The Feel of Wings

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The Feel of Wings ISBN # 978-0-85715-842-0 ©Copyright Elizabeth Coldwell 2011 Cover Art by Posh Gosh ©Copyright December 2011 Edited by Stacey Birkel Total-E-Bound Publishing This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Total-E-Bound Publishing. Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Total-E-Bound Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution. The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork. Published in 2011 by Total-E-Bound Publishing, Think Tank, Ruston Way, Lincoln, LN6 7FL, United Kingdom.

Warning: This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has a heat rating of Total-e-burning and a sexometer of 2. This story contains 45 pages, additionally there is also a free excerpt at the end of the book containing 6 pages.

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THE FEEL OF WINGS Elizabeth Coldwell

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Faith is in danger of losing her heart and soul to a seductive, dominant demon—until her gorgeous guardian angel steps in… Trying to heal the mental and emotional wounds following her husband Danny’s death in a motorbike accident, Faith takes a job cataloguing the library at remote Belknapp Manor. The house’s owner, James, tells her to stay away from the room where his great-uncle Alexander, an acolyte of Aleister Crowley, once performed a sex ritual to raise a demon. Faith doesn’t believe in the power of the occult—until she begins to see visions of the ritual and feels a strong, seductive presence in the room. Belknapp’s demon, Andras, appears to her, promising to show her how much better sex can be when it’s spiced with punishment and pain. Andras gives her intense pleasure—but is gradually stealing away her soul. Fortunately, her guardian angel, Nathaniel, is on hand to try to save her from Andras’ clutches—but it’s going to be one hell of a fight…

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Dedication For Peter S

Trademarks Acknowledgement The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmark mentioned in this work of fiction: Evening Standard: ES London Ltd.

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THE FEEL OF WINGS

Elizabeth Coldwell

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Chapter One

When a white feather falls to the ground beside you, someone once told Faith, it means an angel is close by, watching over you. At the time, she’d thought it just an old wives’ tale. In those days, Danny had still been alive. Now, she watched the tiny scrap falling from a clear sky and held out her free hand to catch it. She needed the reassurance. “Are you all right there, Mrs Reed?” James Belknapp asked. “I’m not walking too fast for you, am I?” “No, I’m fine.” She slipped the feather quickly into her raincoat pocket, hoping he hadn’t noticed. He was already making enough allowances for her. The last thing she wanted was to make him think he was inviting some helpless invalid to live in his home while he was away. Even as she spoke the words, her calf muscle cramped up. Despite the many hours of physiotherapy she’d endured, the doctors had warned that her left leg was never going to be as strong as before the accident. It had suffered too much trauma—tibia and fibula shattered in the impact of the crash. More than once, she’d been told it was a miracle she hadn’t lost the limb. Every time, the same thought came to her. I’d rather have lost that than my husband. Resting on the thick oak cane she used for support, Faith took a moment to catch her breath. Belknapp must have noticed the discomfort on her face, though he couldn’t have known it had as much to do with her lingering grief for Danny as the pain stabbing through her leg. Instead of leading Faith any farther along the path down to the beach, he turned back towards the house. “Might as well leave you something to explore on your own. Cataloguing the books will take up most of your time, I should imagine, but don’t feel you have to shut yourself away in the library all day every day. The beach is particularly beautiful at sunset.” “So I’ve got the post?” “Don’t sound so surprised. Out of all the applications I received, yours was by far the most appropriate to my needs. I just needed to meet you to make sure you really were the one. And I’m happy to say you are.” “Thank you so much.” Faith wanted to hug him, but held back. Even though Belknapp www.total-e-bound.com

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was only in his early thirties, no more than a couple of years older than her, he seemed to come from a different generation entirely—stiff and reserved, uncomfortable with physical contact. It wouldn’t have surprised her in the least to learn he’d been packed off to boarding school at an early age. “You don’t know what this means to me.” “I think I can guess. You mentioned something in your résumé about being let go from your previous job.” “That’s right.” Faith had worked for a second-hand bookseller on Charing Cross Road. The place had been a treasure trove of rare items, crammed with first editions and novels long out of print. She’d loved the job, priding herself on knowing where any book could be found on the jumble of shelves, but Martin, her boss, hadn’t been able to keep it open for her after the accident. “I’m so sorry, Faith,” he’d said when he’d broken the news to her, regret evident in his tone, “but even when you are able to come back and work for me…to be honest, I’m not sure how you’ll cope.” She knew what he meant. Much of the job involved balancing on a wall-mounted ladder, stocking shelves or taking down items for customers. At times, that had been difficult enough when she’d had two strong, healthy legs. He couldn’t risk her having an accident in the shop. Still, it hurt to be dismissed so abruptly. “But it’s not just that I’m looking for work,” Faith told Belknapp. “It’s so hard living in the flat without Danny. There are so many memories…” “I quite understand. I’ve been rattling around in this place on my own for far too long. It’ll be good to get away for a while, and Sydney will make an interesting change, I must say.” They crossed the neatly mown lawn, heading for the French windows leading into the drawing room. Belknapp had mentioned something about a gardener coming once a fortnight to keep the grounds in check. She was glad someone else would be performing that task. Her fingers weren’t exactly green. Danny had kept an eye on the plants on the balcony of their flat, and without him around to tend them they’d quickly withered and died. “So, is there anything else you’d like to know about the job, or the house?” Belknapp asked. “If not, I’ll call a taxi to take you back to the station.” Faith shook her head. “I’m sure half the fun is going to be in exploring it on my own. But I would like to use the bathroom before I leave, if you don’t mind?” www.total-e-bound.com

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“Of course not. You remember where it is?” “Top of the stairs, second left.” When Faith emerged from the bathroom, she paused, noticing the door on the opposite side of the landing. Unlike all the other rooms they’d passed, its doorknob looked dull and tarnished, almost as though it had been forgotten about. On impulse, she put her hand on the knob, intending to take a quick peek inside. Her hand touched the cool brass and light-headedness overcame her, as though she was about to faint. Leaning against the doorframe, she closed her eyes, waiting for the sensation to pass. It seemed as though she hovered outside her own body, looking down on herself as she lay naked on the floor of a black-painted room. The scent of incense was strong in her nostrils, candles flickered in wrought-iron sconces and someone chanted words she didn’t understand in a low, hypnotic voice. Almost as if she was watching a scene dissolve in a film, the vision changed. Later, she would swear she’d been hallucinating, but at this moment everything seemed very real. She saw herself sprawled on the bare boards, waiting, as the chanting increased in volume, more voices joining in. Languid heat pulsed through her, from scalp to toes, and her limbs felt heavy. The sensation reminded her of lying in her hospital bed in the days immediately following the accident, doped up on pain medication. Head lolling, she glanced to her side, watching a parade of bare feet a metre or so away from her—half a dozen men, all dressed in black, ankle-length robes. Looking up, she saw their faces were hidden beneath cowls. They held candles and repeated the same phrase over and over as they circled her naked body. It was some kind of rite—that much was becoming clear—and she was taking a willing part in it. Faith had a distant recollection of having drunk red wine, deliciously spiced, before being slowly undressed in preparation for what was to come. Her clothes, she was sure, were in the room next door, though her hazy memories saw her being unlaced from a tight-fitting corset, of having silky French knickers peeled down her legs, items a million miles removed from the sensible cotton bras and panties in her underwear drawer back home. As if at a pre-arranged signal, the chanting stopped, the marching feet came to a halt. One by one, the men set down their candles on a low table and removed their robes. She still couldn’t see their faces. Each one wore a mask in the shape of a different creature—a hawk with a fierce, curved beak, a curly-horned ram, a snarling wolf. All of them were naked, their cocks pointing proudly upwards. A www.total-e-bound.com

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gold ring round the base of each man’s shaft was designed to keep them erect for as long as they wished. The man in the hawk mask approached her first. He took a vial of oil from the table where he’d placed his candle and removed its cork stopper. Pouring the oil, which smelt strongly of basil, into his palms, he warmed it before massaging it into Faith’s bare breasts. His touch was sure, sensual, and as his thumbs brushed her nipples they sprang erect. If she’d doubted it before, now she couldn’t fail to realise this was a sex magic ritual of some kind, and one that wouldn’t end till she’d been fucked by every man in the room. More oil was drizzled onto her pussy, and as the man turned his attention to stroking her there, thumbs parting her lips and searching out her clit, she wasn’t in the least alarmed at the prospect of taking six hard, rampant cocks. Indeed, she welcomed it. Whether it was the effects of the spiced wine, the mystical incantation or the warm, herb-infused oil, something served to make her feel uninhibited, insatiable—as though she could fuck all night and still be ready for more. “Man’s body is weak…limited,” a voice seemed to drone in her head. “Once he’s come, he needs time to rest and recover. But a woman’s sexuality is like the ocean, ebbing and flowing but never ceasing in its movement. It only grows stronger the more it is roused…” Her masked lover was crouching between her thighs now, scissoring two fingers in and out of her increasingly wet cunt. Needing to feel something more substantial filling her up, Faith spread her legs wide. Without a word being exchanged between them, she encouraged him to enter her. The stranger guided his cock to her opening, thrusting home with a series of smooth strokes, each one going a little deeper till he was buried as far as he could go. Faith felt the cock ring he wore pressing against her pussy lips, stimulating her in a way she’d never experienced before. For several minutes, he ploughed into her with slow, steady strokes. The other participants in this rite had resumed their chanting, keeping time with the pace of his thrusts. Their words set up a tantalising echo in Faith’s head, making her feel that if she only concentrated hard enough she would understand their meaning. It was a spell, she was almost certain of it, but she had no clue as to its purpose. They were uttering the incantation faster now, encouraging him to fuck her harder, deeper. She bucked her hips up at him, wanting as much of his rigid length inside her as she could take. Writhing on the floor, her finger moving over her clit seemingly of its own volition, Faith brought herself to a climax that almost had her sobbing with its intensity. The clutching spasms of her vaginal walls coaxed an equally powerful orgasm from her lover. His cum jetted deep inside her, and he held still until he’d unloaded every last drop. www.total-e-bound.com

