by Brenda Trim
The alpha nodded but didn’t respond when his Fated Mate walked over. Hayden’s breathing stopped along with his heart at the display of love between the couple. For so long they had no new matings. It got to the point where they were losing more than were being born by a factor of four to one. It seemed as if their species were going to go extinct.
Ever since Zander met Elsie years ago, the realm had seen countless couples being blessed. It wasn’t until four years ago that he’d performed his first ceremony. He’d mated Jason and Sophia eighteen months ago.
Seeing the happy couples and the stripling running around the hall reminded Hayden why he’d gone to the humans before coming here. The demons could not be allowed to win.
It was only recently that they started having babies, so the number of individuals at an age to join the fight was still low. It would change in another fifteen years or so, but at the moment it was still critical.
The two arms of the human government he thought would help all but laughed him out of their offices. There had to be someone else he could approach. He wanted to drive back down to the capitol and demand to speak to the President. Perhaps he’d be the one to gather a force to help battle demons and skirm.
Zander’s words rang through his head. “Human military would love to get their hands on you and use you as their lab rat. You really want your shifters to be poked, prodded and sliced apart?”
That was it! He needed to find someone in the armed forces to approach. He read an article about Army Special Forces, Navy Seals, Air Force Special Tactics and Marine Special Operations Command. Those groups were the most likely to be capable of combating the various demons.
Hayden accepted the plate of food Lydia held out to him. He smiled when he saw the fried chicken and Savannah red rice. His mouth watered. It all looked delicious. He took a bite of cornbread, enjoying the food and his shifters. Tomorrow he would do some more research. Right now, he was going to be in the moment.
The laughter and smiles surrounding him gave him pause. If he pursued this avenue, he could be bringing unwanted attention to his kind. For a second he wondered if his failed attempts were a message from the Goddess. Perhaps he should let this pursuit go.
Chapter 9
A door slammed open and bounced off the wall. Chloe jumped out of bed, brandishing her angelic weapon. Her heart raced in her chest and she didn’t recognize her surroundings.
She had to blink several times before she was able to focus on the male standing in the doorway. It was Ty. His chest was rising and falling rapidly, and his eyes were black. That’s right. She was at the Dark Warrior compound.
“What is it? Are we under attack?”
Ty shook his head and lifted one corner of his mouth in a snarl. His fangs were sharp and longer than she expected. “No demon would dare come here. It’s Dante. He walked into a trap at your fucking house. Did you know there were spider demons waiting for him?”
Chloe’s mind went blank at the same time her heart took off like a racehorse at the starting gate. Why the fuck would there be demons of any kind in her house? Her involvement with the Underworld had always been on the periphery.
Chloe waved her blade at him and stood up completely. “How the Hell would I know that? I was kidnapped and tortured last night in case you forgot. Is Dante okay?”
Ty took a deep breath and let it out. “He’ll live…I think. It’s not good.”
Chloe crossed the room, wishing she had pants to put on. She immediately dismissed the idea when she recalled Dante had gone to get her clothes when he was attacked. “What happened?”
Ty walked next to her as they headed downstairs. “All we know is that he called Lucas and told him there were three spider demons at your house. When they got there, they found two dead and no sign of the third. Dante was unconscious and unresponsive.”
“I’d say you guys are wrong about the archdemon wanting to use me for some ritual. Otherwise he wouldn’t have sent spiders after me. They’re known for their ravenous appetites.”
Ty snorted. “That’s true, but their venom allows them to put their victims in stasis so they can drain them over days. An archdemon would be able to command them to bring you to them. It’s one way to ensure you couldn’t get away from them.”
Chloe bobbed her head. “I did kick his ass. Did they find the third spider demon?”
Ty shook his head and paused when they came to a door on the first floor that she hadn’t noticed earlier. “We haven’t found it yet. I’m going to join them at sunset.”
