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

by Rosalie Lario

  Son of a bitch. He was dreamscaping.

  Demons had an ability to communicate telepathically with humans through their dreams, a process his father had discovered. Taeg and his brothers had only learned of it a few months ago. He had personally never dreamscaped before, but in his current state he feared what would happen. He found Maya far too attractive, and here, in the dream realm, he didn’t know if he could fight it. But he should. Something bad had obviously happened to her, and a demon was to blame. He wouldn’t endear himself to her by jumping her in her dreams, and he wanted her to like him. He needed her.

  “Go back to bed,” he admonished himself. Ah, but he’d always had been a cantankerous asshole. He wouldn’t even listen to himself.

  Turning, he floated across the room and through the doorway, to where Maya lay in his bed, trussed up like a freaking Christmas goose. If he was smart he’d turn his ass around and get back into his body before she noticed him. But he could no more walk away right now than let Maya go if she refused to help him. While part of him felt guilty as hell that he’d deceived her into believing otherwise, she was too important for him to allow her to walk away.

  “Maya,” he whispered as he sat next to her on the bed.

  She moaned and shifted her head, her eyes creeping open. They narrowed when she saw him. “I told you, get out of my dreams.”

  She’d been dreaming about him already? Well, all fucking right.

  Taeg gave her a cocky grin. “Come on, baby, it’s your fantasy. You know you want to, so do it.” He spread his arms wide. “Use me.”

  She snorted, pinning him with a derisive scowl. “Even in my fantasies you’re annoying.”

  “That must mean you secretly like it.”

  Maya’s mouth tightened in denial, but then she let out a defeated sigh. “Maybe. Are you going to touch me now?”

  All thoughts of humor fled. Because damn, did he ever want to touch her. “Where?”

  “Everywhere.” She sounded as if the words had involuntarily torn themselves out of her.

  He wouldn’t joke about that. Not at a time like this. His fingertips crept to her stomach, which was soft and rounded the way a woman should be. Then up her body, until they closed over her breasts much like they had done earlier when he’d checked her for weapons. Yeah, he’d noticed how full they were, her ripe globes spilling over in his hands. But he’d been ashamed of noticing it back then. Now there was no shame. Nothing but pleasure.

  She left out a little gasp and arched into his palms.

  “You like this?” He didn’t actually expect a response when the answer was obvious. Good thing, too, because she didn’t give him one. His hands trailed down to the hem of her shirt, and this time he lifted it up to her underarms.

  “Demon.” The softly spoken word sounded like a caress this time, rather than a curse. Her wrists tightened against the strips of fabric restraining her.

  Taeg breathed in deep as he took in Maya’s form. Her breasts were encased in a strip of black lace that made his mouth water even as he ached to remove it. He fumbled underneath her, looking for the bra clasp.

  “It closes in the front,” she said.

  Smooth, chuck. Real smooth. He found the clasp and released it, freeing her from the confines of the fabric.

  “Sweet devil, but you’re exquisite.” Her breasts were round with dark little pearls in the center. Perfect. He ached to close his mouth around one of them.

  So he did.

  She moaned as he rolled his tongue around the hard bud. She tasted like she smelled—flowers and spice, the perfect combination of tart and sweet. He worked the other nipple with his thumb.

  “That’s... that’s... so good,” she said.

  Sitting up, he gazed down at her. With her eyes half-closed in ecstasy and her taut buds arching up toward him, she looked like every man’s fantasy come to life.

  “Demon,” she whispered, her voice seductive.

  “What do you want?” His voice came out gruff with desire.

  “I... ” She opened her eyes to give him an annoyed glare.

  “What?”

  She didn’t want to admit she desired him. But he didn’t care if she wanted to. No, deep down, he wanted her to beg him to do it.

  “Just tell me.” He trailed his thumb along the crease of her lips. She parted them and sucked his thumb into her mouth, eliciting a deep groan from him. His cock strained against his boxers, eager to come out and play. It didn’t give a shit whether she admitted she wanted him or not.