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Barely had he slipped out of Faith’s pussy than the next man was moving to replace him. More oil was poured onto her breasts, ginger-scented this time. It caused a tingling sensation as he rubbed it into her skin, and she could only imagine how it might stimulate her when applied to the tender flesh of her sex… Without warning, the vision disappeared. Faith found herself back on the landing, still clutching the doorknob. Panting heavily, aware of a pleasant dampness in her panties, she wondered quite how long she’d been standing there. Glancing at her watch, she was startled to realise less than a minute had passed since she’d emerged from the bathroom. She had no idea what had just happened to her. All she knew was, as unlikely as it seemed, she’d been in that room, taking part in some arcane, sex-fuelled ritual for which she had been specially selected. Hurrying down the stairs as fast as her damaged leg would allow, she almost collided with Belknapp. “Is everything all right?” he asked. Catching sight of her reflection in the hall mirror, Faith saw a flush on her cheeks, a wild expression in her eyes. “I’m fine,” she assured him, “but there’s something I need to know. The room opposite the bathroom, the one that seems like no one’s been in there for a while… What is it?” “Ah, that was my great-uncle Alexander’s private room.” Belknapp seemed content to let the matter rest there, but something in Faith’s body language must have told him she needed a more comprehensive answer. “Alexander was very much the black sheep of the Belknapp family. He was a brilliant student, destined for great things. He won a scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge, to read philosophy, where he was given the rooms that had once belonged to Aleister Crowley. You’re aware of Crowley, Mrs Reed?” Faith shook her head. “Not really. I’ve heard the name, but—” “Aleister Crowley was what you would call, in the crudest terms, a black magician. More importantly, he believed in the power of sex magic, the unholy union of man and woman in the service of the occult and the pursuit of knowledge. He was openly bisexual at a time when men could still be thrown in prison for having sex with each other. More importantly, he was persuasive and charismatic, a figure who almost demanded to be followed, and his influence reached down the years to Alexander.” “So what does that have to do with the room upstairs?” www.total-e-bound.com

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“Well, Alexander’s parents died young, and he inherited this place the year after he graduated from university. He had the time and money to do pretty much whatever he wanted, and he became obsessed with performing one of Crowley’s sex rituals, with the specific aim of raising a demon.” “How do you know so much about this?” The hairs on the back of Faith’s neck had prickled at the mention of the word ‘ritual’, her mind flashing back to the waking vision she’d experienced. “Great-uncle Alexander left a diary, in which he wrote extensively of his aims. He really did believe, if the ritual was followed to the letter, the demon would rise up and reveal the secrets of eternal life and endless pleasure. So he and five of his friends persuaded a local girl, Mary Trelawney, to help them, by offering herself up as the centrepiece of the ritual. From what he wrote, she didn’t seem to need much persuading.” “And what happened? Did they succeed?” “Unfortunately, that’s where the entries in the diary stop. He wrote about everything up to the night of the ritual, then nothing further. And those who were able to talk about it afterwards always refused to. But something definitely occurred in that room, there’s absolutely no doubt of that.” Something in Belknapp’s account nagged at Faith. “What did you mean by the people who were able to talk about the ritual?” Belknapp hesitated, picking lint from his jacket cuffs as though debating how much he should reveal to Faith. Eventually, he continued, “It took a terrible toll on the people involved. One of my great-uncle’s friends suffered a catastrophic stroke, despite only being twenty-three years old. The others developed a range of mental disorders, from night terrors to mild schizophrenia. As for Alexander, he lost the power of speech. He never uttered another word from then till the day he died eight years later, a broken man.” If Faith had done the maths correctly, that meant Alexander Belknapp couldn’t have been much older than thirty at the time of his death. “And what about the girl, Mary?” “No one knew what happened to her—or if they did, they chose not to say. Some believe she died at the height of the ritual, others that she ran away, terrified out of her wits by the appearance of the demon. All I know is that, ever since that night, no one’s been able to spend any time in that room. They’ve all claimed they could feel a presence, dark and morbid, chilling them to the marrow.” www.total-e-bound.com

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“And what do you believe, Mr Belknapp?” Faith asked. “I’m a rational man. I think ghosts and demons are the province of cheap horror novels. But I don’t go in that room unless I absolutely have to…and I’d advise you to be very careful of it, too.” The jangling doorbell almost startled Faith out of her wits. She laughed, feeling a little foolish at having been so thoroughly seduced by Belknapp’s tale of magic and madness. It was only the taxi driver, come to take her back to Liskeard station to catch her train to London—nothing to be frightened by. But she knew there was truth to the story. She’d had a vision of Alexander and his friends on the night of the ritual, identities hidden behind their animal masks, naked and aroused. For a brief moment, she’d inhabited the body of Mary Trelawney as she’d been fucked and fucked again, loving every minute of it. It was difficult to believe things had ended so badly for them all. James Belknapp was right. There were no such things as demons, and no reason for her stay at the house to be anything other than productive and therapeutic. Thanking him again for giving her the job of cataloguing Belknapp Hall’s extensive library, Faith said her goodbyes and made her way out to the waiting taxi.

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THE FEEL OF WINGS

Elizabeth Coldwell

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Chapter Two

Faith yawned and stretched, aware of a nagging ache in her lower back. Glancing at her watch, she was surprised to see the hands indicating seven o’clock. In the wood-panelled cocoon of Belknapp Hall’s library, it was so easy to lose all track of time. Deciding she’d done more than enough work for one day, she put her reading glasses away in their case. Time for something to eat and a nice glass of wine—a little treat at the end of a long, exhausting week. James Belknapp had warned her that cataloguing the books would be an extensive job, and he’d been right. She’d been working here for the best part of eight days already, and she’d barely scratched the surface of what the library had to offer. It seemed that, almost as soon as Johannes Gutenberg had invented the printing press, the Belknapps had begun collecting its output. Many of the oldest volumes she’d inspected were in need of extensive renovation, their pages in danger of crumbling to dust, and she was making careful notes on their condition in preparation for Belknapp’s return. Though she’d been encouraged not to spend long hours in the library, the weather hadn’t enabled her to do much else. It was unseasonably cool for June, rain lashing against the big French windows in the drawing room, hardly suitable for exploring the Hall’s gardens and the beach beyond. Not that the weather would be much better in Sydney, where Belknapp was staying. He’d sent her an email enquiring how she was settling into life in her new home, adding, ‘Only I could accept a work engagement in Australia in the middle of their winter. I intend to go shopping for sweaters at the weekend…’ Typical of the man, to write in the same formal fashion in which he spoke. When Faith replied, letting him know things were working out just as she’d hoped, she resisted any temptation to fill her email with text-speak abbreviations and smiley faces, knowing they’d be lost on him. A rumble in her belly reminded her just how long it had been since she’d last eaten. The kitchen was dominated by a huge, old-fashioned range, hardly the most suitable appliance when you were cooking for one. She wondered how Belknapp managed, picturing him existing on bread and cheese, snatching meals as and when he remembered he was hungry. www.total-e-bound.com

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To her surprise, though, the cupboards had been well stocked in advance of her arrival, with the village shop just over a mile down the road if she ran out of milk. Almost on autopilot, she started pulling out everything she needed to make pasta with tuna sauce. Pure comfort food, it had been one of Danny’s favourites. Indeed, it had been the first meal he’d ever cooked for her. She smiled at the thought, remembering how he’d managed to use almost every pan and utensil in the kitchen in its preparation. The finished dish, with scraps of chilli to give the rich tomato sauce an unexpected kick, had been so delicious she’d cleared her plate and asked for more. Dessert that night, she recalled with equal clarity, had been a tub of cookies-and-cream ice cream. They’d dug into it with a spoon each, sitting in bed with the sheets wrapped round them, having developed a fierce post-sex appetite. Glad there was no one around to see her blushing at the recollection, Faith thought back to the moment she’d gone to sit on Danny’s knee after the main course was finished, thanking him for the meal with a passionate, tongue-tangling kiss. The feel of that kiss was etched so strongly on her synapses, Faith swore she could still taste Danny’s lips against hers after all these years, sweet with wine, swollen with chilli. He’d held the point of her chin in his hands as they kissed, breaking off from time to time to stare at her face as though committing every detail of it to his memory. Or maybe he just hadn’t been able to believe they’d finally reached this point, taking the first steps on the road that would lead them to bed for the first time. Theirs hadn’t been a classic tale of love at first sight. They’d known each other for more than a year, friends of friends who moved in the same social circle. Faith almost lost count of the number of times they’d found themselves together at parties, talking and laughing and sharing a simple, comfortable companionship, until the night it seemed they looked at each other with different eyes. That was the best sort of love, she thought. It grew out of friendship, weaving a slow and subtle web to bind you together. It didn’t announce itself with a clap of thunder then disappear as suddenly as it had arrived, leaving you wondering what you’d ever seen in each other. This love was strong, destined to last until death parted you. In their case, that had happened far too soon. Lost in thoughts of a happier time, Faith remembered Danny at last picking her up, her hands still twined in his thick russet hair, her legs wrapped round his waist, and carrying her through to his bedroom. www.total-e-bound.com

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Depositing her down on to fresh white sheets, he traced the contours of her face and neck with his thick, despatch rider’s fingers, gradually moving lower so he could pop open the buttons of her top, one by one. Faith’s hands pushed up under the edge of his T-shirt, feeling the warmth of his stomach beneath it. A little bare skin was nice, but a lot more would be even nicer. “Take it off,” Faith demanded. Sitting up, Danny did as she asked, baring his torso to her. Catching her rising passion, contagious as a fever, Danny stripped out of his jeans. His underwear fought a losing battle to contain his erection, visible proof of how much he wanted her. For all that their relationship had been on a slow burn up to this moment, it seemed that now they were finally here, half naked in each other’s arms, a fire raged between them, impossible to quench. Unclipping Faith’s bra, Danny bent his head to take a rosy nipple between his lips. His gentle suckling made her whimper, her pussy blooming against the white lace of her panties, honeyed juices dampening the material. She needed to feel his mouth there, the surest way to bring her to orgasm, but the boldness she’d discovered in commanding him to undress had deserted her. If her words couldn’t speak for her, then her actions would. Sliding a hand down between her legs, she stroked her pussy through her underwear. Her clit stood up, hard, requesting her attention. Alerted to her self-pleasuring by the steady rubbing motion, Danny let her nipple fall from his mouth. “That’s it, babe. Touch yourself for me,” he murmured, clearly enjoying her little show. Despite his request, it only took a moment for Danny’s finger to replace her own, pushing the thin lace up into the folds of her pussy. “Keep doing that, please,” Faith begged, already aware of the sweet beginnings of orgasm rippling low in her belly. Normally, she didn’t come half so easily, but Danny’s touch was assured, his desire to please evident, and her body couldn’t fail to respond. Danny tugged down her panties, tossing them to the floor. When his fingers made contact with her bare, wet sex, she lost control, throwing her head back and calling out his name over and over as she came. Barely giving her a moment to recover, Danny dispensed with his own underwear. His cock stood up tight to his stomach, thick and tempting. “Let me do that,” Faith said as Danny reached for a condom, knowing it gave her an excuse to touch his velvet-skinned shaft. She tore the packet open and rolled the sheath down over his cock. Encouraging him to lie back on the bed, she straddled his groin so the head of his cock waited at the entrance to her wet channel. Eyes never leaving his, holding her lips apart with her fingers, she lowered herself down on to the solid column of flesh, feeling it push her pussy walls apart. “You feel so good inside me,” she told him as she began to shift on his length, rising and falling www.total-e-bound.com

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in a rhythm designed to take them both to a place where orgasm was inevitable. It was no lie. Danny was big, but not uncomfortably so, and she relished the feeling of being packed with his cock. Pausing every now and again to share a long, lazy kiss, they fucked with growing intensity, friends becoming lovers in the best possible way. The sinuous movements of Faith’s hips were too much for Danny’s overheated body to resist. Writhing against the bedcovers, he cried out her name, shooting his cum into the condom. Cunt muscles clenching him tight, she reached her own peak, wanting nothing more than to love and be loved by him for the rest of her life… The rattling of water as it came to a boil in the pasta pan brought Faith sharply back to the present. Thinking about the intimate times she’d shared with Danny had only succeeded in getting her hot and bothered. It wouldn’t cook the dinner for her, and it certainly wouldn’t do anything to bring her husband back. Tipping a big handful of spaghetti into the bubbling water, Faith determined to stop dwelling on the past. Her memories of Danny would always be precious to her, but she was here to do whatever it took to help her move on from the life they’d shared together, to heal her mind as well as her body. Just like the books in the Hall’s library, her life was in need of extensive renovation, but tonight she finally felt as though she was on the path to recovery. Lifted by her newly positive frame of mind, she was certain that by the time Belknapp returned from his Australian adventures he would find her a changed woman. And nothing could prevent that happening.

