She watched drops stream down his marked torso, the sight hypnotic. Yes, I'm still in shock. "Are you finished?" she demanded of the Morior monster.
"Why were you so dirty?" Tending to her like this seemed to extinguish what remained of the demon's anger. His gaze roamed over her face, lingering on each of her features.
The way he looked at her . . . maybe she was his mate. Maybe that part was true. "Because your lackeys made me bust my ass in the mud."
"You speak like a human. Did you live among them in the Magic Kingdom?"
Did he think the theme park was a real kingdom? What had those Sorceri told him? "Why should I tell you anything about myself?"
As she spoke the cloth descended to her neck, then lower, his heavy-lidded eyes following the path.
She jerked away. "You've got to be kidding! Are you going to try to rape me now?" A male of his size would kill her.
"Hardly." He dragged his gaze back to hers, his anger rising once more. "Never forget--I am not the villain here."
"But I am? Because of my alleged past-life crimes? Do you hear how screwed-up that sounds?" She met his onyx eyes. "Understand me, demon: if you release me now, I might be persuaded to leave this pathetic excuse for a castle standing. If not, I'll bring it down around your ears."
EIGHT
Why was she not afraid of Sian? In his new form, he terrified most beings. No one had ever naysaid him.
And he'd been fully demonic, bellowing at her as his horns had straightened from lust and anger.
Even the powerful Melanthe had flinched at his appearance. Sian's mate was threatening him. "Are you deranged in this life? You must be." Then how would he control her? She'd already refused an order, calling his bluff on his promise to kill her.
And he would never thrash a female, regardless of how much she deserved it. His gut had clenched just to see her struggling in the water, even though an immortal couldn't drown to death.
"I'm not deranged. I'm pissed off to be treated this way." Her language might be coarse, but her imperious tone still sounded like a princess's. With her chin raised, she looked like one too.
Her outrage sat ill with him. There was a possibility--however minuscule--that she had no idea about any of this. Nix might be using her as an unwitting pawn.
No matter. He'd still punish Kari for the past.
He grabbed her arm to teleport her again. They arrived back in the tower, dripping water. He released his grip on her--only to catch her when her legs buckled.
"Damn it, stop tracing me, demon!"
He stepped away, letting her drop to her knees. He shook his hair out and sluiced water from his skin.
She stayed down, pressing the back of her hand against her mouth to stifle her coughs.
At the sight of his mate in naught but tiny scraps of pink silk, he shuffled his feet apart to keep himself standing.
Though Kari had teased him in the past, allowing him a sliver of hope that she would be his, she'd never offered him a glimpse of her body.
His eyes drank her in, blood pooling in his groin. She was a touch slimmer than she'd been before, but still entrancing.
Her bra molded to her breasts and nipples, highlighting more than concealing. His fists opened and closed, the urge to knead her nigh overwhelming him. Cock gone hard as stone, he raked his gaze down her torso, then lower.
Gods almighty. The thin material of her panties clung to her, giving him maddening hints of what her sex would look like. His horns straightened as he imagined tonguing his mate, tasting her orgasm at last. . . .
He took a step back to see her from behind. Her panties had ridden up to reveal the taut cleft of her ass. He barely stifled a growl.
"Enjoying the view of my ass, demon?" She scrambled to stand.
He had to clear his throat before he could speak. "It's adequate."
"Then you'll have no trouble tearing your gaze away."
He faced her, daring her to say something about his swollen shaft, but she refused to look at him. "When were you born, female?" If he'd found her mere months ago, he would've still possessed his old looks, would've been a physical match for such a beauty.
She didn't seem to hear him--or she was ignoring him. She backed up to lean against a wall, only to scream and stumble forward. Tears welling, she glanced wildly behind her. She'd brushed against one of the fire vines. The contact had left a burn on her skin, as if it'd been a flame.
"Those are fire vines. They cover the exterior of the tower as well, in case you're stupid enough to attempt climbing down."
