If he did nothing, would the pleasure fade? Would his demon spring up and demand he hurt his lover? Would his demon begin to influence Danika, making her into something she did not want to be?
Reyes was unwilling to wait to learn the truth. Too much was at risk.
He reached behind him and dug his nailsclaws nowinto the scabbed flesh on his back. Yes, yes. The pain, the trickle of blood. As expected, heat roared through him, his pleasure intensifying.
"Who is here with you?"
"Don't stop," she begged.
"Who is here with you?" he repeated, harshly this time.
"You are."
"What is my name?"
"Reyes."
"Who do you desire?"
"Reyes."
His strokes against Danika's clitoris became frenzied. She moaned over and over, the sounds a symphony to his battered soul. She begged for more; she begged him to stop. He gave the first, refused the last, inserting a third finger inside her and stretching the tightness of her sheath.
A climax slammed into her.
She tensed around his fingers and tongue, inner walls holding him captive. He swallowed every drop of her satisfaction.
When she quieted, he rose above her. Their gazes met and held. She was trembling, sated, her eyelids at half-mast, and yet desire still shone in those emerald orbs. "You didn't"
"No."
She licked her lips. "Will you?"
"Oh, yes."
"Do you need"
He shook his head, the motion clipped. His body burned with unsatisfied passion. Which hurt, wonderfully so. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation. Other partners had whipped his flesh to ribbons, stabbed him, bitten him, but none had tormented him like this. The pleasure-pain sang through him, a discordant melody that offered the sweetest kind of solace. The kind he'd always dreamed of but had despaired of ever experiencing.
How had she given it to him?
"You're so beautiful," Danika whispered. "I want to paint you, just like this."
"I would like that." Reyes opened his eyes and crawled up her soft body. He removed her bra, the clasp in front easily giving way to his fingers. Her full breasts sprang free. Her nipples were still hard, but now he could see how pink and perfect they were.
He licked and sucked one, then the other, and soon she was writhing again. Soon she was begging again. Soon he was lost in the essence of her, the demon urging him on, craving more.
"Condom," she panted. "I need you inside me. Now."
He nodded, grabbed one of the foil packets he'd stolen from Paris and stored in his nightstand and covered himself. He would not risk impregnating her, even though part of him embraced the ideacraved it. He would never do such a thing to her, never force her to bear the spawn of a demon.
In this, at least, he would not be selfish.
"Ready?" she asked him. She rubbed herself against his erection, slick. Wonderfully wanton. Her nipples abraded his chest, creating a delicious friction. For once, he didn't wish razor blades were scraping over him instead. "Ready?" she asked again.
Gods, yes.
He didn't have to guide his shaft inside her. The tip was already nestled at the brink, readydrawn to her by an invisible wire. "Savoring," he said. "Need to savor."
She nibbled on her bottom lip. "Waiting is torture. I thought you didn't torture people anymore."
His mouth edged into a strained smile.
"Now. Please, Reyes."
Unable to resist any longer, he cupped her face and pushed all the way to the hilt, groaning in abandon as he did so. Her arms and legs wrapped around him, not just holding him captive but surrounding him with all that she was.
And just like that, she climaxed again.
Her moans spurred him on. In and out, like his fingers. In and out, like he'd fantasized. His thoughts fuzzed, Danika his only focus. Her perfect body, her thunderstorm fragrance. Her sweet moans and her hands, even now petting his back. Nothing else mattered. No one else mattered. Oh, the exquisite agony.
More. Need more.
His lips claimed hers in a scorching kiss, his tongue plundering. Her desire melded with his, heating, branding. Perhaps her goodness even seeped into him, because lights seemed to blink throughout the darkness of his soul, scattering shadows in every direction.
More!
She writhed, and her nipples continued to abrade his chest. The sweet scent of her satisfaction enveloped him.
"How can I want more?" she panted. "Can't get enough. Needneed"
The pleasure became too much, stinging, and Reyes exploded. He hadn't had to stab himself. A little clawing, but that was hardly significant. Mostly, he'd enjoyed. A shocked, blissful roar burst from his lips, hot seed jetting from him. His spirit might even have left his body.