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Elizabeth Coldwell

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Chapter Three

Faith awoke from a dream in which she’d been falling down and down into a pit so deep she might never have reached the bottom. Her breathing was panicky and her nightdress stuck to her, soaked through with sweat. She peeled it off and wrapped her robe round herself, knowing the only thing that would help her get back to sleep after such a vivid nightmare was a comforting mug of hot milk. It was her own fault for watching scary films before she’d gone to bed. She’d intended to have an early night, but instead she’d poured herself another glass of wine after dinner and taken it through to the living room. James Belknapp might have seemed ill at ease with the modern world, but he had attempted to embrace its technology, owning a large plasmascreen TV and subscribing to an extensive package of satellite channels. Flicking in search of something to keep her entertained, Faith had found one of the classic 1930s horror movies— the story of Dr Frankenstein and his monstrous creation, stitched together from the bodies of the deceased. She sympathised with the doctor, despite everything. His intentions had been worthy, for who wouldn’t want the reassurance of knowing that man might live again after his death? But Frankenstein’s tale was one of misplaced hubris, not scientific triumph. Nothing to reassure anyone there. On her way to the kitchen, she paused by the door to Alexander Belknapp’s study. After everything she’d been told about the ritual to raise a demon and the madness and death that had followed in its wake, she’d found it easy to keep away from the room. Common sense told her nothing good could come from crossing its threshold. But tonight, something beyond that door seemed to call to her. She tried the tarnished doorknob, expecting to find the door locked and discovering instead that it creaked slowly open at her touch. Without thinking of any consequences, Faith went inside. A scene of decades-old neglect greeted her. Thick dust covered every surface—her bare feet leaving prints on the floorboards as she walked—and cobwebs hung from the ceiling. Groping for a light switch, wondering whether there was even a working bulb in any of the light fittings, Faith heard the door slam shut behind her. Plunged into darkness, she fought www.total-e-bound.com

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the urge to scream. Briefly, the moon came out from behind a cloud, casting a thin light through the dirty window. It illuminated a candle standing on a dust-encrusted inlaid escritoire, a fat column of black wax resting in a wrought-iron holder. A book of matches lay beside it, bearing the name of a restaurant that probably didn’t even exist anymore, she considered, as she snapped one free and used it to light the candle. Flickering candlelight lent the room an even more sinister aspect, every shadow having the potential to conceal something dreadful within it. Something seemed to scratch in the wainscoting. She told herself it was simply the product of her imagination. Still, it wasn’t hard to understand why anyone who’d entered the room since the night of the ritual had fled from it as quickly as possible. For the first time, Faith noticed something drawn on the floorboards in fading chalk. Tracing the edge of the design with her fingers, she realised it was a five-pointed star enclosed in a circle. Between the points of the stars were symbols she didn’t recognise, though they reminded her of those used to depict the signs of the zodiac. Her mind flashed to one of the many shelves of books in the library she still had to catalogue—Alexander Belknapp’s collection of volumes dealing with the occult. One of them would surely hold the secret of what had been written on the study floor. Not that it mattered too much. Whatever their meaning, these symbols were clearly the remnants of Alexander Belknapp’s preparations to summon his demon. The clean lines of the star were scuffed in places, as though something—or someone— had rubbed at them. Again, she remembered the feeling of being in Mary Trelawney’s body—back and buttocks writhing on these very floorboards as Belknapp, or one of his companions, ploughed into her with his never-ending erection. The thought of those anonymous men, with their hard cocks, masked faces and hands that stroked and fondled and probed set Faith’s juices flowing. Unsettled as she was by the room’s strange ambience, by a glimpse of something scuttling away from the light shed by the candle flame, it was still all she could do not to slip a finger between her legs and toy with her clit. “Do it,” a voice seemed to murmur. “Touch yourself. Think how good it will feel when your cunt clasps tight around your fingers and your body dissolves in orgasm…” The air in the room had grown thick, sultry, the atmosphere as tense and heavy as in the moments before a storm broke. Faith barely noticed. Seduced by the hypnotic commands in her ear, she unfastened the belt of her robe, letting it fall from her shoulders. Naked, she www.total-e-bound.com

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stood in the centre of the five-pointed star, the fingers of one hand rolling her nipple into a tight, aching point while those of the other buried themselves deep in her sex. She played with herself as though for some unseen admirer looking on from the shadows. Head thrown back, the pale expanse of her throat exposed, she gave in to the overwhelming impulse to make herself come. Her middle finger skimmed over and around her clit, before plunging up into her hole. Danny had always loved to watch her like this—all inhibitions shed, lost in the pursuit of her own satisfaction. But she wasn’t doing this for Danny. She wasn’t even sure she was doing it for herself. The voice still whispered in her ear, urging her on to fuck herself faster. Faith dropped to her knees as the pleasure grew too much for her to stand. Just as she’d been commanded, she came with her pussy clutching hard at her fingers, sobbing and muttering words that seemed to make no sense, in a language she couldn’t have named. Cream gushed from her pussy, trickling down the insides of her thighs. As she collapsed to the floor, shattered by the strength of her orgasm, her juices spilled onto the lines chalked there so many years before. When she opened her eyes again, she saw a naked figure standing before her. She didn’t remember having heard the door open to admit him, but the more she gazed at him, the more certain she grew that this creature didn’t need to enter any room by normal means. He must have stood six foot six in his bare feet, towering over Faith as she struggled to stand, the muscles in her weakened leg complaining at the effort. But his height was far from the most extraordinary thing about him. That honour went to the huge wings protruding from his back—their black feathers iridescent as a crow’s. He stepped out of the shadows into the weak circle of light cast by the guttering candle. Faith’s eyes were drawn to his cock, standing up erect and glistening from the black curls at his groin, beautifully in proportion to his impressive frame. With an effort, she tore her gaze away, to take her first proper look at his face. His heavy brow, angular cheekbones and strong jaw gave his face a cruel cast, as did the deep-set eyes, so dark she couldn’t tell where irises ended and pupils began. Straight black hair fell almost to his waist and framed his brooding features. He regarded her with amusement as she reached for her discarded robe. “Don’t bother with that. You won’t be needing it.” As soon as he spoke, she knew his was the voice she’d heard earlier, encouraging her to touch herself. Had he been watching www.total-e-bound.com

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her the whole time? Faith moistened her dry lips before speaking. “Who are you?” “I am Andras,” he told her, “and this is my domain.” “You…you’re Belknapp’s demon. The ritual worked.” Andras smiled, giving a small bow. Faith wondered why she wasn’t more frightened, why she hadn’t run screaming in terror at the sight of him, or lost her wits like poor Mary and the others. But it didn’t seem as though he meant her any harm. She was certain if he’d wished to he could have snuffed her life out by now. “What do you want with me?” she asked, staring at his erection once more, conscious of how long it had been since she’d last had sex. Her own fingers, skilled at giving her pleasure as they might be, were no substitute for a big, thick cock. “I’d have thought that would be obvious. I was awakened by the power of sex, sweat and semen both spilled to bring me to this realm, mingling with these magic sigils.” He gestured to the outlines on the floor. “The men who summoned me were weak, unable to cope with the reality of what they’d achieved, fearful in my presence. But you, Faith…you have the strength they lacked. You have hovered between life and death, and made the choice to live…” How does he know this? Faith wondered. Is he reading my mind? “So why does that make you so interested in me?” “Because I have appetites.” He strung the word out, causing Faith to shiver as though his long, strong fingers were caressing her shoulders. “And it’s been an awfully long time since those appetites were sated. You see, I’ve been confined to this room since I was called here. Those fools never completed the ritual. If I’d fucked the girl, as I was supposed to, it would have set me free. But the sight of me was too much for her addled wits.” “And you think I might be prepared to do what she wasn’t?” Faith wasn’t sure she liked the idea of giving Andras the licence to roam, but his cock was enticing, the thought of being fucked by him hard to resist. For all she knew, this was still part of her dream, and she might wake at any time to find herself lying in her bed upstairs. “I know you are.” Andras held out a beckoning hand. “Come to me, Faith.” She didn’t think to argue, simply walked the few paces to where he stood. “Kiss me,” he commanded, bending his head towards her. Faith had to raise herself on tiptoes to come anywhere near reaching his mouth. Taking www.total-e-bound.com

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pity on her, conscious of the mismatch in their heights, Andras hitched her up till she could wrap her legs round the small of his back. She had no fear that he wouldn’t be able to hold her in that position for as long as necessary. His strength was superhuman, just like his build. She wasn’t quite prepared for the feel of his mouth. She’d expected his skin to be cold, like a dead thing, but he was warm, vital. When he pressed his lips to hers they almost burned her, both with their heat and their passion. As he said, it had been a long time—with so much pent-up desire to release she wondered whether she could take it all. He explored her mouth with bruising thoroughness. His kisses left her lips swollen, his teeth nipping at the soft flesh. Faith could smell the odd, other-worldly scent of him—a mixture of feathers, smoke and exotic spices—like nothing she’d ever known before. She ground herself against him, trying to manoeuvre herself into a position where the head of his cock pressed against her pussy. But Andras had other ideas. “Have you ever learned how rewarding pleasure can be when mixed with pain?” Andras murmured in her ear. “Or that you have not truly experienced orgasm till it has been wrenched from your bound, helpless body?” When she didn’t immediately answer, he continued. “I take your silence as meaning that I have much to teach you, sweet Faith. But first, let me shed a little light on the subject…” He snapped his fingers together, and fire burned at their tips. No heat came from the flames, just a cold white light. Another snap, and every candle in the study blazed into life. “Impressed?” Andras asked, apparently seeing the look of amazement on Faith’s face. “This is nothing.” He pursed his lips and blew, and the dust and cobwebs scattered. His hands grasping the cheeks of her bottom, Andras carried her over to the far side of the study. A black wooden cross stood in one corner, six feet high and shaped like an X, with lengths of rope attached to the end of each arm. “This was the fool Belknapp’s other little secret.” Andras ran a hand along the surface of the cross. “Bondage. Discipline. Submission to the will of another…” Faith was familiar with the words, but they’d never been part of the sex life she’d shared with Danny. She’d never quite understood how someone could take pleasure from being whipped or spanked, even though at least one of her friends had admitted to playing BDSM games in the bedroom and loving them. Now, it seemed, Andras intended to enlighten her. www.total-e-bound.com

