He laughed, pressing his hand to his forehead. “That hurt.”
Any idea why Gabe says you aren’t getting along with him?
None at all.
“Instead of standing here and wasting your time tattling on me, you need to go help him.”
“He’s fine.”
Gabe is right, babe. I’m good.
“Adam doesn’t understand how powerful and dangerous the other demon is.”
“When the other demon realized Adam wasn’t alone, he decided to retreat.”
“If you’re here with me, Adam is going after him alone.” She looked up at the sky to try to find a sign of him or the other dragon, but she was unable to see through the clouds. Don’t go after him, Adam, Come back.
You miss me.
I just don’t want you to die.
Because you like me.
Come back.
Let Gabe drive you to the hotel.
I’ll wait for you.
I’ll be right behind you.
I’ll wait.
Gabe moved away from the car and reached out as if to grab her. “Get in the car.”
“I am waiting for Adam.” She took a step back and to the side to prevent him from touching her. “And keep your hands to yourself.”
“Relax.” He held his hands up in surrender. “I don’t plan to touch you or force you to do anything. If you want to wait for Adam to return, we’ll stay right here.”
“You don’t need to stick around.”
“I have nothing better to do. Besides,” he pointed up at the sky, “he’s returning.”
She turned just in time to see Adam break through the clouds and shift from his dragon form to his human form. He landed in a crouch, stood upright, and walked over to them.
****
Adam wanted to follow the other demon, but he couldn’t leave Hanna with Gabe. He trusted Gabe fully, but he couldn’t dismiss her distress over being with another demon. It should’ve been easy. It was clear that having a woman was going to make things more difficult. When he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, she pushed away from him.
Obviously amused, the smile on Gabe’s face widened. “Any luck identifying him?”
“I never got close enough.” He shook his head. “He took off the second he realized you were heading toward us.”
“That’s not surprising.” Gabe shrugged. “He didn’t want to take two of us on at the same time.”
“No.” Adam said. “He completely panicked when he realized you’re a firedragon.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know, but I felt it. He was shocked.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Gabe said.
“And yet it’s true.”
“He recognized you,” Hanna said.
“What?” Adam and Gabe asked in unison.
“He thought you were dead. He’s scared of you. That’s good. I’ve never seen him do anything that suggested he was afraid of another demon.”
“I have no idea who he is?” Gabe said. How the hell does she know what he’s thinking? You booted him out of her head, right?
Yes.
That means she’s in his.
I know.
Does she know?
No. Don’t say anything to her.
“I’ll go try to track him down,” Gabe stated.
Adam shook his head. “No.”
“We need to find and deal with him,” Gabe said.
“He’s gone.” I want you to stick close. He’ll come for her.
“If you say so.” Gabe shrugged. “I’m heading back to the hotel. I’ll see you later.” He turned his head to look at Hanna. “It was nice to meet you, Hanna. And again, I apologize for laughing.” He laughed, shifting his gaze to Adam. “The idea of you stabbing him wasn’t funny at all.” He turned and walked away.
****
So many thoughts were racing through Hanna’s mind. She was a wreck. She couldn’t believe Adam didn’t protect himself from her. He was an idiot. He allowed her to stab him. Who the hell let another person stick a knife in them? “What the hell were you thinking?”
“I am sorry. I trust him. I wouldn’t have left you with him if I didn’t have full confidence in him. I came back when I realized you were uncomfortable in his presence.”
He was all male. All sexy. All demon. A powerful, dangerous immortal. And he was close. So close to her. His solid muscular body was crowding hers, warming hers. “You really are an idiot.”
“At times.”
“I wasn’t afraid of him. I was mad at him because he wouldn’t go help you.”
“I didn’t need help.”
“You know.” Holding his gaze, she paused, shame ripping and tearing away at her. “I murdered them.”
“It wasn’t you.”
“How can you say it wasn’t me. When you were helping me get the other demon out of my head you saw everything.” He’d merged his mind so deeply with hers that it would’ve been impossible for her to prevent him from discovering her darkest secret. “You know I killed my parents.”
“He killed them. He was using you, controlling you.”
“Now he knows who you are. You showed him. And he recognized you. I felt it. He knows who you are. Why did you expose yourself to him? Why did you go after him?”
“I didn’t recognize him. I wanted to make sure he knows who to come after.”
“Why couldn’t you recognize him?”
“He was able to mask his identity from me.”
“You could’ve hidden yours?”
He shrugged. “Of course.”
“I am not worth your life, Adam.”
“The hell you’re not.”
“You just killed yourself for nothing.” She sank to her bottom with her back against the car.
“You didn’t kill your parents. He did it.”
“I made them suffer. I…”
“Not you. He used you. He controlled you. He killed your parents.”
“It doesn’t matter.” She would never escape the memory. She wouldn’t be free from the nightmare no matter how many times he told her that a demon forced her to do it. Her heart was racing so frantically it felt as if it would burst right out of her chest. “I can’t live with the memory anymore. It’s too painful.”
“I could take it from you.”
