Blood Red Kiss
Page 40
World. Rocked. He’d felt her feelings, but hearing the words . . .
She wasn’t done. “I love you just as I love those girls. Trust me when I say I will not lose the ones I love. I’ll fight. I’ll never give up. And I’ll survive.” Then she nodded to Mia, who pressed another button.
The front door opened, and Lilica stepped inside the cell. Dallas followed her and the door closed behind him, preventing either infected girl from racing out. Not that they had any interest in leaving.
“We do this together,” he snapped. “And I love you too.”
Both Trinity and Jade peered at him as if he were the last slice of beef at a free buffet. The disease, and the need to spread it, was taking over their minds.
Trinity even found the strength to stand. She licked her lips and smiled, the sweet fragrance of her pheromones intensifying in an effort to send him into a fit of lust.
Both women prowled around him, sharks that had scented blood.
“I’m going to make all your dreams come true,” Trinity said.
As she spoke, her image changed. For a moment he saw her. Not her sickness but her beauty. A trick, nothing more. A means of her survival. “The only way to do that is to keep your mouth shut.”
Lilica grabbed Jade’s hand, and the girl blinked at her rapidly, as if coming out of a trance.
Moaning, Jade said, “You can’t touch me, Lil.”
“It’s fine. I’m fine. Now, take Trinity’s hand. Please.”
Jade frowned, but did as commanded. Trinity tried to rip free, but Jade held on with every bit of strength she had left. The three formed a circle.
Again Trinity tried to pull free, but Lilica stopped her by creating a suction the infected girl couldn’t break. The parasite . . . it threw itself against the connection, doing everything in its power to get in-side Lilica too. But she kept a stream of power at the edges, creating a barrier.
“Jade, I want you to steal as much of the Schön as you can from Trinity. Just like before. The more equally distributed it is between you, the better the likelihood of saving you both.”
Trinity began to buck.
“Done,” Jade said through clenched teeth, as if speaking had become a chore.
Dallas braced himself for what came next.
Wasting no time, Lilica closed her eyes. He knew she’d just sent a bolt of power to each girl, strengthening the Schön part of their beings. Too much power too fast would, they hoped, cause the parasite to shut down and die—like pumping a heart full of adrenaline until it basically exploded—while leaving the girls alive.
Jade cried out, and Trinity screamed. A tear streamed down Lilica’s cheek, followed by a bead of blood, but she sent another bolt of power. This time, her sisters began to convulse.
Dallas wanted to stop the proceedings but shouted through the bond instead. —Do it! Give them everything you’ve got! Starting slow isn’t doing anyone any good—
Bolt, bolt, bolt. All three girls quaked. Blood poured from Lilica’s nose and the corners of her mouth.
Dallas took a step toward her, intending to rip her from the circle, but the minutest bit of power traveled through the bond and zapped his Arcadian side. He felt as if he were suddenly hooked to a generator, his nerve endings on fire. Every hair on his body stood on end, his back bowing, his head thrown back. He was lifted off the floor, where he levitated, unable to move.
More crying from Jade. More screaming from Trinity. No, not true. All three girls were now screaming. He was shouting curses. Lilica was beginning to wilt. She was draining herself, giving every ounce of her power away, leaving nothing for herself.
She needed an amph, but there wasn’t another—
Yes. There was! Him. Through their bond. When she’d first bonded to him, she’d amphed him, and he’d amphed her. Concentrating, he sent his own bolt of power rushing along the bond. A second later, he eased back to the ground, the strain leaving him.
But Lilica screamed, and he feared he’d done more harm than good. He started to withdraw the power—but she lifted her head, her spine straightening. She was strengthening! He sent another bolt, and another, allowing her to send an even stronger bolt of power to her sisters.
Just like that, all three girls toppled to the floor, the suction and the circle broken.
Lilica’s mind went black—a blackness trying to close around Dallas’s mind as well. He fought it. Trinity was on the ground, reaching for Lilica, her face bloodied.
Maybe she was still infected, maybe not. He wasn’t taking any chances. Dallas unsheathed his gun, set it to stun, and shot her. Then he too gave in to the dark and passed out.
“Lilica. Wake up for me, sweetheart.”
Beep, beep, beep.
Lilica blinked open her eyes. Dallas hovered over her, dark hair shagging over his forehead.
Beep, beep, beep.
“There you are.” He smiled at her—the devastating smile that rendered her useless. He caressed her jawline. “Tsk, tsk. Sleeping on the job. I might not have asked you to marry me if I’d known you were so lazy.”
Beep, beep, beep.
“Please. You can’t get enough of me. But . . . where am I?” She scanned her surroundings and frowned. A hospital room. Tubes extended from her arms and connected to machines. “What happened?”
“You did it. You killed the Schön.”
Her eyes widened. “And my sisters?”
“They’re alive and well. You should probably get used to hearing this, because I have a feeling I’m going to be saying it a lot in the coming years, but . . . you were right. About the vision. About the amph.”
“I was right. I was right, and you were wrong!” A sob of relief escaped her. She jolted upright, throwing her arms around him. “Thank you. Thank you for trusting me and helping me. I would have died without you. They would have died and . . . and . . .” More sobs.
