Screams. They ring in my ears. A roar of voices mounting in unison, shaking the world like mighty thunder. Snow thick with blood, I gaze across the battle field. The carnage is endless.

I’ve been here before. With certainty that thought increases.

A memory? Why would I have been here? Questions spiral through my head, sending everything into further confusion.

Phantoms fight around me. Blurs of colour and sound, just out of sync, making them bodiless bursts that catch the eye.

Treading slowly, I make my way barefoot to the centre of the war zone, teeth chattering from the icy cold. I need answers. They’ve become a quest. A thirst to know. Who am I?

The hum of metal slices the air. Agony screams through my flesh, cripplingly and deadly. Twisting, I meet green eyes burning with hate. Arms up, I try to ward off another blow but everything around me shatters away.

Air stutters in my lungs.

I can’t breathe.

Darkness encloses me.

I’m trapped. I can’t get out. The pressure of invisible walls makes me thrash out a horse cry from my lips.

I can no longer feel my body.

It’s gone. Destroyed.

I’m caged where souls shriek out in terror and madness. Isolated. Tortured.

Not even the deep crooning voice of my jailor can soothe me as the knowledge dawns. There’s no escape.

Sweat soaked and shaking, eyes snapping open, I shoot up. Trembling all over, I realise I’m alone in the bed. Running a hand over my slick face, a shuddering breath escapes me. The dreams are getting worse. Laying back, I steady my rapidly beating heart. The light from the hallway filters through the door which has been left ajar.

Homesickness floods me.

I don’t know where I’m supposed to be. Is it here in Cease Fire with Gabriel and the others who say they are my friends? Will I ever know?

I feel suffocated by all this worry and concern. Spending an hour looking over pre-natal sites with the good-looking pub owner was awkward. Even more so when he showed me the other spare-room across from mine that would make a good nursery. Yet he seems genuine. I can’t deny he cares, and my instincts aren’t warning of any deception.

Emotions churn inside me; misery, pain, anger, and despair. Nausea rolls through my stomach. Groaning softly, I know I don’t have anything left to bring up. So far anything I’ve eaten I haven’t been able to keep down. Whoever came up with the bright idea of calling it morning sickness obviously never suffered this bad.

Slipping from beneath the blanket, my feet touch the smooth wooden floor. Limbs feeble from the nightmare, I move shakily towards the bathroom.

“She doesn’t remember. We could let her carry on in ignorance and have a normal life away from all this bullshit.” Gabriel’s voice is a low rumble, but I catch it through the gap in the door.

“She’s a ticking time bomb. Just because her true memories and nature are suppressed doesn’t mean they won’t surface again. Christ, she skinned that half demon alive. Besides, he won’t allow it. It’s taken months of waiting for the time to be right to bring her back. Denying him this is one way to start a full-blown war. Not these skirmishes we’ve been entertaining.” The second voice is familiar. Raziel.

“I’m worried about her sanity. With the pregnancy hormones she’s already under a lot of strain. You’ve seen how the other two are. I’m worried she’ll eventually snap.”

“Just keep her calm, relaxed, and make sure she doesn’t leave.”

They grow faint as they move away.

Hand around the handle, I silently click the door closed.

How can I take control of my life when I can’t remember my past? I need to find the truth behind everything before it destroys me.

Padding into the bathroom, I stare at my burning bright eyes in the mirror. A tremor shudders through me. Clutching the sink for support, I steady myself as my legs go weak. I can’t keep these dark urges at bay. I don’t know how. The music I’ve heard before is there, teasing the edges of my mind. It longs to consume me.

“Your darkness makes you beautiful. A diamond among stones. Your edges are deadly as well as exquisite.” Deep, gravelly, the sensual voice throbs straight down to my core.

My eyes lock with a pair of dark and devious ones in the reflection. I freeze.

Lucifer.

Leaning nonchalantly against the door jam, his blood-stained tie loose, hands thrust into his trouser pockets, he watches me intently. A slow smile curves his lips. “Have I made a strong enough impression yet?”

“Stay away.”

“Do you still think I want to hurt you? We still have a contract. Your soul is mine. You’d be no good to me dead.”

Slowly, I turn to face him, the back of the sink digging into my spine. “Why would I give you my soul?”

Like a magician, he produces an ornate dagger from his pocket. Not the small kind. No this is long, thick, and sharp. How he managed to fit it in there threatens to unravel my already fragile sanity. “To save your brother.”

I have a brother? Family is something I haven’t given a thought to.

“I...I don’t remember that.”

“I could help you remember, for a price.” He offers, dark eyelashes lowering to hide the expression in his dazzling gaze.

Hand creeping up, I instinctively protect my bump. “You already have my soul. I’m not giving you my baby.”

