Mark of the Sylph (Demons of Infernum, #2)

by Rosalie Lario

  He lifted one perfect brow. “That’s right, sugar.”

  Grrr. Gritting her teeth at his casual endearment, she said, “Excuse me if I don’t believe you. Something about being tied up.” She rattled her wrists for emphasis.

  Her point must have struck home, because he tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, as if considering the wisdom of her words. “If I untie you, do you promise to hear me out?”

  Maya stilled. Did he mean that? Even if he didn’t, if he could only get close enough to her...

  She looked him straight in the eye. “Yes.”

  He nodded and started toward her. She held her breath and focused on him, rather than on the nightstand she’d spotted next to the bed. It held a lamp that looked heavy enough to do some damage. Better yet, a glass picture frame, with a photo of him laughing as he casually reclined on a couch with three other men. Three other gorgeous men who looked quite similar to him. Funny how the demon qualities didn’t capture on film. He looked normal. Human.

  “Listen, I’m sorry about your head.” He reached the side of the bed and leaned over to untie her wrist. “I’d heal it if I could.”

  “Heal?” Anything else Maya might have said died away as she breathed in his scent. Lord, it was positively sinful, like chocolate and sex. And his fingers seared where they touched her flesh, body heat rising off him in palpable waves. Despite herself, she felt an answering twinge between her thighs and fought back a flush of shame.

  Incubus. He had to be.

  She couldn’t tell if she was more shocked or confused when he actually did as he said and released her wrist. She tensed, prepared to fight, but forced herself to lie still when he moved around to the opposite side of the bed and went to work on the knot restraining her other wrist.

  “There.” He gave her a quick smile and rose off the bed. “All done—”

  Before he could finish his sentence, she swung her leg around and kicked him square in the jaw with the heel of her boot.

  He dropped to the ground, flat on his back.

  Perfect.

  That should give her enough time.

  Twirling her body back toward the nightstand, she slapped the picture frame down, shattering the glass, and grabbed the biggest sliver. Then, ignoring the prick to her finger, she launched herself over the bed.

  “Shit,” he grunted when she landed hard on him, jabbing her knee into his gut. His hard-as-steel gut. Not that she noticed.

  She aimed the glass at his throat, but he blocked her with his forearm to her wrist. Damn it. He used her shock to his advantage and flipped her onto her back, covered her body with his, and knocked the glass away.

  “I didn’t figure you one for breaking your promises.” His eyes flashed a brilliant, dark red, showing her just how angry her betrayal made him, as he dragged her wrists above her head.

  Damn, he was too strong. She couldn’t get leverage on him. Blinking away the sudden sting of hot tears, she focused on causing maximum damage. If he was going to take her down, she’d at least make sure it hurt.

  “Promises made to a demon don’t count, incubus.”

  That gave him pause. He shot her a lopsided grin. “You think I’m an incubus?”

  Oops, she hadn’t meant to say that aloud.

  “Go back to Hell.” She punctuated her words with a head butt that caught him on the chin. Stars flared in her vision and her head pounded.

  “Ow!” He pushed his upper body off the floor, leaving a few inches of space between them. “Give the jaw a rest, will ya?”

  She took advantage of the gap and bent her knees, popping her pelvis to the side and using his hands around her wrists as leverage to flip him onto his back. She straddled him, trying to twist her wrists free from his grasp. “Let go of me.”

  “So you can gouge my eyes out with your nails? I don’t fucking think so, lady.”

  He almost sounded amused by this whole scene, damn him. Growling deep in her throat, Maya slammed her forehead down toward his, but he anticipated it this time and shifted so she only caught his shoulder.

  Crap. She tried to lurch back but he clamped his forearms around her legs at his sides, while keeping her wrists enclosed in his hands. He’d managed to trap her as effectively as a hogtied animal, even though she was the one on top. She tried to shimmy off.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he said. “I’m afraid you won’t like the consequences.”

