“Aidor, keep him still while Rydin finishes this.”
Debol wept and tried to crawl away, but Aidor held him in place.
Rydin pressed the dagger against his throat. “I’ve wanted to do this for one hundred and thirty years.”
“Rydin, think of what you’re—”
Rydin didn’t give him time to finish. He slammed the dagger into Debol’s throat, twisted, turned, ripped. Gross.
The other guard reappeared with the Sempire’s brother.
“Get over here, let’s go.” She wrapped her arms around Rydin and the two guards touched her shoulder as she flashed them all out of there.
Valia and Rydin appeared in what he assumed was her room. He’d been too weak from the wounds and blood loss to stop her from flashing him here. No wonder she’d thought his place was a dump, well beside the fact it was. This room was luxurious with floor to ceiling windows, silken green and gold drapes, a four post king sized bed, an insanely large flat screen television and stereo system. The room alone was larger than his shack and the contents of it probably cost more than he’d made last year and possibly the year before.
“Come on. Lie on the bed,” she said. “Gotta clean you up.”
“I’ll bleed on your expensive sheets.”
“Pfft. Whatevs. I have more.”
He lay down and damn her bed was comfortable, the sheets softer than the ones he’d bought because of her.
“Why’d you bring me here?” he asked as she jogged to the opposite end of the room and disappeared behind a door. She reappeared a few seconds later with several cloths in her hands.
She sat on the bed next to him and dabbed at his wounds, wiping away the blood. Her gentle ministrations soothed him.
“You are gonna be okay, right? They fucked you up pretty bad.”
He grunted. “I’ve had worse. I am—”
“Yeah, yeah, you are Ferox. Got it.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
She shrugged and threw the bloodied cloth to the floor, picked up a fresh one and cleaned another wound. “I owed you one. Or two.”
Guilt. He’d thought maybe she’d cared. But it was guilt. That stung worse than any of his wounds. Why was he even thinking that way? It must be the blood loss making him stupid.
“The bleeding’s mostly stopped,” she said. She went for his zipper and he grabbed her hand.
“What are you doing, female?”
“I’m going to tear these pants from your body, free your cock, and suck it until you drown me with your delicious seed.”
The hunger in her eyes instantly had his cock standing at attention, uncomfortably so with the barrier of his pants.
Then, she laughed at him. He didn’t appreciate being laughed at, but the sound, light and feminine, caressed him, smoothed out some of his rough edges.
“Silly male. I wouldn’t molest you when you’re helpless.” Her cheeks burned scarlet, and her face fell. “I wouldn’t now anyway,” she mumbled. “Anyhoo, your pants are super funky. All bloody and dirty.”
He didn’t like this guilty bullshit. It didn’t suit her. She was upbeat, funny, spoiled… In that instant, he realized he didn’t blame her, didn’t hold a grudge against her anymore. Somewhere along the way, his anger toward her had dissipated.
“I liked your first explanation about why you were going for my zipper better than the second,” he teased. Teasing didn’t come naturally to him. There had been so little in his life, but he guessed it was good enough because that feisty sparkle glinted in her eyes, and a beautifully devious smile lifted her lips.
He reached out and touched the barely there split on her lip. It was almost completely healed. He growled, “Did Debol do this to you?”
“Nope. Araya did. I asked her to. Needed to look messed up before going in there. Had to be in character, ya know?”
“What were you doing in the demon realm? I set you free.”
Damn he was tired and ached everywhere. Just keeping his eyes open was a struggle.
“That’s why. It’s part of it anyway. You set me free. I wanted to return the favor.”
That’s what he wanted to hear but didn’t think it so. She’d offered to kill Debol for him, but he hadn’t known at the time if she was trying to butter him up so she could escape him.
Rydin’s eyelids were at half-mast. He might be Ferox, but he needed to rest. His wounds had stopped bleeding, but there had been so many, and that much healing took a lot out of a body.
“What is it about you, Valia that calls to me?” he asked, his voice sleepy. “Why do I feel…connected to you?”