  Yeah, his cock could be a real dick sometimes.

  “What do you want?” he repeated.

  “You,” she admitted, her mouth tight. “I want you.”

  “Yeah?” Hell yeah.

  He shifted his trembling hands to her zipper. Just then, a glimmer of light streamed in from behind the window shade, momentarily blinding him. Was it morning already? No. Not yet. Not freaking yet.

  He fumbled with the button before undoing it and unzipping her jeans.

  She moaned and arched her hips. “I can’t believe I’m dreaming about doing this with a dem—”

  A clock chimed somewhere in the background and she flinched, her eyes darting to the side. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in obvious terror.

  “What?” He looked behind him and, without explanation, the scene morphed into something else. He no longer sat on his bed. Hell, he wasn’t even in his apartment anymore. Taeg stood in the hallway of a dark, unfamiliar house. Although quiet, the house was tinged with fear. The walls practically breathed terror. Something bad was coming.

  He heard the swish of fabric and turned his head to see a small girl creeping down the hallway. Her facial features were unmistakable. Maya, but as a child. She bypassed him as if she didn’t see him, and continued down the hall. With a sinking heart, he followed her.

  Taeg stepped into a small living room, and the scene changed. He now stood next to the girl, who stuffed her tiny body into a shadow behind a potted plant. She pressed her knees to her chest and wound her arms around them, shivering in fear.

  Down the hall, a chorus of ear-piercing shrieks echoed. Then silence, followed by the piteous, agonized screams of what sounded like another little girl. The horrific sound made his skin crawl and his stomach turn.

  “Maya, no—” He jolted awake on the couch. “Son of a bitch.”

  What the fuck had that dream turned into? Beyond horrific, it had made every one of his pores tingle with fear, and he’d seen some real scary shit in his time. He sat up, rubbing his hands over his face.

  This was what she lived with?

  What the hell had happened to her?

  Oh devil, why had he dreamscaped with her? He didn’t need to know this about her. Now he wanted to comfort her. To make her pain go away. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t afford to become involved with her. Not emotionally. His duty was to Keegan and to Brynn. He’d failed them once before and he wouldn’t fail them again. And instinct told him involvement with the woman he needed to use in order to save Brynn could become dangerous indeed.

  No, he’d be better off keeping his emotional distance. The stuff she’d gone through, it obviously sucked. But it had nothing to do with the present. He couldn’t help Maya bury her ghosts, but Brynn he could help. And he wasn’t about to let her down.

  So what to do about Maya?

  Focus on finding what he needed her for, and forget all about her hot little body and her fucked-as-hell past.

  Now he had to figure out how to pretend he’d never gotten a glimpse into her memories.

  Just keep your cool, Taeg. Flirt and joke like you always do.

  Yeah. Easier said than done. But what other options did he have?

  Chapter Five

  By the time Taeg wandered into the bedroom the next morning, Maya had already managed to rationalize all her crazed sex dreams from the night before. Just because she’d spent half the night fantasizing about doing him didn’t mean she had the hots for him. No,
he was still firmly in her People Who Must Die category.

  Remembering that would have been so much easier if he hadn’t managed to look so damn sexy this morning. He wore a Harley T-shirt over a pair of cotton boxers, and his hair stood on end, as if he’d been pulling on it. On top of that, red eyes aside, his bleary expression made it clear he’d gotten about as restful a sleep as she had.

  What would he have said if he’d known she’d dreamt about him?

  The thought alone was enough to spike her body temperature a few degrees. Then she remembered what that dream had turned into. An old, familiar nightmare. That was more than enough to cool her down fast.

  “Good morning, sweetheart,” he drawled as he approached the bed with a plate in his hands. He stopped a few feet away and gave her a knowing look. “How’d you sleep?”

  “Shitty.” She hoisted herself into a sitting position. “I can’t feel my arms.”

