Lucifer Reborn Page 4

  “Actually it’s very hot,” Lucifer said, bumping me with an elbow. “It is in Hell, after all. But you won’t feel the flames, thanks to my favor.”

  Dad jokes from the Prince of Darkness, I thought. Will wonders ever cease?

  “Thanks, Mareth,” I said, giving the succubus a nod. “I’m definitely looking forward to getting to know you a bit better.”

  The two of us were eye-fucking each other so plainly, even Christina could see it. She cleared her throat, gesturing for attention. “This is all very nice,” she said, crossing her arms beneath her breasts. I couldn’t help but notice it made them look even bigger—like she wanted me staring, now that she had competition. “What happens to me, Lord?”

  Lucifer gave Christina an indulgent smile. “You’re absolutely right.” He turned to the succubus. “Mareth!”

  The succubus snapped to attention. “Yes, Master?”

  “Conjure up some new clothing for Christina as well. Something that will show off her beautiful body, putting it on display the way it was meant to.” Christina blushed at the compliment.

  “Sure,” Mareth said. “I can do that!” Taking Christina’s hand, she led the blonde to the other side of the room and started doing the wiggle-your-fingers trick. Unlike with me, Christina seemed to know the kinds of things she wanted—and what she wanted was to try on several different outfits, each sluttier and more revealing than the last. Mareth, for her part, was only too happy to guide her into debauchery.

  I watched them both, and was starting to get really hot when Lucifer pulled me aside. “I need to have a talk with you,” he said, turning me away from the sight of the two hot babes. “Man to man. It’s about your future, you see.”

  “Sure, sure.” I let him lead me across the chamber. We walked to the far wall, until Christina and I were about as far apart as the place would allow us to be. “What’s up?”

  “Well, it’s about...women.” Lucifer cleared his throat. “Obviously, for a young man like yourself, the desire in that direction is for quantity, not quality. A lot of ‘sowing the wild oats’, so to speak. I don’t think I need to be crass.”

  “I get you,” I told him. Now that I have this power, I can get girls. Which means I can have lots of them—but I should be choosy.

  “Good. What this means is that you will, sooner or later, end up with multiple romantic entanglements. Whether you want them or not.” His gaze turned portentous.

  I shrugged. “That’s cool. I’ll just keep things casual.”

  Lucifer let out a short, barking laugh. “So many men have said! And yet, how easily the light gossamer ropes of lust transform into the harsher bonds of love—only to thicken into the heavy, leaden weights of obligation.” Lucifer’s eyes narrowed. “Believe me, son—I know this all too well. You may not have a choice in the matter.”

  I swallowed hard. “What do you mean by that?”

  “Only that any woman with whom you form more than most fleeting erotic bond will eventually become a member of your harem—and through that, become one of your Queens.”

  My eyebrows rose. “Queens?”

  He misunderstood me. “Oh, you can have a one-night stand, certainly. Pull a pretty young demoness into the bathroom at an Academy party and have your way with her before the mirror, or let her sink to her knees before you...that will not create a Queen. But courtship? That most certainly will.”

  I looked at Christina with growing realization. That was what I’d been doing, wasn’t it? Sure, we’d been on our way to a one-night-stand back in her house, but it wouldn’t have ended there. Not if I’d had anything to say about it. I definitely wouldn’t have turned down an opportunity to do that again with Christina—hell, I would’ve repeated the performance as many times as I could.

  “Trust me, young man,” Lucifer said, sounding impossibly weary. “It behooves you greatly to refrain from sticking your cock in every willing woman who comes along. At least more than once. You may end up having to spend a very, very long time together. Those small flaws you perceive as a mere mild annoyance during courtship have a tendency to bloom into intolerable flaws of character after, oh, a few hundred years or so.” Again he flashed his shark-like grin. “Go on, ask me how I know all this. Ask.”

  “I don’t think I need to,” I told him. “I think I’m picking up what you’re putting down, Lucifer. Why are you helping me out like this?”

