Genesis Queen (The Road to Hell Series) (8 page)

The knock on the door brought them apart, but Mads clung to him, staring at his mouth. “I cannot get enough of you.”

Her words hit him in the crotch with an instant hard-on. Comments like that left him with fantasies of her naked and him inside her. But the tormented expression wrinkling her forehead and creating fine lines around her mouth left him pondering if she considered her reaction a good thing.

The door pushed open and his aunt peeked her head around the corner. “Sorry to interrupt.”

“Come on in.” Nix motioned with his hand to Georgie and gave Mads a quick kiss. “We’ll talk about that in a minute.”

His aunt approached cautiously. “You have a call on my cell.”

Odd
. “Who is it?”

“I don’t know. A charming young man. He wouldn’t give me his name, said you’d been close recently.”

Nix stepped out of Mads’s embrace, but kept one hand on her thigh. “You don’t find that peculiar, Georgie?”

“Extremely.” She offered him the cell and gave them a shrewd smile.

He accepted the phone and placed it to his ear. “Nix speaking.”

“Hello, Phoenix.” Micah’s voice filtered through the connection. His gaze slashed to Mads. “My wife in the room with you?”

“Yes.”

“Allow me to speak with her.”

“Fuck you. No.” Nix didn’t realize he clenched Mads’s thigh until she laid her hand over his. He tempered his sudden anger and forced his tense muscles to relax. “If you wanted to speak with her, you should’ve contacted her, not my aunt.”

On the other end of the line a bell chimed. It sounded like one of those that announced a customer. Where the hell was the bastard? “I don’t have Madison’s telephone number.”

Micah
? Mads mouthed at him.

Nix nodded.

“Put him on speaker.”

At the request, Nix frowned and shook his head.

“That man on the phone is your husband, Madison? The King of Hell that’s been chasing you for so long?” Georgie’s mouth rounded in surprise at the possibility.

“Yep,” Mads answered. “He can be charming when he wants.”

I disagree
. “Charming like a demented mountain lion.”

Mads’s smooth-talking husband chuckled. “Thank you, Phoenix.” Muted chatter came through the receiver. “I seem to remember you liking my charm just fine.”

Couldn’t deny that if he wanted. “Look…you son-of-a-bitch—”

Mads ran her palm up his arm. “Don’t let him goad you.”

“Listen to my wife. She’s wise beyond her years.” He wanted to kill her fucking husband. This phone call was about Micah flexing his control, showing him the King still held leverage over her. He’d have to fight for her, and he had no idea if he was capable of winning.

Her hand dragged across his shoulder and cupped his cheek. “Nix, put him on speaker.”

Unable to refuse her much of anything, he sighed. “Hang on, Micah.”

“Would you like privacy?” Georgie tucked short, curly strands of hair behind her ears.

Mads shrugged. Nix glared at the phone as if the cell, rather than the man on the other end of the line, offended him.

Mads’s husband was the one who answered Georgie’s question. “Privacy is preferred, doll.”

Nix waited until his aunt shut the door behind her before he spoke. “What do you want?”

Mads flicked her fingers toward the door. The metal lock latching jerked his attention. A smile tilted the corners of her lips, one that reminded him of a child discovering she had power over something for the first time. She’d learned her demonic talents quickly. Much too quickly for his peace of mind.

“Madison, kitten, are you harmed?”

“No.” She made a face. “Why would I be?”

The muffled sound of Micah’s voice emerged. “Coffee. Black.” Nix’s best guess was he’d shifted his phone away to respond to someone, wherever he was. “I wasn’t sure I could trust Zennyo Ryuo after Hell. Speaking of Hell”—the rattling of dishes emerged through the line—“you were supposed to return. And since I cannot get to you mentally, I’m guessing you’re trapped in a Demon Lock?”

“Yes. It’s….” She glanced at Nix and chewed on her bottom lip a moment. “It’s why I didn’t return.”

“I suspected.”

“Is that the princess on the phone?” Elias was with him. And that particular demon only exited Hell when something massive required his attention.

A scuffling reverberation had him thinking Micah nodded at his brother’s question. “Madison, I know where you are. I’ll come remove the Demon Lock.”

“It’s intertwined with an Angel Lock,” Mads said.

“Goddamn it!” Dishes and silverware rattled after a loud bang.

