Chapter Three

CHAPTER THREE

When it’s time for dinner I put on a modest yet pretty dress, and throw an outfit to change into for the club in my car, along with my handbag.

In the club I’m going to be wearing a black dress that reaches about mid thigh and has a V-neck that pretty much flaunts my cleavage.

Moss and I carpool to the restaurant together, and my uncle takes Trigger with him.

As I pull onto the highway, Moss gives me the tea.

“So Trigger approached me after the fight and asked if you were single.”

Oh no. I can’t have him after me. I won’t be able to resist. “And what did you tell him?”

“That you’d kill anyone who ever hurt you in their sleep.”

“And what was his response?”

“That he just got turned on.”

I groan. Moss smirks.

“Are you into him?” He asks me.

“Honestly, yeah. He’s hot as hell and the first guy in years that’s been able to pin me down. For some reason that’s a solid turn on. But you know I don’t date any of the boys at the school. It doesn’t seem right.”

“I think you could maybe make an exception for him, don’t you?”

“No. And now that I know he’s into me, I’m going to have to avoid him.”

I flip open my phone and dial my uncle.

“Hey, Oak.”

“Hey Amb. What’s up?”

“I was wondering if it would be okay that Moss and I skip out on dinner and head straight to the city? It’s already 8:30 and I wanted to get there by 9.”

“I mean it is your birthday, so yeah. I’ll still take Trigger to dinner, but you two have fun, okay?”

“Of course. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

I hang up the phone.

“We good to go?” Moss asks.

“You know it.” I respond with a mischievous smile.

I stop by the house so that Moss and I can drive separately, and I get a chance to change and get ready. To air on the side of caution, I stick two switch blades in my bra. One is pure silver which can kill vamps, ghouls, and leviathans. The other is gold with flecks of diamond and obsidian which will kill most anything else, save ghosts. Those leave only through an exorcism.  

All of my bras have hidden pockets on the inside that are just big enough to carry and conceal my switch blades, making it easy for me to always have them with me.

Half an hour later I park, and walk up to the club where Moss is standing in his white button down and black slacks.

“What a hottie” I remark. He winks at me.

We walk to the front of the line, give the bouncer two hundred, and he lets us in without even asking to see ID. We sit down at the bar and both order beers.

“So, see anyone you’re interested in?” Moss asks me.

I shake my head. “We just got here” I remind him.

The bar tender walks up to me handing me a glass of whiskey.

“I didn’t order this” I inform him.

“I know, honey. The handsome lad over there did” The bartender points to the opposite end of the bar, where a somewhat attractive guy raises his drink to me. I smile back briefly before turning to Moss.

“Oh my god. You just got hit on, and it hasn’t even been five minutes.”

I roll my eyes and try to brush it off. “I think he was just being polite.”

“Come on, Amb, will it really take someone coming up to you and saying “Want to fuck” to get a reaction?”

“The only reaction they’d get is a broken nose.”

He sighs, loud enough for me to hear over the music. “Okay, that’s it. Tonight I am going to pick a guy from the pool that’ll end up hitting on you, and you’re going home with him. Deal?”

“Moss, I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“Well, I do know. Now do we have a deal or am I leaving your sorry ass here to fend for yourself?”

“Deal” I say without thinking it through any more.

It turns out that I don’t even need Moss, because a very forward and incredibly handsome stranger approaches me.

“Hey gorgeous. Can I buy you a drink?”

Fortunately I’m used to the whole flirting thing. What I’m not used to is not killing whoever I’m flirting with after an hour of talking, so this is new territory. I can’t remember the last time I flirted with a human. But god help me, this man is smooth.

“Sure” I respond, unsure of what else to say. Normally I go straight for dirty talk to get my target alone as soon as possible, but I figure that I should let him take the lead.  

“My name’s Arken. What’s yours?”

“Ambrosia” I say, shaking his hand.

While he’s waving down the bartender I take a good look at him. He’s pretty much the definition of sexy. His frame is lean yet muscular, and his face can have a girl begging for a kiss in no time. He’s wearing a white button up that’s buttoned all the way to the top, and I can’t help but imagine what ripping that top button off would reveal. He’s probably even more gorgeous naked than he is now. I have no idea why he’s taken interest in me, out of all the hot girls here.

“So, Ambrosia, what brings you here tonight?”  

I shrug. “Just looking to fool around. And you?”

A sultry smile makes it’s way to his lips. “The same agenda.”

It takes about fifteen minutes for us to get on the dancefloor where I use my slutty moves I’ve acquired to turn him on. A half hour later he has me heading out the door with him, and I shoot Moss a text.

The car ride to his apartment is short and sweet. At every red light he leans over and thoroughly explores my mouth with his, leaving my lips swollen by the time we park in front of his building. We barely make it inside before we start really making out. Arken pushes me against a wall and kisses me as if I’m his drug of choice. His kisses are almost alarming with how perfect and knowing they are. As if we’ve done this before.

I pull away to breathe for a bit, and it’s only then that I notice a small pentagram branded into the skin of his collar bone.

Fucking hell.

That’s the mark of my good old dad.  

Thankfully I don’t think Arken knows that I’ve noticed it yet, which gives me an edge. Trying to sound casual, I try to excuse myself to get the hell away from this demon.

