Last Minion Standing

Chapter Seven

My father’s reception room overflowed with females—demons, souls and beings belonging to realms outside Earth and Hell. I pushed my way through them, looking for my father who lounged amidst his harem.

As soon as he spotted me, he clapped his hands and shooed his lovebirds away. As a demon of lust—some humans once upon a time had even worshipped him as a god—he was never without female company, and sometimes even males accompanied him.

I threw myself on my father, burrowing my face into his chest.

“Whom do I need to kill?” he asked in a voice dripping with frost.

Daddy dearest always knew what to say to make me feel better. “Me, for being such an idiot.”

“What is it, Sally-bird? What’s happened?”

Um, was my father the only one in Hell not watching HBC and its ongoing saga also known as my life, the unfolding disaster.

“Is this about that Drake boy? Do I need to have him hung up by his toenails and have his entrails ripped out?”

“Yes and no. He said me loved me, Daddy.”

“The bastard,” said my father in a choked voice.

I peered up at him to see him stifling a grin. “You jerk. You knew why I was here.” Daddy laughed. “Of course I did, you idiot. You’re my little girl, I know about everything that happens to you. So Drake admitted, under a spell of truth no less, he loves you. What’s the problem?”

“I don’t want love,” I grumbled.

“Excuse me?”

I shouted. “I said I don’t want love.”

“Why ever not?” I couldn’t believe the note of incredulity in his voice.

“Love is for pussies. It makes a person weak and do stupid things.” My father dumped me off his lap and stood up. “Listen here, young lady, I don’t know where you got those foolish notions, but you need to readjust your thinking. Love, contrary to your belief, makes you stronger.”

“I notice you don’t deny it makes us do dumb shit though.”

“No, I won’t deny it. Love will make you do things you never would have dreamed of, but you want to know a secret?”

“What?”

“Those stupid things will make you insanely happy.”

His answer made no sense. How could acting like an idiot make me happy? Then I thought of Drake and the laughter we’d shared the previous night, and to my disgust, actually understood what my father was telling me. I really hated it when he was right.

But it didn’t mean I forgave Drake. The prick had lied to me. Maybe I would skin him and make boots out of his dragon hide.

As if thinking of him conjured him, he strode into the room. My father looked at Drake with his stony face, then to me with my stubborn look. He sighed. “Good luck, son, you’re going to need it.”

Then my father left me with him. My eyes couldn’t help drinking him in, from the partially unbuttoned shirt which strained over his bulging muscles, to his snug jeans where evidence of his arousal distended them. I left his eyes for last because once I gazed them into, I found myself caught as if in an emotional vortex.

“What are you doing here?” I tried to control the trembling of my voice.

“I’ve come to collect my mate.”

“I’m nobody’s mate. Go find yourself somebody else.” Brave words considering just the thought of him with another woman made me want to growl.

“You are mine. I thought to give you time so that you would come to me of your own volition, but I see now it would have never happened. I don’t know why you refuse to admit you love me.”

“Maybe because I don’t love you.”

“Liar.”

“I don’t care what you think. Now go away.”

“Not without you.”

The steely glint in his eye gave me a moment’s warning and I whirled to flee. But he had no intention of letting me go, and while I’d never admit it aloud, I didn’t want to escape.

But just because he’d caught me and proceeded to carry me back to his lair didn’t mean I’d give in easily. Stubbornness was one of my most endearing qualities.

Drake could see the fear and confusion in her eyes, a look she’d worn since she’d heard the truth, both Dretnor’s and his own. His dragon paced and railed inside his body, torn between lamenting his mate’s distress and a desire to tear apart the demon who’d thought to separate them.

When she’d fled after the fiasco, he’d searched her out backstage, but she’d already escaped. He’d flashed to her apartment and found it empty. Desperate to find her and explain himself, he’d gone to her father’s home in Hell next. Lo and behold, he’d found her, spitting mad.

Throwing her over his shoulder to take her back to his place seemed like a good idea at the time, but even with his excess strength, her wiggling body, not to mention well aimed jabs at his kidneys, made him think he would have been better off tranquilizing her first.

Her violent assault was also punctuated by vile insults, some so original he made note of them for future use. A delicate shrinking violet she was not. Fuck, did he love her toughness.

With the use of a portal, he finally made it inside his place, a retrofitted cave in the bowels of a mountain situated within the Rockies. He liked his privacy. Setting her down, he moved back quickly as she whirled with flying fists.

“Rotten, scum sucking bastard. I’m going to tear your intestines out and tie you up with them. I’m going to—.”

“Tie you up and gag you if you don’t simmer down and listen,” he stated calmly. His cock on the other hand swelled; apparently it hoped she’d keep up her histrionics.

