“No. I will not tell you again. Grip the headboard or this ends now.”
“Fine. But I am not always going to be so accommodating. Understand?” Eyes narrowed, she slowly reached behind her and clutched the iron rails. They were cold, drawing goose bumps from her flesh. “Happy?”
“Not yet. Not until I taste you.”
God, yes. “I want to taste you this time, too.”
A moan separated his lips. He liked the idea, but she suspected he wouldn’t cave. He probably assumed she’d explore his body, trying to hurt him while doing so. He assumed correctly.
What would she have to do to prove to him that she wouldn’t be tainted by the violence he needed?
“So pretty,” he cooed, all of his anger gone. Two of his fingers played between her damp folds, circling her clitoris.
Her hips arched of their own accord, her body desperate for more of him. “Reyes,” she breathed.
“More?”
“Please.”
Those two fingers pushed inside her, pumped once, twice, ratcheting up her desire to an uncontrollable degree.
“You’re soaking my hand,” he said, pride in his tone.
“Lick me. Please.” She had to have his fingers, had to have his tongue. All of him she could get, she craved. And yet, she suspected it might never be enough.
Rather than grant her plea, he pulled from her and severed contact.
“No!” she cried. “What are you doing?”
“Getting naked.” He shed his jeans, tossed them aside.
Oh. “Hurry!”
But he didn’t return to her right away. She couldn’t stop writhing as he leaned down toward the floor.
“Reyes?”
“Condom.” He straightened, a silver packet glinting in the moonlight.
“Not so indifferent, after all, hmm?”
“Bought them this morning. Knew my resolve was weak.” The packet disappeared from her view, and there was a rustle of sheets.
Then his fingers were back inside her. Three this time. “God, yes. Yes.”
And then his mouth was on hers, hot tongue stroking inside her.
So good. Felt so good. His cock rubbed against her, smooth and hot. There was another flash of silver, he moaned in bliss, and she thought, Another condom? Surely not. He didn’t need two. What…why…Oh, God. He kissed down her body, knew just where to lick, just where to suck and lave.
“Stop for a minute,” she gasped out. She needed to think, and she couldn’t do it with his mouth on her.
“Why?” he asked, sucking on her clitoris as he pulled back. She nearly came, the pleasure was so intense.
Silver. What had that second flash of silver been? What would cause him to moan like that?
“Danika?”
A knife, she suddenly realized. He’d cut himself. She knew it, and she didn’t like it. Her eyes closed briefly, blocking the sight of him. Her arousal had glistened on his lips, and he’d been in the process of licking it away.
“Hand over the blade,” she commanded. “Now.”
REYES WAS SHOCKED by Danika’s order, aroused to the point of that delicious pain. He marveled that he hadn’t needed to cut himself to sustain his erection, but he’d done it because he hadn’t wanted Pain to rear its ugly head. He hadn’t wanted his resolve to weaken, giving Danika an opportunity to pounce.
Like now.
Even still, less and less did he want to stop her. More and more, he liked the thought of being hurt by her.
Won’t taint her, can’t taint her. Too precious. Too mine.
Too long without her.
He tossed the blade so that it embedded in the far wall, the hilt swaying mockingly.
“No,” he said, glaring down at this woman who so consumed his thoughts.
He’d had her once and shouldn’t have desired her so fiercely again. But he needed her. Craved her like air. And he could have her, if he remained gentle.
“The knife,” she said tightly. “Get it for me.”
Scowling, he leaned down until they were nose to nose. She hadn’t released the headboard, so her back was arched. Her hard nipples pressed into his chest, a temptation he wanted in his mouth.
Soon.
He gripped his swollen shaft with one hand and her chin with the other. “Do you want me?”
Her pupils, already dilated, swallowed the rest of that lush jade. “Yes. You know I do.”
“You’ll take me, then, without hurting me. And I’ll give it, without hurting you. That is the only way this can work.”
