Hot Holida Treats

by Sorcha Mowbray, Rachel Kenley, Jocelyn Dex, Sotia Lazu, Leigh Ellwood, Eva Lefoy, Daisy Banks, Sofia Grey

  It was almost disappointing. That was the type of situation he loved. Her vulnerable. Wait, had she thought disappointing? No, no. It was great. Maybe he was already getting it through his head that it wasn’t going to happen between them.

  She quickly shucked back into the jeans and T-shirt, took a moment to compose herself and exited the bathroom. Argoth leaned against the wall a few feet away. The heat still burned in his eyes, but thankfully he didn’t pounce on her.

  “Did you like the gift?” he asked.

  Instead of offering a smartass remark, she decided to play nice. Of course, only in effort to throw him off balance. “Yeah. I-it’s…inappropriate coming from you, but thanks.”

  “I’d have preferred to pick it out myself, but until the implants are removed…” He shrugged. “Hungry?”

  “Very.”

  “Before we leave this room, I have to know I can trust you not to harm any of my staff. I assume you wouldn’t hurt the humans, but there are demons too. I won’t have that, Delia.”

  “I wouldn’t.” She realized that was a lie as soon as the words left her mouth. He must have too because his eyes narrowed. “Okay. I totally would under normal circumstances, but I promise, as long as they don’t try to harm me, I won’t harm them during lunch.”

  “I see what you did there, but for now, it’s good enough. Follow me.”

  She followed him down the arched hallway. Iron sconces and matching light fixtures overhead lit the way and reflected on the shiny, wood floors. Disappointment at not finding an exit along the way disappeared when they turned left into a grand dining hall. So many delicious aromas overwhelmed her senses and the massive spread of food made her drool.

  Argoth didn’t have to ask her twice to take a seat and to dig in. The only food on the table she could name was the platter of strawberries and pineapple. The rest was a mystery but looked delicious. It was more food than she’d be able to eat in two weeks, but she was sure going to do her best.

  The only speaking they did for the next thirty minutes was when she asked what she’d just taken a bite of. The two highlights for her were the grilled cheese, tomato, hummus and avocado sandwich and the pumpkin soup. So freaking good.

  As she was about to dive into another creation, an imposing man, almost as handsome as Argoth, burst into the dining area. “You stupid bastard,” his voice boomed.

  Argoth scowled, stood and faced-off with the big guy. Cordelia palmed her knife in one hand and fork in the other, ready to jump to action should the need arise. A second later, Argoth and the big guy embraced and clapped each other on their backs. What the hell?

  When they released each other, both men…er, demons…were smiling.

  “I thought you were dead. We couldn’t get any intel on you. I told you not to go alone. Dumbass.”

  “I was desperate. Look, it doesn’t matter now. I’m here. We’ll discuss what I learned during my incarceration later. Delia, meet Denov. Denov, meet Delia. She’s the reason I was able to escape.”

  Denov moved forward and took her hand. “I’m grateful for his return. Thank you.”

  She snorted. “It’s Cordelia and I didn’t help him escape on purpose.”

  Denov released her hand, his gaze darting to Argoth.

  Argoth waved it off. “She’s adjusting. Demons are not her favorite creatures.”

  “Demons?” Denov turned his gaze back to her and gaped. “She is s—“

  “Ahem.” Argoth cleared his throat. “She was training for hunter certification in the Unit where I was held.”

  “Hunter? She’s one of the experiments? She doesn’t know? You haven’t explained—”

  Argoth shot Denov an angry glare. “Not yet. I’d planned to explain after lunch.”

  “Experiment? What the hell are you talking about? Explain what?”

  “Relax, Delia. Denov has the necessary tools to remove the implant. That first and then we’ll talk.”

  Fine. She’d bite her tongue until the implant was out and then she could get on with escaping without the guilt of blowing his head off. Although she didn’t know why she should feel guilty. The situation was all his fault. Still, she’d listen to his ridiculous lies. Whatever it took.