  Maya froze when her ass met with the very consequence she was certain he referred to. He might not like her squirming, but his body apparently didn’t agree. Mortified, she chanced looking him in the eye.

  The insolent demon actually had the nerve to wink at her.

  “Then again,” he drawled, “if you think I’m an incubus, maybe that’s exactly what you’re looking for.” He injected a good dose of humor in his innuendo, as if he wanted to make sure she knew he was only kidding.

  All her fight fled her in a defeated rush. He was obviously far stronger than she was. He could have killed her a dozen times over by now. Instead, he cracked jokes with her. What kind of demon would do such a thing?

  “I... I don’t understand.”

  He sobered as he replied evenly. “You might, if you stop trying to kill me for one second and just talk to me.”

  She stared at him, certain her utter confusion read on her face. What could he possibly have to say to her? Why was he acting so reasonable? And why oh why, knowing what he was, could she not help but notice the searing heat of his body pressing against her thighs, or the hard ridges of his muscles beneath her?

  “Okay,” she said, all too aware that she sounded beaten. “Let me up, and I’ll listen to what you have to say. I promise.”

  “All right.” His grip on her wrists tightened. “But you have to tell me one thing first.”

  She gave him a suspicious glare. “What?”

  “No fucking around. Can you see through glamours?”

  The unexpected straightforwardness of that question startled her into aggression. “Screw you.”

  She tried lifting up again but his forearms pressed tighter into her thighs. There was another hard poke against her ass and this time he laughed. “I already know the answer. Just admit it.”

  “Bite me.”

  “Careful what you say around here. For all you know, I’d gladly do that.”

  “You’re such an ass.” Maya tried to twist away again, but gave up when the hardness against her rear noticeably grew. “Fine,” she snapped.

  He raised his brows. “Fine what?”

  “I can see through glamours,” she admitted.

  Although he must have expected her to say it, his surprise was clear. A calculating expression came over his face. He let her go with an easy grin. “This is going to be interesting.”

  Chapter Three

  Tonight was a nice night for a walk. Not that Dagan wasn’t pissed about Taeg ganking his car, but if he had to take the subway home at least the weather was good.

  Dagan gave the doorman an easy nod as he strolled inside his building. He rode the elevator up to the huge apartment he shared with Keegan, Brynn, and Ronin, wondering all the while what Taeg was up to with his new find. He had all the luck, snatching up a little hellcat like that.

  Would she make love as passionately as Taeg had told him she’d fought? An interesting thought, but he didn’t hold out any hope he’d find out. Demon-hater or not, if she was going to spend any amount of time with Taeg, there was no doubt in his mind whose bed she’d end up in. Even without his ability to charm.

  He unlocked the front door, nodded at Reiver, one of the guards Keegan had hired to watch over Brynn and the apartment, and hollered, “I’m home. Miss me?”

  Dagan strolled into the kitchen and pulled a beer out of the fridge. The soft pad of footsteps alerted him to someone’s presence. Keegan—shirtless, his shaggy hair dripping wet, as if he’d just gotten out of the shower.

  “Want a beer?” He tossed Keegan his beer without wa
iting for a response and opened the fridge for another. “Ronin around?”

  “He’s out on a job. What are you doing home so early?”

  Dagan shrugged and started toward the living room. “Thought I’d hang out for a while, watch the tube.”

  Keegan followed close behind him. “Something’s up,” he said. “Where’s Taeg?”

  Dagan hid a smile. Keegan knew them too well. He was adept at reading their body language. And Dagan couldn’t resist fucking around with him. That’s what brothers were for, after all. “He was at home last time I saw him. I imagine he’ll still be there.”

  “What is it?” Keegan asked flatly.

  “What do you mean?” Dagan threw himself back onto the couch and plunked his feet on the coffee table. He picked up the remote and was about to turn on the television when Keegan snatched it out of his hand, carelessly dropping it on the floor.

  “Dagan, what are you not telling me?”

  “Taeg needed to borrow my car. I’m just tired from the walk home.”