“How about your heart?” He twists the blade between his fingers, shoulder still resting against the door. “Give that to me and I’ll help you get your memory back.”

“Maybe it’s better if I don’t remember,” I counter.

“When a flower doesn’t bloom you fix the environment it grows in. Not the flower. You have bloomed in my hands in the past. You will again.”

“Why should I believe anything that comes out of your mouth?”

Pushing off his perch, he stalks towards me, closing the distance. “That, my darling, is up to you.”

I have nowhere to go trapped in the small room. With growing desperation, I search unsuccessfully for a weapon. “Don’t touch me, you monster.”

A mischievous smirk inches up the corners of his cruel but sexy mouth. “Why deny what we both know you feel? You can’t escape it. Only I can meet your twisted sexual desires. Give you every depraved craving you have locked away.”

Inches away, he halts before me. His heat permeates through the thin layer of my cotton night dress. My body reacts to his nearness. Breasts growing heavy, a need to feel his cock buried deep inside me has wetness trickling down my inner thighs. Lust coils in my abdomen, sending a sweet jab of ache downwards.

Eyelids fluttering shut, my other senses take over. The heady masculine scent of his cologne seduces me. Again, I sense a leashed ferocity lurking beneath the veneer of modern sophistication.

Lips take my mouth in a blistering kiss. One touch and I lose all sense of up or down. They devour. Stake a claim. The sound of tearing reaches my ears. Cool air washes over my skin, making me shiver as the material is sliced apart. Gasping, I pull away.

Grasping the sides, Lucifer flips the tattered sides of my night dress clear, baring me for his viewing indulgence. “I’ve always preferred you naked.”

“No, don’t.” Palms resting against his chest, I push him away. It’s a feeble bid for freedom. I can already feel myself succumbing to the carnal hunger he’s evoked. Yielding, softening to whatever power he wields over me.

“When will you learn that fighting against me is like trying to stop the moon from rising in the sky at night?”

Confident hands curve around my hips. Cold marble meets my arse as I’m lifted then seated beside the sink. Nuzzling my neck, he parts my thighs and stands between them. A long finger works its way between my damp folds.

My ability to think dissolves. Groaning, I tilt my neck, the back of my head resting against the wall.

Easing the digit deep, he finger fucks me. Slowly at first, before picking up relentless speed. His rhythm is soon joined by two more that slip easily into my soaking channel, as a thumb settles over my clit.

Hips bucking into his hand, I grab his shoulders, driving my fingernails into the softness of his suit jacket. Face still buried in the hollow of my neck, his teeth bite down viciously, bruising the skin. That small jab of pain is all I need. On a long-tortured moan, I stiffen as I come.

“You’ve made a mess of my fingers, Flower. Be a good girl and clean it off with your pretty mouth.” Carefully pulling them free of my pussy, he holds them out, leaning back to watch with a commanding, domineering air.

It’s erotic, arousing. And I find myself not wanting to disobey. Licking the slickness from them, I taste myself in the process.

He smiles, pleased at my compliance. Kneeling, he spreads me open wider. Dark head bent reverently, he looks like a worshipper paying homage in prayer. He inhales my scent as if savouring an expensive bouquet of wine.

“I’m going to taste you until your voice is raw from screaming my name. Ride my face. Take your pleasure.”

Working his tongue along my slit, he licks up, then circles around my clit.

“Oh yes.” The words escape me on a broken whisper. Undulating my hips against his face, my fingers tangle in his hair. He makes a sound in his throat. A noise beyond something an animal would make or even a man. His Tongue delves inside me.

Watching him feast, his wicked gaze pinned on mine, I can’t hide the lustful heat that roars up. I know it’s clear in my expression. Mirrored in his own. Nothing matters. Only the insatiable hunger he ignites within me. My clit throbs in time with my heartbeat as he continues to tease. Pressure and pleasure build, tightening as it grows.

“Lucifer.” I can’t stop the scream as I come apart, convulsing as he sucks on my sensitive nub, throwing me off the edge into another orgasm.

Boneless, floating on a cloud of bliss, I try to catch my breath from his onslaught, but he persists. Lapping, sucking, toying, he brings me to release repeatedly. Losing the ability to articulate words, a string of non-verbal sounds is the only thing I can make in response.

Finally, Lucifer relents. Raising to his feet, he stands. Pussy juices coat his chin. “Sitting on my cock is where you belong, Mavi. Next time I come for you, you’ll be Mistress of all you survey when I fuck you.” He licks the wetness from his lips before wiping his mouth with his palm. Sucking each finger clean, he does it with a look of sheer enjoyment. “Remember who you really are. Know the truth. Don’t fight against it.”

Eyelids dropping, I slump, dimly aware of a hand gently brushing the curve of my cheek, as another prevents me from slipping down onto the floor.