  Denov pulled out equipment and made quick work of removing the implants as Edward and a female staff member cleared the left over lunch and dishes from the table. The urge to run set in, but she didn’t even know where the front door was yet.

  Argoth walked Denov to the hallway outside the dining room where they spoke in hushed tones for a few minutes. When Denov left, Argoth said, “Come, Delia. Let’s talk.”

  She followed him into a sitting room across the hall. Again she was wowed. A large fireplace took up one wall of the room. Two plush, beige couches and two matching oversized chairs were arranged in a loose square around a large stone table. She took a seat on one of the chairs and almost moaned at the comfort. Argoth sat at the corner of the couch closest to her.

  “There are things you need to know—”

  “Hey,” Cordelia cut him off, “since I probably won’t believe anything you tell me, how about you cut right to it. No pussyfooting around. Just gimme your spiel straight up so we can be done with it.”

  “As you wish.” He leaned toward her, resting his elbows on his knees. The grave expression on his face knotted her stomach until she reminded herself he was about to tell her nothing but lies. “You—actually all of the residents of D Unit—are experiments. You are the offspring of a demon-human breeding program implemented by the DEO. You, specifically, are part succubus. It’s watered down, but I sensed it in you the first time we met.”

  She’d thought to sit quietly and listen to his nonsense, but she’d never imagined he’d take it to such a level of crazy. Her, part demon? It was too ludicrous, even coming from him. “What? What could you possibly have to gain by spewing that insanity?”

  “Be quiet. You wanted it straight up. I’m obliging your request. Why do you think you lived in such deplorable conditions? Why do you think you never saw any of the supposed graduates of D Unit ever again? Why do you think you and the rest of D Unit grew up in orphanages?”

  He paused when her mouth fell open, but any words she’d thought to speak caught in her throat.

  He continued, “Why do you think they’d chance letting a demon roam free in D Unit? Yes, I was tethered to you via the implant, but do you think I couldn’t have ripped one of the trainee’s heads off with thirty feet of leeway? You all are expendable, considered barely less foul than full demons. They make more of you every day. They use you, test you. One day, they hope to get the right combination—enough demon to make it easier to take down a full-blooded demon, but enough human that they can control their experiment.”

  Cordelia jumped from her seat. She couldn’t take it anymore. “Stop! Just stop with the crazy lies.”

  “In your apartment yesterday, you accused me of pushing my sexual desires into your thoughts. I did not. I swear this to you. You read them. You pulled them from my mind.”

  “Liar,” she spat. Her heart pounded in her chest, her hands shaking, anger at his lies and fear that they weren’t lies, freaking her out. He looked and sounded so earnest, his eyes begged her to see the truth in them, but it was another of his demon tricks. It had to be.

  “I also did not lie when I told you my head was not the only one that would have exploded had you breached the thirty foot distance.”

  “They wouldn’t do that to me. You lie.”

  He pulled a phone from his pocket, dialed and asked someone to bring the boxed implants to him as well as two small fruits or melons. Less than a minute later, Edward walked into the room and set the items on the coffee table. He asked, “Will plums do?”

  Argoth nodded and thanked him. When Edward left, Argoth took the implants out of the box, cut through the skin of each plum with a fingernail and then stuck an implant in each fruit. “Come with me,” he instructed.

  She followed him and after se
veral twists and turns, they stopped at French doors. He pulled them open and motioned for her to step through onto the terracotta-stained patio.

  “Stay there,” he said as he put some distance between them. He set one plum on the ground, moved five feet to the left and then tossed the other plum as if it were a baseball. Cordelia staggered when both exploded, spraying plum guts in the air. Her gut sank, twisted, nausea choking her.

  He grabbed her arm, steadying her, but she couldn’t accept what he’d just shown her. Why was he trying so hard to break her? She tried to wrench from his grasp and run and when she couldn’t shake him off, she swung at him, but he caught her hand and forced it to her side.

