Devilish - A Demon Stepbrother Romance (8 page)

              As the car drove off, Liam put his hand against the small of my back, ready to lead me towards Lawson’s office. Once again, I felt grateful I was not on this dark road alone.

              We only got a few steps before I felt Liam’s arm tighten around my shoulders, holding me close while slowing me down as well. “What is it?” I asked looking up at him.

              But his eyes were narrowed ahead.

              I followed his gaze and saw a man in a tailored black suit walking quickly up the sidewalk, straight towards us. Most New Yorkers walked fast but this man was walking without breaking eye contact with us, at a noticeable speed.

              As he got into hearing range, he asked clearly, “Are you Sophia Madewell?”

              But before I could answer, two things happened simultaneously.

              I felt Liam throw me behind him as the man reached into his suit jacket, pulling out a huge silver colt .45.

              Just as I was thrown behind Liam, I heard a shot fire. People in the immediate vicinity began screaming and running in panic. Liam turned around and put his arm around me, pushing me behind a parked car. I quickly looked him over. He was whole. No blood. The shot had missed.

              “Who is that?” I whispered, my pulse racing. My adrenaline was so high, I felt detached from my body.

              Liam was hunched beside me, covering me slightly, as he looked around the side of the car. People were still in hysterics and the crowd was inadvertently helping us in providing cover.

              “I don’t know,” Liam said, his eyes out on the sidewalk. “I don’t think—”

              Another shot was fired.

              But our heads snapped to our right. This shot was from a different side. I looked at Liam. There was more than one gunman.

              “Stay down,” Liam said putting an arm over my back, forcing me into a low, hunched position. “We’re going to move down towards the bridge.”

              Trying use the screaming crowds to our advantage, Liam moved me along, never stepping for a moment without his body pressed against mine, shielding me as much as he could.

              But the crowds got thicker as panic truly set in. Another shot was fired off. This time, I was sure it was from behind us. How many men were there?

              A woman to my right screamed, “Terrorist! Terrorist attack! Lord, it’s a terrorist attack!”

              I was quite sure terrorists did not wear fitted black suits before they killed but before I could think any further on that the woman screamed again and then bumped straight into me.

              “Sophia!” I heard Liam call out, his voice strong like a fist.

              But the crowds at that moment were stronger. As I stumbled from the woman’s bump, I got swept further into the frenzy. I tried to push back but I kept getting jostled before I could regain my balance, leaving me feeling even more confused.

              My heart was in my throat. I pushed against the screaming people, only focused on trying to find Liam again. God, who would be shooting in the middle of the street in the heart of the financial district? It was insanity! This was going to be so highly publicized. What kind of murderer would want his murders to be witnessed by so many people?

              But quite suddenly, I felt the crowd around me all disperse. In an eerie, almost synchronized manner, I found myself exposed out on the middle of the street. I looked up towards uptown and saw a man in a black suit, different from the first man I saw, standing directly opposite me on the street.

              And before I could even think to jump to take cover, the man aimed his gun and fired.

              “Sophia!”

              Screams echoed in my ears as I felt myself stumble backwards. Initially, I breathed a sigh of relief. He had missed. Thank god.

              But then I felt myself falling. Falling.

              I looked up, not realizing I had even closed my eyes, and saw Liam above me, holding me in his arms.

              And then, it hit me. A hissing, burning pain that radiated from my left side. “Oh fuck!” I gasped as my shaky hands reached towards my middle. I felt something warm and wet.

              Looking down, I saw my hands covered in dark red blood.

              I had been shot. I was dying.

              “Liam,” I said, already feeling the chill of death. My body shook and my muscles twitched and tightened in its death throes. “Liam.”

              Liam looked down at the wound. His jaw tightened as he saw the blood pouring over my hands, completely soaking the dress I wore. I could even feel the wetness on my back as the blood completely soaked the fabric of my dress.

              Holding me with an arm around my back and a hand on my head, he gently lowered me to the ground. My vision was already beginning to spot. God, I was going fast. But even in the spotty vision, I saw the two black suited men walking up behind Liam, guns drawn. They were coming to finish the job.

