by Kiersten Fay
“We sent Nadua next, then Anya and your mother.”
Anya had been just a child, barely able to speak in clear sentences, yet she seemed to have grasped the situation as she clung to her mother.
“Your cousins followed, and those who were closest to the royal family. Most everyone else had to fend for themselves. And those who didn’t have access off the planet went into hiding or were captured…” Ethan took a drink before adding, “I stayed behind with your father. No one could persuade him to leave. He felt responsible. Felt that his visions had failed him.”
At the mention of her father, Kyra’s expression turned bleak.
Jade approached with a fresh tray of drinks that Sonya had signaled for and made her way around the table. When she slipped behind Cale, she lowered her mouth to whisper in his ear, and Ethan noticed a slight tick in Kyra’s jaw.
He continued, unfazed. “The King spent the following fifty years sifting through the future and composing the book that helped bring us all together. When he finished it, it was smuggled out and entrusted to the Serakians who enchanted it so that only you three could open it. However, the king charged me with decoding it.”
“Why?” Kyra asked.
“Because it holds secrets that can be used against you, against all of us, and he convinced me that I could survive to find you, even though I did not always believe it.”
Kyra gave him a grateful smile. “Father was right to have put his faith in you.” She kindly placed her hand over his. “It must have been difficult all these years.”
He turned his palm up to face her grip, surprised by how much that simple sentiment warmed his heart. “Thank you, Majesty.” He couldn’t help but smile when she pursed her lips at the title.
Kyra took in a long breath and then let it out slowly. “Well, what’s happening on Evlon now? Is Father alright? Are they hurting him?”
“A little after the book started its journey, the king sent me away, and I haven’t had contact since.” Well, not the kind of contact she was hoping for. “That was three hundred and fifty years ago.”
With Kyra’s hand still clasped in his, Ethan’s magic spiked with the warning that Cale was about to take a mental detour to the Edge and attack.
Interesting.
Ethan released Kyra’s hand and filed that information away for later examination. Sonya sat with her arms crossed, eyes turned down and jaw locked. Out of curiosity, he let his magic drift over her. She was on the verge of fabricating an excuse to leave.
Nadua caught his gaze and gestured toward Kyra with her chin. “Tell her your theory.”
All eyes turned back to him.
“I believe the Kayadon want something from us. Something they don’t have and have been unable to get.”
Kyra sat back. “Our magic.”
“That’s the only thing I can come up with.”
Kyra engaged the Earthling in short conversation before turning back to the group. “Zoey agrees.”
They all glanced at human, who managed a shy smile in response.
“They’re keeping our people alive,” Ethan added. “They haven’t sold a soul into slavery, like they did...” Ethan stopped himself before he mentioned Marik’s name. When the Kayadon had overtaken the demon planet, Marik had found himself in the slave market. “From what I can remember, life went on as normally as possible. People tried to live as best they could. But they lived on the edge of a knife, trying not to be noticed by the Kayadon soldiers that patrolled every village. Any poor soul who drew their interest…disappeared.”
Cale’s grip tightened around his bottle. “We’ll rip every last one of their throats out.”
Sebastian leaned forward in his chair, addressing Kyra for the most part. “We intend to do everything we can to free your people, but I will not lie, our thoughts are on revenge. People will die. Theirs…and no doubt ours. I’ve made it clear to my crew that they are not under any obligation to join us, and many will end their association with us at the next stop.” He paused. “We need allies.”
Kyra nodded. “What has been done so far?”
“We’ve sent out encrypted messages on some underground channels. Anyone who’s interested will contact us.”
“What if no one responds to it?”
Sebastian shrugged. “There are other options. The Kayadon pose a threat to all the races. There’s nothing to say that when they’re done with Evlon, they won’t move on to the next planet. That should be a powerful motivator.”
Kyra nodded. “So where should we start?”
“Spaceports and cities,” Sebastian replied.
Ethan interjected, “I could entreaty my old faction and some other pirates I’m acquainted with.”
Sonya’s muffled rebuff piqued Ethan’s ire. He glared at her, and she glared back.
“How about the dragons?” Kyra prompted, seeming oblivious to the exchange.
“Yes, the dragons,” Nadua agreed. “They are our allies. Or…they were.” She looked at Kyra, then to Anya, suddenly apprehensive.
“I have to believe they still are,” Kyra declared. “I spent some time with the clan of Legura, remember?”
“Yes, but...” Nadua trailed off. “Theirs is but one among many. What of the other clans?”
“I cannot say. Perhaps if we get one clan, the others will follow.” Kyra glanced at Cale. “Didn’t you say you had a dragon pilot on board?”
Cale grunted in affirmation. “Aidan. He’s from the Kanisae Clan.”
“Could he ask them for support?”
Sebastian frowned, and Cale ran his fingers through his hair before responding, “He was exiled.”
“However, we’ll ask him,” Sebastian interjected. “It couldn’t hurt.”
The table fell into silent contemplation. After a moment, Kyra suggested they continue the conversation in the morning. Both she and the Earthling looked close to exhaustion.
