Hell's Kitty (Welcome To Hell) (18 page)

In that moment, Jenny probably felt much like Luke did when Vader made his grand announcement. One big difference though? She didn’t cry, “No!” On the contrary she seemed incapable of sound
, although she tried. She opened and shut her mouth a few times at the announcement, much like a fish upon land. She probably should have said something, but who had time when the sea decided to take that moment to crash in on them? She had only a moment to grasp Felipe’s hand when the cold water surrounded th—when warm air tickled them?

What in Neptune
’s—
daddy’s ?
—beard was going on?

She and Felipe were encased in an air bubble
while the sea swirled around them.

“Um, I take it you didn’t do this?” he asked.

She shook her head. They both peered through the opaque side to see Neptune grinning at them and giving them a thumbs-up as he swam alongside their sphere. His legs had disappeared, morphed into a powerful fish tail, which propelled him upward, and despite not seeing any rope or anything attached to the bubble, he dragged them along with him.

The bubble burst from the waves and floated, up, up, then POP
-ped! Jenny might have landed on her butt as she tumbled to the deck, but Felipe, who always landed on his feet, caught her.

“Okay, that was totally unexpected
,” Felipe said.

Understatement
, which said a lot, given the events of the past week or so. “Where are we?” she asked, peeking around at the large boat deck, partially covered in goop and swarming with singing Vikings pushing large brooms. As someone screamed and fell from a mast, probably because both his hands clutched at his ears, Jenny winced and scrabbled for the amulet she’d stashed in her pocket. Miraculously enough, it had survived the turmoil. She slid it over her neck, lest she accidentally kill her allies.

A distinguished looking male, who might have
appeared more impressive without the yellow slicker adorned with horned little duckies, approached them with arms wide and a big grin—which really didn’t reassure. Jenny inched closer to Felipe.

“Welcome aboard the
S.S. SushiMaker
. So glad you both survived.”

“Who is h
e?” she whispered.

It didn’t take the flash of flames in his eyes or the melodramatic grab of his heart for Jenny to suddenly clue in. “Kill me now! Or not. It seems
it’s not just my daughter who needs the PR department to step up their game or face eternal torture. I am only the one and only, mighty Dark lord, king of the underworld, the punisher of sins, the—”

“Oh
, can it,” muttered a lovely woman dressed in a filmy green gown. “That’s Lucifer, and I’m Mother Earth, but you may call me Gaia.”

A
familiar bikini-clad brunette held up a hand. “And I’m—”

“Lucifer’s daughter. A pleasure to meet you!” Jenny said, unable to hide her delight.

“Hold on a second. You know Muriel but didn’t recognize me?” Smoke curled from the devil’s nostrils.

“Uh, well, yeah. My aunts and I have been following her explo
its for years. She’s quite the celebrity on the isle.”

And as irreverent as the media claimed, or so Jenny judged when Muriel stuck her tongue out at Lucifer and said, “In your face. Finally someone who recognizes greatness.”

“Anyone care to fill us in on what happened? I missed it when the flash of light closed the hole. Did we stop whatever was on the other side from coming through?” Felipe asked.

Judging by the exchanged glances and shrugs all around, no one quite knew.
At least those on deck.

Neptune, who’d swapped tail for legs
, approached their group on the ship’s deck. “Seeing as how we’re all accounted for and not under attack, I’d say whatever was attempting to come over failed.”

Lucifer cleared his throat. “
Yes, as my old salty friend here said, nothing happened. I, on the other hand, might cause some damage if I don’t get some food. Anyone in the mood for sushi?”

Given the number of groans, not really.

“Something is rising on the starboard side,” shouted the look out from his post.

What now?

Felipe’s fingers curled around hers as they joined the others in leaning over the rail for a peek. From the roiling waves emerged a slick white sub.

“Who the fuck owns that?” Lucifer asked.

Jenny knew, and she couldn’t help but smile as she yelled, “Hold your fire.”

A good thing
she’d remembered to put on her amulet, else she might have inadvertently killed a good portion of Lucifer’s navy. As it was, many still winced, but at least no stray shots went flying and no more bodies dropped from the crow’s nest.

“Do you know who that submarine belongs to?” asked the Lord of Hell with a frown.

A reply wasn’t needed as the hatch flung open and from its depths emerged—

“
Aunt Molpe, you are alive!” More moans accompanied Jenny’s happy exclamation, but only one demon was overcome enough to fling himself over the side.

“Of course, she’s alive,” grumbled
Thelxiope as she emerged just behind Molpe. “As if we’d let those water breathing sea-whores keep her. No one messes with my sister and lives.”

As Jenny
leaned over the rail to wave at her four aunts, overjoyed at their safety, she couldn’t help but laugh as Lucifer grumbled. “No fair. They have a sub? How come I don’t have a sub? How am I supposed to demand and inspire respect when you women have cooler toys than me? This is so unfair.”

Neptune tossed an arm around his shoulder. “I agree, dude.
But I have something they don’t have. Mortal realm scotch from an English naval wreck. Care to share a glass while we discuss business affairs?”

“Shouldn’t we talk about what
tried to come through the rift and what we’re going to do to make sure it doesn’t try again?” asked Muriel, trailing behind them. “I’ve got a vacation to return to, and I’d like to know I can actually enjoy it without getting interrupted with a need to come to your rescue again.”

“
Rescue? Ha. The only thing that needs saving is me, from the machinations of your mother as she tries to drag me to the altar. I mean, who ever heard of such a thing, the devil getting married? Respectability,” he shuddered, “is something no man should ever suffer.”