  “Bullshit. You could walk from here to Florida without getting tired.” Keegan narrowed his eyes and pinned him with blatant suspicion. “Why did Taeg have to borrow your car?”

  “He thinks he’ll need it to transport the chick he kidnapped tonight.”

  “The what?”

  This time Dagan didn’t bother to hide his grin. “Yeah, Taeg went and got himself his very own prisoner. It’s all the rage in our family, I hear.”

  Keegan’s patience must have worn thin, because he reached down and grabbed a fistful of Dagan’s shirt, spilling some of Dagan’s beer as he lifted him a few inches off the couch. “What the fuck is going on?”

  Dagan lifted his beer for a sip. “Maybe you should ask Taeg.”

  “Dagan,” his brother said.

  “What?” He sobered when it became clear Keegan wasn’t going to give up. “I promised him I wouldn’t tell. You’ll have to talk to him about it.”

  Which was exactly what needed to happen, in Dagan’s opinion. Taeg should’ve told Keegan months ago what he was up to. It was beyond him why Taeg hid it.

  Keegan let go of him and turned around, muttering something about pain in the ass brothers as he strode out of the room. Searching for his phone, no doubt.

  This was too much fun. He’d promised Taeg he wouldn’t tell Keegan about the sword, but he’d made no such promises regarding the woman. Yeah, he’d admit it; he was still a little pissed about Taeg stealing his ride. But now they were even.

  With a chuckle, Dagan picked the remote back up and clicked on the television.

  §

  “Is it just demons you hate, or are you this cheery for everyone?”

  Maya glared at Taeg from across the room, rubbing her wrists with her back against the wall. But in the end, she said nothing. From the noticeable tension in her shoulders, she still had a lot of fight left in her.

  Taeg grinned, even though he knew it would only piss her off further. He carelessly dropped onto his side on the bed, propping up his upper body with his elbow. She glanced at the door as if she was contemplating making a run for it, but she turned to glower at him instead.

  He sighed. “Come on, Maya. I only—”

  “How do you know my name?” She straightened and walked away from the wall, back in full warrior mode. This woman was wound so tightly it was a miracle she could breathe.

  “I asked one of your coworkers. Relax for a second, will you?”

  She pressed the fingers of one hand to the opposite palm, where she’d nicked herself with the glass. Taeg turned to the broken picture frame. “I really liked that picture, you know.”

  “Who are those men sitting with you?”

  “My brothers.”

  Her mouth tightened. “More demons.”

  “Only half.” Damn, she was like a dog chasing a bone, with all her demon-hating. “How long have you known about demons?”

  She stilled before she made her admission. There was a story there, and no doubt it was what made her so prickly. “Since I was a little girl.”

  He put on his best psychiatrist voice. “What happened?”

  Maya crossed her arms, putting her ample chest on display. No doubt she’d try to rake his eyeballs out if she knew that he’d noticed. “None of your business.”

  He dragged his attention to her face. “So you can see what I truly am?”

  “Yes.”

  “You sound disgusted,” he noted dryly. “Am I really that ugly to you?”

  “Evil is always ugly.”

  Man, but she had a chip on her shoulder. He tried not to let it hurt his feelings, but yeah, it stung a little. No one had ever looked at him with such pure hatred. Save the exception of his former friend, Leviathos.

  “Not all demons are evil, you know.”

  She laughed at that. “Yeah. Right.”

  He left it alone. For now. Sitting up, he asked her, “Is it only glamours you can see through?”

  “What’s it to you?”

  “Come on, Maya,” he said with forced patience. “You already told me that much. I let you go. Now keep up your end of the bargain and talk to me.”

  Maya fidgeted, hesitating for a fraction of a second. “Not just glamours. At least I don’t think so. There are these... these things I see. I don’t know what they are. They’re hard to describe. Like shimmering spots of land hidden by a hazy, glowing blue veil. There’s one in Central Park.”

  She was talking about the inter-dimensional portals, magical devices that allowed for travel between planes. Not only were the portals invisible to humans, but they contained repellant force fields to keep non-Otherworlders away. And if she could see through them, she could see through anything.

