Marked By Hades (Entangled Embrace)

by Monroe, Reese

  Such a surprising prize, but it made sense. She’d been lonely for so long, she just wanted company. That harsh attitude had been her protection, much like the leather Yvonne wore when Justin had first found her.

  “Halena will get over it.” Theo pushed off the bag and reached for a towel on the floor. “She knew you weren’t her Mate. She just wanted company.”

  “Still.” He felt bad.

  “This is what we’ll do.” Theo tossed the towel to the floor again. “We’ll make a deal with Dyre to lead us to the Artifacts, and she can come with. She’s not to be left alone. You’re with her every second.” Theo pointed his finger. “I will not have my Sadie endangered.”

  “Your badass karate chick would kick the shit out of Yvonne.”

  “But I don’t want her in that position, you hear me? And I know I don’t have to say this, but I’m going to anyway. If Dyre harms my Mate in any way, I won’t hold back to protect her.”

  A growl ripped through Justin’s chest.

  Theo grinned. “And you still want to tell me she’s not your Mate?”

  Justin shook his head and reached for the water bottle he’d set by his feet. “Was. Can’t Mate a demon.”

  “We can’t begin to understand The Great One’s plan.” Theo grinned. “You swore to never take a Mate, and you were whipped from first sight, before you even knew she bore your Mark.”

  “Shit out of luck is where that got me, too.”

  “You’re looking at this all wrong, brother.” He shook his head as he made his way to the door to leave. “You need to calm yourself and spend some time with The Great One on this.”

  Theo was right. In his anger, he’d all but been silent with The Great One.

  “Yvonne sacrificed herself to save me, and in turn, save you.” Theo pushed the door open. “Regardless of the fact that she no longer bears your Ahavah, that selfless gesture has to count for something in the grand scheme of things.”

  The door shut, leaving Justin alone with that thought pounding deep in his head. Could Dyre, a demon, be his Mate if Yvonne was truly gone forever?

  …

  Steaming hot water cascaded down Dyre’s body. Seven days in that cell without a shower had left her dirty and stinky. Her skin was pruned and red, but she refused to get out. She couldn’t believe Justin and his Gatekeeper allowed her reprieve from that dank, concrete box.

  Even more, they trusted her to show them where she’d hidden the Artifacts she’d stolen from Pario.

  Idiots. Though she thought the word, it didn’t ring true. What’d she have to lose showing them where they were? Maybe if she told them her plan, they’d help her. They hadn’t killed her yet, hell, they hadn’t even tortured her, so maybe if they knew her whole story, they’d understand and help her find a way to get out of her demon life.

  Or at least let her stay here on earth.

  A pounding rattled the bathroom door. “Dyre!”

  Justin’s voice flowed into the room and made a beeline for her chest. Damn, he oozed sensuality. He’d said Yvonne had been his, but he had to be lying, because according to what she’d been told, Yvonne had dusted every living thing she’d touched.

  Maybe he’d had a spell as Pario did.

  She rubbed her stomach, working to quell the fire building. Justin would never want her as a demon. If only she could remember her time on earth as Yvonne. If she’d been accepted by this stunning male, it had to have been worth Lucifer’s punishment.

  Maybe that was why it was so easily stripped by the witch. Then again, Pario had told Dyre all that, and he’d lied about his brand.

  Damn Pario.

  “I’m coming in if you don’t answer me.”

  He could come in anytime. She wouldn’t mind. In fact, her body craved it. Maybe he would touch her again as he had through the bars. Only all over!

  She pushed open the glass door enclosing her in the shower, hoping he would be true to his word.

  The door burst open, and a smile crept along her lips.

  “Dyre.” He faced the shower area and froze, his mouth opened. “What…”

  “I told you I’d need help cleaning my back.”

  Swallowing hard, he diverted his gaze to the floor. He flushed a deep red and shoved his hand in his pocket.

  Hotter than the streaming water, her body softened at the sight of him. “Come here, Justin.”

  He moved an inch, but then stopped. “Don’t.”