As Lucifer strode off with Neptune, his tirade on the horrors of marriage loud enough for Gaia to hear, and smirk about, Muriel telling him to get his head out of his ass and focus on important matters, while Vikings cracked some barrels of ale and goblins swept the deck, Jenny leaned against Felipe.
The one solid, real thing in a world gone mad. A crazy, messed up world that at the same time was wonderful because of the man who stood by her side. The man who’d come for her. The man who’d risked his life out of love and not because of a spell compelling him.

“What just happened?” she murmured.

“Welcome to just another day in Hell.”

“You mean this type of thing happens all the time?”

“This exact scenario? No, but chaos, fighting, adventures, and Lucifer driving Gaia mental? Yes. Finding out your father is Neptune? I’ll admit, that one was a surprise.”

No kidding. She was still trying to wrap her head around that
particular tidbit. A father? For so long she’d lived without one and given her mother’s vitriol when asked, never gave it much thought. Now, to actually have a name and person to fill the role? She wasn’t quite sure what to think or do about it. “Is he going to expect me to call him dad and return with him to the ocean do you think?” she asked, casting Felipe a worried glance.

“You’re not going
anywhere or doing anything you don’t want to,” he promised, his gaze solemn. “Unless you don’t want to do me. Then, in that case, expect me to try and change your mind.”

Her lips quirked.
“And just how would you manage that?”

“How about by saying I was an idiot for thinking I could let you go. It turns out I don’t want to be a roaming tom cat anymore. I want to be your pussy.”

She laughed.

He made a face. “Okay, that did not come out right. I realized something when I thought I’d never see you again. I didn’t like it. Somehow, during the course of our adventure, I fell in love with you.” H
e peered anxiously at the sky.

“What are you looking for?”

“Don’t laugh, but I often said, the day I declared my love for a woman was the day I’d get hit by lightning.”

Jenny placed a hand on his heart. “You’re still alive
, and so am I, alive and in love with you.”

“Really?”

She nodded her head. “And you don’t have to give up roaming for me. Other women, yes,” she corrected with a laugh. “But I wouldn’t mind traveling by your side and seeing what Hell has to offer.”

“Anyone ever tell you that you’re perfect?”

“Only one man. The only one that counts. You.”

“Finally, she listens.”

“Don’t expect me to make it a habit,” she joked as she tilted her face for a kiss. Their lips touched, and there it was, the lightning he’d expected. It hit them both with a jolt, of arousal and need.

It didn’t take the cheers from the Vikings watching to realize the passion between them needed a more private spot.
Luckily for them, Lucifer, whom it seemed harbored a matchmaking fetish, had set aside a room for them. It wasn’t discreet, not with the flashing neon sign he’d erected in the corridor they entered below decks saying, “Jenny and Felipe’s Love Nest this way!” but it proved most definitely welcome.

They’d no sooner entered the small cabin than t
hey fell on the bed, his heavier weight pinning her body to the mattress while his lips hungrily devoured hers. Hot breath mingled, tongues meshed, and their bodies molded, rubbed, frictioned, and delighted. How long they spent holding each other tight embracing she couldn’t have said, but at one point, she couldn’t ignore her body, which clamored for more. As if sensing her burgeoning need, Felipe slid his lips from her mouth and went exploring the column of her throat. Licks and nips, teasing caresses, a gentle bite of her racing pulse. Her breathing hitched.

“I’m going to make you sing,” he growled as he shifted his weight to the side so he could tear at the remaining shreds of her toga.

“Promise?” was her wanton reply.

He chuckled against her lips as he crouched over her, the hair on his chest abrading her bare breasts. Her nipples were taut, protruding buds, begging for attention. And lavish them with his
undivided attention he did, sucking at them. Drawing them into his mouth and swirling his tongue around them.

When he’d gotten his fill, and her writhing on the sheets, he moved lower,
rubbing his face on the soft skin of her belly, a teasing pause to what she knew would come.

In an unexpected move, he rolled her onto her stomach and
placed a kiss on each of her cheeks. He thrust an arm under her, hoisting her buttocks while keeping her upper torso flat on the bed. It surely exposed her to his view and just knowing he could stare at her sex, moistened it.

“You smell so
sweet,” he growled as he pressed his face against the crease of her thighs, his moist tongue tickling her skin. “Spread your legs,” he demanded. A command she was more than happy to obey.

Even more exposed, she couldn’t help but make a mewling sound as
his warm breath fanned over her sex. But that was just the beginning. The wet tip of his tongue traced the outer edges of her sex. Teasing her. Arousing her.

When he finally did lick her—a wet, raspy swipe of his tongue against her sensitive flesh—she cried out. “Yes!” And more. She wanted more, but she didn’t need to say it aloud. He knew. He acted. He pleasured
.

Over and over, he lapped at her, his tongue
probing between her lips, thrusting into her sex while Jenny clutched at the sheets, her body afire with desire.

His mouth latched onto her clit, and she bucked, but his greater strength held her in place,
where he wanted her so he could suck on her sensitive flesh. She couldn’t help it. A mini, shuddering orgasm went through her, a ripple of relief that did nothing to really sate her need. For that she’d need something inside her. Something only he could give her.

“Please, Felipe.” She openly begged for it.

“So soon? Wouldn’t you prefer to come on my tongue again?” he teased, his breath tickling her moist flesh as he slid two fingers into her welcoming channel.

“I’d rather come on you,” was her honest reply.

She couldn’t miss his tremble, not with their bodies touching in so many places. She tossed a looked over her shoulder and saw him staring at her, his eyes ablaze.

“Make love to me, Felipe,” she murmured in a husky voice.

“I’m going to do more than that,” was his guttural reply. “I’m going to mark and claim you so all of Hell, and anyone who sees you, knows you are
mine.
”