              “Liam,” I gasped, trying to warn him.

              As soon as he laid me down, he looked up.

              If my heart weren’t already erratically beating, it would’ve once I looked upon his face.

              This was no longer Liam. Possibly no longer human.

              His jaw was rigid and clenched tight. His expression visibly darkening, an aura of blackness growing around him like a cloak. His green eyes burned like fiery emeralds, the fury and power within them clear and potent.

              His shoulders, still hunched over me, tightened and seemed to broaden. His whole body seemed larger and more terrifying in its strength and promise of destruction.

              “Stay here,” he said, his voice nearly a growl.

              “Liam,” I breathed, trying to warn him about the gunmen but not able to get enough air into my lungs. “Don’t.”

              He put a hand on my forehead. His hand was so large, it could easily palm my entire head. “Stay,” he said again.

              I squinted to keep my vision from blurring. I watched as he slowly rose and turned around.

              The two men lifted their guns and fired. I cringed on instinct. But when I opened my eyes, Liam was still walking towards the men, straight and broad and whole as ever.

              Even through my tunneling vision, I could see the surprised and unnerved looks on both men.

              Then with incredible, nearly supernatural speed, Liam shot forward, his fist kept low and tight to his side. He punched the man to the right. The man doubled over on Liam’s fist, his eyes bulging so wide I thought they would pop out their sockets.

              Then with a heaving gasp, the man spit up blood. Eyes rolled back and as the man slumped to the ground, I saw Liam’s large first covered in blood.

              He had punched the man right through his gut.

              Liam straightened up. He turned his head to the second man who couldn’t take his eyes off his comrade.

              He raised his gun towards Liam but before he could even properly aim it, Liam grabbed his arm with one hand and snapped it in two. Then swinging his hand back, he let go a furious smack across the man’s head.

              I heard a very distinct, singular sound of vertebrae snapping.

              The men fell into a boneless heap.

              The blackness edged further and further into my vision.

              I stared at Liam. My stepbrother. My demon.

              I saw the dark aura around him pulsing as his body tried to keep his rage and power in check. His back was towards me but even through his jacket, I felt like I could see ever sinew, every muscle of his throbbing and twitching with the need for more violence.

              He suddenly turned around. His darkened face, harsh with need for violence, stared at me. His green eyes, glowing with an eeriness that now was beginning to feel familiar, pierced my heart.

              I closed my eyes and let the darkness take me.

Chapter Thirteen

              All I could hear and feel was the rushing. Every time I would close then open my eyes, it was a different type of hurried rushing.

              “She’s lost a lot of blood. We’ll need a transfusion, stat!” a woman’s voice echoed. I looked up only to see a wall of blinding white above me as a woman and her saturated blue scrubs buzzed into my view.

              I heard “surgery” and “bullet” floated above me. So if I was going into surgery, that meant I wasn’t dead, right? I couldn’t be dead. I hadn’t gotten my revenge yet. Liam would never let me die before getting revenge.

              Liam.

              Where was Liam in all of this?

              I close my eyes and open them in a small room with a gaggle of masked doctors looking over me. I opened my mouth to ask where Liam was but instead I felt someone push a plastic tube down my throat, intubating me.

              I felt a mist of hazy calm steal over me as I slowly closed my eyes again.
Well this is new,
I thought.
I’ve never
survived
a murder attempt before.
And then I wanted to giggle at the ridiculousness of the thought. But before I could draw in enough breath to laugh, my lids dropped and the world closed around me.

              When I opened my eyes again, I heard another woman’s voice above me. All the voices sounded so far away, as if they were at the end of a tunnel.

              “Sir, she needs rest. She’s just gotten out of surgery!” the woman protested.

              “I am her stepbrother and next of kin,” a deep voice said calmly but not without a hint of steel.
Liam!
“As such, I want my sister discharged right now.”

              “But, sir! Can’t you see that she’s still quite—”

              “
Dis
charge her
now
, nurse.”

              I heard silence before the huffy retreating steps of a slightly terrified nurse. I smiled, or at least thought I smiled, to myself.
I could’ve told you, nurse
, I thought hazily.
Don’t mess with the demon.