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He trailed a long-nailed finger down her throat, into the cleft between her breasts. “Let me show you what your body has always craved, had you only but known it…” His tone was seductive, impossible to resist. Not that Faith had any intention of resisting. Though she couldn’t have told him why, she wanted him to bind her to the cross, to introduce her to the dark pleasures he’d described. Andras gripped her nipple between finger and thumb, a caress that set her juices flowing again. No one had touched her so intimately since Danny. She hadn’t even thought about looking for another man, still grieving the loss of the husband she’d loved so much. But this strange, demonic being reminded her of everything she’d been missing, and she gave herself up to his touch. Even when it turned steadily to a cruel pinch, more pain than pleasure, still she moaned and begged for him to fuck her. “All in good time,” Andras replied. “We have yet to learn just how responsive you really are.” When he guided her over to the cross, Faith allowed herself to be fastened into position with her back to the wood. The ropes were tight around her wrists and ankles, splaying out her limbs, leaving her vulnerable but strangely excited. Again, she felt the same sense of disconnection as when she’d first put her hand on the door to this room. For a moment, it seemed she inhabited Mary Trelawney’s body once more and gazed at a man who had to be Alexander Belknapp. The hooked nose dominating his face was the giveaway—a family trait passed down to his great-nephew, James. Belknapp wore nothing but a pair of black trousers tucked into heavy boots. The outline of his hard cock was visible through the cloth, and his bare torso glistened with sweat. He smiled as he brandished a long-tailed whip, gazing upon his submissive’s naked, restrained form with blatant lust. No wonder Mary had been so happy to take part in his ritual. The two had obviously been in some kind of master and slave relationship long before he’d decided to summon Andras. Mary’s breasts heaved, her breathing rapid as she waited to feel the kiss of Belknapp’s whip. The prospect didn’t alarm her. If anything, she welcomed it. She watched him raise his arm, preparing for his next stroke. With a jolt, Faith found herself back in her own body. Andras held the same whip she’d seen in her vision, caressing it tenderly. www.total-e-bound.com

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“The room calls to you, doesn’t it?” he said. She didn’t reply, her eyes flickering from the whip down to his erect cock and back. The thought of beating her excited him, just as it had excited Belknapp. But she knew Andras spoke the truth. Whatever had happened in this room, before and after Belknapp’s failed ritual, had somehow seeped into the fabric of the walls and floors—sweat and pain, submission and desire—leaving vibrations she responded to in a way she couldn’t even begin to understand. It explained why she hadn’t fled the room as so many others had. But by opening herself up, welcoming its influence, was she letting Andras feed on a strength…or exploit a weakness? “Don’t worry, sweet Faith, I won’t do anything you don’t want me to.” He kissed her again, drawing the breath from her. “All you have to do is tell me to stop…” Andras took a step back, regarding her with a critical eye, as though deciding where to let the first blow fall. Faith tried to prepare herself, tensing her limbs. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest. Andras drew back his arm, and the whip sliced into her flank, leaving a line of fire in its wake. She screamed, knowing, however much noise she made, there was no one in the house to hear it. Giving her a moment to recover, Andras paced back and forth, trailing the whip’s tail over his fingers. It slashed down again, on her other hip this time. Faith sobbed, doing her best to ride out the pain. For the first time since Andras had made his presence known, it occurred to her that demons usually tried to strike some kind of bargain with those they visited. “What do you want from me?” He ran his tongue slowly over his lower lip before answering. “Only that you give me your complete submission.” Twice more, Faith felt the vicious caress of the whip, yelling and writhing in her bonds as Andras slashed at her thighs. “Please, no more,” she begged. Head bowed, strands of fair hair falling over her tear-streaked face, she spoke the words Andras had been waiting to hear. “I submit.” “Good girl.” He threw down the whip, running a hand over the marks it had left. Dropping to his knees, he kissed Faith’s hips and thighs, his cool lips drawing the sting from her flesh. With deliberate slowness, he moved closer to her pussy, licking at the juices trickling down the insides of her legs. www.total-e-bound.com

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To her disbelief, pain began to give way to pleasure, conjured from her body by the skill of his tongue. With her hands still bound, she couldn’t guide his head to where she needed his oral caresses the most. If they’d been free, she wondered, would she have dared take the liberty of doing so? He was the master here, after all. For the briefest of moments, his mouth closed over her clit. “Oh, yes, that’s it,” she burbled, knowing it would only take a very little of that treatment to make her come, but almost at once he pulled his lips away again. “You’re ready.” Working quickly, Andras released her from the cross, guiding her down to lie on the floor. She couldn’t tell whether he’d placed her in the chalk star, but it wouldn’t have surprised her if he had. All the energy in the room appeared to emanate from the crudely drawn outline, and he would need whatever power was left in the mystical symbol to free himself from the study’s confines. Andras loomed over her, stroking his cock. Aching to have that big, beautiful thing inside her, no longer caring what kind of havoc might be unleashed if she let him fuck her, Faith could only wait with growing impatience while he decided how he wanted her. At last, pulling her legs wide apart, he took up residence between them. She was once again struck by the sheer physical presence of him—muscles rippling as he moved, graceful as a giant cat. And just as deadly, she fought to remind herself. His wings rustled, and Faith put out a hand to touch one of them, relishing the sensation of cool feathers beneath her fingertips. As she felt Andras push his way into her cunt, Faith lost the ability to concentrate on anything else. So hard, so unyielding, his cock possessed her in a way no mortal man’s could. Danny’s had been a snug, delicious fit. This huge length filled her to the brim, hitting places she’d never known she had. If this wasn’t all some kind of hallucination, she’d certainly feel the after-effects of having something so big inside her in the morning. His thrusts were slow at first, gentle movements of his pelvis to get her used to his unearthly dimensions. The floorboards creaked beneath them, candlelight casting shadows on their closely entwined bodies. Clinging tight to his broad shoulders, finding a place for her fingers between his folded wings, Faith felt the pace of his fucking increase. “It’s working, sweet Faith,” he murmured. “Can you feel it?” At first, she didn’t realise what he meant, but as his cock pounded into her body with more force, she became aware of a growing tension in the room. Sparks crackled all around them, created by the force of their coupling. What Belknapp and his companions had begun, www.total-e-bound.com

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Faith realised she was finishing. The closer she moved to orgasm, the closer she came to freeing Andras from his confinement in this little room. His mouth was on her neck, biting down. She dug her fingers deeper into his shoulder blades, hanging on as his thrusting grew more frantic. “Yes, Andras. I feel it.” “I grow strong,” he told her. “Stronger than I have ever been.” As if to reinforce his words, he jerked his hips hard, seeking to drive even more of himself into her stretched, aching cunt. The sweet friction of his crotch grinding against hers had her hovering on the brink of orgasm. Andras seemed to know just how to play her body to wring the fiercest responses from her. Even when she closed her eyelids, she could still see those dark, burning eyes of his, never leaving her face for a moment. Senses deluged by the feel, the taste, the smoky, spicy smell of him, Faith cried out the demon’s name and came. His response was a primal roar. He pulled his cock from her clinging depths, directing it so his cum landed on her breasts and belly, anointing her. “Mine,” was all he said, before vanishing as abruptly as he’d arrived. One by one, the candles he’d lit began to gutter out, leaving only the one Faith had used to light her way. Struck with the urge to leave the room as quickly as possible, she grabbed her discarded robe and made her way to the door. Pausing on the threshold, she blew out the last candle before pulling the door firmly shut behind her. She didn’t need to go down to the kitchen for hot milk any longer. Sex with Andras had left her so tired she barely had the strength to crawl back into bed. Wrapping the sheets around her, beginning the drift into sleep, Faith saw again the demon’s cruelly handsome face, with those black eyes so different from Danny’s— With a start, she sat up in bed. What colour were Danny’s eyes? Racking her brain, she failed to find the answer. Her mobile phone lay on the bedside cabinet. Switching it on, she waited for the background image to appear, a photo of her and Danny at a beachside taverna. With his arm round her, he smiled into the lens. How could she have forgotten his eyes were such a vivid shade of blue? Maybe she was simply overwhelmed by everything that had happened tonight. After all, looking at the photo again, she couldn’t remember the name of the resort where they’d been staying when it was taken. Telling herself it wasn’t worth worrying about, Faith rolled over and slept.

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Chapter Four

Waking late the following morning, Faith was tempted to write off her strange encounter with Andras as a dream. The soreness between her thighs as she climbed out of bed put the lie to that idea, though, as did the marks she caught sight of in the dressing table mirror. Faint red lines crossed her thighs and hips, left there by the demon’s whip. Maybe she should fire off an email to James Belknapp, letting him know his great-uncle had been right. It’s possible to raise a demon, she wanted to tell him, the proof of her assertion visible on her skin. But he wouldn’t believe her if she did, she knew that. He was too securely grounded in the real world. In any case, she had more pressing matters to attend to, as she discovered when she went to make breakfast. She was almost out of bread and milk, meaning a trip to the village shop to stock up on supplies was necessary. At least the weather had cleared up a little—yesterday’s rain giving way to blue skies, though the heavy clouds on the horizon held the promise of more showers. Faith tucked an umbrella into the bottom of her wicker shopping basket, hoping she wouldn’t need to use it. Trellith village, a slow mile’s walk down the road, was postcard pretty. At one end of the main road stood a church with a square Norman tower. In front of it, a squat stone war memorial still bore the fading wreaths from the previous autumn’s ceremony of remembrance. Faith paused before the church for a moment, resting on her cane. Mosscovered angels regarded her with sightless eyes from the tops of gravestones. With a guilty shudder, she thought of Andras, their evil counterpart. No good could come from spending time with a demon, she knew that instinctively. There was always a price to pay. But he’d asked for nothing other than her submission last night, and she had given that without question. A figure appeared in the church doorway, his robes as snowy white as his thinning hair. “May I help you, my dear?” the vicar asked. “No, I’m fine, thank you. I—I just stopped here because I needed a rest.” That at least wasn’t a lie. The muscles in her leg ached, though the exercise would ultimately help to www.total-e-bound.com