“Don’t you dare take it from me. I need to remember. It’s the only thing that might stop me from doing it again.”
“You didn’t do it.”
“You should’ve stopped me. You should’ve killed me. You didn’t do a damn thing to protect yourself. You made it worse, holding me, refusing to allow me to stop myself.”
“You didn’t hurt me. You know a knife can’t kill me. It was a good experience. Now you know how to take what I have and use it to fight him.”
“It’ll happen again.”
“It won’t.”
“You can’t be sure.”
“I am.”
She didn’t want to die, but she couldn’t live with the memories of killing her parents. She looked at him. Despite being a demon, something about him made her feel safe. “What if you’re not around and I kill someone else?”
“I am not going anywhere.”
“Why would you do anything to help me?”
“You’re my mate.” He extended his hand to her. “Come on.”
She wasn’t going to touch that. Nodding, she placed her hand in his and stood up. She knew he was something to her. Something significant. No doubt he was her mate. It would explain why she couldn’t resist him.
****
Erebus had encountered Adam in the past. They’d come against each other many times. Too many to count. Adam was one of the pathetic, weak-minded demons that believed they’d killed him over a thousand years ago. He was one of the demons that refused to embrace their right to exist as gods, to rule over all other mortals and immortals.
During a trip to the future, he’d discovered that Hanna was Adam’s mate
. Much like Sara, Demetri’s mate, he’d taken Hanna to torture her and destroy Adam. But Hanna was a clever little bitch. She’d deceived him. She’d managed to cause him to develop a fondness for her. She amused him when nothing else could.
While it was against his master plan, he decided to keep her as his own. He treated her better than any of his other prisoners and his followers. She’d made a fool out of him by betraying him, by running off the first time an opportunity presented itself.
Hanna belonged to him. The idea of her belonging to Adam infuriated him. He’d allowed her to live. He’d given her more freedom than all of the other females he’d acquired over the years.
He was supposed to save her from the explosion. He planned to win her over. He couldn’t believe she’d turned on him again. She would’ve rather killed herself than Adam. She would pay for running off. He would kill her as painfully as possible. And Adam would pay an even greater price. He would live long enough to watch her die. He would know it was his fault.
First, he needed to figure out what the hell to do about Gabe Serafin. During one of his trips to the future, he had discovered that a firedragon was destined to kill him. He’d taken special care to alter his fate over the past few years to avoid encountering one. Doing so, it seemed, was no longer an option. He needed to find a way to kill Gabe to escape the likelihood of being killed by him.
****
Adam turned his head to look at Hanna. Leaning against the passenger door, she’d scooted as far away from him as possible. “It’s only about fifteen minutes from here.”
“The watchers are ruthless. I thought they were really good at tracking people down. I didn’t realize they were able to use a spell in the tattoo to locate me.” She looked at him. “Maybe now that it’s gone, I’ll have a chance to slip away.”
Evolved and their watchers didn’t know the definition of ruthless. They were about to know it intimately. “Where?”
“I just want to find a quiet place.” She sighed. “I’m tired of running.”
“Any idea where?”
“No.” She paused, looking at him as if trying to decide whether to say more. “Can memories be restored?”
“You’re experiencing a loss of memory.”
“Mostly to do with how I ended up being taken. I have a vague memory of getting ready to go on a blind date at a haunted house.”
“That sounds like an interesting choice for a date. Do you enjoy that type of thing?”
“It was a Halloween event. I’m not sure attending it was my idea, but I doubt it. I’m not a fan of messing around with paranormal beings.” She laughed softly. “No offense meant. I swear it’s nothing personal.”
“None took,” he laughed. “In fact, I view your dislike for my kind as an entertaining challenge to win you over.”
“You like to engage in battles you have no hope of winning.”
“I like to take on challenges. Do you happen to know where the haunted house is located?”
“I don’t have a clue. I get horrible headaches when I try to remember certain details.”
“I might be able to help you retrieve your lost memories.”
“To be honest, I haven’t decided if I want to know what happened. I am not sure I will ever want to remember what led to being taken.” The pain and fear in her eyes caused his heart to physically ache. “I know it was bad.”
Adam knew a compulsion was responsible for her memory loss. “What if I could look and shield you from the memory?”
“Then what?”
“Knowledge is power. Evolved needs to be stopped.”
“I agree, but you can’t stop them.” She grabbed his arm as if to make sure he was paying attention to her. “Don’t do it, Adam. Forget they exist. I know you think you’re invincible because you’re a demon, but you’re not. They’ll kill you and everyone you care about.”
“I am not easily killed.” He pulled into the parking garage.
“What about the people you love?”
“They are safe as long as I am alive.”
“I’m shocked,” she laughed. “I never would’ve expected to encounter a demon with pride issues.”
“I don’t have any issues with it. I have more than enough.”
“To get yourself killed.” She paused. “You need to forget about them.”
He didn’t want his soldiers or trackers to know about her. Up until that moment, he didn’t mind being surrounded by cutthroats. Finding her meant it was time to do some serious weeding. He would only allow his most loyal and trustworthy men to remain. He got out of the car and walked over to her side and opened her door. “Do you trust me?”