Her eyes narrowed at him dangerously, but he caught the scent of her arousal not to mention couldn’t miss seeing the way her nipples hardened into pebbles and protruded through her shirt.

Thank Satan, she liked a bit of kink. He was more than happy to oblige. Taking the brunt of her punches and kicks with not even a grunt escaping him, he wrapped his arms around her tight and carried her screaming invectives into his bedroom. He tossed her onto the bed and dove on top of her, covering her squirming body with his own. She bucked under him deliciously, and he grinned at her even as he bound her hands to the fur lined manacles that hung from the top corners of his bed.

She finally shut up and her eyes widened. Her sweet little tongue licked her lusciously full lips and he held back a groan as he gripped her ankles to spread them. He manacled them as well and stood back to look at her, spread eagle on his bed. Only one thing ruined the view. Pulling out a dagger, he straddled her suddenly still body.

She said not a word, but her eyes grew wide as saucers. Once again though, she showed her mettle, not even flinching when he sliced through her clothing and pulled it away, leaving her naked.

“I hate you,” she said finally when he stood back to admire her nude body.

“Your body says otherwise.”

“Just because we’re about to have awesome sex, doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven you,” she stated.

He grinned and arched a brow. “Don’t worry. I intend to make it better than awesome and I’m not releasing you ‘til you say the words I want to hear.”

“How’s fuck you?” she said with a nasty smile.

“Now baby, is that any way to talk to your mate?” He shook his finger at her. “It’s that kind of language which is going to earn you a spanking.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

He just smiled and pulled a paddle out from the chest at the foot of his bed.

Again, her eyes widened, and then she turned into a hellcat. She thrashed and pulled at the restraints, and while her words screamed scorn and disgust, her pussy glistened and the smell of her lust permeated the air.

Time to make her scream … in pleasure.

Tied to his bed, exposed to his view, my day was looking up. I was still pissed at him though, and I realized most of my anger didn’t come from his deception, but his declaration he loved me. Even worse, I could feel my own emotions leaning towards him, the words sitting on the tip of my tongue begging for release. And no matter what my father said, I didn’t know if I was ready for that type of commitment. I’d rather take a dive off a really high cliff.

However, he had no qualms and as he crawled onto the bed between my legs, every inch of him vibrating with sensual energy, the black paddle gripped between his teeth.

Warmth suffused me without volition. He ended up straddling my waist and stroking the flat edge of the paddle over the tip of my erect nipples.

“It’s a shame I already bound you on your back, else I would have enjoyed putting you over my lap and smacking that naughty bottom of yours.” I shuddered.

“Have you ever been spanked, Sally?”

I shook my head, unable to reply as he continued to drag the cold paddle across my breasts.

“I think you’d like me to punish you, Sally. I know I’d enjoy it. You, squirming on my lap, naked and begging. Maybe I wouldn’t even use a paddle. I think I’d enjoy the skin to skin feel of my hand on your tender skin.” He slapped her tit, not hard but enough to surprise a gasp from her. Even more liquid heat shot to her groin and she had to bite back the urge to ask him to act out his words, the sensual imagery so arousing.

“You know what else I think you’d like?” He asked sliding back so he straddled my thighs. “I have a flogger comprised of dozens of thin latex strands. Maybe I should take it out and whip your pussy instead as punishment for trying to deny me.” He brushed his knuckles over my mound and my hips arched.

“Please,” I finally begged, my whole body screaming for him to stop playing and touch me. I needed him to relieve some of the pleasurable pressure building inside me.

“So many things I want to do to you, Sally, but for now, I think I shall content myself with this.” His thumb found my clit and rubbed while at the same time he leaned forward and caught my nipple between his lips. Instant bliss made me cry out and quiver.

I couldn’t deny I loved it when he touched me, every caress stoking my desire, higher and higher. He toyed with me, his mouth alternately sucking and biting my nubs as his hand worked my cleft, one moment tweaking my clit, the other sliding between my plump lips and finger fucking me.

I felt my pleasure building, a coiling tension in my body which needed just a little push to send me over the edge into pure bliss.

He stopped. Confused, I opened my bleary eyes. “Please,” I moaned.

“Tell me.”

“Fuck me,” I replied trying to arch my hips, but his hands on my thighs held me pinned.

“No baby, tell me you love me. Tell me you’re mine.”

“No,” I thrashed my head.

The moment I gave him the wrong answer, he attacked my body again with his tongue and mouth. Oh fuck, did it feel good. This time he put his mouth on my sex, sucking at the cream my arousal produced, his tongue probing my inner channel. When he shoved three fingers into my pussy while sucking on my clit, I almost came, the rapture so intense.

He pulled back again. “I love you, baby. Say the words. Just I love you, and I’ll fuck you like you need.”

I thrashed my head no even as my whole body screamed yes. He chuckled, a low sound which made my tummy curl. “Such a glutton for punishment. I think I will use my flogger after all.”

