The Devil In Disguise (Bad Things #1)(8)

She stared at him in absolute horror, her eyes wide and desperate. “I had two options,” he told her. “I could have locked my fingers around your throat and just squeezed…that would have stopped you from talking, too.”

At those words, her gaze wasn’t just desperate, it was horrified.

His jaw locked. He…didn’t like that look of horror, not from her. Despite the shit the woman had pulled, he didn’t want her looking at him as if he were the monster. Even if he was. “I didn’t go with that option,” he muttered. “Obviously.”

She twisted in his grip. He laughed. He had enhanced strength. Even the strongest shifters in the world couldn’t beat him when it came to raw power. She wasn’t getting away.

But, because of the way he held her, Mina’s left hand was free—and just out of his reach. That left hand held the key. A key he needed.

His strength was great but the cell he was currently trapped inside of had been built—by f*cking him—to hold all sorts of paranormal predators in check. He couldn’t break the bars. He needed… “The key,” he snapped. “Give it to me, now.”

Over his hand, her wide eyes jerked to the left, as if she’d just remembered the key. Her fingers twitched when her hand moved.

“Good girl,” he said, “that wasn’t—”

She threw the key—threw it far out of his reach.

“Bad girl,” he snarled. His hold on her tightened. “Very, very bad.”

She was trying to mutter behind his hand. He shook his head. “You think I don’t get it? The power is in your voice. Despite what you think, I’m not the type normally led around by my dick.” Though she’d sure done that to him, before the gas. “So to fix this…I can just make sure you don’t speak again.”

That horror deepened in her stare. He growled again. She needed to stop looking at him that way. His gaze raked her. “Maybe it was the drinks…I’m not normally susceptible, not to any damn one, but you caught me on an off night.” And he needed to test himself…that was why he was easing his grip on her. That was why he was moving his fingers away from her mouth. Just that reason and not because he wanted to ease the horror and fear in her stare.

Her breath heaved out. She stared at him, and…she didn’t make a sound.

Now she gets quiet?

“Who are you?” Luke demanded.

“I-I told you…I’m Mina. Mina James.”

So he’d asked the wrong question. “What are you?”

She stumbled away from the cell. If he went by her expression, he would have thought the question hurt her. He rubbed his chest. His naked chest. Luke glanced around. Right. She’d told him to strip and he’d just tossed off his shirt for her.

“What do you think I am?” Her voice was husky, sexy, but it didn’t ring with the note of power he remembered. The power that had been there before he’d gotten knocked out by the gas.

The gas had been another one of his inventions. A bit of magic and science. Only he’d never expected to be on the receiving end of that dosage.

“Luke,” she bit off his name. “What am I?”

Curious, he looked back at her. Maybe she didn’t know. He wasn’t one hundred percent sure himself, but he still guessed, “A siren?”

Her lips parted but no denial burst from her.

He nodded. “Makes sense. Sexy face, sexy body. Built to tempt.” Once more, his gaze swept over her. Damn. “Every single part of you. Especially the voice.” But if that were the case, then she would be under his dominion. Sirens were dark creatures. Her power shouldn’t have worked on him. “I had too freaking much to drink,” he groused. His hand rubbed over his face. And another thought struck him. “How long was I out?” Because he didn’t feel even a little drunk any longer. Sure, he had an extremely fast metabolism—a nice paranormal bonus but— “A-a while,” she said. “I don’t know exactly…I was afraid to leave you but…” She pulled out her phone. Stared at the screen a moment, then said, “Had to be at least two hours.”

Two hours wasn’t so bad. Most paranormals would have been knocked out for at least twelve. And with two hours…I’d be able to push the alcohol out of my system. His hands curled around the bars. “What do you want from me?”

She sucked in a sharp breath, as if gathering courage, then she looked him right in the eye again. Her eyes brightened with her power and Luke knew she was getting ready to use her magic on him. His hold tightened on the bars, his hands turning white as she said— “I want the jewel. I need the Eye of Hell.”

Silence.

She swallowed. “You will give me the Eye of Hell.”

His right hand slowly unfurled from the bar. He lifted his hand.

She stepped toward him.

He curled his finger at her, the same way she’d done for him.

She inched closer. “You have it on you?”

“No, sweetheart, I don’t.”

Her shoulders fell. “But you will give it to me. You’ll tell me where it is. How to use it. You will give me the Eye—”

Luke started laughing.

“Uh, want to share what’s so funny?”

It took him a moment to quell his laughter. And, damn, but the woman was even sexy when she was mad. When she had that little furrow between her brows and her plump lips tightened and a hint of red touched her cheeks.