She had to tell him, but again, now didn’t seem the time. She picked up another damp cloth and very carefully dabbed at the dried blood on his face. The bruising and swelling had lessened but still looked terrible. She hated seeing the big, beautiful, dangerous demon in such bad condition. She wanted him arrogant and fierce—she smiled to herself—bossing her around.
She forced her best smile and answered, “I’m awesome, what can I say?”
Her heart thudded as his lips lifted at the corners. Even bruised and beaten, he was the most desirable male she’d ever encountered.
She waited until he fell asleep and went to find her mother.
Valia found her mother, Kean, Araya, Darcy, and the two guards she’d freed in the in the dining room. “Where’s my bro, Navine, and her bro?”
Araya answered, “Fin’s making her a cherry-fruit smoothie. Baden said cherries are her favorite.” Araya frowned. “She’s pretty inconsolable right now.”
Valia hugged Araya and Kean. “Thanks for the help.”
Kean said, “That was some shitty plan you had there.”
She laughed. “It’s all good. We’re alive.”
“How’s Rydin?” Araya asked.
“Snoozing now. Hey, uh, got a few minutes for a chat, Mommy dear?” By the look on her mother’s face, she had her pissy-pants on. “I’m sure you wanna bitch at me a little for ditching your guards.”
Talith nodded and rose from her chair, and she and Valia made their way into the theater room.
After Talith berated her about how irresponsible and dangerous her foray into the demon realm had been, Valia explained her dilemma to her mother and had a long chat with her about her transition. Apparently a Senus demon and a Sempire wasn’t a common pairing and made for a difficult transition.
Talith had sent her guards out to find some compatible demons for Valia. Some had come willingly, Rydin had not. Darcy had actually found Rydin for Valia. Valia had been surprised by that. Darcy was a big ole badass but so was Rydin, and she couldn’t imagine him being taken down by one demon. Talith refused to elaborate, but apparently Darcy had some hidden talents.
Her mother said Valia had chosen Rydin right away as if the others weren’t even there.
When Valia explained about needing to seek out a Sensus demon willing to teach her so she could release Rydin from the aura binding, her mother had suggested keeping him bound and learning to better control him. Tempting, but she wouldn’t do that to him. Not again.
It had taken some convincing to get her mother to believe Rydin wouldn’t harm her. She might be mistaken, but she didn’t think he would. He’d been so angry with her when he’d had her in the demon realm and she’d been at his mercy, but he’d never harmed her. And when she’d weakened, he’d relented and nourished her. No, he might hate her all over again, but he wouldn’t harm her.
Valia went back to her room where Rydin snored lightly. He looked so yummy lying in her bed. Hell, he looked yummy anywhere and in any condition.
She wanted to sleep but decided to rinse the dirt off herself first. She took a quick shower, threw on a tank top and a flimsy cotton skirt that said “juicy” on the ass, and climbed in bed bedside Rydin, careful not to wake him. Oh she’d love to wake him with her mouth, but she wanted his wounds healed first.
She’d never had a male sleep in her bed before, but she liked it. Like
d the warmth radiating from him, liked the closeness, liked the completeness she felt with him so near. Of course, the latter was just because of the aura binding and would be gone soon, but she’d enjoy it for now.
Valia awoke to the most awesome sensation, a warm and skilled tongue thrusting in and out of her wet depths. Her hips bucked of their own accord, and she pressed herself tight against his mouth. He latched onto her clit, sucking hard, flicking the tip of his tongue across her swollen nub. As the sensations consumed her body, she grabbed a handful of his hair, careful not to touch his chipped horn, and smashed his face into her. She cried out as he thrust a finger inside her. Her body was on the edge, climax close.
As much as she loved what his mouth was doing to her, she desperately wanted him inside her. Wanted to feel him fill her, stretch her as the world shattered around them.
“Make love to me, Rydin.” Where had that come from? Make love? Those words had never crossed her lips before, at least not in a serious way. Luckily, he didn’t seem to mind or find it odd.