Nix grinned. Violence from the King went a long way in mollifying his agitation. “Not taking any chances when it comes to protecting her from your sorry ass.”

“Phoenix, she’s my fucking wife.” It sounded like the King spoke through clenched teeth. “Release her.”

Nix held Mads’s gaze. “She’s mine now. You have no claim on her.”

The fire that sparked in her eyes indicated their hostilities displeased her. She shoved his hand off her thigh and pushed off the desk. “FYI to both of you…I am my own person. I make the decision who I build a relationship with, not either one of you. So can the caveman bullshit. I will
not
tolerate it.”

“Sorry, Mads.” He touched her cheek with the backs of his knuckles. She nodded, but he could tell by the tension in her body she was far from appeased.

“Kitten—”

“I wouldn’t push her right now, Micah. If you could see her eyes, you’d know she’s pissed.”

A long moment of tense silence ended with a weary-sounding sigh from the fallen angel. “Demon?”

“Yep.”

“Phoenix, I need to meet with you immediately.”

Nix frowned. Dealing with the King grew tiring. He wanted just twenty-four freakin’ hours of uninterrupted peace to enjoy with Mads before having to dicker with
him
“Why?”

“If it concerns me, talk freely.”

“Of course it concerns you, kitten. My entire life is centered on you.”

“That’s the fucking truth.” Elias’s muted voice sounded disgusted.

“Either start talking or Nix is disconnecting the call.” Mads’s hands balled into fists at her sides. He loved her sexy pissed-off side.

“Madison, this is serious—”

“I’m serious, too.” She was dead calm. “No more games. Or when this Demon Lock falls I’ll return to Hell with Amos, but nothing in my covenant with you says we have to remain.”

Micah laughed. Actually laughed. He had to be deranged because if he could see Mads’s expression, he’d be very grave. “I always did think your quick wit was sexy, kitten.”

“Hang up, Nix.”

He went to depress the button, but the King quickly said, “Wait!” Unsure how to proceed, Nix did nothing but stand there with the phone in his palm. “What I need to meet with Phoenix about is more important than the covenant, Madison. You’re released from it.”

Mads’s jaw dropped with a tiny gasp.

“Phoenix, that meeting—immediately. I’m at the local café in town. The only one in this backwoods hick city.”

She said nothing, just lowered her gaze to the floor as she chewed on her bottom lip. Being released from the covenant spoke volumes to the severity of the fallen’s intentions. “Why would you release me from the covenant, Micah?”

“You and Amos both are in peril.” Her husband’s harsh tone convinced Nix the King wanted to—and
would
—rip apart whatever threatened his family. “Those fucking Locks trap you and put you in more danger. I will not tolerate it. Make sure they’re removed before you meet me at the café, Phoenix.”

“If she’s in that much danger, you should come to us.” Nix jerked at the sound of Zen’s voice. “We’ll have a family meeting.”

He had no idea when the immortal had entered the room. He’d obviously teleported because Nix faced the door and Zen stood at his back.

“What’s your hidden agenda, Zennyo Ryuo?”

Valid question and he didn’t blame Micah for asking.

“None.” Zenny walked to Mads and looped his arm around her shoulder. He must have said something telepathically to her because she nodded. “I’ll allow Elias entrance, also. Your departure
without
Madison is a given.”

A chair scraped across the floor from the Kings’ side of the line. Nix was surprised when Elias spoke.

“Deal. We’ll be there momentarily.”

Disconnecting the call, he met Mads and Zenny’s gazes. “I originally thought this might be a con, but if Elias is on board….” Nix shook his head and quirked his lips. That motherfucker was the wildcard to this situation. “And willing to walk into Zen territory without more assurances than he just gave, I’d guess whatever they have to say is legit.”

Chapter Eight

Micah and his brother came through the portal together. Madison stood on the front porch awaiting their arrival. Beside her, Phoenix clenched his jaw when they appeared.

The immortal stood nearest to Micah and his twin, on the lawn not more than four feet from where they’d come through. Zennyo Ryuo’s arms were crossed over his chest. “The Lock remains intact until you exit.”

Elias smirked. “Don’t trust us?”

No emotion tweaked the immortal’s features, and he was straightforward as always. “No.”

Once, they’d been allies with Zennyo Ryuo, but the friendly days had long since passed. They’d spent a lot of time attempting to kill one another since.

They were there for a legitimate purpose. Not even an uptight prick like the immortal would hinder his protection of his wife.