He waited for her response, the tip of his erection pressing into her. When a minute dragged by without a word from her, he leaned down and sucked her nipple into his mouth.
Another gasp from her, this one layered with need.
“Tell me I’m right,” he insisted. He sucked on the other nipple, hard, then licked the sting away.
“Yes. Yes.”
All he needed to hear.
He shoved to the hilt, and they cried out in unison. Her inner walls were hot and wet, silk forged by liquid fire. All of his muscles strained for release, for the exquisite pleasure he had never really experienced with anyone else.
From the beginning, his heart had recognized this woman as his. Like the demon, she was part of him, a part needed to make him whole. Her courage delighted him. Her teasing way, now that he’d experienced it, tempted him. Her willingness to help him despite everything that had happened touched him.
Right here, right now, she was his. A ticket out of hell and into heaven.
He did not know if he would ever be able to let her go, but he knew that he needed to try. For her safety. As she had once pointed out, his life was one of war and torment and that would not change. She deserved better.
He’d tried to distance himself from her, but had failed. Tomorrow, he thought, pumping and gliding in and out of her.
She writhed, her head thrashing. She moaned and chanted his name. “How is it so good?”
“Angel,” he panted. “Don’t know.”
She climaxed a second later, knees squeezing him. She finally released the headboard and grabbed his face, jerking him down for a wild kiss.
Their tongues rolled together in a bid for dominance, their teeth clashing. Her nails dug into him, and he followed her right over the edge, roaring her name, seed jetting in a hot flow. He didn’t know how it was possible, how he could feel pleasure without intense pain. Didn’t understand why Pain was so quiet when he was with Danika, as if the demon was content to allow Reyes these moments. Didn’t understand how he felt almost…normal with her.
He didn’t have time to ponder it, either. Like the last time, his spirit seemed to leave his body, floating, soaring, stopping only when reaching the golden gates of heaven. He’d given no real thought to this before, assuming he’d simply been drunk with pleasure. Now, he watched wide-eyed as angels flew beside him, feathers brushing his skin in delicate strokes. Clouds hovered all around, the sun shining brightly, the sky painted azure.
One angel looked at him, smiling slowly. “Light and dark,” the heavenly creature said in a voice more song than human. “Pretty.”
In that instant, Reyes realized something frightening. Danika was indeed the All-Seeing Eye, and that Eye was more complex than anyone had realized. For she somehow opened a portal between earth and the hereafter. A portal many would probably kill to possess.
DREAMS PLAGUED DANIKA all night. Dark dreams, turbulent and bloody. The fires of hell licked at her, smoke billowing, putrid, filling her nose and making her gag. She’d been here a thousand times before, but the evil never failed to creep her out.
Scaled demons of every color crawled all around the rocky cavern. Screams, such screams, echoed off the blood-soaked walls. No one seemed to notice her, for they were too busy racing between the souls chained all around.
Her gaze landed on one human soul in particular, his features suddenly clear. Her jaw dropped. Somehow, someway, she was staring at the Hunter s
he’d killed. How was that…how could…no, not possible. Just a dream, she reminded herself.
“Tell me what you know about the Eye,” a demon purred at his side.
The Hunter trembled, remaining silent.
Laughing, the demon began clawing at his skin, ripping it to ribbons. He screamed over and over, the demon continuing to laugh, and soon her screams joined the chorus.
“I’m here, angel. I’m here.”
Reyes’s voice pierced her mind and jerked her from the dream. Sweat poured from her body. She couldn’t quite catch her breath. Reyes held her, and she burrowed against him, his strength trickling into her.
“What happened?” he asked, stroking her back.
“I saw a demon torturing the man I killed, and demanding to know about me. Just hold me,” she pleaded. In the morning, she would sketch what she had seen. Right now, she simply needed her man. Maybe I am the Eye. Maybe I can see directly into the afterlife. The nightmares had always felt real. Made sense, she supposed, that they would be.
