That sounded like a refusal. But...he cant refuse me. Not now. You gurgled your assent. Afterward, I did my part. Now you will do yours.
No. I never asked for your help. His voice lashed like the sharpest of whips, striking at her, leaving an undeniable sting. Never wanted it.
You did, too! Your eyes begged me, and you cant deny it. You couldnt see your eyes, so you have no idea what they were doing.
A protracted pause. Then, quite calmly, he said, I think thats the most illogical argument Ive ever heard.
No, its the smartest, but your puny brain simply cant compute it.
My eyes did not beg, he said, and thats final.
They did, too, she insisted. And I did a terrible thing to get you out. Sadly, sending the Phoenix a note of apology wouldnt fix the problem.
As weak as Josephina had been in hell, shed required help with Kane. Only, once shed caught up to the Phoenix, still hacking her way to freedom, thered been a slight problem. The girl had refused so vehementlyrot in hell, Fae whorethat Josephina had known there would be no hope of changing her mind. So, Josephina had used the ability she alone carried. A blessing in the right circumstances. A curse that had kept her locked in a world without physical contact. With only a touch, shed stolen the strength right out of the Phoenixs body, reducing the girl to a boneless heap.
Yes, Josephina had draped the warrior woman over one shoulder and carried her out of hell, the same as shed done for Kane, fighting demons along the waya miracle considering shed never fought a day in her lifeeventually finding a way outside, but that wouldnt matter to the Phoenix. A crime had been committed, and a price had to be paid.
I never asked you to do terrible things. His voice contained the darkest of warnings.
One she did not heed. Maybe not audibly, but even still, I nearly broke my back saving you. She settled to her knees, shaking the mattress and nearly bouncing the weakened Kane to the floor. You weigh, like, ten thousand pounds. But theyre glorious pounds, she rushed to add. Stop insulting the man!
His slitted gaze tripped over every inch of her. The action lacked the stealth hed used for the room, and yet, it was almost tactile, as if hed touched her, too. Could he see the goose bumps now breaking over her skin?
How did a girl like you manage such a feat?
A girl like her. Did he sense her inferiority? She lifted her chin, saying, An information exchange wasnt part of our bargain.
For the last time, woman, there was no bargain.
Tremors of dread rocked her, overshadowing...whatever hed previously made her feel. If you dont do what you promised, Ill...Ill...
What?
Suffer for the rest of my life. What would it take to change your mind and make you do the right thing?
His expression shuttered, hiding all of his thoughts. What species are you?
A question totally off topic, but okay, she could roll. Since the Fae were not a well-liked race, the men best known for their lack of honor in battle, as well as their insatiable need to sleep with anything that moved, and the women known for backstabbing and scandaland okay, fine, their ability to sew a killer wardrobethe knowledge might spur him into action.
Im half human, half Fae. See? She pulled back the sides of her hair, drawing his attention to her ears and the points at the end.
His gaze locked on those points and narrowed. Fae are descendants of Titans. Titans are children of fallen angels and humans. They are the current rulers of the lowest level of the skies. He shot out each fact as if it were a bullet.
Cant roll my eyes at a star. Thank you for the history lesson.
He frowned. That makes you...
Evil in his eyes? An enemy?
He shook his head, refusing to finish the thought. Then, his nose wrinkled, as if hed just smelled something...not unpleasant, but not welcome, either. He inhaled sharply, and his frown deepened. You look nothing like the girl who rescued me...girls who rescued me...no, just one, he said with another shake of his head, as if he were trying to make sense of things that had happened. Her face and hair kept changing, and I recall each countenance, yet what I see now I didnt see then. But your scent...
Was the same, yes. I possessed the ability to switch my appearance.
One of his brows arched. Possessed. Past tense.
Even in his compromised state, hed caught her meaning. Correct. I no longer have the ability. The strengthand capabilitiesshe borrowed from others could remain with her for as little time as an hour to as long as a few weeks. She had no control over the time frame. What shed taken from the Phoenix had faded yesterday.