Her fists balled, as if she were willing back her tears.
"I'm told the pain is intense, even for an immortal. You'll sicken from that poison over the night."
Misery radiated off her. Despite his hatred, he still struggled against his primal need to care for his mate.
So he recalled some of the last words Kari had ever spoken to him. As blood had streamed down his face, she'd said, "You almost look like a person now."
Rage seethed. Punish her. His gaze darted. Perhaps she'd retained phobias from her previous life. "Do you still have a deathly fear of spiders?" Her shudder told him yes.
Ah, a tool to use against her. He waved a hand, conjuring a spinning wheel and a chair. "Harvest all the cobwebs in this tower and spin them into thread before dawn."
She glanced from the wheel to him and back. "Are you joking? I don't know how to spin."
Using magic, he dragged down a matted wad of webbing from a doorway. As if an invisible person manned the wheel, the pedal began to move, the wheel to turn. Bits of the thick web attached to a starter length of thread. "Finish all of the webs before sunrise, or their inhabitants will return to wrap you in silk. Blood-meal spiders are quite large--and poisonous."
Her face paled even more. "I'll jump." Her coughing started up again.
"If you want to meet my legions, all you have to do is ask." Before he traced away, he said, "Take care not to prick your finger on the spindle."
When he returned to the throne room, Uthyr awaited him.
--That could have gone better.-- With his acute senses, the dragon would've heard everything. He probably knew as much of the castle's intrigues as Sian did. --You believe she's working for Nix?--
"Yes, wittingly or not." Pacing in front of his marble throne, he said, "My mate satisfies me not at all! She is senseless." Kari had been one of the most intelligent beings he'd ever known. He'd expected the same of her in this life.
What a disappointment.
--Or she is bold. Demon, your mind is suffering from your change, and your thoughts are in chaos. If you mistreat her, she will come to hate you. Have you not even considered a fresh start with her? Forgiveness?--
"I'll forgive my mate as soon as you shift back to a man." Why the dragon refused to return to his humanoid form baffled Sian.
--It will not and cannot happen.--
"Precisely. I want revenge only. She deserves nothing more."
--Immortals so love their vengeance.-- Uthyr sighed, a flame gusting from his lips, scorching another wall. --But not often at the expense of matehood.--
Sian gave a bitter laugh. "Don't you understand, dragon? Matehood is an impossibility." He had once asked Rune, his closest friend, what having a mate was like. Rune had answered, "I get more happiness in one second of loving Josie than I did in seven thousand years of life without her."
Sian had accepted he would never experience such satisfaction. At times he imagined that some other trickster demon had stolen into his body to replace Sian's heart with a cold lava rock. What had once been fiery and alive was now crumbling and black.
"Even if I didn't despise my female--even if she isn't Nix's bait for my downfall at best and a spy at worst--do you really believe a fey that exquisite could accept me in this form?" When he'd signaled his interest, she'd sneered, You've got to be kidding. "Or survive in hell? Her kind don't belong in Pandemonia." The ash had made her cough after mere minutes here. "And how do you pre
dict she'll feel about me when I wage war on the fey?"
Sian had hungered for vengeance against Sylvan for ages, but Orion had asked him to wait till this Accession. Finally, that time had come. "I might as well get some sport out of my mate." He'd made sure she could never finish spinning. Yes, he loved trickery and games, but in the end the jest would always be on him--he would never know a mate's bond.
He traced to the terrace railing to survey his legions.
Uthyr joined him. Though each of the great dragon's steps shook the terrace, he could move with a catlike grace when he wanted to, a boon whenever he used his other talent: chameleon cloaking to the point of invisibility. --I can give you counsel, friend, but I need to know more about your past. What made you hate her?--
Sian didn't answer. Couldn't. Not yet.
