Thunder boulders through the sky, only empowering me that much more, as the ground starts rumbling under me. I stagger my way back up to my feet, swaying a little as the ebbing dizziness works its way out of my system.

A dark grin curves my lips as my wardrobe changes on its own, and my chakrams light up with the same purple flames that begin burning around my entire body.

“My turn,” I say quietly, taking a step toward them, ignoring my lingering aches and pains that are healing so rapidly that it’s barely a hindrance.

The ground splits apart as purple flames shoot through the cracks, and lightning rains down all around, as cyclones form in a circle surrounding us.

As the power rolls over me and they struggle against my very own storm, I feel the train of my new dress whipping behind me.

Smirking, I hear my voice echo in the winds, warning them something bad is coming. “Mwa…ha…ha…ha…”

Chapter 16

PACA

I wake up with my head on a bare chest, and I glance up to find Ezekiel sleeping peacefully with his arm around me. Sitting up, I notice Kai on my other side, snoring soundly as he holds my hand in his.

See? Would it kill them to all be this sweet when I’m awake?

They mustn’t have been far behind me, because the nightmares never came, even though I accidentally fell asleep from exhaustion while waiting on them to return.

Gage and Jude are nowhere to be seen, and I get up when Ezekiel and Kai start rousing from sleep.

I creep out, even though I hear a small, disappointed groan from behind me that makes me smile. I smile because that disappointment stems from missing me already. At least that’s what I tell myself.

I move through the hallways as I go phantom and change into my sexy devil girl costume. When I turn back whole, I’m reminded of how much more sensitive my entire body is.

It’s not because of the brutal beating. The most recent progress has left my body’s senses heightened in all ways.

I can’t wait to show them my new level of awesome…and hope they don’t ask me how I did it.

With any luck, Ezekiel and Kai didn’t notice the bruises that are still tender and decorating my—

“What the hell happened to you?” Jude asks in a quiet voice, startling the shit out of me as I leap like a cartoon cat and go stiff as a board.

My eyes dart over to find him casually propped up against the wall of the adjacent hallway, eyes on me like he’s been waiting to find me.

“Sheesh. Don’t scare The Apocalypse! I could accidentally blow this place up,” I say on a staggered breath, putting my hand over my pounding heart.

His eyes stay on me, a neutral, flat look in his gaze as he remains silent and stoic.

“H-how did you know I’d come this way?” I ask him when he doesn’t bother saying anything for an awkward amount of time. “Did you level-up enough to see the future? Is that a thing Death can do?” I ask a little hopefully. “Because that would be totally helpful.”

His somber expression never changing, he comes up, grabs my wrist, and rips the red glove down my arm to reveal all the bruises there.

He quickly does the same to the other, and then bends over to tear down my stockings, revealing all the bruises I thought I’d so cleverly hidden. I stay still as he finishes, and I swallow the knot in my throat as he studies them.

I don’t even want to see the ones on my torso. I hope he doesn’t know about them. That’s the spot that took the brunt force of the archangel smiting.

Jude stares at me with some impatience, and…something else. Not love, but…is that concern? Death gets angry, not worried.

“I leveled up,” I tell him, smiling to help lighten the mood, but his expression never wavers. “I didn’t want you having to witness what I presumed it would take to level up again. It gets harder every time, but…I think I maxed out, at least for now, if that makes it any—”

I shut up real quick when he shoves my chest and knocks me against the wall, caging me in as he bends to be eye-to-eye with me.

“I don’t know what’s worse: Knowing you can slip off to level-up without us having a clue what you’re up to, or watching it happen before our very eyes and not being able to do anything about it,” he says with that steady, quiet tone, while he keeps his hands on the wall on either side of my head.

“I don’t understand all this any better than you do,” I say softly, clearing my throat. “I’m guided by instinct and determination right now. It’s like I’m on a dark and twisted adventure run, and while the rules and regulations are vague, the quests are obvious.”

