Semiramis The Vessel Read online

  We sit still, waiting, and all I can do is focus on the angel’s absentmindedly moving his thumb in circles on my hip. Who would’ve thought that a hip is a sensitive spot? Not me, that’s for sure. No matter where he touches me, he turns it into the most sensitive spot on my body. It’s distracting and makes my body react as if his hand is between my thighs. As my breathing starts getting more shallow, his movements stop and I feel his stare burning the side of my face, but I’ll be damned if I’ll look at him. I keep my eyes on Meda, and my hackles rise when his low chuckle rumbles in his chest. I really want to slap him, but Meda’s gasp works in his favor this time.

  “Well?” I ask, since everyone is still sitting there, saying nothing.

  “I know where we need to go next after we have the potions,” she says quietly, chewing on her lower lip.

  “And that is?”

  I straighten as much as I can without grinding my ass on Lucifer’s groin. I still hear his low groan. Geez! I stare daggers at him before turning to Meda again with my eyebrow raised.

  “All I can say is that we must go see Ishtar.”

  “We?” I add, annoyed.

  “Yes. We. We were all there in my vision.” She lifts her chin defiantly.

  “What else did your vision show you? Anyone die there?” I snap.

  “No.” She says it with conviction but her cheeks go bright red. What the hell?

  “What did you see, Meda? Start talking. I’m sick and tired of everyone speaking half-truths.”

  “Take it easy, witch. Words must be chosen carefully to not alter the path.” Lucifer adds his two cents.

  Like I care about altering the path. My path has been altered by others to suit their needs way too many times. I bite the inside of my mouth to keep from saying anything. Jez, Remi and Faith snicker and I glare at them. This makes them laugh outright. Closing my eyes, I take a slow, deep breath. I will not get angry. Then I hear Lucifer’s rich laugh, and my body rocks like I’m on a boat, since I’m leaning on his chest. My mantra of ‘I will not get angry’ goes down the drain.

  “Enough!” My voice booms around and bounces off the walls. “I see I’m wasting my breath here. It’s your lives. So I will not stop you from going, but I will not stop for any of you on the way, either.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure that’s the truth,” says Remi sarcastically.

  If I was hoping this declaration would make them see reason, I was sorely mistaken. All of them perk up like I just told them we are going to Disneyland. Something is definitely wrong with all our heads. Who gets excited to put their life in danger? We do, obviously. Oh, sweet goddess, shoot me now. This is going to be a long road ahead. I think the guys just listening to the conversation are the smartest ones so far. Daisy looks like she’s fighting a smile, and that just irks me more. She should be convincing them to stay, not encouraging this stupidity, but it’s a lost cause. There is no changing their minds. So be it.

  “We are leaving in the morning at 4 AM. Whoever’s coming along better be on that porch, because I won’t wait for anyone. And now, I’m off to my room.” I stand up with Lucifer’s help (how unfortunate for me and my speech). “Alone,” I add when I see him standing, too.

  Everyone remains quiet, and I think that’s because they don’t want to start arguing about no one coming along. They just want me out of here so they can start plotting. I know it. As I start walking away, I feel the angel right on my heels and I clench my jaw. I know I have no control over myself when he is near me, so I run. I’m being a coward, but I don’t care. Taking a deep breath, I slam a barrier of ice between us and trap him just inside the living room. As I hear his growl, I bolt up the stairs to my room and slam the door shut, but not before hearing everyone laugh. He’s going to be pissed when he gets here. For some reason this brings a huge smile to my face. What can I say? I’m a glutton for punishment.

  5

  Lucifer…

  How silly that she thinks that her magick can keep me away from her. It gnaws on my pride that she treats me like a mere mortal, but I shall endure. It’s not that she has no feelings. I know it; I see it in her eyes every time she looks at me. She’s afraid. I hate that I’m the reason for her fear. But deep inside I know it’s not really me. It’s everything and everyone before me that has made her scared of letting someone love her. I also can’t blame her for saying everyone has an agenda. I had one, too. But that was before I realized what she is to me. This stops me in my tracks on the stairs.

