by Kresley Cole
"Clean his clock, and teach him the time of day."
"That's my girl." He gently chucked her on the chin, and she flushed with pleasure.
"Why do you keep preparing me?"
"Because we're not finished yet. You've still got people trying to kill you, and we've still got at least one more checkpoint. It could be as dangerous as the last."
Cadeon was out on the hunt for uncracked steamed shellfish, leaving Holly back at the hotel to work, "because codes don't write themselves."
But she was blocked, unable to get anything done. She decided to call Mei to make sure everything was going all right with her class. The boys could be…boisterous.
"Everything's fine," Mei said, but didn't elaborate. "How are things with your family?"
"Getting better. A lot better. I think everything's going to be fine."
"That's good."
Holly's ear twitched, and she frowned. "Mei, do you want to tell me something?"
"Look, I wasn't going to call you because I know you've got a lot on your plate, but there might be a time element involved with your work, and I'm sick of women being passed over for these jobs anyway."
Holly's stomach began to churn. "What are you talking about?"
"You know Scott was at the California conference, right?"
"Yes, he went at the last minute." Scott was Mei's boyfriend, a well-respected mathematician and all around nice guy.
"This morning he called me with some disturbing news…."
"Just tell me, Mei."
She took a deep breath, then said, "Tim's been stealing your work—and passing it off as his own."
35
As Cade waited for food, he checked in with Rök. "Any word on Néomi?"
"Again, we were closing in and she just seemed to…vanish," Rök said, sounding like he was scratching his head.
"A mortal is evading you? Come on, Rök—we're running out of time! I need you to be on this with everything you've got."
"I have a really good lead. I'll get her this time."
Rök sounded confident enough, but once they hung up, Cade was uneasy about their prospects.
And Cade had begun mulling another idea—a way for everyone to win. It'd be extremely dangerous. Riskier than anything he'd ever attempted.
If his plan failed, everyone would lose.
In life, Cade's season record wasn't all wins. And when he fucked up, he tended to go big.
He should stick with Rydstrom's wishes, carrying out this operation the way the king intended. Cade would put his idea out of his head.
But what if…?
"What?" Holly cried.
"Tim's been taking sole credit for the papers he's presented," Mei explained. "So Scott figured that he'd just spaced and forgot to mention you. But then later, Scott heard him talking to the recruiters from Lockheed Martin. Tim was downplaying your involvement in all of your past co-projects. And I knew that with your background you had to have carried a lot of them."
"I carried all of them," Holly absently said.
"I shouldn't have told you till you got back."
"No, you did the right thing. I appreciate your letting me know."
"What are you going to do?" Mei asked.
"I don't know." Surely Tim wouldn't screw her over like this.
How well do you really know him…?
"Holly, if you confront Tim, you can tell him where you heard it from. Scott's livid."
Stealing research was about the worst thing one could do in their small community. Everyone toiled too hard not to be fiercely protective of their projects. Not to mention the fact that in their field, research could be worth millions—or even billions.
Scott was well-respected among all his colleagues. If he said Tim had done this, then Tim was going to get crucified….
Once she and Mei hung up, Holly sat on the bed, dumbfounded. She'd always felt confident that her boyfriend wouldn't betray her sexually. Had he betrayed her academically? Had that been why he'd been pushing her for her new code?
No, no, she was sure there was a reasonable explanation for this. This was merely hearsay, at best. Maybe Scott had overheard incorrectly.
Tim was a good guy. He was normal.
She called his cell phone. He answered before the end of the first ring.
"Tim, I'm glad I caught you. Do you have a minute to talk?"
"Absolutely. My next presentation's not for an hour."
"So Mei just called me…"
"Oh? What did she have to say?"
Holly's ears twitched again. There was something different about him, a treble in his voice that was altered. He's nervous. She could perceive it so clearly now. Valkyrie senses.
The benefit of the doubt went out the window. "When you presented our work, did you take sole credit for it?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Did you downplay my role in our projects with the Lockheed recruiters?"
"I wouldn't do that! Of course not. I know better than anyone how hard you've worked on our project—"
"Just cut the bullshit. I know you're lying. I can hear it in your voice."
Quiet. Finally, he said, "I might have played up my role in the work, but I did it for us. You know the big firms usually hire men in our field. I had the better shot at getting that job. And then, just think, I could buy us a house. You wouldn't even need a job."
She sucked in a breath. "Who are you? Need a job? I already don't need one—I love what I do. Was this your play all along?"
"There was no play. We work better as a team, with me as the front man."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"We need to stick together, to keep the work together. We could be unstoppable."
Here was a man who actually wanted her for her brain. Or, at least, he wanted to use what it could do.
"Be realistic, Holly. You can barely get to classes without me. How well were you going to do in the corporate world?"
"Oh, my God." Red covered her vision. What had Cadeon called Tim? Oh, yes… "You know what, you fuckwit tosser—you can have that goddamned work." Lightning struck outside, and it felt right. "I'm on to something so much bigger. Something that's going to rock our industry."