Youre lying. No one has an ability one day, but not the next.
I never lieexcept for the few times I do, in fact, lie, but its never intentional, and Im totally telling the truth right now. She raised her right hand. Promise.
He pursed his lips. How long have I been here?
Seven days.
Seven days, he gasped out.
Yes. We spent most of our time playing incompetent doctor and ungrateful patient.
A dark scowl contorted his features, and oh, it was a scary thing to behold. The books hadnt done him justice. Seven days, he repeated.
I didnt miscount, I assure you. Ive been crossing off the seconds in the calendar in my heart.
He gave her the stink eye. You have a smart mouth, dont you?
She brightened. You think so? Really? It was the first compliment shed received from someone other than herself since her mother had died, and she would cherish it. Thank you. Would you say my mouth is extremely intelligent or just slightly above average?
His jaw fell, as if he meant to reply, but no sound emerged from him. His eyelids were closing...opening...closing again, and his big body was swaying from side to side. He was about to go down, and if he hit the floor, she would never be able to lift him onto the bed.
Josephina surged forward, reaching for him with gloved hands. Though he teetered backward, he slapped her arms away, wanting no contact between them. Smart man. (As smart as he thought she was?) Down he fell, slamming into the carpet with a loud thud.
As she scrambled to her feet to rush to his sideand do what, she didnt knowthe motel door burst open, shards of wood raining in every direction. A tall, thickly muscled warrior with dark hair stood in the center of the gaping hole, his features bathed in shadows. Menace lanced from him. Maybe because he gripped two daggersand they were already stained with blood.
Another warrior moved in behind him, this one blond, with...oh, someone save me. Guts hung from his hair.
Her fathers men had found her.
CHAPTER TWO
KANE BATTLED A tide of pain, humiliation and failure. Hed been created fully formed, a warrior to the depths of his core. Throughout the centuries, he had fought in countless wars. He had slain enemy after enemy, and had walked away with many a blood-drenched injurybut hed walked with a smile. Hed fought, and hed won, and others had suffered for coming after him. And yet, here he was, on the floor of a dirty motel, too weak to move, at the mercy of a beautiful, fragile female whod seen him at his worst: chained, violated and carved open after yet another round of torture.
He wanted those images cut from her mind, even if he had to reach inside and remove them with a blade.
Then, he would cut them out of his own. The Hunters, blaming him for every disaster theyd ever faced. Their bomb. A trip into hell. A horde of demon minions attacking, killing the Hunters and secreting Kane away. Day after day of torment.
Shackles. The drip, drip of blood. Satisfied grins, bloodstained teeth. Hands, everywhere. Mouths, seeking. Tongues, licking.
A soundtrack played quietly in the background. Moans of painhis. Moans of pleasurenone his own. The slap of flesh against flesh. The scrape of nails, digging deep. A bark of laughter.
Terrible scents filled his nose. Sulfur. Arousal. Dirt. Old copper. Sweat. The pungent sting of fear.
One brutal emotion after another bombarded him. Disgust, rage, feelings of utter violation. Sorrow, humiliation, sadness. Helplessness. Panic. More disgust.
He moaned, a tragic sound. Desperate to avoid a breakdown, he erected a brick wall around his screaming mind, blocking the worst of the emotions. Cant deal right now. Just...cant. He was free at least. He couldnt forget that. Rescue had come.
No, not a rescue. Not at first. Warriors had stolen him from the minions, only to tie him down for their own special brand of torture.
Then, the girl had arrived, demanding he help her with the vilest of tasks.
What have you done to him? a male voice roared. Why were there Fae soldiers ready to sneak into this room?
Wait. Youre not with the Fae? she demanded.
Who are you, female?
Kane recognized the speaker. Sabin, his leader, and the keeper of the demon of Doubt. Sabin was a male who wouldnt hesitate to snap a womans neck if he thought that woman had hurt one of his soldiers.