God, the thought of that…sickened her.
Reyes’s arms tightened around her. His fingers traced patterns along her spine. Several minutes passed, and she began to relax. Her sense of rightness returned, the bad stuff giving way to good.
Funny that it had taken a demon to chase her nightmares away, she mused as she drifted to a peaceful sleep.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
MORNING ARRIVED, but the motel room showed no sign of it. Sunlight didn’t seep past the taped-together curtains covering the only window and Reyes must have unplugged the clock, because there were no bright red numbers alerting her to the time.
Danika’s eyelids opened slowly. The scent of coffee wafted to her, a summoning finger she couldn’t resist, and she eased up. The cotton sheet fell to her waist, baring her breasts to the cool air.
Shivering, she gripped the material and snatched it up to her chin. All the while her gaze circled the small area. Reyes was no longer in bed. His clothes were gone from the floor.
Where had he—
The door opened before she could work up a good steam, finally allowing a flood of bright light inside.
Danika blinked against it, even held up a hand to cover her now-watering eyes.
“Good. You’re awake,” Reyes said, shutting the door.
Since the light had been successfully chased away by shadows, she allowed her hand to fall to her side, her hungry gaze seeking the man who had given her so much pleasure last night—the man who had not let her give him the same.
He stopped beside the table, and she noticed he held a small sack in his hand. “Breakfast is on the table. I am sorry the selection is poor, but I shopped here, at the motel, so that I could watch our door and ensure your safety.”
She tore her gaze from him—hardest thing ever—and looked at the table. A cup of coffee, three candy bars and a bag of chips awaited her. “That’s perfect,” she said, and she meant it. Not because she liked those items but because he’d gone to so much trouble for her. Her stomach rumbled. “What’s in the bag?”
“A shirt,” he said, offering no more.
What was with him? He was acting distant again, as if last night hadn’t happened. Lids narrowed, she swung her attention back to him. Over the past few days, she’d noticed he changed T-shirts at least three times a day. She thought she knew why. He didn’t want her to see dried blood on the material.
To have bought one this morning meant he must have cut himself. Again.
“Take off your shirt,” she told him.
A muscle ticked in his jaw. He strode to the bathroom, throwing over his shoulder, “Eat, shower, dress. We see your family today.”
Her heart leapt at the thought, betraying the nervousness she’d denied last night, as well as excitement. Were they happy? Did they miss her as intensely as she missed them? Why had they gotten together and not included her?
Shoving those questions aside for the moment, Danika catapulted off the bed and raced for the bathroom. Naked, she twisted, spread her arms and clutched the frame, blocking Reyes just as he tried to enter.
He stopped a whisper away from her. Her nipples instantly hardened, reaching for him. His mouth, his touch. That fragrance of sandalwood that seemed to follow him no matter the time of day or what he’d been doing, enveloped her.
She licked her lips. “Take off your shirt.”
His dark gaze locked on her, hot as it slid down…down…Her skin erupted in those delicious goose bumps, and her legs trembled.
“You have the most delectable little body I’ve ever seen,” he said hotly.
“Th-thank you. Now the shirt. You won’t be able to distract me.”
His free hand latched on to the frame, just under hers, as if he needed to hold on to something. The wood cracked beneath his grip, though he tried to maintain a casual expression. “I know why you are so cold all the time.”
“I said you can’t distract me. Besides, I’m not cold all the time. I can recall two instances when I was nearly burned alive.”
His lips twitched, even while the heat in his gaze intensified. “No, not all the time.”
“Why, then? Because the air is cold?”
At her dry tone, the twitching became a full grin. Every nerve ending in her body sparked, shooting her full of electricity and warmth. That smile, oh, that smile. As heady as his caresses.
“You are a portal to both the heavens and the underworld.” He leaned down…down…his lips brushed her ear.
She shivered.
“At times, your spirit connects with the hereafter, pulling images into your mind.”