"Holly, just wait—"
"Don't ever contact me again. Or I will nail your balls to the wall over this." Click.
Deep breath, deep breath. She waited for the tears to come. And waited.
Yet all she felt was a sense of relief. How freeing… She was done with guilt, free from indecision.
Holly had no obstacles now—if Cadeon tried more, she wouldn't rebuff him. The idea gave her a giddy thrill of expectation.
Actually, she might try for more. Even more than Cadeon would expect….
"The male's back with food…" He trailed off when she stood before him, wearing only that black silk number she sometimes slept in—the one that guaranteed he'd be wide awake and hard as rock for hours.
"I'm not hungry." The lights were low and the bedspread was drawn down.
"But you need to eat," he said absently as she sauntered up to him.
Her eyes had begun to grow silvery. "Maybe I'm hungry for something else." She took the bag of food from him and tossed it away.
His brows drew together. "Uh, what happened between the time I went for food and now?"
"I broke up with Tim."
Cade's heart began to thunder, and damn if she didn't notice.
"You really like that news, huh?" She smiled.
"What's not to like? But why now?"
"He stole credit for my research. And he was after the code I'm working on now."
Cade went still, fury spiking through him. "Holly, I'm going to give you his throat for this."
"Aw, you say the sweetest things, demon." She stood on tiptoe and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.
Deciding he'd kill Tim for her anyway, he relaxed and said, "I know how to play those heartstrings, yeah?"
She unbuckled Cade's b
elt. "I called him a fuckwit tosser."
"That's my girl." He stripped off her top, then his shirt. "Are you coming on to me to get back at him?"
"Probably." Down went his zipper.
"I'm okay with that."
And if he'd thought this couldn't get any better, she bit her bottom lip and said, "You told me you'd fantasized about me, um, going down on you. What if I wanted to try it?"
Trying to keep his cool, he grinned down at her. "Then you'd be my best girl…."
Once they were naked in bed, and she'd begun kissing down his torso, he swallowed hard. Would she lose her nerve? Don't lose your nerve, Holly….
She took him in hand. A first halting lick was followed by another. Soon she was circling all around the head with wet flicks of her tongue.
"That's it, Holly," he groaned, "just like that."
"You taste so good," she murmured in a delighted tone.
He struggled not to thrust to her hot tongue, but the instinct to move his hips was so powerful. "Suck it inside your mouth," he rasped. She did, making him arch his back sharply. "Ah! What are you doin' to me?"
Hastily pulling back, she said, "Am I doing something wrong?"
"Everything's too right." Hand palming her head, he pressed her back down. "I fear I'll come before I'm ready."
With a satisfied smile, she rubbed her cheek against his shaft, then continued. He pulled her hair out of the way so he could see his female pleasuring him like this.
A fantasy made flesh. After so long.
Bending his knee, he raised his leg so she straddled it, her wet sex against it.
She moaned around him, one of those sharp, yearning cries that made him frenzied to pleasure her. Immediately, he reached for her hips, pulling her toward him.
"Cade? I liked that…." She trailed off when he repositioned her, settling her knees by each side of his face, her mouth at his cock.
"Then you'll love this," he rasped before he lost himself in licking strawberry blond curls. Her sex was so hot, the flesh exquisitely tender. He licked in bliss.
But she froze. "Cadeon?" She sounded stunned. He dug his heels into the bed and thrust up. After a hesitation, she took him between her lips again, her mouth soon growing greedy. The shy virgin was gone, replaced by a hungry, demanding Valkyrie who expected to give and get pleasure.
With his hands splayed over her ass, he gripped her, holding on to her as she wickedly rocked her sex against his mouth.
When he worked his finger into her sheath, she spread her knees wider with a cry. She was losing control. Thunder boomed all around the building, quaking the walls.
He wanted this to last forever, but he was already on the verge. She needs to come first. As he withdrew and thrust his finger, he sucked her hard little clitoris between his lips, snaking his tongue over it.
She screamed, then took him deep. Her moans around his shaft sent him over. As she came, he groaned and licked, joining her….
She rolled off him, sprawled beside him as they caught their breath.
"Who knew demons were so delicious?" she asked as he dragged her to his chest.
"Demon. Singular. Don't be getting any ideas."
36
The Northwest Territories
Headlands of the McKenzie Mountains
The sixtieth parallel was the last one before the Arctic Circle.
They'd passed the sign marking it several hours ago.
For the last four days, they'd headed ever northward toward the Canadian Rockies. The land grew starkly beautiful, the temperature holding steady at a balmy fifteen below. The sun never ascended much higher than the spruce tops, and it both rose and set two hours outside of noon.
Now she was waiting for Cadeon in the parking space—singular—at the White Tail Lodge, which promised to be the final outpost before serious, isolated wilderness.
In other words, their final destination.
The "Lodge" itself was a strange hybrid of trailer and cabin. On the gray siding, antlers were nailed to the side, spelling Wh te T il Lo ge.
Holly thought it should spell: We gave our lives for this??
As Cadeon bought supplies, she patched her laptop into her sat-phone to upload all of her day's work into a Tim-free account.