Sebastian gave a tight nod. “We were only expecting one extra. Do you mind sharing quarters for the time being?”
“That would work out for the best, I think,” Kyra replied.
Sonya pushed to stand, finally finding her excuse. “I’ll show them the way.”
Chapter 20
Ethan watched Sonya escort Zoey and Kyra out of the pub, his ire growing by the minute.
As hard as he tried, he could no longer tolerate her continued repugnance. It was an unnecessary distraction—for both of them. They may never be friends, definitely not lovers, but she would at least show him some respect.
While the others engaged in idle conversation, Ethan slipped away in search of his surly demoness. He found her alone in the hallway, approaching her personal quarters.
He’d had every intention of coming at her in a calm, cool manner, to try for a mature discussion. But the moment their eyes locked, hers narrowed, turning disdainful.
His temper surged. “What is your problem?”
“I figured it was clear,” she snapped, sauntering closer to her room as if in no rush, but her inner desperation betrayed her.
He hurried behind her. Once she disappeared inside, it might be another week before she emerged. She whirled on him, her eyes flashing fierce and challenging. She stretched her arm out to block his way.
“What is this grudge you have against me?” he demanded, meeting her gaze with intense resolve.
Sonya only raised a brow in response.
“And do not use the incident in the training room as an excuse. Whatever your deal is, it goes further back than that.”
She seared him with a look that, for anyone else, would have been a deadly warning to retreat.
Instead, that look only made his hackles rise. “We are about to go to war! So you and I are going to get past this.”
Sonya seemed unmoved. “Did you leave my pub solely in the hands of Jade?”
“You’re the one who hired her,” he reminded.
She let out a heavy sigh. “Ethan, just get back to work. We’ve nothing to ta
lk about.”
He wanted to roar with frustration. “The hell we don’t,” he growled, grabbing her arm. Before she had a chance to pull away, he spun her around and seized her wrists behind her back, forcing her into the private space of her room.
The door slid closed behind them.
She made a sound of protest, yet a twinge of her excitement sliced through him. His shaft swelled in response, and lust seized his rational mind.
He pressed forward, caging her front against a wall. He dipped his head to the nape of her neck, just below her ear. Her breath caught.
“Why do I want you?” The words escaped his lips without permission, wrenched from somewhere deep within.
Sonya’s voice became a low warning. “If you knew what danger you are in, you wouldn’t.”
His lips quirked. He knew exactly the kind of danger he was courting. “Are you talking about your little fang show?”
She gasped, going dead still. “You saw? And still you’re here?”
If he were smart, he would leave now before this went any further. Unfortunately, his intelligence seemed to have gone on hiatus. “I know you wouldn’t bite me unless I asked you to, and I have no intention of doing so.” Not to mention the fact that she was just as disgusted by the idea as he was.
“I wouldn’t claim you if you begged me,” she hissed, confirming his thoughts.
“Then there is nothing for me to worry about.” His teeth found the shell of her ear with a soft pressure.
A shudder racked through her, and ever so slightly, her body arched into him. Her voice came out as a rasp. “I thought you were here to talk.”
“I’m finding I want to do a lot of things.”
“Do you really think I’m going to let you do that to me again?”
His lips curled at her contempt. “Imagine my surprise when the beautiful, flirty demoness turns out to be a virgin. One question has been nagging me, though. How is it possible?”
“It’s an easy accomplishment when you have two—make that three—overprotective brothers. Brothers who would show you your own spleen if they saw you now.”
He didn’t doubt Sebastian, Cale, and Marik would do just that, but the threat was not enough to sway him from his damning course. Her growing desire was like a drug, leaching away reason.
“You must have wanted a bed partner at some point. Demons don’t value things like virtue and virginity. Your kind are infamously insatiable.”
She snorted. “Even if I did, who would risk their lives for a lay? And those who didn’t fear my family—not that there were many—never showed an interest.”
Yet another warning he should heed, but the new information only drove his curiosity. “You’ve pleasured yourself though.”
She appeared aghast by his bluntness and floundered for a reply.
He grinned. “I’ll take that as a yes. You were too responsive not to have.”
Her body stiffened in indignation and then her struggles resumed, but the action only managed to close the distance between them. His crotch nestled snuggly against her backside.
Nothing had ever rattled his control with such cutting precision as the feel of her against him. He was hard-pressed to believe anything ever could again.
The desperation in his muttered words surprised him. “Give me another chance.”
She stilled once more. “What?”
“The way we left things, your expression...” It still haunted him more than he had realized.
“And you, what? Want a redo?” Her laugh came out harsh, yet he sensed her wavering. On the cusp of his mind, he wondered if he was once again spurring the situation out of either of their control. But his body hummed with an overwhelming, maddening need, and nothing could stop him now, short of her total rejection.
“I want to taste you,” he ground out. “To feel your flesh give way under mine and see rapture on your face as I make you come in my arms. To use your body and teach you to use mine until we are both too sore to walk.” When she made no response, he leaned in closer to her slender ear. “Don’t you want me to show you how good it can be?”
After a tense moment of silence, fraught with the gravity of her impending decision and all that weighed between them, she gave the slightest nod.