“Gladly,” he said. His dark gaze caught and held hers as he quickly crawled up her body and rubbed the head of his cock against her sensitive lips, sinking into her in one smooth thrust. The groan that escaped him, his eyes rolling back, his contorted face, spoke volumes of his pleasure and she loved it. Loved that being inside her gave him as much pleasure as it gave her.
He thrust slowly, leaning down to capture her lips in a breath-stealing kiss, his hips pistoning, building momentum as their tongues thrashed together.
“Harder, more,” she breathed against his lips. He obliged, slamming into her with a fierce need, her hips meeting his thrust for thrust.
“Like this?” he asked as he pounded harder, faster.
She nodded as her fingernails pierced the flesh on his back, accentuating her answer.
“Come for me, Valia.” His strained face gave away how close his own release was.
Pressure built and spread to dizzying heights before finally bubbling over. The surge of pleasure overtaking her had her screaming his name as her inner muscles spasmed, white flame bursting from deep inside, shattering her body. Rydin followed, burying himself deep in her, roaring his pleasure, filling her with what he’d sworn to deny her just days ago. The heat and strength of his Ferox seed sent her over the edge again, and she thought she’d pass out from the pleasure.
He rested his forehead on hers, their sweat covered bodies gasping for normal breath. This delicious demon had spoiled her for other males, and she knew she’d have to have him again. Now that he was free from the demon realm, that was a distinct possibility.
He moved to her side and pulled her up against him. The tenderness she felt coming from this beast of a male ratcheted up some strange emotion. She’d felt it with him before but still didn’t have a name for it.
“You showered,” she said. She’d noticed his wet hair when he’d been feasting between her thighs.
“I woke up with a need for you, but I didn’t want to get you funky.”
She laughed at his use of the word. It didn’t sound right coming out of his mouth. She turned to face him and propped herself on one elbow. “You’re still a little black and blue, but lookin’ much better.”
“I feel much better. Now, tell me, what did you do to Debol’s guards? What kind of magic was that?”
Valia’s gut twisted. It was time. She couldn’t put it off any longer, but she damn sure wanted to. Breaking the serenity, the contentment of the moment was the last thing on her mind, but it had to be done. Without telling him an outright lie, there was no way to avoid it now that he’d asked.
“Did I ever mention that my father was a Sensus demon?”
He shook his head.
“Well, I guess…” She hesitated. “I retained a little of his abilities.”
“More than a little, I’d say. You manipulated their auras to bend their will.”
Okay, he was familiar with Sensus demons. “Yeah, um, it’s more than that.” Just say it, Valia. Fuck. “I kinda bound their auras to mine. And ya know, thirty years ago, well…”
His gaze narrowed as a muscle in his jaw ticked. “What about thirty years ago?” he asked, his tone hard.
“I remembered. When Debol forced me to remember in my dream, I saw—“
Understanding reflected in his eyes. “I see. That’s what you did to me. That’s what all this is—has been,” he said coldly, his amber eyes glinting with fury. He jerked up and moved off the bed, grabbed his funky pants and jerked them on.
“No. Maybe. No. I—”
“Save it. I understand. You use that ability to get what you want, when you want. Explains why I was able to kill Debol. Your bond overrode his. Nice trick.”
She jumped off the bed and faced him. “No. I didn’t even remember until—”
“Undo it. Now. Release me,” he demanded.
She reached out to touch him, but he jerked away from her, and she let her hand fall to her side. “I can’t.”
The fury and hatred in his eyes, in his aura, sent cold shivers down her spine.
He sneered. “Can’t or won’t? Not done playing with your Ferox toy?”
“I swear. I don’t know how to undo it. I don’t even know how the hell I did it in the first place. Rydin, I swear.”
“Figure it out, Sempire or whatever the fuck you are. You have twenty-four hours, and remember, I know where you live. You can’t avoid me for another thirty years.”
With that, he disappeared and so did a piece of Valia’s heart.
Chapter Eight
Valia slumped on the bed, feeling bereft. This was so not her style, but she couldn’t fucking help it. She liked that damn Ferox demon. A lot. They’d finally found some sort of groove, and it had been ruined by something she’d had no memory of until yesterday.