  How am I any better than all those who have hurt her to gain something? I do not deserve her heart after the games I have played, trying to satisfy my curiosity. But how was I to know what she is to me? Should I have known it? Shouldn’t I have felt it?

  I have always watched from afar, not getting involved but seeing things unfold. She always drew me to her. She has been a beautiful creature each and every lifetime. If I had paid closer attention, I might have seen her, the real her. So here I stand, lost for what to do. Maybe I’m not worthy of her. After everything she has been through, she deserves someone to really see her. Someone to see the beautiful, magnificent light– as well as the all-consuming, alluring and mesmerizing darkness—she is, without expectation from her and without agenda. I slowly turn around and walk downstairs. I go to the kitchen, away from everyone, even though I can hear them talking quietly with my keen hearing.

  “I made tea.” Daisy’s voice pulls me out of my thoughts. I lift an eyebrow at her. “I knew you’d come back. We need to talk,” she tells me, placing a cup on the table.

  I sit dutifully, like a child. Not long ago this would’ve made me angry, but now I just feel lost. What an unusual and unwelcome feeling. I just stare at the old witch. Maybe she has more words of wisdom for me, even if I am few thousand years older than her. And to think that not long ago, I thought I understood humans. It makes me want to laugh.

  “I feel lost, old woman. That says a lot, coming from me.” I snort at my own words.

  “Ah! Love does that to all of us, angel. You shouldn’t feel so special.” She chuckles at her own jesting.

  “I do not see how this is funny,” I snap.

  “Calm down, Lucifer. I meant no offense. What I said is true. You just need to understand it. I am but a child when it comes to age, but I have loved as you have not. That makes me little more knowledgeable than you in this case.”

  “I know what love is. I do not need lectures. Humans are the ones who do not understand the concept and mistake it for lust and passion.”

  I shake my head at her and pick up the cup. I have taken a liking to this peppermint tea, Alexia’s favorite, since I came to this realm. Sipping it slowly, I try to put thoughts to words so I can ask Daisy for advice. It is not a natural action on my part. I am the light bringer. I do not need advice. Until Alexia, that is. Now I am like a mortal pining for a slip of a woman who turned my existence inside out.

  “You understand what love is in the true sense of the word, yes. In all that knowledge, you forget that no matter how much she has changed, Alexia is still very much human in her heart. You can’t ease lifetimes of fear overnight. Add to that the few broken and misguided souls walking into her life this time, and you have bigger challenge then you realize.”

  “Don’t I know it,” I mumble.

  “I told you she needs time. I think that was a mistake on my part,” she says quietly, and I perk up, sitting straight.

  “So she does not need it?” I ask, hopefully.

  “Oh, she needs it, alright, but I don’t think she has the freedom to have it. Not if Ishtar’s realm is the first stop.”

  “What does that mean? I will not allow Ishtar or anyone else to hurt her.” I growl, rage burning hot in my gut at the very thought of anyone hurting her again.

  “Ishtar will not hurt her. She will not leave Alexia the option to back away from the ritual, either, if I know enough about the goddess. Why else will Alexia need to go there?” She looks at me pointedly.

  I had forgotten
about the rite the goddess requires for her assistance. Now that I remember it, my blood runs down to my loins and I harden in an instant, pressing on the zipper of the damn jeans they want me to wear in this realm. Why didn’t I think of this? This will be a perfect opportunity to bind the witch to me. I almost shout in excitement and missed the rest of the words coming out of Daisy’s mouth.

  “She will need to choose for the ritual. She might choose wrong if she’s scared to trust and follow her heart. You better make sure she chooses you, or you will wait another lifetime for her to be yours.”

  Her words turn my blood to ice and my heart shrivels in my chest. An animalistic growl comes from deep in my chest, and I jump off the chair. I hear Daisy chuckle, and I want to strangle the old woman.