  “Stop,” he commanded. “I’m going to show you something. It’s dangerous and you’ll need to be quiet. Because it will have to be very quick, you’ll also need to pay close attention. Got it?”

  “What?” she screeched. “What could you possibly have to show me that I’d give a damn about? Especially after all that crap you said.”

  “C Unit. Now, calm down.”

  She stopped struggling, went completely still. Had she heard him correctly? If she took him by surprise and called out, maybe just maybe… “Why would you do that?

  “You’ll see. Now, quiet and look closely, alright?”

  She nodded and the next thing she knew they stood in the woods a few feet outside a fence of the same variety that surrounded D Unit. As she geared up to do something, anything to overtake him and call for a guard, he pushed her closer to the fence and whispered, “Look.”

  Dammit. He hadn’t brought her to C Unit. Inside the fence, was a paved courtyard separating two large luxury apartment buildings. Manicured gardens of evergreens ran along the walkways, a three-tiered fountain trickled water. People sat on benches, some chatting and smiling, some eating. Some were dressed in nice clothing, some in…uniforms. Guard uniforms. She pressed her face closer to the fence, stomach churning. C Unit was clearly stamped on the side of the apartment buildings. It couldn’t be.

  “Have you seen enough?”

  Enough? She still couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Why did C Unit live in such beautiful surroundings when D Unit lived in less than a slum?

  When a twig snapped, Argoth jerked her to him and teleported them to his bedroom. When he let her go she sagged onto the bed. “I don’t understand.”

  “I think you do,” he said.

  “There has to be an explanation. Maybe C Unit...” she started but came up with nothing.

  “That’s where I was captured while looking for my sister. They have the same function as D Unit. Training, hunter certification. The only difference is they are treated well, live well, have freedoms, luxuries—because they are human. Fully human.”

  “I don’t…I refuse to believe I’m some sort of breeding experiment just because you showed me how much better another unit lives.”

  “How do you explain both implants exploding?”

  “For all I know, someone on your staff tampered with them.” She sagged when her voice didn’t even convince her.

  He reached out and stroked fingers down her cheek, his gentle touch comforting even though it shouldn’t be. “I know it’s a lot to take in, but the faster you accept it, the easier it will become. And think how fun it will be when you learn more control over your ability. You can tease me unmercifully.”

  “Ability? I have no use for an ability that projects sexual images into someone’s mind. It’s disgusting. Besides, I still don’t believe you. I just can’t.”

  He sighed. “In time, Delia. In time. For now, relax. Enjoy the comforts of my home and think on all I’ve told you and shown you. I have matters to discuss with Denov. A friend of mine will be posted outside this room.”

  “You mean a guard? So much for freedom.”

  “It’s for your protection and that of my staff. You’re confused, upset, and I’m quite certain ideas of escape are bouncing around,” he tapped her temple with a forefinger, “in there. I don’t want you to run off prematurely. Once you’ve accepted all this, you can work on figuring out what you want to do with your new life. I’ll help you in any way I can. Now, if you need anything, Bandor will be right outside the door.”

  When Argoth left the room, she collapsed on the bed, burying her face in his incredibly soft pillow. His earthy, decadent scent engulfed her, making her wish he’d left her anywhere but in his bedroom. Yearning for him against her will on top of everything else was too much to bear.

  Scooting of the bed, she stomped to the door and jerked it open. Outside stood what she recognized as a Potens demon. They had slightly larger eyes than humans and six fingers on each hand, in addition to being massive in size. She’d fought one during training and it’d kicked her ass. That had not been a good day.

  “You’re Bandor?” she asked.

  He nodded.

  “I want to go for a walk—outside.”

  His big eyes narrowed. “You can walk inside.”

  “Argoth said if I needed anything, you’d take care of it. I need to go outside.”

  He stared at her for a long moment before giving a curt nod. “This way.”

  Opening a door to the left of the bedroom, he waved her inside. Yet another impressive room, although she’d expected no less. A huge, shiny wooden desk sat against the left wall. It held a laptop, stacks of files and some gadgets she couldn’t name. The opposite wall was floor-to-ceiling bookshelves with very little unused space. Assuming it was Argoth’s office, he sure liked to read.