I opened my eyes in shock and watched as he leaned over the side of the bed and reappeared holding a small flogger.

“Don’t you dare,” I gasped, my nipples tightening so hard it almost hurt.

“Say the words,” he replied with a naughty glint in his eyes.

I tightened my lips.

He twirled his wrist and the flog struck me, right between the thighs against my mound. My flesh, already over sensitized, screamed in delight, as did I. Over and over he slapped my flesh with his torturous toy. The silken latex strands feathering and stinging lightly against my cleft, ramping up my desire higher and higher.

He stopped the flailing and he plunged several fingers inside me. I screamed and trembled, tightening my muscles around them, about to cum. He pulled them out again.

I whimpered. I couldn’t take the pleasure anymore. I opened my mouth to say the words he longed to hear, the words I felt much as I wanted to deny them, but I was saved—or damned—by the ringing of the phone.

With a sigh and a slap of his hand across my mound that made me shudder, he got off the bed and walked away. I hungrily watched the delicious view of his naked, taut buttocks as he left, but as my body cooled, I got annoyed. Like hello, naked, hot babe tied to the bed—make that a very horny babe. For a guy who claimed I was his mate and was trying to make me say the big L word, he had an odd sense of timing. They hadn’t invented voicemail so you could leave a woman in a high state of sexual arousal to answer the phone.

My confusion grew even more when he reappeared, fully dressed.

“I’ve got to go out for a little bit.”

What? “You’re kidding right?”

His rueful look didn’t have a trace of humor, neither did his hard kiss which left me breathless.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he murmured against my lips while his hand stroked across my damp folds.

He started to walk away. “Um, aren’t you forgetting something?” I asked.

He turned to look at me and gave me a chagrined look. “Sorry.” He walked back, but instead of releasing me, he grabbed a remote and flipped HBC on.

My mouth opened wide and my eyes even wider as with a grin and a blown kiss, he sauntered out of the bedroom. The bastard! I growled and thought of expending some of my special demon strength and breaking the bonds. I mean seriously, tough as his chains might look, my special blood made me stronger. But, I knew he knew I could get free, and obviously he expected something of me.

So I wondered, should I break free and check his place out? Break free and leave so he could chase me down again? Or did I stay as I was and wait for him to come back and continue where he left off? Too many choices and I didn’t know which to choose, although I was starting to get a headache thinking about it.

With nothing better to do for the moment, and undecided still as to my best option, I watched HBC, and surprise, it was a rerun of the last episode of Last Sidekick Standing.

Watching the entire drama unfold was a little easier this time round, not to mention I saw some extra footage I hadn’t noticed at the time. Such as Dretnor scowling as Drake passed his own test of truth. I still didn’t get that demon, he didn’t even seem to like me, so why did he care? When the curtain came down at the end of the episode, and the cameras showed my hasty departure, I expected the show to end at this point.

Instead, the emcee came on and announced that due to exciting developments, the show’s regular time slot had been extended. Curious at the fresh footage the emcee hinted at, I watched avidly as Dretnor hurried off, looking around him suspiciously as he scurried through Helltown and entered the offices of … HOE.

What the fuck was Dretnor doing there?

“…It looks like there is more than one devious plot unfolding. Is Dretnor truly after the sidekick position, or has he joined the competition for nefarious reasons? Find out more after this commercial break brought to you by Hell-A-Roni, Hades’ favorite, supper treat.”

My mind worked furiously as I tried to think of an ulterior motive for Dretnor. Was he after my soul hunting job? It made no sense as anyone could apply for a soul hunter position, of course the mortality rate tended to make it almost impossible to get life insurance, but nothing prevented him from applying. I didn’t think he had a secret sexual yen for me, we’d never even spoken and while Drake’s lust shone in his eyes whenever he saw me, Dretnor’s reflected only dislike.

I really hoped Drake won the competition because I really couldn’t see myself working with the demon. Not to mention, I knew I wouldn’t last much longer under Drake’s torturous method of getting me to confess my feelings. But damn was I enjoying myself while he tried.

The commercial break ended and the emcee came back on along with video footage of Dretnor opening a portal and stepping out into a mountain range.

“What is our villainous competitor doing outside his only opponent Drake’s home?

Is he planning to kill the only other contestant or does he have more sinister plans?” Outside Drake’s home? Surely, I’d misunderstood. I continued to watch the television and saw Dretnor blast a hole in the rock and unless Drake had a really wicked television set, I actually felt the tremor in the bed. This couldn’t be good. I caught a brief glimpse of my naked flesh on the television screen as suddenly my spread eagle predicament was broadcast to the world. Shit. This really is live footage. I didn’t have time to admire my curvy body, I needed to get free. Drawing on my demon side, I pulled at my restraints, my muscles screaming in protest. With a clang and sudden jingling, I freed one arm albeit with a new heavy bracelet. With one arm free, I was able to use both hands to pull free my other bound arm.