  “You think this is funny?” I roar at her, and all the talk in the living room stops.

  “Of course I do,” she says, laughing softly.

  I doubt the woman wants to live long. The rest of them spill into the kitchen as if they could help her if I decide to end her here and now.

  “What’s going on?” Remi asks, her hands on her hips.

  “Lucifer just realized he might not have Alexia this lifetime if she doesn’t choose him for Ishtar’s ritual.” Daisy continues talking, unaware of the fight I am having in order to restrain myself from blasting them all to oblivion.

  “So why is he standing here instead of going upstairs to be with her?” Jezzinta asks and that gets my feet moving before my brain catches up to the motion.

  “Well, that got him nice and worked up. I hope A Ma appreciates it.”

  I am already taking the stairs two at a time when I hear Meda’s words and their laughter following me to Alexia’s door—Alexia’s locked door, as it turns out. With a dark chuckle, I grab the handle, breaking it, and push the door hard enough to slam it into the wall. Her yelp greets my ears as I bend my head slightly and walk inside. No more time for the witch. She will be mine, tonight.

  6

  Alexia…

  The sound of metal twisting and wood breaking jars me from my thoughts about the angel. There goes my hope that he would actually decide to let me be alone. The loud bang of the door swinging open and hitting the wall makes me yelp like a frightened little girl and that pisses me off more than seeing Lucifer standing inside my room with a dark, hungry look on his face.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing? You fucking asshole!” I scream at him and without thinking, I throw a fireball at his chest.

  What got into me and made me that stupid? It wasn’t the breaking of the door, for sure. It was a knee-jerk reaction and if I could take it back I would. But it’s too late for that. His shoulders bend inward and he flies back, hitting the opposite wall with a loud crash. Plaster rains on top of him as he slowly lifts his head and looks at me through his lashes with his hair all mussed around his face. I freeze like deer in headlights, looking at him. My hands cover my mouth and my eyes feel like they want to pop out of my head. What the hell did I just do?

  “Sorry,” I mumble through my hands.

  Genius, I know. Well, that’s all I’ve got. I really don’t know why I did it. And to make things worse, a giggle escapes my numb lips. It was so unexpected that it surprises even me.

  “Oh, shit! Now she’s done it.” I hear Faith’s voice coming from the stairs and I know my sisters have come upstairs to see what the noise was all about.

  I walk slowly to the doorway and poke my head out. They’re all looking at me with eyebrows raised to their hairlines, looking constipated because they are trying very hard not to laugh. This makes me giggle even more. That gets stuck in my throat when a sound like an angry bear in the house comes from Lucifer’s mouth. I barely have time to look at the girls before two muscly arms wrap around me, lift me off the ground and make me squeal like a two-year old.

  “Downstairs, now!” he snaps at them.

  They all bolt out of there like their asses are on fire. So much for sisterly love, huh?

  “Thanks, assholes!” I yell at them and that earns me a loud slap on my butt that shuts my mouth real fast and leaves me stunned.

  “How dare you! Put me down right now!” I yell at him and twist around so I can start pounding my fists on his chest.

  He grunts at that, but he doesn’t release me. I wiggle my arm out of his hold and swing at his face. That makes his head snap back, and we both freeze for a moment. Slowly, oh so very slowly, his head comes back up and those eyes zero in on mine. I know he won’t hurt me. I can bet my life on that. That, however, doesn’t mean my blood didn’t freeze in my veins and the breath didn’t get stuck in my throat. Still I keep acting like a woman possessed.

  “That will teach you to spank me like a child!” The words leave my mouth on their own accord and his eyes smolder even more.

  Just to prove my stupidity, I swing my arm back to punch him again. That’s as far as I got, pulling my arm back. Moving faster than my eyes can track, he pins both my arms behind my back and pushes me inside my room. Holding me with one hand that spits on my ego, he pushes the door closed. I just open my mouth to say something about his display of barbarism when dizziness hits me and I find myself pressed face-first on the door with Lucifer’s body pinning me there. I can barely take a breath.

