'Tween Heaven and Hell Read Online Free PDF Page A

and soft like down pillows against my own,
surprised lips.
    Where our lips met it felt like liquid fire and the fire
quickly spread down my body until my mind formed a picture of spontaneous
combustion. I wanted to pull away but the pleasure was too intense, too
powerful and I felt myself getting sucked into it. My arms came up and I
reached for him, pulling his long, hard body against mine, grinding into him
like a dog in heat.
    I felt all semblance of restraint draining away as the hard
lines of his body melted against mine and I suddenly couldn’t breathe, couldn’t
get enough of him against me, into me, over me.
    The vial of holy water exploded in my hand and I jumped,
pulling away from him with a gasp of surprise. I looked at the hand that had
been holding the vial and frowned at the trickle of blood that ran down my
palm. Without my ever seeing him move, he had hold of the hand and was running
his tongue across it. His eyes closed as he finished cleaning the last of the
blood off my palm and he smiled.
    I knew what he’d done was really disgusting. I wanted to be
repulsed. I really did. But his hot, soft tongue had started the fire in my
belly again. As the mind-melting heat poured through me, I forced myself to get
pissed off, because somewhere in my fevered brain I realized that my soul was
at stake.
    I stepped back suddenly, reached for the knife I had
strapped to my thigh and swung it toward his lecherous face. “You sonofabitch,
I warned you about getting into my head.”
    He easily stopped the arm in mid-swing and chuckled softly
as he pried my fingers from around the knife. He flung it harmlessly away. I
heard it clang against a wall about fifty yards from where we stood. “I’m sorry
to disappoint you, pretty Tweener, but I didn’t enter your head that time. That
was all your own doing.” He moved away from me, laughing and motioned for me to
follow.
    Me and my very red face decided it was the best thing to do
under the circumstances. We lowered our head and followed, keeping our
distance, albeit a little too late to save our pride.
    * * * * *
    The room we entered was even larger than the one we’d left.
The walls were covered in thick, black velvet draperies with golden tassels as
trim. Hanging from the draperies were dozens of tapestries, which told the
typical tales of devildom and their place in history and Hades. A particularly
large tapestry hung on the wall that served as the backdrop for a long, arced
table with at least a dozen huge, throne-like chairs standing empty behind it.
The chairs looked like they had been carried forward through time, with
intricate, flowery patterns carved into the dark, heavy wood of their backs and
fat feet and arms that were rippled and shiny with use. The seats were covered
with the same black velvet material that covered the walls. The carpet beneath
my feet was creamy white and as soft and thick as anything I’d ever walked on
before. Other than the raised table in the front of the enormous room, the room
was empty.
    The largest tapestry, which had grabbed my attention when I’d
walked into the room, was a scene designed to return me to my previous
unwillingly tingly condition. It was a depiction of a fragile-looking,
pale-haired, pale-skinned young woman in a gauzy gown of some sort, who was in
the late stages of being completely seduced by a devil who looked not at all
unlike my own devil.
    Even as I had the thought he laughed, as if he’d read my
mind. My face transformed itself into a scowl to cover my terror. Please tell
me he didn’t read my mind? As much as I knew about devils, my knowledge of
their royalty, the most powerful and evil of all devils, was sketchy. I made a
mental note, if I ever got out of this alive and unscorched, to find out more
about them.
    But for now, I needed to concentrate on getting out of this.
I watched as a door just behind and to my left of the table opened and a line
of…creatures—for lack of a better word—began