  He might have even whispered the word “please,” but she wasn’t quite sure. The sadness radiating from him nearly knocked her over. She hugged her stomach with one hand and reached for the shower nozzle with the other.

  “I don’t bite too hard,” she whispered, suddenly wanting to comfort him. A feeling of need stormed through her, a need to hold him and run her fingers through his hair.

  As he stepped back he said, “Just finish up.”

  The door shut, and her heart fell to her feet. She’d detected longing, but it was mingled with confusion and anger, with a little disgust sprinkled in. She made quick work of drying off and running a brush through her wet hair, then stepped into the room. To her right was a small sitting area, a couch, and a chair facing a TV. Through the entertainment center she could see into another portion of the room.

  As she moved, a massive bed came into view. Yep, the TV swiveled so it could be watched from the bed, too. On the far wall to her right, Justin stood facing a wall of windows.

  They were dark with the nighttime, save the moon shimmering down on a bit of water in the middle of an expansive lawn.

  She glanced to the bed, which was only a few feet from him, then to his broad shoulders.

  “Clothes are on the dresser.” He pointed to his right.

  Folded neatly were a pair of black leather pants and a black long-sleeved shirt, along with a pair of black leather gloves.

  “Leather?” She brushed her hand atop the clothes, curious how he happened to have her favorite clothing on hand.

  “It’s what Yvonne wore.”

  True. From what Dyre had heard, it was the only barrier between her lethal touch and…the world.

  She moved toward Justin, and he visibly tensed in the reflection of the window, but his gaze never veered from her as he tossed a small pillow he’d been holding onto the couch in front of him.

  Desire rippled the air around him, and it warmed her all the way to her core. She both loved and hated this need to be with people. In front of the demons, she looked weak, needy. Yet the high she got from touching people, mingling with them, she couldn’t get enough.

  Agares had told her she was like that as a human and some of it survived the transition to demon. Other than what Agares had told her, she had very little memory of her life as a human, but she could see how it might have been true.

  She stepped in front of Justin and captured his gaze. Intense blue eyes bored into her. His focus fell to her shoulder, and his jaw muscles fired.

  His flawless face was a work of art. He had a square jaw that spoke of much strength. Long black eyelashes framed his beautiful eyes the color of the ocean. The black pupils ate up the blue until there was only a little halo remaining. His nostrils flared.

  She brushed her finger along the scar on his neck as she inched closer, craving his touch. “Battle scar?”

  “You could say that.”

  “I know you want me.”

  His focus dropped to her mouth, and his tongue eased out, leaving a glistening trail along his lips. She sure wouldn’t mind him nibbling on her lip ring.

  Taking a step back, he said, “Get dressed, Dyre. We’re leaving at first light. We need to rest.”

  “I’m staying here with you? In this room?”

  “Maybe you find the cell more comfortable?” His gaze bathed her in warmth.

  “No. This is good. With you?” She smiled at the thought and snagged his hand.

  He pulled away, but she held tight. Getting out of her hold would have been easy for him, but interest
ingly enough, he didn’t. Her heart sped up, and her fangs itched to pierce his smooth neck and taste him. Just a little drop. She’d never bitten anyone so pure. What would it do to her?

  “Why’d you decide to let me out? And to lead you to the Artifacts?” She inched closer, hating the space between them, and let her towel slip a little lower. “You’d trust a demon?”

  “We have a common enemy.”

  True. She didn’t like Pario much more than she liked any demon, but the Shomrei in league with a demon was unheard of.

  She traced her fingers up his bare arm and sneaked her hand beneath his short sleeve. Gripping his shoulder, she basked in the smooth, silky skin. Energy siphoned into her fingertips, chasing away the chill of her wet hair dripping on her bare shoulders. She couldn’t help curling her toes into the plush carpet. Yes, this was much better than the concrete cell.

  Everything about this situation was magical.

  “There must be some other reason, besides having a common enemy, that would drive the Shomrei to trust a demon.”

  “There’s nothing else.”

  “Yvonne?” She grinned. “Do you hope to get her back?”

