Sinful Obsession

12. 12 – Vienna

12 – Vienna

V ito steps into my room, his presence filling the small space. He’s holding an extra blanket and a pillow, his face shadowed, unreadable as he watches me from across the room. When he grabbed that before stepping over here, I have no idea but if it means a little extra warmth at night, I’m all for it.

I’m standing by the edge of my bed, my pulse thrumming as I take him in, the hard lines of his jaw, the sharp edge of his cheekbones, and the way his blonde hair is mussed over his silver eyes. There’s a hint of amusement beneath the darkness that draws me closer in a way that doesn’t make sense.

He holds out the blanket and pillow, his voice low and gruff as he says, “Figured it’d be colder in here than what they give you.” His words are clipped, almost reluctant, as if he’s fighting his own emotions the same way I am. Death himself already kissed me and now I’m fantasizing about Vito’s large hands around my neck as he fucks into me so hard I scream.

Asmodeus is going to be disappointed in me.

I take the blanket, my fingers brushing against his. “Thanks,” I say softly, draping the blanket over my bed. “I expected Death—I mean Ewan to care and maybe Nevan but not you.”

He chuckles, leaning against the edge of the doorframe and crossing his arms over his chest. “I don’t,” he says, his voice edged with irritation. “But it wouldn’t do for you to freeze to death before you get a chance to open that damn portal.”

A smirk tugs at my lips. “Is that it? Or are you trying to be nice?”

He scoffs, rolling his eyes. “Nice doesn’t suit me.”

There’s so much I don’t know about him, so many questions swirling in my mind. Maybe I should have listened in Sunday school but nowhere in there did it explain that Conquest was an over six foot beautiful beast. “Vito,” I say, testing his name on my lips, watching the way his gaze sharpens as I say it. “What… who were you before you became Conquest?”

His eyes narrow as if I’ve crossed some invisible line. “Why does that matter?” he snaps, dismissing my question. “You’re just a human taking up a death wish for love. What do you care who I was?”

I swallow, twisted sense of defiance bubble up within me. “Because I’m not scared of you,” I say, my voice steady. “I’m not scared of any of you. Maybe I should be, but I’m not. You’re all terrifying, but… there’s something familiar in it. Like you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. Like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”

He huffs, his jaw clenching as he steps closer, his gaze searing into mine. “Not scared, huh?” His voice rumbles through the low light of my room, wrapping around me like a warm hug. “You realize you’re standing in the presence of the end, don’t you? That if you do manage to set Asmodeus free, you’re not just releasing him—you’re unleashing us. The world will burn, Vienna. You’ll be the one to start it. You will hear their cries, their agony. You see the world you know become nothing.”

“I know. But no one else ever cared about me, Vito. Not until Asmodeus. He sees me in a way that no one else does. I don’t care about the world. I only care about him.”

He shakes his head, a flash of frustration and something darker, more painful, crossing his face. “Of course he sees you. He’s Asmodeus. He knows things about humans, things you could never understand. He… manipulates, Vienna. That’s what he does.”

“You don’t know him like I do. You can’t understand.” I huff, realizing how I sound. I sound like those girls who obsess over darkness that doesn’t exist or darkness that will ultimately destroy them. However, this feels different. It feels like I’m supposed to be at his side as if some part of me has always been searching for my other half before he showed up. After all, the first time we ever met, he whispered ‘I found you’.

“Fine,” he mutters. “Believe whatever you want.” He leans back against the wall, his gaze shifting away as if he’s done with the conversation, but he doesn’t leave.

Silence stretches between us, until finally, he speaks again, much softer, pain flickering through his expression. “I’m Conquest,” he pushes out. “I can influence people. Their desires, their motivations. I can make them want something so desperately, they’d destroy everything in their path to get it. I can make them fight, make them crave chaos. That’s who I am. Conquest isn’t about peace or harmony. It’s about control. And I’ve always enjoyed the chaos more.”

I take it back. I’m glad I didn’t listen in Sunday school because this version is much more captivating. “So, you can make people… want things? Make them crave destruction?”

