Jack-O-Lanterns: Good Weds Evil Read online

  Jack-O-Lanterns: Good Weds Evil

  Kate Hill

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright ©2006 Kate Hill

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  ISBN (10) 1-59596-483-5

  ISBN (13) 978-1-59596-483-0

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  Editor: Sheri Ross Fogarty

  Cover Artist: Bryan Keller

  This e-book file contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language which some may find offensive and which is not appropriate for a young audience. Changeling Press E-Books are for sale to adults, only, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.

  Seated on a flat black stone in the chamber of revelations, Urbane pressed his palms to the floor on either side of him. He relished the heat spreading through his hands and up his arms. Around him rose the high, craggy walls of hell’s deepest cavern. Down here, not even the screams of tortured souls reached him. Except for the hiss of steam from random geysers, there was silence.

  Usually occupied with violent or lustful ventures, Urbane had until recently spent little time in this place of dark fantasy. Like most demons, he preferred action to dreaming.

  Then he’d set eyes on her. During a midnight stroll through that place between hell and heaven known as the Midland, he’d passed by the forbidden garden, a repulsive spot filled with flowers, green trees, and crystalline pools. Urbane always walked by as quickly as possible. This time he’d heard laughter, sickening sweet yet too alluring to resist. A glance past the alabaster gate and he’d been lost.

  The chestnut-haired beauty frolicking in the lake, her tall, curvaceous body naked with its flawless skin glistening in the moonlight, sent a ripple of pure desire down his spine. His cock swelled and ached, longing to impale her lush body, feel her wet cunt pulsing around it.

  He’d stepped closer to the gate and stared with unabashed desire. He grasped the white metal bars, ready to force his way inside, then a wave of disgust washed over him.

  Obviously she was a good spirit, some sort of angel, most likely. Better to stay away from the likes of them. Whenever a fiend took up with one of them, he either lost himself to dreaded goodness or else faced the heaven’s wrath. They didn’t take well to their sweet spirits being ravaged. Not that Urbane feared them. If he wanted this alabaster beauty, he would take her.

  Then she glanced toward him and gasped, her large dark eyes wide with surprise. A hint of anger shone in her expression before she turned away, long tendrils of hair clinging to her slender back. She glanced at him over her shoulder and Urbane smiled wickedly at the lust shining in her eyes. It seemed even her kind weren’t immune.

  He could have taken her then. Seduced and left her, but something stopped him. A tugging at his… heart? With a savage growl, he’d left the garden and traveled to earth where he immersed himself in the willing flesh of mortal whores. No indulgence, from wild sex to substances that over-stimulated body and mind, could erase the angel’s image from his thoughts. He’d made it his duty to learn everything about her. Her name was Evangeline.

  Because of her he found no rest, no pleasure. No matter how much blood he shed, both of others and his own, he could not forget her. He needed her, not just in body, but in soul.

  The lord of evil sensed his dilemma and summoned him to the black throne where Urbane knelt, trembling not with fear but with longing. His master would obliterate him now, and he would finally be free of her.

  The essence of evil is passing over. The evil lord’s raspy voice grated inside Urbane’s tortured mind. With him goes the dreaded essence of good. As you know, a member of our realm must join with one from the heavens so that good and evil meld and the order of the universe remains intact.

  “Yes, my master,” Urbane said and lifted his gaze to the evil one’s lifeless white eyes. His head throbbed painfully with anticipation. His master was about to curse him with hell’s worst torment and by all that was evil, Urbane wanted it.

  You are already tainted by a breath of goodness, Urbane. You may deny it and remain in our realm, or surrender to your pathetic weakness and be exiled forever.

  His demonic soul clung to hell, but some unfamiliar force prompted him to say, “I will carry on the order of the universe, my master, but only if I may name my bride.”

  A sinister smile spread over the evil lord’s blood red lips. Speak her name and souls everywhere, above and below, shall hear your proposal. Think carefully before you do. Hell’s doors shall close forever to your weak, repulsive soul, and heaven shall never have you.

  Urbane’s cold heart pounded mercilessly in his chest. He resisted the urge to moisten lips that had suddenly gone dry. The image of the chestnut-haired beauty naked in the pool made his cock throb with a need he could no longer deny.

  My time is short, Urbane. What is your decision?

  He drew a deep breath and as he released it spoke a single word. “Evangeline.”

  Urbane’s thoughts spun with the memory of that moment and of the short time later when a messenger had arrived to say the angel had accepted his proposal.

  Amidst the stony ground in front of him was a black pool, its surface muted by fog. With a wave of his hand, the pool revealed his bride preparing for the ceremony to be held that very night.

  His lips parted as he watched her comb her long, thick hair before stepping into a white porcelain tub of perfumed water.

  With a flicker of firelight, the demon Hadrian appeared beside him. Over the centuries, he and Hadrian had spent much time in each other’s company, reveling in their wicked deeds. Hadrian had made it plain he disagreed with Urbane’s decision to marry.

  “Staring at the one who stole your balls?” the demon goaded.

  “My balls are very much intact,” Urbane replied and snatched Hadrian by the throat so quickly the other demon had no time to react. Urbane squeezed hard and Hadrian’s eyes bulged.