He didn't know what happened, how it happened. All he knew was the pounding of his heart, the clenching of his muscles, the throbbing in his bones. All he saw was heaven. Clouds, the glide of white-feathered wings, the glisten of gold, the rainbow shine of gemstones. Cool air caressed him. He was floating, soaring, weightless.
But then the last spurt of desire left him, and he collapsed atop Danika. His strength, gone. The clouds faded completely, the wings, the gold and gems, gone. He saw utter darkness and couldn't quite catch his breath. Sweat clung to his skin.
Danika was hot underneath him, panting, trembling.
"What happened?" she gasped.
"Climax." A climax unlike any he'd experienced before.
"No. Reyes, you disappeared."
CHAPTER TWENTY
DANIKA SNUGGLED into the warmth of Reyes's body. For several hours she'd dozed on and off, lulled by the drugging satisfaction humming through her. Reyes slept like the dead and had not awakened once. Had not shifted, had not made a sound. Twice she'd pressed her ear against his chest to ensure his heart still beat.
Now she remained awake, warm and sated. Except her mind churned, refusing to settle down. Being with Reyes had beeneverything she had not wanted. Perfect, wonderful, amazing, sublime. No man had ever pleased her like that.
Every heated touch had sparked a tidal wave of desire. The waves had been never-ending, hurtling her from one plateau to another. And that he hadn't allowed her to keep emotional distance between themeven now, she shivered. They had connected, body and soul, and she had secretly loved it.
One question tormented her, though. Well, besides the fact that he'd disappeared but thought she had imagined it. Maybe she had. Her climax had been so intense, she could have blacked out, dreamed he was gone and then woken up underneath him. What she wanted to know more than anything was whether or not he'd enjoyed being with her.
Unless he'd faked it, he'd come. But he hadn't let her hurt him. That's what he needed to feel pleasure. She'd wanted to do it, too. Not only so that she might have been able to purge him from her system, remembering him as the worst bed partner ever, but also because she'd wanted to give him anything and everything. Even pain. She'd wanted him to remember her as she would forever remember him.
He claimed he didn't want her tainted by the violence of his life. She'd thought she didn't want to be tainted, either. But as he'd caressed her, as his mouth had devoured her, she'd wanted to meet every single one of his needs.
Other women had hurt him as he craved. Why couldn't she?
Danika twisted her head and gazed at Reyes's sleeping face. Soft and relaxed, the harsh lines of stress were no longer visible. His lips were lush and pink, something she hadn't noticed while his intense eyes watched her.
Carefully she reached up and brushed a lock of hair from his forehead. He inhaled more deeply, but gave no other reaction. Her heart seemed to expand, to grow so big it swallowed her ribs.
I care for him. Though she'd fought against it, there was no denying it.
He'd taken care of her, given her food and shelter and clothing. Never once, even when ordered, had he hurt her. He'd purchased paint supplies for her and created a studio just for her amusement. He'd made love to her as if she were more important to him than breathing.
His strength and courage constantly amazed her; his past fascinated her. He hadn't wanted to hurt others anymore, so he'd locked himself away. Talk about discipline. Compassion. Determination. He was possessed by a demon, and yet he had the heart of an angel. The contradiction delighted her, and she suspected she could happily spend the rest of her life learning his nuancesand there would still be more to learn.
Oh, yes. She cared. And what the hell was that buzzing noise?
Her gaze circled the bedroom, her cheek brushing Reyes's white-hot skin. His heartbeat picked up speed. The buzzing continued sporadically, but she finally pinpointed its location: her pants. That meant
Dread cascaded through her. She was getting a call on the cell phone. Only one person had the number. Stefano. She gulped. For a moment, only a moment, she wished he had been at the club tonight. That he'd faced Reyes, that her struggle with what to do, who to help, was over. When that moment passed, however, guilt scraped at her.
Danika gingerly slid from the bed, watching Reyes for any sign of wakefulness. Still, he remained at peace, unmoving. Part of her longed for him to open his eyes, see the phone and save her from herself. The other part of her prayed he stayed just as he was. She was naked, nipples now hard from the cool air, and one look at those intense black eyes and she would melt, Hunters forgotten. She would beg for Reyes's mouth on her, his heat flicking away the chill.