  Taeg smirked. “I’ll let you loose for a bit after breakfast.”

  “How am I supposed to eat with my hands tied?”

  “Easy. I’ll feed you.”

  “I don’t think so. I can feed myself.”

  “And deny me the pleasure?” He sat on the bed next to her and grasped a chunk of delicious-looking watermelon between his fingers. Then, brows raised in challenge, he held it out to her.

  Part of her wanted to decline just to be difficult, but the melon looked so good and the rumbling in her stomach reminded her how hungry she was. With a glacial glare, she closed her lips around the melon.

  “Good girl,” he said, not bothering to hide the amusement in his voice. “For a second I thought you were going to refuse to spite me.”

  Readjusting her grip on the melon, she bit down hard on his fingers.

  He broke out into a grin. “How did you know I like it rough?”

  Maya’s heart rate shot up to triple speed. For one long moment they stared at each other as something heavy passed between them. But then she blinked and broke eye contact and the heaviness in the air dissipated. She concentrated on chewing her melon, on the sweet taste of the juice dribbling down her throat. Anything not to think about him and the way he looked. Like he’d be ready to go a round or ten if she but said the word.

  “What do you plan on doing with me?” she asked when she trusted herself to speak again.

  Taeg chuckled, the sound promising and foreboding all at once. “I know what I’d like to be doing.”

  She gave him a sharp look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  He sobered and fed her another slice of melon. “You’re a big girl. Figure it out.”

  How the hell was she supposed to respond to that? Casual joking she could deal with. Cruelty wouldn’t be unexpected. But straight-up innuendo? Even worse, right now he seemed as put out by this whole deal as she was. Could it be that, like her, he felt the attraction, yet didn’t want to?

  For what must be the tenth time in the last day, Maya wondered how much she truly knew about demons. So far, Taeg’s actions had been a total surprise. And when had she stopped thinking of him as just another demon and started thinking of him by name?

  “When are we going to go see your friend?” she asked him once he’d fed her all the fruit on the plate.

  “Couple hours. Should give you enough time to freshen up.”

  “Do I stink?” She fought the urge to take a self-conscious sniff. She’d not only fought him in a dark, dank alley, but she’d managed to knock herself out in one, too. No surprise if she smelled bad.

  “Yeah right. You stink like freaking flowers and candy,” he deadpanned. “Your only problem is you smell too good, little slayer.”

  A rush of heat warmed her cheeks. “Oh.”

  Taeg set the empty plate down on the bedside table and lifted a hand to her chin, tilting her face up. “How’s the head?”

  “Better.” She winced when he touched the spot. “Pounding headache’s gone at least.”

  “I’m just now beginning to realize how strong you are.” He grimaced and dropped his hands. “Sorry you got hurt. Maybe one of my brothers can take care of it.”

  Brothers? Maya took a shaky breath. “We’re going to see your brothers?”

  “You’ve got a busy day ahead of you.” He leaned over and untied her wrists.

  Maya swallowed a pained groan when she moved her stiff arms down to her front. Taeg surprised her by taking hold of one of her arms and applying pressure along the wrist to increase the blood flow, then repeating the action with the other arm. She bit her lip, uncertain what she should say or do.

  What was she doing here? This was crazy. A demon had kidnapped her. She should be trying to kick his face in right now. Instead, she was letting him give her a mini-rubdown and sneaking peeks at his boxer shorts.

  “I’ve lost my mind,” she muttered.

  Taeg’s fingers worked their magic on her wrist and palm. “I usually find that’s when all the best stuff happens.”

  “I don’t understand.” Maya tugged her hand back. “You’re evil. I should be trying to kill you right now. You should be trying to kill me.”

  Taeg smirked and shook his head. “You’ve got a lot to learn about demons, sweetheart.”

  “Don’t call me sweetheart.” But even she recognized the distinct lack of heat behind her words. She was seriously losing it.