Chloe gasped when she got sight of Dante lying prone on a table. There were burns on his face and body along with cuts and blood. His skin lacked the golden hue she’d seen earlier. And the circles under his eyes were so dark she wondered how he wasn’t fully demonic at the moment.
Chloe stopped four steps into the room when Light energy enveloped her. At first, she assumed it was one of the warrior’s angelic friends. It wasn’t until she discovered Izzy sitting in a corner that she realized where it was coming from.
“Your energy is very soothing.” Chloe hadn’t meant to say anything, but the words tumbled out of their own accord.
Isobel’s head snapped in her direction and her expression shifted from affection to one of loathing. “What did you feel?”
Ty entered when he heard the princess snap at Chloe and took a position between the two females. Chloe glanced around his torso and met Izzy’s blue eyes. “For a brief second, I was bathed in the Light. It was coming from your direction.”
Ty’s jaw clenched while Isobel’s gaze went to the hall. Her shoulders were rigid, and her hands clenched into fists. “It wasn’t me. Are you here to tell us who you’re working with?”
Chloe wasn’t sure why the princess was denying the source. It had to be out of fear. Demons had been hunting Izzy and tracking her powers for years. They’d obviously discovered a way to hide her signature. She wasn’t going to interfere with that. The princess needed to remain hidden.
“I’m not working with anyone. Those spiders were there to take me back to that asshole. I hate that they attacked Dante. It makes me sick to think he is suffering because of me.” Chloe continued to his side and cupped one cheek.
His head tilted to the side and pushed his face into her touch. She wondered why the others hadn’t forced him to seek out a someone for sex. He was in bad shape. The thought of him with another female wasn’t a pleasant one and it gave her reason to pull away and take a step back.
Izzy put her hand on Chloe’s shoulder. “He’ll heal. The demon venom makes it harder, but he will get better soon.”
Chloe pushed every soft emotion she felt for the cambion aside and met the princess’s gaze. “I know. It’s not going to be fun for him and I feel responsible. If he hadn’t found me and brought me here, he wouldn’t be hurt.”
“If he hadn’t insisted on bringing you here then you’d likely be dead. You’d definitely be back in the archdemon’s clutches. The Gods only know what evil he could have pulled off then.” Jett’s harsh voice felt like a slap across her face.
Chloe stepped out from under Izzy’s touch and thrust her hands on her hips. “I love when assholes underestimate me. I managed to get away from him once. I would have done it again.”
The corners of Jett’s mouth lifted but he didn’t flash her a smile. It was more like a promise of pain and anguish. “So, you’re immune to spider demon venom? We will have to add that to the Mystik Grimoire.” What the fuck was that? Obviously, it was a book of some kind, but what?
Izzy’s dark brown curls bounced as she shook her head. “No one is immune to their venom. Not even other demons.”
Chloe chuckled. “I know that. I was saying I can fight this Daeva. I’ve done it before…” Her words trailed off when she caught sight of the small teal bag clutched in Dante’s hand.
Crossing to his side, she peeled his fingers off her makeup pouch. Her heart clenched and twisted in her chest. No one had ever gone to such lengths
for her before. It had always been her looking out for herself. Not even her parents and siblings had done that much for her. When it became obvious that she was going to be a Warrior Angel, they assumed she was capable of handling anything.
Chloe had to close her eyes. In, out. In, out. She was light-headed and fell to her knees. Sweat beaded on her brow and her vision wavered. Fucking hell. She wasn’t quite healed herself.
“This fallen isna allying with the demons, Jett. That’s the last we will hear of that.” Chloe opened her eyes and looked over at Zander who had been standing in the doorway.
“Dante.” Zander’s Sapphire gaze shifted away from her and he crossed the room to the table. “‘Tis good to see you awake. I’ve called Jade and asked if she or any of her friends can come pay you a visit.”
Chloe scrambled to her feet and pulled herself up using the side of the bed he was on. Tears burned the backs of her eyes when they landed on Dante’s gorgeous blue eyes. “No. I do…don’t want her to come.” His voice sounded like sandpaper over his vocal cords.