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strengthen them. “Well, our morning service is at nine tomorrow. Feel free to come along. It’s always nice to see a fresh face among the congregation. And if you ever need to discuss anything, you can usually find me here.” Did he know? Was there some mark on her forehead, left there by Andras to brand her as his? Faith almost laughed aloud at the track her thoughts were taking. The man was simply being friendly, hoping to welcome a newcomer to the village into his flock. “Thank you, Vicar.” Faith shot him her sweetest smile. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He disappeared back inside the church, and Faith walked on. The shop was at the far end of the village, opposite a half-timbered building housing the Red Lion pub. A sign outside the pub advertised real ales, home-cooked food and live folk music on Friday nights, the kind of place where she and Danny could have spent a happy hour or two. Chimes jangled as she pushed the shop door open. She picked up a couple of pints of milk, a granary loaf and—on impulse—a jam doughnut, craving the taste of something sweet. The middle-aged woman behind the counter rang up her purchases. “How do you like our village?” she asked, placing the shopping in Faith’s basket. “Lovely place for a holiday, isn’t it?” “Oh, I’m not here on holiday,” Faith replied, wanting to laugh at the way the shop assistant disguised her nosiness behind a casual, friendly façade. “I’m looking after Belknapp Hall.” “So you’re the young lady James took on. Well, I must say, you’re very brave, staying on your own in a spooky old place like that.” “I wouldn’t say there was anything spooky about it. In fact, I’m finding it very peaceful.” “You’re the first person who’s ever said that. You do know what went on there, don’t you? Terrible it was, what happened to that poor girl.” The woman spoke as though she’d been present on the night of the ritual, even though it had taken place years before she was born. “Well, that’ll be two pounds seventy, please.” Faith handed over three pound coins. The assistant pressed her change into her palm, holding on to her hand for a long moment. “Burn sage leaves,” she urged Faith in a low voice. “That keeps the evil spirits away.” “Thanks, I’ll remember that.” www.total-e-bound.com

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The walk back to Belknapp Hall was almost all uphill. It gave Faith plenty of time to mull over the shop assistant’s words. What would the woman say if she’d admitted to feeling more than a presence in the house? Whatever the locals claimed would offer protection from evil, it was far too late for that. If Andras harboured sinister intentions towards her, it would take more than burning a few herbs to thwart him. But she still found it hard to believe the demon wanted to do anything more than slake his lust. James Belknapp had told her his great-uncle believed he was unlocking a door to endless pleasure—pleasure spiced with pain. If her visions were right, that was the way Alexander had liked it. No wonder he’d longed to experience more, to push himself to the very limits of his knowledge. In comparison, Faith was a novice. Perhaps that was why Andras had latched on to her, because the world of discipline and restraint was unexplored territory. He had much to teach her, and she was a more than willing pupil. Why else had she allowed him to bind and whip her before he’d fucked her? The gates of Belknapp Hall loomed up before her. Unlike the villagers, she didn’t see a sinister residence, tainted by Alexander’s ill-fated attempts to commune with demons. To her, it had become home. Once inside, she headed for the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee. Decanting the doughnut from its grease-spotted paper bag, Faith took a big bite, raspberry jam oozing out onto her tongue. When she’d finished her snack, she intended to visit the library, even though it was Saturday—technically her day off. Keen to learn more about her demon lover, she wanted to examine Alexander Belknapp’s books on the occult. Her plans were derailed in unexpected fashion. As she licked the last remnants of sugar from her fingers, she became aware of a distinctive smell, spicy and intoxicating. The demon’s spoor. Andras must be near. No sooner had the thought popped into her head than he made his appearance, stepping from the shadows by the pantry door. Just as before, he was naked—his cock erect and ready. Faith let her finger drop from her mouth. “No, keep doing that,” he told her. “I find it rather…entertaining.” She blushed, knowing how lewd the action must have looked to him. “So you’re not just confined to the study anymore?” “It appears not, though it seems I still can’t venture outside the house. It’s annoying, but it’s hardly the end of the world.” The look he gave her made her think he knew exactly what www.total-e-bound.com

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such an event might involve. “On the positive side, it does mean you and I can make ourselves comfortable in that big feather bed of yours. What do you say?” “What, right now? Oh, I don’t think I could. I’m still a bit sore from last night.” Andras smiled. “That won’t be a problem, believe me. There are ways of soothing your aches…” His words were seductive, compelling. Suddenly, reading up on demonology seemed less important than spending quality time with the real thing. “Shall we go?” Andras scooped Faith into his arms. She twined her fingers around his neck, clinging to him as they left the kitchen. He made a slow ascent of the stairs, carrying her without effort. After entering the bedroom, Andras threw her down on the bed. Sprawled against the covers, Faith watched in awe as he unfolded his wings to their full extent. Oh, but he was beautiful! Demons were fallen angels, she knew that much, and she presumed his black feathers were the symbol of his corruption. He crawled up the bed, eyes fixed on hers. Faith lay back and let him pull down her jeans and panties. When he cupped her pussy in his big hand, she realised what he’d meant about soothing her aches. Energy seemed to flow from his fingertips, like a balm soothing her sore places. She purred, luxuriating in his touch. “Maybe I’ll take it easy on you today,” he murmured, his caresses becoming more insistent. One finger pushed up into her cunt, its passage aided by her free-flowing honey. Another pressed against the entrance to her rear hole, causing her to shiver. “Tell me, sweet Faith, have you ever been fucked in the arse?” She shook her head. Nothing thicker than Danny’s finger had ever entered her there. Andras chortled. “So much to learn. But we have time.” His fingers never stilled their movement, one in each hole, rubbing against each other through the thin wall separating them. Faith no longer cared whether he decided to fuck her front or back, just as long as he filled her with his monstrous cock. He took her to the verge of orgasm, then pulled his fingers out. Grasping the neckband of her top, Andras tore it in two. She hadn’t worn a bra that day, and he grinned at the sight of her bare breasts, nipples crinkled into points. He feasted on each one in turn, suckling hard, so the sensation verged on pain. Growing used to his calculated roughness, Faith’s body responded strongly, nerve-endings prickling. www.total-e-bound.com

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Andras pulled her to him so they sat face to face, his cock poised at the opening of her pussy. “Tell me you want this,” he said. “You know I do,” she assured him, already prepared for the moment when his thick shaft would slide up inside her. Easing her lips apart with his fingers, he shoved home. They rocked together, the demon’s cock lodged deep inside her, the gentle back-andforth motion stimulating her clit with every thrust. She’d never expected this tenderness from a creature with such dark desires, but as he slowly, steadily led her towards climax, she wondered if she might have misjudged him. That was the moment when he placed his hand around her throat. “Do you trust me?” he asked, studying her with those fierce, coal-black eyes. “Of course.” His grip grew a little tighter. Panicked by the way he was cutting off her air supply, certain he meant her harm, Faith wriggled to be free. “Don’t be alarmed,” he murmured, thrusting harder into her. “I don’t intend to hurt you. Quite the opposite. Controlling the breath is one of the most delicious ways of heightening orgasm.” As he spoke, he squeezed more firmly, till Faith was convinced she’d pass out. But even as her vision swam, she realised he was right. Lightheaded and panting for breath, she convulsed in an orgasm more intense than anything she’d experienced before. The demon’s grip on her neck relaxed as Faith’s inner muscles milked his climax from him. Bellowing in triumph, he filled her with his seed. She fell back on the bed, needing to close her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, he was gone. The smell of him lingered on the sheets, but calling his name brought no response. Such a distinctive aroma, she thought, bundling up the bed linen to take down to be washed. But then, Danny had had a scent he’d favoured—a lemony cologne that couldn’t fail to remind her of him whenever she smelt it. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember what it was called. She could see the bottle in her mind’s eye, but the name eluded her. Funny how these gaps had started appearing in her memory every time she thought about Danny. The cologne’s name would pop back into her mind, she was sure of it. A muscle in her back twinged as she bent over the bed. Her demon lover’s fingers had worked their magic, but now her body ached all over again. A hot, foamy bath was what she needed. Heading for www.total-e-bound.com

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the bathroom, she decided that her odd memory lapses were nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.

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Chapter Five

Faith sat at the antique oak desk in the library, staring at the pile of books in front of her without enthusiasm. Andras had come to her again the night before, just as he had every night for the past two weeks, claiming her body as his. He’d taken her to the limit as he’d fucked her relentlessly, his hand round her neck so she had struggled for breath as she came, the resulting orgasm threatening to tear her body apart. She still bore the marks of his whip on her back, the visible symbols of her submission. Everything had changed since the night he’d first appeared in the room that had been Alexander Belknapp’s study. When she was with him, she felt so alive. All she could think about was the next time she would feel his hands on her skin, his huge, hard cock sliding into her pussy, filling her in a way no one else had ever achieved…not even Danny. Maybe he had. She simply couldn’t remember anymore. Every day, it seemed, her memories of life with him became vaguer. Faith struggled to recall the name of the pub where they’d first met, the make of motorbike he’d ridden, whether he had preferred red wine or white. Or had he been a beer drinker? Tears filled her brown eyes, blurring the notes she’d been making. Losing Danny once had been hard enough, but now it seemed he was slipping away from her all over again. She’d never been one for keeping a diary, but now she wished she had. That way, she’d be able to consult it every time she needed to fill in the ever-increasing gaps in her memory. She couldn’t believe she’d been so desperate to get away from their old flat, plagued by its reminders of everything they’d done together. Now she’d do anything to have those reminders back. No longer able to bear the thought of another boring day cataloguing Belknapp’s interminable book collection, she hurried out into the hall. A walk on the beach would do her good. She needed fresh air in her lungs after a night sweating in the sheets with Andras. When she glanced out of the library window, clouds hung low in the sky, threatening showers. Even the weather was like her mood, grey and overcast. Her raincoat hung on the rack by the front door. She slipped it on and left the house by the back door, walking through the garden without paying the least attention to the profusion of flowers blooming there. www.total-e-bound.com

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The path down to the beach was long and winding—a passage just wide enough for two people to walk abreast—eroded by time and the elements. Faith took it slowly, leaning on her cane for support. Even so, she almost lost her footing on loose scree on a couple of occasions. She’d brought her MP3 player with her, hoping music might help to lighten her growing depression. Instead, it only served to frustrate her further. Her most listened-to playlist was titled ‘Our Tunes’—songs she’d chosen because of their special significance for her and Danny. But now, studying the list, she no longer knew what made them so important. Which of them had been the one she and Danny had danced to on their wedding night? She could see herself twirling in his arms in her vintage lace dress, while their friends and family looked on, applauding, but no music accompanied the scene in her mind. Was it the upbeat Michael Bublé number they’d listened to over and over on the long drive down to the South of France, or the slow ballad by Robbie Williams? Pulling the headphones out of her ears, Faith felt like crying again. She stared out to sea, hypnotised by the steady drag and pull of the waves. What was the point in trying to go on without Danny? The days to come would only be bleaker than today, and, though her nights with Andras were wild and exciting, her demon lover was fated to remain within the walls of Belknapp Hall. When she returned to London, she wouldn’t even have him. If she returned. The more she stared at the grey, churning ocean, the more she found herself thinking of a man who’d been a regular customer in the bookshop where she’d worked. His area of interest had been books on old military history, and over the years she and Martin had managed to track down several volumes he’d previously searched for without success. He’d always been chatty and friendly, and she’d enjoyed dealing with him. Then one day he’d simply stopped coming into the shop. She’d thought nothing of it—customers came and went, after all—until she’d been travelling home on the Tube one night and had seen a small news headline in the copy of the Evening Standard her neighbour in the carriage was reading. It described how the body of a Bloomsbury man had been found in the sea off Southend. She had recognised the accompanying picture at once. It was Military Man, as she’d come to think of him. Reading the story, she had learned that his wife had left him, and in a fit of depression he’d simply walked out to sea till the waves had closed over his head. At the www.total-e-bound.com