The only lingering fallout from Tim's betrayal was her anger and a burning desire to complete her code. And without the obstacle of her ex-boyfriend, Holly had few defenses against Cadeon's appeal.
She was reminded of her last look at the Veyron. Without the prop of the truck, it had helplessly crumpled. Now without the guilt and sense of obligation, Holly was doing a free fall for the demon….
She and Cadeon indulged—often. He happily allowed her to explore him, drawing a knee up, telling her to "Have at it." They slept in the same bed. Each time, he wrapped his body around her so tightly, tucking her close to him. She wondered if he was following some innate demon instinct to protect her.
They showered together—one of the highlights of each day for her.
But he never tried to make love to her, even when she'd hinted that she'd be amenable to losing her virginity. Though she could tell how badly he wanted to take it, he still made no move to.
Was it only that he didn't want to hurt her? Every day he noted how strong she was becoming. Did he doubt that she could handle the claiming?
Or was there another reason he resisted…?
When he'd returned and finished loading up the back, she asked him, "What all did you get?"
"Food, staple goods—apparently eggs and butter are like gold if we do happen upon anyone north of here. And as many tanks of gas as we can ferry. I also found out that we're going to have to cross a winter road."
Winter road—a euphemism for ice beneath tires and possibly not much more. "No way around that?"
"Only way to get from here to there, love."
"This is the checkpoint? It's adorable!" Holly hopped out of the truck, gazing at the snow-covered cabin. "It's straight out of a winter wonderland calendar!"
His female's mood had certainly improved since the ice road. The normal—but loud—shifting of ice had terrified her, and she'd held on to the dashboard the entire way.
When a fox bounded by in the foot-high snow banks, she clapped her gloved hands in delight. "Cue the fox. How perfect!"
Cade found it too perfect with its blanket of snow on the roof and quaint chimney on the side.
She asked, "Are you sure this is the exact location?"
"GPS says we're here."
"I guess someone will meet us?" she asked, starting for the door.
But he swooped her back. "For all we know, this is an elevator to hell. I'm checking it out. Do not come in until I tell you to."
He found the door unlocked and cautiously entered it. The pinewood floored creaked beneath him. The cabin was so spotless, even Holly would approve.
"Do you see any directions?" she called from outside. "I wanna come in!"
"Not yet," he called back. "Still looking around."
The interior was simple, with sparse wooden furniture throughout. There was a bathroom, a back bedroom, and a kitchen with a wood-burning stove and a well pump above the basin.
A claw-footed bathtub was situated out in the main room in front of the sizable fireplace.
The idea of seeing Holly bathing there, in front of a fire…
With each of their encounters over the last few days, he'd found it increasingly difficult to resist claiming her. His mind was constantly filled with thoughts of being inside her, his reasoning clouded by want.
She'd been regularly tiptoeing around the subject of sex, a question here or there, and he thought he knew why.
Holly wanted him to take her. Completely. He was humbled by that, yet at the same time, he knew he couldn't. Even if he didn't trade her to Groot for the sword, the fact remained that Cade had deceived her over and over. He'd already done more than she'd likely forgive, done more than enough to earn her hatred. Taking her virginity under thes
e circumstances struck even him as wrong.
And he wanted more than merely sex from her. He wanted everything. Claiming her should be the beginning of something more—not a guilty, fleeting act.
Cade shook himself, and began searching the cabin high and low, checking the two closets and few cabinets. He crossed to the fireplace. Up the chimney was about the only place he hadn't looked. He crouched beside the opening, reaching up blindly—
And felt folded, waxed paper attached to the chimney flue. He pulled it free.
A map to Groot's fortress.
They could start for the sorcerer's today. Holly would surely want to, fearing the approaching transition. But Cade needed to buy Rök time.
And even if Rök failed, every second Cade could stall would allow her to transition more fully to immortal, gaining strength, and losing vulnerability.
Deciding to hide the map, he tucked it into his coat pocket—
"What you got there?"
She was right behind him. After the slightest hesitation, he said, "A map to Groot's."
"So when do we leave?"
"We still have almost two weeks to get there. Maybe we should stay put for a day or two to rest up from the drive."
"Okay," she answered, surprising him. "I'd love to have a bath."
He ran a hand over his mouth.
Though Cadeon had been so gung-ho to get up here, now he was dragging his feet to begin the final leg. But Holly was fine with staying at the adorable cabin.
In a closet, she'd found thick quilts, clean bedding, and a fur hearthrug neatly stored in bags. Once she got everything arranged to her liking, it'd be perfect.
After he'd brought in their kerosene lantern and supplies, he'd set off to chop firewood. He'd collected just enough to start heating her bathwater and warming the cabin for her, then returned to cut more for the night.
As Holly unpacked their gear and food, she gazed out the window at him, losing track of time. As she watched the magnificent male laboring in the snow, she felt a pang. She loved the way he moved, with such surety and presence. Now that she knew every inch of his body, she appreciated it more than she ever had.
Holly wanted all of him, but he refused to give in. He'd called himself her demon. But he wasn't, not yet.