“Are you still a demon?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t trust you. It’s nothing personal. I like you. I want to trust you. But as long as you’re a demon, I can’t fully trust you.”
He held his hands out. “Take my hands.”
“Okay.” She placed her hands in his. “Now what?”
“Close your eyes.”
“What are you planning to do to me?” she asked.
“Not to you,” he smiled. “With you. I’m taking you to your room.”
“No. This is a very bad idea. They’ve done this to me before. I always get sick. Disturbingly, disgustingly sick.”
“I’m not planning to do it to you. I am doing it with you. I won’t allow you to experience any unpleasantness.”
“Fine.” She took a deep breath and released it with a sigh. “You’re the one who’ll be in the line of fire if you fail.” She placed her hands in his and closed her eyes. “Now what?”
“It’s simple.” He knew he would always crave her presence, her touch. Without her in his life, he didn’t have anything truly meaningful to embrace. “Let your mind reach for mine.”
“No.” She opened her eyes and tried to yank her hands from his, but his grip was too firm. “Let go, Adam. I don’t want you to mess around in my head.”
“I know. That’s why I told you to touch mine. Doing so will prevent you from feeling any discomfort. And technically, you’ll be messing around with mine.”
“I am serious, Adam. I don’t want you to screw around in my head.”
“I promise I won’t. Touch mine.” He felt her mind reach out to his. “That’s good.” He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her. “You’re tense.” He rested his forehead against hers, breathing with her, determined to wait for her to arrive at a state of complete calm. “Just relax.”
He’d never needed anything or anyone. Her soft, feminine curves pressed so snugly against his hard, muscular frame drove him wild with need. It was more than a sexual need. He’d never felt anything as powerful. She belonged to him. He belonged to her.
****
The air electrified, causing Hanna’s skin to tingle. She wished she wasn’t so acutely aware of his large, heavily muscled body crowding hers, heating hers in a way she’d never experienced. As a demon, he had the ability to cause a woman to feel desire for him. But not her. No demon had ever been able to make her body burn with desire. He was different from the others. Rather than use his power against her, he allowed it to surround her, to fill her, to strengthen her. “Adam, wait.” She leaned back and opened her eyes to study his handsome face. “Thank you for coming back for me. Thank you for not letting me die in the explosion. And thank you for not killing me when I stabbed you.”
“Thank you for not allowing me to get away with being an idiot.”
“Your logic wasn’t flawed. Not really. You didn’t know me.”
“Leaving you to die would’ve been the worst mistake I’ve ever made.” His lips curved into a sensuous smile. His eyes blazed with desire. “And, while I hate to admit it, you can bet, I’ve made some huge mistakes.”
“I’m not shocked.” She knew he was joking. His manner was playful. Even so, it was proof that he was nothing like the other demons she’d encountered. A demon, even kidding, would never admit to having a fault.
He laughed. “Are you ready?”
She nodded, clasping her hands together behind his neck. “I think so.” She felt the darkness in him calling to her, drawing her, surrounding her. She felt something in her reaching out to him. It was her soul, she realized. Her soul was reaching out to his. She took a few calming breaths, allowing her body to relax in his arms.
“That’s better. Keep your eyes closed. You’re in charge.” He wrapped one arm around her and cradled her head against his chest with his other hand. “Tell me when you’re ready.” Nuzzling his chin in her hair, he took a deep breath, filling his lungs with her sweet scent.
He was giving her control. She had none. But he was handing it over to her.
Taking a deep breath, she allowed her mind to delve deeper into his. “I’m ready.” She felt the sensation of weightlessness, of floating further away from her body. But she also felt his arms holding her, his body shielding hers. It felt good. It felt peaceful. By touching his mind, she felt his genuine care for her. She’d never felt safer.
He shifted quickly, instantly arriving in his suite. “How do you feel?”
“It’s over?” She leaned back and opened her eyes, meeting his gaze. “Really?” She blinked a few times, her fingers still linked behind his neck as she looked around the room. “That wasn’t bad at all.”
“You’re feeling fine?”
“Absolutely.” Amazed, she looked at him again for a few seconds. “I would happily do it again with you. It was like it never happened. How did you do it so fast and without the swirling and jarring sensations?”
“Many years of practice.”
Hanna glanced around, panic setting in. The room had to cost a fortune. “This isn’t a normal hotel room.”
“It’s a suite. It’s yours.”
Nervous laughter escaped her mouth despite her best attempt to prevent it from happening. “I can’t afford this.”
“It’s free.”
“No.” A terrible feeling settled in her gut. She knew better than to take anything of even the smallest monetary value from a demon. She couldn’t figure out why he was helping, but she knew the cost was going to be much more than she was willing to pay. “Nothing is free.”
“That’s true.” He shrugged as if doing his damnedest to appear innocent. “I leased it. But it’ll sit empty for the next few months if you don’t stay in it.”
INSATIABLE BREATH OF DARKNESS Page 5