  A picture on the desk drew her attention. Argoth hugging a beautiful woman, both of them smiling, looking happier than anyone she’d ever seen except the people in those Christmas photos in her friend’s magazines.

  Her gut clenched, a misplaced sense of jealously hitting her like a sledgehammer. She tried to choke it down, but failed until taking a closer look. They had the same hair color, similar facial features. It had to be his sister. But why did she care who it was? She didn’t dammit. Tearing her gaze from the photo, she said, “Um, I said outside, not into an office.”

  He strode ahead of her and pulled the curtains back exposing a sliding glass door that opened to a balcony. Not exactly what she’d asked for, but it was better than nothing. She stepped out, closed her eyes and inhaled the fresh air. She spun around when the door closed behind her. Bandor’s arms were crossed over his chest and he leaned against the door looking bored.

  “You don’t have to stand out here. We’re two stories up. I’m not jumping.”

  A one shouldered shrug was all he offered in answer.

  Rolling her eyes, she moved to the far end of the balcony and took in the vastness of the forest surrounding the property. She imagined trekking through the woods in search of the perfect Christmas tree.

  Thoughts of being in the woods earlier that morning flooded her mind. Besides the kissing and grinding, it had only been a projection, but it hadn’t mattered. It’d felt real. Argoth’s hands and tongue all over her body, had brought on the most powerful orgasm she’d ever experienced. She couldn’t believe she’d actually demanded he fuck her. Jesus.

  Had it all been real, not just a projection…she could only imagine how much better it would have been. She didn’t have to settle for imagination though, did she? What did it matter, at that point, if she succumbed to his advances? If she entertained the idea of her being part succubus—which of course was ridiculous no matter how convincing he was—wouldn’t having sex with him give her more strength and increase her chance of escape?

  God, stripping him naked, riding him would be worth any self-loathing she might feel after. She’d tried lying to herself about her unnatural attraction to him for months. Didn’t want Bix or anyone at the DEO to notice. Of course, they had anyway. And now…well, it didn’t even matter. That life was over. Why not touch him, have him touch her, plunge inside her until she screamed in the ecstasy that only a sex demon could give.

  Bandor cleared his throat. “If you wa
nt to seduce me in attempt to get past me, you’ll have to do better than images of you riding Argoth. I’m not much into voyeurism.”

  She choked. “Excuse me?” When he just smirked, she said, “Goddamn demons. Stay out of my head.”

  One eyebrow rose above a large eye. “I am Potens. I do not read thoughts. Perhaps you should learn to control your projection abilities and stay out of my head. Although, I’m certain Argoth will be interested to hear about this.”

  She knew Potens demons weren’t supposed to have that ability, but sex demons weren’t supposed to be able to teleport either. But if she actually had projected... No, dammit. No. It was a trick. If she truly could project—on top of everything Argoth had shown her today—there’d be no denying he’d been truthful with her, and her mind wasn’t ready for that.

  “I think I’d like to lie down for a while.”

  Chapter Five

  Cordelia stayed in the room alone all night tossing and turning and contemplating everything that had happened. Everything she’d seen and heard and experienced weighed heavily on her mind even while asleep. She was drained, frustrated and grouchy as hell.

  Argoth had stopped by in the early evening and talked to her for a while, trying to help her sort through it, but in less than an hour, she’d lost it and screamed at him about how he’d ruined her life. How she’d rather be dead than tainted by filthy demon DNA.

  He’d blanched, looking truly hurt by her outburst. She’d instantly regretted it, but hadn’t been able to get an apology out before he left the room. That was two days ago. She hadn’t seen him since and it was driving her crazy.

  Most embarrassingly, part of her anger had come from the fact that he hadn’t made a single sexual innuendo, had been a perfect gentleman, and shown zero interest in seducing her. Had he lost interest right when she’d been considering giving in?