  He sighed, watching as the succubus and my college crush tried on matching bikinis. “I don’t like to see people make the same mistakes,” he muttered. “Even though those mistakes form the basis of my residency here. Ah, well.” He turned back to me, his gaze sharpening. “So what are your designs with this woman, then?”

  I’d been so distracted checking out Christina and Mareth that the question snapped me back to my senses. I thought it over for a moment, watching as Christina giggled, teasing Mareth about something I couldn’t make out from that distance.

  “Honestly, I’m not sure,” I said. “Christina doesn’t seem like a nice girl, not exactly, but I’m getting the impression I don’t really want to be surrounded with ‘nice girls’ if I’m going to go to this Academy of yours.”

  Lucifer nodded. “Astute. Yet you do desire her.”

  I gave Christina’s lush curves a slow, longing glance. “She seems like the kind of girl I could have a lot of fun with,” I said, something dark and primal rearing up inside of me. “And I’m not going to lie—having a harem of women like her and Mareth sounds freaking amazing. I just...I need to think about all this. It’s too early—way too early—for me to start thinking about commitments and matrimony…”

  A hand came down on my shoulder—Lucifer’s. “I knew you were chosen for a good reason,” he said, stepping around the desk. “I think you’re going to do a wonderful job as my protege, young man. Just remember to take things slow. Look before you leap. Think before you speak. And for Hell’s sake, cause at least a little trouble, alright?”

  I found myself laughing—hell, it was strangely easy to get along with Lucifer. “That sounds like goodbye,” I said, walking with him back toward the center of the chamber. “Are you leaving?”

  Mareth noticed Lucifer’s approach and broke off, her fingers wiggling until she and Christina’s clothing went back to what they’d been wearing when they arrived. “Master?”

  “Yes,” Lucifer said, looking back at me. “I should be getting along for now. I’m not the man I used to be—these old bones require quite a lot of rest. I will be watching, however, young man. Remember that.”

  In a flash, Mareth stood at my side. The succubus’s posture crackled with repressed energy, as if she were waiting for some kind of signal. This close, I couldn’t help but notice how short she was—the slender horns stretching from either side of her head barely came up to my chin. I could pick her up and carry her, I thought, my mind filling with images of the other things I could do with a girl so much smaller than myself.

  Finally, I could take her silence no longer. “What’s up?” I asked, glancing down at the succubus. “You’re grinning at me like you know something I don’t.”

  Lucifer gave a start as if he’d forgotten something—though with him, this was almost certainly a feint. I got the distinct impression the Lord of Darkness had a mind like a steel trap, and that nothing escaped his notice.

  “I’ve asked Mareth to escort you to the Academy,” Lucifer explained. “She’ll guide you along the path to the Infernal Realm. By the way, if you’ve been worried about your vehicle, you can rest easy. It will start when you return to it—the engine trouble it had on the way here has been fixed.”

  I both did and didn’t want to know how he’d done that. A Satanic mechanic?

  “Your car had trouble?” Mareth asked, cocking one flawless eyebrow.

  “All fixed now. Thanks,” I said, slipping an arm around the succubus’s waist. It surprised me how good it felt—how natural. Then I remembered Christina was still standing next to us, staring. “So,
uh—I guess this is goodbye then,” I told her. “For now, at least.” A thought occurred to me. “Could I maybe call you sometime…?”

  Christina gave me a look like I’d slapped her in the face. “Call!? Like hell! You’re not leaving me—not now. Not after everything we’ve been through.”

  Mareth and I shared a look. “Pardon?”

  “I’m coming with you.” Christina put her foot down—literally put it down, slamming it on the stone like she’d brook no argument. “You have no idea what kind of rituals I’d have gladly done to have access to this kind of opportunity. To actually see inside the Infernal Academy…! You have to bring me with you!”

  “There are flames,” I protested, pointing at Lucifer. “You’d be hurt. Right?”

  Lucifer, who’d just been about to step through the portal Mareth had used, stopped and cleared his throat. “Any guest you bring with you would have my favor extended to them,” he explained. “So yes, you could bring Christina. I’ll leave that to you to decide. Remember our conversation.”