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time, she’d wondered how anyone could kill themselves in such a fashion. Now, feeling Danny’s loss more keenly than she had since the terrible moment when the doctors had broken the news of his death to her, the idea no longer seemed so alien. How easy it would be to do the same and simply let the waves pull her down… A sudden gust of wind blew strands of her hair into her face. Faith brushed them behind her ear. As she thrust her hand back into her raincoat pocket, her finger pricked against something buried deep in its lining. Pulling it out, she discovered it was a curled white feather. How had such a thing found its way into her pocket? Then memory flooded back. She’d found the feather on the day Belknapp had given her the job, seemingly fluttering out of an empty sky. At the time it had made her think of guardian angels. Instead, she’d chosen to invite a demon into her life. Movement out of the corner of her eye caused her to turn in its direction. A figure walked along the deserted beach towards her, slowly and purposefully. She looked at it in mounting disbelief. At first, wrapped up in thoughts of angels and demons, she assumed she’d simply imagined the clusters of white feathers at its back. But as it grew closer, she realised her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her. The man approaching her was naked, and he had wings. “Don’t come any closer, whoever you are,” Faith called. His reply pulled her up short. “Faith, you mustn’t be alarmed by me.” “How do you know my name?” She fought the urge to turn and flee, afraid he would come after her whatever she did. Wind whipped his long, blond hair around his ethereally beautiful face with its full, sensual lips and long, straight nose. His body was solid muscle, virile as the angels she’d once seen in a book of William Blake’s visionary paintings. His cock, though hanging limp, was as big and potent as the rest of him. But the more she looked at him, the more she began to believe that this naked stranger was no kind of threat. Indeed, the aura surrounding him was one of peace…and protection. “I’ve known you for a very long time,” he replied. “I am Nathaniel, and my duty has always been to watch over you.” Faith almost laughed at the preposterous nature of his pronouncement. “I don’t believe in guardian angels.” “Really? And I suppose you didn’t believe in demons, either, until the night Andras www.total-e-bound.com

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seduced you.” She hugged her coat a little tighter around herself. “How do you know about that?” “I’ve told you, I watch you. More importantly, I watch out for you.” “So if you’ve been around all my life, how come I’ve never been aware of you until now?” “Because angels only show themselves to those in mortal danger.” Faith tried not to let the implications of his words sink in. “Really? So where were you when I was in that bike accident, when I was left with a permanent limp and my husband was killed? Doesn’t that count as danger?” Nathaniel fixed her with soft hazel eyes that seemed to see deep into her soul. “I was close that day, Faith…never believe I wasn’t. But you didn’t need me as much as you do now, because it simply wasn’t your time.” “But it was Danny’s. Is that what you’re saying?” He nodded. “I’m afraid so. I wish things could have been different—after all, I’ve seen just how much he meant to you—but when you are called, you have to go. And I know you feel as though you’re being called right now…” Faith glanced again at the choppy, threatening sea. Did Nathaniel really know how alone and unhappy she was, how close she’d come to ending it all in the moments before he’d made his unexpected appearance? “I need to explain something to you about Andras, about the way demons in general work. They’re very clever, exceptionally cunning. They’ll find any weakness to exploit in the pursuit of what they want.” “And what is that, exactly?” Faith’s tone was defensive. “Souls. Everything you’ve heard about Heaven and Hell—it’s all true, Faith. There is an ongoing battle between good and evil, and one day it will end in a battle of apocalyptic proportions. Come that day, both sides will have amassed an army of souls, and the side with the greater numbers will win. I don’t know what Andras has told you—what sweet, convincing lies have tripped off his tongue—but as far as he’s concerned, you’re simply another mortal ready to surrender her soul to him.” Nathaniel turned and started walking in the direction of the cliff path. Almost without thinking, Faith followed him. He tailored his pace to hers, conscious of the effort she would have to make to climb back up to the house. www.total-e-bound.com

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“Tell me, Faith, what’s changed since Andras first appeared? How have you reached a point where you were ready to sacrifice your life to his ends?” Was that what I was about to do? Faith wondered. She considered his question for a moment. The answer, when it came to her, was obvious. “I—I’ve started forgetting things. Things about Danny.” “And you didn’t notice it at first, did you? Not really. Or if you did, you simply put it down to grief, or the passing of time. You’ve been so strong, Faith. You lost the love of your life and you could easily have fallen apart, but you were determined to carry on. But I told you, Andras is clever. He knows your love for Danny is your weakness. So every time he sleeps with you, every time he makes you come, he’s reaching into your mind and stealing away your memories. Slowly, gradually, he’ll keep on doing it till there’s nothing left, till you won’t even be able to remember your husband’s name. And when all that has gone, what will you have to live for?” With Nathaniel’s explanation, things began to make sense. She wasn’t losing her mind. Andras was taking it from her, bit by bit. And because the sex was so good, it almost seemed a price worth paying. Almost. Before her first encounter with the demon, she’d been working to rebuild her shattered life, to reach a stage where she would no longer feel the need to hide away from the world. Since then, she’d been on a downward spiral, lacking the will to pull herself out of it. She needed to move on from her time with Danny, but she’d been determined not to forget what had made that time so special, so fulfilling. Andras had seen that determination and used it for his own ends. “So you’re saying I need to fight him. And I want to, Nathaniel, really I do. But I don’t know how.” “You do it with my help.” He reached out a hand, using it to lift the point of Faith’s chin so her gaze met his. Where the demon’s eyes had burned with cold fire, Nathaniel’s shone with hope and sincerity. Her instinct was to fall into his arms. He held her close, stroking her hair. Just like Andras, he had his own scent, making her think of freshly laundered sheets and soft earth after the rains have passed. Wrapped in Nathaniel’s strong embrace, emotions began to stir in Faith she’d never thought to feel again in the wake of Danny’s death. She raised her head, wanting to feel Nathaniel’s lips on her own. Was her guardian www.total-e-bound.com

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angel allowed to kiss her? As soon as the question formed in her mind, he answered it by crushing his lips to hers. The kiss deepened, Faith melting into his arms. Nathaniel was a creature of power, his skin seeming to fizz beneath her touch. But as she played her fingers over his corded biceps she sensed an essential difference between the two of them. Andras drew his energy from dark places, from submission and pain. Nathaniel’s strength came from light and joy and love. At last, they broke apart. Faith’s black, fatalistic mood was a distant memory. Now when she looked at the waves, she had no urge to walk into them. Even just a few moments in the company of this beautiful angel had made her realise life was too precious to throw away. “He’ll try and tempt you again, you know,” Nathaniel told her, “but you can fight him, now you know the importance of what you’re fighting for.” The sun emerged from behind watery clouds. Where the light caught Nathaniel’s hair, it shone like burnished gold. Struck with a fierce wave of lust for him, Faith murmured, “I want you. I don’t know if I’m allowed to, but…” “There’s no allowed about it. We choose our weapons in any fight, and if Andras decides he’s going to use sex as his way of controlling you, then I’m perfectly entitled to retaliate in the same manner. Not that I’m intending to control you, of course,” he added hastily. “Unless you want me to, that is.” “Just kiss me again,” Faith demanded. When he did, she reached down, grasping his cock. The soft length stirred into life, rising and swelling under her touch. The little catch in his breath told her how much he was enjoying the feel of her fingers. They broke apart for a moment so Faith could shrug out of her raincoat. Pulling down her panties, surprised to discover just how wet they were, she tucked them into her coat pocket. Nathaniel hoisted her up, letting her settle round his waist. She didn’t doubt he’d be able to hold her there as long as he wished, secure in his arms. Fully hard now, his cock curved up, nudging against her crotch. Faith let the weight of her body pull her down on to it, mouth open in wonder at the sensation of having his solid length inside her. More than Andras—more even than Danny, she was startled to discover—it felt right for him to be there. www.total-e-bound.com

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Nathaniel held her steady as she moved up and down, buttocks cupped in his palms. Wings rustling in the sea breeze, he looked magnificent. Faith almost wished there was someone around to see them together, though she suspected her angelic lover might only be visible to her. “You’re perfect,” she murmured. He shook his head. “No one is perfect, not even an angel. We can only aspire to it.” Faith wanted to argue with him. If this wasn’t perfection—his exquisitely proportioned body and beautiful face coupled with the need to care for and protect her—what was? But she couldn’t find the words. Already she could feel the fluttering in her belly that meant she was close to orgasm, her cream trickling down the insides of her thighs. Nathaniel thrust up hard into her cunt, his own excitement rising. All she could do in response was clutch at the muscled planes of his back as he came deep inside her, filling her with a rush of liquid bliss. She held on to him, feeling her world slowly return to something resembling normality. “Thank you,” she whispered. “You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do that,” he replied, helping her down to the ground. Taking her hand in his, he kissed it with old-fashioned chivalry. “So what happens now?” Faith found herself looking at her situation with renewed clarity. For all that Andras could offer her a world of perverse, delicious delight, she no longer wanted to pay the price he demanded in return. But having invited him into her life, how could she deny him further entry? “We wait till the next time Andras appears,” Nathaniel told her. “And when he does, we’ll be ready for him.”

