“Don’t worry, we’ll have you ready and back to the party in no time,” the demon said, closing the door and sealing me in the small dressing room with her.
Ten minutes later I stood in front of the mirror, turning the dagger Joriel had given me over in my hands. There wasn’t a convenient zipper in the pair of jeans I was wearing. I was pretty sure it was impossible to stash the dagger anywhere on my person in my current outfit.
The jeans were low-slung and tight, molding themselves to my legs. There wasn’t any extra room to spare there. And the top might have been worse. The hem stopped several inches above my newly pierced belly button and was so thin it was practically see-through. There was no way to hide my bra under it, never mind a whole dagger.
I tugged my hair over my shoulders to cover my breasts and the visible outline of my nipples. My hair was the one part of this outfit that I liked. The bottom half had been dyed pink and lavender to match my shirt. It reminded me of what I looked like when I used to regularly have paint in my hair.
“Shall we return?” the female demon asked, reaching for the doorknob.
I tightened my grip on the handle of my dagger. I guessed I’d just carry it around. There was no way I was leaving it behind.
A shirtless Asmodeus was waiting when we returned to the party. He eyed the dagger in my hand, and his dark eyes lit with amusement. “Are you planning on a fight, or do you have a knife kink?”
Heat crept up my neck and into my cheeks, but I refused to react to his words. “That’s for me to know and you to never find out.”
He chuckled. “Come on, little angel, let’s find yourfriendand I’ll give you a tour.”
I scanned the crowd for Roth but didn’t see him anywhere, so I followed Asmodeus to where Joriel stood. He’d also changed and now wore a pair of tight black jeans with rips at the knees and a dress shirt unbuttoned to show off his chest and abs. Our eyes drank each other in, and I felt his gaze over my body like a brand against my bare skin. It sent chills up my spine and heat straight to my core.
I bit my lip, trying to control my feelings. Something about this party, or maybe the Prince of Lust’s proximity, was making me want with a desperation I wasn’t used to. And Joriel’s current state of undress wasn’t doing anything to cool those feelings.
A low chuckle broke me out of my trance. Asmodeus was grinning at us like we were the most delightful and amusing entertainment he’d ever seen. “Don’t worry. There’ll be plenty of time to act on all your dirty thoughts later,” he said, his voice low and seductive.
He led us through the dance floor where couples and trios were grinding against each other. Their dancing looked like they were having sex. Sweat coated their skin, and their bodies never seemed to stop moving. Hands and mouths wandered over curves and bare skin.
“People are all different,” Asmodeus said, his low voice seeming to carry easily. “They all have different things that turn them on. For some people, it’s attention.” He gestured toward the stage. “It works for those who want to be watched and those who like to do the watching. For others, their taste skews a little darker.”
We cut through the dance floor toward the proverbial red room.
“Lust feeds off itself. One person’s arousal turns on another and feeds into their own desire.” Asmodeus stopped in front of a woman tied to a Saint Andrew’s cross, her arms and legs spread out along the planks of thex. He ran a hand up her bare thigh, and she let out a moan. He inhaled deeply, like he was drinking in her need. “No matter what it is that gets you off, there’s something for you.”
“And you’re proud of that?” Joriel asked. His voice had gone hard, and his eyes turned glacial as he stared at Asmodeus.
The prince gave him a lazy smile. “I don’t judge anyone’s sexual fantasies or make them feel bad about what turns them on. Some would say that is something to be proud of.”
“Even when one person’s pleasure is another’s pain?”
“Some people enjoy a little pain. I give them a place to not be ashamed of that. My home is a place of pleasure. I’m not going to pretend to be honorable or say that regrets are never had after a night in my house, but it is always about mutual lust. Sadism is Soneillon’s thing, not mine. So leave me out of whatever personal issues you have.”
My gaze ping-ponged between the two men. I had the distinct feeling that I was missing something important.
Joriel’s hand slipped into mine, and a rush of delicious tingles traveled up my arm. There was definitely something in the air here. He was just holding my hand, something we’d done a hundred times. It wasn’t sexual at all, but just that tiny bit of skin-on-skin contact had me wanting to climb him like a tree.
“Are you okay?” I murmured, forcing my thoughts back to the conversation and Joriel’s obvious tension.
He swallowed, and I followed his eyes to where a man was chained, a woman trailing kisses down his bare stomach while her fingers worked down the zipper of his pants. His head was thrown back, a look of pure ecstasy on his face, and his muscles bulged as he strained against the restraints on his wrists.
I didn’t think the man had any complaints about his current position—he certainly seemed to be enjoying what the woman was doing—but he was still helpless, vulnerable.
I thought about the nail marks left on Joriel’s chest when we’d been in the prison realm, the way he’d shuddered when I’d asked what had happened. What kind of memories did this place bring back for him?
“Is everyone here of their own free will?” I asked, turning a hard stare of my own on Asmodeus.
“No. I have guests who would rather not be here,” he answered calmly. “But no one is forced to participate in anything they don’t want to. There are rules in Hell, Laila. We hold ourselves and our demons to certain standards. You can think whatever you want of us, but we fought in the great war to protect Heaven’s standards. The humans were wicked at their core. They didn’t deserve all the good gifts Father gave them. We would never stoop to the lows that humans do.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. He was right that humanity didn’t deserve eternal life, but that’s what made it the purest gift. The fact that the Father offered life to His children was an act of love that trumped all others for eternity. And the original Fallen missed out on that. They’d tried to argue instead of being proud to serve a god who could show such love and mercy.
It was impossible not to feel sorry for Asmodeus and his brothers. They’d damned themselves to a life in the Devil’s court because they couldn’t accept humanity. It was sad. Sure, humans were flawed, but there was something beautiful about them too. Their humanity was what made them special, the way they could get up again when they fell.