His cock jerked in anticipation, but he released her and backed away, needing to be sure of her resolve.
She turned to face him, displaying a wrinkle of uncertainty between her brows. Her gaze traveled the length of him, her lids growing hooded with the evidence of her hunger, as well as a hint of trepidation. If she gave her approval, he would do everything in his power to relieve her of the latter.
“Take off your shirt,” she ordered, then folded her lower lip between her teeth.
He shrugged off the fabric and tossed it away. He remained still, giving her leave to look him over. The intensity of her scrutiny burned bright behind her irises, her billowing desire palpable.
She swallowed hard and then bit her lip again, giving him a glimpse of one descended fang. His shaft pulsed, straining against his pants. He tried not to show his depraved response. Then he sensed her starting to reconsider, alarmed by her own body’s reaction.
He stepped toward her. “You won’t bite me.” He had no idea if that was true, but lust gripped him like a cage of claws.
“Never,” she tried to sneer, but it came out husky and alluring.
He inched closer, afraid her doubt was gaining ground. “Tell me you want this.”
Her eyes closed as if pained. “Gods, yes.”
With that, he closed the distance between them and their lips crushed together. The sharpness of her fangs should have alarmed him, but wild need exploded in his chest, nearly robbing him of breath. He tugged the ties of her bodice, undoing them in a rush and removing her top.
She mimicked his fierce urgency as she fumbled with the clasp of his trousers. Next, her skirt floated to her feet, leaving the rest of her bare except for the sexy black panties that hugged her hips.
He clasped one arm around her waist and palmed her breast, rubbing his thumb over the budding pink nipple. Her eyes closed, and she leaned against the wall as a small whimper of approval filtered from her lungs. Wanting to hear more, he leaned down to take the tiny peak into his mouth.
She inhaled sharply, rewarding him with a feminine moan.
Her wicked intentions were completely open to him now. She was as lost as he, growing urgent and mad with a primal need begging for fulfillment. It was nearly painful to take this as slow as he knew he should, but wanted to please her this time. Needed to.
His palms moved to caress the underside of her breasts and then down her smooth stomach. When his lips followed, she froze and glanced at him. Eyes locked on his, she watched as he continued his descent, her body shaking.
He slipped his thumbs under the waistline of her panties and gave her a roguish grin before tugging them down.
The first taste of her was like a jolt of concentrated bliss arching through each cell, straight to the base of his arousal.
Sonya tried to stifle a moan, failing miserably as sharp pleasure struck a wicked path to her brain. A quake rippled over her, and she cried out a second time. If not for the wall, her ass would have hit the floor. This is madness! How could this feel so good?
He swept along her tender flesh as though he were finding just as much pleasure in the task, savoring her as if she were a delicacy.
Her body quivered fiercely. “Ethan, I’m going to fall,” she managed through haggard breath.
“Lie down,” he ordered. His tone was so rough it no longer sounded like him.
She obeyed without thinking, forgoing the bed and sinking to the floor. He maneuvered between her legs, gripping her thighs, and continued his assault. Her heart thumped faster, her breath coming in gasps. She couldn’t think past what he was doing. Soon, she began to shake again, and her claws dug at the ground. With a cry, ecstasy exploded, taking her vision.
After a moment, Ethan sa
t back, expression unabashedly smug. She still couldn’t move, reduced to a panting, puddled mess on the floor, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. A smile crawled across her lips. She couldn’t prevent it. That is until she remembered her fangs were on display. Yet, for whatever reason, Ethan didn’t seem put off by them. In fact, he looked as though he wasn’t finished with her.
Sitting up, she asked, “What next?”
His lips twisted into a grin that screamed of arrogance and triumph, but she didn’t care.
“On the bed,” he demanded, his eyes darkening with wicked intention.
Normally his bossy attitude would have grated, but at the moment it was strangely appealing. She crossed to the bed.
Warm hands gripped her by the waist from behind, staying her as she was about to crawl onto the mattress. He slipped his hands over her belly and along her torso to cup her breasts. His thumbs teased her already sensitive nipples. She moaned and arched back.
His shaft breached just between the apex of her legs, sliding easily with the help of her dampness. She jumped at the feel, growing slicker still. Slowly, he slid back and forth, not entering, but stimulating them both.
“Bend over,” he commanded.
She gulped. At length, her palms moved to the mattress, leaving her in a vulnerable yet titillating position.
Her sudden nervousness must have been evident because he offered, “If I hurt you, tell me and I’ll stop.”
“Alright.”
The tip of his erection brushed her center and she recoiled, remembering their first time. This was different though. He pressed in with slow control, inching forward and giving her time to get used to his girth.
“You okay?” he asked, tone like gravel.
“I’m good,” she assured. “It feels…” She couldn’t come up with a word. “Okay, I guess?”
“Are you trying to wound my confidence?”
She laughed. “Is that even possible?”
He gave a sharp pump of his hips, and she gasped as a spike of pleasure shot through her. “No,” he said and then moved again, silencing whatever retort she was about to spit out, replacing it with a soft moan. Once more, he pumped his hips, filling her and making her whimper.