Sinister Pretty (Alexa O'Brien Huntress Book 11)

by Trina M. Lee

  “I want you,” he murmured in my ear.

  With one hand he swept the hair off my neck while the other slid beneath my robe to clutch my bare thigh. His mouth moved on my skin, making promises to my body that would be kept.

  I gasped when his hand slipped between my legs. Arys’s possessive touch demanded the reaction that came naturally. The flame that always burned for him ignited into a raging inferno.

  The windowsill groaned under the weight of my fingers. I held on tight as my knees threatened to give out. My gaze locked on the moon, but my mind and body belonged to Arys.

  I reached a hand up to touch his face, and he grabbed my wrist. Using it to spin me around, Arys lifted me onto the sill and spread my legs along with my robe. Unabashedly naked and more than ready, he filled me in one smooth stroke.

  Wary of the few inches of wood beneath my rear but willing to take the risk, I wrapped my legs around his waist. His pace frantic, Arys took me there against the window. My hands in his hair, I dragged my tongue over the silver ring in his bottom lip.

  We made it less than two minutes before my ass slipped off the sill. Arys caught me before I could make an embarrassing visit to the floor. Without missing a beat, he dropped down in the chair beside the dresser with me atop him.

  I fumbled with my robe tie, swearing when I only succeeded in knotting it tighter.

  Arys swatted my hands away, deftly unknotted the sash, and freed me of the robe.

  When nothing hindered me, I began to move.

  With his gaze smoldering, Arys looked me over, slowly, lingering on every part of me before dropping to where our bodies joined. He watched me slide along his rigid length, uniting us again and again. Our hands clasped, light and dark energy collided in a visible spark between us.

  The lights flickered and a tremor shook the room.

  Holding so tight my hands trembled, I fell into my dark half’s eyes, lost in the drowning pool of deep blue. He stared back at me, desire drenched in love, a power greater than any other we possessed. When he looked at me, I saw raw, total abandon, a deep yearning from beyond this world.

  It echoed inside me.

  If I’d had my way, I’d have kept him inside me all night. However, we were due at Jez’s demon ritual before midnight. Nothing felt right about it. I’d tried and failed to talk her out of it. In her mind, the binding was her only option. She was a grown woman capable of making her own decisions. I just didn’t want her to learn the way I often did, the hard way.

  It never ceased to amaze me that my moments of clarity and rationality grew stronger as each night passed. Despite the insane moments that fell in between, I somehow felt more sure of myself, more grounded. Except for the sick hunger for Falon, I’d bounced back with most of my marbles intact.

  I often wondered how much of it had to do with Kale’s absence. Would we still be slaughtering our way through the city if he’d stayed? God forbid I ever had to admit that Arys knew what he was doing when he orchestrated Kale’s departure.

  “Why does everything have to be so fucking complicated?” I sighed against Arys’s shoulder.

  “It doesn’t,” Arys said, kissing my fingertips. “You just overthink everything.”

  I huffed playfully, feigning irritation. “I can’t help it. There’s a lot to think about.”

  “Maybe the overthinking isn’t the problem. Maybe it’s the way you beat yourself up because you think you need to be everything to everyone, and that’s just not possible. Nor should you have to be.” With a gentle thumb, he smoothed out the frown lines in my forehead. “You are so much more than you know.”

  I smiled, memorizing the way his skin felt beneath my lips and the cool smoothness of his arms around me. It might have been impossible to remember every detail of every moment with him, but I could try.

  “Have I told you lately how amazing you are?” I asked with a kiss.

  Reluctant to let me pull away, Arys dropped a hand down between us, seeking the spot between my thighs. “Pretty sure you have, but tell me again anyway.”

  “Sorry, babe, we’ve got to get going.” My attempt to climb off his lap was met with resistance. “Help me get through tonight, and I’ll tell you anything you want to hear.”

  Arys’s teasing grin faded. “Don’t worry about tonight. We’ll get the answers we need. We’ll know what Shya’s curse does, and we’ll find a way to break it.”