  He tore out from beneath her touch. “Do not speak of Yvonne.”

  So, they had been together. Had they made love?

  A tickle along her shoulder ignited, and she scratched at it. Her flesh heated to a roaring flame. An image of Justin’s blue eyes gazing down at her, a smile filling his beautiful face, appeared. A light encased him, like an aura. Purity. Such purity.

  She prepared to recoil from it, considering she was a demon, but she didn’t. Instead, she drank it up, needing to feel its power, its peace.

  She snapped back to reality and tracked his fluid movements to the bedroom door. He locked it and shoved the key into his pocket. Three long strides brought him past her, keeping a wide berth, and he sat on the couch.

  “Get dressed.” Planting his elbows on his thighs, he leaned forward, hands clasped before him.

  She admired him another long breath, then turned toward the clothing. She dropped her towel and slipped into the underwear she found before turning around. “Not sleeping in leather pants, sorry.”

  “There’s a T-shirt in that top drawer,” he said without looking up.

  She sifted through the clothing in that drawer. White T-shirts, white undies—mixed with a few pairs of silk boxers—and white socks. No fashion sense at all, yet he pulled off his look with a sexy, simplistic style.

  She threaded her arms through the T-shirt and popped her head through the neckline. It was huge on her, but that was okay. As the leather jacket did, this shirt smelled of him. All male. Rich in spice.

  It ignited a fire she needed sated, and Justin was going to do that, whether he wanted to or not.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Damn, Dyre looked so sexy in his T-shirt. Justin knew having her here in his room was a mistake of epic proportions. This amount of torture was not worth it.

  Yes, it was. To see her prancing toward him in his white T-shirt brought back the time when Yvonne had stayed with him in France. How he’d held her until she fell asleep every night. When he’d touched her until they were both out of their minds.

  But this wasn’t Yvonne. It was obvious by the extra sway her hips offered as she walked. Yvonne was never that confident when they were close. Though she craved his touch constantly, she was never seductive, manipulative.

  And she never had black eyes and fangs, either.

  But damn, she still toyed with that lip ring in a way that wound him so tight he might break. Suddenly the couch he was sitting on better resembled a concrete bench he was so uncomfortable. Maybe he should take her back down to the cell.

  Tiny teeth peeked out from Dyre’s upper lip, and it fired a jolt of electricity through his chest. He couldn’t quite tell if it was repulsion or arousal, which scared the shit out of him.

  He was one sick Shomrei.

  Or just really lonely and horny.

  “I know you want me.” Dyre smiled. “It’s okay, Justin. I won’t bite you hard.”

  “You won’t bite me at all.” He pointed to the bed. “Good night.”

  Ignoring his order, she kept onward, and each step she took, his body tightened with desire. He would not do this with a demon. No matter how much his body wanted to. No matter how much she looked like Yvonne. No.

  Maybe just a little.

  No.

  But damn if his heart didn’t nearly jump out of his throat as she sashayed his direction, a hint of her panties showing beneath the T-shirt. And the fact that she hadn’t put on the bra he’d laid out for her hadn’t escaped his notice.

  He shifted, suddenly uncomfortable in his jeans. “That’s enough, Dyre.”

  She paused, but not for long. A sexy smile tugged at her full, shiny lips. That lip ring called to him. He wanted to feel it between his teeth, hear it clank as he devoured her mouth.

  Her damp hair draped over her shoulders like a cape. If only his Mark was still on her shoulder. God, he missed that. Missed her sparkling green eyes and her laugh.

  He’d screwed up so much by not making love to her before she left for Hades.

  And now it was too late.

  Dyre stopped directly in front of him, clearly within his grasp, and his arms itched to wrap around her. To yank her on top of his lap and sate this fire inside him.

  “I’m not having sex with you, so you might as well forget it.” The words tasted like ash. He hated talking so forcefully with her. She was a demon, not his Yvonne, but still.

  “Who said anything about sex?” she whispered as she stepped so close she had to plant one foot on either side of his feet.