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Elizabeth Coldwell

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Chapter Six

Faith stepped out of the shower, reaching for a towel to wrap around herself. “Allow me,” Andras offered, his grin lascivious as he appeared through the steam. “Though don’t feel you need to dry yourself on my account. I do enjoy seeing you when you’re wet.” So smooth and charming, even when his words dripped with obvious double meaning, the demon’s advances were hard to resist. If Nathaniel hadn’t made his presence known, she wouldn’t have even tried. But now she knew what she was fighting against, Faith was determined to win. She’d made sure he hadn’t come to her overnight, wanting to lure him out in daylight. He’d be weaker then, she reckoned; Nathaniel at his strongest. So, remembering the words of the assistant in the village shop, she’d picked sage leaves from the Hall’s herb garden, burning them in a bowl in her bedroom. The smell had been pungent, and she couldn’t help wondering who’d first thought this might be a good idea, but superstitious nonsense or not, it had worked. There’d been no sign of Andras. For the first time in weeks she’d had a night of unbroken sleep, waking to feel refreshed and ready for whatever battles lay ahead. Andras wrapped the towel around her body. “Shall we go through to the bedroom?” “That sounds like an excellent idea.” Nathaniel strode into the room to join them. Faith almost laughed out loud at the shocked expression on the demon’s face. “What are you doing here?” he bellowed. “The same as you. Soul hunting. Except my mission will be successful.” “You think so?” Angel and demon stood face to face, eyeing each other with open loathing. The air crackled with tension so thick Faith felt she’d have to push her way through it to leave the bathroom. “We need to settle this once and for all,” Nathaniel declared. “And just how do you propose to do that?” Andras asked. “We both want the same thing, that’s obvious, but ultimately Faith will choose which one of us she gives it to. And seeing as you’ve tried to persuade her down the path to eternal damnation by fucking her, it seems only fair that I should try to save her in the same manner, www.total-e-bound.com

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don’t you think?” Andras grinned. “I can see the merits in such a scheme. But how exactly do you intend to make this work?” “We’ll both try to make Faith come. Whichever of us succeeds, whichever one she swears to give herself up to for eternity, will win. Agreed?” “Agreed,” Andras replied. To her surprise, Faith found herself echoing the word. Though she’d had no idea Nathaniel intended to lure the demon into some kind of threesome, she didn’t object. Two big, virile men working on her body at once had always been one of her favourite fantasies, one she’d shared with Danny on those hot nights when they’d got each other in the mood by discussing their secret turn-ons. She’d never expected it to happen, and if it had she’d have assumed those men would be human. But looking at the two hard cocks presenting themselves in tribute to her, she realised she didn’t care who made her fantasy come true. She was greedy for satisfaction, and both these glorious creatures were determined to give it to her. She led her two lovers through to the bedroom, settling down on the bed and letting the towel fall away from her body. Looking from one to the other as their eyes devoured the sight of her naked curves, she asked, “So, who goes first, or are you both going to do this together?” Overcoming his initial annoyance at having an angel muscle in on his territory, Andras took charge, as she might have expected. His natural arrogance led him to assume he took precedence. He trailed a finger over her body, drawing lazy circles around her breast. “This is going to be easy,” he said, sneering at Nathaniel. “After all, sweet Faith, I know your body so well. I know how it’s come to thrive on the moment when my caress becomes more intense, the prelude to the pain you crave…” As he spoke, his fingernail scratched hard at her breast, scoring red marks into the skin. Faith hissed between her teeth at the sensation, feeling her pussy pulse strongly in response. He was right. She did find pleasure in pain. “That may be the case,” Nathaniel retorted, “but you also know the sweetness that comes when the pain is soothed…” He bent his head to lick tenderly at her breast, the feel of his wet, supple tongue like balm to her flesh. She whimpered, arching her torso upward so he could take her nipple into his mouth. www.total-e-bound.com

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Raising the stakes, Andras pushed Faith’s thighs apart. Pressing his face close to her sex, he inhaled her musky, excited scent. “You can’t deny you want me.” “I never have,” she replied. “I’m just not sure I want you to have my soul.” “Your body says otherwise…” His finger roved over the wet whorls of her pussy, before delving into her hole. A second finger promptly joined it, pushing in and out in a rapid fucking motion. Faith moaned, anxious to feel his thumb rubbing at her clit. But Andras held back, seemingly convinced he could make her come by concentrating on the sweet spot buried in her vaginal walls. Meanwhile, Nathaniel’s tongue licked slowly down her body, dipping into her navel and tickling her there, before moving lower, closer to the seat of her pleasure. His lips closed round her clit. “Oh, yes. That’s it! Keep doing that,” Faith urged him, then sat up abruptly. Between them, angel and demon were contriving to bring her to the brink of orgasm, but if she came, which of them would be responsible? If both claimed her, what would happen? Much as she loved what they were doing to her, she had to provoke a change in their tactics. “I need a cock inside me,” she told them. Asserting his perceived superiority once more, Andras pushed Nathaniel aside. Flipping Faith on to her stomach, he pushed one of the pillows under her belly, raising her rump into the air. His cockhead, fat and fleshy, pressed at the entrance to her cunt. Then he changed his mind. Wetting his fingers with her juices, he used them to open up her arsehole. Nothing turned him on more than fucking her arse after he’d punished her, so it shouldn’t have surprised her to realise this was the way he would choose in his quest to make her come. “Take a seat, Nathaniel,” Andras suggested. “Watch the master in action.” Nathaniel refused, preferring instead to stand where he could watch the play of emotions on Faith’s face as the demon’s cock slid into her arse. She clutched tight handfuls of bedsheet, humping back at Andras as he took her with long, smooth strokes. It felt incredible, but the longer he fucked her, the more she became convinced he wasn’t going to make her come. Even when his finger strummed over her clit, the sweet spasms of orgasm remained frustratingly distant. www.total-e-bound.com

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“More,” she begged. “Fuck me like you’ve never fucked me before.” “My pleasure.” As Andras slammed with full force into her arse, Faith saw Nathaniel’s eyes widen in alarm. He must believe such punishing treatment couldn’t fail to have her screaming in orgasm, the battle over before he’d had a proper opportunity to fight. “No, no! Not yet!” Andras cried out in despair. The clutching pressure of Faith’s rear passage too much for him to resist, he shot his unearthly seed deep in her bowels. “My turn, I believe.” Nathaniel took his place on the bed. The demon glowered, huddling in his wings, already sensing defeat. Rolling Faith on to her side, he took up a position behind her. With her help, he guided his cock into her welcoming pussy. Even as he inched slowly inside her, Faith knew he was destined to succeed where Andras had failed. Dropping an arm over her hip, he pressed his fingers into the apex of her thighs. Slow and easy, he started to fuck her, while he played with her clit. Andras might have stoked the fire in her body, but with Nathaniel’s help it burned out of control. Where the demon had relied on power, Nathaniel’s approach was gentle, loving. That was the difference, Faith realised. Andras wanted to own her, but Nathaniel wanted to love her. “You’re the one,” she told him, between thrusts. “Take me, body and soul.” With that, orgasm rushed through her, taking her to another plane for the briefest of moments. When she opened her eyes, it was to see Andras looming over her, face blazing with fury at having lost his prize. “It’s over, Andras,” she told him. “Nathaniel won. You don’t have any claim on my soul anymore, or any right to be in this house.” Never had she imagined herself standing up to a demon, but her words held power. A ring of cold fire sprang up round Andras, so bright she had to shield her eyes from its glare. In moments it consumed itself, burning away to nothing, and when it had vanished so, too, had Andras. His spicy, smoky aroma hung on the air for a moment, before disappearing as though it had never existed. “Is that it?” Faith asked Nathaniel. “Has he really gone?” Nathaniel nodded. “He might have been a demon, but he was honourable, in his way. www.total-e-bound.com

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He abided by the rules. You won’t see him again.” “Thank you.” She curled a little closer into his embrace. When they pulled apart, Faith was stunned to see tears shining in the angel’s eyes. “I have to abide by the rules, too. And that means I have to leave you.” “Leave? But you can’t. Nathaniel, I think I’m falling in love with you.” “And I with you. But angels aren’t allowed to have relationships with humans. You must realise that.” “Of course. It just seems so unfair.” Even as she spoke the words, Faith knew how childish they sounded. Life wasn’t fair. Danny’s death should have proved that to her. But to have this gorgeous angel come into her life, make such a deep connection that she’d promised her soul to him then simply vanish again seemed like a cruel joke. “There is a way for us to be together,” Nathaniel said. “If an angel is prepared to give up his right to immortality, he may return to Earth in human form.” “I can’t ask you to make a sacrifice like that.” “For you, Faith, it would be worth it. Of course, there’s no guarantee my request will be granted, but I’d hope it would be looked upon favourably, given that I defeated a demon.” He planted a soft kiss on her lips. “But I have to go. I’m being called back…” Already his form was becoming indistinct. Faith reached out, wanting to hold on to him for just a moment longer, but her own hand passed straight through his. “I’ll do whatever I can to return to you,” he promised, his voice barely a whisper. “I’ll be waiting for you, my love,” Faith replied, but the angel had gone.

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Epilogue

Saying goodbye to Nathaniel had been just as hard as losing Danny had been, even though she’d only known him for a fraction of the time. It was an effort for Faith to drag herself through the next few days. She couldn’t forget the look on his face when the angel had told her he loved her, how tears had formed in both their eyes when he’d explained why he wasn’t allowed to stay. The choice he faced on his return to Heaven was a brutal one. Only by giving up his angelic form would he be allowed to come back to Earth to be with her. It didn’t seem fair to ask that of him, and she wouldn’t be at all surprised if, despite his promise to the contrary, he decided to stay where he was. Knowing he would always be watching over her was scant consolation. It couldn’t replace the taste of his lips, the hardness of his cock, the feel of his wings around her. He’d succeeded in his battle to defeat Andras, she couldn’t deny that. The demon’s pervasive influence was gone for good. Faith smelt no lingering traces of his spoor on the air, and when she walked into Belknapp’s former study she felt no presence lurking there. For the first time in almost sixty years, the room was free of evil. Pulling open the moth-eaten drapes, letting the sun shine in on the dull black walls and scuffed floorboards that still bore the faint chalk outline of a five-pointed star, Faith decided that what the place really needed was a fresh coat of paint. She could already imagine the look of surprise on James’ face when he walked into the room to see it habitable once more. But with less than a week till he returned from Sydney, the sooner she could call in the decorators the better. Checking the listings in the phone directory, she found half a dozen painters and decorators in the Liskeard area. Two were able to start immediately, and she arranged for both of them to come up to the Hall and offer a quote for the work. When the second one arrived, pulling up in a white van outside the Hall the following morning, Faith knew she’d be employing his services. The price he quoted was roughly the same as the other firm, but that wasn’t what influenced her choice. Answering the door to him, she found herself gazing at a strangely familiar face. The blond hair was cut in a short, choppy style and the spectacularly muscled body was hidden beneath a pair of paintwww.total-e-bound.com

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spattered white overalls, but there was no mistaking the hazel eyes, or the love for her that burned within them. “I’m Nathan,” he said, sticking out a hand for her to shake. “You sounded like you needed this job done in a hurry. Well, I’m happy to help out a damsel in distress.” Later, she would ask him to tell her the story of what he’d done to secure his mortal form, the sacrifices he had made to be back by her side. Now, all she could do was smile back at him, swept away by her love for this wonderful man. “Nathan,” she told him, “you’re an angel.”