  I smiled, hoping it would mask my lurking unease. “Of course we will.”

  * * * *

  My skin itched. For the umpteenth time that night, I stared at the moon. The giant glowing orb seemed to stare down at me with sinister intentions. It felt wrong. Just all wrong.

  The crumbling old church seemed to be in more pain than the last time I’d seen it. Abandoned and in total disarray, the old building had seen better days. Or at least I liked to think so. Now it belonged to the demons.

  Shya had forced me to come here once to save Kale, after he’d gone behind the demon’s back to save a young dreamwalker. It had been different then. The church itself had been empty, or so it had appeared. Now the front door stood open, welcoming any who dared to venture inside. From where I stood in the parking lot with Arys, I could see that the church was filled with tables of wares and trinkets, none of them good, each table manned by a demon hoping to make a beneficial trade.

  “Well, now I’ve seen it all.” Arys inclined his head toward the building. “We’re going in, right? I want to take a look around.”

  “Are you fucking crazy?” With a shake of my head, I peered past the broken iron fence into the back where demons frolicked near a bonfire, not so different from last time. “We should probably go back there and find Willow.”

  “Jez’s Jeep isn’t even here yet. We have time to kill.” Without waiting for me to join him, Arys started up the front steps of the church.

  Shaz had yet to arrive as well. Despite my plea that he spend the night with Doghead, as he should, he’d insisted on being with me when the curse revealed itself.

  Muttering beneath my breath, I jogged up the stairs behind Arys, certain no good could come of stepping foot inside this place.

  Right away we drew attention. Demons looked up from their wares to study us with open disdain or blatant curiosity. Several extended limbs to invite us over. Most of them had abandoned their human guise for their shocking true forms.

  However, not one of them approached us.

  “This isn’t so bad, is it?” A hand on my back, Arys guided me through.

  A centaur-like demon to my left haggled with a bat-winged creature over what appeared to be a tiny egg. My gaze traveled over them before moving onto the next bartering pair. With so much to take in, I could barely keep track of them all.

  “I don’t like this,” I hissed. My beast tugged at my insides, fighting to get free. Denying the wolf on a full moon night made for no easy task.

  Arys pointed to the open back door that led into the yard. “Keep moving. That one on the end has his eye on us.”

  I had no trouble picking out the demon he meant: long black hair, horns atop his head that curled at the tips. From beneath his dark robe, the tip of a tail moved like a serpent behind him. Black wings tight against his back, he watched us with vicious red eyes.

  With a finger he beckoned us nearer. A warmth struck me, causing a tingle to race through my body and settle in my groin. Incubus. A fucking incubus demon.

  “You just had to come in here to get a look, didn’t you?” I elbowed Arys who didn’t respond because his gaze was locked on the demon’s.

  Although our power came from demons such as this one, I’d never encountered one. This one called to me like a wanton lover without saying a word. The rest of the black-magic trading post became background noise. The handsome incubus who watched us with obvious intrigue dominated my focus.

  “We’ll never make it out without engaging with him.” Arys steered me toward the incubus demon’s table. “Might as well play the game.”


  I held my tongue against the rising rant; there were too many nasty things within earshot. So I muttered a simple, “Damn you and your curiosity.”

  Arys was fearless. If anything he shared the intrigue of our demon counterpart. I’d have been happy to keep to myself.

  The demon nodded as we approached his table. Revealing wolf-like upper and lower fangs, he said, “I’ve heard much about you. What brings the infamous Dark Hound to such an establishment? I don’t suppose I can interest you in anything?”

  Dark Hound? Of all the things I’d been called, that had to be the worst. It negated all that a Hound of God should be.

  “No, thank you. We’re just here to meet someone.” I did my best to seem polite though my desire to leave had to be evident.

  “Nova.” The demon offered me a hand. His studious stare bore into me, daring me to refuse. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet the both of you. It’s rare that vampires gain such a reputation.”

  Refusing his hand would be the admittance of intimidation. Well… Fuck that.