              And then it was all dark.

              But then hours, days, years, later I woke up gasping.

              “Oh god!” I cried out, everything sheeting white about me as pain ripped through me.

              As my vision cleared, I saw Liam above me, holding me tight in his arms. The very position of being curled up in his arms made my body shiver uncontrollably in pain. Sweat immediately burst out across my forehead. “Oh my god,” I gasped, my arm gripping Liam’s shoulders.

              “Just hold on for a few more minutes,” Liam said hurriedly as he nearly sprinted up the stairs of the house, causing me immeasurable agony.

              I looked around blearily. “We…We’re home,” I whispered, hoping to god I would just pass out so I wouldn’t have to endure this pain for much longer.

              “Took forever to get you out of that stinking hospital,” Liam muttered under his breath as he reached the second floor. He didn’t even seem winded from carrying another person as he nearly ran up a flight of stairs.

              “Stinking?” I whispered, closing my eyes, urging my body to pass out. Pain rolled through me like waves of glass shards.

              “Stinking,” Liam confirmed as he pushed open the door to my bedroom with his shoulder. “I can smell the death in there and the souls that are leaving the earthly realm. It stinks.”

              I cried out, unable to help myself, as Liam gently laid me on my bed. Feeling the soft mattress below me and my body finally still from motion, I panted in relief as I tried to swallow the nausea I felt.

              “Why…did you take me out of…the hospital?” I gasped, trying to draw breath in between razor sharp stabs of pain. I wanted to press my hands against my lower abdomen, to stop the pain. But I knew better and instead pressed my shaking hands into fists.

              Liam shrugged out of his jacket, stained with blood. He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt which was also stained with blood. Remembering the shooting and Liam’s reaction to the gunmen, I was quite sure not all of the blood on his shirt was mine.

              “So I can heal you,” Liam said as if that were obvious. “I could’ve done it sooner if the hospital staff hadn’t dragged their feet about discharging you.”

              Liam sat at the edge of my bed. The shift of the bed from his mere weight made me gasp again in pain. “Well,” I said, my voice tight with agony, “they might’ve had a point.”

              Looking down at the white hospital gown I still wore, I could see redness seeping through. I didn’t need to open the bandaging to know my wound had torn open again from all this jostling.

              But before I could say anything else, Liam nudged my legs apart and sat on his knees between them.

              I stared up at him, curious yet in so much mind numbing pain, I could have cared less if he was standing on his head.

              But that soon changed when I felt him rolling up the hem of the hospital gown. “What are you doing!” I cried out and then immediately regretted my loud cry. Just speaking above a whisper made me cringe.

              “Lay back down,” Liam said calmly. Soon he had the gown rolled all the way up to right below my breasts. I quickly flicked a glance down and was grateful I still had my underwear on. But I soon felt breathless as I looked down at the swath of bandages around my midsection, all turning a bright red.

              With quick, skilled fingers, Liam started undoing the bandaging. “What are you doing? I’m bleeding!” I said softly, horrified and yet too exhausted with pain to put up much of a fight.

              “Hush,” he said without looking up. With all the bandages removed, I felt smaller, lighter, more fragile. And I could feel the blood pooling around my belly.

              I groaned as I felt the bed shift again. I looked down and saw to my horror Liam laying himself down on his belly, between my legs. Hooking his arm around my left thigh, he pulled me a little closer to him.

              He finally looked up, his green eyes glowing with a knowing glint. My mouth was open in shock and embarrassment. What was he doing!

              And as if to answer my question, Liam showed me exactly what he was going to do. He lowered his head over my lower left belly, the ugly wound still bleeding, and closed his lips over it.

              I gasped and tried to jerk back but his arm tightened around my thigh and kept me in place easily. “Wha…What,” I whispered, unsure what to think, how to feel.

              I felt Liam’s tongue press itself against the tender wound. I cringed instinctively, expecting that nauseating roll of pain. But instead, a cool soothing sensation began to pour into me. His tongue slowly licked over the wound again, his lips pressed firmly against my abdomen. Another wave of soothing peace filled me.

