Free Good Intentions 3: Personal Demons by Elliott Kay Page A

one was looking. Moloch, Adramelech, and all the rest took their leave without ceremony or even a goodbye. Only the host and Sammael lingered.
    “He doesn’t have a plan,” noted Sammael. “I don’t believe he even has a lead on her.”
    “We have no leads, either,” said Azazel.
    “No, but that isn’t important to your plans. What is important is that your closest neighbor is in no position to strike while you are extended. His forces are massed to seize Baal’s realm, not yours. Besides, as you said, the cost of a final conquest over a rival is too high. He would be weakened by an assault on your realm, and Belial will not risk weakness.”
    Azazel’s eyes narrowed as he looked down at the fallen archangel. “Would that I could travel to the mortal realm as easily as you,” he rumbled.
    “Everything comes with a price,” said Sammael. “You have already paid mine. I’m more than happy to help you out in this endeavor. Speaking of the mortal realm, I should get back there.” He looked from Azazel to the battle and the barren landscape all around. “I can’t imagine what would make anyone leave all this,” he said, not bothering to hide his sarcasm.
     
    * * *
     
    Once upon a time, Alex’s hang-ups and worries got in their way.
    Alex held back as much out of concern for others as he did in fear for himself. Throughout his early years, every storied example of romance threatened dire consequences for anything less than sincere attempts to find true love. Some warnings he rejected as base prejudice or Puritanical extremes. Others remained. Mixed messages from his youth confused his young adulthood.
    Then he met Rachel and Lorelei and the whole world turned upside down.
    The misfired ritual that bound them together created troubling yet seductive power dynamics. The succubus curse amplified and enabled his desires, and the angel cheerfully played right along. Alex took nothing for granted, but at every turn their love only grew and dismissed his concerns. Immortal perspectives scoffed at earthly traditions and expectations. Monogamy went out the window to a fast and early death.
    Alex awoke on the morning of New Year’s Eve to Lorelei’s smile beside him. He pulled away the sheets and kissed her without a single word. They hardly spoke as they made love throughout the day. The pleasures of Lorelei’s body distracted him from mortal needs, creating a silent drain on his health to give her much more than the ordinary joys of intimacy and sex. She drew power from every aspect of his lust, yet it was always so much better when he pushed further than he should.
    He knew it would happen, whether he felt it or not. He loved and trusted her enough not to care. They stayed in bed all day. By the time the sun set once more, sensual affection gave way to something else.
    As always, Lorelei sensed his desires. She lay on her back, her legs stretched out along with his. She enjoyed the constant caress of his hands, his familiarity with her body, and the slow grind of his flesh within hers. Lorelei encouraged the shift in his hunger with hotter kisses, moans, and nails dragging down his back. Her legs spread further to welcome his need.
    Alex curled his fingers in her hair at the back of her scalp and pulled her head back against the pillow. He moved up on his knees, digging in as her breath deepened in pleasure and anticipation of more. His lips hovered over hers without a kiss. Not now. He wanted to hear her and to watch her beautiful face as long as he could keep his own eyes open.
    Old hang-ups and worries fell far behind. Lorelei welcomed his cock with all the same passion he put into every possessive thrust. A thought flashed through his mind, a wordless thrill at her reactions and the freedom of the moment to disregard patience or romance when they wanted each other like this. A couple of months earlier, Alex would have been mortified at himself. Now he recognized the approving purr in her voice and held on to