  “I’d rather have you pop my head off than see you lose your tainted soul to that angel,” Hadrian sputtered.

  Urbane considered doing just that -- popping off Hadrian’s ugly head. At least it would be a fun sendoff from hell and it wouldn’t matter all that much in the scheme of things, since Hadrian would simply regenerate a new head.

  After releasing the wicked little pest, Urbane turned back to watching Evangeline.

  “You’ll lose part of your evil because of her,” Hadrian continued.

  “Fucking her, even for eternity, will not change the core of who I am,” Urbane stated, mostly to reassure himself that it was true. Already he felt annoying changes inside him. Feelings of, the devil forbid, tenderness. He longed to see Evangeline’s curvy body writhing beneath him in waves of orgasmic pleasure.

  “Mark my words, Urbane, you will lose part of your evil. You will forget what you really are, but she will not.” Urbane glared at Hadrian who curled his lip and continued, “She will never forget you are from hell. You will lose yourself to her and she will despise you for eternity.”

  “Get out of my sight.”

  “I said
--”

  Urbane’s hand snapped out and this time he squeezed hard enough to send Hadrian’s head shooting skyward. Blood spurted from the demon’s neck, dousing Urbane in a burning red shower. A smile on his lips, Urbane closed his eyes and licked droplets of the bitter liquid. It seemed every groom deserved at least one drink at his bachelor party.

  * * *

  Evangeline’s heart pounded and she rubbed her cold hands together while waiting for the angel Vivian to finish braiding her hair for the wedding. She resisted the urge to cry, having wasted enough time on tears on the day she agreed to marry Urbane.

  When her name had pulsed through the universe in a husky, masculine voice only spirits could hear, she had felt numb with shock. It was known throughout the heavens that the old essences of good and evil were ready to move on, but she had no idea she would be called upon to take their place. She shouldn’t have been entirely surprised. That night in the garden, a forbidden place she often visited in spite of warnings from her angelic companions, she had locked gazes with a man who hadn’t left her thoughts. No matter where she was or what she did, his piercing gray eyes haunted her, making her belly tight with desires that made her blush. Demons were known to inspire lust, but she had thought herself immune to their powers. In spite of how she tried to forget the tall, swarthy voyeur, all she could think about was his hands and lips on her flesh. Against her better judgment and the urging of her fellow spirits to refuse his proposal, she decided to accept. No one wished to leave the heavens and mate with evil, but if everyone refused, the universe itself would cease to exist. She would take her place in the order of things and she would bind herself to a demon husband.

  If he pressed the issue, she’d even force herself to bed him, to lie beneath his lean, muscled body and endure the rutting of his engorged cock.

  A shiver, not entirely of fear, raced through her.

  “Finished,” Vivian said, dropping her hands from Evangeline’s hair. She picked up a bouquet of blood red roses that had been sent by Urbane, and handed them to her. “It’s time.”

  Ignoring the sympathetic tears in Vivian’s eyes, Evangeline took the flowers, careful to avoid the thorns. She began her journey to the Midland garden where the ceremony would take place and she and her husband would spend their lives together.

  A short time later, Evangeline stood beside Urbane in the forbidden garden. Moonlight bathed the clearing where the ceremony took place. Surrounded by willow trees and flowering bushes, the couple listened as a priest spirit of untainted good and a priestess soul of pure evil read the vows that would bind them for eternity. Also in the clearing, the old spirits of good and evil rested together on a stone altar, their bodies entwined as if they couldn’t bear to be parted. Perhaps they couldn’t. Evangeline had heard whispers in corners of the heavens that after the joining, the spirits often learned to love one another quite deeply. It seemed impossible for angel and demon to unite in love, yet she had to admit something stronger than duty had called her to Urbane.

  “Join hands,” said the priest.

  Urbane grasped Evangeline’s hand from her side before she could lift it. His touch was warm yet his palm dry and rather rough, not at all unpleasant. When he tightened his grip, she met his gaze and a shiver of fear raced through her. Those gray eyes gleamed with hellfire. There was nothing gentle in his swarthy face with its chiseled cheekbones and aquiline nose. His full lips curved upward in a smile of such wickedness that Evangeline considered stopping the ceremony and flying back to the heavens.

  The priestess turned to Evangeline and said, “Bound by the essence of the universe, your souls forever entwined, do you accept this demon’s dark heart until the end of time?”

  “Yes,” she murmured and noted that Urbane drew a sharp breath. The look in his wide set eyes became even more intense.

  The priest fixed his gaze on Urbane and said, “The essence of the universe binds you as one, the link shall always be. Do you take this good spirit for all time, with your will completely free?”

  “Yes.” Urbane’s deep voice resonated in the garden’s stillness.

  Priest and priestess continued simultaneously, “Joined by powers deeper than blood, so time forever exists. Hearts and souls joined as one, seal this union with a kiss.”

  Evangeline’s heart pounded wildly as Urbane took her face in his hands and covered her mouth with his. It was like being struck by a bolt of lightning -- fierce, passionate, thoroughly frightening yet completely irresistible.