              “What are you doing?” I asked for what felt like the millionth time. But this time, I didn’t care what the answer was. Whatever he was doing felt amazing. I could almost feel every ache, every pain, dissolving and dissipating, leaving me in a wonderful pool of relaxed ease.

              Feeling so good and aching for more, I even arched my back, pressing my stomach into his mouth, wanting more of whatever it was he was giving. A large hand flattened against my stomach, pushing me back down. He would give whatever he wanted
when
he wanted. And I was to just take it.

              Closing my eyes, I sighed. I would gladly take it. I felt wonderful. I felt beyond restored. It was hard to believe I was in such agonizing pain only minutes ago. This was incredible. I felt as if I could fly.

              Soon, his licking didn’t just soothe me. It began to inflame me. A needy heat started to sizzle within me. I wanted to clench my thighs together but couldn’t because of Liam. I could feel my breasts awakening, my nipples perking up at the rush of sizzling heat.
Oh god
. He was
right
there between my legs. He had to be able to tell what I was feeling.

              Slowly, I realized Liam had stopped licking. I opened my eyes and looked down. There, between my legs, was my demon with green eyes, grinning knowingly, his chin covered in my blood. He looked downright terrifying. I felt my pussy clench.

              I dragged my eyes away from him and looked down at my wound. Except there was no wound. My belly was clean and smooth and whole, with no hint of a scar or anything!

              “How did you do that?” I whispered, unable to tear my gaze away from my restored body.

              “Demon magic,” Liam answered simply, his body still between my legs. “Much more reliable than human bumbling in hospitals.”

              I stared at him. “But why?” I asked. “If I had died…you’d have my soul that much sooner. Why bother? Why do…all this?” I nodded my chin towards my healed stomach.

              Liam lowered his head without breaking his gaze with me. He opened his mouth and I watched as his tongue licked me from right above my panties up to my belly button.

              I shivered and willfully stopped my eyes from rolling back in pleasure.

              “I’m a demon of my word,” he said, his chin red with blood. “I said I would help you and this is how I help.” He rubbed his chin against my belly, tickling me harshly with his rough stubble. “More useful than you thought I’d be, eh?”

              His eyes glinted with humor. My heart pounded looking at him. He was so close to the epicenter of my ache, my hunger.

              “You should rest now,” he said, shifting his body in preparation to leave. I suddenly couldn’t bear the idea of him leaving me now.

              “Rest?” I said. “How? I feel like I could run twenty miles.” And it was true. My body hummed with an energy that was charged and zinging to go.

              Liam looked at me, brow raised. “Well, I guess if I’ve helped you this far, I should help you fall asleep as well,” he said, leaning back down.

              I eyed him suspiciously. “If you’re planning to do some kind of hocus pocus on me to knock me out, you better just—”

              All the air from my lungs evaporated as Liam put his mouth directly over my wet pussy, gently pressing his teeth into my mound. Slowly he dragged his teeth over me as he gripped my panties, pulling them down. Once they slid off my hips, he pulled them off all the way with his hands.

              I was now completely bare to his touch. “You aren’t—” I started but he hushed me by shoving the rest of my hospital gown up, revealing my breasts, full and heaving with anticipation.

              He lowered his head and pulled a nipple into his mouth. I moaned as the heat of his mouth enveloped me. He laved at the sensitive bud, nearly making me writhe in pleasure.

              “I’m not what?” he murmured against my breast, his stubble rubbing against the sensitive flesh. “I’m not going to stop, that’s what, little one.” He turned to the other nipple, giving it similar attentions.

              “But you…you—” I could hardly finish the thought as he sucked hard against my nipple, shooting an intense arrow of pleasure right to my pussy.

              “But I’m your stepbrother?” he finished, although that hadn’t been what I had meant to say. He looked up, his eyes glinting teasingly. “That’s right. But quite a wicked brother, I think.”

              He pushed himself back down and without any moment of hesitation or break, he plunged his tongue into my sensitive wet tissues. I arched my back and cried out in pleasure as his tongue stroked me. Hard and firm, with a relentless force, he tasted me at my most intimate place.