  Nova’s touch burned with the intensity of his power. Like an old school gentleman, he kissed the back of my hand, letting his mouth linger seconds longer than appropriate. Desire flooded me like a tidal wave crashing on the beach, slamming anyone in its path. He didn’t do a damn thing to pull me under. All he did was touch my damn hand with his mouth.

  “Alexa,” I said, telling my hand to pull free from his grasp, finding it unwilling to obey my command.

  I wanted him. Right then and there. Witnesses be damned. I’d have likely started to climb his tall, lithe frame like a sex-starved nympho if he hadn’t released me.

  The moment he let go, the power fell away, leaving me gasping and embarrassed. I steadied myself with both hands on his table until a small black stone rolled toward me with intentions of its own, causing me to jerk back.

  Nova offered his hand to Arys who took it without hesitation. I half expected the demon to kiss Arys’s hand as he’d done mine, but he merely smiled, watching as Arys experienced the same lust-inducing tsunami.

  “Arys,” the vampire snickered. “Nice touch.”

  “Likewise.” Nova’s searching scarlet gaze swept me. “You feel like forbidden fruit. Imagine what the three of us could do together.”

  Arys cocked his head to one side as if considering it.

  I laughed nervously, unable to keep up my calm, cool exterior in the face of such raw power. Demons always made me uneasy. Encountering one that shared my abilities, albeit on a much grander scale, left me far more unsettled.

  “We should be going. Our friends will be out back.” Nudging Arys toward the door, I flashed Nova a smile I hoped came across as neutral. I just wanted to keep the peace.

  Nova nodded, his enchanting face a mask of mischief. “Right. Of course. Let me just show you one thing.” Sweeping his hand over the table, Nova stopped above the black stone. “This little beauty is just what you need, Alexa. With a little TLC, it will break down the barrier between your light and dark sides.”

  For a minute I could only stare at the stone, chilled. The size of a golf ball, it sat there on the table, looking harmless. Looking like a lie.

  “Why the hell would I want to do that?” I asked, despising the stone for even existing.

  Nova raised a perfectly sculpted brow. “Why wouldn’t you? Break the barrier and let one side rule. I imagine being constantly caught between the two must be tiring.”

  Tiring? More like maddening.

  “No. Thank you.” Ice crystals clung to my tone. “Not interested.”

  The last thing I needed was another demon getting too close. He might intimidate me, but a line had been crossed. I wanted Nova to back the fuck off.

  “Understood.” Suddenly stone-cold serious, he moved the black stone to the back of the table, tucking it between a triangular talisman and a scorpion in a glass case. “Should you change your mind, you know where to find me. I can give you a great deal.”

  An air of suspicion clouded Arys. “And what might that be?”

  I wished he hadn’t asked; I didn’t want to know.

  The incubus demon let his gaze drift over Arys in a silent assessment. “A night with the both of you. That’s all I want for it.”

  I let out the breath I’d sucked in. “Well then, it’s a damn good thing I’m not interested.”

  The slight twitch of Nova’s lips couldn’t be called a smile. It was far too ominous for that. “It’s a matter of time, my dear. There will come a day when the fight becomes too much, when you feel it’s gone on long enough. I’ll see you then.”

  The chill that stole over me penetrated deep. It was enough to make me crawl out of my skin. I grabbed Arys’s hand, ignoring the energy that sparked between us, and beelined for the door.

  Nova’s calm but certain words would haunt me.

  “Next time you get the urge to check out something shady, just don’t,” I said when we stepped out the back door of the church.

  Arys gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. Power jumped between us, creating a comforting vibration. “Don’t let him get to you. I’ve never known anyone as strong as you are. Nova has no idea who he was talking to.”

  His attempt to brush off the illicit deal we’d just been offered did nothing to make me feel any better. Nova had planted a seed. He’d made it known that an escape from the constant turmoil existed, and he had it.

  What if I decided I couldn’t take it anymore and gave in? If the barrier between light and dark were to be broken, could I be certain of which side would win that final battle?

  Our twin flame balance could be destroyed, yet it must never happen.