  With that, he walked off, treading lightly across the stone. A portal formed at the far end of the hall, in the same space and of the same dimensions as the one that had brought Mareth here. Without a moment’s hesitation he stepped through, disappearing in a puff of ozone. The Prince of Darkness left us to our own devices, evidently considering the meeting adjourned.

  “Conversation?” Christina looked like a deer caught in headlights. “You were talking? About me?”

  Oops. Awkward. “Not so much about you, specifically,” I said, not wanting to hurt her feelings. “More about the future, and who I surround myself with.”

  Christina’s gaze sharpened. She opened her mouth, no doubt to say something cutting that would shrink me down to size, but before she could, Mareth cut her off.

  “Oh, geez,” the succubus said, rolling her eyes. “Master gave you the talk, didn’t he?” She pulled her features inward, making herself look like a grumpy old man—with the voice to match. “You must be careful who you select as a Queen! Blah blah blah…”

  I started to laugh. Mareth was too much. “Something like that.”

  The succubus clapped me on the shoulder. “Don’t worry so much about it. Just focus on having fun!” Her gaze traveled to Christina, a sly look entering her eyes. “But if you were looking for a Queen, I’d tell you that a vessel that’s both as willing as Christina and as versed in the occult as she is doesn’t come along every day. At least not in human form.” She giggled. “Plus she looks really hot in a bikini.”

  I knew that from looking at her. A different part of Mareth’s spiel had lodged in my brain, though. “You’d be a willing vessel?” I asked, smirking at Christina.

  She didn’t even need to think about it. “Absolutely. Unequivocally.” She made as if to jump into my arms, just barely keeping a straight face. “Take me now!”

  “Alright, alright,” I said, nearly breaking into laughter myself. “You don’t need to make fun of me.”

  Christina shook her head. “I’m not. I... look, I…”

  “Spit it out,” I said, looking at Mareth. “We’ve got to get going.”

  Christina sighed heavily. “Lucifer was right,” she admitted, giving me a don’t you dare make a joke kind of look. “After you finished fixing my computer, I was totally going to fuck you. And maybe more than that—I mean, fuck. You’re like a totally different person, Luke. Even before we ended up meeting Lucifer—you’re ripped, you own your own business, there’s that whole ‘unrequited love’ thing to make the sex totally savage…”

  I coughed. “Well, damn.”

  “You’re exactly the kind of guy I feel like I’ve been looking for for so freaking long,” she finished. “Seriously. So yeah. Why not have a little fun?”

  I’m not different, though, I thought bitterly. Maybe on the outside. But I’m still the same dude deep down, Christina. Why weren’t you into me then, huh?

  Mareth raised her hands. “Obviously I can cut the sexual tension in here with a knife,” she purred, her long tongue dangling from the side of her mouth. “You can’t hide anything from me—I’m a succubus. Which means I can totally feel how much the two of you want to bone.” She gave me a look. “Don’t get weird about it—it’s one of those things you’ll have to get used to, dealing with demons.”

  “Noted,” I said. “What are you suggesting?”

  Mareth shrugged. “That if you’re going to bond with Christina, you do it now. You’re still a human, after all—even with the Prince of Darkness’s blessing, the other demons at the Academy are going to try and eat you alive. The more power you have when you walk through those doors, the better.” She crossed her arms beneath her ample breasts. “So if you had a girl bound to you already—or two girls—you’d be in a much better position than if you entered your freshman year alone.”

  I thought about it. “Sounds like a win-win,” I said, nodding. “So...wait. Are you saying Christina and I should have sex right now?”

  Christina seized the initiative. The blonde stepped forward, her posture changing in a dozen tiny ways as she stepped up to me. Her eyes smoldered, her pouty lips parted slightly as she bit down on the bottom one with her white, even teeth.

  “Why not?” She sounded bold—as if she were shocked by her own boldness. “We’ve got a table. You could throw me down on it right now.”

  My heart pounded in my chest like a jackhammer. God damn this girl was shameless.