  She pushed him back and sat on his knees. He kept his focus to the side, willing himself not to look at her most private place.

  “We can have lots of fun without sex. Though sex would be fun, too.”

  He swallowed hard.

  She rubbed up his thighs, then up his shirt until she gripped his waist. “Mmm. That’s nice.”

  Despite the urge to cup her face and bring her in for a kiss, he kept his hands to the side. The light from the lamp beside them flickered off the silver ring in her lip.

  “It’d be nicer if you were wearing less clothing.” She leaned in and nipped at his neck.

  He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away.

  “I wasn’t going to bite you.” She grinned, flashing fang. “Yet.”

  “Pull them in,” he gritted out. “Or this stops now.”

  Her eyebrows raised as her fangs retracted. She ran her tongue along the now-smooth teeth, and that broke his resolve. Grabbing her thighs, he pulled her astride him. The pressure flamed his fire to inferno levels.

  He rubbed her bare thighs, and the soft, warm skin felt like home. She leaned forward and rested her cheek on his. Inhaling deeply, she moved against him, never disconnecting her face from his. So smooth, and she smelled fresh, like his soap. And wearing his T-shirt…

  Yvonne.

  “God, you feel so good.” She traced her tongue along his jaw line to his earlobe.

  He ran his hands up her waist. “Arms up.”

  She obeyed, and he guided the shirt over her head, then tossed it to the side. Pulling her forward, he buried his face in the smooth flesh. A moan vibrated through her chest as he grazed his hand up and down her spine, drinking in her presence. Her touch.

  He’d missed her so much.

  “That’s perfect.” She nuzzled his neck. “Keep doing that.”

  She moved in time with his caresses as she licked his skin, and he couldn’t stop grinding against her, holding her tight with his free hand.

  “Let me feel you.” She groped at his shirt. “I need more.”

  He sat up, and she peeled off his shirt.

  Wide black eyes took in the sight of him, then she dived in, touching him all over, until he could hardly think straight. He cupped her breasts, and her head fell back as he feasted on her body. T
racing a hand up to her neck, his thumb found her throbbing pulse. It matched his.

  Closing his eyes, he fell into her rhythm, lost in the feeling of her body against him. It’d been so long. Too long.

  Fangs pierced his neck, and a roar of heat flared through his body, catapulting him off the cliff.

  And he fell hard, no parachute. He just plummeted into bliss. Surely he would burn in Hades for experiencing this much pleasure.

  Each pull she drew from his neck sent him deeper into bliss, and it was bliss he’d only ever experienced with Yvonne. No other woman.

  His body knew it was her, and he craved only her.

  White stars danced along the corners of his eyes. Energy thrummed through his veins. She slowed her pace and retracted her fangs. Dragging her tongue along the punctures, she sagged against him.

  He’d known demons took blood. They didn’t need it to survive, but still, it was perverse, and that was what demons were.

  Burying her face in his neck, he combed his fingers through her hair. Their hearts calmed together through the long, contented silence.

  “Thank you.” The gentle whisper of her voice surprised him. “You must have loved her very much.”

  His heart jumped, and his body tensed.

  “Don’t. Just hear me out.” She spoke, peppering kisses along his flaming flesh. “I feel it inside me. Warmth. Something I’ve never before felt. I’ve been with many—demons and humans alike—this feeling can only be coming from the human I once was.”

  Yvonne. She was still in there. Tears burned, and he held this demon closer, if that was even possible.

  “I think I know how to get her back.”

  He pulled her away enough to see her face.

  Tears streamed down her cheeks, her nostrils flared. Vulnerability roiled through her features, softening the tension he’d seen earlier. She looked so much more like Yvonne on the night they’d said good-bye. Except for the black eyes.

  “Don’t toy with me, Dyre.”

  “I’m not.” She swiped her hand beneath her eye. “I didn’t ask to be a demon. I…was tricked. And there’s someone who can help.”

  “The witch?”

  “Evania Heinrich. A powerful witch from the Mekhash clan. She reversed Lucifer’s punishment on me at Pario’s command.”