  Urbane’s tongue thrust between her lips, searching and tasting every corner of her mouth. Her first impulse was to pull away, but he held her fast, not allowing her to move even when her hands curled around his wrists. Slowly she realized she was enjoying the kiss. Her tongue reached out tentatively to his and soon found its rhythm. They stroked one another, her tongue asking, curious, his tongue demanding, more than ready to guide her down a decadent path she’d never dreamed existed.

  When he finally released her, Evangeline stumbled, her breathing ragged and her nipples straining against her gown’s lace bodice. She stared at him, torn between anger and desire. He wore a knowing smirk that she longed to slap off his face. Damn, was the bastard’s evil already tainting her? Though she would never lose the core of her goodness, the whole point of their union was for good and evil to merge, one tempering the other so that balance existed in the universe.

  “It is done,” stated the priestess, glancing toward the empty altar. The old spirits of good and evil had vanished.

  “May you both find peace,” said the priest, causing the priestess to curl her lip in disgust before they left the garden in opposite directions.

  “Well,” Urbane said after a moment, still wearing that annoying smile, “time for the wedding night.”

  He reached for her, but she stepped away. “You will not touch me until I give you permission.”

  “Oh, please,” he scoffed. With a swift tug, he tore the front of her dress.

  Evangeline gasped, placing a hand over her breast as they sprang free, their rosy nipples hard. Growling with animal lust, Urbane grasped one of the soft, rounded spheres. Evangeline kicked between his legs hard enough to nearly bring him to his knees.

  “You bitch!” he snarled. “And you call yourself an angel?”

  “I said you will not touch me. Not now, not ever!” She turned and fled toward the home they were, unfortunately, forced to share.

  “What do you mean not ever?” Urbane followed her at a walk now that the pain in his balls was more manageable. In spite of his irritation at her lack of cooperation, the chase thrilled him. One thing was certain, eternity wouldn’t be boring with a woman like this. He continued shouting after her, “You won’t be able to resist me, Evangeline. I can make you happy in ways I doubt you were allowed to think about where you come from.”

  “Stay away from me!” Evangeline raced into the sickeningly picturesque cottage nestled amidst weeping willow trees and rosebushes. Disgusting. Urbane would need to consider doing some serious yard work to make the place livable. This whole garden was geared toward good instead of evil. Even the temperature remained frustratingly perfect. No intense heat or frigid cold, just mild spring weather day after day.

  She slammed the door and Urbane kicked it down.

  “What is wrong with you?” Evangeline screamed.

  “You’re not locking me out of my own home, wench!”

  “It wasn’t locked, you fool!”

  He chuckled deep in his chest and headed for her again, this time prepared for any attack. And attack she did, flying at him with fists and feet. She fought with far more skill than he imagined any angel should have. After sustaining a bloody scratch down his cheek, he managed to pin her against the wall. Her soft curves felt wonderful against his body. He thrust his hips a bit, pushing his erection against her.

  “Don’t do this,” she said, her large, dark eyes fixed on his. “Please.”

  The damn tightening in his chest started again
, doing unspeakable things to his demon heart. With a growl, he loosened his hold and spoke against her lips. “I am your husband. I want your body, Evangeline. I didn’t agree to this joining so I could spend eternity taking pleasure by my own hand. You belong to me and I will have you.”

  She lowered her gaze for a moment, then looked up at him. “I will not deny you. All I ask for is time.”

  “I will give you time,” he snarled, then kissed her. His tongue slipped into her mouth, savoring her warmth and sweetness. With a soft sigh, she relaxed the slightest bit and used her tongue to stroke his.

  Urbane took her moment of submission to cup her breast. He rolled his thumb over the hard nipple, then slid down her body and took the plump bud between his lips.

  “Ah!” Evangeline gasped, weaving her fingers through his hair. He sucked hard on her nipple and felt a quiver of raw lust roll through her.

  “No.” She pushed his shoulders and when he glanced up, he saw fear in her eyes. “You promised to give me time.”

  Normally he would have enjoyed her terror. A real demon would push the issue, taking whatever he wanted. Was he starting to lose himself to her goodness? For a brief and horrifying moment, he almost didn’t care.

  “I won’t wait long,” he stated and rose to his feet. Using his height advantage to intimidate her, he traced her soft cheek with his fingertip. “You chose to become the bride of evil. Now you must live with it.”

  “Just as you chose to become the husband of good.”

  “Then I guess we both must pay a price.” He kissed her again, nearly smiling when she took the lead and thrust her tongue between his lips. At that moment he turned his back on her and walked away.

  Evangeline stared after Urbane as he walked upstairs, leaving her burning with desire. She couldn’t just give in to her need to bed him. She wouldn’t. For them to share their lives, he needed to abandon at least some of his demonic ways and learn to respect her. When they mated, she wanted it to be a union of souls as well as bodies. Demons were lustful creatures by nature, and she wanted to indulge in that lust, but he needed to understand they were partners now. His image of an ideal wife and her image of one were obviously quite different. As sinfully sexy as he was, she would resist him until he was ready to mate on her terms.