Micah held the immortal’s stare as he stepped into the Angel Lock. Trapping himself with his wife suited his aim, allowed him to shelter her from the motherfucker that would dare to harm her. He walked past Zennyo Ryuo, resolved to do anything to maintain the safety of his family. His gaze padlocked on Madison as he strode straight to her.

The reminders of things that had transpired in Hell were like snapshots in his vision. His mouth on her breasts, her belly, and his fingers inside her. Never in their marriage had she been aroused for him. In Hell, she’d been very wet.

The way she’d moved beneath his touch, her hips flexing to meet the glide of his finger-fucking. Passion a dull pink in her blue eyes, indicating both demon and woman present, while his brothers watched on as he readied to enter her.

“Where is your family, Phoenix?” He asked the other man the question but continued to contemplate Madison.

“Inside.”

Inside
. Yeah, he’d almost been inside Madison when she’d abruptly vanished. One moment he’d been sliding between her thighs, his cock butting against her sex, while he lowered his bleeding wrist to her mouth. Then she’d vanished.

Micah shifted his focus to the Ark, a tic in the other man’s jaw. “Relax. Our purpose is the same once more, Phoenix.”

“Not quite the same as before.” Madison laced her fingers with the Ark’s as he continued. “Your motives are indeterminate and I don’t trust you.”

He just barely held back his visible flinch when Madison offered Phoenix physical comfort. Jealousy had been the bane of others, not his, and he disliked the emotion.

“Where is your sassy-mouthed friend, kitten?”

An adorable frown knit between her eyebrows, then smoothed out. “Who? Alessa?” Micah nodded. Alessa had taken to calling him angel-jelly when they’d met and then had the audacity to enter Hell with Madison to save Phoenix. “Safely tucked inside the house.”

There was that word again.
Inside
. Mere seconds from being surrounded by her wet channel. Just his fucking luck to be deprived of her body. Five more minutes would’ve sufficed.

The fuck it would’ve. Five hours wouldn’t be enough to sate his body in hers.

He forced his head back to the present. Living in the past would do him no good. “Where’s Kur?”

“Canvassing the perimeter.” The Ark of Heaven smirked. “He trusts you even less than we do.”

Micah bit back a grin. If they only knew his true relationship with the dragon. “I’m betting on Madison having Kur under control.”

Nix grunted.

“Kitten….” He brushed his thumb across her chin. “You’re glowing with Phoenix’s messian and if I’m not mistaken, Kur’s drago as well.”

“When I returned from Hell, I was…hungry.”

“Almost insatiable.” Zen clarified from just behind Micah’s shoulder, the immortal’s prim-and-proper mien grating against his rebellious nature.

Elias stepped behind him. “She’s still hungry,
zkihtak
.”

Like dragon scales nicking his skin, her famine rubbed him raw. His demon bristled, offended that she starved for no reason. He’d correct that dilemma soon if she’d allow him the privilege. Madison shot Phoenix a quick peek beneath her lashes, and the Ark frowned down at her. His brother’s statement hit a nerve between them.

Micah watched Madison closely. She fidgeted, reminding him of the insecure woman he’d married, not the self-confident woman she’d become, the one who’d been in Hell with him not more than a couple of hours ago. “Are we invited inside?”

“No.” Madison’s shoulders squared. “You had two of the Birminghams killed and Elias”—she shot him an annoyed glance—“spanked them when he took me to Hell. You can understand why it is a little tense inside at the moment.”

His twin mocked her with a snort. “You realize that makes me want to enter more, right, princess?”

“You really want to play with the Lynx?” Her eyes flashed pink long enough for him to understand the threat before fading back to blue.

His brother chuckled and hit him on the arm playfully. “I think she’s threatening me.”

He barely withheld his grin. Excitement scuttled through him, causing the base of his spine to tingle. He loved it when Madison played hardball.

“Stop me if you can…
Lynx
.” Elias dashed to the door and slammed into an invisible shield before he touched the doorknob.

Micah bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing over his sibling’s stunned expression. Madison’s comment didn’t help his brother’s agitation.

“A little something I learned from Micah in Hell. It’ll allow you inside only with my command.” Elias shot her an agitated glare, but he saw the respect there, too. “Stopped by a
princess
, Elias. How terribly demoralizing.
Tsk
…
tsk
….”