Her legs were shaky as she stumbled to her pants and she almost toppled as she crouched to pull the phone from their pocket.
The buzzing continued.
Another glance at Reyesstill sleeping. What are you doing? Don't do this.
I have to. There's no other way to save Reyes.
She padded to the bathroom and quietly shut the door. Alone, she flipped the phone open. Her mouth dried as she whispered, "Hello."
Once again, Stefano didn't bother with pleasantries. "You left the fortress." A statement, not a question.
Yesterday, she'd been happy to know he was out there somewhere, watching her. Now"Yes."
"Obviously they've released you."
"Yes," she repeated, recalling that she'd lied to him the last time they'd spoken, told him she was locked in a bedroom.
"Where are you?"
"In a bathroom."
"Alone?"
"Yes."
"Are you working for us, Danika? Or them? Have you forgotten everything I told you? For God's sake, they want to kill your family!"
The harsh question hung inside her mind like a noose, ready to hang her no matter how she replied. "You know that I" What?
"If given a chance, they'll rape and mutilate your mother. Then your sister. They've already killed your grandmother."
She was shaking her head in denial.
"We're extracting you," he said flatly. "It's for your protection. My sources tell me the one called Aeron is nearly insane with bloodlust for you. We don't want you hurt. Unlike the Lords, we want to protect you."
Extracting her? "Wait. You want to take me out of the fortress?"
"As soon as possible."
No. In the morning, she and Reyes were traveling to Oklahoma. "No, I can't. You can't. I"
"You have no choice, Danika. We're gearing to enter even now. While they place no value on human life, we do. We want you safe."
What? They were going to break into the fortress? There would undoubtedly be a battle, blood and death. She tried not to panic, though ice began to crystallize in her veins and a loud ringing blasted in her ears. "If you think I'm working for them, why did you call? Why are you warning me? Wanting to help me?"
"Anyone can make a mistake. They probably lied to you, convinced you they would leave your family alone if you would only stay with them, maybe help them with something. Maybe even help take us down."
Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound emerged. Everything he said made sense.
"Will you be ready?" he asked.
There could be no more stalling, no more straddling the fence, unsure of who to help and who to bring down. To her surprise, she didn't have to think about it. What he said made sense, but it didn't feel right. Sometime in the past few days, her anger toward Reyes had faded completely. Hate had been replaced bysomething else. She didn't know what emotion lurked inside her, just that it was somehow at once both soft and almost violent. She would trust him to help her find her family, which meant cutting her safety net, the Hunters.
"Yes," she lied.
"Smart girl." Stefano's relief was almost palpable. "How many Lords are inside the fortress?"
"All of them," she said, lying again. This morning, most of the men had taken off. Had Stefano seen them leave? Or had the warriors simply disappeared as Lucien had done on several occasions?
If Stefano knew the truth, he'd see the seizing of the fortress as easy. Keep lying. He might not know. She plopped onto the toilet lid, legs suddenly too weak to hold her up. She leaned forward, elbows digging into her knees. One hand continued to hold the phone to her ear, the other rubbed her temple to ward off the sudden ache. "They're heavily armed. You shouldn't risk entering the fortress. Why don't I sneak out and come to you?" She could tell Reyes where they would be waiting, and he couldtake care of things.
"You aren't trained for that sort of thing. It's better if we handle this."
What could she do? What could she say to stop this?
"Think you can reach the roof without detection?"
"II" Shit! "Maybe. What time should I be there?"
"One hour."
Dear God. One hour. Could Reyes contact Lucien in time? Could Lucien bring the others here? Sickness rolled through her. "I'll do my best," she said, trying desperately not to tip him off. Her voice was weak, barely audible.
"Don't disappoint me, Danika. Need I remind you what's at stake?" Stefano disconnected, and Danika closed the phone. She didn't straighten, couldn't; she was too busy trying to breathe. God, there was so much to do, and failure could cost Reyes his freedomor his life.
"Interesting conversation."
The harsh statement assaulted her ears, and she jolted. All the blood drained from her face. Reyes stood in the now-open doorway, his expression unreadable. He leaned against the frame, one arm behind his back in a deceptively casual pose. He wore a pair of jeans he hadn't bothered to fasten. His chest was bare, the injuries and scabs gone.