“Arken, do you have a bathroom I could use? The liquor went straight through me.”

He directs me down a hall and to the left. I step into the bathroom, lock the door, and look at myself in the mirror.

If he has my father’s brand, that means he likely knows who I am. If he knows who I am, this is likely a ploy to get me to Lucifer.

I doubt he has clearance to go in and out of hell without approval, so my dear father will likely meet him on earth. And once Lucifer gets his hands on me, I have no fucking idea what will happen next. Definitely nothing that would leave me anything other than sputtering with PTSD.

I splash water on my face and get ready to convince him I’m not feeling well and need to go home.

I step out into the bathroom, and see Arken sitting on his couch.

“Listen, Arken, I’m feeling a bit tipsy. I wouldn’t want to do anything I’ll regret in the morning. Is it okay if we call it a night?”

I don’t know how, but I’m suddenly pinned up against the wall. Can some demons teleport? He runs a hand up and down my neck. I stifle a shiver that he chooses to misunderstand as a sexual gesture. His lips meet my neck for a few agonizing seconds before he finally moves his head back to look into my eyes.

“Oh, sweet Ambrosia. You’re not going anywhere. Your father has been looking for you, and he’ll be very happy to see you.”

Arken blinks, and suddenly his entire eyes are black. It’s not like mine, where the green of my eyes turns into red. No, it looks like his pupil has swallowed up his entire eye. No white is visible anymore. I take a sharp inhale, and try to shove him off of me. It does nothing, other than make him chuckle slightly.   

God damnit. How could I be so stupid and let this happen? How could I go home with a total stranger? What the hell am I supposed to do now?

What Arken does next is the last thing I would have expected. He crushes his lips to mine. When I try to pull away he takes my face in his hands, holding me still with the rest of his body. I finally manage to jerk out of his grip.

“Are you kidding me? Sex is off the table!”

A dark smile spreads over him. “Oh, no it’s not. Even if you don’t want me anymore, I’ll still have you. Your father invented torture, and he knows that rape is at the top of the list.”

“I’m a virgin” I blurt out.

His eyes widen. “Congratulations. You just made yourself far more enticing. Surprisingly, in all of the hundreds of years of my life, I’ve never had the opportunity to fuck a virgin. That should prove quite fun.”

“Why don’t you just kill me?” I demand.

“Because you’re a miracle, darling. Lucifer’s first daughter! Nobody thought you would actually survive, but you’ve exceeded all expectations. Believe it or not, your father is proud of you. He loves you.”

I snort. “You really expect me to believe that the angel of hell is capable of love?”

Arken’s eyes turn sincere. “Lucifer didn’t love anyone since he was cast out of heaven, until you came along and changed that. You’re the miracle that brought back his love and care.”

I slam my head into his, and he stumbles back.

“I don’t want your boss’s love. Tell him he can direct it elsewhere.”

I snatch the gold blade out of my bra and slash at Arken. Unfortunately I only get his shoulder before he sweeps my feet out from under me.  

“You really want to fight with a demon?” He asks me, skepticism obvious.

“You really think you’re the first I’ve ever fought?”

“If you weren’t Lucifer’s daughter, I would be the last. But since you are, and I love you, I won’t kill you. But I can’t promise to go easy on you, either. Fighting with demons isn’t an easy battle, but I’m always happy to fulfill your wish. Let’s go.”

I waste no time jumping to my feet and grabbing my other knife out of my bra. A sadistic smile spreads across his face as he charges me. He gets a punishing stab in the chest, but doesn’t even seem phased by the pain. Instead he lunges at me and tackles me, pinning me face down on the floor. I try every maneuver out, I have to escape, but this sonofabitch is good. Too good.

“Feel free to keep wiggling. It’s a huge turn on” Arken whispers in my ear.

Fucking demons and their kinkiness. I’ll bet having a girl pinned and helpless is his biggest turn on. He probably enjoys extreme bondage.

That’s when I remember the one thing that can repel even a strong demon. Prayer. But not just any prayer- set prayer. The more often a certain prayer is used, the stronger it becomes. So I use one of the most common prayers in the world.

“Hail Mary, Full of Grace,”

Arken hisses.

“The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.”

“Ambrosia stop!”

“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now”

“I’m warning you” Arken growls at me.

“And at the hour of death. Amen.”

His grip on me weakens, and I finally manage to escape from under him. I roll up my sleeve to reveal the cross that I had tattooed on my wrist, and hold it up to him

“Our Father, who art in heaven”

“Ambrosia cut it out!”

“hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”

“AMBROSIA!” He bellows. I can see that he’s starting to twitch.

“Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us for our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us”

Arken lets out a primitive growl that manages to throw me against the wall. But I will not be stopped. Hopefully at the end of this prayer he will be weak enough that I can exorcise him.

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” My voice raises to a shout as Arken falls to the ground. “For thine is the kingdom, the power and glory. For ever and ever. Amen”

Arken is a blur of speed. Suddenly he’s once again pinned me under him, pulled out a syringe, and is emptying the contents into my bloodstream.

“Fuck you” I whisper, instantly feeling the effects.

The last thing I hear before blacking out is Arken’s seductive voice. “Why, thank you, Ambrosia. You will soon enough, I guarantee you.”

The last thing I feel is him running his hands up and down my body, lingering on my chest and butt too long.