Zander tilted his head and considered Dante. “Alright. It’s sunset. We are heading out to join Lucas and Axel in the search for the spider demon. We canna leave it roaming around the city.”
Dante lifted his head, but it fell back to the table. “Give me a minute. I’m coming with you.” Chloe grabbed the hand closest to her and squeezed. Dante looked up at her.
Zander placed his hand on Dante’s shoulder. “Nay you’re no’ coming with us. You need to replenish your energy.”
Dante’s eyes slipped back to Chloe. He nodded in response to Zander. The Vampire King left with the Dark Warriors leaving Chloe with Dante and Izzy. The world seemed to fade to the background as she stood there gazing at the sexy Cambion Lord. At some point Izzy took her leave and she was alone with Dante.
Giving into the urge running through her, Chloe lowered her head and pressed her lips to Dante’s. There was dried blood in the lower left corner, but it didn’t detract one bit from the electricity racing through her blood stream. It felt like fireworks going off throughout her body all at once.
“Keep kissing me like that my little evergreen. I’ll be on my feet in no time. Your kiss carries one helluva punch.” Dante gazed into Chloe’s stunning brown eyes. His arm felt like a lead balloon as he tucked her short brown hair behind her ear.
She leaned over him with her hands on either side of his head. Need rushed through Dante, making him dizzy. His heart pounded in his chest and his inner beast prowled beneath his skin but didn’t struggle to break free. That kiss was beyond anything he’d ever experienced.
Massive explosions went off throughout his body. Her life force and energy flowed from her lips to his, giving him an instant hard-on. His muscles filled with blood and plumped while his vision cleared.
Without thinking, he grabbed hold of her and tugged her in top of him. Her sweet ass landed over his hard cock and a groan escaped his lips. Afraid he’d pushed her too far Dante held his breath and didn’t let it out until fire ignited in her chocolate eyes. It was almost too much when her pink tongue traced her full lower lip. It was Dante’s undoing.
He lifted his head and moved to close the distance between them, his lips stopping just shy of touching hers. Their eyes connected. He was surprised to see her pupils dilated with her lust. Something opened in his heart and soul. This was only about the sex and the sexual energy she could give him, but at the same time it was so much more. Dante didn’t have a fucking clue about what was happening, and he didn’t want to stop at that moment and figure it out.
“Do you need more? Your injuries aren’t healing yet. I think you might need lots of sex to purge the venom.” Her voice was breathy, and her eyes remained glued to his mouth.
“I need so much more. Those demons took what little energy I had left. And after being tortured with thoughts of you for the past twenty-four hours, I have to have you.” Dante ran his hands up her sides. Her breasts were perky beneath the cotton of his shirt.
“Thinking of a sexy female is not torture. I could show you what actual suffering is, but I’m too turned on to think.” Her back arched when his fingers brushed the underside of her breast.
Their mouths were scant millimeters apart, neither one of them closing the gap. The tension made his lips tingle and his mind soar. “For a hybrid sex demon there’s no worse torment than fantasizing about a female without getting any sex.”
Dante groaned when her hips shifted slightly. Electricity arched between them and she gasped. He took full advantage and slid his tongue in, devouring her as the hunger consumed him from the inside out.
He was ravenous and quickly found her breast with one large hand, stroking a hard nipple through the thin fabric. She moaned loudly when he trailed his hand to the edge of her top. He needed skin on skin contact.
Because they were incubus-human hybrids, Cambions needed sex frequently. Without it their inner sex demon lost control and would do whatever necessary to sate it. Every one of his kind learned at a young age that masturbation didn’t provide any relief for them. Instead, it left them wanting more. The energy released during climax is what fed his kind. And it required a partner. You can’t feed on yourself.
When their mouths connected and their energy flared, Dante was flooded with more power from Chloe than he’d gotten during his last sexual encounter. His heartbeat strengthened and kicked into high gear at the same time the poison coursing through his veins diminished enough that he could feel his toes again.