“Jade is in a room with John, who won’t let anyone near her. I think we may be attending a wedding in the future. Or maybe not. He refuses to touch her, and she keeps yelling obscenities at him.” He leaned back to gently wipe away her tears. “Trinity is being treated in lockup. Where she’ll stay until she’s sentenced or exonerated of all the charges against her.”
“Trinity,” she said, and sighed. “It really was the disease driving all her decisions and actions. Even Jade came after you when she was infected. I have to forgive her, don’t I?”
“Sweetheart, we both know you want to forgive her.”
“That’s fair. I do. I’ve missed her so much.”
“You’ll be a family again.”
“But if she makes a pass at you—”
“Don’t worry. I’ll shoot her dead this time.”
“We’ll shoot her. Together,” she said.
He nodded. “Together.”
Her own grin finally began to bloom. “Because you love me?”
“Because I love you,” he said with a laugh. “You’re going to take advantage of that fact for the rest of your life, aren’t you?”
“Oh, most certainly. Lady Wicked wins her man—and keeps him in line.” She patted his chest. “Remember the time you negated my powers and the time you made me pass out?”
He pressed his forehead against hers and groaned.
“I’ll feel better about our past as soon as you go get me some crab cakes. And a soda. Maybe a brownie. I’ll let you decide about the fat grams we consume. And I want a robodog. We’re a family now, and we should have—”
“Woof.”
The noise came from behind and below him. Her eyes widened, and she gasped. She looked past him to see a metal dog bouncing on the floor, panting up at her with adoring eyes and wagging a tail. Tears spilled down her cheeks.
“You already got me a dog,” she whispered.
“His name is Beetlejuice.”
“Mine!” She pushed Dallas out of the way to get to her new dog, cuddling the creature to her chest.
“Remember the time I bought you the
robodog of your dreams?” he asked.
“No. Now, make yourself useful and go get me those crab cakes.”
He laughed. “I knew you’d say that.”
She smiled her widest smile at him. “Because you know me and you love me anyway.”
He blew her a kiss and headed for the door, saying over his shoulder, “Sweetheart, knowing you is loving you.”
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KRESLEY COLE is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the electrifying Immortals After Dark paranormal series, the young adult Arcana Chronicles series, the erotic Game Maker series, and five award-winning historical romances. You can learn more about her and her work at KresleyCole.com or Facebook.com/KresleyCole. Sign up for Kresley’s email newsletter to receive the latest book release updates, as well as info about contests and giveaways (KresleyCole.com/Newsletter/).
LARISSA IONE is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Demonica and Lords of Deliverance series, the Sydney Croft books, and other contemporary novels. An Air Force veteran, she traded in her career as a meteorologist to pursue her passion for writing. She lives in Wisconsin with her U.S. Coast Guard husband, her teenage son, a rescue cat named Vegas, and her very own hellhound, Hexe. Visit her at LarissaIone.com.
GENA SHOWALTER is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than fifty novels and multiple series, including the spellbinding Otherworld Assassins, Alien Huntress, and Lords of the Underworld series; her wildly popular young adult novels Firstlife and Alice in Zombieland; and the highly addictive Original Heartbreakers series. Visit her at GenaShowalter.com and Facebook.com/genashowalterfans.
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BOOKS BY KRESLEY COLE
The Immortals After Dark Series
The Warlord Wants Forever
A Hunger Like No Other
No Rest for the Wicked
Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night
Dark Needs at Night’s Edge
Dark Desires After Dusk
Kiss of a Demon King
“Untouchable” in Deep Kiss of Winter
Pleasure of a Dark Prince
Demon from the Dark
Dreams of a Dark Warrior
Lothaire
Shadow’s Claim
MacRieve
Dark Skye
Sweet Ruin
Wicked Abyss
The Game Maker Series
The Professional
The Master
The Player
The Arcana Chronicles
Poison Princess
Endless Knight
Dead of Winter
Day Zero
Arcana Rising
The MacCarrick Brothers Series
If You Dare
If You Desire
If You Deceive
The Sutherland Series
The Captain of All Pleasures
The Price of Pleasure
BOOKS BY LARISSA IONE
The MoonBound Clan Vampires
Bound by Night
Chained by Night
BOOKS BY GENA SHOWALTER
The Otherworld Assassins Series
Last Kiss Goodnight
Black and Blue
The Alien Huntress Series
Awaken Me Darkly
Enslave Me Sweetly
Savor Me Slowly
Seduce the Darkness
Ecstasy in Darkness
Dark Taste of Rapture
“Tempt Me Eternally” in Deep Kiss of Winter
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Pocket Books
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
“The Warlord Wants Forever” copyright © 2006 by Kresley Cole
“Forsaken by Night” copyright © 2016 by Larissa Ione
“Dark Swan” copyright © 2016 by Gena Showalter
“The Warlord Wants Forever” was previously published in the anthology Playing Easy to Get
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First Pocket Books paperback edition October 2016
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Interior design by Devan Norman
Cover design by Patrick Kang
Cover photograph by © Subbotina Anna/Shutterstock (lips); © Yganov Konstantin/Shutterstock (chin); © lenaer/Shutterstock (nose)
ISBN 978-1-5011-4258-1
ISBN 978-1-5011-4259-8 (ebook)