  I surveyed the debauchery taking place out back, finding Willow among the writhing bodies and bleeding sacrifices. He stood in the shadows, beyond the glow of the bonfire’s light. Watching. He merely studied the activity going on around him. Rituals, fights, sex offerings to self-appointed gods. He was unfazed.

  The barrier between my two sides existed because of him. Though it came at a price, it had saved me from total darkness. If I must suffer through a Jekyll and Hyde existence then so be it. I would not let his sacrifice be in vain.

  After twenty minutes of standing around feeling awkward, Jez showed up. Shaz had beaten her by ten. We drew a few curious looks from those partying outside. Well, from those who weren’t totally drunk on black magic and depravity.

  Having Willow with us felt like having an invisible force field, keeping all at bay. Not one demon present gave us more than a passing glance. I knew it was because of Willow. It didn’t reassure me.

  In the time we’d been waiting, he’d barely said five words to me. I’m sure we were both thinking about what had happened at The Wicked Kiss. It saddened me to see Willow descending deeper into darkness, and our friendship along with him.

  “You ok, Lex?” Jez leaned in close to peer into my eyes. “Are you sure you can do this? I won’t be mad if you want to take off.”

  I touched a stray tendril of hair that had escaped the messy bun of gold piled atop her head. “I’m not leaving you.”

  “We need to get started,” Willow said, leading us away from the rows of worn headstones, toward the back fence where the bonfire burned. “The ritual must be done at precisely the stroke of midnight and not a moment later.”

  The witching hour. So many magical events relied upon it. Would my curse be one of them?

  Snow and ice crunched under foot as we followed Willow. He strode through those fornicating around the fire and claimed a space on the far side closest to the iron fence. In minutes the demons and humans engaged in sinful, carnal activity dispersed until not one remained.

  I exchanged a glance with Shaz who raised a brow in an unspoken question that I too wanted answered but didn’t dare ask. What kind of absolute evil was Willow to be able to clear out a demon sin party without saying a word?

  I felt sick at the thought of what that meant.

  Breaking a skinny branch off
a skeletal tree, Willow used it to carve an upside-down pentagram in the snow just out of reach of the fire’s heat. In the center of the pentagram, he drew what looked like a set of stag antlers. He motioned Jez over, and I had to talk myself out of grabbing her and begging her to reconsider.

  Willow produced a dagger with a jeweled hilt. At his request Jez offered her arm. My dark half, our anchor, and I watched in silence as the blade bit through her flesh. She winced but didn’t flinch or squeal. The determined set to her jaw assured me that she would not be changing her mind.

  Willow held her arm over the pentagram’s center so her blood fell onto the strange antler symbol. Jez’s blood stained the white snow brilliant crimson. The aroma was prime shifter, but I was far too worried for it to tickle my bloodlust.

  In a language I’d never heard before, one I knew had existed long before humankind, he began the ritual. In his eyes lurked an evil I refused to accept as part of him. As he spoke the otherworldly words, it grew until I no longer recognized the person staring out.

  I had a vague awareness of the few demons daring enough to creep a little closer for a look. Their interest had nothing to do with a simple binding ritual, and everything to do with seeing a renowned angel now working demon magic in a forgotten graveyard. The rest carried on with their own activity, content to ignore us.

  My heart ached.

  When Willow extended a hand and a rooster appeared, I stiffened. My stomach tightened and rolled in a way it hadn’t since before the change. Something moved through me, pulling at my wolf. The curse?

  A sudden sharp pain racked me. Hands going to my middle, I groaned, a strangled sound of both woman and wolf.

  “Lex? Are you ok?”

  I struggled to answer Shaz. The pain stole my voice.

  Jez looked up in concern, a question forming on her ruby-red lips.

  Somehow I shook my head and waved a hand, hoping to make light of the agony shredding my insides.

  Willow paused, his brow furrowed. When our eyes met, I saw the caring, compassionate friend I loved so dearly. Despite what had gone on at The Kiss, he still worried for me.