Coming Soon from Total-E-Bound Publishing:

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Away From It All Elizabeth Coldwell Released 2nd January 2012

Excerpt Chapter One

“So, is your husband treating you to this getaway?” Staring out of the taxi’s window at the rapidly receding outskirts of Lincoln, it took Alyssa a moment to realise the driver was speaking to her. “Only you’re my second fare out to Thornton Hall this afternoon. The first was another single lady, just like you, and she was telling me her husband’s paying for her to have a week in the spa out of his annual bonus. Deluxe suite, all the trimmings. Nice work if you can get it, eh? So I just wondered…” “No, this is my treat to me.” Alyssa’s tone wasn’t curt enough to be rude, but she hoped she’d given the driver enough of a hint that she didn’t want to discuss the subject further. Not that she’d planned to visit the spa on her own. Originally, the intention had been to take a break with Kay, her oldest and best friend. “We deserve this,” Kay had said, as she’d flipped through the Thornton Hall brochure, with its pictures of serene women in white towelling robes lounging around the pool, or having hot stones applied to their back in one of the many treatment rooms. “I mean, you worked so hard for that promotion. It totally should’ve been yours. And what happens?” “Don’t remind me.” After assuring Alyssa he’d recommend her for the position as head of public relations, her boss sat back and watched while the role went to her assistant, Ryan. Brash, overconfident Ryan, who only seemed to have been with the company five minutes, but knew all the right things to say—and all the right backsides to kiss. Whereas she’d kept her head www.total-e-bound.com

down and relied on the quality of her work to speak for her, always playing strictly by the rules. And where had that got her? “What you need is some me time, Alyssa, away from the office politics, all that bitching and backstabbing.” Kay had pushed the brochure under Alyssa’s nose, pointing out the spa’s newly-opened candlelit pool. “How nice does that look?” “Very.” It took no effort to imagine herself relaxing in that pool, basking in the idyllic atmosphere created by those flickering candle flames. No cares, no worries, her only pressing decision being whether to spend time in the steam room or the hot tub before dinner. Kay was right. It was what she needed. A few days of being pampered and indulged, and the opportunity to lick her wounds out of sight of the office gossips. Already, she was sure, the fact she’d been overlooked for promotion was being discussed round the water cooler. Why not go somewhere she couldn’t be affected by any of the pitying glances, or have to put on a smiling face for the benefit of people she really couldn’t stand? “So should I book us in?” Without waiting for an answer, Kay had already been reaching for her phone. Alyssa had grinned at her friend’s eagerness. “Go ahead. If nothing else, it’ll give me an excuse to buy the swimsuit I saw in that Sunday supplement. You know, the black one with the cut-outs?” “Oh, yes. Very sexy.” Kay had giggled. “Perfect for luring some hot guy into a nostrings hook-up in the hot tub. Or maybe we’ll get lucky, find a masseur who likes to leave his clients with a happy ending…” It had been typical of Kay to bring sex into the equation. “No, definitely not. Meeting a man would only complicate things, believe me.” Despite her insistence, Alyssa hadn’t been able to stop her thoughts drifting to a scenario where she lay on a massage table, naked but for a fluffy white towel covering the area between the small of her back and the tops of her thighs. A haunting panpipe tune played softly in the white-painted treatment room, and the scent of jasmine lingered on the air. She couldn’t see the face of her masseur, but that wasn’t unusual. In her horniest fantasies, the identity of the man pleasuring her wasn’t important. All that mattered was the feel of his hands, his mouth, his cock… www.total-e-bound.com

The masseur’s talented fingers pummelled the knots in her back, kneading them into submission, before he turned his attention to her legs. Slowly moving up her calves, her thighs, burrowing under the towel, his relentless touch came ever closer to her pussy. He never spoke a word, but Alyssa’s soft sighs and involuntary groans of pleasure told him his advances were more than welcome. Making no attempt to stop him, needing to feel him working on her most intimate places, Alyssa spread her legs, offering him easy access to her wet, wanting core. As she pictured his oily middle finger rubbing her clit in tight circles, making her writhe in orgasm on his table, it took a real effort to drag herself back to the moment. “Sorted,” Kay had said. “I’ve gone for the three-night Perfect Indulgence package. It sounded perfect for us.” If she’d noticed Alyssa’s mind had been elsewhere while she’d been making arrangements with the spa’s booking clerk, she didn’t say anything. “We’ll be sharing what they call an exclusive room, and we get a load of treatments thrown in. There’s a facial, a body massage and something called a Dead Sea Ritual mud wrap. Oh, Alyssa, it’s going to be brilliant.” Alyssa couldn’t help but agree, beginning to look forward with growing anticipation to her spa break as the days passed. The morning before they were due to travel, Kay had rung her. Almost before they’d exchanged greetings, Alyssa knew she was calling with bad news. “You’re not going to believe this, Alyssa. I’ve come down with shingles.” “Oh, Kay, that’s terrible. How are you feeling?” “I never knew an itch could be so painful.” Kay sighed. Alyssa swore she could hear her scratching over the phone line. “I can’t believe it. I always thought because I’d had chicken pox as a kid I couldn’t catch it again, but obviously not.” “Well, we can’t go away now. Not if you’re so ill. I’ll ring Thornton Hall, see if we can postpone our stay ‘til you’re feeling better. We’ll probably lose the deposit, but there’s nothing we can do about it.” “Don’t be stupid, Alyssa. Just because I can’t go doesn’t mean you can’t, either. Of course, I’ll be jealous as hell knowing you’re having a good time, but like I said, you need this. Let me ring them. I’ll sort it out, I promise.” www.total-e-bound.com

Now Alyssa saw the iron gates marking the boundary of the Thornton Hall estate come into view, and realised she was almost at her destination. It was hard not to feel guilty, with Kay stuck at home and dabbing calamine lotion on her body to ease the maddening itching, but her friend had been adamant that she go without her. “Here we are.” The driver’s voice cut into Alyssa’s musings. “Thank you.” Alyssa climbed out of the taxi and waited as the driver hefted her blue floral wheeled bag out of the boot. Thornton Hall had an arrangement with a local cab firm who offered a discount rate to spa clients, and the cost of her journey had already been added to her final bill, but she hunted money out of her purse to give the man a tip. She owed him that much for respecting her wish to pass the journey in silence, if nothing else. “Enjoy your stay,” he said. “Oh, I will,” she replied, as much to herself as him. She watched him drive away. Then, extending the handle of the wheeled bag so she could guide it up the little ramp leading to the Hall’s main entrance, Alyssa took a moment to admire her surroundings. Built in the seventeenth century, Thornton Hall had retained its impressive sandstone façade, and had turreted towers and thick ivy growing around the front door. The building had been substantially converted in the three decades since it first opened as a health spa, but the modern annexes were designed to remain in keeping with the original building. Stepping inside, Alyssa was immediately struck by a sense of calm. Thick carpeting muffled her tread. A couple of guests wandered past in towelling robes and slippers, conversing in low tones. She wheeled her bag over to the reception desk and waited for attendance. “Welcome to Thornton Hall.” The middle-aged receptionist’s smile was warm and genuine. “Hi. I’ve got a booking in the name of Morton. There should have been two of us, but…” “Ah, yes, Miss Morton. I do hope your friend feels better soon.” Tapping at keys on her computer, the receptionist told Alyssa, “You’ll be in room seventeen, in the west wing. I’m going to need you to fill out a health questionnaire, just to make sure there are no contraindications to any of the treatments we have scheduled for you, and a form for www.total-e-bound.com

tomorrow morning’s breakfast. Make your choices from the menu, and let us know whether you’d prefer tea or coffee. It will be brought to your room somewhere between half-past seven and eight.” Breakfast in bed. How decadent that sounds, Alyssa thought, taking the forms and ballpoint pen bearing the Thornton Hall logo the receptionist handed her. “You can sit over there to fill the forms in.” The woman gestured to a low, comfortablelooking sofa. “I’ll print out your schedule for the rest of today. Tomorrow’s will be pushed under the door of your room later tonight. If you’d like to change anything or add any extra treatments, that’s all done in the atrium booking office. Don’t worry, you’ll be given a full tour of the Hall once we’ve finished here.” “What about my luggage?” Alyssa asked. “That’ll be taken up to your room for you.” It really did seem as though nothing was too much trouble for the staff here, with everything designed to involve minimum effort for the guests. Once Alyssa had checked in, a girl in a crisp white short-sleeved tunic and matching knee-length skirt arrived to show her around the spa. The extensive tour included the dance and exercise studios—where guests were being guided through a salsa-themed workout and a gruelling boxercise class—the gym, with its state-of-the-art equipment, the exercise pool for serious swimmers and the larger spa pool for relaxation. “We also have bikes available, if you fancy taking a spin round the local countryside, and every morning there’s a walk in the grounds. Meet in main reception at half-past eight to take part in that. Now, let me show you the atrium area. That’s where you go for all your beauty treatments…” The atrium was a leafy haven where women lounged in their robes, waiting to be called for their massage or facial. Alyssa realised that, during all the time she’d been looking around the Hall, she hadn’t spotted anyone wearing anything more formal than tracksuit bottoms. Such a change from the office, where she was expected to be trussed up in a skirt suit and nylons, even on the hottest days of the year. “And just along here, we have the café, where you can have tea, coffee, smoothies, wine…” The therapist must have seen the look of surprise on Alyssa’s face. “Oh, this isn’t like the old-fashioned health farms where guests were expected to live on lettuce leaves and www.total-e-bound.com

cottage cheese. If you want to indulge yourself with the odd glass of wine, that’s fine by us. Now, is there anything else you’d like to know?” Alyssa shook her head. “I’m sure I’ll remember where everything is.” “If not, just ask. Someone will always point you in the right direction. Now, I’ll let you get on with the important business of enjoying your stay.” Bustling off in the direction of the treatment rooms, the therapist left Alyssa to make her way to her bedroom so she could unpack. Her printed schedule informed her she was due for her facial in half an hour’, with dinner at seven. The time in between was her own. Maybe she’d use the sauna, or take a walk in the Hall’s beautiful, well-tended gardens… She passed a couple of male guests on the stairs, both dressed in tennis whites, and received an approving smile from the younger of the two. Not her type, with his gelled-back dark hair and deep tan, but Kay would’ve been turning her head for a second glance. Unlike Alyssa, she’d hoped to make a sexy new friend for the duration of her stay. Alyssa, however, had the only friend she needed, loaded up with fresh batteries the day before her arrival. Discreet, silent and waterproof, her faithful vibrator never let her down. Unpacking the toy, she slipped it into the drawer of her nightstand before hanging her clothes in the closet and changing into her robe, ready for her facial. Now the relaxation could begin in earnest.

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About the Author Elizabeth Coldwell is the author of numerous short stories and two full-length novels, Calendar Girl and Playing The Field. Her stories have appeared in the best-selling ‘Best Women’s Erotica’ series and Black Lace’s popular ‘Wicked Words’ collections. Formerly the editor of the UK edition of Forum magazine, and contributed a spicy monthly column, ‘The Cougar Chronicles’, to its pages. When she is not busy writing, she is an avid supporter of Rotherham United Football Club and can be regularly found on the terraces at weekends, cheering her boys to victory (hopefully!). Email: [email protected] Elizabeth Coldwell loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at http://www.total-e-bound.com.

Also by Elizabeth Coldwell Treble: Three-Part Harmony Master Me: Neil and Obey Mi Amore: Missing in Milan Her Dream Lovers Feral: Abyssinian Heat Cougars and Cubs: Something Within Him Christmas Crackers: The Christmas Box

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