--Why would you even have met her so long ago? Fey and demons didn't run in the same circles.--
Back then, the fey had still been known as elves, and Sian's twin, Gourlav, had just inherited the crown of Pandemonia. "An explorer discovered a portal between our kingdoms, but wariness rose on both sides, the species having nothing in common. So the king of Sylvan agreed to foster me in his realm for a season."
A spell had enabled Sian to speak Elvish. For security reasons, it had also bound his abilities to trace and mind-read.
No spell in existence could have helped Sian understand the elves' stifled emotions, calculating ways, and superior airs. Many considered the demons little better than beasts.
Yet Gourlav had ordered him to go, wielding his power over his twin for the first time, infuriating Sian. . . .
_______
"Why can we not simply attack these uncanny newcomers?"
"Your thoughts are forever turned to conflict." Gourlav exhaled. "We can always go to war with them. Yet a chance for peace is fleeting. I should at least try for it before the hell-change robs me of reason." He clamped Sian's shoulder. "If this works, if you help me make this work, we could all know prosperity as never before. Our realms need each other's resources; with trade, we could better the lives of all elven-and demonkind. . . ."
_______
Sian had resisted right up until he'd scented Kari on the other side.
Uthyr said, --At least tell me, demon: Why make her spin?--
"Because she can never complete her task, and it will please me to watch her fail."
The dragon winced, his scales rippling. --Sometimes you forget there's a difference between trickery and cruelty.--
"That female taught me much about cruelty." She'd used his feelings for her to manipulate him, digging for demon weaknesses without a qualm--because she'd seen him as a lesser being. Her bigoted parents had taught her that all beings were vastly inferior to the elves.
Sian recalled when Kari had asked if demons formed bond pairs. He'd figured she would need to know all of the details about demon matehood--graphic though they were. . . .
_______
"A male can sense a female is his. Yet the only way to be absolutely certain is through intercourse." Pulling on his collar, he said, "A demon cannot spill seed for the first time with any but his fated female. Some males bed many with this hope. It's called attempting."
"How convenient," she sniffed. "And primitive."
Though the elves formed bond pairs, no physical limitations constrained them; they could marry where they pleased. With so much control over their emotions, they could repress any instinctive drives.
He'd found them to be like unfeeling shells. But Kari was different.
She asked, "And if attempting is successful, do demons wed?"
"Only royals. But marriage is just a formality. If a male finds his mate, he will mark her neck. That is a lifelong pledge."
"Mark?" Realization flashed in her dual-colored eyes. "A demon would . . . bite a female?" She was appalled. "Like those disgusting vampires? How barbaric!"
"Have you ever even spoken to a vampire, Kari?"
She blinked in confusion. "Talk to a vampire? Why would I bother?"
_______
He'd told himself that he would introduce her to other species, expanding her views--that once she was separated from her parents, she could shed their narrow-mindedness. He hadn't realized how deeply ingrained her beliefs had been.
Kari's reincarnation was fey once more, so he had little doubt she'd been raised the same way.
And her godsdamned eyes matched.
All the same flaws--yet none of the charms.
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About Kresley Cole
Kresley Cole is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the electrifying Immortals After Dark paranormal series, the young adult Arcana Chronicles series, the erotic Game Maker series, and five award-winning historical romances. A master's grad and former athlete, she has traveled over much of the world and draws from those experiences to create her memorable characters and settings. You can learn more about her and her work at KresleyCole.com. Sign up for Kresley's email newsletter to receive the latest book release updates, as well as info about contests and giveaways.
