"My mate?" Luna narrowed her eyes at the Archdemon of Lust as she ran a frustrated hand through her hair. Standing up slowly and carefully, she leaned her upper body against the wall to regain balance. Everything happened so fast that her mind spun.

"How?" She croaked as she licked her lips, her mouth thirsting for more even if her stomach had been full now from the Archdemon of Lust's ichor.

It was a miracle that his blood had sustained her when the Archdemon wasn't her mate in the first place.

It must be because the Archdemon of Gluttony shared the same blood as him.

Luxen shook his head, and it was such a graceful movement. Luna's heart jumped when he looked at her with that naked heat in his eyes which aroused her to fever-pitch.

She knew that what prowled behind this facade was nothing tame.

Sometimes, she forgot that the Archdemon of Lust was in front of her, the true embodiment of sex and sin.

"Blood bond."

They exchanged blood but what he took from Luna was just a tiny drop.

It wouldn't even make a difference, right?

"But you didn't possess any body right now," Luna said uncertainly as she caressed her mouth.

She must have sworn that Lux was lying: drinking blood was different than licking drops of blood from her torn lip.

That didn't count as an exchange for her.

Luna was suspicious of Lux's intentions.

What was his motive for letting her believe that she was indeed a mate?

"I possess you right now. As your mate, I am connected to your life force." Lux said he prowled towards her, standing just a little too close, which made her press her back against the wall. "If you die I would die."

She didn't move.

He might be one of the strongest Archdemons in Hell.

This prince must be used to obedience from his cronies, but she wasn't one of his imps. "So, my safety is your number one responsibility?"

"Of course, Domina." Lux chuckled, and she felt the stroke of his laughter deep inside where no one should've been able to reach.

The Archdemon of Lust had claimed that she was his Domina after they bonded by blood. "We are joined to the hip. I'll protect you always. I can now materialize in the Vampyr Realm and I didn't need to possess a meat suit or a vessel like Ravin did to the Vampire King because of this. But that didn't mean I wouldn't make you suffer."

Luna was having trouble concentrating on his words with him so near.

His scent was driving her wild with lust.

He smelled of sin, of seduction, of danger and wildness and passion, all the things she could never allow herself to feel as the High Priestess.

The Archdemon of Lust was the ultimate temptation.

She made him want to do things she didn't want to do, more than what the Blood Beast made her feel.

"You said you possessed me right now, therefore, I am your host. Can you access my memory?" Luna froze as the words came out.

She shut her eyes and mentally kicked herself for even suggesting to an Archdemon to access her memory.

What if he probed her brain and took advantage of the knowledge passed on by Hecate's grimoire?

She had embarrassed herself a lot of times.

This wasn't the time to act stupid when every decision she made had critical consequences.

"No, I can't. I can only possess you externally but I can also possess you internally in a way I could have preferred." He replied.

Lux must have thought the same thing when he leaned infinitesimally closer and blew in her ear, his smooth cheek touching her face.

"I'll make you scream whenever I'm inside you." He whispered huskily, a distinct tone of amusement in his voice. "Not with pain. But with pleasure."

She swallowed as she licked her bottom lip, and the Archdemon of Lust's smoldering gaze did not miss the gesture.

He tucked the wayward strands covering her face behind her ear.

Despite the teasing words, Luna knew he had picked her unconscious behavior from how he fixed his gaze at her mouth, thinking about the implications.

There was nothing she could do to correct that mistake, but at least, she could bring the conversation back to business.

+++

The Archdemon of Lust hated to be controlled by the High Priestess, but he had to cancel his plans of owning a body completely in the Vampire Realm for the meantime.

He didn't want to possess anything weaker than him, so he had to delay that.

He had to explore this Realm and choose his candidates carefully.

Luxen must find a strong vessel other than the Vampire King.

The Vampire King.

His wicked smile shattered the High Priestess' hopes of getting everything under control. "You told me that your mission is to break the Vampire King's curse, and you needed help."

The High Priestess's green eyes blazed with a challenge when he pulled himself back to look at her beautiful face again. "Yes. Can you help me do it?"

"Let's strike another bargain."

"Archdemons and their bargains," Luna smirked and tilted her head side-to-side as if stretching, preparing herself for another battle of wills. "You already are attached to me due to the Blood Bond. What more do you want?"

The Archdemon of Lust watched Luna move and savored the lingering warm and exotic scent of her.

The High Priestess got his undivided attention.

Her pale vampire skin and the lushness of her lips enticed him and made him want to bite… in the most erotic way.

Everything about her invited the senses.

Intrigued, Lux was intent on licking at her to see if she tasted as good as he imagined, but he must reserve that for later when she caught his prickly mate off-guard.

"If you exorcise my brother from the Vampire King, can I detach myself from you and replace him instead?"