Me? the girl said. Im no one, and Ive done nothing. Really.
Lies will only make it worse for you.
Another speaker Kane recognized. Strider, the keeper of the demon of Defeat. Like Sabin, Strider wouldnt hesitate to harm a woman in defense of a friend.
Kane should have been comforted by their appearance. They were brothers of his heart, the family he needed, and they would protect him, whisk him to safety, and do everything within their power to ensure he healed. But he was scabbed, bruised and emotionally naked, and they were now witnesses to his shame, too.
Oh, sweet heat. Why didnt you step into the light sooner? I know who you are, the girl gasped out. Youre...youre...you.
Yes, and Im also your doom, Sabin snapped.
The warrior assumed the black-haired girl was responsible for Kanes condition. A mistake. He tried to sit up, but the muscles in his stomach were useless, not yet completely woven back together.
Please dont take this the wrong way, said the girl, but thats got to be the lamest thing anyones ever said to me, and Kane here has said some doozies. Youre a magnificent warrior known throughout all the lands for your strength and cunning. I know you can issue a better threat than that.
More than once, the silly things that had come out of that candy-apple mouth had made him want to smile, despite the pain relentlessly battering him. Now was one of those times. He didnt understand it.
Theres a right way to take that? Sabin snapped. Guard the door, he said to Strider. Im going to tear her from limb to limb.
No can do, boss. Im calling dibs.
Does that mean were battling to the death? she asked casually.
Yes, both men replied in unison.
Oh, well. Okay, then. Lets get started, shall we?
Kane stiffened.
Is she serious? Sabin.
No way. Strider.
I am, she said. I really am.
Big talk for such a tiny girl.
A girl who confused Kane in every way.
She had tended him gently, tenderly, and yet he had hurt from more than just his injuries. And not a good hurt, either, to let him know he was alive, but a sharp throb that rode the waves in his veins, reaching him at a cellular level, like a disease, a cancer, eating at him, demanding he get away from her as quickly as possible. And yet, inside, deeper still, where primal instinct jerked at a flimsy leash, a desire to grab her, to hold on and never let go, consumed him.
She was beautiful, funny and sweet, and he heard one word every time he looked at her. Mine.
Mine. Mine. MINE.
It was a constant stream of noise, undeniableunstoppable. It was also wrong. His mine would never cause him pain. And he didnt want a mine. Any time hed tried to make a go of a relationship, the evil inside him swiftly destroyed itand the female. Now, after everything that had happened to him...
A rise of the disgust, sizzling and blistering, tightened his hands into dangerous weapons. No, he didnt want a mine.
You eager to die? Strider asked, stalking a circle around her.
You stalling? she said. Dont think you can take me?
The warrior sucked in a breath.
The girl had issued a challengeintentional or unintentional?and the warriors demon had just accepted. Strider would do everything in his power to win, and Kane couldnt blame him. Anytime the male lost a challenge, he suffered in agonizing pain for days.
Demons always came with a curse.
Have to stop him. Whether the girl belonged to Kane or not, she wasnt to be harmed. Seeing a single bruise on that sun-licked skin would unhinge him, he knew it, could already feel the darkness rising, his control teetering at the edge of chilling violence.
As he again struggled to sit up, multiple footsteps pounded, causing the floor to reverberate. Low growls erupted. The swish of clothing whispered past. Flesh met flesh, bone met bone. Metal clinked against metal. The males would destroy her.
Is that all you got? the girl taunteda taunt undercut by her heavy panting. Come on, fellas. Lets make this memorable, one for the history books!
No, Kane tried to shout, but not even his ears picked up the sound.
Strider jumped over him. Another clang of metal echoed.
How can this be memorable? Sabin roared. The only thing youre doing is leaping out of the way when we strike.
Sorry. Im not meaning to, but instinct keeps kicking in, she said.
To anyone but Kane, who knew her secret desire, the conversation would have sounded weird.