She shook her head in disbelief. “If that were true, I would have been cold my entire life. But I didn’t experience that bone-numbing sensation until after I met you.”
“I must be a—” he closed his eyes for a moment, obviously searching for the correct word “—conduit for you, then. Every time I’m with you, I fly to the heavens.”
Now she grinned. “That just means I’m a better lover than I ever realized.” First they thought she was some All-Seeing Eye. Now a portal? Hello, I’m just a normal—albeit somewhat insane—girl.
At least, that was her prayer. She didn’t want to be anything more. She didn’t want people chasing her for the rest of her—short?—life. She deserved rest and relaxation, damn it. With Reyes. They could travel to a beach, laze on the white sand, and he could pretend to be her massage therapist.
“With training, you could probably learn to control your visions. Decide where to visit, heaven or hell. Decide how long to stay, who to watch.”
By the middle of his speech, she was shaking her head. Sweat had broken out over her body, yet the chill had returned to her blood. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I want you to take off your goddamn shirt!”
His head tilted to the side, but he didn’t obey her.
Fine. He wanted to avoid the subject of his self-inflicted torture, then she’d give him something worse to ponder. Maybe then he’d beg to talk about his newest wounds. “Listen up. You come when you’re with me, but from what I can tell you only hurt yourself a little. Nothing close to what the other women had to do to you. That has to mean your demon is tamer when you’re with me. True?”
He hesitated, his eyes suspicious, nodding stiffly.
Surprise filled her, because she’d merely been guessing. If the demon calmed for her and no other, that had to mean something was going on. Was she a portal? “If I am the Eye and I am a portal, it stands to reason I would send your demon somewhere when you’re inside me.”
His mouth fell open.
“I wonder where the demon goes. Who knows, maybe it travels to hell to visit its buddies. Want to test the theory?”
As if he were in a daze, he staggered backward. “I—I—”
“This is good news.” She stepped toward him. “Right? You can be with me without fear of destroying me.”
“I do not dare hope,” he whispered brokenly.
“You know what happens when people hope.”
Shit. She didn’t have a ready reply to that.
“You wanted to see my wounds.” There was a heavy pause in which he remained absolutely still. Then he dropped the bag he’d been holding and gripped the end of his shirt. He jerked the material over his head, baring his chest to her view. “Look.”
Her plan had worked. And yet, she realized she would have liked to continue the discussion. She’d made some excellent points. But then her gaze moved over him and she saw the scabs that covered the entire muscled expanse of his chest, some even marring the butterfly tattoo. They were long slashes and short slices, and all intertwined in a mess of pain.
“You did this to yourself?” she asked tightly.
“Yes.”
Would he ever trust her to help him? Probably not, she thought next, disappointment flooding her. Unless…
One day soon, she would have to surprise him. If she was able to send his demon away, he would not need the pain. What he needed was peace of mind. Only stabbing him would prove that she could hurt him, could meet his needs and not mutate into a pain-hungry little hooker.
With that in mind, she flattened her palm on his chest and pushed. Though she was strong, he was stronger, and the movement wouldn’t have budged him unless he allowed it.
He allowed it.
“We’re done here,” she said, and slammed the bathroom door in his face.
WOMEN. Would Reyes ever understand them?
He was doing Danika a favor, keeping her from the dark side of his life, yet she’d looked at him with absolute betrayal in her eyes. Even now, two hours later, that expression haunted him.
What if she’s right? What if Pain leaves you when you’re with her?
Did he dare try and confirm such a fantastical thought? Could irreparable damage be done if she was wrong? He just didn’t know.
“Are you all right?” he asked her.
She nodded. She was unusually quiet as they navigated the Oklahoma sidewalks, doing their best to remain in the shadows of the tall, redbrick buildings and out of the sights of other pedestrians. Cars and trucks buzzed along the road. He hadn’t spotted any Hunters, or even anyone watching them too intently.
Lords of the Underworld Bundle Page 97