  “Come on, I’ll give you first dibs on the shower.” Taeg rose off the bed, giving her a lazy grin that made her stomach spin a little cartwheel. “Tell you what, demon-slayer—if it makes you feel better you can torture me by using up all the hot water.”

  §

  A few hours later Maya was cleaner, but no less mystified when it came to her demon captor. The man was an enigma. He’d kidnapped her, yet treated her like an honored, if well-guarded, guest. He’d insisted on standing outside the bathroom while she showered, but had allowed her to lock the door. Of course that might have been because there were no windows in there and he knew she couldn’t escape. Still...

  So far, this experience had been as different from that one horrible night so many years ago as night and day. It almost made her believe Taeg when he assured her not all demons were evil.

  But no. She knew what demons were capable of. She’d witnessed it firsthand when she was a mere child. He might be better at hiding his true colors than other demons, but she still knew what he was. And she’d do well to remember.

  Now, showered and dressed in her day-old clothes, Maya stood in Taeg’s tiny living room and waited for him to find the car keys.

  “I swear I left them over here somewhere,” he said as he rummaged through an avalanche of paper on the small dining table.

  She stood no more than a few feet from the door. But even if she was quick enough to unlock it and race out, she held no illusions of getting away. Taeg was stronger and faster than her. Maybe she’d be able to alert a neighbor before he caught her again, but maybe not. No, she would go along with him for now. There would be plenty of opportunity for her to escape later.

  “Aha, found ’em.” He snatched up a set of keys from underneath a stack of mail and turned her way so she could make out the words emblazoned on his T-shirt: Real Men Don’t Follow Directions.

  She swallowed the laugh that threatened to force its way out.

  When he strode toward her, she fought the instinctive urge to edge away. But whether that was fear or anticipation unfurling in her belly, even she couldn’t tell. Oh damn, she felt naked without her daggers hidden in her boots.

  Taeg unlocked the door and opened it, taking a step back to allow her to exit first. She slid past him and he grabbed one of her hands, holding tight while he locked the door then led her down the stairs.

  Cool, fall air blasted her as they descended the steps outside the apartment. Falling leaves rustled in the breeze, their muted autumn hues adding depth and color to the neighborhood. Though the street was relatively empty by normal city standards, small crowds of people still walked by.

&nbs
p; Maya tensed at the sight of the passersby. Should she run? Surely he wouldn’t try to chase her down with so many witnesses around.

  “Don’t even think about it,” Taeg said in a pleasant tone, his hand clenching hers tighter. “I’ll pick you up and carry you to the car if I have to.”

  “I don’t doubt it.” She shot him a dirty look. For one second she considered breaking free just to be difficult, but what was the point? There would be a better opportunity to escape. And if she had to be honest, she was more than a little curious about the woman Taeg wanted her to meet. Yeah, maybe he’d lied about the whole sword thing and was leading her to her death or to some weird sort of demon ritual, but the odds were slim. If she’d managed to live through one night in his apartment, he probably didn’t plan on killing her anytime soon.

  He led her to a fancy-looking sports car, a steel gray BMW with leather seats and a convertible top. The car practically screamed I’ve Got Too Much Money.

  “This is your car?”

  “My brother’s, actually.” He opened the passenger-side door and gave her a gentle push inside. “He’s probably still pissed as hell about me borrowing it. He’ll be lucky if I don’t put a dent in it.”

  Taeg waited until she sat before slamming her door shut and walking around the car to slide into the driver’s seat. Then he held the keys up with a blank look on his face. “Where do these go again?”

  “Ha-ha.” But when he didn’t laugh, Maya furrowed her brows. “Goes right there, in the ignition.”

  “Oh. Makes sense.” After a few fumbling tries, he shoved the key in and started the car.

  Her confusion gave way to jaw-dropping amazement. “You do know how to drive, don’t you?”

  “Course. I did it once before.” He gave her a rakish grin and threw the car into gear, taking off so fast the tires squealed.

  Maya clutched her stomach, which felt like she’d left it a block behind.