Chloe’s hot little hand scalded his chest. There were major benefits to being topless. He deepened the kiss as her hand blazed a path down to his abdomen. His muscles quivered and flexed as she headed south of the border. A shout left him when she cupped his erection through his pants.
Breaking the kiss, he moved his mouth to her neck and nibbled the flesh there while they caught their breaths. He snaked one hand beneath her top and he squeezed one of her full, swollen breasts. She was on the smaller side, but her flesh filled his palm perfectly.
Blinded by an overwhelming desire that drove him like none before, Dante bit down on her pounding pulse while she gasped for breath in his ear. His fingers pinched one nipple before moving to the other. Her gasps of pleasure sung to his soul.
Chloe lifted her upper body a few inches off of him. A cool breeze filled the space her heat had been a second before. “I see your point. Stop teasing me. I can’t take much more.”
“Fuck,” he muttered, about to climax with the way her hips shifted over his shaft. “I’m just getting started little evergreen.”
Wrapping his arms around her back, he reversed their positions. By the time he was pressing his erection between her legs, Dante needed to take a second. The poison wasn’t gone, and his movements caused the venom to surge through his system. Black dots spotted his vision but did nothing to lessen his arousal.
Her nails dug into his back and one of her legs wound around his waist. Her heel dug into his ass, trying to pull him flush with her body. He resisted for a second before lifting her shirt and falling on her breasts as they were exposed.
She cried out when he sucked her nipple into his mouth. “Let’s fast forward to the good stuff. God, don’t you dare stop.”
He chuckled against her breast, blowing his hot breath over the wet peak. “Nothing could get me to stop. Your skin tastes like raspberries. I need more.”
With a swift move, he tore his shirt over her head and tossed it to the side. He hadn’t given her anything aside from the top, so she lay completely bared to him on the table. Her slit glistened and her skin glowed. The bruises and cuts that had been there hours ago were now gone.
Thank fuck for small favors. Until he saw proof she was healed, he hadn’t given her physical state one consideration. The need building inside was close to boiling over and there was no holding back now.
“Your eyes look like the sky on a sunny summer day. It comes close to paying me the homage my sexiness deserves.�
� She met his gaze openly, but she couldn’t hide the vulnerability beneath the brash veneer. He didn’t understand what Chloe had to be uncertain about. Every inch of her was perfect.
“By the time I’m through you’ll know precisely how much I adore every cell.” Chloe closed her eyes and arched into the finger he ran down her sternum. When he reached the short curls between her legs, his cock twitched, and his mouth watered. One finger ran through her slick channel.
A ragged moan left her throat and her eyes opened to half-mast. “Your pheromones make even the slightest touch erotic.”
Dante grinned, enjoying the affect he had on her. He hadn’t unleashed his powers. There was no need with how responsive she was to him. “It’s all about you. Your sight and smell make me crazy. I may never let you go.”
The slight widening of her eyes drove Dante into action. Before she could put a stop to things, he scooted his body down her torso until his face was scant inches away from her pussy. She smelled divine.
Settling on his elbows, he reached up and separated her moist folds. His tongue took over and darted out. With one long, hard stroke from her backside to her throbbing little clit, he had her mind off what he’d accidentally let slip and onto more pleasurable topics.
Chloe’s back came off the platform as she cried out his name. Her fingers tangled in his blond hair and held him to her body. Of everything unfolding between them, this was the most surprising. He’d gotten the impression that she didn’t take what she wanted but denied herself instead.
The wild beast he usually kept caged inside took over and licked and sucked her clit. Oral sex was more often than not a means to an end for him, but devouring Chloe gave Dante even more energy. The aches and pains from the attack were now all gone. Even the fatigue and discomfort he’d become accustomed to living with had disappeared. She had his demon energized and purring like a kitten.
The more pleasure he gave, the stronger he felt. Chloe’s cries grew louder as his tongue and mouth continued teasing her. When her writhing increased, he inserted one thick digit into her hot core to push her over the edge.