He nods, a dangerous smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “That’s what Conquest does. But don’t worry, I’m not using my powers on you.”

I tilt my head, curiosity flickering in my gaze. “Why not?”

Vito shrugs but I can see the turmoil in his expression. “Because I don’t want to. The others here are weak, easy to control, easy to push. But you’re different. There’s a pureness to your soul despite the darkness.”

When I catch the rawness in his eyes, it makes me hurt for him. It can’t be easy waking up one day to fulfill a purpose and not knowing what came before. “What did they do to you, Vito?” I step up to him and place a hand on his crossed arms. My curiosity belies my sanity, my questions no doubt going to ruin whatever partnership we’ve just created. “Who were you before all of this?”

“None of us remember much,” he admits. “Just… fragments. I woke up one day and I knew I was Conquest. Knew it as surely as I knew my own name. But the doctors, the orderlies, they all tried to convince me I was someone else. That I was… crazy.” He lets out a bitter laugh, his gaze flickering with anger. “They said I was an ordinary man, but I knew they were wrong. I can feel the power inside me, the need to control, to conquer. I tried showing a few friends the truth but they called the police, saying I was a danger to myself and them. The court committed me to Briarwood Institute for a 72-hour hold. It’s been just over five years.”

I can’t imagine the confusion Vito felt at that time, trying to come to terms with who he was and at the same time realizing the support system around him had fallen away. Like me.

Without thinking, I lean up and press a soft kiss to his jaw, my lips lingering there for a moment, feeling the warmth of his skin, the steady beat of his pulse beneath my touch. He tenses, his breath hitching, but he doesn’t pull away. Instead, he stays still, watching me, waiting for my next move.

“What are you doing to me, Vienna?”

I pull back, meeting his gaze, a faint smile tugging at my lips. “I was about to ask you the same thing. Are you sure you’re not using your powers on me?”

He shakes his head, his eyes dark and intense as they lock onto mine. “No. I’m not. I don’t want to influence you, not like that. Not like the others.”

I hear Asmodeus’s voice in my head, his tone soft, reassuring, as if he’s right here beside me. “It’s alright, love. You can trust him. You are mine but that doesn’t mean I can’t share. Besides, I’ve always been a fan of watching.”

My cheeks heat as I realize he’s probably seen every last moment in my bedroom as I pleasured myself while calling out his name. That’s not what I expected Asmodeus to say. I didn’t expect for him to be okay with this or how fast my heart is opening to four men I just met. However, his approval is all I need. After all, we’ll be destroying the world together. I clear my throat and meet Vito’s eyes with a renewed confidence. “Then kiss me.”

He stares at me for a long moment, his gaze searching, as if he’s trying to see into the depths of my soul, to understand something that even I can’t fully grasp. And then, slowly, he leans down, his hand coming up to cup my face and his lips meet mine in a kiss that’s both gentle and possessive, filled with a dark intensity that leaves me breathless. There’s a tenderness in his touch, a softness that belies Vito’s rough exterior. He kisses me like he’s trying to hold onto something fragile, something precious, and I feel myself melting into him, losing myself in the warmth of his embrace.

The world fades away as it does when I’m with Asmodeus, nothing but just the two of us here in this beautiful moment.

When we finally pull apart, his gaze is softer, the hardness in his expression melting away, replaced by something vulnerable, something real . He brushes a strand of hair away from my face, his fingers lingering against my cheek as he murmurs, “You’re playing a dangerous game, Vienna.”

“So are you,” I reply, my voice barely above a whisper. “But isn’t that what Conquest is all about?”

He chuckles, a dark sound that sends a shiver down my spine, and for a moment, I see a glint of the man he was, the man he could have been, before all of this. And in that moment, I know that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.

“So long as your demon won’t kill me for touching you, I’m all in.”

I grin up at him as I place my hands against his chest. I know I’m playing with fire and for some reason, it just doesn’t phase me the way it should. “It’s a good thing he says he likes to watch.”