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Also by Kresley Cole
The Immortals After Dark Series
The Warlord Wants Forever
A Hunger Like No Other
No Rest for the Wicked
Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night
Dark Needs at Night's Edge
Dark Desires After Dusk
Kiss of a Demon King
Deep Kiss of Winter
Pleasure of a Dark Prince
Demon from the Dark
Dreams of a Dark Warrior
Lothaire
Shadow's Claim
MacRieve
Dark Skye
Sweet Ruin
Shadow's Seduction
Wicked Abyss
The Game Maker Series
The Professional
The Master
The Player
The Arcana Chronicles
Poison Princess
Endless Knight
Dead of Winter
Day Zero
Arcana Rising
The MacCarrick Brothers Series
If You Dare
If You Desire
If You Deceive
The Sutherland Series
The Captain of All Pleasures
The Price of Pleasure
Praise for #1 New York Times bestselling author
KRESLEY COLE
and the IMMORTALS AFTER DARK series
SWEET RUIN
"Kresley Cole never ceases to amaze. SWEET RUIN is an absolute standout in a series that just keeps getting better and better." --Fiktshun
"Sweet Ruin was angsty and thrilling, and the chemistry and sexual tension between these characters was just off the charts WOW! Ms. Cole proves again why she is a drop everything else and must read author for me."--Shh Moms Reading
"SWEET RUIN is Kresley Cole's best IAD book to date! With tons of power, passion, and seduction, each page was a treat, every chapter a beautiful journey. This is paranormal romance at its finest."--Shayna Renee's Spicy Reads
DARK SKYE
"When it comes to creating adversarial protagonists who must overcome enormous emotional and deadly obstacles to get their HEA, no one does it better than Cole!"--RT Book Reviews
"Packed full of dry, sarcastic humor, crazy violent scenes, and super-sexy times . . . there is a reason Kresley Cole is one of my favorite authors."--Parajunkee
MACRIEVE
"Chloe's just an awesome heroine. . . . MacRieve's like the ultimate tortured hero. . . . I love that all of Kresley's heroes and heroines are different."--USA Today
"Every time I pick up a Kresley Cole book it starts this spiral of need to go back and read the rest of the series all over again. . . . This is probably the steamiest book of the series, almost from the get-go."--Avon Romance
SHADOW'S CLAIM
"I've not, to d
ate, read one book from Cole that was average. Ever. This woman knows how to bring the heat, passion, and adventure like no other!"--I Smell Sheep
"Shadow's Claim is one of the best paranormal romances I read this year from an author who always succeeds in delivering a mind blowing story."--Babbling About Books, and More!
LOTHAIRE
"I was amazed at this world Kresley Cole has created . . . a definite favorite."--USA Today
"How do you make the crazy, arrogant, and ruthless archvillain of a series a hero? With great difficulty! Yet Cole pulls it off splendidly."--RT Book Reviews
DREAMS OF A DARK WARRIOR
"The richness of Cole's world and characters make it a fascinating place to visit!"--RT Book Reviews
"Fast-paced, engaging, and captivating. . . . The perfect getaway."--Examiner.com
DEMON FROM THE DARK
"Intense danger mixes with insatiable desire to create a scorching-hot romance that plays out against a fast-paced backdrop of thrilling supernatural adventure. Addictively good reading."--Love Vampires
PLEASURE OF A DARK PRINCE
"There are few authors that can move me to tears. Kresley Cole is one of them."--Book Binge
"Consistent excellence is a Cole standard!"--RT Book Reviews
KISS OF A DEMON KING
"Cole deftly blends danger and desire into a brilliantly original contemporary paranormal romance . . . sexy romance . . . sharp humor . . . simply irresistible."--Reader to Reader
DARK DESIRES AFTER DUSK
"Cole outdoes herself. . . . A gem."--RT Book Reviews
DARK NEEDS AT NIGHT'S EDGE
"The evolution of this romance is among the most believable and engrossing I've ever read. Cole's Immortals After Dark series continues stronger than ever."--Fresh Fiction
WICKED DEEDS ON A WINTER'S NIGHT
"Cole delivers heart-wringing romance, likeable heroines, hot heroes, and hotter sex . . . set against an original and exciting paranormal mythology."--Love Vampires
NO REST FOR THE WICKED
"Another spine-tingling, adventurous, and passionate romance. . . . Grab a copy today. It's a definite keeper."--Romance Reviews Today