  She ground herself against me, her voice dropping to a husky whisper. “Or would you rather bend me over?” Her clothing shimmered, replaced with the skimpy string bikini she and Mareth had modeled a few moments ago. “Tug this shit to the side and ram yourself hilt-deep into my tight, wet little pussy. Because it is wet, Luke—it’s so fucking wet for you right now. You want to claim me? Give me that hot, savage fuck you were planning, pound me into the table the way you wanted to pound me into the bed—”

  My hands went to her waist. In moments, the two of us were making out hot and heavy, her tongue sliding into my mouth as she grabbed my hair with both hands. I gave her ass a slap, then lifted her into my arms, preparing to carry her to the table. Next to us, Mareth did the same magic trick she’d pulled on Christina, dissolving her schoolgirl outfit in favor of a set of black lace-and-leather lingerie.

  “Hell yes, let’s get this show on the road,” the succubus panted. “Fuck us both, stud! Put that big dick inside both our pussies and fuck us senseless…”

  I was about to do just that. But then, right as I set Christina’s ass on the edge of the table, a wave of dizziness washed over me.

  “Ah—what the fuck?” I blinked rapidly, willing the inconvenient sensation to go away. It refused to fade. Instead, it grew stronger, the room swimming around me. The lustful thoughts I’d had moments ago faded, replaced with...hunger?

  My stomach gave a very undignified rumble. No, scratch that. It bellowed like a fucking minotaur.

  Suddenly, both girls were staring at me. Christina gave me a very confused look, while Mareth broke into giggles.

  “Uh, Luke?” Christina looked up at me, the bottom of her bikini pulled aside to reveal her bare, dripping pussy. She hadn’t been lying about being wet—she must have been soaked the whole time, thinking about me while she tried on those cute, slutty clothes.

  “Welp,” Mareth purred, rolling her eyes. “Guess we’re going to need a raincheck. I didn’t expect you to start exercising your powers that quickly…”

  More confusion. “Powers? What powers?” The feeling began to fade, but remained in the back of my mind. As if it had given me a temporary reprieve, but would surely return.

  “Your demonic powers,” Mareth said, grinning wickedly. “You’ve been using them since the moment you put that earring on.”

  “How have I been doing that?”

  “You know,” she teased. “Exercising your will...making those around you submissive, horny and compliant…”

  I looked down at Ch
ristina, who was clearly more turned on than any woman I’d ever seen. “Is that true, Christina? Are you only turned on by me right now because of my magic?”

  She shook her head. “Nah,” she said, grinning from ear to ear. “But it’s definitely not hurting.”

  “It only amplified what’s already there,” Mareth explained to the blonde. “Right now, Luke is hungry. He doesn’t know how to turn his powers on and off yet, so he’s blaring out demonic energy all the time. Once he gets some food in that belly, he’ll be more than ready to satiate us both.”

  Christina trembled with lust. “I fucking hope so,” she growled, staring at my cock. “Raincheck, Luke?”

  It hurt. Not just emotionally—physically. To be that close to Christina and see her body aching for mine, well...let’s just say my balls were bluer than blue at the thought of waiting. But Mareth was right: I didn’t like this feeling one bit. My stomach grumbled again, the hunger deepening. What would happen if I didn’t satisfy it soon?

  Food, I thought. Then fucking. Yeah.

  “How about I take you out to dinner first?” I said, grinning down at Christina. “You know, the way normal people do it.”

  Her irritation faded instantly. She groaned and rolled her eyes, but there was no real rancor in it—more of an oh you than an oh you bastard. I wondered if my powers had something to do with that, too.

  “I could use a meal,” she said. “Although I doubt we’ll get into too many places while I’m dressed like this…”

  Mareth wiggled her fingers. In moments, Christina was back in her street clothes—and, to my surprise, so was I. I supposed I’d look pretty strange walking around an ordinary neighborhood in that getup.

  “Now for me,” Mareth said with a giggle. She ran a hand down her side, the slender horns on either side of her head retracting and disappearing. Her skin lightened from deep crimson to a healthy pink, her tail vanished, and in moments she looked like an ordinary college student—albeit an absurdly gorgeous one, wearing a form-fitting schoolgirl uniform. So there was that, at least.