  He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “When I questioned you back in the alley did you feel any compulsion to obey me?”

  Maya gave him a challenging look. “This is the twenty-first century, buddy. I don’t feel compelled to obey anybody.”

  He held back a weary sigh. “I meant my ability to charm.”

  Well, that got her attention. “You mean to tell me that demons can hypnotize people?”

  “Not all demons. Just me.”

  “Gee, aren’t you special?”

  Her eyes narrowed in on him, telling him exactly how she felt about him. He had a feeling that to her, he was about five levels down from the piece of gum stuck to the bottom of her boot. Try as he might to ignore it, her contempt burned his ass.

  “You know, if you took the time to get to know me, I think you’d realize I’m a halfway decent guy.”

  “Decent?” she said. “You’re not decent. You’re not even a guy.”

  Damn it all. This was just his luck. He’d managed to find a one-in-a-million chance to help him locate the sword, and she held what had to be the world’s biggest grudge against demons. How was he going to convince her to help him? “Maya, I—”

  His phone rang, startling him into silence. He looked at the caller ID. Keegan. A knot of dread settled in his gut. “Damn you, Dagan.”

  “What?” Maya asked from across the room.

  He held up his hand to silence her and answered. “Hello?”

  “What the fuck are you doing?” Keegan said without preamble.

  “Well hello to you, too, bro.”

  “Don’t mess with me. Dagan told me you kidnapped a woman.”

  “That little shit.” Taeg let out a deep sigh. He should’ve known Dagan would blab. For some crazy-ass reason, Dagan didn’t think he should keep any secrets from their big brother.

  “Tell him I’m going to kill him next time I see him.”

  “Does this have something to do with Leviathos? Because I swear, Taeg, if it does—”

  Taeg lowered his voice and said, “She can see through glamours, bro.”

  That shocked Keegan into momentary silence. “Really?”

  “Yeah. People, portals. All types of glamours.” Taeg cast a glance at Maya, who was inching towa
rd the door. He hopped off the bed and strode over to it, blocking her way. She retreated to the far side of the room.

  “Huh. I won’t deny that’s interesting,” Keegan said, “but that’s no reason to kidnap her.”

  “She can be useful to us,” Taeg insisted, lowering his voice even further. If he could avoid Maya hearing this, all the better.

  “How?”

  “I... ” Shit. He wasn’t about to tell Keegan about the sword. Not yet.

  From the other end of the line, Keegan let out a deep exhale. “You have to let her go. Charm her into forgetting this whole thing and put her back where you found her.”

  “I can’t do that.”

  “Taeg, you—”

  “It doesn’t work on her.”

  There was another long moment of silence before Keegan said, “What?”

  “Yeah. She’s immune to my ability.”

  “You can’t keep her.”

  “I know that. I’ll treat her right, but first I want to see what she’s capable of. And then I’ll let her go.”

  “This is about Leviathos, isn’t it?” Keegan finally asked. When Taeg didn’t respond, he said, “Bring her here. We’ll find out what she can do together.”

  Damn. He didn’t want to involve his sister-in-law, Brynn, in all this. Didn’t want to remind her of the threat she faced. She had enough to think about right now. He turned to face the doorway so Maya wouldn’t hear. “Keegan, why don’t—”

  “Together,” Keegan said, leaving no room for argument.

  “Fine.” Taeg breathed in deeply. “Tomorrow, okay? I need some time alone with her first.”

  “Okay. Tomorrow.”

  Keegan hung up without another word.

  Great. Now he had his brother and sister-in-law to deal with, too. Jamming the phone back in his pocket, Taeg turned around to face Maya. “That was—”

  He saw the base of the lamp a millisecond before it smashed square into his face.

  §

  Maya watched Taeg slump to the ground. She’d hit him so hard her arms ached and her shoulders felt like they’d been jerked out of their sockets. But that should keep him down for a while. Maybe.