  “I was not aware you like to play, Alexia. I am all for that!”

  “Damn it! Let me go, Lucifer, or I’ll burn your ass while you sleep!” I snap, but the fire has left my voice and it sounds more breathy than I would like to admit. To my utter embarrassment, he nudges his thigh between mine and a low moan escapes my lips. I hear his low, soft growl… the way it vibrates from his chest and through my body. All of a sudden, I’m in a desperate fight with my hormones. It’s a losing battle… especially when he presses more firmly between my legs. Like a bitch in heat, I want to rub myself on him but force my body to stay still.

  “You are driving me mad, woman,” he growls, shoving his face into my neck and taking a deep breath.

  “You were crazy before I met you, angel. I had nothing to do with that. And stop sniffing me like a dog!” I tell him breathlessly.

  This makes him throw his head back and laugh. My nipples react to that even more and are trying to drill holes in the door while heat radiates between my legs. I know he can feel it. He groans and moves his thigh slowly, rubbing with enough pressure that my head falls back on his shoulder.

  “Why are you doing this, Lucifer? Don’t you think I’ve had enough? Or are you trying to finish the job of killing me since the others failed?”

  It’s my last defense, playing on his sympathy. Obviously I can’t say no to him. No hot-blooded sane woman would, if I’m being honest. He is just too perfect for my monkey brain to get on track with self-preservation. But if I get him to back off, I’ll have no other option but to stay away from him. I can’t take another heartbreak. I know that as well as I know my name.

  “You are mine, Alexia. I will not let anyone else touch you. I was blind before, not realizing what you are to me, but now that I am certain, I will not let you go.”

  The conviction in his voice! My entire body shivers and goosebumps cover me from head to toe. It also scares the shit out of me. What the fuck does that mean, he will not let me go? I’m not a freaking toy.

  “I’m not an object you can possess, angel. Let me go.” I wiggle to no avail.

  “No, you are not. But you are mine.” He kisses my neck with such possessiveness that I almost faint from the sheer heaviness of his words.

  “I can’t fight you, obviously, so you can have my body,” I tell him, resigned because I know I can’t win. I want him as much as he wants me, no matter how hard I try to make my body obey.

  “I don’t just want your body, witch, although I shall have it and enjoy it very much. I will have your heart, too, since I already have your soul.” His voice rumbles in his chest, making me tremble.

  “Maybe that’s why I can’t fight you, because you have my soul.” I struggle to
grasp onto any argument to stop the tsunami that will hit my life, after which nothing will ever be the same.

  “Keep telling yourself that, if it makes you feel better.”

  With those words, his arm sneaks around me, grabbing my breast and kneading it, pinching my nipple and making uncontrolled moans come from my mouth. My hips start moving without conscious thought, rocking on him, seeking to relieve the pressure building at my core. I feel his erection grinding on my lower back and throbbing, even through the clothing separating us. His low, deep moans join mine, and he releases me to start grabbing at my clothes. I twist around and start clawing at his t-shirt and jeans. Ripping sounds drown our voices, and before I know it we are standing, staring at each other, naked as the day I was born and he, created. Seeing Lucifer with his clothing stretching to an inch of its life to accommodate his body is beauty all on its own. Seeing him naked in front of me, his muscles flexing since he is trying to stand still and not grab for me so I can look at him, is something entirely different. I feel tears prickling my eyes from the perfection standing for my perusal. No mortal should lay eyes on this.

  “You are so beautiful,” my whispered words break the silence. He snorts at that, shaking his head slowly as though waking from a trance.

  “Have you seen yourself in the mirror lately, Alexia? Maybe after that, you can speak of beauty.” His deep rumble makes me shiver.

  Grabbing my hand, he walks me in front of the floor-length mirror in my room and turns me so I can stand in front of him. He is so tall my head barely reaches his shoulder, but I can’t pull my eyes away from his. He takes hold of my chin and gently moves my head so I can face myself.