My Immortal (Seven Deadly Sins #1)(70)
Author: Erin McCarthy

"Adolescent is a good word to describe Rosa."

"You insult my daughter, after all she has done for you?"

Damien shrugged. He wasn’t sure Rosa had ever done him any favors.

"You’re still angry because she betrayed you with Marissabelle. That was over a hundred and seventy years ago. You need to learn forgiveness."

"So what does Marissabelle have to do with any of this?"

"Oh, I promised her she could have her old body back, that luscious youthful body she used to such advantage with lustful men, both young and old. All she had to do was help keep Marley here long enough for you to succumb to her charms and give up your asinine vow of celibacy. She did her part well, playing the sweet old lady and gaining Marley’s trust. I think she blew it tonight, though, letting her rage get the better of her." He shook his head. "I’m rather annoyed about that. I think maybe I should take her back to sixty years old and let her age from there to ninety all over again. That would really infuriate her, wouldn’t it?"

Damien thought not even Anna deserved to relive her latter life over and over. "What do you want with Marley?"

"I want a loving wife, more children. Marley suits my requirements."

Damien’s vision blurred, his hands twitched. The thought of Marley with this demon for eternity, serving him, made Damien dizzy with anger. His fist shot out, landed right on Alex’s elegant nose, cracking it. Raising his hands in front of his face, Damien waited for retaliation, waited for the provocation to throw another punch and pummel out all of his anger onto this man, this demon, who held his life in his hands.

But Alex just rubbed his nose carefully and said, "That was entirely unnecessary. And ridiculous, since it did not hurt in the least. I can’t feel human pain."

But it had felt good nonetheless. But Damien forced his anger into check. He needed to negotiate, not provoke. "What do you want? I’ll do anything. Just leave Marley alone. I’m serious. Please."

"You’d do anything if I let Marley go? Would you bark like a dog?"

"Yes," Damien said through gritted teeth. He honestly would do whatever it took, would swallow all of his pride and dignity. He couldn’t let Marley fall into Alex’s clutches, not Marley, who was better than the rest of them combined. Marley deserved her life, her choices, her loving husband and children that she wanted.

"Would you lick my boot?"

"Yes."

"Would you die for her? Permanent, never to return, death?"

Damien didn’t even hesitate. "Yes."

Alex frowned. "I should have known you were going to say that. You’ve been a gigantic pain in the ass since the day Rosa made you. I’m glad to finally be rid of you."

And suddenly Damien was in the room alone.

Marley went into the house through the first floor and ran up in the interior steps, shoved and pushed her way through rooms, and found her sister splayed out on a couch, just like Alex had told her, a man between her legs. Lizzie’s eyes looked unfocused, and without her clothes on, Marley could see how gaunt she looked, how her tan had faded and her arms had lost muscle tone.

Frightened by Alex, hovering on the edge of hysteria, Marley reached out and yanked the guy off of Lizzie by the back of his hair. He let out a surprised "Hey" and turned as if to protest. But he took one look at her and clamped his mouth shut.

"Find someone else," she told him, tugging on his hair to make her point clear. Never in her life had she resorted to violence, but if he didn’t take himself off somewhere far away from her, she was going to lose it.

Lizzie made sounds of protest, prying her eyes open. "Marley, what are you doing? He was just getting it right."

Fortunately, the guy recognized she was on the edge, and he scooted around her and left the room without another word.

Marley pulled Lizzie up by her arm. "Come on. You’re coming with me."

Lizzie made all sorts of protests, yanking at her arm, but she was too drunk or drugged to resist Marley’s iron grip, and she stumbled along behind. Marley pulled her into the hallway, and up the stairs to the room she’d been using. She let go of her sister, who made a big show of rubbing her arm.

"What the f**k is your problem?" Lizzie asked.

"We have to leave here, Lizzie, do you understand me? Alex is dangerous. We need to go home. Where’s your stuff?" She pulled her own suitcase out of the armoire and flicked it open. "You can wear something of mine, and we can stop for your stuff, or we can just forget about it. I’ll buy you new clothes."

"What are you talking about?" Lizzie sat down on the bed, obviously not the least bit bothered by her nudity, and crossed her legs. "I’m not going anywhere. Alex is my soul mate. I love him, and he loves me. We’re getting married."

Marley started folding her jeans and stacking them in her suitcase. "I’m not going to let you marry him. He’s not a nice guy."

"You have no say in who I marry! You’re just jealous because you can’t get a guy to marry you." Lizzie smirked. "Oh, I get it. Damien dumped you, didn’t he? He said all the right things, made you think he cared about you so you’d screw him, and now he’s dropped you. That’s why you’re in such a hurry to get out of here, and that’s why you’re jealous of my relationship with Alex."

That would be the day. Marley strove for patience, knowing she needed Lizzie to cooperate. "I am not jealous, honestly, and if Alex was a nice guy, I’d be totally happy for you. I want you happy more than anything. And Damien did not dump me. We mutually decided it was best to go our separate ways. This has nothing to do with Damien. You’re in love with Alex and you’re not seeing the truth, sweetie."

Lizzie snorted. "What truth is that?"

"That Alex is a jerk." She couldn’t exactly say he was a demon, or Lizzie would think Marley had more of their mother in her than they’d realized.

Lizzie looked sullen, her legs swinging. "No, he’s not. You don’t know him like I do."

"He hit on me twenty minutes ago, Lizzie. He said if I hooked up with him, he’d dump you." A modified version of the truth, but the truth nonetheless. "I’m going to tell him no, and I think he’ll be angry. I really think he’s dangerous."

Marley wasn’t prepared for Lizzie to hit her, and when she did, it was such a shock that Marley didn’t even block the blow. She took the full force of Lizzie’s hand across her cheek and temple, and stumbled, dropping the shirt she’d been folding. Pain burst out from her cheekbone, her eye watering, her teeth slicing into her tongue from the jarring motion.

"Lizzie!" Marley gasped, the tinny taste of her own blood in her mouth. "What’s the matter with you?"