A knock sounded at her door, and she hoped to hell it was her mother with a Sensus demon to help her figure this out. She didn’t want to release him, she realized, because then she’d lose him and that connection forever. But she needed to do it. It was the right thing to do.
“Come in.”
Araya cracked open the door with her hands over her eyes. “Is everyone decent?”
“Geez, I’m the only one here.”
She dropped her hand and frowned. “What happened to Rydin?”
Valia tried to sit up straight and be the awesome specimen that she was, but her shoulders weighed a ton, and her lips refused to flash one of her fabulous smiles. “He left.”
Araya sat down on the bed next to her. “By your expression, I take it you’re not happy about it.”
Valia slammed her fist into the bed. “No, I’m not happy about it. I’m… Araya, I’m sad. This is super shitty. My stomach is twisted. My heart hurts. What the fuck is this?”
“Love?” Araya offered.
Valia snorted. “If love feels like this, I know why I don’t do love. Fuck love. Fuck it right in the ass.”
Laughter burst from Araya, and Valia gave her, what she hoped, was a fantastically dirty look.
“Sorry, you just have a way with words.”
“Whatevs, it’s not love anyway. I—shit. I bound his aura to me.”
“Huh?”
Valia told her sister everything about what had happened between her and Rydin thirty years ago and about how the deranged Incubus had entered her dreams and led her to the hidden memory.
“Oh, wow,” Araya said.
“Yeah, wow.”
“But you didn’t know what you were doing. How can he be pissed at you? It’s not your fault.”
“Tell him that.”
“You like him anyway, don’t you? I mean, even if the bond didn’t exist?”
“He’s bossy and arrogant and domineering and yep, I do. He’s big and badass, and he’s got mad sex skills. When he—”
“Yeah, I don’t need those details. Thanks.” Araya’s face turned ten shades of red.
“Well, just sayin’.”
&nbs
p; “So, you have twenty-four hours to unbind him?”
Valia nodded.
“You know any Sensus demons to help teach you?”
“No, but Mother does.”
“Well, maybe once you unbind him, he’ll be in a better mood. Then you can talk or something.”
“Maybe.” She’d like to think so, but he’d been angrier than she’d ever seen him and seriously doubted it. “Anyhoo, how’s the Sempire we rescued?”
Araya scrunched up her face. “Freaking out. Fin tried to console her, but she freaks out worse when he’s around.”
“Yeah, I guess she’s freaked out by what he is,” Valia said. “It doesn’t bother you does it?”
“No. I mean, he’s always been there, like a big brother for both of us. I was shocked, but I’ve always loved him.”
“Me too. Our brother, the abomination. It’s kinda awesome.”
“It is,” Araya agreed.
“That Sempire is screwed though. Addicted to a dead Incubus. She probably only has three or four days to live.”
“I know. Mother’s looking for a way to help her, but no one has ever heard of a cure for that. Do you think she would have been better off with Debol?”
Valia snorted. “You were willing to die for love,” she sneered as she said the word, “wouldn’t you rather die than be an abused slave-pet of a crazy Incubus?”
Araya sighed. “Yes. Definitely.”
Luckily, her mother had a good relationship with Raimee, a Sensus demon, who sometimes worked with Talith on her films. Talith’s very lucrative business was making demon fetish films. Valia wasn’t sure if Raimee starred in them or what and hadn’t gotten around to asking for details.
She met with Raimee in the theater room. Even though Raimee had been a bit reluctant to share the secrets of Sensus demons, they’d hit it off, and she’d quickly taught Valia how to unbind Rydin.
She practiced on the two guards from Debol’s lair. It had taken her thirty minutes to unbind Aidor, and she hadn’t been able to do it until Raimee slapped her in the face. She’d almost torn the bitch’s throat out, but Raimee used her Sensus abilities to manipulate Valia’s aura and help her channel her anger toward the unbinding. After that, she’d unbound the other guard in a matter of minutes.
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