently decided to publish some of them. Fallen is my first work as a published author, so I would love to know what you think. You can send me an email at
[email protected] or you can head over to my website: http://violettedubrinsky.webs.com/ and contact me there. Thanks for reading!