My babbling cuts out when I see not even that rambling tangent can piss him off.

“I think I’m more freaked out by a calm Death than an angry one. Can you do some ranting, glaring, and typical routines of frustrated tics?” I ask, deciding I don’t know what to do when he’s being…less hostile.

Nothing changes. He keeps staring like he’s waiting on me to say whatever it is he expects to hear right now.

“You intentionally provoked us today so you could be dismissed, didn’t you?” he asks as though he simply needs confirmation.

“Am I truly that transparent?” I ask on a groan.

My eyes widen as he spins me, and my breath catches in my throat as he rips my underwear away. When he kicks my legs apart, I dart a look to the hallway, finding Kai blocking the entrance to us, his back facing us.

“Is this more punishment?” I ask as I swallow around a lump in my throat.

“Just shut up and take me,” Jude says almost angrily against my ear.

I have no idea what’s gotten into him, nor do I mind when he grabs my hips and quickly pushes inside me. My head falls back on his chest, as his grip on my hips gets tighter.

All those super sensitive senses are really happy about this right now. Really happy.

This is the first time I’ve had him…just the two of us…well, sort of. Kai’s not watching us. He’s simply watching out for us.

Turning my head, I grab the back of his neck, and he hungrily kisses me as he thrusts with abandon. It’s just as brutal and exciting as I imagined it would be.

He pulls out of me abruptly, and I start to argue, when he turns me around, lifts me up, and picks right up where he left off. Now, however, he can devour me more thoroughly.

My fingers tangle in his hair, and I ignore the bite of pain from my aching, bruised and battered body, as I revel in Death’s touch.

It’s intense. Just like him.

It’s savage. Just like him.

It’s unrelenting. Just like him.

I break the kiss, burying my face against his throat, when the orgasm tears through me without much warning or build.

He only gets that much more desperate, chasing his own, as his strokes get wilder and more erratic. Trapped between his body and the unforgiving wall, being taken like a wild animal in Hell, it’s the best way we could have had our first solo moment.

My body grows more sensitive and hungry, and then…

My heart hammers against my chest when I feel that telling moment cresting, our souls just barely brushing up against one another. They both snap away from each other as a cold sensation washes over me, and Jude’s hips still inside me as he blows out a breath.

Even though I’m physically sated and have no right to complain, a hint of disappointment slices through me as he kisses his way down my neck.

I thought it was about to happen.

That moment where...I just knew he loved me. But he held back.

Still, it’s closer than I would have believed. He never acts like he cares quite that much.

He holds me to him as he shakes against me, panting for air, and I wind my arms around his neck, content to be held.

Kai blows out what sounds like a breath of frustration.

“Sorry. Were you waiting your turn?” I ask, smiling as Jude grunts against me, muttering something about not being able to hold my attention for very long.

Kai glances over his shoulder and winks at me. “If he’s already finished—”

“Already?” Jude bites out. “Stop making it sound like I was a minute—”

A heavy banging sounds out, as though someone is beating a gong on a loud speaker. All of Hell quakes, and Jude hugs me to him as we all look upward.

“One of you know what that means?” I ask, not liking the sound of it.

“It means I’ll have to get a raincheck,” Kai grumbles as he siphons out.

I go phantom, changing quickly, as Jude grabs my hand. I don’t know how they know where we’re going, but I’m happy someone else is leading the way, because I certainly don’t have a clue which direction the gong is coming from.

We land in a room full of snakes slithering all over the floor, and I leap in Jude’s arms…and slap the floor, because he doesn’t catch me. He’s in the process of tucking himself back in his pants, and we’re surrounded by serpents and Hell people.

I squeak out a sound when a cobra rushes between my legs and snaps at me, but when the floor around me pulses with a ring of purple fire, all the snakes closest turn to ash, bringing me immediate satisfaction.

Jude pulls me from the ground, brow furrowed.

“Was your fire purple?” he asks very seriously, as though he’s certain he was seeing things just now.