I’d managed to snap one of the chains holding my legs when Dretnor appeared in the bedroom.

He grinned at me, a nasty look full of sharp teeth which went well with his evil glowing eyes. “If it isn’t the slut herself,” he said approaching with heavy feet, just as I broke the last chain.

I bound up on the bed, heavy chains flying. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m here to kill you.”

“Why?” I know stupid question when I should have been looking for ways to kick his ass, but I truly wanted to know. I mean, come on, I was standing buck naked in front of the guy, um demon, and while every other male in the known planes would have been sporting a hard on, he wanted to snuff me. Something was seriously wrong with this picture.

“Once you die, my beautiful Meddie will be mine.”

“Who the fuck is Meddie?” Seriously, I had no idea and why did he need to kill me to be with her?

Dretnor snarled and lunged at me. “You will speak of her with respect. Medusa has abided with your cruelty long enough. I will free her from your vile presence and once I do, she will love me as she promised.”

His words startled me enough I stumbled and he raked a poisonous claw across the skin of my arm. Ouch, talk about stinging.

Pain didn’t stop me from replying though. “You mean she put you up to this?”

“I tried to discredit you first,” said the demon as he stalked me around the bed. “But no one noticed or cared because of your stupid reality show. Then that idiot dragon fell under your spell and helped foil the attack by the assassins.”

“And let me guess, you joined the competition to get close to me.”

“Yes, but anyone can see the game will be fixed so Drake, your lover can win. I must make my move now while he is distracted.”

“Wait a second,” I said panting as I tried to dodge and still got sliced. The damn chains kept throwing my balance off and now the poison also made my moves more sluggish. “You’re the one who called Drake away?”

“I used a cloaked phone and called to tell him we were interested in hiring him to kill you. Loverboy immediately took off to try and save your sorry ass.” My heart melted to know he’d left in an attempt to be my hero. Turns out he should have stayed for more than one reason. “You won’t get away with this. All of Hell is watching you right now. Drake will come back any second and eat you. I’m his mate you know.”

“Drake should be dead by now,” said Dretnor with a sneer. “His meeting was with a coven of lamia in need of some dragonskin. And you will join him shortly.”

“Fucking bastard!” Tears blurred my vision at the thought of Drake dying and I dove at him, uncaring suddenly that I had no weapons to aid me. I just wanted to wrap my hands around his villainous throat and squeeze. But an unarmed, injured, half demon is no match for a full demon running on madness. He flung me about like a rag doll. I’ll admit things weren’t looking too good and I’d run out of options.

Lying on the floor gasping in pain, my body sporting a multitude of cuts and bruises, I watched Drentor approach, my impending death in his eyes. I could heal from many things, but the blade he suddenly pulled out made me curse. Even I couldn’t recover from a decapitation.

A roar suddenly shook the room. Dretnor whirled and I could see, just barely, past one side of him, Drake barreling into the room. But he wasn’t Drake for long, even as he moved, his body rippled and grew, and grew some more. Scales formed over his skin, ebony colored which shimmered almost blue when he moved. When he’d finished transforming, a massive dragon crowded the room. Hot damn.

Steam hissed in and out of Drake’s nostrils and when he spoke—in our heads not out loud—I shivered at the raw power.

“Let my mate go.”

Intelligence wasn’t one of Dretnor’s strong points apparently—just look who he wanted to hook up with—and instead of obeying something higher up in the food chain, he turned and grabbed me by the hair. I struggled in his grip, but battered and weakened, I didn’t accomplish much.

Actually that wasn’t true. If anything, Drake looked even more pissed as he got a better look at the beating I’d received.

“Die demon,” Drake hissed. Faster than I would have credited a creature of his size, the dragon’s forearm lashed out with its razor sharp claws and lopped Dretnor’s arm off.

Gravity yanked me down without Dretnor to hold me up and I expected to meet the floor up close and personal, but Drake again in a lightening quick move, grabbed me with his other hand—er, claw.

I found myself tucked under a leathery wing against a gigantic scaly body and slumped in relief. And it wasn’t just because I’d almost met my maker, if I had one.

Drake was alive and safe. Not to mention superhot coming to my rescue even if he was currently a dragon instead of a man.

Dretnor without his hostage, and minus one arm, didn’t look too impressive anymore, but Drake didn’t care. His maw, with jagged teeth, opened wide and he exhaled. A cloud billowed out of his mouth and encased Dretnor, who didn’t even have time to say “Boo.” When the mist cleared, Drake’s bedroom had acquired a life-sized ice sculpture of one very ugly demon. Cool.

Then I swooned.